Mediocre Madison's Grill

Prosecco

Madison's Grill is one of those places people in #yeg automatically list off when someone asks for a nice place to take someone on a special occasion, out of town guests, or if they are looking to impress someone. It had been a few years since my humans last dined here, back in the days my humans were still dating and trying to impress each other, and long before they started taking me places. So I had never been here and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Marlow's Mootreats - ie. Christmas/Holiday Baking

So many mootreats to deliver!

With the holidays upon us, I’ve been a busy bovine baking up a storm! I don’t usually have a lot of time or energy to bake, but I really do enjoy it! Especially since I am horrible at cooking, that is if you call starting frying pan fires horrible. Baking seems to be the only type of domestic task I can manage.

Below you’ll find some of my favorite recipes and they’re all pretty easy and quick to make! Everyone seems to enjoy them and although hoof made treats can take some work, it’s rewarding to watch people enjoying them.

Butter Chicken - A Lesson in Indian Cooking with @MichPetersJones

@Michpetersjones on MasterChef UK

I had been asking @michpetersjones of Food, Football and a Baby blog, to see the episodes of MasterChef UK she was on. She was on twice, first in Series 4, then as a comeback contestant on Series 5, and both times making it to the quarter finals!

After much peer pressure, she relented to letting us come over to watch the episodes, as well as teaching us to make butter chicken. That is how mooself, @bigaddie and @MirabelleMacs wound up at the home of @michpetersjones on a snowy Sunday afternoon. If you've seen a lot of activity on Twitter today under the hashtag #yegCurry, that's because mooself and @bigaddie were live tweeting about the process as we went along.

Rigoletto's Cafe - A YEG Classic

Dangles, Bucky and Moo

Once located in the old Corona building prior to being demolished, Rigoletto's Cafe has long held a place in Edmontonians hearts. Luckily, they were able to find a new space not too far from their original location.

Stopping by with my pal Dangles and Bucky for lunch on a Thursday, the place was packed to the rafters. Not having had the foresight to make a reservation, we had to settle for a seat at the bar. Rigolletto's offers a variety of Italian fare, from the classic bruschetta to their very own signature creations such as Angel Hair Sergio.

Tutti Frutti Froyo Delight

These cups are the size of my head

Although I'm a fairly new fan of frozen yogurt, one of the things that seemed to be lacking are soft serve frozen yogurts with natural tasting flavors. So when Angela Seto of Tutti Frutti invited me to try what they had to offer, how was a bovine to say no?

Enjoy the Prairie Bistro (CLOSED)

Potato, dill and leak soup

The humans decided that they needed to find a way to make it to Prairie Bistro at The Enjoy Centre in St Albert. So one sunny this past fall, we paid a visit and are glad we did. Although located quite a ways from Edmonton, this restaurant is in a beautiful space. Large, spacious, open, and bright the dining room is a sight of it's own.We were there right when they opened for lunch and although their menu is small, all of the items looked enticing.

Beguiling Battistas

Spicy Italian

Battista's Calzone Company has been a name repeated time and time again as the go to lunch place on Twitter. Once pal @thepolishviking became involved with the business, I knew I had to visit. Located on 118 Avenue, you can't miss the bright purple building that sets itself apart from the rest of the buildings surrounding it. It calls out for people to come in and find out what's inside, a calzone haven that will capture your heart upon first bite.

Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival

I'm the Media!

This post is a few weeks late, but it took a bit of reflection to decide how I would approach this post.

Although I had heard about the Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival and knew it was coming for some time, I hasn't originally intended on going. Mainly as it seemed to be a rather pricey way to taste wine because you have to pay to both enter the festival ($18-30), as well as for sampling coupons ($0.50/each). However, the lovely @michpetersjones (of Food, Football and a Baby) asked if I wanted to go with her. Unbeknownst to me, the festival was offering free tickets to food bloggers to attend their industry event. Basically, media, bloggers and those in food and wine industry could attend for free, and receive $20 worth of sampling coupons if they showed up before 4pm on opening day. How is a bovine to pass that kind of deal up?

A Hot Pot of Asian at Ruby Dragon (CLOSED)

Ruby Dragon

Although I live insanely close to Ruby Dragon, we'd never had much occasion to go. The location had once been the longtime home of Chili Hot Hot, a very large, Chinese dim sum restaurant that the humans enjoyed. Since it's closing, it housed the short lived Kai Asian Grill. However, my entourage had a Groupon that would soon and took the opportunity to try it out.

