King Noodle is the King of Noodle soup. Tau Bay has pretty good meatballs, but their broth isn't as good. If I need pho on Tuesdays, my friends and I usually hit Nien Kieu. Pho is a downtown only meal in Edmonton as far as I know, sorry.

Is it possible to get white charcoal anywhere in Alberta? I prefer Japanese, but I'll take Indonesian or other high quality imitators too. BBQs Galore doesn't seem to carry it, and I thought maybe someone here might be hardcore about what they grill over and know a source before I call every possible store in the province. Thanks.

I agree. The prime rib is out of this world. I could probably put away a 16 ounce cut on my own.

Like anonymoose I was baffled by the lack of bread or crackers to go with the charcuterie platter, although with four people sharing it we had almost the opposite problem with the size.

This mirrors my experience. If you try to touch the untouchable soon your posts are invisible.

The farmer's market is on Thursday from 9-4 (I think, no guarantees those times are exact). Don't count on them for peaches - most other produce runs the gamut from so-so to quite nice. What I'm saying is it's not the Calgary farmer's market, but it's something.

La Belle Patate is great. The worst thing about it is I often go skiing on Mondays and crave poutine after. That is the one day a week they are closed. My favourite kind is the one with steak and green peppers, but any of them will hit the spot.

I stopped posting because of the heavy handed, unaccountable, nebulously regulated phantom moderation. One beloved jerk off took a dislike to my contributions and after that it was a 75% chance of my posts disappearing. Why bother at that point?

YEG, and no I don't know of anywhere sorry. There's a place at the Calgary's Farmer's Market that sells homemade stock, and that's the closest I can think of. I don't even know if that stall is still in business.

Because you don't want nitrates/nitrites in your sausage, you are limited to only fresh sausage (with a few exceptions). This means it's really easy to make your own. Buy pork, grind it (or have your butcher do it for you), add salt and seasonings, mix it up, and that's it. You don't even have to stuff it if you don't want to. There is a Kitchen-Aid grinder attachment that also has a sausage stuffer built in if you decide you do want to stuff them, or you can get a standalone stuffer.

Making your own sausage really is easy, and you get complete control over what goes in them. Various preservatives are not the only nasty thing in commercial sausages. There's often way more water than necessary, flour, binding agents, and anything else they can add to sell more stuff that's cheaper than meat at the price of meat. Not that I'm strongly opinionated or anything. Also homemade sausage freezes well so you can make a large batch and save for the future.

As for buying local and natural at good prices, in Canada you have to redefine "good". Food is simply more expensive here than in the USA, and there's no avoiding it. Sorry.

I tried Krema. I like Liberté Méditerranée a lot more. The Krema was too gelatinous and didn't have as much tang to it imo.

I recently popped in here just to try it out and see if there is any worthy sushi in Alberta. I ate mostly nigiri with a couple rolls, so I can't comment on the rest of their menu which offers a relatively broad selection of Japanese dishes.

The service there is kind of weird. I certainly didn't get an "irasshaimase" when I came in, and you only seem to get it if they think you might understand. I don't know how they tell even from the back of the restoraunt, but it seemed fairly consistent. I am also not used to ordering all my sushi at once, so I ended up needing three sheets over the course of the meal. I should have just sat at the bar I guess.

I can put up with - but never understand - a bit of gruffness towards the customer as long as the food is good. I found it was a mixed bag, but good enough that I would probably return next time I have a sushi craving.

My biggest criticism, and this might seem like a nitpick to some, is the rice. I know it can be hard to get the highest quality rice outside of Japan, but that doesn't make the inferior stuff better. I found it to be slightly too grainy and hard, and not vinegary enough. Perhaps it had sat around too long or maybe it's just the nature of the beast at Wa's. Repeat visits would be necessary to tell. Whatever the reason the rice did not meet my admittedly very high standards.

The fish ranged but mostly did what it could to forgive for the rice. I found the salmon to be bland, but the mackerel had excellent texture and flavour. It was very rich with just the right amount of fish oil flavour to it; whoever cured it did a great job. The scallops were also divine and seconds were required, and the Supa Tekka Roru was a surprise hit. The Flaming roll was kind of weird. My friend liked it; I did not.

I give them high marks across the board for fish quality, texture, and flavour. A couple misses, but Wa's can't control the sea so it's bound to happen occasionally. I was disappointed that no seasonal fish was available, Japanese Sea Bass (suzuki) was on the menu but not available along with a bunch of other delights (Amberjack, Grunt, etc.). Too bad, but it does leave me wanting to go back.

Overall I think only the ultra picky would dislike this place. It's not amazing, but Calgary is not in Japan. I thought the price was reasonable for what I got, although that's different for everyone so others may disagree.

Liberté Méditerranée Plain is really good. It is 10% MF (the flavoured versions are lower), and has great texture and flavour. I eat it on its own and it is available at most supermarkets. Availability is sometimes erratic on the Plain flavour, but you can always get it at Planet Organic for a premium.

