It's a Weird, Wild and Wonderful Life

Portland, OR - A First Timer's First Impression

2012-01-09T10:45:00.001-07:00

Portland is a food, beer, wine and cocktail lover’s Utopia; a shopper’s treasure; an artist’s haven.

With Mount Hood to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and scores of rivers, waterfalls, forests and hiking trails all around, the area is also a nature lover’s playground.

Multnomah Falls

Portlanders are hip, artsy and ruggedly cool. Guys wear plaid shirts and 1970s down- filled vests. Women wrap their necks with natural fibre scarves and look enviably healthy and beautiful with no makeup. Portlanders love their Happy Hour and ramen. Community gardens sprout abundantly in empty residential lots and the dining establishments that don’t serve locally grown and natural, consciously raised food products are the odd ones out. There are as many old cars and trucks on the roads as new ones. Think 1972 Chevy half-ton. Jeep Wagonneers. Portland’s cool factor is off the charts.

Merchandise at Animal Traffic on Mississippi Avenue

The city was named one of the most livable cities in the USA in 2010, and if you spend any time there, it won’t take you more than a day of exploring to understand why.

We had five days after Christmas to take in Portland. We would’ve gladly spent five weeks had we the time.

Food: You'll want to do your research on places to eat and you'll find a plethora of information on the web. (I'll post some restaurant recaps in a day or so.) The Pacific Northwest is abundant with good--no, make that great--food. If you’re a food truck/food cart fan (and who isn’t?), Portland boasts over 500 portable food purveyors. Check Portland's Food Cart website for info. Only a handful, however, were open over the Christmas/New Year break and because of that, we have decided to return to Portland for a food cart tour this year.

Downtown Portland Food Trucks

Food Trucks on Division Street

We had spectacular food in Portland but we managed to find a couple of duds too: Henry’s Tavern in the Pearl District (if you’re Canadian, think any over-decorated restaurant geared to big plates, big fixtures and over-processed, big bang-no whammy food), and Jake's Grill (a McCormick and Shmick's property) in a gorgeous historical building downtown. This is what happens when you don't do your research.

Lodging: The Hotel Monaco-Portland holds the #1 rating on Trip Advisor, and deservedly so. We chose it because of its downtown location and because of the types of rooms it offered. Traveling with four teenagers means we need space and the Monaco definitely offered that with the rooms we chose. Staff is extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the area, and the nightly wine and mingle hour in the lobby gives patrons a chance to taste local wines and enjoy the hotel's art collection.

Lobby at Hotel Monaco Portland

This hotel is pet-friendly, so if you don’t like dogs, don’t stay here. Several guests brought their canine companions along but we never experienced any barking issues or unruly beasts. The Monaco’s mascot dog, Timmy, lounges anywhere he so desires and is the object of everyone’s attention that passes by.

Sightseeing: The OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), the zoo and the Portland Art Museum are listed as the city’s top attractions, but we found worthwhile sites just by driving or walking around and taking the time to shop, eat or stop for locally roasted java in one of the many coffee houses in the city.

Shopping at Flutter on Mississippi Avenue

Around the corner from Voodoo Doughnuts SW 3rd Ave

Exploring Alberta Avenue Arts District

Great Coffee at Caffe Vita on Alberta Avenue

The city's historic buildings add to the charm and are home to countless cafes, boutiques and pubs.

The infamous Voodoo Doughnuts - original location SW 3rd Avenue

Portland revels in its quirkiness. In fact, bumper stickers and even a building sport the slogan, “Keep Portland Weird”. How wonderful to see a city promote its individuality and resist homogenization.

Portland has everything a city needs to lure travellers back for another visit. It's interesting, quirky, vibrant and will keep you fed and watered with good food and drink in more ways than you could imagine.

Portlanders, I envy you -- even your airport is cool.

Check back soon for more blog posts on this incredible city.

An Outsider's Peek Inside Pok Pok - Portland,OR

2012-01-06T11:52:00.001-07:00

Five days in Portland gave us only a taste of wonderful things this city has to offer. PDX, as it is sometimes called, is high on the global radar list as a must-stop food destination and its not hard to understand why when you consider the talent of the chefs in the area and the availability of incredible fresh food products at their disposal. And then there's the wine, beer, cocktails and coffee culture. Portland is a veritable Food Garden of Eden.

Our first stop (and entirely by accident) was Pok Pok, a divey little hideaway on SE Division Street known for its Southeast Asian streetfood. We were actually after ramen at Wafu across the way, but were there two hours before they opened. Pok Pok it was -- and that was just fine because this is a restaurant I have read much about. Being a Vietnamese and Thai food fan from way back, I was thrilled to find myself on its doorstep.

Here's what Fearless Critic has to say about Pok Pok:
"If you haven’t spent serious time in Thailand (and outside touristy areas), forget everything you think you know, and experience what Thai food really is (and then wonder why on earth no one else is doing this): lime, chili, fish sauce, fermented shrimp paste."

Forget everything you know...

What Andy Ricker serves at Pok Pok is cuisine from northeast and northern Thailand (with an influence or two from surrounding countries). He has traveled there, spent numerous months there and has eaten, breathed and lived street food until it was coming out of his ears. He returns yearly to learn and taste more. I like that in a chef.

We, like thousands before us, went crazy over Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings. We ordered both flavours (in spicy and regular). Sweet mother of God; eating these was almost a religious experience.

The wings are big. Like, really big. I imagine the birds, from whom these appendages once sprang, lived their days getting tattoos and throwing each other off hay bales before slinging their duffel bags over their shoulders en route to their final destination. These are wings you can really sink your teeth into. And we did, with gluttonous gusto. Our kids were fine with the heat factor; the spicy variety was not so much a hot spice as it was luscious layer of zippy depth.

I can't remember what the name of this soup was or what the ingredients were, but I do believe a dose of angel tears was amongst them. And liquid sunshine. And definitely coconut. Come on Ricker, you're killing me here. Give me a snorkel next time so I can submerse myself and linger in the moment.

The menu at Pok Pok changes seasonally. Why? Because that's what good restaurants do.

Below is the much lauded Kai Yaang - roasted game hen stuffed with garlic, lemongrass, cilantro and magic dust. They call this their signature dish. This was a gorgeous bird. Don't be afraid to order the full size instead of the half...you'll want to eat as much as you can. SUCC-u-LENT.

But here's the pièce de résistance: Papaya Pok Pok, or what I like to call "Hellfire-Crack and Damnation".

The server warmed me that it was spicy. I said, "I like spice." In fact, I was so sure of myself, I ordered it with the optional salted black crab Isaan style (fermented fish sauce called plaa raak, and dry chilies). The server advised that maybe, considering it was my first time, that I go easy and order it regular. But I was committed. I like spice. Bring it.

Forget everything you know...

Eating this salad is like sticking your tongue on a mosquito zapper. You should stop, but you can't. Even after the pain hits, you want more. And yet the flavours-- the lime, the garlic, the papaya, the fish sauce--they all hit your tongue like raindrops. Like pelting, acid raindrops. So why, you may ask, would anyone want to eat this? Because one week later, I am craving it, that's why. The heat, the sweet, the tang, the crunch...all those things together make this dish the culinary crack of Pok Pok.

If this was our first Portland food experience, I couldn't wait for what the next day would bring.

Pok Pok, by the way, is named after the sound that is made when pestle and mortar meet.

And something else you should know: the food, simply said, is some of the best stuff you'll ever put in your mouth. Oh, and also: Andy Ricker, the man behind it all, was awarded the 2011 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Northwest award. 'Nuff said.

For a list of accolades, articles and awards, visit Pok Pok's website.

Cibo Bistro in Edmonton - Restaurant Review

2011-12-22T17:30:00.003-07:00

Ricotta, pancetta, pappardelle, gnocchi: Viva Italia! Or, to quote the Boston Pizza chicken wing guy, "Knock me down and call me Susan." I get a little excited when I think about Italian food, and Cibo, Edmonton's newest Italian restaurant, has had me quivering in my boots since I saw the press release of their opening.

The team behind Cibo: NAIT Red Seal Chef Rosario Caputo and Sous Chef Matt Helstein are in the kitchen curing their own meats, making their own pasta, simmering ragùs and whipping up heart-stopping desserts. Michael Giampa (Rosario's cousin) gained front-of-house experience over the years working in local restaurants before he and Rosario opened Cibo two months ago. They have the experience and the DNA. So far, so good.

The space is the old Tesoro Caffe & Bar, so while architecturally it's still the same, the colours have been deepened, the lighting has been dimmed and the space overall more fine-dine'afide.

The guys tweet, they Facebook; they're young, they're hip, they're cool, and they're into food. So let's talk about that—the food—starting with some plates meant to be shared:

1. Pan Fried Ricotta Cakes - house made goat ricotta, formed into little pillowy puffs that are topped with a tasty slathering of tomato basil jam and tender shredded chicken conduto. House made ricotta should be the standard method for any restaurant featuring this cheese. It makes all the difference in the world. This was a very good starter with all the right elements: savoury, sweet, salty and creamy.

