Vegging Out: Veggie Burger at Original Joe's

I ended up at Original Joe's for supper (on 125 Street and 102 Avenue) the other night and ordered a veggie burger. The patty was dense and soy-based, with a rather complex flavour profile coming from the guacamole on the top part of the bun and the hummus on the bottom. As well, a hearty portion of bruschetta was on top. I held the cheese (vegans be aware) and had fries and coleslaw as my two sides. The gravy is also vegetarian, which is just awesome. The coleslaw was very fresh and added some lightness to the meal. A win overall.

Festival Food: Fringe 2015

I was once again a volunteer on the Multimedia Team for the 2015 Fringe Theatre Festival so again I hit up some of the food on site. While there was actually quite an impressive selection of food this year, much better than in the previous couple of years, I stuck with the tried and true - I think I was more focused on taking pictures than eating.

I got started with the Chicken Tikka from Zaika. The dish is very flavourful and making it a combo with the samosa really made for a hearty meal.

It would not be a true Fringe experience without eating something greasy, so I went for the spiral potato from Punky Potato. The deep fried, thin slices of potato had a great texture in addition to flavour. Plus, Fringe volunteers got a 50% discount. Can't beat that.

I tried Quick Meals, which offers Mediterranean and Western fare, because they too were offering a 50% discount. My greatly reduced falafel was fresh and crispy, with refreshing tzatziki sauce that did not overpower the wrap.

Mini-doughnuts are also a staple of the Fringe, and again, the 50% discount for volunteers was more than an incentive. The portion was so huge, I had to share it! And thank you to all of the food vendors who supported the volunteers this year - much appreciated!

Grilled Chicken Vermicelli at Pho Huong

The pho at Pho Huong/Mama Pizza (10531 107 Avenue) is so wonderful that I rarely order anything else. However, before going to see a Fringe show last week in a BYOV venue downtown, I had a grilled chicken vermicelli bowl with spring rolls instead. The chicken was plentiful with a deep grilled flavour and some spicy kick. The crunch of the spring rolls (I opted for the veggie ones) added flavour and texture above the huge bed of noodles and salad. I think I will have to have a vermicelli bowl more often here!

Chicken Three Ways at Panda Express

I was in the very far north of Edmonton this week en route to St. Albert and stopped in to Panda Express (16704 127 Street). Not to be confused with Panda Hut Express, which I visit frequently in south Edmonton, this is an American chain that presents a variety of Chinese-inspired fast food. I had orange chicken (supposedly their specialty), sweet and sour chicken, and chicken with mushrooms. I liked the orange chicken the least - it was over-fried and did not really taste much from orange. The mushroom chicken was spicy but had a good, deep flavour, while the sweet and sour was exactly as described. Combined with a huge helping of fried rice, my playte was just over ten dollars - good value for sure.

Breakfast for Lunch: Steak and Eggs at Route 99

I already know that the eggs and hash browns at Route 99 (8820 99 Street) are some of the best in the city, but I never tried the steak and eggs until I was there over the weekend and it was on special. My steak was grilled to perfection, soft, and flavourful. It went great with my eggs over-easy, hash browns, and toast. Plus, I was full for the rest of the day.

Bento Box at Kyoto

The thing I like most about bento boxes is having a variety of foods in small portions. So I was very happy with the one I had for lunch last week at Kyoto. The beef was tender and succulent, while the chicken was crunchy with a mild teriyaki sauce. The tempura had a nice variety of vegetables (I asked for no seafood), while the salad and rice rounded out the flavour profiles. Good portion, good price, nice place.

Rada Paneer at Guru

I had supper this week with my brother and father at Guru. I went for the Rada Paneer, large chunks of homemade cheese in a curry sauce built up with chopped vegetables. It was spicy but not hot, and tasted much different than other vegetarian East Indian sauces I have experienced. Unique, with flavour. It went well with the saffron rice and naan we shared.

The Pho Files: Steak and Brisket at Co Do Hue

Co Do Hue, a local chain of Vietnamese restaurants, recently opened a new location in the west end at 9524 163 Street. It's a dine-in and take-out place where you order at the counter whether you are staying or not. I tried the pho with rare steak and brisket, and was very impressed with the portion size as well as the richness of the broth. The rare steak was cut in perfectly thin, round slices, while the brisket was tender and slightly too fatty in some spots. All in all though it was a satisfying bowl of pho and I look forward to coming again.

Edmonton Folk Music Festival 2015

I attended the 2015 Edmonton Folk Music Festival from August 6-9, and once again food was a part of my activities.

I decided to stay vegetarian for most of the weekend, and started off with the ginger beef from Padamandi. Kasim also threw in a spring roll and veggie chicken drumstick. The flavour and texture of the "beef" is a pretty good imitation of the real thing.

I also had the combo of Pad Thai, green curry with tofu, spring rolls, and rice from Numchok Wilai. The curry tasted great but was a bit too hot for me. Very satisfying portion size.

I have never eaten in Langano Skies before, but tried the split pea curry with injera from their booth. Tasty without being spicy, although a bit of a challenge to eat in such a setting.

The weekend got hotter as it progressed and I found the quinoa avocado salad from Sailin' On to be flavourful and refreshing. My only suggestion is to have the avocado better integrated - it could have been pureed and seasoned and presented more like a dressing as opposed to a few plain chunks here and there.

Calico Baking Company is a new vendor on the scene, selling its local creations at various events and farmer's markets around the city. Their fare was perfect for the morning/early afternoon workshop sessions. The mint water was especially wonderful on a hot day, and simple - water infused with mint leaves. My muffin was supposed to be banana sourdough with chocolate, but was actually more like bran.

As the weekend wore on, so did my resolve, and I wanted a morsel of meat. The lemongrass beef skewer from Hoang Long satisfied that craving.

My final full meal was the chili chicken from New Asian Village. A hearty portion, although the pile of saffron rice satisfied my need for carbs better than the cold roasted potatoes.

Of course, no visit to the Folk Fest would be complete with a green onion cake (from the food booth of that name) . . .

. . . Or, my annual serving of fresh-made greasy French fries.

Appies at The Pint

I was at The Pint downtown over the weekend prior to heading to a video shoot. Instead of a meal, I decided to order a couple of my favourite appetizers. The mini Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and gravy is the ultimate comfort food, and you can't find it in many places. The mustard and horseradish on the side made for some fun dredging. I also ordered a pound of boneless wings with honey mustard sauce, and guacamole as the dip. This combination actually worked better than I thought it would, with the creamy avocado and sweet honey mustard working together.

Pasta at Olive Garden

I took a friend and co-worker to the west end Olive Garden last week for supper. I ordered one of the mix and match, pick your pasta pick your sauce combinations, which in my case was three-colour vegetable penne, with the primavera sauce, and I added a grilled chicken breast. I was happy with the price and portion size (and took some home, which does not happen often), and found the sauce to be a bit on the sweet side. The best part were the large pieces of vegetables. I also found that the sauce has some parmesan in it, so it is vegetarian, not vegan. The chicken breast was cooked to perfection and actually paired well with the sauce. Of course, the unlimited salad and breadsticks brought me back in my mind to coming to the restaurant with my family as a kid.

BBQ Chicken Pizza at Famoso

I ventured to the original location of Famoso last week after doing a video shoot with a friend. I was absolutely famishes so went for a full-sized BBQ chicken pizza, with sweet BBQ sauce, grilled chicken, red onions, and cilantro. The onions and cilatro were very fresh and added after the pizza was baked. There was certainly a lot of chicken and the sauce worked well in place of a tomato sauce. The thin, pliable crust which is Famoso's trademark also lived up to expectations.