Bubba's - Edmonton's King of BBQ

Every day is a good day for barbecue and nothing stops us Canucks from firing up the bbq even when the temperature drops well below zero. For a long time, Rand Peterson--the man behind Bubba's BBQ--served tasty hunks of charred meat to avid followers from his trailer in Triton's parking lot off Davies Road, and then, like a puff of smoke, he was gone. For months, Peterson became the Waldo of the Edmonton food scene as Bubba fans flooded the Twitterverse with "Where's Bubba?" tweets.

In November of 2011 Peterson re-surfaced in a parking lot behind Superstore on 51 Avenue and Calgary Trail South and immediately, again on Twitter, Bubba sightings were reported. It didn't take long for happy eaters to return, lining up even in the coldest temperatures for Bubba's bbq.

And they keep coming back because what Peterson serves out of his small white trailer is honest to goodness good barbecue: simple offerings of wonderfully smoked, juicy meats (pork, chicken and beef) but what you need to know is that only one item is served each day, and every item costs $11. Here's the schedule:

Monday - Chicken and Tennessee (pork) Ribs

Tuesday - Tennessee Pulled Pork with Rice and Beans

Wednesday - Carolina-style Pulled Pork on a Bun

Thursday - Beef Brisket on a Bun

Friday - Tennessee Ribs with Shrimp Rice

The difference between Carolina and Tennessee barbecue is in the sauce. Carolina sauce has a base of mustard and vinegar whereas Tennessee barbecue's sauce is tomato based. The cup of dipping sauce and the spice rub on the ribs and chicken are Peterson's secret blends (all good barbecue-ers have secret recipes) and come from years of smoking, tinkering and barbecue devotion. According to Peterson, he's been eating barbecue his whole life...and I'm talking real barbecue folks; what we do here in Canada, for the most part, is grilling. You need to go south--way south--to know what them Americans are talkin' about when they say "Y'all want some 'cue?"

So, if y'all want some good 'cue here (or "Q" as its also referred to down yonder), head on over to Bubba's Monday to Friday. Start lining up at 11:15, he opens at 11:30 and take cash only; he's not set up for any other payment method.  When the food's gone, he's gone, so good luck in gettin' some, and although Bubba doesn't tweet much, you can follow him on Twitter @BubbaKingofBBQ

You can listen to my CBC Edmonton AM review on Bubba's BBQ here. 

For more reading on my travels through the Deep South, follow these links: 

Memphis - Quest for'Cue 2011

Memphis Part 2 - 2011

Exploring North Carolina 2010

Carolina BBQ 2009

New Orleans, Louisiana 2009

Cafe Haven - Sherwood Park's Gem

Cafe Haven, a bistro/coffee house in Sherwood Park has been around for a few years and is well-known to local residents. I've frequented this little restaurant several times but recently when I stopped in for lunch, I felt it had really hit its stride. The owners, Michael and Julie Harvey, offer up conscientious dishes inspired by global travels and made from local, seasonal and organic (when available) ingredients. They also offer an extensive list of tea and coffee drinks, locally brewed beer and a small selection of wines. Oh, and the Harvey's are environmentally conscious as well; they recycle, they compost, and they belong to Live Local. They're the kind of restaurant owners that other restaurant owners should emulate.

The Space


The restaurant is located in an old bank, and the cherished seating is in the vault, or what is now known as the Red Room.

The rest of the space is furnished in Formica-topped tables and kitschy chairs interspersed with contemporary furnishings and a few leather chairs to nestle in near the fireplace.

Cafe Haven feels like home.

The Food


Cafe Haven offers breakfast and lunch, and brunch on weekends. Each day features a home made soup and special. The day we went, butternut squash with roasted garlic soup was simmering on the stove and those ingredients combined were the perfect remedy to winter's chill outside.

Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Soup with
Coconut Curry Chicken Wrap

Chicken Sandwich with Caramelized Apples and Brie
served with Roasted Potato, Cheese and Bacon soup

Crab and Feta Quiche on a Dill Crust

Irvings Farm Fresh Smoked Ham and Cheddar with Hummus Salad

I like what the Harveys do with food. Ingredients are sourced locally meaning what homemade food comes out on the plate is fresh and flavourful. I also like their commitment to local producers and the good relationships that result.

