aperitivi at va
There is a secret happening on Jasper and 121 Street at Va, Daniel Costa’s new Roman-style café. Not only is it the ideal breakfast spot, opening at 7:30am (outstanding coffee and, yes, breakfast pizza), between 4pm-6pm you can pop in for aperitivi, the Italian tradition of a drink and a few snacks before dinner. At Va it’s bite-sized pieces of pizza al taglio, some delicious olives and a few potato chips, ideal for that in-between time. La dolce vita for sure. Check it out!
the butterdome craft sale is this weekend
It’s a must go holiday tradition for many with over 200 exhibitors as well as some great food and drink—Fifth Gen Gardens garlic products, Mojo Jojo Pickles, Mini Kitchen, Zinter Brown and the Fort Distillery, Thursday, December 5 to Sunday, December 8, opens at 10am. Visit here for tickets and participant info.
christmas open house at the cls
Enjoy a walk-around tasting at the Canadian Liquor Store (18003 105 Avenue) with over 40 wines and spirits to sample, from 2pm-5pm on Saturday, December 7.
gotta get some sinclair street
Sinclair Street peanut butter brittle is so delicious, with a spectacular texture—melt in your mouth soft rather than hard and crunchy. You can get some at the Christmas Market at the Enjoy Centre (101 Riel Dr, St. Albert) Saturday, December 7 and 14. Or visit to order.
marmot bars for your nice list
There is still time to order Marmot Bars for everyone on your nice list. This decadent confection by James David Patisserie—crunchy almond and cookie praline, with soft salted caramel and dried sour cherries in 70 per cent dark chocolate—is not only delicious, $9 from every bar is going to the Jasper Hospitality Fund. Order yours here.
advent calendars for the wine lovers
Color de Vino Wine Advent calendars are now available (phew! for a minute there I thought it wasn’t happening this year) with lots of choices (12 or 24 bottles, white, red, rosé) including custom. Check it out!
cheese school is in session
Join Garneau Block and the cheesemongers at Cavern for an exploration of natural wine with seasonal cheeses, Sunday, December 8 from 2pm-4pm at Cavern Cheese (10169 104 Street). Tix: $90/p+.
meuwly’s kitchen party is december12!
Meuwly’s energetic holiday kitchen party is back, Thursday, December 12, from 6:30pm-9:30pm. Enjoy the walk-in fridge oyster bar, the six-foot long Meuwly’s charcuterie table, plus wine, beer and spirits from your fave local producers while rocking to the beats from Girls Club DJs. Your ticket includes all the food, three drink coupons and a donation to In The Weeds YEG, which provides mental health care for Edmonton-area hospitality workers. Tix: $99.99/p
a cappella’s take & bake dinners
A Cappella’s Take & Bake dinners are back for the holidays. Each dinner package feeds serves four to six people generously: 24 hour-brined, slow-roasted turkey with stuffing, gravy and whipped potatoes, along with roasted vegetables, a hearty Christmas salad and Parker House rolls. Order by 3pm on Monday, December 9 for the early bird special price. (All orders must be in by December 16). Check the website for add-ons (beef roulade and glazed ham) and more sides (cabbage rolls, cauliflower gratin) and individual meals too. A portion of each sale goes to Ronald Macdonald House.
tomato top100: ribeye butcher shop’s dry-aged steak
Nominators love the smash burger and the wide variety of custom cuts available at Ribeye. They especially love the dry-aged beef, ideal for a holiday celebration when you want to pull out all the stops.
recipe of the week: cindy’s husband’s stepmom’s ginger snaps
Cindy Lilge of On Our Table sent this to us, knowing we love a good family recipe, especially when they come with a story like this. The recipe is from Ellen Smith, Geoff Lilge’s stepmom, makes six dozen cookies. Like all the best family recipes it can handle a few missed ingredients. “When I worked at Capital Health, these cookies were made by the thousands at our home for Christmas. Bob Lilge was my able helper. We packaged them up by work group for the Regional Imaging staff (600 people got two cookies each, on average). Some people I didn’t even really know still remember this. The recipe also works without egg, as we discovered, when I had my son Gene type it up and he left out the eggs. A friend complimented the recipe, as even her egg-allergic child could eat them. Imagine my surprise. And, it even works with cumin, which I learned the year I kept all of my large jars of spices in a stacked tiffin, and chose the wrong one, adding cumin instead of ginger. I thought they tasted a little different. People said they liked them. They were, and are, a hit with the cookie swap folks, friends and family. Enjoy. Remember to add the eggs, if you type up the recipe!”- Ellen Smith. Culina to Go in the Oliver Exchange (12019A 102 Avenue) will have six packs of Ellen’s ginger snaps, while supplies last.
