Mooey Boozemas - Homemade Irish Cream

Homemade Irish Cream

Whenever Christmas rolls around, I always enjoy pouring a little Irish Cream into a coffee to start the morning....  I won't get into the details of whether these mornings are weekdays or weekends, I'll leave that to your imagination. For later in the day, I switch to drinking Irish Cream mixed with a little milk or just straight over ice.

XIX Nineteen – St Albert Beckons

Tasting at XIX Nineteen

Building upon the success of his first asian fusion restaurant, XIX Nineteen, located in Terwilliger, the new XIX Nineteen is located in St. Albert. The décor and design are similar, but still has individual touches, ensuring that this is not simply a clone of the original location.

Apothic Dark for Neophytes Only

If you’ve followed Moo on Twitter over the past few years, you’ll know that I’m a lover of champagne, Riesling and most recently, scotch. You’ll also know that I’ve been taking as many wine courses as possible to increase my knowledge of wine and spirits. You may or may not have noticed that I very rarely drink red wine, other than Lambrusco. This is mostly a result of preference and exposure. I prefer drinking white wines and therefore have not been exposed to as much red wine. Also, prior to learning about the flavour profiles of grapes from my wine courses, I would randomly choose red wines to choose and somehow managed to always choose very oaky tasting wines, which I didn’t find particularly enjoyable, which I suspect turned me off of red wines.

14th Annual Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival Giveaway

The 14th Annual Edmonton Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival is back! You've heard me say again and again, but attending a wine festival is one of the best ways to try a variety of wines, scotches, and other spirits without investing your hard earned cow coins (or human coins) in an entire bottle, only to find out that you don't like what you bought. It also has the added benefit of exposing you to wines from areas that you may never have heard of -such as Moldova - and you'll fall in love with your discovery. Not to mention, knowledgeable representatives will be there pouring the wines, spirits and other libations, which is the perfect chance to ask them any question you've ever had about the winery, distillery, etc.

The French Laundry - An Anniversary to Remember

Made it to The French Laundry!

Anyone who has spent any significant time watching The Food Network over the last decade or so will likely have at least heard of Chef Thomas Keller and his world famous restaurant in Yountville, California, The French Laundry. He’s been on Top Chef Masters, mentioned by a variety of other celebrity chefs, as well as have had at least one of his restaurants listed on The Top 100 Restaurants in the World year after year. Not to mention if you look at the Michelin Guide at all, The French Laundry is always on the list. Although we dined there last year, they closed shortly after our visit for renovations. Now that they are open again, I thought I would finally post this, now that people can actually dine there now!

Tekarra Restaurant - A hidden gem

A destination restaurant, Tekarra Restaurant is nestled up in the mountains in the tranquil and and peaceful Tekarra Lodge. Unless you knew the restaurant was there, the generic sign at the side of the highway indicating that there’s food of some sort in that direction doesn’t exactly clue diners in on the fact that a wonderful dining experience lies at the end of that roadway. In case you’re trying to find it, it’s not very far from Jasper. We got lost trying to find it ourselves, expecting more signage than there actually was. It’s simply a short drive along Highway 93 towards the Columbia Icefields, and a quick left onto Highway 93A. Tekarra Restaurant is helmed by owner, chef and stand up comedian David George Husereau, who has been at Tekarra Restaurant for over 20 years and does stand up comedy when Tekarra Restaurant is closed in the off season.

A Little Taste of Edmonton International Airport

Texas Bulldog Margarita

I'll admit that whenever I go to Edmonton International Airport (EIA), other than a stop at Starbucks, I never ever buy anything to eat at the airport. Mostly because I'm leary about eating at airports, convinced that a restaurant at an airport won't provide the same quality of food and service that restaurants elsewhere would provide because they have a captive group of customers. However, an invitation from EIA to attend a food tour of their airport and I couldn't resist seeing what they had in store for us.

Freshii's Fresh Food Hits Downtown Edmonton

Metaboost

When I saw that there was a Freshii ready to open up downtown, I was pretty excited. Not that there aren't other salad places around that area already, but most of them are focused on serving the lunch crowd and are usually not open later in the day when people are looking for health dinner options. Freshii is one of those places, refreshingly looking to serve the residents of the area, not just the people who flock to downtown Edmonton just for work, then never return the area for fun.

Snack Healthy with CheeCha Puffs and Giveaway!

I have to admit that I’m a snacker, and not the good kind of snacker. I will munch on things all day, not because I’m hungry but simply because they’re there. I also don’t tend to snack on healthy things, I always lean towards chocolate, chips, popcorn, anything salty or sweet, as long as it’s crunchy. I have to admit that I’ve managed to do a pretty good job of deluding myself into thinking prepared and bagged popcorn is a “healthy” snack, but I know I’m kidding myself most of the time, especially since I like flavoured popcorn.

Bar Tartine lowers the bar

Bubbly to start

On my last visit, I had dined at Tartine Bakery for lunch and had eaten a moolicious grilled cheese sandwich with grilled sourdough bread and a beautiful melange of melted cheese. Their lemon cream pie was tart, without being too tart, topped with an ample amour of whip cream and surrounded by a crispy pastry shell. On this visit, I opted to try their sit down restaurant, Bar Tartine, located just around the corner from Tartine Bakery. 

Elephant and Castle Gift Card Giveaway!

