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.
In August of 2013 a lot of things in my life changed. I finally got married to my sweetheart of four years AND I got a shiny new job. The “Shiny New Job” was out in Acheson… my foodie self was devastated. I would have to give up my much loved food trucks and learn to pack lunch for myself. (Insert lengthy sigh here)
Luckily, I had heard of this lovely little Pasta restaurant; “Little Italy Pasta”. I had never been able to make it out there when I worked downtown unless I was taking a flex day. They are open for lunch – that’s it. So one day, I did exactly that. I took myself out for lunch and met Gerry Graziano, the face of Little Italy Pasta.
Pasta is a weakness of mine. When I am craving comfort food it is usually pasta. So when I got my piping hot serving of pasta and sauce with a side of espresso and Tiramisu. I got to have a lovely chat with Gerry AND I inhaled all of my food before taking pictures of it!
So when the news came that I would be changing gears and moving out to Acheson, things weren’t so bleak because I knew that I could depend on Little Italy for a great meal.
Somewhere on my journey to find that next experience, a friend mentioned a restaurant that I would probably love called Tres Carnales. Indeed. (Thanks Jake!) I have had a love affair with the food of the three gentlemen that own the eatery. They keep it simple with great, fresh ingredients. The restaurant is casual with great sugar skulls, calaveras and luchadors everywhere. The food served is what you would find at a Mexican street vendor while browsing in a market.
The boys know how to promote themselves and have won many awards for their food. The restaurant is usually very busy and it can sometimes be hard to find a table. I do love their fish tacos!
Yelp has been helping me find some great new places to try out. One of my fellow Yelpers suggested that if I liked Tres Carnales, I should try a little place called Cafe del Sol. I always do my homework before I try a new place now. I read the reviews and see what the menu looks like. I have learned that everyone’s palate is different and to always take the reviews and average them out. They looked good!
Somewhere on my journey to find that next experience, a friend mentioned a restaurant that I would probably love called Tres Carnales. Indeed. (Thanks Jake!) I have had a love affair with the food of the three gentlemen that own the eatery. They keep it simple with great, fresh ingredients. The restaurant is casual with great sugar skulls, calaveras and luchadors everywhere. The food served is what you would find at a Mexican street vendor while browsing in a market.
The boys know how to promote themselves and have won many awards for their food. The restaurant is usually very busy and it can sometimes be hard to find a table. I do love their fish tacos!
Yelp has been helping me find some great new places to try out. One of my fellow Yelpers suggested that if I liked Tres Carnales, I should try a little place called Cafe del Sol. I always do my homework before I try a new place now. I read the reviews and see what the menu looks like. I have learned that everyone’s palate is different and to always take the reviews and average them out. They looked good!
“Plow & Harvest is proud to redefine the art of comfort food. Each day our chefs prepare handcrafted dishes using refined techniques and culinary traditions, continuing to hand down the stories of our farming partners’ rich, Canadian heritage.
An expertly assembled and chef-driven menu centered on classics we all know and love – not fast-casual, but fresh-casual. We focus on the total guest experience, where our Brand Ambassadors attend to every need of our guests, sharing even more about our unique, locally-sourced menu offerings and seasonal specials.
We value doing what’s best for the community, from supporting regional and national farmers, to providing a supportive and mentoring environment where our team can grow and prosper. “
This was a “Sneak a Peek” event where Plow & Harvest opened their doors to the public to get the buzz going about the restaurant. The Grand Opening is August 16th. There is a VIP Media event that will be happening on the 15th, which I was unfortunately unable to attend due to Fringe commitments.
I have had my eye on this restaurant concept for some time now. I love the fact that they use as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. I was very excited at the opportunity to be able to see and try the restaurant before the doors were officially opened.
We were welcomed in a reception-style where our names were checked off a list and we were to seat ourselves. We were given a menu at the door. We arrived fairly early so we were easily able to find seating and browse the menu at leisure. There weren’t many details given in the invitation so we just had to observe what was going on around us to get the gist of things.
Inside view of the menuOutside view of the menu.
As you can see by the menu selections there are some mouth-watering choices that are available. I liked that there was no “crap” on the menu. Even the soda is cane-sugar sweetened.
Non-pretentious seating.View from the right hand side of the front of house.
Our server explained the restaurant concept to us and took our drink orders. I was happy to hear that they had some of my local micro-brewery favourites.
Now here is where the chaos came in… I am always one of the first people in the door when I really think I am going to like a new restaurant. I eat out way too much. I have learned through experience that when a restaurant is opening their doors, the patrons need to be patient. There are always going to be bugs to iron out and there will often need to be a second visit when they have had a few days to get their feet underneath them.
P&H was very good at keeping their Twitter posts up to date and apologizing for the bumps in the road. I heard a lot of complaining, and I saw the Chefs and the hosts personally coming out and speaking to to the guests to get feedback.
We were unfortunately sitting in an awkward place on the seating map and often got passed by for the sample food items that were being served. What we were able to try was very tasty.
Baked Potato Soup Creamy potato soup topped with smoky bacon, sharp cheddar, sour cream and green onions.
Creamy it was! This would be fantastic on a crisp Fall evening as a starter.
Hand Cut Plank Fries
Our server explained to us that these are fried twice. Once at a warm temperature and once at a hot temperature. This makes them crispy on the outside and still tender on the inside. Served with ketchup that I was surprised was from a bottle and not made in house.
Baked Mac-N-Cheese with bacon breadcrumbs.
They had me at Bacon! This had a really smooth and creamy texture to it. Nice and cheesy. The bacon breadcrumbs were a great taste pairing. I could have done without the green onions though – they were too strong and distracting from the taste.
Albacore Tuna Melt. Pole-caught albacore tuna salad, lemon herb creme fraiche, melted sharp cheddar, and roasted tomatoes on toasted whole grain bun.
Our server warned us that it was a very lemony taste experience with this item. It was lemony, but very good. The samples were all presented on white buns. This item would rock with the whole grain bun in the full portion size.
Vegan Deviled Eggless Salad. A picnic favourite made with tofu, veganaise, P&H pickles, lettuce and tomato on toasted gluten-free bread.
This was my least favourite experience of the night. One of the hosts had noticed that I had not finished it and asked for feedback. Please note; it is still a work in progress. It was very bland, even with the pickles. It just needed something to give it a bit more flavour. I suggested roasted sweet peppers.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich. P&H original recipe fried chicken breast topped with Dijon mustard slaw, pickled red onions, and jalapenos. Served on artisan bread.
As you can see, mine wasn’t so pretty, but this was the star of the show for the evening that everyone was rightly raving about. The chicken was crispy and tender. The jalapenos gave the taste experience a pleasant after-burn. Again, this was not the bread that was intended. The full plate experience would be an even better one.
The Buttermilk Fried Chicken is also available as a “Big Plate” served with an additional side and artisan bread.
So, congratulations to Plow & Harvest on opening a new restaurant here in Edmonton. I am sure you will take the feedback from last night and run with it as I suspect. What my fiance and I were able to try, we really enjoyed and will be back in a few weeks to try again. Thanks for the invitation!
If you like comfort food, please support local farmers and give Plow & Harvest a taste.