2. Polenta Fritta - French fry-like rectangles of polenta with a stack of calabrese salami to wrap around each crispy stick, and a side of aioli for dipping. Did not expect this. And pleasantly surprised by how my kids inhaled them seeing as they all "hate polenta".

3. Trio di Bruschetta Della Casa - three types of toppings on crostini: braised fennel and roasted red pepper, chanterelle mushroom ragù, marinated zucchini and dill. The best of the lot was the mushroom, followed by the fennel and pepper, and lastly and unanimously, the zucchini dill which was not liked by any. Too tangy, too vinegar-ish was the consensus.

The Mains:
This is a good looking menu, albeit a little on the caloric and carbohydrated side. Besides three pasta dishes (pastas made in-house), Cibo offers three meat entrees (pork, beef, veal) and four sides (three vegetable and one deep-fried rice ball). Diet-conscious eaters are going to have trouble here. One lonely salad peeks out from the antipasti area. The Brussels sprouts are done in brown butter and the mussels come in a bath of black garlic cream. So, good luck.

Throwing coronary caution to the wind, we went with:
1. Ravioli al Sugo - ricotta filled pasta squares topped with a tomato veal ragù. That's my soul food right there. The pasta was delicate and plentiful, the ricotta tangy and soft, and the ragù hearty and rich. A bit too much salt in the ragù but overall a very satisfying dish.

2. Pappardelle Bolognese - the menu says "traditional bolognese with wild boar" but that is incongruous with the origins of the dish. This meat-based sauce originated in Bologna, Italy and there is, believe it or not, an actual Bolognese delegation that stipulates what exactly can go into a traditional Bolognese sauce. It is Italy after all where regions and delegations and designations are paramount where anything edible or drinkable is concerned. In 1982, the delegation registered the traditional Bolognese recipe as one made with beef and served on tagliatelle, not pappardelle and definitely not—Dio mi perdoni!—spaghetti. No other meat is considered traditional and I dare you to tell someone from Bologna otherwise. That aside, wild boar is similar in taste to beef, so you'd actually be hard pressed to tell the difference anyways, especially in a dish like this. Cibo's pappardelle bolognese was very good. This meat had obviously been simmered and coddled and whispered to and what resulted was some sweet Italian love clinging to those al dente noodles. (Photo fail, no photo).

3. Gnocchi - served in a gorgonzola cream. In my household, the topic of gnocchi is a hot and steamy one. Ricotta, flour or potato? Naked (as in gnudi) or covered in cheese? At Cibo, the gnocchi are definitely a heavier dumpling and not the light, fluffy, airy pillows that some people favour. If I were a betting man, I'd say these were potato gnocchi made with a Yukon gold or other waxy spud...but I'm no man, and I don't like to bet—unless I'm in Vegas and drinking lychee martinis. Cibo, you let me down here. Those poor gnocchi suffocated and sank like little gummy Titanics under that heavy blanket of creamy gorgonzola sauce.

4. Guance di Manzo - Braised beef cheeks served with arancini and wilted rapini. I've saved this stunner for last. It's been a long time since I've beheld a more tender piece of meat and my hat is off to whomever in the kitchen cooked this wonderful cut. Rich, deep flavours, toothsome yet yielding in texture. You could cut through it with a fork. The arancini, a deep fried ball of rice stuffed with mushroom and cheese could not compete with the star of the show, and the rapini...well, it's rapini. What can you say: green and boring. That's rapini. But the guance di manzo? Dreamworthy.

All that food meant we were going to be sharing desserts—you know, we didn't want to overdo it. We shared the chocolate trio plate that came with a dark chocolate tart, white chocolate gelato, and a mousse made of Frangelico and milk chocolate. The chefs should be arrested, or sent to a confessional, because this chocolate was absolutely sinful.

The goat milk panna cotta was thankfully—finally!— a fairly light offering. Despite being a custard, it wasn't heavy at all and was quite soothing to our over-taxed systems. The peppered blueberry sauce was more berry than pepper (that's good), and topping it all off was a dusting of grated cheese. What kind of cheese? We asked and were given "I think it's something like Parmesan..." by the waiter and when pressed, returned to tell us the kitchen told him they were too busy to tell him. Say what?

Unfortunately, this was the server's modus operandi and the only thing that left us with a bad taste in our mouth—well, next to the frightful cocktail at the start that had both our server and the owner adding a dash of this and a dash of that only to be altered with god knows what liquid (water?) to compensate for the over-dashing of whatever was mistakenly poured into the glass.

The end result tasted like a watered down, melted, blue Popsicle. Cocktail fail. Even though my husband said it was watery, our server just smiled, touched my shoulder, and then walked away.
The food shone, no doubt. The service though, or rather our particular server, concerned us initially with his mispronunciation of menu items and lack of menu knowledge, and then irritated us with his hands on approach (literally hands on, as in touchy-feely every time he stopped by), and finally just offended us when he tried to snow us with bogus information. Very disappointing and not acceptable when the restaurant is trying to establish itself as an authentic Italian bistro.

And finally: the wine list has several spelling mistakes which need to be corrected in order for the establishment to be taken seriously. The Jumping Grape Sparkling Shiraz/Cab is listed in the Italian category which is something they might want to rectify because everyone knows that Italians don't give their wines cutesy titles like Jumping Grape.

A few glitches, easily remedied.

My CBC Edmonton review can be heard here.

Bird's Nest Soup - A Once in a Lifetime Lunch

2011-12-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

It's not every day that you come across bird spit soup on a menu, so when we saw it featured at the Palazzo's Asian restaurant, Zine, in Vegas, we had no choice but to order it. The lychee martinis may have had something to do with our decision, after all, the soup cost $128 a bowl and no sober person that I know of would spend that kind of money on a bowl of soup.

This soup, actually known as Bird's Nest Soup, is a delicacy in Chinese cuisine and has been ingested there and in various parts of Southeast Asia for centuries. Quick research indicates anywhere from the past 400 to 1500 years. In some countries the nests (built by swifts) are harvested by cliff-scaling pickers and are only taken after the eggs have hatched and the young have flown. Typically, it takes 35 days for the swift to use its spittle to wind and weave an intricate basket about the size of a human fist.

White Birds Nest
photo credit: http://www.luxist.com/gallery/birds-nest-soup/1323980/

These days the nests are more commonly harvested from purpose-built nest houses. White nests can sell for up to $2,000 USD per kilo, but the red nests (the pigment is due to minerals found in the caves) from Thailand can have a price tag of up to $10,000 USD/kilo. At Zine, the soup alone cost around $90 for the bowl but with the papaya, the price increased to $128. That's one heck of an expensive papaya if you ask me. Vegas. Go figure.

Why do people eat this stuff? The saliva is rich in nutrients and according to Chinese medicinal claims, eating said saliva will improve all sorts of ailments--from dull complexions to dull libido, and everything in between.

So what does bird spit taste like? Hard to say as what we mostly tasted was the papaya. But I can tell you this, bird spit has a texture like...spit. Strings of spit. Sort of like slimy glass noodles--which is what you will need to tell your brain as you spoon the saliva strings into your mouth: "Glass noodles. I'm eating glass noodles." And then wash them down with another martini.

Monta Ramen House, Las Vegas - Sweet Merciful Ramen!

2011-12-12T12:01:00.003-07:00

A night of over consumption in Las Vegas had us in search of hangover food the next day. Vietnamese Pho is usually a good fixer-upper but lately I've been curious about ramen, a soup dish that has become hugely popular across North America. In fact, I had just finished reading Jay Friedman's article in the Nov/Dec 2011 issue of Northwest Palate so we were thrilled to find Monta, Sin City's top rated ramen house.

Photo cover of Portland's Boke Bowl - a non-traditional bowl of ramen topped with southern fried chicken

Ramen, said to have originated in China but adopted and adapted by the Japanese, is what people seek when they want umami-packed Asian soul food. At 11:40 a.m. the place was packed.

We grabbed the two remaining seats at the counter, right next to a fellow from California who drove over four hours for Monta’s ramen. This man, who has traveled all over the world, said Monta’s ramen is the next best thing to what he experienced in Japan. Still, we had no idea what to expect.

We didn’t expect heaven in a bowl—which is pretty much what we got, and exactly what we needed after a night of dallying with several of the seven deadly sins.

Tonkotsu-Shoyu with egg $8.50

Monta serves ramen (wheat flour noodles) in four broth styles: Shoyu (soy sauce), Miso (bean paste), Tonkostsu (pork bone) and Tonkotsu-Shoyu (combination of pork bone broth and soy sauce). The pork broth is made by boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours until all that remains is a cloudy, viscous, deeply layered broth. All of Monta's ramen soups come with green onions, two slices of chashu, bamboo shoots and kikurage (mushroom). You can choose to add more toppings like nitamago (soft boiled egg) which adds more silkiness to the hearty soup. I would highly recommend ordering extra chashu, a thin slice of pork with a noticeable fat strip that makes the pork literally melt on your tongue.