The Queen of Macarons, Mirabelle Macarons

Holy macarons!

Another obsession I have from Europe are macarons. My only experience with macarons prior to going to Europe included those from Duchess Bake Shop, which did not impress me at the time. Once I had been to Europe and tasted the epitome of macarons from Pierre Herme (refer to my Paris Chocolate and Pastry tour post), I became been obsessed!!!  Although maybe not as obsessed as I am with  scones and clotted creme.

Paris Chocolate and Pastry Tour = Delightful Discoveries!

4 lbs Artisan loaves of bread at Poilaine

If you're looking for something different than the usual tour of tourist attractions around Paris, I highly recommend doing a chocolate and pastry tour. We booked ours through Viator and went last fall (2010) with some friends of ours from Vancouver who were also in Paris at the time as we were.

D'Lish(ious) Urban Kitchen (CLOSED)

Emeri Pink Moscato

The aptly named D'Lish Urban Kitchen and Wine Bar does not disappoint. We went on a Tuesday, which it turns out is 2 Finger Tuesdays at D'Lish (ie. 2 oz of wine for $2), a dangerous prospect for this wine loving bovine!  The beauty of this promotion is that it allows you to try a larger variety of wine than you otherwise would have. In fact, I opted to try 3 - a bright and fruity Emeri Pink Moscato from Australia, a slightly dry 2009 Enrique Foster Malbec from Argentina, and a fruity, full bodied and sweet 2010 Quail’s Gate Gewurztraminer from the Okanagan.Weighing in at only 11 oz myself, drinking half my body weight in wine made for an interesting evening...

The Hat Resto Pub

The Hat Resto Pub

The Hat Resto Pub is a small little place on Jasper Avenue, apparently known for serving quick lunches to the downtown crowd. The interior of The Hat is filled with dark woods and a black wall dotted with protruding silver rain drops - many of which have either fallen or pulled off - leaving large spots of glue on the wall that they have yet to clean up. Upon entering on a bright, sunshiny day, you instantly feel the dark decor suck up any light pouring in from their front window, leaving you in a dim pub.

Stalking The Bobbin

Executive Chef Tim Parsons

Another post a bit delayed! But I'm feeling nostaligic for my trip to London we took this time last year, so here it is.

We heard about The Bobbin from one of my best faux fur friends, Squeaky Oat Bear. His Uncle Tim is the Executive Chef of this London treasure.

We unintentionally arrived on quiz night and the pub was jam packed! But with clout on our side, they managed to squeeze us into their intimate yet warm dining area. We were even given a tour of the kitchen!

An Amoozing Afternoon Tea at Claridges (London)

Champagne and finger sandwiches

Apologies, but this post is severely overdue. We were in London in the fall of 2010 and feeling nostalgic, we thought we would post this review now.

When one thinks of afternoon tea, it conjures up an image of older, blue haired women, dressed in finery and large hats, sipping tea from bone china cups, with their pinkies pointed up. As well, there is the thought of the obligatory, dainty, crustless cucumber sandwiches. A practice developed by the British Empire as a light snack taken mid afternoon, it's progressed from being a daily tradition in all households to an occasional treat offered in some hotels, cafes and tea shops.

Annibearsary Dinner To Remember

Bacon jam

For my humans first wedding annibearsary (ie. anniversary), they went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and although they'd had good experiences previously, left sorely disappointed.

To avoid this downer on such a special occasion a second time, I took matters into my own hooves  and sent a question into the Twitterverse to see where they should go. Chef Andrew Cowan graciously stepped forth to make them a 2nd anniversary meal they would not forget. I will admit that I do gush quite a bit about Chef Cowan's cooking, but it's only because he is my favorite Chef in #yeg. If you put yourself in his capable hands and let his imagination run wild, he will not disappoint.

Bubble Buzz Bust (CLOSED)

Bubble Buzz

I'll preface this post by saying that I am a bovine who cannot fathom in this day and age why anyone would want to Westernize any type of ethnic food. Considering that many people these days living in large cities who go out to eat regularly have likely been exposed to different cultures through food and travel, generally rejoice when a truly authentic restaurant opens up. Take Tres Carnales for example, after years of enduring Tex-Mex places such as Taco Time, Taco Bell and Julio's Barrio, Edmontonians now flock to Tres Carnales in hoards, keeping it at the number one talked about place in Edmonton on UrbanSpoon for quite some time now.

