congratulations alder room, bar clementine, cafe linnea and chartier!
Four Edmonton area restos have made the long list for Enroute’s Canada’s Best New Restaurants — the Alder Room, Bar Clementine, Cafe Linnea and Chartier. Other notables on the long list include Calgary’s Bar Von Der Fels and Deane Douse in Calgary and the Hayloft in Airdrie. Canada’s Best New Restaurants spotlights the top restaurants that have launched across the country over the last 12 months that deliver memorable experiences through quality, creativity and innovation. The short list, the annual Top 10 ranking, will be announced October 19, http://canadasbestnewrestaurants.com
stuffed hungarian peppers
BC field peppers are starting to arrive at the Italian Centre Shops. I love the fragrant, yellowy-green Hungarian peppers with their robust, not-sweet-yet-not-too-hot flavour. They are especially delicious stuffed.
bread! at la boule
Thrilled to taste La Boule’s (8020 101 Street, 780-760-2253, laboulebakery.ca) new bread offerings.
“The country loaf is made with our starter named Hank,” says Jennifer Stang, owner and chief baker. “The baguette is a double pre-ferment, using both a poolish and Hank. Both are made with white flour and the baguette has a bit of corn flour for sweetness. I’m experimenting with a whole grain flour with spelt.”
The breads are wrapped in white paper, which creates its own bag. “A lot of thought went into that actually,” says Jennifer. “We could not find a bag we liked and plastic isn’t good for the crust.”
Both breads have a lovely open crumb. The country loaf makes a terrific tomato sandwich and great toast. The breads are available after 10:30am, Tuesday-Sunday, with bread being baked throughout the day, $5 each.
pampa south edmonton opens wednesday august 9!
South siders are now much closer to their fill of Brazilian barbecue with the opening of Pampa’s third location at 9626 Ellerslie Road (780-249-2000 http://pampasteakhouse.com) Open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. What’s the big deal? Oscar Lopez and Joao Dachery have introduced thousands of happy diners to churrasco (grilling Brazilian-style), the savoury wonders of the juicy rump cut and to the caipirinha, Brazil’s national drink. Oscar Lopez answered the Proust Culinary Questionnaire here.
ikea, not just billy bookcases and glimma tealights
According to the American food culture think tank The Hartman Group, 30 per cent of visits to Ikea are for the food, and it’s not just about meatballs and cinnamon buns. All seafood served is AFC certified, there is always an organic and a vegetarian dish on offer and those open-faced smørrebrød-style sandwiches are adorable. Oh, and let’s not forget the tiny Heinekens.
whisky belles raise $2650 for e4c
A group of whisky-loving women have started a whisky education group called the Whisky Belles. Their most recent tasting raised almost $3000 for E4c, a local charity dedicated to poverty elimination. One notable outreach is their School Nutrition program, which provides meals and healthy snacks for 6,000 children. For more info on E4C visit https://e4calberta.org; for the Whisky Belles, https://sites.google.com/site/whiskybelles.