Have you ever eaten something so good it almost makes you weep? This is ramen. And when ramen is this good, it’s not just food, it’s an otherworldly experience. In two weeks we’re going to Portland which, along with Los Angeles and New York, is apparently, a ramen hotbed and thanks to that article in Northwest Palate, I know exactly where we'll be headed: Shigezo, Biwa, Yuzu, Wafu and maybe even Boke Bowl for that southern-fried chicken ramen. Five days, five ramen restaurants. Entirely do-able.

Ousia - Mediterranean Restaurant in Edmonton - Review

2011-12-08T10:24:00.001-07:00

The area on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton between 108 and 109 Street is quickly becoming an interesting dining destination. Ousia, a Mediterranean inspired chic little joint joins a Vietnamese pho place, a Cuban café and a couple of Lebanese restaurants all in the span of one block. Ousia though, is the most chic of the bunch and although the word, Ousia, is Greek for essence, the menu is far from any other Greek menu you’ve probably seen.

First impressions were very good on entering Ousia: warm, dark, intimate and classy. The owners took their time and money on designing a very inviting spot.

The menu too was impressive – not for length, for simplicity. Sometimes less options are better. Cocktails are creative; the tamarind Margarita, although a bit sweet after a while was refreshingly different and delicious.

House made breads and a Turkish dip are placed on the table to nibble while deciding on what to have. A nice touch.

We started with the ouzo cured gravlax and the patatas bravas. If you’ve been to Spain, you’ll have seen and tasted your fair share of the latter and these at Ousia rival any I had in Spain. Hot, crispy on the outside, perfectly cooked and served with a sundried tomato puree and spicy chili aioli. You’ll be tempted to order a second helping.

If you like ouzo, you’ll like the gravlax; the liqueur is definitely front and centre in this dish but that could also be its downfall overshadowing the delicate flavour of the salmon. The plating was artistic and the lemon gelee was a great touch. Not sure about the beets though; their flavour, like the ouzo was a bit aggressive.

The shrimp ceviche was a hit. At first we thought four taro chips wouldn't be enough to scoop the shrimp, lime and avocado mixture, but it worked just fine and the chips were the perfect vehicle to bring those tasty morsels to mouth.

We were off to a good start. The appetizers, overall, were nicely done. On to the mains:

The special of the night was pan-seared duck breast with kumquat cherry compote. All the flavours were there but the duck breast was chewy. Presentation-wise, it wasn't sitting too pretty on the plate either. We eat with our eyes first, right?

Braised lamb shank: Served in a big bowl was one heck of a big shank. For $32 I got a lot of bone and a little meat that was hard to get at in such a deep bowl, but the meat that was there was braised nicely and the chorizo tomato stew surrounding the perfectly cooked polenta square was delicious.

The most soulful of the lot was the wild mushroom, truffle-drizzled mascarpone risotto. A hearty risotto that was ultra creamy, this would be a great dish for two people to share as a side being that the entrees are protein-focused and light on the accompaniments.

Two dishes that failed completely: the veal afelia -- over-peppered small thin slices of veal had this dish returning to the kitchen after two bites. It was replaced with an over-salted, over-cooked chicken kebab dish that also went back. The server took the charge off our bill and apologized profusely saying that the chef agreed with our concerns. It takes a lot for me to return a dish.

The desserts, thankfully, brought us back into a happy place. The flourless espresso chocolate cake was spectacular. Fudgy, smooth and dense...this would be perfect with a glass of port. And the mascarpone cheesecake with brandy cherry compote held just the right combination of creaminess and tartness. Ousia's desserts were a hit.

Service was very good, if a little fast at first and despite the server having to run to the kitchen to ask what certain words meant and what ingredients were. She certainly had enthusiasm and put the effort in.

Overall, Ousia holds promise. The ambiance scores high, as do the appetizers and desserts. The entrees were disappointing but those issues should be easily fixed and with that in mind, this restaurant will be a nice addition to the Edmonton dining scene.

My CBC restaurant review of Ousia can be heard here.

Thermomix Goes to Harvard

2011-12-06T10:34:00.037-07:00

Canadian Foodie, Valerie Rodgers-Lugonja, sent me an email last week with a rather odd request asking if I would be interested in taking my Thermomix (and hers) to Harvard University. The machines were needed for a food science demonstration being put on by Bill Yosses (the White House Pastry Chef) and Najat Kaanache, “apprentice to the world’s best chefs”.

Chef Bill Yosses at Harvard with the Thermomix

Lynette MacDonald, Australia's Thermomix Queen, who knew Najat from when she traveled to Australia, was enroute from Australia but without her machine (different voltage). Two machines were needed and none could be found in the Boston area so Lynette called Valerie and Valerie called me because, in her words, I was the only one crazy enough to do this on short notice.

The course at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) uses cooking techniques as physical demonstrations of scientific phenomena. In their effort to explain physics, SEAS professors and guest lecturers demonstrate the why behind the what and the how. The food science sessions which have been running for almost a year have included chef lecturers Grant Achatz, José Andrés, Juan Roca, Wylie Dufresne, and David Chang among others. Ferran Adrià was at Harvard in preparation for his lecture December 4.

We met up with Christina Andujar, a coordinator at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and were taken down to the bowels of the North Lab. After meeting Najat and her crew, we left them to use the Thermomixes in preparation for the session while we headed into Boston to do touristy things. You know what they say about having too many cooks in the kitchen…

L to R: Me, Najat Kaanache, Lynette MacDonald

The next night, several hundred people crammed into Hall C to listen to Bill Yosses and watch as Najat combined various compounds to created olives, cheese and chocolate and poured liquid nitrogen over assorted foods in a dramatic display of culinary wizardry.

We also received some insight into the lives of these two chefs. Bill Yosses revealed that President Obama's favourite dessert is banana cream pie, and Najat told of what she learned at the hands of some of the greatest chefs in the world: patience, discipline and the luxury of simple food.

But nothing was simple at this lecture while liquids foamed, honey freeze-dried, and Bill Yosses explained the complex nature of emulsions, foams and gels.

Bill Yosses (l) and Najat Kaanache

The next day in a session attended by students only, we got to sample more of Najat’s modern food creations.

It was hard to detect what was the real thing and what was created through molecular gastronomy.

Lots of “smoke and mirrors” as Bill Yosses said.

the creation of an olive

Is molecular gastronomy still hot, or not? Have we tired of all the "smoke and mirrors" and yearn for good ol’ salt of the earth food?

This course was not so much about how to create olive spheres and pink foam, but more of what happens to food when science is introduced. Fascinating, yes -- maybe not for the everyday table, but if you want to get physics students interested in physics, its not a bad idea to do it through the deconstruction and creation of food especially when tasting the experiment is the end result.

Hats off to the staff at Harvard who have arranged these lectures--massive undertakings considering the arrangements needed to bring these chefs from around the globe and into the classroom. Kind of makes me want to be a student again. With sessions like these, I’m sure physics would be more palatable than it was 25 years ago.

Watch the full lecture here:

Hakuna Matata Somalian Restaurant in Edmonton

2011-11-24T11:57:00.002-07:00

Just saying the name of this restaurant will have you humming the song from The Lion King. I've had Timon and Pumba in my head for the past three days: "Hakuna Matata...aint no passing craze. It means no worries, for the rest of your days..." Now that winter is here, I'd like to have no more worries for the rest of the long cold days ahead.

I was a little worried when I walked into this Somalian restaurant on 118 Avenue at noon on a weekday. The room was quiet, cold and cavernous. We were the only people there for the entire lunch hour which surprised me especially after we tasted the food. Why aren't Edmontonians partaking of this home-made East African food? What I heard from one person on Twitter was that everytime she walked by the restaurant, it was closed. That's not good; Halima, one of the women who owns the restaurant told me they're open from 10 a.m to 10 p.m. every day.

My take is that the owners are struggling to find their foothold in the dining scene. Halima, who acts as lone cook and server until later in the day said they tried offering a buffet when they first opened two months ago, but the demand wasn't there. The decor is not a priority, the room is too big, and maybe the name is just a little too kitchy to entice Edmontonians in for a serious bite.

So, let's get to the food because that's really where this restaurant's strengths are.

Halima brought us a bowl of soup as soon as we sat down. She is shy and softspoken so we didn't understand that this was complimentary and only learned of the ingredients after we asked. Not sure if something got lost in translation, but the soup is a "bean soup" according to Halima although it has the consistency of pureed lentils and an onion garlic earthiness combined with citrus and pepper: delicious and much appreciated on a cold day.

The menu is odd. Everything from malawah (Somalian pancake and liver) for breakfast to beans for dessert. There's even spaghetti--which I scoffed at until Steve "The Walking Encyclopedia" informed me that Somalia was an Italian protectorate from the mid 1880s to the mid 1940s and was actually called Italian Somaliland for a while. As a result, Somalian food has a smidgen of Italian influence.

The bajiya appetizer is 5 fritters made of ground beans (again I suspect lentils or chickpeas), mixed with peppers and served with a spicy dipping sauce. These could be addictive and would go well with beer although there is no alcohol served at this restaurant.

The samosas were also very tasty. Called "sambosas" here, they were typical of other cultures' samosas: deep fried dough filled with a flavourful filling of ground beef and onion, and served with a hot pepper and mayonnaise dip.

