Kitchen Sink

Restaurant Ramblings

We’re excited about new dishes at Rosso Pizzeria (8738 109 Street, 780-433-5382, pizzeriarosso109.com); envoltini, eggplant roasted in the wood oven with three cheeses, basil and tomato sauce; asparagi e patate calde, fire-roasted asparagus, kale and potatoes, with a Dijon and white balsamic dressing and topped with a hard-boiled egg, parmigiano, and a smattering of truffle oil. For dessert: crumble di mele, fire-roasted Granny Smith apple with cinnamon, caramel, oats, pecans, walnuts and gelato. We love that Rosso is open for breakfast. Try the new French toast with house-made bread, creamy vanilla sauce, berries, icing sugar and maple syrup.

When will Daniel Costa’s new downtown resto be open? “We’re about four months out,” says Daniel. Regarding the rampant speculation about the name of the casual trattoria-style room Daniel says, “no we don’t have a name yet. We didn’t have a name for Bricco until about two weeks before.”

The atmospheric Boardwalk resto Sabor (10220 103 Street, 780-757-1114) is getting into the pizza biz, opening the Urbano Pizza Co. in early April. Expect a casual menu to eat in or to take-away.

Sal di Maio has just opened an eight-seat coffee bar beside Red Star Pub (10534 Jasper Avenue, 780-428-0825). Jesse Gado is the barista and also the baker of a delicious brown butter almond tart. Sal’s inspiration was a trip to Australia. “There are all these four-, six-, eight-seat coffee bars that open early and close by late afternoon. That works perfectly for us — we have this great space and Red Star doesn’t open until 5pm.” Expect a larger breakfast and lunch menu as they work out the kinks and a killer patio come summer. Also coming soon to this part of Jasper Avenue is the Coffee Bureau.

Chef Rino Lam former chef at Tavern 1903 has joined the kitchen team at XIX Nineteen, (5940 Mullen Way, 780-395-1119, dinenineteen.com) Andrew Fung’s popular south side restaurant.

Wine tastings, happenings and events

Hold the date! Indulgence, the Canadian epic of wine and food is on Monday, June 8 at the Delta. Tickets go on sale May 1.

Join Kinnikinnick’s chef Lori Grein on location, preparing a selection of gluten-free items for your upcoming Easter feast at Kinnikinnick Foods (10940-120 Street, 780-732-7527, getitfresh.ca) on March 19, 20 and March 26, 27 from 10am-1pm.

Get your tickets for the 20th Annual Mac & Cheese fundraiser for the Inner City Agencies Foundation, March 19, at ICAF.ca. New this year, visit participating restaurants for creative takes on the classic dish during the Month of Mac, charles@misonconsulting.com for more info.

Upcoming tastings at Aligra Wines & Spirits (Entrance 58, West Edmonton Mall, 8882 170 Street, 780-483-1083, aligrawineandspirits.com): March 3, The Best Wine You Have Never Heard Of, $30; March 24, Rum, $40; April 14, Wines from the Loire Valley, $30; May 5, Cinco de Mayo Tequila Tasting, $45. Tastings run from 7pm-9pm unless otherwise noted and pre-registration is required. Book online aligrawineandspirits.com/events.

Upcoming events at Kitchen by Brad (10130 105 Street, 780-757-7704, kitchenbybrad.ca): March 17, Alberta Scotch Society features Irish Whiskies and storytelling by Andrew Wall, starting at 6pm. Tickets are $100+gst for members, $125+gst for non members. March 24, Vinetalk with Color de Vino, $75+gst starting at 6:30pm. April 13, Ex Nihilo Wine Dinner with co-owner Jay Paulson, $125+gst starting at 6:30pm.

Upcoming tastings at Color de Vino (9606 Whyte Avenue, 780-439-9069, colordevino.ca), March 24, Bourbon and Canadian whiskey exploration with Ramon Miranda, 7pm, $25; April 7, Iberian Penninsula with Stacey Jo Strombecky, 7pm, $20. Call to reserve your seat, 780-439-9069.

Cooking classes at Seasoned Solutions Loft Cooking School: Learn to make A Quick Spring Menu express demonstration class, 6:30-8:30pm, on April 1, $49.95+gst. The Cooking of Peru is a longer hands-on cooking class on May 2, 11am-4pm, $175+gst featuring recipes from Gail’s recent culinary tour of Peru. To register, email gail@seasonedsolutions.ca.