I am both surprised and disappointed Roysen has not updated us. I look forward to reading even capsule reviews of any of these places.

Chateau Louis definitely has the best selection in Edmonton. I recommend Pappy Van Winkle 20yo. The 23yo is marginally better, but definitely not worth twice the price.

#2 would maybe be Fine Wines by Liquor Select on 149st. More of a Scotch store, and slightly higher prices, but you will probably find a bourbon or two here the local liquor store doesn't carry. I don't know other parts of town, but I wouldn't be surprised if something in the Southwest (Terwillegar etc) has a similar selection to FWbLS.

I went there once. I had goat with rice, and it was pretty bland to be honest. The goat was neither the best nor the worst I've had, but I wouldn't go back. I get the feeling it's mostly a social club for the community.

The owner called me and said that he wanted to call everyone, but he was locked out and couldn't get in to get your number.

But how did he get mine?

Quine, every thing on that list is in kingdom animalia, and also generally considered as food. Mushrooms not so much. Have you eaten every category of plankton, or just some? Did you like them?

Having eaten a whole fried sweetfish, I guess that is the only animal I've eaten every part of. I just can't bring myself to eat brains most of the time, so I am missing that part on my list of fowl and livestock. Also haven't felt a great need to chew on bull pizzle. There are parts of the animal that are technically edible that I just don't feel wasteful not consuming. I will eat most but not all.

The Michelin Guide does not accept refusals for listings. Check the Kyoto guide for restaurants that have no interior pictures, or read the press about the same. A restaurant might refuse to cooperate with the guide, but they will be listed anyway.

I have no particular knowledge, but I would guess that Kyouaji was not included due to its strict reservation requirements. It's possible though they simply didn't measure up according to Michelin's standards, which are mostly but not strictly about food.

That's not totally convenient for me, but more convenient than frozen okra. Thanks.

Continental Treat is great. I agree with bigtuna that those are two of their best dishes. It's the only restaurant around Whyte I will go out of my way to eat at.

Tasty Tom's is passable, but nothing special. I tried it in my quest for Edmonton's best burger. That title goes to Hudson's, which has a location on Whyte. Furusato went downhill either when the new owners came in or my tastes changed. I ate appetizer's at Murrieta's once with drinks on an uninspired half date. They made a turd.

There is (or was, I haven't gone for a while) a Viet sub shop near the 7-11 by the tracks. I don't remember its name, but it's reasonable. If I want a sandwich while I'm on that side of the river I'll try it. I also think Doan's near Sobey's just south of Whyte is edible, again if for some reason I'm not inclined to go downtown. And if you just want a liquid lunch Dream Tea is great.

I know this thread is nearly a year old, but maybe you are still curious. I find okra comes and goes fresh from grocery stores. Safeway, Save-on, Sobey's all seem to have it sometimes and not others. Doesn't seem seasonal either, since it has shown up at the oddest times. Safeway always has frozen too, which I use in a pinch, depending what kind of dish I'm making.

I can confirm that Rosebowl is (at least one of) the best in Edmonton. I like the Classic Chef's Mistake with spicy sauce.

What street is Shudh located on? I am thinking of trying them, but don't want to drive around aimlessly and google didn't help.

Don't do this if you actually like Mexican food. I'm sorry there isn't any good Mexican in Edmonton, but lying ain't gonna change a thing. This place is worse than the regular greasy donair place that used to be there.

"Out of curiousity, why this Culina, and not Highlands?"

because

"Menus look completely different."

Aside from the name they are different restaurants. Culina Highlands used to be Bacon, which was not very good Ukrainian fusion. After Bacon went out of business the Culina team took it over but preserved a lot of its identity. I haven't been since the change, but in my experience Culina Mill Creek is rock solid.

No. Probably the best in the west end is Sage at River Cree. I haven't been there in a while so the quality may have changed, but you stand a decent chance of getting a good meal there.

http://www.stuffers.com/ is a Canadian company - I bought my curing salt there. They also ship other sausage supplies. Probably wherever you intend to get your casings will also have Cure #1.

Yeah, Edmonton is nothing special for steak and worse than most cities its size.

I think the best place in town is Wildflower Grill, it's on 107 st south of Jasper. I'm surprised it hasn't been suggested yet. I also think Continental Treat on Whyte is worth visiting. Most of my favourite places in town are ethnic though.

Of the previous recommendations I can concur with Culina and Madison's. Dadeo's will make a turd.

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Wildflower Grill
10009 - 107 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 1J1, CA

Dream Tea is my favourite. I went to a new place whose name I forget on Whyte just east of the tracks that was pretty good. It has now combined with a Vietnamese sandwich shop, but I think the bubble tea is the same. They have some good fruit juice combos there.

Pretty sure OP means a donair with bacon on it. A bacon cheeseburger is not a patty made of mixed ground bacon and cheese.

This is a good idea. I can also suggest Queen Donair/Burger Baron on Jasper and 107st as another place where you could try ordering this.