A Weekend of Eating

I haven't got any pictures to go with this, but my parents were here last weekend. That meant lots of eating out.

It started with dinner at Dadeo on Friday. It's one of my favourite restaurants in Edmonton, conveniently on Whyte Ave. The decor is diner style and they serve Louisiana-style Cajun and creole food. To be honest I can't speak to its authenticity, only its tastiness. I'm no expert. My mother had been there once before along with Albert and I. She enjoyed it then. It was my father's first time at the restaurant despite numerous recommendations. I think he had something against its small size and interesting decor.

Instead of the usual bread, they serve small biscuits with pepper jelly. It's always a tasty start to the meal.

I knew exactly what I wanted to order: pulled-pork po'boy with sweet potato fries. It's probably my favourite, although I do enjoy other options. But it had been a while, and the sandwich called to me. A hearty portion of juicy, falling apart pork, in a lightly spiced pork juicy sauce is sandwiched in a soft white roll with mayo and lettuce. The roll is a delicious sponge for the meat juices. It's pretty much the perfect meat sandwich. The fries are a masterpiece on their own. I knew I had to get them despite how rich and huge they would make my meal, just so my parents could try them off my plate. Enjoy them they did. Lightly battered and seasoned, topped with chopped green onion and served with a mayo based dip, they're the ultimate in fries. Between the three of us, we ate all that was on my plate. It also had a bit of coleslaw but wasn't really a fiesta of vegetables.

My mother decided to order the shrimps creole served on white rice. It was perhaps a slightly lighter option. I didn't taste it, but she seemed to enjoy it and cleared her plate.

My father wanted jambalaya. I convinced him to get the Combo Dadeo so he would get the meaty bayou jambalaya along with blackened chicken and beans. The jambalaya was chock full of assorted meats like Andouille sausage, shrimp, and ham. But, what he couldn't stop talking about was how good the beans were. I knew he'd like them since he's a bean-aholic along with me. They're the reason I knew he should have the combo and not straight jambalaya. The beans are red kidney beans in a spicy sauce with onion. They're really good.

The next meal out was lunch on Saturday, which we had at Cafe Select. I've mentioned it before, so I just have a couple of comments. My father again had the bistro burger, which he says he likes because it tastes like real meat like the burgers he makes. It's served with their shoestring fries. My mother and I had grilled vegetable sandwiches also served with the fries. I found them a bit limp and oily, but I still ate quite a few. The sandwiches also came with spinach salad, which was nice but not really remarkable. The sandwiches though were really good. They had a heap of hot, grilled vegetables--zucchini, mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers--along with good white cheddar cheese and a red spread that was tasty. They had to be held together with a toothpick containing a huge green olive, which was a nice touch. It was a really good sandwich on a nice whole wheat kaiser. A tad messy though, with so many delicious veggies some fell out. All in all it was a good lunch.

Later that afternoon, we went to Leva for gelato/sorbet. I discovered that my Peach-Apricot treat was actually a dairy free sorbet. My mom enjoyed a single pina colada sorbet--she's extremely lactose intolerant. I think she really liked being able to eat something that looked like ice cream and didn't have a weird soy taste. My father and I had double gelatos. His was pistachio and hazelnut. Mine was pistachio and maple walnut. The gelato was excellent, the two flavours were a nice contrast and nothing was an unnatural colour. It has a lighter texture than the sorbet but is unsurprisingly creamier. Either gelato or sorbet is a good choice. But, only sorbet is a good choice for my mom.

We actually had two other meals out, but I think I'll post about them later to give them my full attention. You can look forward to hearing about Wild Tangerine and another meal at Murrieta's. Both were really good.