Epicurious in Edmonton

Thursday was a city-wide fundraiser for the Lois Hole Hospital for Women, participating restaurants gave 30% of their total food sales for the day (the money, not the food) to the hospital. So I ate out. Twice.

Lindsay, Shauna, and I headed to That's Aroma! A Garlic Restaurant for lunch. That's a Piece of Garlic (as Lindsay calls it) is a terrific site for a work day lunch as it is connected via tunnels to our place of work. This means we don't have to get our coats. And it's especially helpful if one or the other of us is on-call. The food is consistently good, though not spectacular, and always a welcomed break from the food court fare, our only other option when buying and not wanting to bundle up. Today, I had the lunch portion of the angel hair pasta with fresh tomato and brie. Tasty, but next time, I intend to go back to the grilled mushroom salad.

For dinner, I met Sharon at Blue Plate Diner. This is a cute little place downtown, with bright colors, funky fixtures, and mismatched furniture giving it a homey, eclectic feel. I had been to Blue Plate previously, but only for brunch (with the atheist panel from the UU church). This was my first time for dinner, and this veggie friendly spot did not disappoint. I had the yummy lentil and nut loaf with a miso gravy - tender, moist, and delicious, better by far than the dry tofu loaf at Cafe Mosaic. Sharon had the stuffed pepper with curried bean ragout and the bite I had ensured that I would be ordering that next time.

Friday night, Craig and I took a walk down Whyte Ave. (the E-town equivalent of 6th Street, circa 1992). Tired of fighting the cold and getting hungry, we ducked into the Tokyo Noodle Shop. The place was packed (it is an inexpensive eatery on the main drag close to the University campus), so we had to wait a bit, but the food was worth it. From the spinach miso soup, through the tofu udon, to the red bean ice cream, every bite was yummy and warmed my tummy.

After so much dining out, we'll be staying in for a while. Tonight, we have John and Juli coming over to play games. Which means I better get busy helping Craig clean up the place.