The desserts bring back memories of church potluck suppers and the good old days when we'd drive to relatives farms for weekend get-togethers, and I was happy to hear that all desserts are made in-house except for some that are made by an elderly couple with recipes used out of an old church cookbook -- like the butter tarts. The cinnamon buns could very possibly take home the gold medal if they were ever entered in a contest.

Butter Tarts just like Grandma's

Finest Cinnamon Buns in the County (and beyond).

Go for the food, go for the coffee, go for brunch on weekends, but you might have to fight the rest of the masses who know what a haven this Haven really is. Also, being given Honourable Mention for best cafe in the March 2012 issue of Avenue Magazine (Edmonton) hasn't hurt business either.

Or, go on Thursday nights when they're open late for Music Night. Follow Michael Harvey on Twitter  @cafehaven for menus, specials and events.

To listen to my CBC Edmonton AM review of Cafe Haven, click here

Nola in Edmonton - The Deep South, Northern Style

New Orleans--known as Nola to locals--is one of my favourite U.S. destinations. The city is both gritty and pretty, steeped in history, mired in mystery borne of pirates, plantations, and voodoo; ravaged by hurricanes and rebuilt by indefatigable people, Nola is a city to be explored and cherished. And the food...oh, the food. If its not been officially declared as one yet, New Orleans, Louisiana, should be every foodie's Mecca.

So, when a place called Nola opened up in Edmonton, you better believe my ears pricked up in a hurry.

The place bills itself as a Creole Kitchen and Music House. That's a very good combination; in New Orleans you can't have one without the other. The night we went to Nola in Edmonton, Alfie Zappacosta was on stage, and though I've never been a huge fan, I have to say the man won me over that night with his vocals and humour. Maybe the rum had something to do with it...

L: Embalming Fluid R: Hurricane

Nola's drink list is impressive and fun. You gotta love a drink called Embalming Fluid. But horror of horrors, they had run out of mint for the Juleps. If that happened in the South, there'd be a riot.

The menu looked enticing with many a "Nawlin's" dish to be offered: gumbo, jambalaya, blackened snapper, hush puppies, and more. We were ready to dig in to some Creole fare and asked our server what she'd recommend. She replied, "I'm not a fan of Creole food..." Such uninspiring words are not what you want to hear from your server and after our eyebrows lowered to their normal positions, we settled on fried oysters, hush puppies and a bowl of gumbo to start us off.

I can still taste and recall the fried Gulf oysters I had at Felix's Oyster Bar in New Orleans--big, succulent, lightly breaded and seasoned. The ones we had at Nola in Edmonton were, well, strange; more oyster bits than anything (a minced combination of three Canadian oysters). At $9, a huge disappointment, but that being said, what bits were there, were very tasty.

Fried Oysters Oyster Bits

The hush puppies were quite good, but aren't your typical hush puppies. 'Puppies in the South are made of cornmeal and few other ingredients. These hush puppies were a combination of seafood and cornmeal and called "seafood fritters". They (and the smoky red pepper aioli) went great with the French Quarter dark beer, made specially for Nola by Amber's Brewing Company. I'll give the chef at Nola some creative leniency here with his version of hush puppies.

Hush puppies $8

Speaking of cornmeal, the little cornmeal muffins that came before everything were the highlight of the whole experience. Moist, fluffy, and served with a whipped butter made it hard not to fill up before the rest of the dishes came. They were a wonderful accompaniment to the gumbo which lacked a little in flavour and could've used a "BAM!" a la Emeril to kick it up a notch.

Gumbo

For mains we went with the blackened snapper, a nicely spiced chunk of delicate fish, cooked perfectly and served with roasted fingerling potatoes and vegetables, all nestled in a bourbon butter sauce. Don't fear the bourbon, it was remotely present to the point of being unnoticeable.

Blackened Red Snapper $18

Any Creole kitchen worth its salt should have an étouffée on menu. The word means "to smother" and a bowl of seafood étouffée should be smothered in a rich dark roux (gravy) made from fat and flour. The darker the roux, the deeper the flavour. At Nola, the seafood étouffée was a combination of all the right ingredients (shrimp, clams, scallops, vegetables), but the roux was more broth than gravy and lacked the depth of flavour it should've had. The restaurant also lacked Louisiana hot sauces, a big no-no.

