Edmonton Food, Coffee, Dining, etc.
 

I noticed there wasn't an Edmonton version of the Calgary food topic... so here we go.

Next weekend we're planning to go to Edmonton to celebrate my parent's anniversary, but we're having difficulty choosing a nice place to go, mostly because for some unexplainable reason any sort of reliable and recent restaurant review source does not exist that I can find.

We were looking at UnHeardOf which looked nice, Red Ox Inn, Lux, the Harvest Room @ Hotel MacDonald, Hardware Grill, Blue Pear, and La Table De Renoir... as a Calgarian, I just scratch my head having no experience whatsoever with any of these places.

Any suggestions?

I really like both the Unheardof and Blue Pear. The others are good too, but those two hold a special place in my heart.

I also love Normand's. (although their website seems to be down, which is bad luck)

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/9728/perogiesl5.jpg

yum

Il Portico is good for modern Italian. As is Culina for modern cusine with a regional focus.

Copperpot offers sweeping view of the Legislature and the rivervalley http://www.copperpot.ca/

The Manor Café is a perennial favorite for its extremely cosy atmosphere
www.manorcafe.com

Probably isn't quite what you're looking for, but do check out BACON...it's super small so you'll need a reservation to avoid a big wait. A bit off the beaten track, but definitly worth it. It's my current favorite restaurant in Ed
http://eatatbacon.com/

Copperpot is good

Here are some of my thoughts:
Red Ox Inn is good... so is Jack's Grill... (not on your list, but one of the best in the city). Lux is good, (bias as I use to work there) but not the near those other two...

Casual -> Sugarbowl... one of my favorite places in the city.
Sushi -> cheap: I Love Sushi, better: Kyoto Sushi
Pub -> The Druid, Sherlock Holmes (Rice Howard Way location)
Pizza -> Rosebowl

(etc.... I'll add more later)

Rosebowl makes a fine pizza. So does Tony's, Pizza Boys and Famoso.

Bacon is great, but small

Red Ox Inn is very very good, but small

Culina is amazing, but small

Most of your mentions are truly some of the best in Edmonton. I would say try "La table de Renoir" for something a little different in a wonderful building in the middle of downtown (UG parking in commerce or manulife or scotia). You could then stroll after dinner around downtown.

www.originalfare.com is IMO the best list to choose from generally speaking.

If you are a hipster reading Noam Chomsky and perhaps even Marxist text, go to Remedy Cafe - honest to god they have THE BEST butter chicken wraps known to man, god and the universe. I would eat there every day if I could.

They also have a good selection of imports and REALLY good homemade Chai.

If that's your thing. Don't worry, even if you don't fit the mould (like myself); you will feel welcome.

UnheardOf gets a vote from me.

Probably not the best options for some parents (at least mine who think salt, pepper and paprika are the only spices), but Khazana's and New Asian Village both serve up some very decent Indian food in decent atmospheres. New Asian Village also has a great view of downtown from across the River Valley and an unbelievable selection of bottled beer to choose from.

It's not a restaurant, but I love the different foods Edmonton offer during festival season. I tried some jerk chicken with bean rice at CariWest, it was pretty awesome!

I actually grew up in Ed and went to the U of A -- it's just I never went to expensive restaurants until I could afford it (i.e. the last couple years.)

Used to go to Remedy after seeing films across the street, great place and still one of my faves!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I appreciate your help! :)

i was going to say Jack's Grill - i lived in Edmonton about 10 years ago and my dad was friends with Jack back when he did still the cooking and it was a set menu.... nice to see he's still in the business...

bump

/\ Good call.... it's been too long.

Oh, and Kevin.... you are right about Remedy. Although I have yet to have the butter chicken wrap, I can vouch for it being the best Chai I've ever had.

^ I was there a week ago; best selection of cake ever. Then again, I think it's for the people that are high. I just go there for the imports and decent indian food.

Ah yes... Chai @ Remedy... good stuff.

Another one-of-a-kind place to grab a burger and milkshake: The Motoraunt. Just north of the Yellowhead on 66 Street, the building itself is worth the trip alone (built around a double-decker bus), but the food is great too!

I'll be in your fine city in a couple of days. Where is there a good place for breakfast?

Depends on which part the city you are in, but here are a few of my favs:

Downtown - Blue Plate Diner

South Central - High Level Diner or Sugar Bowl

Westend - Hap's Hungry House (a very old school breakfast joint)

Transend on 99th just south of Argyll is supposed to have the best Chai (and coffee) in the city I hear. A little off the 'retail' path, but worth the trip from St. Albert for a friend of mine...so it might be worth checking out.