The Ultimate Test of Coronary Fitness - International Bacon Day

The 2nd YEG Bacon Day Dinner was hosted at Lux Steakhouse by @zoomjer. The first ever YEGBaconCamp was last year and featured a bacon ice cream showdown between Chef Shufelt and Chef Cowan, with Chef Cowan emerging as the victor.

Chef Cowan's winning Bacon Ice Cream 2010

Chef Shufelt's Bacon Ice Cream 2010

YEG ChocoWalk - The Dining Experience

At Niche

After eating out so much and realizing there were so many great restaurants downtown with enticing chocolate desserts, a random thought became the impetus for hopefully the first of many YEG ChocoWalks. With my partner in crime, @thepolishviking, we began to plot a deviously delicious plan to eat our way through the chocolate desserts of downtown Edmonton.

Taste of Edmonton

Lamb Tostada from Zinc

Taste of Edmonton is part of the regular line up of summer festivals that occur in Edmonton. It has grown on a yearly basis to include more restaurants, as well as different niche tasting areas such as Taste of Beer, Taste of Wine, Taste of Beverages and Taste of Liqueurs and Desserts. Although it has become somewhat stagnant, with the same restaurants serving up the same dishes on a yearly basis, they are clearly doing so as people return time after time looking for their favorites.

As this year's festival began, the organizers imposed a new rule that an item can only be done two years in a row, then a new item must be introduced by restaurants to the Taste of Edmonton line up. With this rule in place and a handful of new restaurants participating, it is likely that the bar has been set higher for future years and I'm confident that everyone will step up to the challenge in upcoming years.

Drift - Mooliciously Addictive

Pork belly, pork belly and pork belly please?

For the longest time, Edmonton has suffered from a lack of mobile eateries, the only in existence being Fat Franks. Thanks to their popularity all over North America, it seems as though more and more are cropping up right in our backyard.

Having heard great things about Drift on Twitter and read @thepolishviking's review, I knew I had to visit.

Wandering Further Afield to Century Grill

Executive Chef Hans Pinto and I meet at last

We ventured outside of our core area in downtown Edmonton (#yeg) to Century Grill located on the south side. The male human was turning 32 and wanted to try it out as he had never been. Chef Hans Pinto, Executive Chef of Century Grill, graciously offered to make something special for the occasion and was given the very difficult request of creating a chocolate souffle, a challenge which he enthusiastically accepted.

Tres Carnales Introduces Edmonton to REAL Mexican Tacos

So much to choose from!

Nothing is more fun than a Tweet Up that involves food. On this particular evening, my entourage and I met up with @thepolishviking and @AddieRaghavan at Tres Carnales. Although @AddieRaghavan and I hadn't been yet, @thepolishviking had already written a story for Vue Weekly which had been published that very day. Her account of our tweet up can also be found on her blog, Dine and Write.

Neighbourhood Niche

Iced coffee with Bailey's

We went to Niche on 3 course Thursdays and were not disappointed. This coffee obsessed bovine started with the iced coffee with Bailey's which was perfectly sweetened with a lavender infused simple syrup. The Bailey's added just the right amount of creaminess, and in this humble cow's opinion is the best iced coffee in the #yeg.

The fresh oyster and tomato boccaccini salad had a mildly sweet dressing, refreshingly juicy tomatoes, sweet nectarines, and tangy artichokes - which I am normally adverse to, but these have changed my mind. The oyster on top was perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth.

Delicious "Tasting Menu" at 100 Bar + Kitchen

Foie Gras Popcorn

Chef Andrew Cowan, one of my favorite chefs in Edmonton, had been promoted from sous chef at Lux Steakhouse to chef de maision at 100 Bar + Kitchen in March. Since then, he has been working on making the menu his own and in May, agreed to give mooself, my entourage and @thepolishviking a sneak peak on some items he had been working on.

Underwhelmed at Wildflower Grill

I'll begin this post by saying that I've had an absolutely amazing 6 weeks of eating before eating here, so this bovine's expectations might have been set unfairly high heading into the Wildflower Grill for dinner. However, my tastes will differ from other people's and this is just my humble opinion.

Brioche

We have been to the Wildflower Grill a few times before for their Sunday brunch, and had enjoyed it. In particular the corn bread that is only made and served for brunch - though it is so delicious that we wish it was available all the time! Based on previous experiences, I finally convinced my entourage to take the time to try out their dinner menu.

A Cupcaking We Will Go

A Quest

Loads of cupcakes

Once upon a time on Twitter, a blogger and food reviewer named @thepolishviking came up with a deviously delicious idea: To taste test all of the cupcakes in the land of #yeg (Edmonton). An overly excited little bovine named @marlowmoo quickly volunteered to assist her in this dangerous, yet important quest. @michpetersjones knew they would require a third brave soul and the trio set out on what they hoped would be a fun filled and sugar fueled day of excitement, for the betterment of #yegfood.