Elephant and Castle Pub and Restaurant has been a fixture on Whyte Ave in Edmonton for as long as my humans can remember. Their menu combines classic British pub fare with North American dishes. In order to keep up with the changing and burgeoning restaurant landscape, they’ve launched a summer menu filled with lighter options, perfect for patio dining on a hot night! The dishes include mussels steamed in a beer cream sauce, a spicy tempura shrimp, a shawarma style grilled chicken breast wrapped in garlic naan bread, as well as a honey dijon salad.

Drink Up at Edmonton Craft Beer Festival

Moo sized beer mug

I have drunk so little beer in my life that the opportunity to try a variety of different beers in a single venue without having to commit to a whole pint was an opportunity too good to pass up! Having received media passes for the Edmonton Craft Beer Festival, I knew that going to a festival like this would help me to discover more beers that I liked or didn’t like, as there would more to sample from than I could likely handle.

Since I’m not much of a beer connoisseur, I won’t even attempt to review the beers I tried. I didn’t try very many by the way as I’m a light weight, and I’ve found in the past that too much beer equals a very painful head full of stuffing the next morning. I’ll just tell summarize what I liked about the Edmonton Craft Beer Festival and what I think could be improved upon to make it a better festival.

Breathtaking and Tranquil at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge

Lake Beauvert on a clear day

I had never been to Jasper before and had been wanting to go for years. So since we didn’t have any vacations planned for this year, the humans and I decided to indulge by staying at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge for a luxurious mountain escape. Located a short drive from the town of Jasper, located along Beauvert Lake, the resort is isolated and serene. Although tucked away, the property itself is expansive at over 700 acres! Their onsite amenities and activities are numerous, including a golf course, riding stables, outdoor heated pool, jacuzzi hot tub, a spa, on site stores, restaurants, fitness center, yoga classes, bicycle, canoe and paddle boat rentals to name a few!

Spring has sprung at Joey Restaurants

Spa Cosmo

I have to admit that it’s been years since I had visited a Joey Restaurant. Even though I live only three blocks away from one, with the plethora of new restaurants opening up in Edmonton, I’ve been busy exploring what’s new and trendy and had almost completely forgotten about what used to be an old favourite.

Win Tickets to Edmonton Craft Beer Festival!

I have to admit that I don't know much about beer, except what I like including Barking Squirrel and Steam Whistle. So going to a craft beer festival seems like the perfect way to try more beer, find out what I like and don't like, as well as learn more!

Run by Alberta Beer Festivals, the Edmonton Craft Beer Festival being held June 5-6, 2015 at the Expo Centre will feature over 400 local, national and international craft beers. There will also be food from over 20 Edmonton restaurants, not to mention seminars on cooking with beer, a Brew Master seminar and Beer University! I’m a bit of a knowledge geek, so I’ll likely be attending their Beer University session where they’ll be talking about the history of beer, beer styles, what goes into beer and how beer is made .

Tantalizing Teatro

Chef John Michael Macneil brought Moo
out some greens to graze on

We had been to Calgary many times but never had the opportunity to drop in to try out Teatro, overseen by Chef John Michael MacNeil. The restaurant had been recommended to us by a number of people, so when we knew we would be in town for the Calgary Marathon, we decided to go try out their tasting menu.

Not Smitten by Smitten Ice Cream



Vanilla Ice cream

I’m a sucker for ice cream, and even more so when it’s liquid nitrogen ice cream. Why you ask? Because every time I’ve had ice cream made by liquid nitrogen, I find it much creamier than regular ice cream. So when I heard there was a place in San Francisco where all they did was liquid nitrogen ice cream, I knew it had to track it down.

Ritz Carlton Hong Kong - Mediocre Afternoon Tea with Spectacular Views

Tea room at Ritz Carlton Hong Kong

When on vacation in any city once occupied by the British, I’m always looking for restaurants that serve afternoon tea. Ritz Carlton Hong Kong boasts its afternoon tea is the highest in the city, as in it physically occurs at the highest height. Their room afternoon tea was held in on the 102 floor, although is not located at the very top of the building, is located high enough that my ears popped taking the elevator there.

Chef Xavier Perez Stone Showcases Harmonious Melange of Mooliciousness for Grand Velas Riviera Maya Resort

Palate Cleansing Cocktail

When I was invited to a dinner by Chef Xavier Perez Stone of Cocina de Autor restaurant at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, hosted at Rostizado, I was expecting a tasting menu full of what we in North America generally associate with Mexican food - tacos, moles, poblanos, yucca, plantains, tamales, etc etc. Instead we were presented with a series of dishes utilizing modern techniques and Mexican ingredients. Chef Xavier Perez Stone is quite accomplished, having won Canada's Iron Chef competition in 2014. Grand Velas has a series of high class resorts in Mexico and is touring around Canada in an effort to encourage more Canadians to visit.

Going Old School at Gary Danko

Glass of champagne to start

On the humans first trip to San Francisco in 2009, they had dined at Gary Danko. At the time, none of us were foodies, and it would be years before I would start my blog, Mr. Moo’s Adventures. However, they were looking for a nice restaurant to have dinner at, at the concierge at The Argonaut Hotel where they were staying arranged a reservation for them to dine there. Since they hadn’t been to Gary Danko in almost 6 years, they wanted to try it out again to see if it was as good as they remembered, or if it was because they hadn’t done a lot of fine dining previously.