High Tea at Devonian Gardens

Last Sunday Charles and I ventured out to Devonian Gardens for high tea with friends. The weather was only sort of cooperative, with rain showers creeping up throughout the afternoon. That said, it was lovely to enjoy tea and snacks under the shelter of the 'Pine Pavillion', and the gardens looked beautiful and green after all the rain.

We'll be back out at the gardens this Friday evening for the Edmonton Opera's third edition of Opera al Fresco. They've changed up the formatting since our first year, and we're anxious to see what improvements have been made. Some fantastic music is a given, but here's hoping for sunny weather.

Olive Oil Cake

I mentioned in my last post that I was devoting that bottle of blood orange infused olive oil picked up at Evoolution to this olive oil cake, and that's exactly what happened a couple weeks ago.

The timing turned out to be perfect; we had a few straight days of heavy, cool rain, and the citrusy cake was a lovely warm contrast. While the cup of olive oil keeps the cake moist, it still has a mealy crumb which makes it perfect alongside a cup of tea.

The kick of citrus is nice in this cake - and I think pretty classic for an olive oil cake - but as the recipe indicates it would be lovely with a nice fruity or peppery olive oil. I added Valrhona's Manjari 64% to compliment the citrus flavour of the oil, but any dark chocolate would do. And while I didn't put nearly as much rosemary as the recipe suggests in this version, I'm certainly upping it next time.

Beer. Bike. Olive oil.

We were pannier-less when we went to a beer tasting/festival at deVine Wines and Spirits this past Saturday afternoon, but we just couldn't leave without bottles of Lagunitas' Maximus, a fruity double IPA. Thank goodness for bungee cords. Charles managed to stuff a sleeve of Yukon's Imperial IPA in his bag too.

We also stopped at the newly opened Evoolution afterward. The staff were incredibly friendly, guiding us through the large selection of balsamic vinegars, olive oils and salts. And of course it was fun to taste and compare all the different oils, from mild, to robust, to infused. We ended up leaving with a small bottle of blood orange infused olive oil ($12; destined for this olive oil cake) and a small jar of truffled sea salt ($8), that I wasted no time sprinkling over eggs that evening.

On Sunday we ventured out the Enjoy Centre with my parents and Nanny for a belated Mother's Day brunch at the Prairie Bistro. There were six of us, and the large booth we were given seemed a little awkward for our server; he had to pass plates, cups and everything else down the table. Otherwise everyone seemed to enjoy their meals and the beautiful space.

Steak and Eggs

Hope you all had a great long weekend!

Back to Three Boars Eatery

We've been back to Three Boars a couple times since our initial visit and remain just as impressed. Their menus still change frequently and their beer list continues to expand and rotate, with new kegs tapped (and consumed) daily. Last Saturday we met up with a couple friends for an early dinner. And unlike that first visit we had our camera along. Here's what we got into:

Beer - Ommegang BPA, Russell Brewing's Blood Alley ESB and Peche Mortel were on the rotating taps - and on our table - throughout the evening.

Buckwheat honey glazed Brussel sprouts with lemon and nutmeg ($8)

Sauteed mushrooms with egg yolk and toast ($12)

Flat iron steak with tomato salad and confit garlic vinaigrette ($17)

Liver 'n onion poutine ($12)

Lamb neck ragoût ($15)

Cornish game hen, cherry tomatoes, lamb bacon, baby bok choy and sage ($19)

While everything on the table was enjoyed, the lamb neck ragoût and cornish game hen stood out with their well balanced flavours and textures. Full from both beer and mains, we decided to skip dessert and ended up strolling down to Da Capo for a coffee to round out a warm evening in Garneau.

*The post on our first visit can be found here.

Brunch at Zinc

Our friend Tanya announced around her birthday that she wanted to go for a big brunch. Big brunch? My list of brunch spots is not extensive, but after a bit of searching, we came up with Zinc. Three courses for $36, and reports from a few bloggers that we'd be waddling out once our meal was complete.

We hadn't been to Zinc in some time; probably a year and a half ago now. But the interior remains as striking as ever, with rich blues, steel and wood all contrasted against one another. Our server offered us coffee and tea (included in the price), while I asked for a run down of their sparkling cocktails on offer that day (there were three or four, plus a couple lovely sounding mimosas). I ended up with a floral cocktail that combined St. Germain Elderflower and Violet liqueurs with sparkling wine. It was a great way to start the meal, and we all loved the purple hue of the drink.

The first course of cheese, pastry and preserves arrived soon after selecting our entrees. Since Charles is not a cheese fan, they kindly moved his cheese portion to the plate Tanya and I were sharing, and gave him extra pastry. Alongside the cheese there were pieces of peppery, cheesy shortbread, fruit, tarts and glasses of yogurt with berries. We enjoyed everything on the plate, with the shortbread stealing the show. The only thing I would add is some sort of list or explanation of that day's cheese, either printed or verbal.

There were three different mains on the table that day - Tanya chose the frittata with tomatoes and asparagus, and chose to add the house made turkey and apple sausage. Charles went with the only sweet option on the menu - the Neapolitan of pancakes - with Lagavulin bacon. And I went with the Salmon Benedict.

Since there were three different dishes on the table, we were able to try a bit of everything. I thought Charles' pancakes were the winner of the three. They were light and fluffy, and the different toppings were fun additions. The cubes of bacon served alongside were the perfect smoky accompaniment. Tanya's frittata was also well executed, and came out fluffy and tangy thanks to the dollop of goat cheese served on top. And although I wasn't a huge fan of the turkey sausage - it stood no match for the bacon on Charles' plate - Tanya really enjoyed it.

