KITCHEN HUNKS
Chefs pose for calendar
There is something about the words “sexy men of YEG” that’s embarrassing for me to write. But luckily, 12 game guys on the YEG food scene suffer no such qualms, and are baring their best in the second edition of the Sexy Men of YEG pin-up calendar, a fundraiser for Edmonton’s Food Bank.
Last year’s edition of the $20 calendar sold out, and raised $19,000. Organizer Corey Meyer of Acme Meat Market hopes the project will raise twice as much this year.
The calendar features your favourite food truck purveyors, farmers and restaurant chefs in cheeky poses.
The calendars will be available early in November at Acme Meat Market (9531 76th Ave.), Prairie Mill Bread Co. (14253 23rd Ave.) and at Edmonton’s Food Bank (11508 120th St.). yegsexy.com
The newest specialty food shop in the city — Oil and Vinegar in Commerce Place — celebrates its grand opening on Thursday. There will be lots of products to sample at the shop, which is located at #195, 10155 102nd St. 780-424-9838. Follow the store on Twitter @YEG_OilVinegar.
A new fast, casual Italian eatery opens Nov. 1 in Sherwood Park. It’s called Via Cibo and is at 222 Baseline Rd. (780-570-1113). Operated locally by Paul and Roxanna Martins, the chain (also in Toronto and Calgary) is owned by the same people who brought Burger’s Priest to Edmonton.
Owen Petersen, devoted organic baker and Confetti Sweets’s Kathy Leskow, cookie queen, are now serving up sideby-side sweet and savoury at Petersen’s bakery, Prairie Mill Bread Company (14253 23rd Ave. 780-436-0920).
“I have pink paint in my bakery,” says Petersen. “It’s crazy.”
Leskow, who started her homebased cookie business in 2008, has had a bakery in Sherwood Park since 2014. Now she’ll be making extra batches of her popular batter in the bakery, and transporting them to Prairie Mill for fresh baking.
Friends of the Royal Alberta Museum Society (FRAMS) starts another year of its supper club, Dining with Friends. The series visits ethnic restaurants in Edmonton for special meals. Linda Tzang, curator of cultural communities at the Royal Alberta Museum, is your guide for the evening, speaking about the origins of the evening’s food.
On Monday, Nov. 9, Dining with Friends gathers at Langano Skies, 9920 Whyte Ave. Dinner is at 6 p.m. and the cost is $39 a ticket, including tax and tip. Dishes include the restaurant’s Special Tibs (beef stir fry), Doro Wot (a spicy chicken stew) and Ater Kik Aletcha Wot (split pea curry). Call 780-453-9103, or email: frams.office@gmail.com.
Have you heard of Sunday Pranza at the Santa Maria Goretti Centre? I recently accompanied friends to the classic Italian lunch, held weekly at the centre, and was impressed by the quality of the food, particularly considering its price. OK, it’s the furthest thing from trendy, but at $25 per adult for a seven-course feast, and $14 for kids five to 12, maybe trendy takes a back seat. (Under fives are free.) Pranza kicks off with a plate of antipasto and ends with a yummy dessert, offering numerous Italian specialties in between. The chef is Patrick Chaudet, formerly of the Petroleum Club. The centre is at 11050 90th St. Call 780-426-5026.
Chef Lino Oliveira and business partner Christian Mena of Sabor are expanding their latest concept, Urbano Pizza Co. (10220 103rd St. 780-705-1885) The duo has inked a deal on 124th Street, just north of 102nd Avenue, for a second pizza eatery that should be open by January. Negotiations are also in the works to open a third Urbano on Whyte Avenue.
The long-awaited new restaurant in the Alberta Hotel has opened for business. The eatery, run by chef Spencer Thompson of Toast Fine Catering and general manager Brandon Baker, is named Alberta Hotel Bar and Kitchen. Eventually, it will operate six days a week at lunch and dinner, but for the next week or so, the spot is serving dinner only.
It’s a farm-to-fork concept. The owners have a small, eight-acre farm near Mirror, Alberta, where they have been growing a variety of fresh products since the summer. Baker promises a top-flight cocktail program. Alberta Hotel Bar and Kitchen is at 9802 Jasper Ave. 780-760-0062.
Chef Carlo Raillo of Buco Pizzeria in St. Albert has won Champion of Champions at the Canadian Pizza Show in Toronto. Raillo delivered his Pumpkin Pie Pizza to judges, tempting them with it pumpkin-purée-stuffed crust, and toppings of mascarpone and ricotta cheese. Buco, owned by the Sorrentino’s chain, is at 105, 130 Bellerose Dr. 780-569-2826