community natural foods opens old strathcona store
Community Natural Foods has opened their first Edmonton store in Old Strathcona (formerly the site of Planet Organic). It’s spacious, bright and chock full of high-quality organic products—local meats, dairy, produce, all the supplements and the snacks. A café is coming soon. Sign up for the newsletter to be the first to know about sales and features and check out their ad on page 9 for a coupon. 7917 104 Street, communitynaturalfoods.com.
restaurant may opens on 124 street
May (formerly at the AGA, now in the Canteen space) is now on 124 Street. Brunch is Wednesday to Sunday until 3pm—farmer’s cheese pancakes, bison patty on brioche, chorizo verde, cornbread with poached eggs and chimichurri. Dinner’s shared plates by chef Bri Campbell include tender ricotta fritters, grilled broccolini, a toothsome aged striploin, risotto with unctuous short rib. We had a delicious dessert too—ube pavlova (pictured). Fun cocktail list and mostly local brews with a nice concise wine list. An attractive room with delicious food meant to be shared, can’t beat that. 10522 124 Street, restaurantmay.ca.
darling opens on east whyte
Photo by Mat Simpson
Darling is a sweet spot, about 40 seats in a minimalist style with a secluded patio. The food, by chef Lindsay James, is tasty, snacky, meant to be shared. Brunch every day until 3pm (yes, brunch all day is a trend) for Turkish-style eggs (poached eggs, served with the house-made rye and a tangy herby yogurt, with subtle heat from a splash of chili oil). The ever changing wine list features low intervention winemaking. Oysters and the delicious red lentil dip with a glass of Austria’s Reinisch Rotgipfler on the patio is a summer dream. Open daily from 11am, weekends from 10am. 9616 Whyte Avenue, darlingrestaurant.ca.
we fix you on jasper avenue
Fu’s Repair Shop has a new home on Jasper Avenue, formerly occupied by The Station. Along with a larger seating area, there is an funky event space and plenty of room for dancing. The menu, by exec chef/co-owner Winnie Chen, sous chef Robert Takacs and team could be called new wave Chinese, a blend of traditional and modern—Peking duck arancini, crispy veggie dumplings, the crazy rich rice noodle was a Top100 dish this year. Outstanding cocktails by Niki Willis. It’s a fun spot, open daily and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. 10524 Jasper Avenue, fusrepairshop.ca.
alberta open farm days
Open Farm Days, August 19-20, gives us the opportunity to learn about honey production, ride a tractor, participate in farm life. Some farms have organized tours and some supply tables for your own picnic lunch. Learn about no-till farming at Sundog Organic Farm in the Sturgeon River Valley, get up close to a bison herd near Olds, or visit Anohka Distillery. Chatsworth Farm near Vegreville will host an artisan market and barbecue, guided farm tours, music and machinery demos. Over 100 farms across the province are participating this year, albertaopenfarmdays.ca.
alberta on the plate
The 10 day dine-around festival is August 11-20. Restaurants right across the province feature set menus celebrating local food. Make a trip out of it—find details on where to eat, what to do and where to stay at albertaontheplate.com.
happy and olive opens in july
Veteran restaurateurs Frank and Andrea Olson (Canteen, Red Ox Inn) have a new spot in Crestwood called Happy & Olive. Expect daily coffee, lunch and dinner with weekend brunch. Dave and Ann Jackson, of Strathearn’s The Wired Cup run the morning coffee business. We can’t wait to do all of the above on the spectacular patio. 9640 142 Street, happyandolive.ca.
rural roots dinner features dark side of the grill
The Rural Roots Farmer Showcase at the George Pegg Botanic Garden happens Saturday, August 19 (during Open Farm Days) this year. Make a day of it—the vendor market is from 10am-4pm, dinner is at 5pm. Pitmaster, barbecue expert and all-round bon homme Mel Chmilar of Dark Side of the Grill is the featured chef. Visit pegggarden.org for more info and tickets.
teen cooking camps at get cooking
Get Cooking offers three different experiences for your kids this summer starting with the Flavours of Europe Teen Culinary Odyssey (July 3-7 or July 31-August 4) and Global Gastronomy Teen Cooking Bootcamps (July 10-14 or August 7-11). For the pre-teens, aged 8-13, consider Family Fun in the Kitchen, a bootcamp for adults with kids, July 24 to 28. Get all the info and book at getcooking.ca.
the spirit of tiki is on the ave
Tiki Tiki is now open. Chef Earl Briones has created an easy-going menu featuring all-day brunch (brunch is life) as well as 11 different chicken wing possibilities, noodle bowls, and yes, Spam. Find all the tropical tiki cocktails including a Spam Caesar and 10 non-alcoholic cocktails too. Cool! The décor? All tiki all the time (most of which came out of co-owner Lonny Seguin’s home). It’s fun, silly and relaxed; the place to indulge in a little day drinking for sure. Seats 70, plus a colourful patio. Long live tiki! 10037 82 Avenue, @tikionwhyte.
love whisky? check out dram fine
Chelsey Belec and Pamela Dobbin started the Dram Fine podcast in 2019. They knew whisky was fascinating and wanted to share that idea with all. Their goal? “To move whisky out of stuffy rooms with old men in leather chairs, and showcase it as the sexy, fun, accessible spirit it is.”
Their next move? The Street Spirit Festival. It’s at the Grindstone Theatre, Sunday, July 16, from 3-8pm, featuring a live Dram Fine, whisky (Ardbeg, Glenfiddich, Glenmorangie, Edmonton’s own Hansen) and DJs, emceed by Scottish musician and whisky lover Fiona McNeill. The Festival promises to be educational, approachable and fun for all who love the amber spirit. Visit dramfine.com for all the deets.