Culina: Some of Edmonton’s Best Food
(A little backstory: Sally and I wrote this story for a new Edmonton food magazine…alas it never hit the news stands. You, dear friends, can still enjoy our glowing words about Culina. Then, you can go there and enjoy some of the best food in the city. – Jeff)
Some friends, and friends of friends, enjoy their wedding meal at Culina-Mill Creek. So don't worry, dress is usually a little more casual at the restaurant.
Taking the Latin word for kitchen and cooking, and combining it with some Ukrainian heritage, Brad Lazarenko christened his neighbourhood bistro “Culina,” six years ago.
Growing up in a Ukrainian home he knew the translation of the highbush cranberry plant was known as “kalyna” in his parents’ native tongue. That sealed the deal on the restaurant’s name.
“The name is very important,” Brad says. “I see a name [of other restaurants] and think ‘You’re not going to make it.’ I knew I didn’t want to be a ‘Brad’s Grill.’”
Culina-Mill Creek’s name is one of any number of things that make the establishment memorable.
For one, this cozy, 40-seat restaurant is impressive without being pretentious; it’s the sort of place you can wear a suit or dress one night, and return the next in your favourite jeans and feel just as comfortable.
“It’s my baby,” says the owner. “Well, my first baby.”
That correction comes as Lazarenko notes Culina isn’t merely the six-year-old venue off 99th Street, in the Mill Creek neighbourhood (9914-89 Avenue). There’s also Culina-Highlands, in north-central Edmonton (operated by Lazarenko’s sister Cindy), Culina catering, and three wine bars know as Bibo (the first is one door over from Culina-Mill Creek; the other two are in British Columbia).
You need to try Culina's brunch. They're always busy for reason.
Culina-Mill Creek blends neighbourhood bistro with some of the finest fusion you’ll find on a menu. And it strikes that balance as best that could be done. “I always tell people it’s ethnic comfort food. That puts people at ease.”
Brad’s sister, Cindy Lazarenko, owner and chef over at Culina Highlands, agrees. “It’s all the foods that he loves, but it’s very comforting food. It’s a lot of like starch, and meat, and vegetable side dish.”
Culina-Mill Creek serves lunch, dinner and very popular brunches.
“It’s food I like to eat myself,” says Brad. “Every dish is something I’ve eaten and wanted to recreate. I look at Culina as a compilation, a mix tape.” (more…)
Backstairs Secret Vegan Cafe
Oh, the facebook fan page. It can really get asses in the seats, if you know what I’m saying. Because, you know, one friend of yours declares themselves a fan of say “Your Mom,” and then, one by one, it spreads like wildfire, as it pops up in everybody’s news feed. My favorite example of this was when Jeff recently (and accidentally) declared himself a fan of Canadian country supergroup Doc Walker. He quickly deleted it, but for days after, my news feed informed me that Jeff loved Doc Walker, and maybe I would too?
Anyway, one page I recently became a fan of, after seeing a bunch of my friends do the same, was the Backstairs Secret Vegan Cafe, “Edmonton’s Culinary Speakeasy.” It’s been quite the facebook phenom, rapidly accruing over 350 fans. Basically how it works is you visit their website, check the posted menu and then e-mail to reserve your spot. Be warned, IT’S POPULAR, and therefore tough to get into, but based on some of the previous menus they’ve posted, it’s well worth the wait. It’s $15 a plate, and you will receive further details via email. UH, RAD.
I sent off an email to see if I could find out more about the mystery organizer(s,?) behind the Backstairs. And I did. I met someone who for the sake of not wrecking the secret-ness I will call “Kevin.”
Kevin is a charming, affable guy who is clearly really passionate about food. He informs me that this whole “culinary speakeasy” thing is going on all over the place, and that he recently came across a place to live that was so big and inviting, it was pretty much begging him to serve food in it.
“Probably about a year ago, I read this zine called ‘A Chef’s Tale’. He tours like a band. He was mostly telling stories about the adventures he had,” explains Kevin. “[For] part of it, he included how he used to run a café out of his apartment.”
“I was like, that’s the greatest thing I’ve ever heard.”
‘Bet’ you need somewhere to go for Thanksgiving Dinner (you’ll get it in a minute)
…well fret not, my pets. Whether you’re away from home for the first time, simply don’t feel like cooking, or are in the mood for a weekend-long tryptophan bender, you are in the right place.
