YEG Eats!

 

I was born into a family of “eaters”.  What is an eater? An eater is someone who wastes time until the next meal.  For as long as I can remember the best parts of vacations were exploring new restaurants.  Fast forward 30 years and now Mike and I are creating our own little family of eaters.  We have been in Edmonton now for a little over 3 months and have taken it upon ourselves to try as many local restaurants as possible. With the help of Instagram polls and friendly new people we have a list of at least 20 local spots to try.  Below are a few of the places we have had the privilege of eating at thus far (and our thoughts on the establishments).

Bianco –  One word: Delicious. Bianco is a modern Italian spot located in downtown Edmonton. We first stopped by on one of our “date days”.  They have amazing fresh pasta dishes and tasty pizzas.  We have since been back 3 times.  My favorite thing on the menu is the Casarecce con Pollo e Funghi (different language for ridiculously good creamy mushroom pasta with chicken).  Mike’s go to has been the margarita pizza (he always orders pizza at Italian restaurants).  Given that we have been 3 times in 3 months I would highly recommend this place for lunch or dinner. Link to Bianco here.

 

Bundok-  Unique tapas and perfect for date night.  Bundok is a small restaurant located in the ice district.  This hidden gem serves seasonal share plates and craft cocktails. Mike and I started with the Fried Chicken Skins with honey mustard – these were so delicious we put in a second order. For our main dish we shared Gnocchi Parisienne with roasted mushrooms.  The gnocchi was light and fluffy and has been on their menu since they opened. To feel better about eating fried chicken skins and pasta we ordered the Grilled Broccoli and like everything else it was amazing. To finish off the meal we shared the Chocolate Cake, dulce de leche with candied peanuts (I would have eaten two but Mike shut me down).  We will definitely be going back to this place once quarantine is over.  Link to Bundok here.

 

Tres Carnales– First off, let me say we are taco connoisseurs and this place was recommended by numerous people so we tried it for lunch.  The music and ambiance were great.  One thing we have noticed in Edmonton that is unlike Florida, you can’t mix and match tacos. So we were stuck with 3 of the same kind (bummer when you want to try different tacos).  That being said we ordered guacamole, carnitas tacos, and flautas de carne.  The food was great but maybe a tad over priced for what you get.  Mike loved the tacos. Rostizado is owned by the same people and I would probably go there over Tres Carneles only because I feel you get more bang for your buck.  Link to both here.

 

Riverside Bistro- This place had a lot of hype (even though it is a hotel restaurant).  You can dine under the stars, next to the river, in your own private igloo – sounds super cool right? First for the details – you can have six people, there is a food and beverage minimum, and they provide blankets but it is still pretty cold.  We went with two other couples.  I want to start with saying the concept is really cool but the execution is poor.  The meal was subpar hotel food and overpriced.  We will not be going back.

 

The last two places I want to highlight are establishments we only stopped for drinks and appetizers but they do offer full meal service.

Woodwork- We chose this adorable bar because Mike loves whiskey and this yall, is a solid little whiskey bar. Woodwork is located downtown it what looks to be a historic building. They have a library wall of spirits and their bartenders can make some amazing cocktails. We have only ordered drinks and the truffle spinach deviled eggs but they are out of this world.  We have been here (like Bianco) three times.  They are walking distance from Bianco if you ever want to stop somewhere on the way to dinner.  Link to Woodwork here.

 

The Lobby Bar (at the JW Marriott) – The JW is located in the ice district and we have stopped in here several times to have drinks and appys before meeting friends or just deciding where we want to go next.  This is where I discovered my favorite Mule of all time, the Braven mule.  This mule consists of Fever Tree ginger beer, Coconut Vodka, and homemade vanilla syrup – SO GOOD!  We have ordered a few of the appetizers but the shoe string fried with big mac sauce are my go to.

 

Well, Graham is up from his nap so I have to hop off, but I will be doing two more food posts – one about my quest to find the best poutine and one about our favorite family friendly restaurants around town.

Thanks everyone for all of the restaurant recommendations! Hopefully when the quarantine is over we can go back out and try some more on our list.

Happy Eating y’all!

AK