Seafood Etouffee $24

After all that food, we forged ahead to the dessert menu because when you're faced with southern desserts, you just can't say no.

The desserts at Nola are substantial and not for the faint of heart (or heart patient). The beignets are again, not like the ones New Orleans is known for (light, fluffy, one to a plate), but rather dense dough balls swimming in chocolate. Try to put your past beignet experiences aside (if you have them), and enjoy these, because they're deep fried dough in chocolate, and how can you not enjoy that?

Beignet with chocolate sauce $8

 The bread pudding left something to be desired though. It definitely needed the sauce and the strawberries to let the tastebuds know there was flavour present and it could've benefited from less heft.

Bread pudding in whisky sauce $8

Overall, the food was decent but lacked a bit of soul. The experience was enjoyable -- music, food, cocktails and local beer. The service, or rather, server was more booze-oriented than food-savvy, and the whole concept of vacating your table after two hours was confusing being that you're there to enjoy food and music performers. Sorry Alfie...would've liked to stay, but our time was up. ?

To listen to my review of Nola on CBC Edmonton AM, click here, and to read about our New Orleans, Louisiana experience, click here.

Dahlia's Mediterranean Bistro - Small Spot, Big Flavour

Dahlia's Mediterranean Bistro is located at the base of an office building on 124 Street and a place you might not notice if you don't work in the area. There are lots of good things going on in this part of Edmonton lately--from bakeries to wine bars to boutiques. I'd heard positive snippets about Dahlia's for quite some time and finally made a point of stopping by for lunch a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon.

Fadi Smaidi, son of a Lebanese restaurateur in Montreal, opened up this bistro in 2009. His goal was simple: to bring authentic Mediterranean fare to Edmonton and provide unwavering quality to his customers.

The day we went, Fadi was behind the counter and he greeted us with a welcomed dose of genuine hospitality and good-natured ribbing. That, along with some pretty cool art on the walls and a heady aroma of garlic, smoked meat and spices, and we knew we were about to embark on a memorable food experience.

Service is cafeteria style -- menu boards are on the wall, so after you've had a look, go to the counter where hot foods are waiting and place your order with Fadi or the sweet and wonderful Rochelle (fantastic server), grab a drink, pay, and have a seat. Or, get your food to go -- which is how a lot of workers in the area go about it.  

For starters, you will find falafel balls and tahini dip; hummus or babaghanouj (eggplant dip) with pita bread, fatayers (a pastry sort of mini pie filled with meat or cheese or spinach, or combination of ingredients), a soup of the day, and the most incredible, delectable, garlic potatoes with garlic sauce.

fatayer

Garlic Potatoes

You can also find four salads: the parsley-based tabouli, a hearty yet healthy fattoush (cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, radish, mint and baked pita chips), the ubiquitous Greek salad, and Caprese (tomato and mozzarella). A bonus that Saturday was a chickpea salad rife with Mediterranean flavours and packed with fibre. This salad is extremely filling and definitely one to split between a few people.  

Greek Salad

If you're a sandwich person, you're going to be happy with what Fadi offers: Nine in total starting with some from the Middle East: chicken or beef shawarmas and falafel, all of which are packed with onions, parsley, pickled turnip, tomato and tahini sauce and bundled in a soft pita.

Chicken Shawarma

 

Falafel

Some more creative combinations are found in the turkey and artichoke on ciabatta; the Gruyere and caramalized onion on rye; a pastrami and sauerkraut on Swiss, and the one we jumped on, the Montreal smoked meat on a marbled rye bread. Thank you Fadi for bringing some of that Montreal flavour to our city. I'm happy to report that smoked meat sandwich was the best I've tasted this far west in a very long time.

Montreal Smoked Meat on Rye

Dahlia's is one of those places that you kick yourself for not discovering sooner. Fadi's genuine interest in people, his love of food, his commitment to quality, and his sense of humour made instant fans of our group, so much so that a week later my family went back while I was out of town, taunting me with tales of what they ate. But I made up for it the following week by returning for three large containers of those sinful garlic potatoes to feed a crew who were helping move a friend across town. (You know what they say about eating garlic...if one does, you all should. We did, and it was good...very good.)

