egon61's Profile
Need a new fishmonger in Edmonton
I have never been personally but have heard good things about Fin's in Sherwood Park.
Good Calzones or Panzerotti in Yeg
I will throw in another recommendation for Battista's. Great to hear they are going mobile, as I don't live or work near their location so only get out there every so often.
best pastry shop in Edmonton?
Duchess has earned a great reputation. Some other options:
Dauphine (formerly known as the Queen of Tarts)
Bee-Bell Health Bakery
Bon-Ton
Devonshire Cream in Edmonton?
I have seen it often in the Save-On foods at 109th and Jasper. It was actually kept in the deli section when I have seen it, which seemed weird to me. Maybe they also have some in the dairy section too.
High fat Greek Yogurt? Edmonton
How high does it go? Highest I have ever seen in the Edmonton area is around 10%.
Is Corso 32 "Americanizing" their pasta?
Have not been to corso32 recently enough to notice this (was not an issue when I visited a number of months ago). Pasta in Italy is definitely served "drier" than what you would stereotypically get in the US....a heaping plate covered in red sauce.
Fancier breakfast spots in downtown Edmonton??
Hotel Mac has breakfast. Not sure if they still do the banana bread French toast but if they do it's almost irresistible. Plan for a light lunch though as it's pretty rich.
Cibo Bistro
Not quite in the same league, although Cibo has the ambition to get better. I found their food consistently over-salted. I appreciated their interesting menu and wine options...with a little more polish at Cibo this would be an interesting conversation to have, but not quite yet.
Puzzling Experience at Niche - YEG
My wife and I have been once and enjoyed our meal, although it was more in the "good" category than "great". Hard to believe that what you described could be allowed to happen!
Cibo Bistro
My wife and I went recently and really enjoyed our dinner. I echo Bob's comments on the wine list...some really interesting selections that you don't see everywhere. We had appetizers, main courses, and desserts and all were quite well executed, although the mains seemed a little salty. We will definitely go back!
Ousia Restaurant, Edmonton
Anybody been to the newish place on Whyte Ave. near 109th St.?
Tried to stop in for dinner a couple Fridays ago and they were full with a wait so we decided to make reservations for the next evening.
What a great surprise. My wife and I enjoyed every single course. The cuisine is Greek/Mediterranean but without falling into all the stereotypes. Totally different category than Koutouki or Yianni's. Way more modern and innovative.
Apps: fattoush salad and feta wrapped in phyllo and fried, drizzled with honey and nuts
Mains: my wife had duck, I had beef short ribs, both delicious
Desserts: some kind of mini fried dough fritters, dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with cinnamon, and a no-bake sour cherry cheesecake (mascarpone over a graham cracker base).
Total of 3 glasses of wine between us. The wine list is quite short and in all honesty not super interesting but the wine was good and fairly priced. Coffees at the end were also well priced at $2 for an espresso, which I always appreciate when I see some places charging up to $3.50 for them.
Our server was a pro. The room is small but tastefully lit. We're looking forward to our next visit!
Private Dining/Restaurant Rental (Edmonton)
A couple weeks ago I attended a corporate function at Ruth's Chris with about 20 people. The price was $75 per person for an appetizer, a steak, shared side dishes (broccoli and mashed potatoes) and a dessert. While the food was good, I have always found that place overpriced. We sat in the lower level in "The Vault", a private room that is a holdover from when that building was a bank.
Has Jack's Grill improved with the new ownership and Chef?
We have eaten there several times over the past few years (by no means often). Just went for a special New Year's Eve prix fixe dinner there and really enjoyed it. In my opinion they still do some of the best lamb in the city. Didn't notice any big changes from before.
Christmas brunch - Edmonton
The Radisson hotel is having something, see details below:
http://www.radisson.com/rad/images/hotels/ABEDMSOU/RES_FestiveFB_2011_lowres.pdf
YEG Simple Poll. The war of the restos...
If you are ok going in knowing that you will be eating Southern Italian food, then give Corso32 a try. It is no better or worse than Culina. The potential advantage of Culina is a menu that doesn't focus on one culinary style.