Hap's, eh? I might need to check that one out, although I am rarely on the westside.

If you're here on a Sunday, my favourite place is the Blue Chair Cafe, on 76 Ave and 96 St. It's a great neighbourhood restaurant with live music (who doesn't love a string quartet with breakfast?) great local art on the walls and fabulous Eggs Benedict. Plus it's walking distance from my house! I love my neighbourhood!

Better Eggs Benny then another place close to you on 99th that claims to have the best in the city? :haha:

I haven't been to Barb & Ernie's in a few years so I can't say for sure, but Blue Chair definitely has a more laid-back vibe than B&E's. I'd say it's a nicer place to linger and enjoy an extra cup of coffee after your meal, especially when they've got live music going on.

I'll try the blue chair then. Perhaps transend for chai. Thanks alot. P.S, I love that river valley.

/\ I'm still a fan of Remedy until I try Transcend first hand...

I went to friends and neighbours cafe on whyte. Had a great italian eggs benedict. Right now I am typing this in a second cup in front of your city centre mall.(102 and 102) on my htc phone. The ped. mall was interesting. The area somewhat reminds me of the promenade behind portage place in wpg. Even in the recession, edm. is still bustleing. The only complaint, so few of the streets have lines painted. Hard to drive in the night, and the rain. Saw the esks/bombers game (I was the loud abnoxious bomber fan in the gold stegall jersey). had a great time. Not one fan threw anything at me. In fact, I had more things thrown at me at bomber home games ( even while cheering for the bombers!). Great fans and great city. I commend you.

^Thanks for your perspective Dennis. And I would agree, some of the streets need their lines repainted.

I don't recall the street number, but is the pedestrian mall in downtowna daily thing?

do you mean 104st with the outdoor farmers' market? there is a lot of old brick buildings and new condos, so if you don't recall them then no.

if you mean 104st it's every saturday from 9am-3pm. from may-october. i wouldn't call it a ped mall though.

Just to go back to the 104th street market, I was there today and man was it packed. Awesome place to pick up some awesome food / goods and have a bite while you are there and enjoy some street music. I recommend the Medicine Man Bison burgers for those of you who aren't vegetarians etc....

It probably was 104 st, with new highrise condos and old brick buildings. Just to the west of city centre mall. I was there on saturday. It was a busy place.

Eggs Benny at New York Bagel Cafe = awesome. Their little patio to the side is pretty slick too. A little pricy, but great food.

Sushi - Finally ate at Furusato on Whyte. Good sushi. Not A+++, but one of the better places in the city. For the dollar value and quality of sushi, I still think I Love Sushi is the best bet. Not the best in the city... just a cheap price for good sushi.

Yes it 'tis ... I think Whyte Avenue is one of the few places that is actually busier.

the only place that comes close imo is kobe westside, although i ruv sushi has the cheapest and best spicy tuna maki

My wife and I hit I Love Sushi on Friday night. Spicy tuna cones are the best. Man, I miss working around the corner from that place and being able to go there for lunch.

Someone should tell them they need to be open for lunch on Saturday. We tried to go a couple weeks ago after the farmer's market and found they only open at 5 on Saturday. There are enough people around downtown now and they have great visibility from the park.

Second that. Had one the last time I was at the FM. It was fantastic...

I was there today for lunch and oh how good it is. And yes, they totally should be open for lunch on Saturday....

Just one measly photo of 104th street from my trip. Sorry about the size.
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/5859/image112s.jpg

Has anyone tried Maki Maki? It's a sushi + Vietnamese place on 101 St and 81 Ave in the East Whyte area.

I see that Kabsa closed down. It's that Middle Eastern eatery on Jasper Ave beside the CWB tower.

^that's too bad, their lunch was quite good.

Maybe lease was up.

^ Maybe you can open your cupcake place in there! ;)

Yea, Kabsa was always busy every time I walked by and I know it had a following.

I was torn on it. It wasn't bad, but heard some bad experiences. I liked the variety of the food though form the norm of 'Subways' et al. nearby.

Vi's For Pies...mmmmmmmm :yes: :tup:

So...CoCoDi. Is this place going to reopen, or what? It's been ready to open at Jasper/115 St for a couple of months now.

^ OK, so CoCoDi is finally open, in case anyone cares.

On another note, Ivory Club is closed at 111 St/103 Ave. The Overtime is returning in that spot, grand opening is on July 1. I hope it returns to the upscale cougar den it used to be!!

I wonder if someone will do another 'dueling' place downtown, I think there is still a good market for it.