Barbecued meat and beer, could there be a better combination? As part of a series of restaurant takeovers, Samuel Adams is connecting with local restaurants to create special menus pairing food with their Boston Lager.

Credit: Curtis Comeau Photography, Courtesy of Samuel Adams
In Edmonton, Samuel Adams is partnering with Smokehouse BBQ to create Triple B Tuesdays, where a sampler plate of brisket, ribs, and slaw are served with your choice of chips or fries for $14.95. Combined with pints of Samuel Adams on special, you've got your triple B's: brews, brisket and bones.

Last week I stopped by Smokehouse BBQ for their VIP night to celebrate the launch of Triple B Tuesdays. Baskets of crispy housemade chips and cornbread greeted us at our table, and I probably could have eaten just their chips all night! They were well-seasoned and fried to perfection, I would definitely recommend a side of chips with your brisket and bones!

In true Southern fashion, a ‘Carolina Pig Pickin’ had been planned for the evening to kick off the collaboration with Samuel Adams. What exactly is a pig pickin? It’s a large gathering where a whole pig is barbecued until it is tender enough that the meat falls off the bone. Our guest of honour that night was seasoned and stuffed with garlic before cooking in the smoker for 7.5 hours.


Credit: Curtis Comeau Photography, Courtesy of Samuel Adams
After spending the majority of the day in the smoker, the meat was juicy, tender, and literally fell off the bone. A vinegar-based Carolina BBQ sauce on the side cut the fat of the meat, and I really enjoyed its tanginess compared to the sweet flavour of traditional BBQ sauce. Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager was a great beer to pair with the meal given its light flavour and smooth finish. With buns, slaw, baked beans, and potato salad to accompany the pig pickin, it was a delicious night to remember!


Credit: Curtis Comeau Photography, Courtesy of Samuel Adams
It’s great to see Samuel Adams reaching out to restaurants to create new experiences for customers by pairing food & beer. The fun, casual atmosphere of Smokehouse BBQ makes it a great spot to meet with friends or unwind after a long day. So if you're looking for a new date idea or a place to kick back on a Tuesday night, stop by Smokehouse BBQ for Triple B Tuesdays!

*Disclosure: I was invited to the VIP launch for Triple B Tuesdays, and am receiving compensation for this review. Views expressed in this post are solely mine. This post is 100% my opinion, and as always, my priority is to you, the reader, to present an unbiased, thorough review.

If you're like me and you frequently drive down 124 Street you've probably noticed the signage for a new Japanese restaurant opening up on the corner of 124th & 107 Avenue. Japanese is one of my go-to cuisines when I'm dining out, so you bet I stopped by for lunch last week!

Washoku Bistro - 10702 124 Street - Edmonton AB

Walking into Washoku I didn't realize just how big of a space the restaurant occupied. Semi-private rooms line the side of the restaurant, there's a space for a larger group, and multiple smaller tables occupy the main seating area.

The lunch menu features a variety of bento boxes, maki, teriyaki, and Korean favourites like bulgogi and bibimbap. After placing our order, we each received a complimentary bowl of hot miso soup with tofu bits and wakame seaweed. While it isn't expected, I always appreciate when Japanese restaurants give you a hot bowl of soup to enjoy while waiting for the rest of your meal!

Green tea is a must for my boyfriend when we're out for Japanese. Restaurants typically bring a pot of green tea to the table, but we found it amusing when he was served a green tea bag in a dainty cup. It was the most peculiar thing and something we are always going to remember about Washoku.

Half of the lunch menu is dedicated to 7 different sushi rolls. The rolls themselves are priced between $10.90-$13.90, but if you add $3 you can upgrade to a Lunch Roll Combo, which gives you a side salad and lunch sized classic udon noodle soup to go with your maki. It's a pretty good deal if you ask me!

You would think that a 'lunch sized' udon noodle soup would be fairly a plain, small portion, but it's quite the contrary. The piping hot bowl of noodle soup is decently sized, and garnished with tamago (egg omelet), imitation crab, bean curd, green onion, and bits of tempura in the mix. The flavourful soup leaned on the slightly sweeter side, and the noodles had a perfect chewiness to them.