We passed on the chicken steak and spaghetti with fish and ordered the Firdhis Sampler Combo, a platter of food good for 2 people to share, at a cost of $24. This was a great way to taste a variety of dishes including rice, chicken and beef suqaar (a stew of meat, peppers and onions), tender hunks of goat meat, salad and...spaghetti. Seems we were going to get that pasta whether we wanted it or not.

The suqaar was great and exactly what we expected. Big flavour, not too spicy -- wished there was more of it. The goat was tender and surprisingly not "goaty" like some I've had in the past. The salad was a simple chopped lettuce with Italian dressing (I'm talking Kraft-like, not Italy-like); the rice was cooked perfectly and mildly seasoned. The tray also came with anjero (soft flat bread) and Halima snuck in some ugali (cornmeal cooked to a poridgy-dough consistency) and vegetable stew. The woman is generous and even though some of the information got waylaid on the language highway, the food was definitely cooked and served with a skilled hand and a lot of heart. And the spaghetti? Better than I thought: served in a simple tomato and basil sauce and somehow worked just fine with the rest of the items.

There are more interesting items on the menu like muufo (spiced corn bread), mandhasi (sweet bread) and that dessert made with beans just begs to be tried. If you're looking for something unusual in your next dining experience, stop in at Hakuna Matata and visit Halima, but maybe call first (780-756-6884) just to make sure they're open.

My CBC Edmonton AM restaurant review with Rick Harp can be heard here.

Dumplings Restaurant - Review

2011-11-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

I want to share a little dumpling love with you. I stumbled across this restaurant just after they opened August 2010 and it didn't take long for me to become a devotee. I've blogged about Dumplings in the past (click here for the first post, and here for a later post), but there have been a few additions to the menu in the past little while, and I felt it was time to make Edmonton aware of this great little hidden gem on the city's south side.

With winter coming, you're going to want to get some of the Sichuan Dan Dan Noodle soup (pictured below) to ward off the cold days we know are ahead.

The restaurant is located at 2431 Ellwood Drive, Edmonton, and open from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. seven days a week. (Sunday is debatable, so call 780-469-8885 if that's the day you're planning to visit.)

You can listen to my CBC Edmonton AM review by clicking here.

Canadian Maple Syrup -- Liquid Gold

2011-11-09T05:32:00.005-07:00

We've just returned from a conference in Dubai and London where we took gifts to fellow attendees and relatives in England. Peoples' eyes lit right up when they saw what we had brought: ice wine and maple syrup, two iconically Canadian food products.

Yesterday I recieved a Twitter notification that @PureCanadaMaple was following me. I did what every Tweeter does (I think?): I scoped out their profile and clicked on the link to their website. I figured out that PureCanadaMaple is the social media name used by The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, a federation that represents, defends and promotes over 7,000 maple businesses. Rifling through their website and looking at all the mapley goodness transported me back to Mom's kitchen. There I was again, snorfing down a stack of her syrup-drenched pancakes (best in the world, hands down), and watching her make Dad's favourite birthday cake--maple chiffon.

So thanks, Federation of Maple Syrup Producers, for taking me down memory lane. It was nice, but it also made me very hungry.

I was happy to notice, then, the Federation's recipe database with loads of enticing recipes and tantalizing food porn. One look at their Maple Potato Pancake--all hot and steamy and glistening and covered in cream--and I was a goner; I had to make them.

If you have a Thermomix, this recipe is perfect for it. If not, follow the website recipe instructions by clicking on the link provided. Here's what you'll need to make Maple Potato Pancakes:

2 potatoes, grated
1 red onion, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp. flour
1 egg
3 tbsp. maple sugar ( I didn't have any and used maple syrup instead. Worked, but a little runny)
1 tbsp. chives, finely chopped
4 tbsp. olive oil

Step 1 (using Thermomix): Peel and halve one onion, put in Thermomix and pulverize ( 1 or 2 pushes on the Turbo button, that's it).

Step 2: Add halved potatoes, pulverize with 4 to 6 pushes. (I think hand grating would be better because the Thermomix is like Thor of the Small Appliance World.)

Step 3: Add remaining ingredients (except olive oil).

Pretty easy. Three steps and you're almost done. Add oil to a frying pan and heat just over medium. (Next time, I would use canola oil as the olive oil I used was too fruity and imparted too strong a flavour.)

Scoop out some pancake batter and add to hot pan. Turn after about 4 minutes (or golden brown) and fry for another 4 minutes (more or less). That's it. Easy as can be.

I served mine with Irvings Farm Fresh Pork Breakfast Patty , berries, and some pure Canadian maple syrup, of course. Beautiful.

The kids loved them and they were very easy to make. Guaranteed these pancakes will be made again in the near future. All I need to do is find a place to buy maple sugar (something I've never seen before). If anyone out there knows where to find maple sugar in Edmonton, please let me know. Enjoy!

Food Incubator Article in Edmonton Journal & Calgary Herald

2011-11-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

I spent a few hours interviewing four food entrepreneurs developing their products at Alberta’s Food Processing Development Centre and the Agrivalue Processing Business Incubator in Leduc . The link here will take you to my article which was featured in the Taste Alberta section of the Edmonton Journal and the Calgary Herald.

The companies were generous with their time and passionate about their products. The bonus for me was I got to take home a whole bunch of their goodies. Ahh, the joys of a freelance food writer!

Thanks to Siwin Foods, Fresk-O, Reddi Food Solutions and Honey Bunny for making my mission a delicious one, and to the Centre's Senior Operations Manager, Robert Gibson for his patience and tutelage.

Noorish - An Enlightening Food Experience

2011-11-07T06:09:00.002-07:00

I’m an omnivore; I’ll eat anything—but I have a particular fondness for meat. Juicy, chewy, charred or chilled, raw, roasted, braised or broiled. These incisors weren’t meant for attacking bananas, no sir. I like meat; I like it a lot.

Naturally I started to salivate at the sighting of a new restaurant on 109 Street. The name, Noorish, caught my eye—sort of like Moorish and nourish all in one. I imagined spicy kebabs, roasting goats, the scent of garlic wafting through the air like incense. Then I got closer and saw that Noorish described itself as a conscious eatery and superfood elixir bar. A what?

That’s right folks; Noorish refers to itself as “a vortex of positive energy, euphoric culinary concoctions, and enlightening events to noorish the body, mind and soul.”

Okay—I can be "down" with that whole enlightenment thing. Us meat-eaters have souls too.

I sought out Noorish’s culinary concoctions on a Saturday. At 1 pm, the staff—noticeably overwhelmed by the response of eager health food eaters—was scrambling. The line at the order counter moved slowly but I took a deep breath, blew it out through my nostrils and took the opportunity to peruse the environment.

Big chunky, wooden tables and chairs, hanging glass lanterns—Arabic, Eastern and Moorish influences are evident. Teas brewed, blenders whirred, and instrumental music filled the air.

The menu, printed on plain paper, confirmed my suspicions that I’d be going meat-free here.

Noorish offers raw, organic vegetarian and vegan dishes only. I was definitely in unfamiliar territory so naturally, my inner-carnivore demanded I go with what I thought would be the biggest, most filling dish possible because everyone knows vegetarian food can’t be filling, right?

If there was vegetarian crow, I’d be eating it right now.

The Laughing Buddha’s Belly Bowl ($16) is a large bowl, half filled with steamed quinoa in a Thai green coconut curry, flavoured with fresh basil and mixed with an assortment of vegetables (bell peppers, onions, zucchini, eggplant and green onions), and topped with a lime wedge for your squeezing pleasure. First thing that hit me was the aroma of the basil and the coconut curry; second thing that hit me was the flavour of the nutty quinoa and the tartness of the onion mixed with the mellow squash and eggplant. There was a whole bunch of goodness going on in this bowl, and I soon realized that quinoa is more filling than it looks. I washed my food down with a delicious, refreshing citrus smoothie but only got through half of the bowl. Buddha definitely got the last laugh there.

Our other menu item was the Bodhi Tree Burger—a sprouted chickpea burger topped with walnut basil pesto, herbed cashew cream, avocado and tomato slices, a tahini drizzle and vegan cheese, served on a nutty bun and accompanied by a wilted kale salad—a tastebud-popping mixture of kale, shredded beats, hemp hearts, sprouted quinoa, tomatoes and carrots and tossed in a lemon miso dressing. This was one heck of a nutritious and flavourful meal. I have never before met a veggie burger worth eating twice but this burger, despite its $17 price tag, is definitely worth returning for.

Fruit Smoothies

So, did Noorish make me leave my wanton, meat-eating ways behind? No (or maybe I should say, not yet), but it did make me want to incorporate more vegetarian options into my meal planning, and that's a good thing.

By the way, I was still full nine hours later.

More details of my meal at Noorish can be heard here on CBC Edmonton AM with Mark Harvey.

Sage at the River Cree Casino - Review

2011-10-25T10:08:00.001-06:00

We were kid-free and ready for a getaway last weekend. Vegas sounded like a good idea. People often tell me of finding amazing last minute deals for Vegas. Surely, I thought, we'd be able to find something.

