The Edmonton Downtown Business Association's Downtown Dining Week is back this year from March 14-23. Over the course of the next ten days, many of the restaurants that fill the downtown core are featuring $15, $25, and $50 prix fixe menus for patrons to try out their menus and find new favourite dining spots.

Last night I had the opportunity to attend the opening reception and sample just some of the offerings that restaurants have crafted up for this year. If you haven't made reservations yet, make sure to find something that interests you below and make your reservations now!

Clockwise from left: Surf & Turf (flat iron steak & Canadian lobster tail) from Cocoa's Restaurant & Lounge // Beef Stroganoff from Select // Braised short rib from Sorrentino's Downtown // Chocolate, strawberry & whip Pannekoek from De Dutch

Chicken Parmigiana off the lunch menu at Pazzo Pazzo

Chicken de Pancetta from the dinner menu at Zinc - oregano marinated chicken
breast, morel mushroom risotto, eggplant involtini

Roasted pork belly with apple relish & smoked navy beans from the
dinner menu at Hundred Bar + Kitchen


Pumpkin ravioli off the lunch menu at Zinc - with house made ricotta,
brown butter, roasted pumpkin seed

Smoked salmon tartare served with rye crisps on the dinner menu at Select

Heritage angus short rib for dinner from Lux Steakhouse - served with roasted fennel,
Yukon gold potatoes, tomato jam & oregano

Pan seared ostrich loin from The Harvest Room at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald,
served with herb infused potato rösti, wilted kale and cassis gastrique for dinner

Chorizo pork burger from the Confederation Lounge at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald
off the lunch menu - with roasted garlic aioli, feta cheese, sauerkraut and brioche bun

Layered tiramisu on the dinner menu at Zinc - made with mascarpone, ladyfingers, espresso, eggs & cream
Downtown Dining Week is a great time to take in the menus of the local restaurants in the downtown core. If I were to recommend one thing you have to eat based on the food I had last night, it would hands down be the pumpkin ravioli from Zinc. It's absolutely delicious and on the $15 lunch menu. You'll be losing out if you don't try it! Check out the menus of participating restaurants on their website here.

Ever been to a food, drink & hospitality conference? Well, now is your chance!

Host Edmonton is a combined conference and festival that puts you in the mix with top hospitality professionals, exposing you to trends, techniques and ingredients that are guaranteed to elevate your next hosting experience. The conference is open to all people with a passion for food and delivering great hospitality. Whether you host guests at home or in a restaurant the truth is we all want to be the best and Host Edmonton puts you in the lead.

This afternoon I had the opportunity to stop by Hundred Bar + Kitchen to learn more about the conference and spend the lunch hour listening to Kevin Brauch, one of their keynote speakers. You may know Kevin as the Thirsty Traveller, or perhaps the drinking robot? Most people may recognize him as a floor reporter for Iron Chef America, but he's a jack of all trades. I know him as a man with one of the best jobs in the world!

Other major cities in Canada host food and beverage conferences and Edmonton is now capable and ready to host one of its own. Over the course of three days, Host Edmonton is going to offer a variety of sessions related to local food and drink. So whether you're someone who just enjoys eating or someone who likes the science behind pairings and cooking, there will be something to interest you.

The conference itself is being organized by Enterprise Edmonton, which is a division of Edmonton Economic Development, aiming to facilitate the growth of business and prosperity in Edmonton - with a specific focus on hospitality. Over time I would love to see Edmonton become a destination for great food and hospitality, and bringing a large-scale conference to this wonderful city is a huge stepping stone.


Saskatoon Berry DeLorean mixed up by Kevin
So what can you look forward to at the conference? For starters there's an awesome lineup of keynote speakers, including Christine Cushing, Marc Murphy and of course Kevin Brauch. Pairing dinners, cocktail competitions, and a fine wine tasting are in the lineup too. But what I think is really cool is that they are offering a two day Prud'homme Level One Beer Certification course, which can be compared to a Level One Sommelier course, but for beer. Cool stuff!

So if you're interested in attending the conference early bird tickets are now available (at a discounted price, too!) and can be purchased on the Host Edmonton website. Sending a huge shout out and thank you to Enterprise Edmonton for the invite to lunch with Kevin Brauch today, and to Hundred Bar + Kitchen for the yummy eats! And of course Kevin Brauch for making me a drink!

It's Monday and we're at the start of another week! Hope everyone had a great weekend 'cause I sure did with the above zero temperatures here in the city!

Is anyone here a huge fan of Gwen Stefani? I'll admit I've indulged in some of her creations in the past years like her cute Harajuku Lovers line (LOVE the perfumes!), but it's not like I'm a die hard fan. She's a rocker queen fashionista, so I was pretty excited when it was announced she was collaborating with OPI for a mini collection of nail polishes in unique finishes.

One of such polishes is Push & Shove - a silver chrome polish that comes with it's own special base coat called 'Lay Down that Base'. Cute name, and a necessary product to use when applying this polish. I was hoping that the base coat would be ridge filling and capable of hiding all the imperfections on nails, as that is usually what gives the best results with chrome polishes. Unfortunately it isn't, and application of the polish will catch every little thing wrong with your nails. So frustrating, but if its only for one night, I think I can let it go. The instructions recommend two coats of polish overtop of the base coat and no application of a top coat, which allows the formula to dry to a brilliant silver similar to that of aluminum foil. It was so pretty that I couldn't stop looking at my nails! However, this polish dries crazy fast and brush strokes are evident if you have to go back. Work quickly and have no regrets!

Push & Shove itself is meant to be worn for one night only, and I was curious to see if it may last longer on me. After all, I get pretty good wear out of my manicures. Negative. In under 24 hours of wear, I started to see chipping and imperfections. The finish to this polish is extremely delicate, and any light scratch is going to turn things awry. I honestly can compare this to aluminum foil as it's extremely delicate and easy to tear, so this is one of those special occasion polishes. Although slightly problematic, I can handle pretty nails for just one night.

Anyone else tried this shade from the Gwen Stefani collection?