North 53

After work last Wednesday, I walked down 124th street to meet Charles for our 8PM reservation at North 53. Although first impressions weren't great (I must have waited at the entrance for about five minutes before being greeted by anyone), service was friendly and prompt throughout the remainder of our evening, and the incredible food and drinks went well beyond our expectations.

Sparkly bar

Smoke + Oak Old Fashioned ($15) - A piece of maple wood is torched until smoking, and is then left to accumulate in the glass. At the table, the server pulls the glass off the wood and pours the pre mixed Old Fashioned into the smoky glass from a separate vessel. Smells delicious, tastes delicious.

There are two food menus - A tasting made up of six courses for $100 and an à la carte menu. We skipped the tasting menu, opting to share five dishes to test the waters so to speak, before committing during a future visit. Still though, I can't figure out if the tasting menu is meant for one person, or as something to share; The six dishes seemed to be the same as those on the à la carte menu, but I'm unsure of portion sizes.

Our server divided our order so that we had a cold course followed by a hot course. First up, 'Lamb', 'Carrot' and 'Various Beets'.

The lamb tartare ($16) was incredibly tender and flavourful, and we loved the various textures provided by the sunchokes (this was a theme throughout the cold dishes - one ingredient prepared in various fashions). My favourite feature of the dish was the cured egg yolk shaved around the side of the plate, providing a perfect salty punch.

Carrot ($10) - Pickled, roasted and raw carrot, with black garlic. Shaved caraway bread, watercress and carrot tops provided a lovely bitterness. This was Charles' favourite dish during our 'first course'.

The presentation and flavours of the 'Various Beets' ($12) plate was definitely my favourite. Beets prepared in different ways (roasted, raw, pickled, etc.), with beet meringues (amazing texture!), silky, sour crème fraîche and walnuts (I do not know what they did to those nuts, but they were an incredible mix of sweet-salt-fat).

Various Beets

Our 'second course' consisted of the 'Pork Belly' and, of course, the 'Sockeye Salmon' they led with in the Journal article.

The salmon ($18) was certainly impressive on all counts - The dish comes out with a glass dome over top, and upon arrival, the server lifts the lid allowing the juniper smoke to take over the entire table (and all your senses). It's magical. The salmon was incredibly soft, with the beans providing a contrasting mealiness; I also loved the tang from the crème fraîche wrapped around them. A small pile of pickles on the side provided some colour and lovely acidity when eaten with the salmon.

The pork belly ($16) won Charles over immediately (our server commented that it was cooked sous vide for 72 hours; the resulting texture was buttery soft). The black barley was a perfect contrast to the fatty pork belly, particularly with the ramps and pickled maitake mushrooms.

At the beginning of the evening, our server mentioned that all the ingredients on the menu were sourced from Canada, and while that was certainly reflected throughout our meal, it really hit me with the desserts; This is probably the first dessert menu I've encountered without chocolate or citrus (it was comprised of only three items, but still, they were all imaginative and fresh). I'd heard from co-workers that the desserts were delicious, so we decided on two - the 'Soured Yogurt' and 'Apple'.

In the end the soured yogurt ($10) won it for me, particularly with the creamy, flavourful chamomile ice cream (the part I had heard raves about). I enjoyed the crisp meringue, providing almost all the sweetness, the sour yogurt throughout the plate and the very floral bee pollen and elderflower. An incredibly fresh and lovely dessert to encounter mid winter.

The 'apple' ($10) dish was comprised of comprises a warm doughnut, apple curd (made with apple cider vinegar), an apple ice cream and tapioca (freeze dried I think). While apple cider vinegar is still not my favourite flavour, it was delicious alongside the doughnut and ice cream, and once again, they win with the textural elements.

At the end of our meal, we were full. We feel the portion sizes were fair for the price (the dishes went from $10 for the 'Carrot' to $20 for the 'Heritage Turkey'), and same goes for the cocktails ($11-15, with Calvados flights, comprised of two drinks, for $14). Our bill came to $92 for food, and $54 for drinks (two cocktails, two beer and coffee afterward).

