REVIEW: Mexican bland-off
Mucho Burrito Fresh Mexican Grill Restaurant 9406 – 137 Ave (And four other city locations) 780.478.4269 There’s nothing more irritating to me than someone who can’t be irritated — and worse yet, will take any kind of culinary abuse with smiling grace because “oh well, it’s still better than staying home.” I remember vividly watching […]
REVIEW: Amsterdam delicious, across the board
DUTCH DELICIOUS BAKERY 13232 118 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5L 4N4 780.455.2323 You won’t find too many successful bakeries in large strip malls. More than the smell of fresh bread and fond childhood memories, bakeries are reflections of their communities. Often forgotten in the modern age of grabbing everything at the supermarket, bakeries that survive tend […]
REVIEW: If they’re not Famoso yet, they should be
FAMOSO NEAPOLITAN PIZZERIA 11750 Jasper Avenue , Edmonton (and two other city locations) 780.732.0700 Over the last 40 years or so, I have been fortunate enough to eat pizza in all manner of places, and in all manner of styles. Served by an aquaphobic Flemish engineer in west Africa, with his lovely wife coating a […]
Pampered at Pampa … but that was the upside
Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse 9929 – 109 Street 780.756.7030 Expectations were high for a trip to Pampa, Edmonton’s new Brazilian steakhouse. A week after its opening, it has received overwhelmingly positive buzz online. Unfortunately – particularly given the high sticker price – that buzz seems somewhat premature. Perhaps it was simply one of those occasions when […]
REVIEW: The sun never sets on decent fish ‘n chips
BRITS FISH ‘N CHIPS, 11603 104 Ave NW Edmonton, AB T5K 2R1 780.452.7000 $$ For a country in which celebrity chefs seem as common as bad weather and football fans, England is the perennial whipping boy when it comes to haute cuisine. Long-standing aspersions: English food is bland, boiled, grey and stodgy. If it is […]
Art ala carte: Edmonton restaurants provide captivated audience
It’s a more common complaint than you might realize. You love food because it tastes good and feeds your body, but you crave art for the way it nourishes your soul. Some restaurants, with the way they cover their walls with mass-produced stuff? It’s enough to make you lose your appetite. But then you go […]
Mad Men, in-crowd drive rebirth of cocktails
Cocktail hour — what a wonderful parlance. It conjures up a world of thick glass tumblers and geometric ice cubes tinkling in the midst of a an expertly mixed libation. So why is it cocktails in Edmonton bars are practically synonymous with sickly sweet swill served in neon pink cups? Preferably with thumping music, of […]
How to Make A Manhattan
* 2 ounces rye whiskey * 2 dashes of Angostura bitters * maraschino cherry for garnish * 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth Pour ingredients into a mixing glass with ice. Stir. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry.
REVIEW: It’s quiet in here….too quiet
India Village 11835 St. Albert Trail 780.455.6590 On a certain level, an experience with cuisine from another culture engenders in each of us a sense of discovery, like a vacation in our own backyard. The illusion is best maintained when the quality of the dining experience is unassailable. Pungent, delicious cooking rich in flavour, texture […]
REVIEW: Feast from the east
Midnight Sun Restaurant 11023 124 Street 780.452.2282 An ode to ginger beef: I think that I shall never like you, err you crunch when I should bite you and if your spice is tame a bland, it would be more than I could stand, but please don’t be too limp or weak, with too much […]
REVIEW: A radish-al flip on a pub favourite
Brewster’s Brewing Company 11620 104 Ave (and four other city locations.) 780.482.4677 I’ve never liked brew pubs. This seems like an important admission to begin with when a person is about to write about such a venue, but I raise it only to make the point that, as a light drinker, it’s very rarely a […]