Surely...not. Apparently amazing last minute deals are for other people.

So we looked close to home, specifically to the River Cree Casino. We could splurge on a fine dining experience at Sage, throw a bag of money away on slot machines, stay at the attached Marriott hotel and still be about $4,000 ahead.

So that's what we did.

It's been about a year since I've dined at Sage. I think about it often enough, but its on the exact opposite side of the city (5 minutes west of West Edmonton Mall, technically in Enoch), and that's one heck of a hefty cab fare there and back. Because of its location, Sage remains a place we go for special occasions--or when we want to go to Vegas but can't.

Chef Christof Ithurritze has been running the show at Sage for the past couple of years and if you haven't had the pleasure of sampling this man's food, you are truly missing out.

His list of credentials and accomplishments are so long, I don't have the room in cyberspace to list them all. Suffice it to say, Wolfgang Puck lost, and Edmonton certainly won the day that Ithurritze packed up his knives and headed north to our city.

The pictures were taken with my iPhone 3 and are extremely poor in quality, but what you need to know is that our meal at Sage was one of the best I've had in Edmonton in years.

We ordered all seafood, starting with a half dozen Kushi oysters and one lovely, large Maryland crab cake.

Kushi Oysters

Maryland Crab Cake

Maryland would be proud. No filler, no extraneous vegetables that have no sense being there in the first place. Just big, juicy sweet lumps of crab held together with some mayo and a bit of panko bread crumbs.

Entrees were delicate John Dory over sautéed gnocchi and peas, and the Sea of Cortez scallops over a sweet pea puree and corn and bacon succotash. Both dishes were divine. Pricey (John Dory was $47), but divine.

Sea of Cortez Scallops

John Dory over Gnocchi

Details of the meal can be found by listening to my review on CBC Edmonton AM here.

Service was extremely professional with just the right touch of humour. Timing was spot on and our server's knowledge of wine was impressive.

Sage remains one of my favourite fine dining destinations in the Edmonton area and my only regret is that its too far from my home to go more frequently.

Prairie Gardens - Part of Sturgeon County's Incredible Bounty

2011-10-18T11:21:00.002-06:00

There's an incredible hidden gem just north of Edmonton near Bon Accord at Prairie Gardens. This is no ordinary garden. This is a 35 acre adventure farm with arcade games, greenhouses, a pumpkin cannon (and a corn cob cannon for the little tykes), berry u-pick areas, a petting zoo, a haunted house, wagon rides, a mini train, a 7 acre corn maze, and much more.

Through all of October, Prairie Gardens is holding a pumpkin fest and Halloween celebration. This place is pure fun and if you have kids, you really need to get them to this farm.

We went to celebrate Sturgeon County's Bounty a couple of weeks ago on a beautiful autumn day.

Part of the celebration was to celebrate local food suppliers, restaurants and vendors. There's some tasty stuff happening in Sturgeon County.

Succotash Soup

dishes from d'lish

Onion Bhaji

What festival would be complete without a couple of handsome knights? Check out these fellows from Knight Haven. They're having a medieval feast this November 19th -- you can purchase tickets on their website. They make their own chain mail and costumes. Very cool.

At Prairie Gardens you can roam with goats...

...and check out hearses and scary people...

...or check out yourself in a funny mirror.

There are handmade crafts to purchase like scarves made from alpaca fibre...

but if you just want to enjoy the day and the fresh air, take a stroll through the beautiful pathways...

Or hop on board the little train.

Check out Prairie Gardens website before you go. This is the perfect family destination...enjoy it now while the sunshine lasts!

For some great reading on Prairie Gardens and Sturgeon County's Bounty, check out fellow local bloggers Andrea and Karlynn 's posts.

The Amazing Enjoy Centre: World-Class Destination in St. Albert

2011-10-17T16:47:00.003-06:00

Boy oh boy, what a difference a couple of months can make. That's how long it's been since I visited the Enjoy Centre--the gigantic, incredibly beautiful, architecturally amazing, gardening/wellness/eating/shopping complex in Riel Park on the south side of St. Albert.

Oh St. Albert, how I envy you.

I don't know why it took me that long to return. This place isn't just a gardening centre; it's a feel-good, eat-good destination. Prairie Bistro at the Enjoy Centre is where we are hosting Slow Food Edmonton's National Gala dinner in May 2012, and I am pumped about that!

First of all, having dishes made from locally sourced products is always a wonderful way to go, secondly, the setting is one of the nicest around. When you sit at a table in the Prairie Bistro amidst beautiful decor, surrounded by plants and floor to ceiling windows, you feel sheltered from all the chaos and clutter in the world. This is a good place to be.

A tip of the hat to the Bistro's GM,Julianna Mimande, and her staff who continually create healthy and delicious soul food from locally sourced and organic products, some of which come right from Hole's Gardening Centre.

Cobb Salad

That Cobb Salad was packed with tasty ingredients: tender chicken breast, avocado, garden greens, egg and tart red onions, lightly bathed in a creamy dressing. Having everything organic made it taste that much better, but let me tell you, when it comes to a dish that will warm the cockles of your heart, there's nothing better than a big ol' dish of tender, braised beef with gnocchi and hunks of seasonal vegetables.

Beef Bourguignon with gnocchi and vegetables.

A few days later I returned with a friend. Lucky me. This time we went with the beet salad, the chicken ravioli and an incredibly juicy burger that was the best I've had in a long time. Why? Nothing but pure, organic beef with only salt and pepper to flavour. Amazing.

Where's the beef? Right here folks: pure burger

Beet salad with goat cheese and pecans

Chicken Ravioli with mushrooms and ricotta

Now, I knew lunch was going to be great...but I had no idea how incredible the rest of the centre has become now that a few more businesses are up and running. Trust me folks, you could spend an entire day here.

After lunch you can shop until your heart's content. Several shops have recently opened, including:

Hillaby's: the perfect store for all culinary tools and accessories

Beautiful: amazing jewelry, scarves, candles, gift ware, home decor

Amazing European furniture from Le Belle Arti

And that's just the upstairs. If you go downstairs via a moving sidewalk, you'll find Amaranth Whole Foods with a gigantic selection of organic and gluten free products.

There is also the SandyView Farms Deli where they stock tons of free-range, hormone-free meats, as well as regular grocery and deli items.

And wait, there's more!

Downstairs also houses the Prairie Bakery (read about the baker, Gabor Dobos, here in Liane Faulder's article), as well as a place to get health supplements, a florist, Liquid Harvest (a liquor and wine store where you can sample a variety of wines), AND....if all that's not enough to get your heart racing, sign up for some Zumba dance classes and get movin'!

Or if you want to relax, you can do that too at the Water Garden Spa & Wellness Retreat where they offer aesthetic services, a thermal spa, and yoga. There's even a holistic clinic on site. Wow.

If you need pumpkins, they've got scads of those as well as other Halloween and seasonal decorations. If you're looking for an excuse to go, the Enjoy Centre is hosting a "Spooktacular Evening" from 6-8 pm this Thursday, Oct. 20th. Sounds like fun!

The Enjoy Centre is unlike any centre any other city in Canada has to offer. But don't take my word for it, go out and explore it yourself...you might want to put aside a few hours though; this is the perfect place to get pampered, do some shopping, or just kick back and enjoy the sights.

Indian Fusion: The Curry House - Restaurant Review

2011-09-29T14:58:00.001-06:00

Edmonton is rife with Indian restaurants—57 according to a quick search on Urban Spoon, and there are probably more. Certain areas of the city have a high concentration of them: Millwoods, 23rd to 34th Avenues, the west end, and pockets downtown. I’ve been to plenty and for the most part, they seldom warrant a second visit, but just south of Grant MacEwan’s Robbins Health Centre, one called Indian Fusion: The Curry House is definitely worth checking out. You’ll find it located in the neighbourhood that was once home to the Sidetrack Café, Blue Willow and Cosmos Greek Restaurant.

I remember Cosmos well, an amazing feat actually, considering the amount of ouzo consumed there on one particular occasion that involved a birthday, a table of Japanese businessmen and suede stilettos. But that’s a story that will (and should) remain buried in the Annals of Overconsumption (read: the 1980s).

The building hasn’t changed much since the 80s. It's still a big old lumbering brick sprawl that now houses the Overtime Lounge, the Louisiana Purchase and for the past few years, Indian Fusion. I hadn’t heard a peep about this Indian restaurant—until fellow food writer, Liv Vors, wrote about it for Vue Weekly a few weeks ago. What caught my eye was that this place served Fijian food, as well as Indian, and that peaked my curiosity; I had never had Fijian food before.

The place is small (maybe 15 tables) and exotic artwork and fabrics make the interior warm and cozy. The owners are very much a part of the business, cooking, serving and making sure guests are made comfortable.

The menu is quite extensive, and the focus is definitely on curry. But this is curry of a different kind; no butter, lots of fresh spices, and sauces made from scratch. You will be chomping down on cardamom pods, mustard seeds, curry leaves and you will like it.

