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cibo starts aperitivo hour
Aperitivo in Italy is a lovely institution, a few drinks served with a simple bowl of potato chips or olives, or, a deluxe spread of small bites. Now, Cibo (Oliver Square, 11244 104 Avenue, cibobistro.com) brings the custom to their patio Tuesdays-Saturdays, from 4pm-5pm. No resos required, first come first served, weather dependant. Let’s hope for sunny afternoons to enjoy a spritz and snacks.
kitchen by brad’s wednesday suppers raises money for the maz
Kitchen by Brad (10130 105 Street) is now in its third month of Kitchen to Go dinners (main course—Alberta beef tri tip, roast chicken, pork tenderloin—with seasonal veg and either a starter or dessert) for $25/p, available every Wednesday. The best part? $5 of each dinner sold goes to the U of A Hospital Foundation. Kitchen is now open for small gatherings too, max 16 people. Visit kitchenbybrad.ca for all the deets and to order dinner for tonight.
uccellino opens for dinner august 1
Uccellino (10349 Jasper Avenue), the resto we have been missing for months, reopens Saturday August 1, with all the social distancing and appropriate cleaning protocols in place. Expect a summery menu along with a bespoke take-out menu. Corso 32 opens August 6 with seats for 18 people only. ”We will have several tasting menus with optional wine pairings,” says exec chef/owner Daniel Costa. “It will be a slow and more relaxed concept. We are able to do the dishes we love which take longer, there will be more interaction and time with the guests. We are excited about it.”
It’s still a tough go for restaurants, with less seating and customer reluctance to dine in. “We’re changing everything”, says Daniel. “We have days where we are optimistic and days where we are terrified.” Bar Bricco remains closed for now and Corso at Home continues with Friday and Saturday pick-ups.
pop up dinner at roche wines with the paisley notebook
Aman Dosanj of the Paisley Notebook and Pénélope and Dylan Roche of Roche Wines, are teaming up for Sourced, an evening of edible storytelling, Saturday, August 1—four courses with wine, inspired by the season. I am huge fan of Aman Dosanj. I first met Aman (and her family) via their wonderful Kelowna restaurant Poppadoms. Her current project, The Paisley Notebook, creates food narratives with farms and wineries all over the valley. “The project is all about trust—in your farmer, Canadian ingredients and the person cooking for you,” says Aman. “The idea behind my unscripted and unfiltered dinners is to make people think – changing a few perceptions and behaviours as we go because food shouldn’t be something we just do” she says. “This year’s dinner is for Food Day Canada and the theme is gratitude. Pénélope and I both became Canadian citizens this year. It is going to be an all-Canadian ingredient feast with touches of French, Indian and English to tell our collective stories.” Plan to be in the Okanagan over the August long? Plan to be at the Roche pop-up dinner. Tix $135+/p, rterroir.ca, rain or shine, 5pm start for the vineyard tour.
easy summer cooking: what to do with sweet (english) garden peas
Garden peas need very little to taste great. The trick is to buy fresh from the farmer (or pick from your garden) in their short season, which is right now. After you are tire of fresh peas with butter and mint, try putting them in salads or omelettes. The pea tendrils are delicious in a salad too. Tips: buy plump, bright green pods which look and smell just picked. Store in the crisper and eat as soon as possible. After shelling, make a vegetable broth with all of those pods, then put them into the compost. A kilo of pods yields about 2 cups peas.
