River City Writer

I went down to the Taste of Edmonton last night with my mother, and youngest brother. We had $20 worth of tickets each, and everyone of us left feeling like we’d eaten way too much food. Writing this (on Thursday night), I still feel disgusting and bloated, but it was totally worth it. I got to sample some great food from the local culinary scene. Here are my top recommendations, in no particular order.

• Cajun Jambalaya, Four Rooms: While I suspect that a certain New Orleans-born Edmontonian might tell me that this dish is not authentic Cajun cooking, it was damn good. Shrimp, veggies, and what I think was crawfish, with a spicy tomato sauce, all poured over rice. I added some Tabasco sauce for an extra zing. For 5 tickets, this was one of the most expensive dishes I tried. It was also the most filling, and definitely one of the best tasting. There was enough food that it could have been a meal all on it’s own, even though it was only a sample size.
• Pork Dumplings, Beijing Beijing: While I still think that the best pork dumplings in the city were found at the now-defunct Bottleneck Korean restaurant in HUB Mall on the University campus, Beijing Beijing’s dumplings were excellent. Fried but not greasy, and the perfect texture–not too soft, but not too crunchy–I loved these dumplings. Add some of the hot chili sauce and you’ll be in heaven. If you visit the Beijing Beijing booth during busy hours (at either noon, or between 5-6pm), you’ll probably get dumplings fresh out of the oil. The fresher they are, the better they’ll taste. At only 3 tickets for 4 dumplings, this is one of the best deals at the festival.
• Tamales, El Rancho: I found out about El Rancho a few months ago, when my friend Rosemary held her birthday party at the restaurant. While I haven’t managed to make it back since, it’s only a matter of time before I do. They have the absolute best Mexican and Salvadorian food in the entire city. For those of you who still feel that Alberta Avenue (118 Avenue) is a shady area that you’d rather avoid, you’re missing out on one of the best restaurants in Edmonton. The tamales are excellent, and cost 4 tickets. They also have pupusas for 4 tickets, which are also worth tasting.
• Canada Maki, Kyoto Japanese Cuisine: I’m a sucker for sushi. I’m not sure what “Canada Maki” is, exactly, but it was damn good. It seemed to be more or less the same as California Maki, but with shrimp. Whatever the case, it was a damn good plate of sushi. Like the Jambalaya, this dish is 5 tickets, making it one of the highest priced dishes on the menu–but it’s worth every dollar.

While almost everything I tried was very good, some of it wasn’t so great. I’d recommend passing on the Korean Village vegetable tempura. I’m normally a big fan of veggie tempura, but the batter in this dish was much too heavy. Not only that, the main “vegetable” was potato, so it felt like I was eating a big bowl of French fries, rather than vegetable tempura. If this is the way that all Korean tempura tastes, I’ll stick with the Japanese variety. Having said that, if you enjoy really heavy batter on your vegetables, it is a lot of food for 4 tickets.

Taste of Edmonton runs from 11am to 11pm everyday until July 28, 2007.