I am not a huge “breakfast at breakfast time” kind of person. I dutifully make myself a healthy smoothie every morning to take to work, but it usually doesn’t get consumed until 10am or later in the morning. Weekends are interesting at our house, I don’t think our fridge has seen actual breakfast food in over a year.
I love breakfast, just not in the morning. I am a huge “all day breakfast” fan as well as a fan of eateries that serve brunch past 1pm.
As I am sure you have all heard in the media, B’s Diner has had to close the doors of the Old Strathcona location.
Many people have expressed that the community needs to give back to someone who has supported and cared for so many… Here is your chance!
Help Save B’s Diner – GoFundMe Campaign
She might throw something at me for doing this, but I just can’t stand idly by and watch this happen! I have worked right by her side the last couple of months on a few projects, and B’s just needs to be! She is such a generous person, let us show her how much we appreciate all of the hard work she has done for Edmonton.
Everyone seems to be doing a “Year in Review”, so I thought I might as well take a stab at it myself.
It has been an extremely busy year for me as far as my day job is concerned. I ended up banking a whole pile of hours this past year. This means that I did not get to spend as much time as I would have liked dedicated to blogging. This equates to not as many invites to menu launches and special events which leads to some more hard work on my part to get out and get eating at Edmonton’s many new restaurants that have launched this year.
Not so much for blogging in 2015, but lots was going on for Twitter and Instagram. I actually reached my 2015 goal on Instagram for 1000 followers. Go me!
I was able to indulge in some old favourites this year as well as find some new ones. I would like to share my top five with you.
I finally had the opportunity to go and have breakfast at B’s one weekend and meet the lady that is a legend, Brenda Der. There were previously two “Bs” that made up B’s Diner now there can be only one! Brenda has taken the reins of the Diner and there are going to be some new and exciting menu changes that are coming up for 2016.
At B’s you will find traditional Diner fare as well as some menu items on special that are just good home cooking. The Tocino (Filipino) breakfast special is something that I highly recommend you try!
Not only does this lovely lady run the diner, she also runs a not-for-profit school lunch program for children, a yearly Christmas dinner for the less fortunate, Christmas hampers for needy families, Christmas meals for seniors and the women’s shelters… etc. Brenda has a huge heart and donates a lot of her time to charitable acts. Watch out for her campaigns throughout the new year.
Downtown Diner – Fort Saskatchewan
Keith and Lori of the Downtown Diner in Fort Saskatchewan are also wonderful people. It is a journey that is generally out-of-the-way for most people who live in Edmonton, but it is certainly worth the drive, and the wait at the doors.
Everything in the Diner is made from scratch. The red glitter vinyl and 50’s style décor completes the ambiance of an almost authentic Diner experience; the only thing missing is the actual streetcar!
My favourite at the Downtown Diner has to be the BLT. It is made with thick cut brown sugar bacon. All of the fixin’s are fresh. I always order a side of the Diner chips and an extra order to take home. I still haven’t had enough room for dessert, but will make it a 2016 goal to go!
Daravara – 124 Street
Daravara is my new neighborhood “go to” for some really great eats. Some of the staff, including the Chef, are transplants from Dadeo. It’s a great place to go for drinks and dinner after a rough day at work.
After eating here several times before and after my review, I can tell you that you now will need to wait for a table on a Friday or Saturday night. If Beth is working, sit in her section, she will take excellent care of you! The burnt honey and garlic cauliflower is still my favourite food item here; I am hoping they will keep it!
Fairmont Hotel MacDonald – Downtown
The Mac is still on my top list of favourites. Chef Jost and his staff are such wonderful hosts.
The Confederation Lounge is a little more on the casual side to enjoy some nice drinks and a beautiful view. The “Classics Perfected” cocktail menu that just launched a few weeks ago is something that you really need to go and try. The “Old Fashioned” has got to be my favourite here.
Privada Wine and Tapas – St. Albert
Privada was one of my favourites of 2014 with a wonderful meal that I got to experience from Chef Tony Krause. To make a long story short, Tony went on an adventure for a few months and is now back at Privada.
Privada has as many locally sourced and grown ingredients as possible. The charcuterie is cured in-house. Chef has done some foraging so knows his wild ingredients and his seafood; he supports sustainability. The owners are gracious and supportive of Chef.
For our anniversary dinner this year, we decided to switch it up a bit and go to a pop-up at Privada that was hosted by Chef Tony. We were not disappointed. This was my favourite meal of the year! There wasn’t one dish that I did not enjoy.
There are so many wonderful eateries in Edmonton that it is hard to experience every one of them. By supporting our local businesses, we support our local economy and help people flourish right here at home. I am guilty of “grab and go” when I don’t have time to eat properly. My goal for 2016 is to see how much more I can switch over to supporting local.
The three that I am most looking forward to in 2016;
The Buddha Boys are Chef Daniel Huber previously of the Pourhouse and Chef Levi Biddlecombe of “Attila the Hungry”. They launched at the end of the 2015 Food Truck season and had some great things going on. They have been busy with the launch of Hart House in Camrose the past few months. I can’t wait to see what they come up with in the new year. Completely my fault for them not being featured in my top five, I have been so busy with life that I have not had a chance to make it into Hart’s House. I am a huge fan of Chef Daniel’s gourmet creations! And Levi, I really miss those damn Duck Tots!
The Local Omnivore is back in a new incarnation of a licensed deli very close to home here in Edmonton. They previously had a Food Truck that had really great coffee and their own cured and smoked bacon. They have only been open a few weeks and I am excited to finally have the time to get over there and give them a try!
