Top five #yeg patios, plus cherry clafouti

more things to do with cherries: cherry clafouti, easy as pie

Not a whiz with pie crust? Make a clafouti, dead simple and keeps the focus on the cherries rather than on the merits of your pie crust. You could mix it all up in the morning, put in the fridge, give it a whisk, then add the cherries before baking. You could even cook this in your barbecue. We like to add thyme for fragrance and flavour, but you could leave out. Adapted from Pies and Tarts by Martha Stewart.

Cherry Clafouti

top five #yeg patios

We have such a short season — it’s fun to indulge when we can. What makes a great patio? Atmosphere — music that suits the mood, good lighting, some heat lamps are nice to take the chill off later in the season. The possibility of shade. If it’s casual for a beer, picnic tables are fine but if it’s for dinner let’s have a bit more style with comfortable seating, tablecloths and napkins, or at least an effort to be something special.

Our top five:

The Marc’s (9940 106 Street, 780)-429-2828 http://www.themarc.ca) generous, tree-shaded terrace, is made jaunty with ropes of hanging lights. Elegant, not stuffy.

Cibo Bistro (11244 104 Street, 780-757-2426 cibobistro.com) has a few tables overlooking a garden, superb for lunch or on a warm night.

Nineteen (5940 Mullen Way, 780-395-1119 or 150 Bellerose Dr #104, St Albert, 780-569-1819, dinenineteen.com) Lovely patios with glass walls to cut the wind and blankets for chilly nights.

The Glass Monkey (5842 111 Street, 780-760-2228, http://www.theglassmonkey.ca) has a jewel box of a patio with a few tables, lots of flowers and no traffic sounds.

Café Bicyclette (8627 91 Street, 587-524-8090 https://www.facebook.com/cafebicyclette) Sunny and shady, private and spacious.

and one more … Confederation Lounge, Fairmont Hotel Macdonald (10065 100 Street) Have visitors? Take them here for a drink at least. Jaws will drop. It’s upscale, romantic, buzzy and the people watching is amazing. The Confed is one of the best hotel bars in the country. Make it an annual summer pilgrimage.

be a locovore in lacombe, saturday july 30

Lacombe County is home to farmers, ranchers, food producers, breweries, distillers and some fine food and drink purveyors. Come see what all the excitement is about during Locavore Lacombe, 2pm-5pm, Saturday, July 30 at the Lacombe Research and Development Centre. The food research facility will have an open house and offer crop tours at the same time. TIX, $25 in advance, lacombedays.ca.

Localvore Lacombe