Brunch of Champions at Zinc

Zinc Interior

This was our inaugural visit to the restaurant, my only other experience with Zinc being a less than spectacular catered event at the AGA, with unimpressive food. So we weren't quite sure what to expect at brunch.

The restaurant itself was an eclectic mix of wood, concrete, metal and glass.  It made the space feel as though it was an art piece, but the materials gave it an open and light feeling. The humans opted for the 3 course meal and it was if the restaurant knew this pint size bovine was coming, with many items perfectly sized for moo.

Off Menu and New Menu at Lux Steakhouse

Duck with arugula

The humans went to Lux Steakhouse tonight to use one of their Groupons they had bought.  As always, the food was delicious, complemented by an amazing front of house staff.

Near the end, after the humans were already stuffed full having devoured a baked camembert, salmon with orzo, and an 8 oz steak (eek!) with a lobster tail rivaling the size of the steak (eek!), sous chef Eric brought out some off menu items executive chef Tony Le had created for us to try.

CHG Top Chef Finale

Throughout the month of May, Century Hospitality Group had been holding their own version of the Top Chef competition for their own chefs to compete and test their skills.

Shirley's Brined Salmon with daikon slaw

The last Saturday of May saw the final two competitors facing off for the title of CHG Top Chef. Ben Weir faced off with Shirley Fortez at Lux Steakhouse. Their challenge was to cook a 3 course meal with a specific ingredients supplied for each course, enhanced by items that they bought at City Centre Market that morning. They would each be assisted by one of the previous guest judges. Assisting Ben Weir was Valerie Lugonja and Che Bechard assisted Shirley Fortez.

Ladies and La Persaud (CLOSED)

Eeek! Steak tartare!

I recently had the honor of escorting 3 bootiful (aka. beautiful) ladies, including @thepolishviking and @andrealauder to La Persaud for dinner. A dim lit, romantic looking restaurant, the perfect setting for this bovine to wine and dine my companions.

Tantilizing Torta at Corso 32

Breakfast

I started the night with a glass of Gewurztraminer and their "Breakfast" appetizer consisting of a sunny side up egg, ricotta crostini, wilted greens, house cured lonza, cippollini and parmiagiano.  The crostini stayed very crisp underneath under the deliciously oozey egg. My only suggestion to improve this would be to have less greens, as I noted the more I ate, the more of the sour taste I detected.

Transcending Experience (Jasper Location CLOSED)

I finally paid my first visit to the T3, otherwise known as Transcend Coffee's location in the heart of downtown Edmonton.

Although this location had been open for several weeks when I visited in April, their limited hours made it difficult to visit. The moment they finally open their doors on a Saturday, I knew I had to finally see it for myself.

Having visited the space when it was Axis Cafe, I was curious to see how Transcend had made the space their own.

Although it looked very similar to before,  the addition of color photographs related to coffee on the walls truly branded it as a cafe whose focus was truly on the coffee culture.

I think that I like this space more than their Garneau location. A bit more intimate, with small tables situated all over the main floor, and a loft space with large, comfortable chairs. Also, after just one visit, the staff have memorized my name, then again, who could forget a face like this?

As delicious and creamy as it should be, their vanilla latte made with real vanilla bean paste was warm, inviting, and free of the usual bitterness that most people have grown accustomed to when ordering at some cafes.

Whether you are a coffee drinker or not, they have plenty of other options, as well as food fare to offer, that it is worth a visit.
Transcend Japser
10349 Jasper Avenue Northwest
Edmonton, AB T5J 1Y5
(780) 421-7734
Twitter: @TranscendJasper

Delicious Crave Cupcakes

The humans had bought a Groupon a few weeks ago for Crave Cupcakes, newly opened in Edmonton, but long established in Calgary. I finally managed to convince them on Sunday to go collect.

Goodies from Crave

Birthday Dinner @ Lux Steakhouse!

Yes, you read the title of this post right. I, Marlow Moo, a bovine turning 4 years old on April 9th was taken to a steakhouse, that's right, a STEAKHOUSE for my birthday by my humans....

Chef Matt and Chef Eric @ Lux Steakhouse

Updates coming Soon!

I had such a moovealous time in Europe that I slacked in updating my blog!

Updates and pictures coming soon! Stay tuned!