At the start of the year, I went to Edmonton. On the train. Most of the train ride there was awesome, but for some reason, the last three hours I felt horribly ill. On arrival, my friends picked me up and I retired straight to the bedroom, where I continued to feel the after effects of whatever I had eaten that upset me.
So that pretty much wrote of my first day in Edmonton. Luckily, a solid diet of cheesy films, hot tea and a good company sorted me out, and by the next day, I was ready to face the cold, frigid, Edmonton day.
After a walk around the legislature building, the parks and looking out over the frozen Athabasca, we went to Whyte Avenue to play boardgames at HXGN. A cafe not unlike Victoria's own Interactivity Board Game Cafe. Just only 90% as awesome. We played some good games, drank hot coffee, and then wandered along Whyte to '&27'. It was cold on that walk. I am very glad for the warm scarf my friend had given me (in the silver and honolulu blue of the Detroit Lions, naturally). I was also very glad to eat here.
Even though I didn't have too much (didn't want to risk too much), what we did eat was all full of flavour. It showed a lot of innovation and flair in the kitchen. Except for one item, where I was just confused.
Firstly, I paid for filtered, pure water... advertised with the promise that all profits went to Mealshare. I like the Mealshare concept. I don't like paying for a simple glass of water, and I really don't know who Q-Water is and why I should think their water is any different from what comes out of the tap. Then again, the assumption that someone is looking after your tap water leads to Flint, Michigan.
But, my friend, the Book Seller and Gourmet, did get a very tasty cocktail which lead to much grins and happiness spreading across her face. But not as much grins and happiness as the shared starter of peanut fries.
I did not quite know what peanut fries would be, half expecting them to be some sort of extruded peanut mass, deep fried and kinda sickly. Instead it was a generous cone of chips with a salty, savoury dusting of something peanutty. We suspected it was some sort of peanut super powder, used in fitness shakes or something like that. They were incredibly moorish, but also quite rich tasty so hoovering them down wasn't an option. Instead we just ate them one at a time, slowly, savouring the flavour of hot potato and peanut goodness.
We shared a portion of the Smoked Chicken Gnocchi. I was expecting chicken and gnocchi. What we got was a pile of big, chunky pasta-dumplings, covered with some squeaky curds and a poached egg. There was a pepper and rosemary strewn over it as well. This made for a dish that had an interesting mouth feel, with lots of warm, chewy flavours. The chicken? Hidden IN the gnocchi, in tiny little bits, with a not super-obvious level of taste. But it was there, though I didn't get much of the smokiness I expected.
To finish, as my stomach was already feeling full, we got the pork belly on a bed of corn and beans. I really want to know if the dish was intended to have the pork cold. If it was intentional, fair enough. it worked, though I much prefer pork belly to me hot and steaming. Then the fat combines with the beans and corn to add all sorts of extra flavours. Cold, it was still tasty, but the flavours didn't combine with the home baked beans and the spicy mesquite corn. Which I loved. The fritters tasted like a very savoury custard to me, but the Book Seller and Gourmet didn't agree, and we couldn't pin down the rich, slightly creamy flavour in there.
The space itself would fit right into Victoria. Slightly pretentious, without being overbearing. Keen and friendly waiters. The long curved bar takes up one big corner, while the dining area has a mix of tables... large family style rounds and smaller intimate two person squares. Big glass frontage, but double glazed to keep us warm in the winter. And a Whyte Avenue side patio space for when this becomes the buzzing place it is in the summer.
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