We asked the owner for her recommendations, telling her we wanted to focus on the Fijian side of the menu. She—being from Fiji—was more than happy to accommodate us. We started with two appetizers:

The Bula Chicken: 6 pieces of chicken thighs and legs, marinated in olive oil, soy sauce and spices, baked in a Tandoor oven, and served with grilled pineapple rings. A great start to our meal with a blend of sweet, smoky and savoury flavours.

Out of curiosity we ordered some samosas as well because they don’t deep-fry them here, they bake them in a clay (Tandoor) oven. So while the dough is a bit dry (lacking the usual grease of deep frying), the inside was a fluffy, mashy mixture of potatoes, peas and seasonings. Pretty good samosas over all.

They'll make the curry dishes to whatever heat level you can handle. We went with a 2.5 out of 5 heat rating, starting with three Fijian dishes for mains:

The Goat Surva: Despite fighting with those omnipresent bone pieces found in goat dishes, this was an enjoyable dish. The meat was tender, distinctly “goaty” and served in a flavourful, tomato-based curry.

The Seafood medley was a grouping of shellfish and basa bathed in a slightly sweet curry sauce made with coconut milk. Less mussels and more scallops would have made this dish better, but that’s just me. The curry sauce was magnificent.

Breadfruit Curry: Breadfruit is a fruit native to Fiji that is high in starch and has a potato-like texture with the taste of fresh-baked bread when cooked. It is the perfect main ingredient to a saucy dish. This was served in a curry rife with black mustard seeds throughout and it was definitely the standout dish of the night. This is one vegetarian dish I would crawl over cut glass for (by the way, there are a ton of vegetarian dishes available here).

On the Indian side of the menu, we chose two dishes we had never heard of before. The Mughlai Lamb was comprised of tender cubes of meat, cashews and raisins and stewed in a thick creamy sauce flavoured with cloves, cardamom, ginger, chillies and cumin. You could taste every spice. Nice.

The Prawn Makhani (this one got lapped up before I could take a picture) was a dish of sweet, perfectly cooked prawns (6 or 8) swimming in a creamy tomato sauce flavoured with ginger and ground spices. This is another dish I’ll go back for.

We had two types of naan bread--garlic and regular-- delectable, piping hot and totally necessary for sopping up the delicious curry sauces.

The owners were wonderful and generous with their offering of Fijian culture, history and dish preparation. I love it when owners are invested in their business and can tell you (with great pride) about the origins of the food. This is one Indian place that warrants a return visit.

Breath fresheners in the form of candied fennel seeds. You might need these after all that curry!

My CBC Edmonton AM review is online here and you can also read Liv's Vue Weekly article here.

Vivo in Edmonton: Restaurant Review

2011-09-15T14:43:00.002-06:00

Italy doesn’t just speak to me; it calls to me like a Siren. So when I heard there was a new Italian restaurant in town, I sped down the Anthony Henday to the newly opened Vivo like Mario Andretti to the finish line.

Vivo is located in the corner of a Hawkstone Plaza's parking lot at 18348 Lessard Road. Devoid of indicators of anything Italian or anything that says restaurant, you might mistake it for something other than a restaurant. Sure, the sign above the door says “VIVO”, but what exactly is a vivo?

In Italian, vivo means “live”. And we all know that Italians love to live life to the fullest – especially when it comes to food and drink.

The interior is another story. Vivo is all about the mod milieu. Dark wood, silver and black accents with some high-end light fixtures results in the right amount of bada bing.

The restaurant is large yet cozy thanks to furnishings in dark chocolate and red leather. The open concept kitchen allows diners to get up close and personal with the chefs. Dinner and a show all in one makes the counter a popular place to sit.

The birth of Vivo (in a nutshell): some of the partners and wait staff worked together for many years at the south side Keg. One day they decided to leave and start up their own place. Vivo is the result. Good friends, good food, good times…sounds like a good recipe for a restaurant. So, on to the food:

Vivo offers family-style dining meaning all the plates are meant to be shared. One dish from the antipasti selection will feed two for sure, or four if you want to really stretch it. To follow the antipasti, diners are encouraged to select a dish from the primi selection. By dining this way, a pasta or risotto dish is enough to satisfy four and the secondi (entrees) can be shared by two.

The server made it known that Vivo uses local products like Gull Valley Greenhouse tomatoes, but other than that, was hard pressed to give us names of other local producers they support. We were informed that the beef is Alberta beef, but with some pointed probing, we were finally told that the meat comes from Centennial Foods – a large food supplier who procures commodity proteins. When we asked the restaurant's stance on supporting small, local producers who raise cattle free of antibiotics and hormones, the response was that consistency and price are the reasons Vivo chooses Centennial over someone like, say, Spring Creek Ranch (our server brought up SCR, not us) citing that SCR costs "three times as much." Naturally, that statement made me wonder how it’s possible then that retailers (chain and privately owned) from Edmonton to Calgary, from Dawson Creek to Vancouver and Vancouver Island, continue to sell SCR beef, and why over 35 Edmonton restaurants in varying degrees of size and stature (from Culina and the Hotel MacDonald, to Mrkt and even little ol’ Filistix) and over 20 restaurants in Calgary including the highly esteemed Charcut to a mom-and-pop pizza joint feature it on their menus. Something didn’t add up.

We started off with the bruschetta and the mollusco (clams). The clams came perfectly steamed and in a delicate broth of prosecco and fennel. The abundant fennel shavings, thankfully, weren’t overpowering as fennel can sometimes be.

The bruschetta however, missed the mark. Instead of manageable two-bite crostini, these were huge slices of grilled bread and heaped with toppings of tomato, cannellini beans and roasted peppers with goat cheese.

The voice of Gordon Ramsay boomed in my head as I looked at the burnt crostini. I imagined him screaming and throwing bruschetta everywhere, "How can you let this go out of the kitchen!?” To make things worse, the tomato bruschetta was a textural disappointment as well. It had that “I’ve been sitting in the fridge all night” look and feel to it. The tomato dice—which should’ve been noticeably individual— was mush, and the salt content overpowering to the point of making our tongues sizzle. The roasted pepper and goat cheese, although promising in theory, fought with each other in flavour. The goat cheese was more goat than cheese if you know what I mean. But the cannellini bruschetta was delicious with the right combination of garlic, creamy beans and pancetta. A generous glug of olive oil to finish it off helped make this one the saving grace of of the three.

Our server spouted the glories of the fettuccine Alfredo like Romeo mooning over Juliet's beauty. Home made pasta, a blend of four cheeses, sauteed garlic in olive oil ...he guaranteed it to be the best fettuccine Alfredo we'd ever taste. It came close. The mozzarella di bufala (soft Italian cheese made from water buffalo milk) could’ve been blended in more. As it was, the big globs were a bit hard to swallow but overall, this was a fine plate of pasta.

Wanting to taste a bit of everything, we ordered the arrosto misto, a platter of lamb, sausage, chicken cacciatore and Bistecca Fiorentina, and a side of roasted potatoes. The size of the platter was impressive as the server struggled to place it on our table. This particular platter costs $120 but remember, that's good for four people.

Getting down to the nuts and bolts of it all: The lamb chops were tender with a lovely flavour and served very rare. Anyone with an aversion to blood might have a problem with this one.

The sausage: locally made (nice touch), unfortunately heavy on the salt, again. That's them in the top right corner, under a pile of fennel shavings.

The chicken cacciatore: “One of these things just doesn’t belong…” Visually, it wrecked the whole package. They brine it, and that’s okay, but the end result was an anemic looking piece of meat accompanied by a cacciatore sauce that begged for somebody's Nonna to come to the rescue.

The Bistecca Fiorentina: If you’ve ever traveled to Italy, then you’ll probably be familiar with Bistecca alla Fiorentina. The name means “Florentine Steak”, and true Bistecca alla Fiorentina is made from the meat of the offspring (preferably under two years of age) of a Chianina bull, a breed of cattle raised in Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio for over 2000 years. Although many restaurants in Italy now use Argentinean beef for this dish, a true-to-their-roots Tuscan ristorante will serve Chianina meat. If you’re fortunate enough to have one done by a Tuscan who knows how, and who appreciates the amazing characteristics of this meat, you will come as close to tasting heaven as humanly possible. I still drool thinking of the one I had in Florence.

When I asked the manager about the origins of Bistecca alla Fiorentina and of it being a specific breed of Italian bovine, he shook his head and said that no, he didn’t think so. Damn. I had hoped—just a little.

Now, while the meat was tender and salted nicely, like the lamb, it too was extremely rare. I’m not one to shy away from rare meat, but again the bloody juices combined with those of the lamb and the cacciatore sauce resulted in one hot mess. The fingerling potatoes, all nine of them, halved and roasted with rosemary were, in the words of Simon Cowell, "totally forgettable" and at $14, they shouldn't have been.

I have hope, still, that Vivo will find its groove but for now, I’ll give my dining dollars to restaurants that support small, local producers and have the proof to back it up, and who at the very least, if serving Italian food, can provide the history of whence it came.

My CBC Edmonton AM review of Vivo can be heard here.