Dahlia's is the type of business that is making 124 Street a destination for dining and shopping. A tip of the hat to 124 Street and Area Business Association for their hard work in making 124 street a vibrant and vital economic area. If you haven't strolled down there lately, check out the area's website at www.124street.ca/.

To listen to my CBC review of Dahlia's Bistro, click here.

Portland, OR - A First Timer's First Impression

Portland is a food, beer, wine and cocktail lover’s Utopia; a shopper’s treasure; an artist’s haven.

With Mount Hood to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and scores of rivers, waterfalls, forests and hiking trails all around, the area is also a nature lover’s playground.

Multnomah Falls

Portlanders are hip, artsy and ruggedly cool. Guys wear plaid shirts and 1970s down- filled vests. Women wrap their necks with natural fibre scarves and look enviably healthy and beautiful with no makeup. Portlanders love their Happy Hour and ramen. Community gardens sprout abundantly in empty residential lots and the dining establishments that don’t serve locally grown and natural, consciously raised food products are the odd ones out.  There are as many old cars and trucks on the roads as new ones. Think 1972 Chevy half-ton. Jeep Wagonneers. Portland’s cool factor is off the charts.

Merchandise at Animal Traffic on Mississippi Avenue

The city was named one of the most livable cities in the USA in 2010, and if you spend any time there, it won’t take you more than a day of exploring to understand why.

We had five days after Christmas to take in Portland. We would’ve gladly spent five weeks had we the time.

Food: You'll want to do your research on places to eat and you'll find a plethora of information on the web. (I'll post some restaurant recaps in a day or so.) The Pacific Northwest is abundant with good--no, make that great--food.  If you’re a food truck/food cart fan (and who isn’t?), Portland boasts over 500 portable food purveyors. Check Portland's Food Cart website for info. Only a handful, however, were open over the Christmas/New Year break and because of that, we have decided to return to Portland for a food cart tour this year. 

Downtown Portland Food Trucks

Food Trucks on Division Street

We had spectacular food in Portland but we managed to find a couple of duds too: Henry’s Tavern in the Pearl District (if you’re Canadian, think any over-decorated restaurant geared to big plates, big fixtures and over-processed, big bang-no whammy food), and Jake's Grill (a McCormick and Shmick's property) in a gorgeous historical building downtown. This is what happens when you don't do your research. 

Lodging: The Hotel Monaco-Portland holds the #1 rating on Trip Advisor, and deservedly so. We chose it because of its downtown location and because of the types of rooms it offered. Traveling with four teenagers means we need space and the Monaco definitely offered that with the rooms we chose. Staff is extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the area, and the nightly wine and mingle hour in the lobby gives patrons a chance to taste local wines and enjoy the hotel's art collection. 

Lobby at Hotel Monaco Portland

This hotel is pet-friendly, so if you don’t like dogs, don’t stay here. Several guests brought their canine companions along but we never experienced any barking issues or unruly beasts. The Monaco’s mascot dog, Timmy, lounges anywhere he so desires and is the object of everyone’s attention that passes by.

Sightseeing: The OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), the zoo and the Portland Art Museum are listed as the city’s top attractions, but we found worthwhile sites just by driving or walking around and taking the time to shop, eat or stop for locally roasted java in one of the many coffee houses in the city. 

Shopping at Flutter on Mississippi Avenue

Around the corner from Voodoo Doughnuts SW 3rd Ave

Exploring Alberta Avenue Arts District

Great Coffee at Caffe Vita on Alberta Avenue

The city's historic buildings add to the charm and are home to countless cafes, boutiques and pubs.

The infamous Voodoo Doughnuts - original location SW 3rd Avenue

Portland revels in its quirkiness. In fact, bumper stickers and even a building sport the slogan, “Keep Portland Weird”. How wonderful to see a city promote its individuality and resist homogenization.

Portland has everything a city needs to lure travellers back for another visit. It's interesting, quirky, vibrant and will keep you fed and watered with good food and drink in more ways than you could imagine. 

Portlanders, I envy you -- even your airport is cool. 

Check back soon for more blog posts on this incredible city.