Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival in Edmonton
The 14th edition of the Rocky Mountain Wine + Food Festival takes place November 6 and 7, 2015, at the Shaw Conference Centre. In addition to sampling wine, beer, Scotch, whisky, gin, tequila, rum and more, guests will also be able to use coupons to try out a variety of delicious treats from local restaurants.
The Melting Pot
117-2920 Calgary Trail NW, Edmonton, AB T6J 2G8The Melting Pot is sticking with what they do best: Fondue. They’ll offer a spinach and artichoke cheese fondue, which consists of spinach, artichoke, garlic, vegetable bouillon, parmesan, Tabasco, butterkase and fontina cheese all melted together and served in a bread bowl. For dessert, try the chocolate fondue cup, made with strawberry, graham-covered marshmallow and a brownie drizzled with warm chocolate.
Earls
8629 112th Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 1K1They’ll offer two items from their menu: tuna tostadas and Jeera chicken curry. I can say, from experience, that the tuna tostada is a mouthful of heaven, with avocado, chilli-rubbed albacore tuna, crunchy jicama slaw and an intoxicating cilantro aioli, all atop a crispy corn tortilla chip. The Jeera chicken curry consists of slow-cooked chicken in a cumin gravy, served with coconut jasmine rice and naan bread. For dessert, they’re serving pumpkin pie.
Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut
10103 124th St NW, Edmonton, AB T5N 1P5This delightful downtown chocolate shop uses the highest quality chocolate, and no artificial preservatives in their array of treats. This year, they’re serving samples of their dark chocolate sea salt caramel, honey anise milk chocolate, champagne truffles, orange leaf chocolate, mochaccino pralines and more.
Cactus Club Cafe
11150 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5K 2V2Cactus Club is bringing their A-game, with a menu of three entrees, one dessert and two cocktails. Fill up on tuna tataki with papaya slaw, pine nuts, yuzu vinaigrette and cilantro; spaghettini and Kobe-style meatballs with a truffle cream sauce and fresh ricotta cheese; and roasted lamb pops with Yukon gold potatoes, naan bread and curry sauce. Then, enjoy a chocolate peanut butter crunch bar for dessert. Wash it all down with one of their Brazilian cocktails or a Bellini.
Sloppy Hoggs
9563 118 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5G 0N9Known for their humongous, over-the-top dishes, this Southern barbecue joint is bringing some interesting dishes to the festival, including a pulled pork sundae. But, you won’t find ice cream here – just smashed potatoes, pulled pork, shredded cheese, bacon, green onion and sauce. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, they’ll also have brisket mac ‘n’ cheese and sweet sticky ribs.
The Cheesecake Cafe
17011 100 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5S 1T9This restaurant is, of course, serving their namesake dish: Cheesecake – a salted caramel apple cheesecake, to be exact. But, they’ll also offer chocolate pretzel cookie sticks, Creole mussels with focaccia and a braised beef short rib in a blueberry demi glaze. If all that food is making you a bit sleepy, try some of their Canterbury coffee – it’s a fair-trade dark roast.
Japonais Bistro
11806 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5K 0N7This Japanese restaurant serves up cuisine with some North American twists. Their festival menu consists of a TNT roll, which is crab and avocado with shrimp tempura, fish eggs, sesame seeds and a special sauce. There will also be jalapeno yellowtail carpaccio, which is one of the most delicious items on the restaurant’s regular menu. They’re also serving tuna nachos, which come with tuna marinated in sesame sauce, avocado, jalapeno and fish eggs atop wonton chips.
Craft Beermarket
10013 101A Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 0C3This chill restaurant and bar will serve up Hawaiian ahi poke, made with sashimi-grade tuna, cucumber, ginger, garlic, sesame soya vinaigrette and a crispy wonton. They’ll also offer dark beer braised beef brisket. It’s braised for 10 hours, and is accompanied by pixie potatoes and house-made barbecue sauce.
The Three Amigos
4035 106 St NW, Edmonton, AB T6J 2S3This Mexican restaurant will serve three kinds of tacos this year: tequila lime chicken, steak and Carnitas. All tacos come with Mexican rice. For dessert, they’ll offer sangria ice cream. Yum!
Central Social Hall
100-10909 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 3L9This restaurant/bar is known for their wings but they are serving up something a little more exotic at the festival: Albacore tuna tataki with crispy wontons and shrimp gyoza with ponzu sauce and wasabi mayo. Top it off with their dessert, which is a Nutella cheesecake with Oreo cookie crumble.
Aussie Rules Kitchen & Piano Bar
1638-8882 170 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5T 4J2At this year’s festival, The Red Piano will offer three options, including a braised short rib with bacon jam, pickled onions, crispy parsnips, sweet potato mash and confit carrots. An alternative is the bison tartare, which consists of chopped Alberta bison, gherkins, shallots, mustard, fried capers and house-made Kennebec ripple chips. For dessert, try their black forest cheesecake, which has a chocolate cookie crust, Madagascar vanilla cheesecake filling and amaretto glazed cherries on top.
BLVD Kitchen & Bar
10765 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 2A5This downtown restaurant and lounge will serve some southern delights, including a shrimp po’boy, the BoHo BLT and a bourbon pulled pork po’boy. If you like the traditional po’boy they serve at the restaurant, with panko-crusted shrimp, Creole and paprika mayo and shredded romaine, then you’ll love sampling these sandwiches.
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