Duchess Bake Shop is opening up a breakfast eatery in the same plaza as The Local Omnivore boys. Duchess has gotten so busy that they have had to expand into a four bay location! If the pastries are to die for, I can only imagine what breakfast will be like!
Watch out for some blogs coming up on local charities that support feeding the city of Edmonton. Charities are also a passion, I have put in many hours this past year getting to know some really great people.
I hope that you and your loved ones have a very happy and healthy new year. Cheers to 2016!
I have a friend that is a regular at Daravara and he had been recommending it to me for months. It has been a super busy year for me work-wise, so I finally decided I needed to make the time for a visit. It is relatively close to my home and I love the 124 street area; it is home to me!
Daravara is an unpretentious gastro-pub that has the neighborhood pub feeling. Head Chef Shane Loiselle hails from a background of Dadeo, The Petroleum Club, Zinc and the Harvest room at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald.
If you follow along with my Food Adventures, you know that my husband and I had our first official date at Dadeo. Our favourite Server was Beth. She was amazing at remembering the regulars and always smiling and friendly. We loved it when we got to sit in her section. We were sad when she was no longer at Dadeo and always wondered where she went. Imagine how thrilled I was to see that smile relocated to Daravara!
In January of 1999, George Siu and Park Hffelfinger of Vancouver food scene fame, had a stopover in Memphis while flying home from New Orleans. Lunch was a pulled pork sandwich, and it was love at first bite.
Since then they have attended BBQ competitions and done their research. They were able to reproduce the recipes at home, and decided to bring authentic Southern BBQ to Canada.
Denizen Hall is located in one of the very few heritage buildings that Edmonton has left standing at the corner of 103 avenue and 103 street. Formerly the Richelieu Pub, it has been open since 1904 and provided live music, kegs and whiskey bottles to the growing and newly incorporated City of Edmonton.
When I used to live in a different city and travel to Edmonton on the Greyhound bus as a teenager, this place scared the crap out of me, not going to lie! It took me a while to be able to convince my Husband that we should really go and visit because I have heard a lot of good things about this space. I am sure I mentioned the word “Arcade” but apparently he didn’t hear that part!
The Grand Hotel has been completely re-vamped and is now home to “Denizen Hall” and is again providing live music, kegs and classic arcade and pinball machines to the people of Edmonton.
Firstly, I must apologize to my followers, I have been away for a while now due to illness. Things are slowly coming back to normal again, and I am ready to get back to where my passion lies; the Edmonton food community!
Since I got my shiny new KCBS BBQ Judge badge, I thought I would put it to good use in the community and try out my newly trained tastebuds. Please join me in my BBQ Roundup!
As I am sure you can tell, “Gastro Pubs” are one of my favourite places to visit. I am a bit of a beer snob, I would like to be MORE of a beer snob someday. (Of the non-pretentious variety) Beer goes great with food, just the same as wine, only you don’t need a sommelier to pour it for you. The Pourhouse always has a rotating selection of taps and bottles as well as a regular selection. The beer are all listed by flavour profile, which makes it easier for the non beer drinkers.
Ok, now that you know you can go to Pourhouse for a great brew, let’s talk about BurlyChef Lager… Pourhouse’s heart belongs to Chef Daniel Huber. No, he isn’t the only one that brings the Pourhouse to YEG, but he is the flavour creator. He wanted to bring a “normal” beer to Pourhouse, like the one Dad used to drink when they were BBQ’ing. Before your start grumbling and complaining about the brewery he chose, please note that he did try the “local” breweries and they were not able to give him the flavour profile that he was looking for. Labbatt’s brews “Burly Chef Lager” for the Pourhouse. It is a nice, light lager that goes with anything that the menu has to offer for food. For the entire month of August, $1 per pint will be donated to the Bissell Centre to help them with the rebuilding of the “Thrift Shoppe” after the two devastating fires.
As I am sure you can tell, “Gastro Pubs” are one of my favourite places to visit. I am a bit of a beer snob, I would like to be MORE of a beer snob someday. (Of the non-pretentious variety) Beer goes great with food, just the same as wine, only you don’t need a sommelier to pour it for you. The Pourhouse always has a rotating selection of taps and bottles as well as a regular selection. The beer are all listed by flavour profile, which makes it easier for the non beer drinkers.
Ok, now that you know you can go to Pourhouse for a great brew, let’s talk about BurlyChef Lager… Pourhouse’s heart belongs to Chef Daniel Huber. No, he isn’t the only one that brings the Pourhouse to YEG, but he is the flavour creator. He wanted to bring a “normal” beer to Pourhouse, like the one Dad used to drink when they were BBQ’ing. Before your start grumbling and complaining about the brewery he chose, please note that he did try the “local” breweries and they were not able to give him the flavour profile that he was looking for. Labbatt’s brews “Burly Chef Lager” for the Pourhouse. It is a nice, light lager that goes with anything that the menu has to offer for food. For the entire month of August, $1 per pint will be donated to the Bissell Centre to help them with the rebuilding of the “Thrift Shoppe” after the two devastating fires.
Here is another “Truck that Cares”. Street Eats is one of the trucks that you will see at Eden’s Market on 124. This is a Farmer’s Market that supports YESS. They aren’t a regular, but I hope to see them back again!
Street Eats is one of the trucks that will take the leftover items at the end of the day and will hand them out to the less fortunate. They are hoping to have a collection tin soon to be able to help local charities.
Street Eats started their Edmonton Food Truck journey last year. It is a family run business that specializes in “Comfort Food just like Mom used to make but with a gourmet touch”. This is indeed a great description.