While I have not done the exhaustive work of contacting restaurants around the city in pursuit of all available thankgiving meals, because let’s face it, I’m lazy - I HAVE done the relatively easy work of contacting several local casinos. In my defense, casinos are the masters of the buffet meal. Also, it’s a casino. What goes better with turkey and cranberries than a lingering sense of despair?
Casino Yellowhead’s Stagecoach Grill (12464 153 St) has a Thanksgiving buffet with turkey AND carved ham, plus salad bar and dessert, for $15.95, plus GST. It’s available from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday [(780) 424 - WINS for more info].
Casino Edmonton (7055 Argyll Road) is having an all day turkey dinner, with an as-yet-to-be-determined price. They open at 9:30 a.m. Also, this completely irrelevant, but they had “Eye of the Tiger” as their on-hold music, and I enjoyed it considerably [(780) 463 - WINS for more info].
Palace Casino (2710-8882 170 Street) is offering a thanksgiving-themed buffet on Friday and Saturday nights. Regular price is $14, but if you score one of their rewards cards, I’m told you’ll get 2 bucks off. Also, the fellow I spoke to couldn’t guarantee any thankgiving-y food on Monday, but he thought there might be some turkey sandwiches and such available in the Deli [(780) 444-2112 for more info].
No word on whether Century Casino (13103 Fort Road) is going to be serving up a dinner, but they ARE in the midst of a frozen turkey giveaway, which carries on until Monday, which obviously reminds me of the turkey drop episode of WKRP in Cincinnati. [(780) 643-4000 for more info on the turkey giveaway].
monday oct 12
5-9 turkey and carved ham salad bar and dessert
stagecoach grill
o
15 95 plus gst
Potatoes!
Potatoes and more potatoes. (Photo: @EdwardMonton)
Potatoes are a very versatile food. They’re also a local food.
Our friend, Edward Monton, wrote about The Great Potato Giveaway, but we’ve harvested his comments to fill you in.
Essentially, to show off the great food-growing potential of the Edmonton region, a number of groups (including Norbest Farms) are coming together to offer you (yes, YOU) free potatoes. You can haul up to 50 pounds of spuds this Saturday.
The details about the potatoes and how to get to the potatoes (in Fort Saskatchewan) can be found here.
Fundraising I can Get Behind, that is, Fundraising where someone feeds me.
As we established here, Jeff and I are taking next week off to take care of less glamorous blogging business (which makes it sound like I’ll be out back digging a blogging ditch (?) or something, but I think you all know what I mean).
Nevertheless, the whole world won’t be busy! Busy digging blogging ditches! There will still be plenty going on. One industrious gal, let’s call her Jackie Pearce, as that is her name, will be hosting a vegan dinner party on August 28 as well as a garage sale (not a vegan garage sale though, because that’s not a thing), August 27-29. Funds raised will benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
Fundraising for charities and cooking are both hobbies for Jackie, and she says this isn’t the first dinner party she’s hosted. We exchanged e-mails yesterday, and I got the lo-down on her upcoming vegan feast.
SALLY: Why are you fundraising for the MS Society?
JACKIE: I have several friends and clients who have people …in their lives who suffer with MS every day, so I have seen and heard first hand just how debilitating it can be. (more…)
Story Meeting: Breakfast at Jojo’s Cafe
Okay, so let’s hop in the delorean (“Roads? Where we’re going, we won’t need roads…”)and head back in time to discuss Sunday. Jeff and I did what we now plan to do every Sunday – we went out for breakfast and hashed out stories for the week ahead.
This week we went to Jojo’s Cafe at La Piazza Dasee.
@pam_i_am got her first delivery of the Good Food Box! and blogged about it! I’m excited for you Pam, but in a bittersweet way. Mostly I’m just jealous looking at all that nice fresh food because I had single-os for breakfast.
Dinner at Pam’s, everybody!
Breakfast at the Route 99 Diner
Jeff and I have started a new Sunday morning tradition – story meetings. Yes, Edmonton, instead of just arbitrarily googling the word “Edmonton,” or wandering through the streets taking pictures of anything we can find, we’ve decided to try something different. Preparation. And our first story meeting took place at one of my favorite places, Route 99 Diner.
you can't see, but this cup is actually full of syrup.
As with all great diners, there is very little on the menu that won’t take you one step closer to heart disease. Maybe toast, if you specifically ask them not to dip it in butter. But if you’re all wound up about your diet, C. Everett Koop, then maybe you should just stay home and eat some Weetabix.