North 53 is certainly impressive. It's early days, and I think the front of house service could use a little polishing, but the kitchen and bar staff are solid with both timing and execution. We can't wait for an excuse to head back.

*Their website is supposed to be finalized in the next couple weeks, though the reservation form is still working. They seem to be posting their daily menus on both Twitter and Facebook. They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, but are open Wednesdays through Sundays starting at 5pm.

Apologies for the Instagram photos. We planned to bring the camera, but it was left at home in a rush. And if you got this far, thanks for baring with me - This was my first restaurant post in a long while... I'm a little very rusty.

Chocolate Granola. The Mast Brothers Cookbook.

I am loving the Mast Brothers Cookbook. On our last day in New York - also the day of the book release - I walked back to the factory to pick up a copy, and found they had all been signed! It wouldn't fit in my already overstuffed luggage, but it was well worth lugging it across the subway system to the airport. Also, have you seen the cookbook trailer? Adorable.

I made the chocolate date cake soon after arriving home - delicious - and marked the chocolate granola for later, soon realizing it would be a perfect give to give coworkers. No last minute baking for me!

A couple weeks ago I made three batches, scooped the granola into six jars and still had some left to keep around the apartment for breakfast. Win.

The recipe is pretty simple - Mix 1 cup each of almonds, pecans and rolled oats with a 1/2 cup of honey and 2 Tbsp brown sugar and place in a 350 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes and let cool. In the meantime, melt 3 Tbsp of butter* with 2 Tbsp cocoa powder and set aside. Combine a 1/2 cup each of cocoa nibs and dried cranberries (or cherries or figs or other suitable dried fruit) with the roasted nuts/oats and stir in the butter mixture. Once everything is cool, mix in 5 ounces of chopped chocolate (I chopped up chocolate from one of the Mast Brothers tablets).

*I used the canola oil from Mighty Trio Organics since I wasn't sure when people would be eating the granola. It worked out well since it's so nutty and light.

So there it is. Christmas gifts (well, some of them) done.

Hawkers Market Edmonton.

On Saturday evening Charles and I stopped in at the first Hawkers Market in Edmonton. We arrived around 7pm to a pretty full room, although the place (and the beer line) swelled around 8pm - Definitely a well attended event!

The Hawkers Market people are from Vancouver, but their intentions work just as well here -

Drift was there with the best booth design ever! They served delicious curry chicken and noodles (khao swe) that you could top with cilantro, chili flakes, egg, green onions and other things. Mine was mostly covered in cilantro and chili flakes - Thanks, Phil!

They also used the event to unveil their jarred ketchup and spice blend for the first time. We walked away with a jar of ketchup that will surely taste just like summer.

Parts and Service, a food truck starting up in the spring of 2014, also made their debut... With bone marrow and duck confit. Needless to say I'm looking forward to next spring; both dishes were excellent.

Torching the bone marrow.

Duck confit with Brussel sprout slaw.

Finally, we stopped at Bully for their pork shoulder medallion with an incredibly creamy wild rice (they said 'au gratin'), crisp kale and pickled red onions.

We also ate very good, fresh donuts from Paper Bag Donuts that I did not take a photo of. There were other vendors we didn't make it to - Sailin' On, Nineteen and Casa 12 Doce.

The event felt similar to Street Feast in London, except, you know, inside (now that I've searched Street Feast for a link, I see they have a 'Hawker House' market during the winter).

Minor things - A second beer tap to get the line going would have been nice, and some more bar height tables to set food down, but of course these are easy improvements, and considering this was their first event in the space...

Excellent - I have to say, we appreciated the forethought of a giant coat rack at the entrance; That space heats up fast! They also had two of the guys from Shout Out providing their dj services, which meant the music was incredible.

Hoping there's another Hawkers Market in the works for Edmonton soon!

S'mores, a speakeasy, Rge Rd and sharp knives.

Whoo. Four items, one post.

I've been making quite a few s'mores lately. Funny, I never really considered them something easy to make in the oven, but Rachel made them one evening and I was hooked. Most recently I made Kim Boyce's graham wafers, picked up some marshmallows from work and utilized some smoky chocolate from Mast Brothers to create a pretty delicious version.