Battista's Calzones - Of Thee I Crave

2011-08-24T11:06:00.001-06:00

It's no secret I love Battista's Calzones. I stumbled upon this little shop on the corner of 118 Ave and 84 Street in Edmonton a few days after they opened nearly a year ago and now, the savoury, ooey-gooey, pillowy soft buns bursting with Italian goodness are one of the few foods I actually crave on a regular basis.

I just returned from Europe and on day three in Paris, surrounded by gourmet foods and breads so fresh they'd make a call girl blush, my step-son plaintively moaned how he'd kill for a Battista Calzone. I completely understood.

Chicken Pesto Calzone

My first posting about Battista's can be found here, but on a recent visit, I was thrilled to taste two new calzones: one packed with pesto chicken and cheese, the other with nutella and strawberries. Now I have two more reasons to return. Battista's has become my culinary crack.

Nutella and strawberries - a winning combination

Battista is the kind of guy who engages his customers. He loves them, he's happy to see them, and he actually listens to them. He will ask his customers about their family and he remembers their names. He is proud of his product, and he should be.

Battista and his daughter whippin' up calzones

Now Battista has the help of a prominent Edmonton food writer/blogger/Tweeter by the name of Liv Vors who not only works there Thursdays to Saturday, but also spends her days and nights dreaming up new flavour combinations. On Saturdays, a special Flavour of the Day is released to the hungry masses.

Liv handling the lunch crowd

The menu is small and uncomplicated but the calzones are a thing of beauty. Go once, and you'll be hooked.

I spoke about my latest visit to Battista's with Mark Harvey on CBC. You can listen to my review here. To keep up with what's happening at Battista's, follow them on Twitter @BattistaCalzone.

More Truck Love - The Nomadmobile

2011-08-06T12:50:00.000-06:00

Mike Scorgie, the "mad" in Nomad, used to run Edmonton-Rectangle Records but decided it was time to spin something other than records. Fast forward to culinary training at NAIT and most recently tutelage under Ben Chalmers (formerly of Jack's Grill, and now sous chef at Corso32...nice creds, Mike!), the innovative Scorgie is now spinning the wheels of a big black food truck around Edmonton.

That's good news for eaters looking for something out of the ordinary.

On Friday I caught the Nomad parked just south of Jasper on 102 Street. The hot ticket that day was a merguez sausage (a recipe courtesy of Mike's chef friend Alexei Bolderiff who works at Lit) served with a pistachioed couscous salad for $7.50. Great salad: full of crunch and the perfect balance of sweet and savoury. Loved this, but seriously folks, let's talk about that sausage: this merguez was a beauty! Moist Alberta lamb, seasoned beautifully. My only complaint was that I could've used more (well, maybe not used...more like wanted), but there was none to be had. Nomad was sold out in one hour.

I perused Twitter to see what Nomad has cooked up in the past, and I like what I found:
smoked and pulled pork with apple and fennel slaw, vegetarian chili, porchetta with smoked tomato and arugula salad, smoked tomato chowder with grilled cheese crouton, cheek bacon (yowza), chorizo chili and corn bread, southern peach chicken, and...house-made chorizo chili with lime crema and pickled succotash and a serving of agave glazed cornbread. That's some kind of street food, folks. And to sweeten the deal, they offer a refreshing blackstrap molasses chilled tea for $2.

A-Frame sign, designed by Roxanne Nesbitt

A finer mobile diner? Indeed.

Find Mike and the crew on Twitter @nomadmobile, and get there early.

Molly's Eats and Drift Food Truck: Meals on Wheels to the Max

2011-08-04T16:41:00.001-06:00

Truck food, street food, meals on wheels...call it what you want, mobile cuisine has hit Edmonton in a big way. Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy.

The newest trucks on the block are Drift Mobile Eatery and Molly's Eats. This brings the total of mobile eateries in Edmonton to almost a dozen.

I stopped by Victoria Park on holiday Monday, August 1st to sample the wares from both trucks. It was a beautiful sunny day and I wasn't the only foodie there. Just like truckers of the good ol' CB days (think Smokie and the Bandit), we all have our Twitter "handles". There was Baconhound, ThePolishViking, Batista (wait, that's his real name), one of the TresCarnales (Daniel), and me, Wanderwoman10. Rumour had it, other Twitter food folk had already come and gone before me, and that meant one thing: there was good food nearby.

First up: the lean, mean, teal machine: Drift.

The first thing I notice (well, other than the colour), is the sign posted on the 'pickup and order' window. The sign is a list of their suppliers. These guys get extra points for supporting local producers like Greens Eggs and Ham, Irvings Farm Fresh, Nature's Green Acres and Dreamin' Green Farm. The sandwiches (see menu below) are packed, and I mean, packed with flavour. You can't go wrong with local, fresh ingredients.

My must haves were the jerk chicken sandwich, and the pork belly, and yes, I did have a favourite between those two: the pork belly is king. Blessed, blessed pork belly: juicy, tender, roasted just right, and topped with a chili mayo that is the stuff of dreams.

mmmm...pork belly

This is not to say the jerk was any slouch. No sirree. Tender chicken, grilled perfectly, topped with sweet pineapple to offset just the right amount of spice. That was one tasty jerk. In fact, that's the kind of jerk I look forward to having in my life on a regular basis.

nice jerk, bad picture

Well done, Nevin and Kara...well done. Your flavour combinations were absolutely bang-on, and the toasty warm, chewy ciabatta bun is the perfect choice of bread for your savoury sandwiches.

In the nexxxxxt parking spot, weighing in at a respectable 2,000 lbs: Molly's Eats.

Now, Molly is a little more understated in her choice of truck colours, but we all know a girl can never go wrong with basic black. There is, however, nothing understated about the food. This is international street food with a whole lot of shazam!

The "Molly" in Molly's Eats is owner Susan Chin's mom. Molly was a cook at the Ramada Inn in Edmonton for 30 years. Thirty years. The woman deserves an award...or at the very least, her name on a hot new food truck.

There was more to choose from than I anticipated, and with my bag of goods from Drift next door, I had to make a wise selection.

Thankfully, Molly's Eats offers a taster's dream in the form of sliders. Three for $10, a steal of a deal. The three sliders that day were the Lomito Pork, The Texas Brisket and Bacon, and the Carolina BBQ pulled pork. Meat City. Awesome.

Now, I don't know what's going on with these new young, whippersnappers who are starting up food ventures in Edmonton, but I tell ya, they sure do know what they're doing. Home-made food, fresh ingredients, attention to flavour detail...2011 could go down as the "Summer of Food Love" in Edmonton's history books.

The one sandwich from Molly's Eats that I'd go back for was definitely that Texas-style barbecued brisket. It had just the right amount of heat to make you stand up and take notice, but still let the rest of the ingredients shine. It was sweet, spicy, crunchy and juicy. The pork sandwiches had their own merits for sure. Susan tells me the Lomito sandwich to Chileans is what hot dogs are to New Yorkers: iconic street food. I can believe it...there was a lot going on in that sandwich, and the Carolina-style barbecue had just the right vinegary kick in it to make me wonder if Susan has a real Carolinian hidden in that truck with her. But that brisket is where it's at folks. Hands down.

Who knew food served out of a truck could be so good!

To find out where the Drift Food Truck and Molly's Eats are going to be, follow them on Twitter.

My CBC Edmonton AM Restaurant Review of Molly's Eats and Drift can be heard here.

Chateau Beirut - Restaurant Review

2011-07-21T10:36:00.002-06:00

I spotted this new Lebanese restaurant downtown on 107 Street. The name, Chateau Beirut, caught my eye. I could understand the Beirut/Mediterranean Cuisine connection, but where does the "Chateau" fit in? The quick explanation: After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Lebanon was placed under the French Mandate and still retains a large francophone population to this day. Thank you, Wikipedia.

On first walking in to the restaurant, nothing in the decor suggests of any Middle Eastern, Mediterranean or French connection. Everything is very modern and very North American.

I was getting an "oh-oh" sort of feeling and that feeling intensified when, on the menu, I spied French fries, hot wings, and...quesadillas.

Quesadillas?

The owner, Farouk, came over to answer my questions. When he came to Canada in the 70s, he opened Chateau Beirut on Jasper Ave. Quesadillas -- which would've been quite exotic back in the day -- were his best selling item. Despite my frowning and protestations to the contrary, he's certain they'll still be a hot ticket today. He explained that wings are offered as street food in Beirut. Okay, I'll let him get away with the wing theory - especially the Beirut wings (lemon, garlic, parsley and olive oil)...but teriyaki and hot wings?

When Farouk told me that he wants to keep kids happy by offering French fries, I said "Ach! Make 'em eat falafel!" You know, when in Beirut...

Farouk has a great sense of humour and soon he was showing us how to properly tear the pita bread and how to drizzle the olive oil. At his insistence, we agreed to try the hummus. I'm glad he was adamant about this dish; it was silky smooth in texture, not overpowered by garlic, and topped with a most exquisite olive oil.