In each combo the roll is divided into 8 pieces, and I was honestly surprised to see how big the pieces were! You definitely get a great value out of the lunch roll combo. To go with my soup and salad, I chose the Crispy Crunch roll made with tempura shrimp, imitation crab meat, cucumber, avocado, spicy salmon, and tempura bits. The roll was presented on a mixture of nitsume (eel sauce) and sriracha mayo, giving the roll an extra punch of flavour. I enjoyed the extra spicy kick from the salmon and it paired well with the rest of the ingredients.

From the sushi bar my boyfriend ordered the Sashimi & Roll Bento ($15.90) which comes with the chef's choice of 7 pieces of sashimi, 4 pieces each of spicy salmon roll and california roll, 3 pieces of tempura, and a side salad. Just like the lunch roll combo it was a substantial portion of food for a great price. The sashimi in the bento was a mix of salmon, tuna, tilapia and surf clam, with each piece being thickly sliced. The salmon had a nice fatty texture, and all the sashimi was very fresh. The mixed salad and sushi rolls were fairly standard, with the spicy salmon being our favorite of the two rolls due it's kick of heat. The tempura batter was light, and each piece wasn't too oily - Gordon even decided it was the best tempura he's ever had.

There's only one other option for Japanese food along 124 Street, so Washoku Bistro is a welcome addition to this area of the city. The service was attentive and the food arrived quickly to our table, making Washoku a great option for a quick, filling lunch. Food quality was great, and as an added bonus you get good value out of your meal for the price. If you're looking for a new downtown lunch option, give Washoku a shot!

With four successful sold out pop up events and a fully funded Alberta BoostR campaign, Edmontonians have been patiently awaiting the opening of Prairie Nooodle Shop. As of opening day on December 15, 2015, Prairie Noodle Shop has been selling out nightly.

Prairie Noodle Shop - 10350 124 Street - Edmonton AB

Edmonton's ramen culture has certainly grown over the last year. With the opening of Kazoku Ramen and other Japanese restaurants offering the bowls of noodle soup on their menus, Edmonton is certainly ready for a ramen boom. Ever since I had my first bite of Prairie Noodle Shop's Prairie Pork Ramen at their first pop up in November of 2014, I was hooked. I'm forever grateful that the group of friends behind this ramen shop decided that Edmonton needed a dedicated ramen shop unique to our city!

I had the chance to stop by for a bowl of ramen before heading in to work one evening, and I knew I had to show up early to secure myself a bowl. Despite being open until 9PM, the restaurant has been selling out early around 7PM each day. My boyfriend and I arrived at 5PM to a lineup of about 10 people, but the quick turnover meant a wait time of about 15-20 minutes.

Grabbing a seat for two at the communal table allowed us to take in all the action going on in the restaurant. I love the use of the chalkboard highlighting where ingredients for the ramen bowls have been sourced, and the placement of farm animals in woodwork to liven up the space and emphasize the prairie provinces as inspiration for the noodle soups.

I've always been asked which of the four bowls was my favourite from the pop up dinners, and it has always been hard to say as I haven't been able to make a side-by-side comparison of the bowls! Fear no more - the time is here. I've always thought I loved the Prairie Pork Ramen ($15) the most, so that was my choice for the evening. Accompanied by roasted pork belly, smoked pork shoulder, a crispy chicharron, and the famous umeboshi egg, the handmade noodles maintained their texture and elastic bite from start to finish of the bowl. The corn, green onions, and blackened garlic sesame oil added some flavour, but I found that the broth was missing the depth of flavour and umami I so clearly remembered from the first pop up I had attended. It was a great bowl, but it was missing something! The umeboshi egg made up for it though - that pickled plum flavour is addicting and I packed one up to go!

Our second bowl was the Roasted Barley Chicken Ramen ($15) featuring a yakitori-style chicken wing, marinated chicken thigh, and a roasted barley tare. The chicken broth is clear and light, and the bowl is rounded off with sauteed kale, pickled pearl onions and the umeboshi egg. The chicken and roasted barley flavours came through in this bowl, but like the prairie pork, we found the broth itself to be underseasoned and a little underwhelming. With a couple tweaks, I'm sure this bowl could be as great as the one I have in my memory from the previous pop ups.

It's been incredible following the team behind Prairie Noodle Shop go from pop-up dinners to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. As with many new restaurants there are bumps and hurdles to overcome in the first few weeks of opening, and Prairie Noodle Shop definitely has some tweaking to do in order to fulfill the demand for their bowls. The small ramen shop was built to make up to 200 bowls per day, but with the constant line ups and increasing demand, the kitchen has been working hard to pump out 250-300 bowls. This has me wondering if demand could be compromising quality, which could explain the little discrepancies between these bowls and those I have in my memory. Regardless, Prairie Noodle Shop has been highly receptive to feedback, and now close for a portion of the afternoon for a break to focus and improve the quality of their product.

