Great Places to Eat in Edmonton

local food, lots of vegetarian options

I have written in depth about some of the great places to eat in Edmonton – Blue Plate Diner, d’Lish, Wild Tangerine. Here’s a brief review of some other places where I had a really good meal.

Moriarty’s Bistro and Wine Bar (downtown Edmonton)
Nothing defines a holiday better than a relaxed lunch in sophisticated surroundings. Other customers were having a serious business lunch; I was sipping my wine and enjoying an incredibly decadent dessert. It would be worth a trip to Edmonton just for the apple and pear tart with its rich, buttery red wine caramel sauce.

Moriarty’s, at 10154 100 Street, is next door to the Sherlock Holmes Pub and just up the street from the Citadel Theatre. They have an extensive list of wines by the glass, with an enosystem ensuring a broad selection of fresh wines.

Moriarty’s is a member of Original Fare, a group of independent restaurants that emphasize local food.

Café Mosaics (Whyte Avenue)
Imagine! A restaurant that serves nothing but vegetarian food. What a treat! I had a grilled tofu sandwich with mushrooms, onions, red pepper and cheese slices that was moist and flavourful. The vegan chocolate cake was a little odd, but it came with a huge scoop of chocolate mousse that was excellent.

Café Mosaics is located at 10844 82 Avenue NW. It’s young and funky with a colourful, cheap décor. It wasn’t elegant, but it was welcoming and flavourful.

Highlevel Diner (South Edmonton)
Highlevel Diner is an Edmonton culinary institution with a 28-year history. Directly south of the Highlevel Bridge, it is a busy restaurant with a menu to suit every taste. People of all ages will feel comfortable here. Sunday brunch appeared to be very popular with a line extending out the door and around the corner.

Food is purchased from local suppliers – “responsible growers who care as much about nutrition and health (both yours and the planet’s) as we do.” The eggs Florentine arrived piping hot, and the website reassured me that the eggs were from locally-raised, free-range chickens.

Culina Mill Creek (South Edmonton)
This small restaurant was jam-packed at lunchtime on a Friday, but the service was fast and the food was awesome. Located at 9914 89th Avenue, they describe themselves as a friendly, neighbourhood café, but that description does their fine cuisine a disservice.

Culina Mill Creek is a member of Slow Food Edmonton and supports local businesses and suppliers, including Cally’s Teas. The Persian Flatbread Sandwich with Quinoa Salad was absolutely amazing.

Cally’s Teas (South Edmonton)
Cally’s Teas (8608 99 Street) is a tea-themed gift shop just south of Culina Mill Creek. It is jam-packed with an extensive range of teas (both house blends and well-known international suppliers). There is an eclectic collection of china and small items that defies description. It was great fun to browse while sipping the cup of tea provided when I walked in the door.

Plus:
     Blue Plate Diner
     Credo Coffee    
     d’Lish Urban Kitchen and Wine Bar
     Wild Tangerine

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 28, 2017

Image
The Next Great Food Business Public Tasting, Sept. 7 The Local Kitchen is hosting a public tasting with samples from each of the finalists in the Next Great Food Business competition. Finalists are: King’s Jerky, Kind Condiments , Smoke and Salt BBQ, Bannock Express , and Voodoo Van . Wine Tastings Guess the most expensive wine (Sept. 8), sample some Rhône wines (Sept. 22), or attend the 2017 Premier Showcase Wine Dinner (Sept. 28) sponsored by Saskatoon Co-op Wine Spirits Beer. Premier Showcase is also offering a Portugal with a Splash of California wine seminar (Sept. 29) and a Women & Whisky seminar (Sept. 30). Refresh and Renew I had a chat with Trent Loewen about his plans now that he has sold Earth Bound Bakery. He is heading east to visit chef friends in Ontario and then off to New Zealand to explore what's happening there. After 9 years with a single focus, it's time to explore new ideas. Interestingly enough, the bakery's new owner is a business...
Read more

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 21, 2017

Image
Prairie Harvest Café I was sad to learn that Prairie Harvest Café has closed its doors. It’s been one of my favorite Saskatoon restaurants since day one, and I really appreciated the fact that the chefs focused on cooking with local ingredients, many supplied by the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. All the best of luck in your new adventures. We’ll miss you. Hug a Farmer This has been a tough summer for many farmers. Prairie Sun Orchard lost their entire cherry crop to insects. Drop by their stand at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, tell them you care, and have an ice cream. My favorite is the chocolate cherry fudge, but Clare Pearson, the principal ice cream maker, says her new favorite is the salted caramel. Peppers If you’re like me, you assume that all small, skinny peppers are super hot and avoid them like the plague. But that’s a big mistake. Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens is offering two long, skinny peppers – one can be hot, but the other isn’t. Padron chile pepper...
Read more

The Golden Towns of Beaujolais

Image
Heading north out of Lyon, you pass through a long tunnel and exit into a lush green countryside leaving the city far behind. You then turn and head up the hill onto winding roads between a patchwork of vineyards. Many of the vines are really old with short, thick, twisted trunks and a thin stem of green leaves and buds. These are the Gamay vines of Beaujolais, interspersed with a few fields of greener, leafier Chardonnay vines. South Beaujolais, just 45 minutes northwest of Lyon, encompasses 25 medieval villages of orangey-gold stone (limestone and iron) that is surprisingly vibrant (I had been expecting something lighter, similar to the Cotswolds in England). Some of the villages still have the remains of 14th century castles. Oingt is classed as one of the most beautiful villages of France and it really is lovely. You can take a walk around the town on the former ramparts and the church is austere and beautiful. I was on a half-day tour , which combined stopping to...
Read more

Petra Market: A Mediterranean Grocery

Image
Tucked away in a strip mall on Primrose Drive (north of Lawson Heights Mall) is Petra Market, a treasure trove of food products from the Arabic countries in the Mediterranean. I’m fascinated by grocery stores full of unknown-to-me products but also a little nervous about trying things, so I was really happy when Nour Dabbour, the owner of Petra Market, showed me around and told me about the different items. Nour is trying to stock products from as many Middle Eastern countries as possible. He even stocks the same product from a number of different countries because he says that each country’s product tastes slightly different. Za’atar , a spice mix, is a prime example with packages from Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and each one is a slightly different colour with a slightly different taste. The most popular areas of the store are the nut and treats bars with an amazing assortment of Middle Eastern candies and mildly spiced nuts. Nour gave me a variety to try and I’m real...
Read more

Spelt and Millet: Ancient Grains for Today's Healthy Diet

Image
When I was growing up, whole wheat flour and rice were exotic options. Now we have a whole range of intriguing choices – buckwheat, spelt, millet, kamut – the list goes on and on. My problem is that I don’t know very much about some of these grains, so I arranged a phone call with Nicole Davis, the Owner/Manager of Daybreak Mill near Estevan. Daybreak Mill grows and processes approximately 18 different kinds of flour, whole and de-hulled grains, flakes, cereals, and legumes. They are 100% organic. “We want people to have access to healthy, wholesome food,” Nicole explains. Two of Daybreak’s products – spelt and millet – have been nourishing people around the world for over 9,000 years. Spelt Spelt was cultivated by ancient civilizations in Europe and the Middle East for thousands of years. It grows well in poor soil and doesn’t require fertilizer. It’s resistant to frost and the thick husk protects the grain from insects. However, spelt requires more processing than wheat as ...
Read more