I visited Edmonton in May
and was wowed with some amazing meals and super impressed with the city’s
enthusiastic, energetic, and delicious food scene.
Work brought me back to YEG
in July. It was a crazy, busy, work trip but I always seem to be able to find
time to seek out good food. Because no matter how busy things get, life is too
short to eat average or boring food.
Here are some of the dishes,
restaurants, meals, and culinary experiences from this past trip.
Tavern 1903
Had a delicious lunch
meeting at this downtown gem. Atmosphere is slightly upscale but accessible and
the menu was wide ranging in its offerings. Lunch mains hovered between $16-20.
I found the where the fare inventive, playful, and delicious with generous
portions.
On our table:
Watermelon Feta Salad; Fairwind Farms Feta, Cucumber, Heirloom tomatoes,
mint, extra virgin olive oil
Classic Pork Schnitzel, Lemon-Caper Sauce; with cucumber salad and warm
potatoes
Atlantic Lobster Roll; with side salad
Tortilla Soup; Smoked Duck, Pasilla Chiles, Avocado, Goat Feta, Cilantro, Tortilla
Strips, Tomato Broth, Crema and Fresh Lime
KFC;
Korean Fried Cauliflower, Sesame Seeds, Scallions
I absolutely loved my order
of Tortilla Soup. What a great lunch, light but full of intense, big, flavours.
Smoky yet bright with pops of flavour and texture from all of the elements.
High Level Diner
This seemingly cheap and
cheerful, unassuming diner was a delight. Fast and friendly service, décor that
made you feel like you were in someone’s living room, and a large menu full of
classics and interesting twists. I didn’t get a chance to try their legendary
cinnamon buns but I’ve been craving their delicious house-made ketchup ever
since this lunch.
I split these two dishes and
really enjoyed every bite.
Middle Eastern Appetizer Platter ($20)A medley of hummus, tabouleh salad, chicken
souvlaki, tzatziki, spinach pie and pitas.
Smoked Salmon Quesadilla $15)
Smoked salmon, Monterey jack cheese, jalapenos,
capers, fresh dill and cilantro layered between two flour tortillas and
baked. Served topped with sour cream and fresh diced tomato with
fresh fruit salsa for dipping.Choice of house cut fries, caesar, green or tabouleh
salad.
The Burg
This downtown burger joint
was extremely close to where I was staying so I had a feeling I’d stop in at
one point or another on this trip.
My colleague ordered their
feature burger and thought it was okay but at $15-16 without fries, was
unimpressed.
I went off the menu and
decided to customize and “Build my
own burger”- I called it the “Crazy Bitch”- and with my choices of Potato
Scallion Roll, Red Bean and Rice Veg
Patty,Lettuce, banana peppers, tomato, jalapeno, cucumber ribbon, sliced
pickles, tomato relish, Ghost pepper ketchup, mustard, sautéed mushrooms, it
ended up being around $11-12. I must say, I created a delicious masterpiece.
We also polished off a
side….two sides of their fries at $4.00 each with some of their tasty in house
condiments as dip. I remember them being thin, salty and delish but we were
also ravenous and needed to eat something while waiting for our burgers. I was
also soooo happy because The Burg served my favourite cider, Foundry.
Mkrt
This bustling lunch spot was
on my radar for their delicious soups but we ended up hitting Mkrt for dinner.
Really nice experience. Feels classy but not pretentious. Wonderful,
enthusiastic service. Amazing wine. And food that was delicious and actually
invigorating. Fresh ingredients with care and love but keeping it simple. Loved
my dinner here.
On our table:
Ceviche, warm crostini,
balsamic gull valley tomato & summer greens.
Sauteed Prawns on Sweet
Potato Mash, tomoato butter, white wine and miso-chimichurri
And an amazing bottle of
wine
The Marc
Walking the line between
casual and formal, I really was impressed by the Marc. The interior is simple,
clean, classic with a slightly upscale feel. Service was absolutely amazing.
Attentive, friendly, accommodating and really felt like the staff here care about
the food and ensuring every customer has a nice meal experience.
My lunch of Smoked Salmon Potato Salad ($14); House smoked steelhead with a horseradish
dill potato salad topped with pickled cucumber ribbon.
And other dishes at the
table looked equally delicious, especially their Foraged Mushrooms which was
incredible looking.
Duchess Bake Shop
This place is THE Edmonton
mecca for desserts and baked goods. They make all of their products daily
in-house from scratch and they pride themselves in baking the best of the best.
No shortcuts or fillers or preservatives. This place was busy and bumping but
clientele all seem to know the rules and everyone seems to have their favourite
treat that they get every time. Their glass wrap around display counter is a
feast for the eyes as you take it the beautiful, delicious and artfully
prepared breads, scones, pies, cookies, macarons, tarts, cakes…….I’m not a
dessert afficiando but I was drooling.
We tried the Ginger Cookies, the Citrus Verrine, but the overwhelming
favourite was the Key Lime Tart with
was just exploding with a beautiful fresh and bright lime flavour.
Meat
MEAT is a fairly new
smokehouse/BBQ place located in the heart of Old Strathcona. An authentic BBQ
experience with homemade sauces, savoury sides, and a casual welcoming room to
indulge. Our table split a few of the meats and sides but I
ordered a smoked tofu sandwich to spare myself a serious case of the meat
sweats…which tend to happen when this quasi vegan consumes any volume of meat
or dairy. My sandwich was good but not mind-blowing but this is worth a second
visit for the great space with a fresh, funky vibe with communal tables,
AMAZING sides (garlic fries, brussel sprouts, baked beans!) and an assortment
of delicious BBQ sauces and mustards. I think I consumed about a half bottle of
the mustard and spicy BBQ sauce.
Tres Carnales
LOVE this place! Visited
this place twice on my May trip to YEG. Their food and vibe is amazing. Didn’t
get any food pics but a colleague and I shared their Hongos Mixtos tacos
(mushrooms sautéed with garlic and capers) and their Pescado tacos (lightly
battered and fried fresh Pacific Red Snapper). SO DAMN GOOD!
