A DELICIOUS, INNOVATIVE YEAR ON THE CITY’S RICH FOOD SCENE
This year marked 10 years since I took over the food beat at the Journal. In that time, it’s been thrilling to watch the food community expand and deepen. Restaurants, trends and chefs may come and go, but the gratifying thing is that Edmontonians who care about food continue to expand their collective palate and to support innovation and deliciousness wherever they appear.
These days, I do less reporting on the food scene, as my beat has expanded to include theatre and other arts coverage, and news stories as need be. I say this to alert readers: if I missed noting a new restaurant, food shop or passion project, please forgive me. And don’t hesitate to call or write and let me know what you’ve discovered.
That said, I’m thrilled to report that it’s as difficult as ever to keep up on the food scene in YEG. One of the most notable features in 2018 was the arrival of more vegan and vegetarian restaurants. This year, the simple and delicious, plant-based Moth Cafe came to downtown, along with a few vegan chains and the higher-end likes of Kanu, the vegan eatery on Jasper Avenue that is part of American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney’s stable of plant-based eateries.
Edmonton expanded its selection of local beaneries on other levels, too. The Sorrentino’s chain opened not one, but two, new iterations of BUCO (in Windermere and the Epcor Tower). The trendy 104 Street welcomed a big new player named DOSC, which opened in the Metals building. Another historic building got a facelift, with Wilfred’s bringing whimsy and millennial pink to one of the old Molson’s buildings in the Brewery District.
Chef Cyrille Koppert has sold the Manor Casual Bistro (closing in April) but has opened a hot new spot called Partake in High Street, a wine bar with sophisticated nibbles. Louisiana Purchase, a downtown fixture for more than 35 years, opened another location in north Edmonton. The Calgary-based OEB Breakfast Company is packing its bright, new space on Rice Howard Way.
Smaller, food-focused establishments continue to pop up, adding texture and variety to the city scape. Bloom Cookie Co. branched out on 124 Street, and the city’s famed onion cake got its own storefront, with Siu To (believed to have introduced the green onion cake to the city decades ago) opening Green Onion Cake Man on Alberta Avenue. Confections Cake Co. opened a shop devoted to highconcept desserts in St. Albert, and Food in the Nud opened a Ritchie bakery catering to those with food allergies and sensitivities. If you haven’t visited Meuwly’s on 124 Street yet, get your sausage-loving self down there to check out its selection of meat, cheese and condiments.
Gelato became bigger than ever, with new storefronts including La Carraia Gelato on 109 Street, and Da Vinci Gelati in St. Albert. Edmonton’s soft-serve dream, Yelo’d, opened to long lineups.
There were losses as well. At the end of December, Characters will close its doors after 20 years downtown. Despite making enRoute magazine’s list of the top 10 new restaurants in Canada in 2017, Ben Staley’s Alder Room shuttered mere months later, unable to capture the broader market’s attention with its niche concept. Park Allen Restaurant, a staple in the south-side neighbourhood for 36 years, also shut down. There was another loss to the food retail market with the closure of Hillaby’s Tools for Cooks in the Enjoy Centre.
A particularly irksome loss was that of chef Brad Lazarenko’s Dogwood Cafe, which for three years served golfers and crosscountry skiers out of the Victoria Golf Course clubhouse, with a focus on fresh, local and innovative. The City of Edmonton chose to award the food contract to Civeo, a giant, Houston-based provider of global workforce accommodations.
On to brighter news. Much champagne was consumed when Ryan Hotchkiss of Bundok made the enRoute list of best new restaurants in Canada for 2018, drawing yet more attention to the 104 Street stretch of eateries. Bar Clementine was named one of the top 10 bars in Canada by the Toronto publishers of Canada’s Best 100 Restaurants 2018.
Chef Davina Moraiko of RGE RD topped the podium in October at the first Edmonton outing for the national chef ’s competition Canada’s Great Kitchen Party (formerly Gold Medal Plates).
As for other winners, if you see Megan Stasiewich shopping for groceries in Leduc, make sure to shake her hand. The hair stylist from Leduc County made it to the final episode, and was one of the top three bakers, of the popular CBC series The Great Canadian Baking Show.
Local food writer Twyla Campbell knocked it out of the park with her biography of the late chef Gail Hall, Maps, Markets and Matzo Ball Soup. Another prominent local food publication birthed in 2018 is Food Artisans of Alberta, published this past spring and featuring many Edmonton food producers and providers.
As 2018 draws to a close, 2019 promises to be just as mouthwatering. Le Petite Dauphine, a French bakery and restaurant, is due to launch soon in the Montrose area, brought to you by the same folks who had Dauphine on 104 Street.
Later this winter, chef Nate Box — owner of four restaurants, Elm Cafe, Little Brick, Salz and District — will open two more in the Highlands neighbourhood’s historic Gibbard Block, including Fox Burger (with chef Sean O’Connor at the helm) and the Jewish-inspired June’s Delicatessen.