On Thursday, Richard and I stopped in at Three Boars for the third version of their 'speakeasy'. Each Thursday starting at 8PM, the new upstairs portion of the restaurant is turned into a lounge of sorts (just drinks, no food). There's a one off cocktail menu each Thursday. Richard enjoyed spiked eggnog, whilst I sipped tea with ginger and gin. Looking forward to more of these evenings throughout the winter. Drinks were priced from $7-10, with one $20 drink that served two. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for weekly details.

After a crazy day at the shop, and a couple hours at All is Bright, Charles and I headed over to Rge Rd (10643 123 St) and lucked out with a couple seats available at the bar. We enjoyed the 'Questionable Bits' (Tempura battered pig's heart and the best beef tartare ever; $15), Potato and Leek soup ($10), chicken breast with spicy Brussel sprouts ($29) and seared pickerel ($27). We finished the evening with their version of... a s'more ($10). Yeah. We're pretty predictable.

French 75 with Victoria Gin

Chicken breast with braised chicken galette and habanero Brussel sprouts

Seared pickerel with dill, ricotta and beet perogies, cabbage and white onion cream

Last night we stopped by the Knifewear pop up (10816 82 Ave) to buy our Christmas presents. Ta da!

I can't even find the post, but back in 2009/10 I posted about our new Mac santoku knife. Well, a couple weeks later someone tried to cut through a rabbit bone and needless to say, the knife didn't survive. Four years later, we now have two very sharp, beautiful knives, and can't wait to neatly cut many, many onions and vegetables... and no bones, or nuts or chocolate. Merry Christmas to us.

We are looking forward to the Hwkrs Mrkt this coming Saturday evening! I'm determined to pack the big camera and write a real post. See you there!

New York.

We had a fantastic time in New York last month. There was lots of food and drink and walking, plus some solid relaxation time. I'm slowly working on my New York list, but in the meantime, here are a few pictures from our trip.

Made many visits to the Bedford Cheese Shop, and managed to fit a jar of Brooklyn Brine Co. Whiskey Sour Pickles into my suitcase.

Went on a bike tour.

Stopped for gin cocktails at NY Distilling. 

Hopped on the East River Ferry. 

Wandered the High Line.

Found that Northern Spy Food Co.'s Kale Salad lived up to its reputation.

Made many trips to Raines Law Room.

 Toured a roof top farm in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Enjoyed large plates of oysters and absinthe cocktails at Maison Premiere.

Made it to little Pok Pok. 

Watched the sun set a bunch of times.

EBGA on Rails

*2014 EBGA on Rails events and tickets can be found here.

I managed to poke my head up from Folk Fest madness long enough to secure a couple tickets to the late August version of Edmonton Beer Geeks Anonymous' rail car cask session with Hog's Head Brewing.

As we pulled away from the Strathcona street car platform, a volunteer from the Edmonton Radial Railway Society gave us some history about the area and the streetcar itself. Once we reached the High Level Bridge, Shane from EBGA let us know that we would be stopping in the middle of the bridge so we could tap the keg and hear from the head brewer at Hog's Head. From there we continued to hang out for an hour or so, mingling and taking photos. It was a lovely way to enjoy some beer.

This was similar to a cask night at Sugarbowl or Next Act. The brewer came up with a one time only brew for the evening - Hog's Head Death by Pumpkin with some blood orange added. The citrus and spice made for a perfect 'transition to fall' beer, and I'm going to make sure I check tap lists for their Death by Pumpkin this fall.

The evening ended back in Strathcona, where we all left with a bottle of Yukon's Saison. Definitely looking forward to more of these events next summer!

New York, New York.

This is no longer an excuse for my lack of posts, but it's Festival time! I hope everyone attending or volunteering at Folk Fest has a wonderful time!

We're off to New York for a couple weeks this October, and I could seriously use some recommendations. We'll be on the upper west side for about a week, and then in Williamsburg for another.

Remember last year when I was feeling overwhelmed by London... New York is doubly so. Thankfully, we are going with a friend who visits the city once or twice per year, but of course, I'd love to surprise him with some newbie finds.

Leave 'em below!

Well, hello Mast Brothers Chocolate. See you in October!