New restaurants downtown and in Strathcona, the TomatoTop 100 is back and the freezing father returns to raise money for Stollery.
feeding the freezing father
Peter Burgess, his wife Candace and son Ben know from personal experience the difference the Stollery makes in people’s lives. They lost daughter and sister Elan in 2007 to a sudden illness. Peter is camping out again to raise funds for the children’s hospital. Several local chefs and restaurants are providing breakfast and dinner to the freezing father: Todd Rutter, A Cappella Catering; Serge Bélair, Edmonton Conference Centre; Lindsay Porter, London Local; Rylan Krause, NAIT; Charles Rothman; JP Dublado, River Cree; Steve Buzak, Royal Glenora Club; Paul Shufelt, Workshop Eatery; Gregg Kenney, Vivo and Doreen Prei, Zinc.
To help the family raise funds for Stollery, visit Peter at campsite #29 at the Rainbow Valley camp ground, from Sunday, January 5 to Friday, January 10 or donate at freezingfather.org. Funds raised this year support Stollery’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team. “CISM positively impacts patient care and satisfaction,” says Candace. “When care givers are exposed to particularly difficult situations in carrying out their work, CISM becomes integral to supporting them.”
a little samba with your coffee
Check out the new Bite of Brazil (10114 104 street, abiteofbrazil.com) for delicious things like pão de queijo (gluten-free) cheese bread; coxinha (chicken fritters); latte de doce de leite (caramel latte); truffle-like brigadeiros and coffee made with Brazillian beans locally roasted by Roasti Coffee Co. Susana and Beatriz started at the Downtown Farmers’ Market. Now, they have teamed up with Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse and chef João Dachery to offer a taste of Brazillian culture every day. “It’s all the things we love back home, and we believe Edmontonians will enjoy as much we do,” says João. The room is a delight, a colourfully modern space perfect for a casual nosh.
satisfy your cravings at smokey bear
The new Strathcona eatery Smokey Bear (8223 104 Street, 587-759-0209, smokeybearyeg.com) is delicious and lovely. The open kitchen houses a giant wood-fired contraption with several levels allowing the cooks to adjust by moving food nearer or further from the flames. The result? Beautifully charred meats and vegetables with varying degrees of smokiness in the flavours. Stand outs: Gruger Family oyster mushrooms in an umami-rich glaze, the shareable Bear and the Flower pork chop and an irresistible flatbread with spicy ’nduja. (Oh yeah.) There is something atavistic and absolutely compelling about the warmth of that fire on a cold Edmonton night.
Smokey Bear has the makings of an Aussie culinary invasion—head chef/owner, Riley Aitken, sous Campbell Evans, chef de partie Denis Martin and sommelier/general manager Ashleigh Smith are all from the land down under. Chef Aitken (originally from Edmonton) spent several years cooking in Denmark, Bali and Australia, most recently at Biota Dining with James Viles where he fell in love with open flame cooking. There is a tidy wine list featuring primarily organic and biodynamic wine producers plus craft beers and cocktails. Choose from a few stools at the bar, 12 seats at the kitchen counter and 55 seats at tables. Well-lit and very comfortable. The plan is to change the menu often depending on what looks good in season. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
what was the best thing you ate last year?
Tell us what made your mouth water, what you loved, what you couldn’t stop talking about. Was it a dish at a restaurant? Was it a drink? A snack? A condiment? Something from the Farmers’ Market? Something from your favourite farmer? Let us know between January 6 and January 31, for the TomatoTop100. Details online at thetomato.ca.