As an avid supporter since day one, I'm very excited that Prairie Noodle Shop is here to stay and no longer has to turn away ramen enthusiasts! With some improvements and a change in logistics, I'm sure the ramen bowls will be able to match those in my memory. Thank you to Terry, Arden, Ryan, Jeff, and Craig for taking the risk and bringing your dream to life, and no longer making me wait months to get my hands on umeboshi eggs. Congratulations on opening!

If you're familiar with the Edmonton food truck scene, you'll know that Drift Food Truck makes a mean pork belly sandwich. I would actually say it's my favourite item served up by a food truck, so yes, it's pretty delicious. When I heard that Nevin and Kara Fenske, the minds behind Drift Food Truck, had secured a brick and mortar location last year I was absolutely ecstatic - pork belly sandwiches all the time for everyone!

Dovetail Delicatessen - 10721 124 Street - Edmonton AB

It's been months in the making, but the new Dovetail Delicatessen on vibrant 124 Street is finally open! Although it isn't the Drift Food Truck menu served out of a restaurant, fans of the truck will be happy to know that sandwiches are still the main offering on the menu. A daily roast is served in sandwich form, while a variety of salads, samosas, and dips are also available.

Dovetail is open Monday through Friday from 1030 AM - 630 PM, allowing for those working downtown to grab lunch and residents in the area to stop by for a casual dinner. The space is bright, the decor is simple, and I love the vintage accents placed around the restaurant. Whether you want to stay for your meal or grab something to go, you simply place your order up at the counter and you can watch your food be prepared in the open kitchen.

On the day of my visit the feature sandwich was a roast pork shoulder with garlic aioli and pickled jalapenos on a German bun ($8). The sandwich itself wasn't much to look at, but the combination was fantastic. The pork shoulder was moist and well-seasoned, while the tang from the aioli and jalapenos added a nice punch of flavour. I do wish the portion was a bit bigger, as the sandwich disappeared in no time and I was left wanting more - you definitely need something on the side for a substantial meal.

For a side I opted for the salad made with roasted butternut squash, corn, black bean, and arugula in an ancho chili and lime vinaigrette ($5). The salad was fresh and I enjoyed the contrast in textures and flavours between all the components. However, I was hoping to get more of a citrus tang from the vinaigrette as I couldn't quite find it.

Sandwich shops are gaining in popularity and I'm sure Dovetail Deli is being welcomed to 124 Street with open arms. The casual, laid-back vibe is inviting and makes it an easy choice to stop at and grab a bite to eat throughout the day. Drift Food Truck is known for their great sandwich combinations and use of local ingredients, and Dovetail Delicatessen will be no different. Drift Food Truck won't be disappearing off the streets of Edmonton this year, but it's nice to know there is a place to go and grab a tasty sandwich during the colder months!

The executive chef at North 53, Chef Ben Staley, said goodbye to the restaurant at the end of October in order to start his own venture. Chef Staley was known for his "progressive Canadian" cuisine and knack for producing one of the few tasting menus available in Edmonton. I had the chance to check out the tasting menu mid-October and I must say I can't wait to see what his new restaurant brings to Edmonton's dining scene.

North 53 - 10240 124 Street - Edmonton AB

But enough about the past, let's talk about the here and now. North 53 took a week off at the beginning of this month to prepare for a grand re-opening. There was quite a buzz stirred up with their promises of a "new look, chef and dishes." With a countdown to the evening of November 7th, my boyfriend and I knew where we would be spending our Friday night.


Nutty Ice Tea
Arriving at the restaurant 3 hours after their re-opening, the place was packed! To be honest I didn't expect the restaurant to be quite so busy later into the evening, so it was great to see all the excitement around the new menu offerings. "People who love to eat are always the best people" - this phrase at the top of the menu immediately caught my eye and I was drawn into what the menu had to offer. Gone are the days of tasting menus, as North 53's new dishes are separated into three categories: snacks, plates, and plates to share. Since we wanted to try as much as we could, we opted to share some snacks and plates, leaving the larger plates to try on a future visit.