Hardware Grill for me has always been delicious food with quality ingredients and very generous portions (with prices to match all the above).
I tend to lean towards Wildflower when I go out only because I think they have more of a potential to pleasantly surprise me. Hardware can be a little predictable, and if you don't plan to eat a lot you may feel you're overpaying. However if you specifically mention portion size being an advantage so I suggested them.
Dinner near Edmonton Delta South
Hi, just to clarify, the area where you are staying would be like staying at Eglinton and the DVP. Or maybe by Yorkdale mall. It's not exactly an urban neighbourhood, the area is really an expressway with major big box shopping across the street from the hotel, car dealerships, etc. Look at Google Streetviews and you'll see what I mean.
Anyways if you are talking about restaurants of the same "calibre" as black hoof, foxley, etc. You will definitely have to leave the immediate area of the Delta South.
As mentioned, try the Whyte Ave. area or downtown (across the river from Whyte). A few downtown options would be:
Moriarty's (wine bar, serves dinner)
corso 32 (rustic southern Italian, can be tough to get a table without a reservation)
The Marc (French bistro)
Jack's Grill (as already mentioned)
Culina (already mentioned)
Wildflower Grill
Madison's (although I heard they have changed chefs recently, haven't been myself since)
I have to disagree with Koutouki. I find Greek food consistently overpriced and underwhelming in Edmonton compared to Toronto. No need to charge 18 bucks for chicken souvlaki with rice, potatoes, and salad - you can get the same thing for like half that price.
-----
Jack's Grill
5842 111 Street, Edmonton, AB T6H 3G1, CA
Dinner near Edmonton Delta South
Right near the Delta South, most of the choices are chains: Earl's/Red Lobster/Olive Garden/Montana's.
Sorrentino's is an Italian place that is a local mini-chain with about 5 locations around Edmonton. They are good but not great, located a block south of the Delta. Thai Orchid is a nice thai place actually located in the same building as a motel a couple blocks south from the Delta where you'll be staying. Very casual but friendly staff and good food.
But really, to get something a little more interesting I encourage you to take a cab ride up to the Whyte Ave. area, probably 10-15 minutes away/$10-15 cab fare. There you'll find some more independent choices like the following:
Da-de-o: southern cajun diner, casual, specialize in po' boy sandwiches
da capo: wood oven pizza, some really nice interesting choices & nice wines by the glass (109th St. and 87th Ave.)
phobulous: Pho (109th St. and 87th Ave.)
Accent: a European style lounge/pub, very cozy, good schnitzel & some nice European beers
Packrat Louie (83rd Ave. and 104th St.)
Hope this helps!
-----
Packrat Louie
10335 - 83rd Ave, Edmonton, AB T6E 2C6, CA
Sorrentinos
4208 Calgary Trail South, Edmonton, AB T6J 6Y8, CA
In search of great Vietnamese, Chinese, and Latin in Edmonton
For the latino groceries, try Argyll Foods. It's in the plaza on the NE corner of 99th St. and Argyll Rd. Not sure exactly what you'll need for pupusas but they have the corn husks and also masa there.
Birthday dinner in Edmonton
At that price range, most places including Hudson's, Brewster's, Joey's, Earl's etc. will be able to do a main course with no opportunity for appetizer and/or dessert.
Or were you meaning the entree price should be $20 or less, and any app or dessert on top of that?
If the $20 per person is for the entire food budget, I would suggest somewhere like an Indian buffet or maybe Sai Woo Garden on 97th St. in Chinatown. Those options would give people the most selection and variety and opportunity to try more than one dish.
Von's in Edmonton
I've only ever had the steak there, and found it really nicely prepared.
Gelatto in Edmonton?
Pinocchio products are really good. I know they're marketed as gelato, but to me they do seem more like a premium ice cream style. I think this may be due to the fact that typical retail and home freezer temperatures are not the ideal temperature for holding and serving gelato, so you lose some of that soft creamy texture.
Promising addition to Edmonton's West End: VIVO
Thanks for the review! Sounds like an interesting new spot. I'm not in the west end but will probably make the trip specifically to try this place.
Dinner Recommendations in YEG?