I was in a Lebanese restaurant, hungry for Lebanese food and I'd be danged if I was going to eat Caesar salad and quesadillas. Here's what we ordered, starting with three appetizers:

Chankleesh: Aged cheese mixed with thyme and chilies, served with tomato, onion and parsley. Delicious - especially when topped with a beautiful, fruity Lebanese olive oil. $6.50

Sojok: Spicy sausages cooked with sweet charred onions and tomatoes--a great combination. $6.50

White Beans - marinated in lemon, garlic, olive oil. Wowza. Served room temp, perfect texture, this dish was a standout. $6.50

As for mains, we went with two:

Beef shawarma - marinated beef with pickled turnips, vegetables and tahini sauce wrapped in a soft, warm pita. The picture doesn't do it justice. I've had bigger shawarmas, but none as tasty. $8

And, the shish kabob platter. Tender beef, geat flavours, the plate is bigger than what the photo suggests. I took lots of leftovers home.

We were stuffed and happy, and totally charmed by Farouk. We passed on the hookah pipe, but said yes to the homemade baklava:

It was the perfect ending to a very good and enjoyable meal -- light, crispy and devoid of goopy honey so cloying in many baklavas.

You can listen to my CBC Edmonton AM review of Chateau Beirut here, but if you go to the restaurant, make sure you spend some time talking to Farouk. He's a character, and a gem, and I've already forgiven him for the quesadilla thing.

Chateau Beirut

10185 107 Street

Edmonton, AB

780-756-7678

Tres Carnales - Restaurant Review

2011-07-07T11:27:00.106-06:00

I have been salivating for months, waiting for Tres Carnales to open, and last week I finally saw the Tweet I've been waiting for: Chris, Daniel and Edgar (aka the Tres Carnales) officially declared their Taqueria open for business. Hallelujah.

I took the kid and off we went. It was mid-afternoon when we stopped by. The noon rush was over and we we pretty much had the place to ourselves, a rarity I understand, based on other reports coming down the pipes.

Chris was behind the counter and gave me a run down of the menu. This is what I like to hear: everything is homemade, everything is fresh; there are no freezers, and the menu changes frequently. There are no burritos, no tater tots and no taco grandes loaded up with nacho cheese. The Tres Carnales offers tamales, tortas and tacos. Tacos for the People.

While we waited, the cook was test driving some chorizo tacos and we benefited from it. Free samples are a good way to start any meal. The chorizo, like everything else, is made in-house, and it was some of the finest chorizo that has passed these lips in a long, long time.

Chris recommended the rajas con crema: roasted poblano peppers and corn, drizzled with a subtle Mexican sour cream. It's a meat-free dish and sounded like a good third to the beef and pork tacos on order.

And speaking of beef, we went with the Arrachera, a marinated flank steak, grilled and served on tortillas. You can have the fillings (mentioned above, plus chicken and vegetarian) in tacos, tortas (sandwiches) or tamales at $10 per.

But what I was dying to try was the Tacos al Pastor, a shawarma-style dish made of marinated, slow-roasted pork loin cut off in juicy shavings that rest on a soft tortilla. It was just as good as I hoped it would be.

If you're a guacamole fan, you're going to be happy with what's served here. The Tres Carnales smash their avocados to a perfect consistency but they must smash them with love because the proof is in the taste. Divine.

Love the decor, and the tables...

Currently, the taqueria is open Monday to Friday, 11 am to 10 pm, and Saturday 4 pm to 10 pm. I can't wait to go back. This is fine, authentic Mexican food. Gracias, Tres Carnales. Gracias.

My CBC Edmonton AM review can be heard here, and go to Eating is the Hard Part to see what Chris had to say. His pictures are way better than my iPhone photos.

Behind the Scenes at The Royal Couple's Ottawa Reception

2011-07-06T08:02:00.003-06:00

Wow! Lots of buzz over what foods were served to William and Kate in Ottawa last week.

Three Corus radio stations grabbed the yak topic and ran with it. 630 CHED Radio was falling over themselves with listeners and hosts spouting the strangest information. Not sure what was worse, host Lesley Primeau's mangling of the pronunciation of Nunavut (proper pronunciation here), or her obnoxious reaction to Steve's phone-in call; iNews880 reported the menu contained fruit from Saskatoon, and smoked salmon from the Maritimes (wrong on both accounts); QR77 in Calgary requested a phone interview with me, then said "Thanks, but we've got a yak producer instead..." which was fine because it enlightened me of yet another yak ranch in Alberta that I hadn't known existed (West Gimlet Farms near Rimbey), and that information led me to finding more yak ranchers east of Airdrie ( Rafter K2 Farms.) Both of those ranchers raise pure yaks, unlike the yak/beef cross raised at Springridge Ranch near Pincher creek (suppliers of the product we took to Ottawa).

So, let's set the record straight about the food: Here's what I wrote for the Edmonton Journal: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/royal-visit/Feeding+William+Kate/5052140/story.html

And below is the official Royal Reception menu...with no smoked salmon in sight.

Royal Reception for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

June 30, 2011 - Rideau Hall, Ottawa

Savouries

Salt Spring Island Goat Cheese & Rhubarb Beignet

Served with a Niagara Almond and Cold Pressed Colza Oil Glaze & Fennel BC Sea Salt

Apple Lavender Blossom Glazed Wild Ginger & Prairie Grain Butter

Served on Chocolate Mint & Mixedwood Plains Curry

Southern Ontario Sun-Dried Cherry Tomato Niçoise

On oven roasted Black Olive Puree with Green Pea Sabayon & Pickled Spring Radish

New Brunswick Cheeses & Saskatoon Fruit Wine Fondue

Served with Cape Dorset Kelp Bannock Ficelle

Newfoundland & Labrador Spruce Tip Smoked Oyster

With Sorrel Leaf, Sorrel Spume & Cracked Boreal Green Alder

Davis Strait Shrimp Velvet & Qikiqtarjuaq Sea Urchin

On a Wild Rice Wafer with Wasabi Crème Fraiche & Tamari Soy Caviar

Queen Charlotte Strait Spot Prawns & Great Lakes Herring Roe Salsa

On a Chili-dusted Sablefish Crisp

Winnipeg Smoked Goldeye & PEI Cloth-bound Cheddar Parfait

Served with a Laurentian Cattail, northern Horseradish, White Fish Caviar and Acadian Sturgeon Caviar

Arctic Char Carpaccio

Served with Crème Fraiche, chives, Arctic Char Caviar, and Citrus Miso Chili Paste

Victoria Island Musk Ox Prosciutto and Alberta Sylvan Star Crackling

On a Jellied Herb Dice with Wild Leek Pesto

Potato Crusted Alberta Yak Tartare and Outaouais Sunny-Side Up Quail Egg

With Fried Cipollini Onion Salt

Sweets

Niagara Peninsula Sun-Dried Sour Cherry and White Chocolate Cheesecake Lollipop

Fresh Quebec Strawberries with Milbank Ontario Fresh Chèvre & Candied Basil Phyllo Cornet

Vacherin of Chatterbox Farms Maple Mousse and Isle d’Orleans Crème de Cassis

Sesame Tuile, Green Apple Crema and Rideau Cottage Crab Apple Gelee

Dried Ontario Pear and Bitter Chocolate Cream Cup

Fresh Ricotta Fritter with Preserved Raspberry and Rideau Hall Mint

Refreshments

Alcove Honey Lemon-Aide

Lemon Grass Ontario Wild Ginger & Raspberry Water

Rideau Hall Peppermint Sumac & Inuit Ice Tea

Five-Tiered Saugeen Yoghurt Lassie

The joys of ants in your pantry

2011-07-05T11:37:00.000-06:00

You never know what we might cook up for you when you come to our house. We made Liane Faulder, food writer at The Edmonton Journal, a tasty snack when she dropped by last week. Read about her experience here: The joys of ants in your pantry

Anyone else want to come for dinner? We have some Spotted Dick and Waterblommetjies we're dying to share.

Yak Tartare and Sylvan Star Shine at Royal Reception

2011-07-02T09:21:00.000-06:00

Here is a sneak peak at two of the finished hors d'oeuvres that were served to the Royal Couple, Kate and William, and 120 attendees at the Celebration of Youth Reception held at Rideau Hall on June 30th, 2011.

I will have an in depth blog posting in the next day or so with more pictures of other incredible dishes, but I wanted to show off what was done with the two Alberta products (yak-cross meat, and Sylvan Star Gouda) we were asked to supply for part of the menu.

Drumroll please!

May I present:

Potato Crusted Alberta Yak Tartare with Outaouais Sunny Side Up Quail Egg,

(the tartare was piped into the shoestring potato squares first, see picture below)

...and the other dish featuring Alberta product:

Victoria Island Musk Ox Prosciutto with Alberta Sylvan Star Crackling on a Jellied Herb Dice

Huge thanks to the Friesens of Springridge Ranch and Todd and Stu at Horizon Meats in Calgary for working with us on getting the yak to Ottawa, and to John and the crew at Sylvan Star Cheese for making an incredible product we were proud to show off. The musk ox prosciutto, by the way, is the tasty Mipkuzola that we have featured at our past Northern Food Nights and comes from Hills Foods in B.C.

Check back for more Royal dishes in the next few days.