Café. Walk. Café. Walk.

{Are you a food or drink blogger in Edmonton? Come to The Common on March 4th and meet up with fellow food bloggers from our fair city! Details here.}

Just before I went to Berlin a couple summers ago, Isabelle introduced me to Sandra Juto's blog, and I still look at it daily. She walks and drinks coffee (and enjoys her city) like nobody's business. So when I found myself without work commitments a couple Saturdays ago, I decided to do the same.

Stop one - A short walk to a Kashmiri chai with almond milk at Remedy downtown.

Construction, construction, construction in our city right now. Not without its drawbacks (mostly blocked sidewalks and other pedestrian routes, on my end at least), but nevertheless exciting. It sounds like the promenade outside the old federal building on 108 Street, and some of the meeting spaces inside, will be lovely.

It was about -11 or so that day, with a little wind. At the start of every winter, I forget about the icy breeze that blows across the bridge, and right across your cheeks. Nothing a solid hood can't help. Time for stop two - A cappuccino at Transcend Garneau.

I saw this horse and buggy going down Whyte earlier in the day and was happy to see it again across from the market (I know the Old Strathcona Business Association was doing buggy rides leading up to Christmas, but I didn't know it was still happening Saturdays). Afterward I wandered over to Under the High Wheel for a croque monsieur, and then hopped the number 7 back downtown. And that was my über luxurious day off.

Hope your weekend (regular or long) was wonderful!

Around Garneau

After a busy week at the shop, Charles and I were able to wander around Whyte Ave and 109th Street for the day, taking in the Antique Mall, the 'Return of the Magic' windows and, of course, some beer, coffee and treats. Here's what we discovered:

Firstly, it looks like Cally's Teas is setting up a "pop up shoppe" in their soon to be permanent local (10151 82 Avenue). Apparently her tea will be available this coming Wednesday for Christmas enjoyment.

The new layout 

After the Antique Mall, we decided to head over to Sugarbowl. We've been a few times since they released their new menu containing 44 new beer. That's right - 44. In addition to all the feature draught and bottles, there's much to choose from. While Charles went for a brown ale that I can't remember the name of, I went with a current favourite, the London Porter from Saskatoon's Paddock Wood Brewing. Ultra smooth and rich, it's perfect for cool days.

And no, the name of Charles' beer is not the one on the glass... Just in case you were thinking it, like I was.

On the way home we decided to drop into DaCapo to check out some recent renovations. The beer case is gone (don't worry, their excellent selection is lined up on the glass shelf above), and in its place is a new shelf currently holding many tins of panettone. Even more exciting is the recent addition of St-Viateur Bagels to their food line up. Bagels are brought in from Montréal once a week to be enjoyed in house or at home by the dozen. Charles was pretty ecstatic as he walked home munching on a sesame bagel.

So there you have it. A small Garneau update on an otherwise quiet blog. Hopefully we'll be back soon with some new food posts!

A Next Act brunch

This past Saturday morning began perfectly as we stepped into Strathcona market and saw some green things at Morinville and Gull Valley Greenhouses. Completely unexpected, we've been eating green beans and arugula this week. So it's spring to me... for a couple moments anyhow.

As we left the market we decided it was finally time to head back to Next Act to check out the brunch situation, something we had been meaning to do for awhile now. The place was about half full with families and friends (ie. many post market shoppers) as we arrived around 11:30. We settled into a mimosa and a pint of Full Moon ($4 for the new moon!) and looked over the menus - both lunch and brunch are on starting at 11am.

Charles didn't waver from our last visit, again going with the pulled pork sandwich ($12) from the lunch menu. I was torn between the 'Pulled Pork Melt' (hashbrowns, pulled pork, poached egg, cheese, pea shoots and house salsa; $12) and the breakfast burrito ($10). I eventually decided on the latter, easily swayed by the thought of avocado and black beans.

Our food came out in no time, and as I cut into my crispy burrito, I was happy to find it full of soft scrambled eggs, plenty of avocado, green peppers, cheese and black beans. Though a little 'heat' would have been welcome, the salsa definitely added a bright freshness to the mix, and the crispy potatoes were a nice addition on the side - a little smoky and slightly spicy. My favourite thing on the plate was the smoothie shot - fresh and hinting at a blender full of banana, it was a great finish to the dish. Charles seemed to enjoy his pulled pork sandwich even more than our initial visit - a little more smoky, sticky and flavourful this time, I was working on the burrito long after the sandwich disappeared.

After our successful dinner stop last October, we were happy to find the same comfortable, friendly space and service, along with a small but well rounded brunch menu that added even more to Next Act's appeal. While we love venturing outside Old Strathcona, it's always nice to re-discover great spots in your own neighbourhood.

Next Act Pub
8224 104 Street
780.433.9345
Hours: M-Th (11am - 1am); F-Sa (11am - 2am); Su (11am - 2pm)

This past Sunday Next Act began the first of a series of Family Dinner Nights. Keep an eye on their website for details on the next one. Reservations required.