What’s up on Edmonton’s food scene in May and June
Restaurant buzz
Inside dining is closed for now—patios and take-away are where it’s at. Explore all the delicious meal kits, pop-ups and feature take-out menus that independent restaurants have created for you. Indulge.
Zio’s by Bricco (10347 Jasper Avenue, 780-424-5588, corso32group.com) joins Corso at Home and Uccellino to Go to offer the delicious flavours of chef Daniel Costa’s restaurants. Inspired by Bricco’s popular Soprano’s Night events and featuring casual Italian-American inspired dishes such as a chicken parm or fried eggplant sandwich and baked pasta, it’s even better than Karen’s ziti. Order Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights from 4-9pm, last order at 8pm, bricco-to-go.
Chartier (5012 50 Street, Beaumont, 780-737-3633, dinechartier.com) has created several pre-order packages for Mother’s Day, ranging from bake-at-home cinnamon buns or specialty chocolates ($21) to mimosa kits or takeaway three-course dinners ($45), picnic boxes ($80) and charcuterie boards ($95). Or, reserve a patio table for May 8 or 9. Find all the deets at dinechartier.com.
Buok Fresh Korean Kitchen (10707 100 Avenue, 780-244-2865, buokfresh.ca) introduces cold noodle salads for spring and summer—Kimchi Bibim-Guksu, Sesame Bibim-Guksu and Bulgogi Bibim-Guksu. Savoury, complex flavours and well-priced too.
The Glass Monkey (5842 111 Street, 780-760-2228, theglassmonkey.ca) has new delicious offerings for spring—small plates such as house-cured Chinook salmon gravlax on a corn blini or the savoury Asian noodle salad with seared ahi tuna. Large plates include duck confit with a sweet Thai chili glaze and risotto with scallops and tiger prawns. They have an extensive retail wine shop set up to order with your take-away as well as signature cocktails, available to go, $6 each. Reservations are available on the charming patio.
At the cooking schools
The new Awn Kitchen (104 5124 122 Street, awnkitchen.com) has construction delays. The good news is they expect to be opening in June. Yaay! We look forward to taking a class in person and having lunch in what will be a gorgeous space. In the meantime, there are two cool farm tours coming up: Lazuli Farms on May 16 and Chatsworth Farm on
May 30. Visit awnkitchen.com for all the deets.
The new virtual schedule is up at Get Cooking. In Delicious and Nutritious, Cooking with the Season, Jenn and Will Kotowicz encourage conversations around health, community and seasonality. Will is a chef and partner at Meuwly’s and Jenn is a functional nutrition and lifestyle practitioner, so you know it will be tasty, June 28, $25. Addie Raghavan and Kathryn Joel make a celebratory Mother’s Day Brunch with smoked salmon benedict and Mimosas, May 9, $27.50. Join Kathryn and Addie for a classic cheese soufflé for Mother’s Day Lunch and a festive French 75 Champagne cocktail, May 9, $25. Visit getcooking.ca to see the entire schedule and to book.
Product news
Join sommelier Margaux Burgess (DipWSET) for a rose-tinted virtual wine tour around the world. Learn why rosé is a wine for all to enjoy, any time of the year, on Wednesday, May 19, 7pm, $75. Register at the City Cellar website, citycellardsedmonton.com.
The Art of Charcuterie offers a special Mother’s Day Duo Box. Along with delicacies by Meuwly’s chef Roger Letourneau, Fleur Jaune cheese and Meuwly’s savoury lavender salami, the box contains a Wick’d Petals handmade botanical candle, a Studio Bloom posy and Duchess Bake Shop macarons. Beautiful. The Duo Box is available for pick-up on May 8 and May 9, at Meuwly’s (10706 124 Street), $139+. Order via artofcharcuterie.ca.
Heart of the Home (12539 102 Avenue, 780-705-4928, heartofthehomeyeg.ca). is open for in store and online shopping with shipping or curbside pick-up available. Check out the offerings for Mother’s and Father’s Day and sign up for the newsletter at heartofthehomeyeg.ca. Lots of lovely new things for spring.
Knifewear (10820 82 Avenue, 587-521-2034, knifewear.com) is offering something special for local chefs and cooks experiencing hard times. “We just want them to know that we appreciate them and understand the difficulties they are facing,” says store manager Kris Armitage. Bring in one or two knives from your roll and they’ll sharpen it for free.
Sherbrooke (sherbrookeliquor.com) has opened a new shop at 9271 50 Street, super handy for people in Capilano and further east. Expect their amazing beer and sake selection as well as whisky and wine. No events right now, but check out their online ordering, easy peasy!
The Sundog Organic Farm CSA is a bit different than most. They offer three sizes, from one-two people to larger families with lots of flexibility. And no work share! They have expanded the farm share pick-up locations to six—Awn Kitchen, Strathcona Farmers’ Market, Uproot Food Collective, Breadlove Bakehouse in St. Albert and Fort Saskatchewan and Gibbons. If you love super fresh local veg, sign up at sundogorganicfarm.ca.
Joys of Cooking a poem by Joanne Zinter
Before I started Zinter Brown I went to cooking school in Italy, the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Costigliole d’Asti. I was immersed in the local cuisine and culture for four months—cooking every day in a castle surrounded by vineyards—so different from what I knew (I had been a nurse). It was a magical time. -Joanne Zinter
A castle. A hill. A town. Italian cuisine.
A grey castle derelict and stark
Harbours a sleek chef’s kitchen. Modern.
TV screens. Stations prepared for chef arrivals:
Apprehension
Deboned rabbit trussed, rolled in fresh herbs,
swimming in oil of olives. Aroma heady. Tastes savoury.
Fresh pasta. Soft bread. Earthy cheese.
Pastry rolled thin on counter tops of marble:
Anticipation
Wine cellars. Musty. Vintage wine bottles. Dusty.
Open to unleash earthy scents, mature and round with
Orange hues and mellow flavours that awaken the senses
Amidst heady scents from gardens bathed in sunlight:
Exhilaration.
As new friends share new experiences
cares of the past recede—give way to new conversations.
Like the blends of old wine and the flavours of new food
this adventure brings its own admixtures and offerings:
Peace and Satisfaction.
From Poems from Life as it Happens, edited by Jane Ross. Find at Audreys Books or the Battle River Writing Centre, source21@telus.net.