Weekend With the Sister

Fully one week ago I played host to my sister for a weekend. It was lots of fun and we ate some good stuff, so I'm going to tell you about it.


On Friday night my sister and I had dinner at Dadeo and commenced a drinking tour de Hudson's. I wasn't blown away by my seafood jambalaya at dinner. I guess it was just too much rice and not enough other stuff or. . . intense flavour. Leslie really enjoyed the pulled pork po'boy and sweet potato fries, but I had that the week before.


At first we thought we might drink at Julio's Barrio 'cause Leslie was interested in margaritas. . . of the fishbowl variety. But there would have been a wait. So we headed to the Hudsons Canadian Taphouse on Whyte. I had a pint of Rickard's White. It was a bit fruitier and less bitter than I usually have my beer. It was also strangely opaque. I think it seemed summery. It didn't come with an orange wedge like the server said it would though. Later at another Hudsons location, I had a pint of Big Rock Grasshopper. I came with a lemon wedge and tasted more like I'm used to my beer tasting. A little more bitter and less sweet but still light for summer. Anyways. . . two pints was a lot for me.


The next day the main food action was the Taste of Edmonton Festival. My sister and I met up with my friends Ryan and Joel for an afternoon of eating from the tents set up in Churchill Square. Leslie and I split a sheet of 30 food tickets for $30, although I used more of them than she did. Here's a rundown of what I remember eating myself or other people eating:

-Fairmont Hotel Macdonald's Mac Scones w/Saskatoon Berry Compote (4 tickets): My sister got this for dessert, but it was huge and we all dug in. The scone was soft and buttery with a load of whipped cream and tasty saskatoon berry sauce. It was an excellent selection.

-Firestone's Butter Chicken w/ rice (5 tickets): My sister had this but I got a taste. It tasted good with tender chicken in a rich, spiced Indian sauce. She freaked out at the richness of this although she loved every bit.

-Firestone's Fresh Fruit Kabobs w/Chocolate Dip (3 tickets): I was full and looking to use up 3 remaining tickets on a light dessert. The fruit wasn't very good, mainly cantaloupe that hardly goes with chocolate and on token strawberry. The chocolate sauce had a sort of grainy texture and my sister said she tasted wine and did not like it. I should have gotten something else.

-Hoang Long Restaurant's Beef Lemongrass Skewer (4 tickets): Ryan and I got these skewers fresh and hot off the grill. They were hot, juicy and had a tasty, spicy marinade. They were not to be missed and possibly the best thing I ate.


-Hong Kong Bakery's Green Onion Cakes Chocolate Passion Fantasy: I didn't try either of these, but I think Ryan put raspberry sauce on Joel's green onion cake. The sauce was for the chocolate dessert. It was kind of funny. I don't like green onion cakes myself, they're too greasy.

-Hudson’s Canadian Taphouse's Alberta Beef Mini Cheddar Burger (3 tickets): I had to try this after observing a delicious looking but enormous burger at Hudsons the night before. The burger was good with crisp lettuce, ripe tomato, real cheddar cheese, and a tasty beef patty. The cheese however was completely unmelted, which I guess is okay. The bun was cold but tasty. Perhaps there was a touch too much bun, though. Overall it was good and satisfied my (mini)-burger craving.

-Korean Village's Vegetable Tempura: Ryan seemed to enjoy it.

-Old Spaghetti Factory's Cajun Chicken Alfredo: I think Ryan and Joel found this boring and perhaps bland.

-That's Aroma's Garlic Chicken Satay: Ryan and Joel had this. I think the sauce was garlic and peanut flavoured. It looked like lots of sauce.

-That's Aroma 's Garlic Tomato Salad (3 tickets): This was like very garlicky bruschetta tomato mixture on iceberg lettuce. There was so much garlic, which tastes so good. Plus, it was well suited to the heat of the day.

-The Creperie's Beef Tenderloin w/ Peppercorn Chocolate Sauce (5 tickets): I quite liked this although the filling for the crepe could have been warmer. The sauce contained pink peppercorns, which had a milder and delicious pepper flavour. It was quite good although Ryan couldn't get past the idea there was chocolate in it. I found the chocolate virtually undetectable, though. It was like a good pepper sauce.

The Taste of Edmonton Festival was and interesting and tasty afternoon. It's a little hit or miss and not ideal conditions for serving food, but it's fun. Next weekend I look forward to the food tents of Heritage Festival in Hawrelack Park.

On Sunday morning, I made french toast served with real maple syrup and blueberries, which we all enjoyed. Around noon we went to Leva for gelato. I had a tasty Chocolate Banana Nut single. It mainly tasted of chocolate and nut, though. The banana didn't cut though, but it was really good. Leslie raved about her peanut butter cookie gelato and her boyfriend enjoyed an unusual double of mint gelato and pina colada sorbet. He seemed to like the combo, though.

My sister and I had an excellent lunch on Sunday at Flavours Modern Bistro on Whyte Ave. The lunch menu is quite reasonably priced with salads, sandwiches, and other dishes from $8-14. The setting was classy and we got a two-top with comfy high backed chairs. We each ordered a sandwich and traded halves. I got the smoked salmon bagel while she ordered the smoked turkey baguette.

We both got the creamy tomato and herb soup for a side. It was heavenly and super-tasty. There was lots of tomato flavour. I hadn't had soup in a while and this was a very good, obviously house-made one.

The smoked salmon bagel was a multi-grain bagel with cream cheese, baby greens, smoked salmon, raw onions, and enormous capers. I had never seen capers so big before and enjoyed them. I was impressed with the generous serving of smoked salmon, but Leslie thought it was too much. That's crazy though, right? The smoked turkey baguette had tomato, tasty roasted bell pepper, and a generous pile of tasty turkey on a good baguette bread. Flavours Modern Bistro provided a delicious lunch for two for about $20 before tip. The food quality and surroundings were excellent. I know I'll be back.