Flavourful Saskatoon, November 30, 2015


Greetings from Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It’s much warmer than Saskatoon, but there’s a howling gale battering against the house from all directions and white caps cover the bay.

There are lots of exciting things happening, as always, in Saskatoon. Let’s start off with four new food businesses.

Vintage Wine Bar on the Corner
The Vintage Wine Bar on the Corner is located in the corner of the Hotel Senator lobby. They offer classic cocktails and “the best wine list in the city.” They’re using a Coravin system so that they can serve wine by the glass and still ensure it stays fresh.

The Brasserie 
The Brasserie, at 226 2nd Avenue S, will be serving coffee, tea, wine by the glass, and a light menu. “There hasn’t been a place downtown where you can go for a dessert and a coffee — whether it’s a boozy coffee or a regular coffee — or a glass of wine. There wasn’t a lot of options out there,” explained owner Daniel Beavis. The Brasserie will showcase art by established and emerging artists.

The Burning Beard 
The Burning Beard expects to open the first week of December at 731 Broadway Avenue. They plan to offer a variety of local and foreign dishes.

The Barley Sandwich Co. 
The Barley Sandwich Co. is an artisan sandwich shop that will be based at The Woods Ale House. They’ll operate as The Barley Sandwich Co. during the day and as The Woods Ale House at night. They plan to open December 19.


Vegetarian Sandwiches 
Pret A Manger is a British chain offering natural food and organic coffee. Sandwiches are freshly made and they have some really interesting options for vegetarians. Pret’s Veggie Christmas Lunch contains “roasted chunks of butternut squash, nutty Christmas pesto, and spicy rocket. Served with a spoonful of yoghurt mayo dressing and a sprinkling of crispy onions on malted bread.” It was so good! Let’s hope that The Barley Sandwich Co. is equally creative.

Tea Farms 
It used to be that tea came from China or India and later Africa. Now you can find tea grown in unexpected places, such as Mississippi, Cornwall, and Vancouver Island.

The Great Mississippi Tea Company’s goal is to provide an ethically and environmentally sustainable product that doesn’t use cheap labour, pesticides, or herbicides.

A New Health Food? 
Corn Gromwell, a member of the borage family, is normally considered a weed, but they’ve started growing it as a crop in Scotland. Research has indicated that the seeds contain really high levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

 Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post regular profiles of culinary entrepreneurs, new restaurants and new food products. 

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