Vegan cinnamon bun chain explodes onto YEG food scene
Patrons were lined up blocks deep last week when Cinnaholic opened downtown at 10075 109 St.
The Edmonton branch of this vegan bakery is the first to launch in Canada for the Americanbased chain, but additional locations are planned for Winnipeg, Toronto and Regina. Cinnaholic is known for letting customers create their own designer buns by offering 30 frosting flavours and over 20 topping choices. The rolls are free of dairy, lactose or eggs, so are suitable for people with those allergies.
Cinnaholic gained attention after the company was featured on the ABC reality show Shark Tank. Founded in 2009, Cinnaholic began franchising in 2014. The Edmonton owner is Johnny Zhan.
Chef Jesse Morrison Gauthier of The Common is hosting a pork-inspired meal called Swine and Dine on Thursday, May 31. There are five seatings for this event between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Four courses are included in the $40 ticket. The menu includes a first course of Bouchee a la Reine (a classic French starter with puff pastry), followed by Char Siu Pork with pickled Schezuan salad and lemongrass milk bread, and Pork Shoulder with hominy. Dessert is maple brandy pork fat ice cream (fat on fat!) with an apricot jelly roll.
The evening is sponsored by Alberta Pork’s Passion for Pork project. Contact the restaurant directly at 780-452-7333 or reservations@thecommon.ca to reserve your spot. The Common is at 9910 109 St.
There’s a fab chef in town June 5. Her name is Aman Dosanj and she’s hosting a popup at RGE RD called The Paisley Notebook, inspired by a series of similar pop-ups Dosanj runs in the Okanagan.
Dosanj is a Brit, and a former England U-16 and Arsenal Ladies soccer player. But she also has a popular Indian restaurant in Kelowna called Poppadoms. Named on Western Living Magazine’s list of top 10 Foodies of 2015, she’s created an $89 multi-course menu starting at 5:30 p.m. Call the restaurant for more details and to book at 780-447-4577. RGE RD is at 10643 123 St.
Even though the culinary arts students are gone for the summer, Ernest’s restaurant is still operating until June 22, running a small menu with a focus on specials. The hours are Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Tuesday to Friday, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Also, Michael Hassall, executive chef of Ernest’s dining room at NAIT, has organized several themed meals, to be held Saturday nights in June and July.
The first, on Saturday, June 9, is a Portuguese festival of flavour. Tickets are $150 per person (including tax and tip) for a four-course meal, with beverage pairings. Think stewed octopus, pico-style, as well as Azores slow-cooked pork served with caramelized figs and Portuguese custard for dessert. The Portuguese night is a fundraiser for exchange students from Portugal.
The second Saturday event is June 16, when a special varietal of gin will be paired with each of four courses. Lavender braised pork belly will be the main, along with Black Forest honeyglazed cod. Tickets are $110 and include tax, tip and the liquor pairings. There is a third meal July 7 featuring Mangalitsa pork and tickets are $105.
Details are available on the NAIT website, and you can call Tanya at 780-471-8685 or email twright@nait.ca to reserve. Ernest’s is at 10701 118 Ave.
For the third season, Eats on 118 is back on Alberta Avenue with two dates for food tours — June 13 and Aug. 29, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
A popular summer outing organized by Wild Heart Collective and Alberta Avenue Business Association, the tour sees a guide leading culinary enthusiasts along Alberta Avenue, digging into a variety of dishes from a range of restaurants.
The June tour visits Paraiso Tropical, Battista’s Calzone Co. and Handy Bakery. Participating eateries for the August tour will be announced later. Tickets are $42 and available through wearewildheart.com.
Chef Stuart Whyte of Original Redhead Condiments is looking to punch up his hot sauce deliverables with a cash infusion from the public.
Whyte, who has a booth at the 124 Grand Market (124 Street and 108 Avenue) on Thursday evenings, launched his own line of condiments (including mustards, salsas and lots of pepper-based hot stuff ) a couple of years back.
Now he wants to expand his operation, with a focus on the creation of more original products, including fermented products, and more environmentally friendly ways of packaging them.
Whyte hopes to raise $15,000 with a crowd-funding campaign spearheaded by the Alberta Treasury Branch’s Boostr program.
He’s offering a variety of incentives for contributing, such as his delicious spice rub (a key component of the barbecue season and a mere $18) or a box of his original sauces for $50. Go to atbboostr.ca for more details.