The Butchery opens, 2020 kitchen party, café bicyclette fall and winter plans, best recipes from the county
the butchery opens this month
The Butchery is set for its debut. Rustic and modern, airy and welcoming, RGE RD’s sister business is looking good. “Think of it as a retail butcher shop,” says Blair Lebsack, exec chef and co-owner along with his partner Caitlin. “We work with a lot of great local suppliers—Jeff Nonay, Nature’s Green Acres, Adrian Hykaway of Tandria Dexter, Red Tail Farm. Four Whistle Farm will supply the turkeys and ducks, all the fowl. We’ll have roasts, ground meats, weekday steak not necessarily rib eyes only; turkeys, duck, ground pork. And we age meat.”
It’s not just a butcher shop. There will be RGE RD’s loaves direct from the wood oven, pâtés and terrines, frozen meat pies and empanadas and local gourmet dry goods. The Butchery has its own kitchen. “Our idea is sandwiches we call hand-helds and features like charcuterie or kitchen boards,” says Blair. “People can order small plates, dim sum-style, more than one bite, like a beautiful plate of gizzards.”
They will have three tables with about 12 seats and a separate dining room for meetings and events. But we might be waiting awhile for that yet. Eventually, people will be able to gather over breakfast sandwiches and coffee in the morning and later in the day with a beer. “We started in 2013 with 1700 square feet. Now we’re over 8000 square feet,” says Caitlin. “We’re invested.” The Butchery, next door to RGE RD, 10643 123 Street, closed Sunday and Monday.
prince edward county on the table
Armchair travellers (aren’t we all these days) will love this book, a collection of stories and recipes from bucolic Prince Edward County, a food and wine destination in eastern Ontario. Recipes from a couple of favourite spots in the county—Enid Grace, Fire & Flame and Quinta do Conde—will make you want to check out this wonderful part of our country. For now, recipes from PEC’s inns, farms, food trucks, brew pubs and restaurants (like pickerel cakes from Stella’s Eatery and Honey Pie Hives & Herbal’s hazelnut honey buckwheat brownies) will have to do. All royalties to Food to Share, a county-based initiative working to address food insecurity. County Heirlooms, by Natalie Wollenberg and Leigh Nash, Invisible Publishing, $27.95.
here’s to a wonderful fall
“We reopened Café Bicyclette on June 11,” says Daniel Cournoyer, executive director, La Cité Francophone, “and things have been good so far. The patio and the warm weather and music series helped a lot. We’ll have music outdoors until Thanksgiving.”
The indoor seating now runs down the glass hallway towards the rotunda to give diners lots of room to social distance.
“The positive is that we have been able to focus much more on the restaurant side of our operations and apply some of the changes we have wanted to do for a while now,” he says. “We are working on fall and winter patio initiatives to keep those seats full.” Café Bicyclette, 8627 91 Street, 587-524-8090, cafebicylette.ca.
the 2020 great kitchen party is friday, october 23
Yes, there will be a Kitchen Party this fall. Yes, it will be different. What hasn’t changed—the chance to eat some really good food, support some terrific organizations and have a really wonderful time. The purpose remains the same—to celebrate Canadian excellence in food, music and sport and make a difference for youth. The chefs competing this year: Levi Biddlecombe, Why Not; Scott Downey, The Butternut Tree; JP Dublado, River Cree Resort and Casino; Ryan Hotchkiss, Bündok; Medi Tabtoub, Vivo Windermere and Spencer Thompson, The Marc.
There’s how it works: order the Kitchen Party three-course meal. Enjoy at home, or in a small group along with the online show. Check the website for all the details and to order: greatkitchenparty.com/ca/cities/alberta or to buy multiple meals email lisa@comlinks.ca or call 780-448-5945.