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.