How about The Marc? Considering they sometimes get criticized for being too loud, I think it would be lively enough. They have a variety of food including the classic steak & frites for the less adventurous eaters.
Gelatto in Edmonton?
The serving temperature is apparently quite important to creating the right texture. I have never found any home product that can compete with the experience of getting a freshly scooped gelato at a cafe/store.
Tres Carnales - Edmonton
When I was there, they did have agua de horchata. The menu is on a chalkboard so I wouldn't be surprised if they change things up.
Tres Carnales - Edmonton
Had a chance to go to Tres Carnales on Rice Howard Way last night.
Arrived about 6pm. The place was completely full with a reasonable lineup. Tough to score a table, but it's a pretty casual place so people tend to get in and get out fairly quickly.
They had a variety of items on offer in either taco or tora format (apparently a torta is a sandwich). The following choices are the ones I remember:
marinated skirt steak
Carnitas (pork shoulder)
Al Pastor (skewered marinated meat, in the same rotating spit style that a Donair would be but of course flavoured totally differently)
Rajas con crema (poblano peppers, corn, and crema
Chorizo (spicy Mexican sausage)
For drinks they had Mexican Jarritos pop, agua de horchata, Mexican beer, and pitchers of sangria.
They did have a few sides/non-taco items such as chips with salsa/guacamole, soup, Mexican rice.
For $10 you get 4 small tacos. I think it's good value at that price.
Not sure how authentic it is since I've never been to Mexico but the flavourings were definitely more along the Mexican line than compared to mainstream North American "Mexican" places like Taco Bell etc.
I will definitely be back. I had the Al Pastor and now I can't wait to try all the other flavours.
If anything my only compaint was how busy it was! It's not a place where you'd spend an hour eating your meal but literally people were hovering over you for tables. Maybe they had a sudden rush because the Street Performers festival in Churchill Square had just ended early due to the downpour...
Question ?? size of a glass wine pour
If you get a small pour it gets very, very awkward to ask the server about it. You are basically accusing them of screwing you. Hard to find a polite way to do this.
I was in a place recently that offered 4 oz. or 6 oz. pours. My wife and I each ordered the 6 oz. but found that with those sizes being so close, it was hard to tell if we actually got the larger size we ordered, or just the 4 oz. They are each "approximately" what I would eyeball a glass of wine to be.
We felt there was a good chance that they poured 4 oz. by mistake but still charged us for 6 oz. Nothing we could do about it short of getting out a measuring cup.
Bread upon request
Nothing is ever "free" in restaurants. Even water takes up time for the server and maybe bartender to pour and deliver. But to avoid needless waste, I am totally supportive of the server offering bread and not bringing it automatically. That way at least people who have no interest can politely decline and the bread won't go to waste.
The Marc, Edmonton
Ate here for a second time last Thursday. Had a somewhat short notice reservation through Open Table (reserved about 90 minutes before). Arrived and had to wait for our table. The place was busier than I thought it would be right before the long weekend.
Waited at the bar, had a decent glass of French Syrah. Got to our table. Waited for 2 salads, which seemed odd. My only guess is that they knew the mains would be a long wait so wanted to try to pace it out somewhat.
Longish wait between salads and mains. We arrived for a 7:30 reservation and were still eating the mains at 9:15pm.
Small piece of foil paper from the butter wrapper was hidden in the herb butter served atop my steak. You can look at this 2 ways: 1) not a big deal, it's a food wrapper, it's clean & harmless, it is in contact with the food in any case 2) they didn't realize it was in there, which means they might not be paying attention to other things that might get into the food that are less innocent. I leaned towards (1) and told the server not to worry about it when she came over and noticed it on my plate.
Steak was yummy, frites very yummy, my wife really enjoyed her arctic char and lavender-honey glazed carrots.
The slow service and the foil took a little bit of the polish off for me, but the prices are attractive enough that I'll give them at least one more try.
Looking for Great Thai Food (Edmonton)
I've never been but my wife always talks about taking me to Viphalay. She loves it and goes there for work lunches.
Also never been but apparently Boualuong on 97th St. is pretty authentic.