First up to the table were the Chicharrones ($6) seasoned with dried scallops, mussels and salmon. Pembina Valley pork skin is cooked, dried and deep fried before seasoning, and a surprising amount of work goes into making this dish. Scallops and mussels are dried and ground as part of the seasoning, which also incorporates salmon katsuobushi, which is essentially salmon that is dried, cured and grated. I love the airy, crispy pig skin and contrary to what you may think, it isn't oily at all. There was a generous portion to be shared between two people and notes of umami flavours from the dried seafood came through.

The Marinated and Griddled Mushroom ($8) was our next snack of choice, served with a poached egg. A combination of crimini, shiitake, beech, and oyster mushrooms are featured in this dish and I really enjoyed the different textures of each. The mushrooms are first brined with Maggi sauce, grilled, then tossed with a pickled brown mustard seed and cold pressed canola oil from Mighty Trio Organics. A house made curry blend made with spices sourced from Edmonton's new Silk Road Spices is used to season the dish before a 63 degree egg yolk is placed on top. On their own I found the mushrooms to be a bit on the salty side, but the creamy egg yolk bound everything together made it a fun dish to poke at and eat with skewers.


Orgeat Fizz
For our mains we chose three plates to split between the two of us. First to arrive was the Carrot Salad ($12) with green cardamom goat cheese and pistachios. Locally sourced carrots are steeped and pickled for this dish, and I love visual appeal of the colourful carrots. The dish is tossed with olive oil and Saskatoon berry vinegar and topped with parsley, pistachio, and a carrot caramel made from carrot juices. Fairway farms goat cheese is mixed with green cardamom and a generous helping makes it on top of the salad. I wasn't expecting the cardamom to be prominent in this dish, but you can really taste it in every bite. I've always paired goat cheese with beets, so this creamy cheese paired with carrots was a fresh take for me.

Shrimp Chorizo ($15) was the next dish to our table, served with fried potatoes and ham broth. I had to do a double take then the dish arrived, because the shrimp almost resembled scallops to me! For this dish, half the shrimp is ground while the other is chopped, then seasoned with spices and formed into what would resemble a slice of a sausage. Each piece had the characteristic texture of shrimp and flavours like that of chorizo. Little fried potato chunks surrounded the plate and underneath the shrimp was a bed of braised savoy cabbage. The ham broth was made with prosciutto oil, stock, and sherry vinegar, but I wish there was a bit more in the dish as I couldn't quite taste it.

Our last plate was the Short Rib Glazed in Beer ($22) served with navy beans and bone marrow. This 12 oz. bone in short rib is cooked sous vide at 67'C for 24 hours and glazed with beef stock, Blue Buck Beer, Worcestershire Sauce and caramelized onions. The glaze was flavourful and gooey, but the real star of this dish is the melt in your mouth short rib. The navy beans that line the dish are cooked with bits of parsnip, carrot, onion, celery, butter and Dijon mustard. The beans are incredibly buttery (so, so good) and I love the change in texture with the different vegetables. The dish is finished with raw bone marrow, maldon salt and fresh thyme.


Rutabaga & Oxtail Tart
To round off our meal we picked out two desserts - the Blue d'Elizabeth ($12) and Iced Milk ($3/scoop). The Blue d'Elizabeth (not pictured) featured a beautifully marbled blue cheese from Quebec, a roasted BC Bosc Pear and a quick salad from greens grown in the Urban Cultivator. If you're a blue cheese lover, definitely go for that one. The naturally sweet flavours of the pear go incredibly well with the savoury blue cheese and the greens are there for some freshness. For myself, I personally enjoyed the Iced Milk as it was simple and light and dusted with Italian instant coffee for a fragrant kick.

At the end of my meal I was able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the kitchen. It is extremely well organized and literally everything is labelled. There are so many neat gadgets and kitchen tools used on a daily basis, I feel like it would be fun environment to work and experiment in.

With a wider range of food options available at North 53, there’s something for everyone here. For a restaurant that fully embraces supporting local producers and sustainability, prices are very reasonable for the amount of work and attention to detail that goes into every plate. The list of craft cocktails alone can be a reason to visit, but it’s always the food that’s on my mind. Service is attentive without being overbearing, and all the servers know the menu very well. North 53 also offers a late night menu starting at 11:15 PM, and there’s some fried chicken on the menu with my name on it. Whether you’re going for dinner or a late night bite, check them out and let me know what you think!