And finally, the Salmon Benedict. Nearly everything about this dish was lovely. The hollandaise was buttery and rich, with a nice acidity cutting through everything; their house smoked salmon was sweet, savoury and wonderfully smoky, and the buckwheat potato blinis were a welcome change from bread. My only complaint was that the eggs were slightly over cooked, which meant that beautiful runny yolk was nowhere to be found. This definitely wouldn't keep me from ordering a benedict next time though... the lobster sounds particularly enjoyable.

Just when we thought we could eat no more, slices of warm apple strudel arrived at the table to finish the meal.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Zinc for Saturday or Sunday brunch. While there may be a couple kinks, the menu offers something for everyone on the list. And if you don't feel like indulging in all three courses, each one is available on its own. And with that the brunch list grows.

Zinc at the AGA
780.392.2501

Brunch: 11-2; Further hours

*Past posts on Zinc can be found here, here and here.

Smitten Kitchen's Whole Lemon Tart

While my mum committed to cooking a ham, scalloped potatoes and other necessary dishes for Easter dinner, I assured everyone that I would take care of dessert. I waffled between a few items - coconut cream tart, something chocolate-y, madeleines and ice cream. But crunched for time, I pulled up Smitten Kitchen's Whole Lemon Tart from a long list of bookmarked dessert recipes and got to work.

The base of the tart was 'The great unshrinkable sweet tart shell'. While it worked well and tasted great, I would definitely recommend rolling or at least using less of the dough. At 1am on Sunday morning the dough went into the tart shell right after processing. The resulting crust was a little too thick for my liking, and the edge of the tart became a bit of a shortbread cookie instead of a crust you could cut with a fork. As promised, though, the shell held its shape beautifully.

The lemon filling was easy to prepare. It took about 10 minutes on Sunday morning to slice the Meyer lemons, pick out the seeds and process everything for a minute or so until it was smooth. After 40 minutes or so in the oven, the tart came out to cool and was then chilled in the fridge until we were ready to go.

Everyone enjoyed the tart, particularly the extra punch of lemon. My only complaint was the texture of the filling. Unlike a silky lemon curd, I found the filling a little heavy and almost starchy. I'm guessing the texture would have been better had I allowed the butter and eggs to come to room temperature... So with a couple alterations, this tart is definitely on the list next time dessert is on order and time is short.

And they open - Three Boars Eatery

Saturday was a long day that followed a very long month, and so after closing the shop door one last time, I could think of no better way to wind down than indulging in a brand new spot - Three Boars Eatery (109 Street and 84 Ave).

I was pretty anxious for this place to open. Mostly because we've walked by hundreds of times, wondering what the former pizza spot would turn into. But then there was lots of buzz on Twitter and Facebook too in recent weeks. Although Saturday was just their second day of operation, they were ready. The staff knew what they were doing (we recognized many of them from Sugarbowl), both out front and in the kitchen. And by the end of the evening we agreed our expectations had been far surpassed.

I chose a Negroni from the tidy cocktail list that also included a Sazerac, Old Fashioned and beer cocktails amongst other items, while Charles chose a pint of Alley Kat's Black Dragon IIPA from their all local draught list (edit: Just wanted to clarify that their draught list rotates often and includes local and imported craft beer). We happily enjoyed our drinks at the bar, confirming with the bar tender that we did in fact all recognize each other from Sugarbowl, while waiting for a table in the upstairs dining room.

Food wise, we resisted all four items from the "Bar Snacks" section, opting for a few things from the "Sharesies" area - Buckwheat honey glazed Brussel sprouts, Wild boar terrine with beer mustard and pickled cippolini onions, Oxtail poutine and Marsala lamb neck with potatoes, kale and olives. Plates came out one by one in no particular order and were placed in the middle of the table to share. Charles' favourite dish was the poutine - super soft oxtail, rich gravy and squeaky cheese curds topped crisp, roasted fingerling potatoes. I found myself leaning towards the lamb dish, loving the balance of flavours and textures.

We finished things off with a warm, slightly sweet pear upside down cake topped with a bit of whipped cream.

We thought they did a great job maximizing seating in the tiny space, and we enjoyed the simply decorated space of wood, white walls, industrial lights and mirrors. The downstairs kitchen/bar service and upstairs bathroom/dining area split seemed to work well too. To top things off there's a bike rack sitting out front, and we're sure there will be drinks on the patio as soon as the weather warms a bit more.

The single page menu changes often so that local ingredients can be used as much as possible. And dessert changes nearly every day. One of our favourite things though, is the price point. Nothing (on this particular menu at least) costs more than $16, and we found one smaller item - like the Brussel sprouts ($5) - along with 2-3 larger dishes - the poutine ($8) and lamb (~$11.5) for instance - were filling enough along with a couple beer... and dessert of course.

I met up with Brenna and Catherine this evening, and we decided to head over for drinks and snacks. We munched on more Brussel sprouts and this time duck rillette, and chatted to the couple sitting at the upstairs communal table with us. Warm apple tarts were gobbled up easily.

It looks like they'll be changing up the menu tomorrow, and we're certainly hoping to swing by for a drink and more eats later in the week. I promise I'll bring along the camera next time! But for now, I leave you with this one terrible Instagram photo of the lights above their upstairs communal table, that I took because I was attempting to explain Instagram. And the link to their website where you can find many more photos.

Three Boars Eatery
8424 109 Street
780.757.2600
Open everyday, 4pm until late.
Reservations for 6 or more.


*Update May 21 - Finally went back with the camera. You can find some photos here.