Upcoming tastings at Hicks Fine Wines (109-150 Bellerose Drive, St. Albert, 780-569-5000, hicksfinewines.com): A Taste of Portugal with Stacey-Jo Strombecky, Renaissance Wine Merchants, March 5, 7pm $25; Winetasting101, with Marcia J Hamm, March 19, 7pm $40; A Taste of Italy with Hayley McRae, Vendemmia Wines, April 30, 7pm $25. Book at hicksfinewines.com/events-classes.

The Edmonton Epicurean Society holds monthly food and wine dinners at different restaurants in the Edmonton area. Upcoming dinners are on March 24, April 28 and May 6. The cost for members is $80 and for guests $90. Curious? Visit EdmontonEpicurean.com.

Upcoming tastings at Unwined Fine Spirits and Ales (512 St Albert Trail #2, St. Albert, 780-458-4777, unwined.biz) The Accidental Sommelier Series travels the Silk Road, Wine Pairing with Asian Food, March 10, Thailand; April 14, India; May 12, Vietnam. On March 11, Days of Wine and Proses Book Club with Laurie Greenwood discusses The 1000 Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. All tastings are $25 and start at 7:30pm.

Enjoy the third annual Edmonton Craft Beer Festival, presented by Sobeys Liquor, a celebration of craft beer and delicious food at Northlands Expo Centre, June 5 and 6. Tickets and info: albertabeerfestivals.com.

Enjoy a walk-about tasting of Canadian wines and craft beers, seminars led by winemakers and a Ping Pong tournament if you dare at Northern Lands: The Great Canadian Wine and Craft Beer Adventure, March 28. There are lots of winemaker dinners on March 27, such as the Kitchen Dinner with Tinhorn’s Sandra Oldfield and viticulturalist Andrew Moon, or Mission Hill’s Ingo Grady and Wade Stark with Henry of Pelham’s Paul Speck at the Hardware Grill. Buy tickets for all events at northernlands.ca.

Upcoming events and classes at Get Cooking (11050 104 Avenue, 780 934-8058, getcookingedmonton.com): April 10, Wine & Food Pairing Class with the wines of Penedes estate Can Rafols dels Caus and Cava estate Agusti Torello Mata, with special guests Eleonora Infuso and Antonio Alvarez, and a menu by chef David Leeder. In the works are classes with Allan Suddaby (sausage, Austrian cooking); Evert Maris (classic and modern French, Belgian cooking); Alexei Boldireff (charcuterie) and Israel Alvarez (Mexican cooking). For the latest info and to register visit the website.

Porkaploooza rides again! For all the details for the Father’s Day weekend event, June 19-21, and to register your team, volunteer, become a judge or a sponsor, visit porkapalooza.ca.

Product News

Newget, one of our favourite Edmonton-made treats will be at the Make it-Enjoy Centre Show (101 Riel Drive, St Albert, makeitproductions.com) April 10-12. Check out their online store at Newget.ca for Easter goodies.

The Organic Box will deliver the Riverbend Garden’s CSA this summer. What’s a CSA? Community supported agriculture, or, fresh veggies delivered to your door every week. Clients pay a fee at the beginning of the season in exchange for weekly deliveries of fresh in-season produce. Want to sign up? Visit riverbendgardens.ca.

K&K Foodliner (9944-82 Avenue, 780-439-6913, kandkfoodliner.com) suggests ordering your house-smoked hams ($7.99/kg) and Hutterrite-raised turkey ($7.49/kg) for Easter dinner as soon as possible. In stock now: German chocolate and charmingly edible marzipan animals — rabbits, sheep, pigs, hedgehogs and ladybugs ($4-$7) just the ticket for an Easter egg hunt.

Kudos to home economist Pat Inglis and Linda Whitworth, the market development manager for Alberta Barley. Their book Go Barley: Modern Recipes for an Ancient Grain (TouchWood Editions) is the winner of the Best Historical Recipes Book: Canada, by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Next up is Gourmand Best in the World competition, to be announced in June.

Some happy news for Ritchie residents: The downright ugly four-way stop at 97 Street and 76 Avenue, brightened only by the presence of nearby Blue Chair Café and Acme Meats, will have a brand-spanking new building in 2016. Craft beer lover Greg Zeschuk, former vice-president of Bioware, plans to open the Ritchie Market with a brew pub, a Transcend Coffee shop and a bike store. Acme says they’ll move across the street to complete the project. Sweet!

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