Openings
- Yianni Psalios (who has opened many Greek restaurants in his time om Edmonton, including Koutouki) has opened another called Agora Greek Market, located at 4620 99 Street.
- Stephanie shared that a new dessert spot called Hadi Cocktail & Waffle is now open at 11844 145 Avenue.
- Oil Burgers, another burger concept, has joined the 5th Street Food Hall: “OilBurgers is about sharing Chef Cam’s passion for making local ingredients – especially Alberta beef – shine through simple, yet elevated dishes.”
- JustCook Kitchens is expanding to Old Strathcona in June 2023 at Station Park. The new facility, partnered with Beljan Developments, will feature three fast-casual restaurants, two higher-end style restaurants, and three bars.
Closures
- After four years in business, cafe Caffiend announced their permanent closure: “This has been a very difficult decision for us and we need some time to process what happens next. I know many of you will want to send messages and may have questions but we ask that you give us some time to grieve, reflect and figure out what comes next.”
Upcoming Events
- A reminder that Chinatown Dining Week kicks off this week, January 26-February 5, 2023. The menus are here.
- Old Strathcona’s annual Sweet Treats and Latte Festival will be returning February 4-20, 2023.
- Meuwly’s is hosting Valentine’s cooking demos while guests enjoy appetizers, cocktails, and wine pairings on February 4 and 5, 2023. tickets are $60 each.
- In February, Just Cook Kitchens is hosting a Chef Takeover series, with chefs taking over the 5th Street Food Hall on select dates to serve up 5-6 course dinners. February 13 sees Oil Burgers and Seitans chefs team up, while on February 20, Meuwly’s chefs take over the joint. Tickets run $146-165 per person.
- Silver Skate Festival’s Battle of the Neighbourhoods event is back.
- Save the date for Downtown Dining Week, running March 15-26, 2023.It’s a friendly culinary competition between breweries, and the food challenge will see the chefs create the “perfect prairie comfort food and beer pairing” with locally-sourced ingredients. Tickets are $35 and include beer and food samples.
- Edify has started selling tickets to their 2023 Best Restaurants event at the Edmonton Convention Centre on April 3, 2023. Tickets are $85 and include tickets for food and beverage tastings.
Local News
- Great to see Alberta Avenue launch their Dining Pass, an app that currently provides discounts to 10 participating restaurants, including Battista’s Calzones and Mama Asha Cafe (both #YEGFoodFaves)! It’s free to download onto your phone, and more restaurants will be joining in the coming months.
- The Currents of Windermere also has their own Dining Passport, featuring 11 participating restaurants. If diners visit 4 restaurants on Mondays or Tuesdays, they can be entered to win a $1000 shopping spree.
- I love when local companies collaborate, so it was fantastic to hear about Twice Cream partnering with Remedy to produce Twice Remedy Chai Ice Cream. At present it is available only at Twice Cream, but soon will also be offered at Remedy locations.
- Jack’s Burger Shack made a reasonable plea last week: “Please normalize not comparing restaurants, specifically ones that specialize in burgers to McD…d’s. ie. “Their milkshakes are bigger.” “Burger & Fries there are $4 cheaper.” Please consider size, quality and impact of these other restaurants”.
- You’re not imagining how inflation has affected the price of staple goods – Jeff Nachtigall of Sugared and Spiced tracked the cost increases of his raw ingredients over the past two years. At the top, frozen raspberries at 143%, followed by oil at 82%.
- Bliss Baked Goods now offers Kiwi Kosher Sushi on Thursdays and Fridays.
- Twyla highlighted Pal’s on her Edmonton AM segment.
- Edify checked out Oomami Dog, Rockin’ Robyn’s, and Chicken Haus, and featured the soups from Pal’s, Hu’s Noodle Nook and Viphalay.
- Chef Matthew Potts opened up his kitchen at the Cook Country Saloon so Ukrainian newcomers could prepare food to sell in order to purchase supplies for newcomers arriving in Canada.
- Edmonton AM also did a story on the Too Good To Go food app.
What I Ate
- January might feel like a downer after the holidays, but I know I will always have Love Pizza’s Mac & Cheeza to lift me up. We indulged in two Big Love-sized pies to get us through. The Mac & Cheeza is available until the end of February!
Mac & Cheez from Love Pizza
- Mack, Emily, Elizabeth, and I met up with some friends at Shojo Izakaya for the first time. Based on that experience, we will certainly return! I really enjoyed the mushroom cream udon, but the kakuni (pork belly) and Koji fried chicken were delicious as well.
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Mushroom cream udon from Shojo Izakaya
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