Hicks Weekly Dish: You can count on Koutouki - originally published Edmonton Sun, Oct. 9, 2013

Koutouki on 124th Street 10719-124 St. www.koutouki.ca 780 452 5383 Food: 4 of 5 stars Ambience: 3.5 of 5 stars Service: 4 of 5 stars Dinner for two (excluding beverages and tip): Mezethes style, $50; full meal deal, $90 Koutouki on 124 Street is more-or-less Edmonton’s original Koutouki Taverna. Koutouki patriarch Yianni Psalios had opened, sold or closed a bunch of other Greek restaurants before settling on the name and a location that’s now owned and operated by his daughter and son-in-law Dina and Chris St. Denis. The very first Koutouki was actually across the street, a tiny restaurant sandwiched in beside the Roxy Theatre. Since the original, six Koutoukis have come and gone. “You know how it goes,” Yianni once said, “When the economy is growing, I open restaurants. When the economy shrinks, I close.” While the ever-restless Yianni opens and closes (his latest, Yianni’s Backyard at 5524 Calgary Trail, has just opened) Dina and Ch ... Read the rest of entry »

Graham Hicks review of two Citadel Theatre shows - The Daisy Theatre and Long Day's Journey Into Night

Graham Hicks review of two Citadel Theatre productions: Citadel Theatre, 9828 101A Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - 780 425 1820 Long Day's Journey Into Night in the Shoctor Theatre to Oct. 13, 2013 The Daisy Theatre with Ronnie Burkett in The Club (Rice Stage) to Nov. 17, 2013 Ticket information Can there be any more polar opposites in theatre than the two shows marking the start of the Citadel Theatre's 2013-14 season? And if any two shows could demonstrate why the Citadel Theatre continues to be a beacon of cultural hope in a vulgar, de-sensitized pop culture world (Miley Cyrus, Snooki, say no more) it would be Eugene O'Neill's sombre and sober (in tone at least) Long Day's Journey Into Night, on the Shoctor stage until Oct. 13, and Ronnie Burkett's cheeky, hilarious, poignant, satirical, spur-of-the-moment marionette (puppets on strings) Daisy Theatre, playing cabaret-style in The Club (Rice Theatre). Long Day's Journey is homage to what's very much now old-style, "classical ... Read the rest of entry »

Cool shops for seriously good food in Edmonton and area - as of November, 2013

Suggestions for the best grocery, deli, bakery, butcher and liquor stores in Edmonton and area, or REAL food at REASONABLE pricees!   Latest update, November 22, 2013. Please pass on tips to me at graham.hicks@hicksbiz.com, or on Facebook, or Twitter @hicksonsix. We need more cheese shop and butcher recommendations! Recommendations so far: Groceries/deli:  K and K Foodliner (German) on Whyte Avenue, Sayah Meat + Pie, Saccamanno's, Italian Centre South Side, Little Italy and West End,  H+W Produce (several stores); El-Safadi Market (113A St. and 134 Ave).; Ben's Meat + Deli (Stony Plain Rd.). Fish:  Fin's Seafood in Sherwood Park, Lucky 97 on 97 St. Billingsgate on 104 St. Beer, wine and spirits  - Little Guy Liquor in Sherwood Park, 270 Baseline Rd. near Broadview, Baseline Wine in Sherwood Park, 11 Athabascan Ave. (off Broadmoor, south of Baseline), DeVine Wines downtown, Aligra in West Edmonton Mall, Select on 149 Street near the Whitemud, Sherbrooke Liquor (118 Ave ... Read the rest of entry »

The Soul Collector: Catalyst Theatre is back in all its beautiful, macabre glory. Review by Graham Hicks

The Soul Collector Directed, written and scored by Jonathan Christenson Design by Bretta Gerecke A Catalyst Theatre production, ATB Financial ArtsBarns, to May 12, 2013 matinees Saturday and Sunday, May 11 and 12. Tickets $17 to $42, online at Tix on the Square Review by Graham Hicks,  Hicksbiz.com blog For Jonathan Christenson fans, there’s an irresistible pull every time the brilliant writer, composer and director teams up with designer Bretta Gerecke for another Catalyst Theatre world premiere. The Soul Collector, at the ATB Financial Arts Barns through May 12, 2013, is truly a world premiere, as are all Christenson and Gerecke (CG for short) Catalyst productions. Catalyst has rock-band-like legions of international fans. Its shows tour for years, across North America, Europe and Australia. As far as made-in-Edmonton cultural exports go, Catalyst is up there with Tommy Banks, kd lang and Corb Lund. The pull, the must-attend factor, is the unique style of any C/G production. For wan ... Read the rest of entry »

Our very own Pythons: A review of the Citadel Theatre's production of Spamalot, April 20 to May 19, 2013

Review by Graham Hicks Monty Python’s Spamalot A Citadel Theatre Production, Citadel Theatre, Edmonton, Alberta Canada – Shoctor stage Until May 19, 2013 www.citadeltheatre.com It’s as much fun as Grease, back in 2003. It’s as zany as Rocky Horror Show in 2011. And it’s as silly as The Drowsy Chaperone in 2009. In other words, The Citadel Theatre’s own production of Monty Python’s Spamalot is as funny a show as has ever graced the Citadel’s main stage. You do know what you’re getting – given Spamalot is a loose stage adaptation of Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail movie, and the show itself was one of Broadway’s biggest hits of the past decade. Who doesn’t know The French Taunter’s “I fart in your general direction” or the Black Knight’s “tis only a flesh wound“ as King Arthur hilariously lops off his arm? As was the case with the Citadel’s renditio ... Read the rest of entry »

Points of pride from living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

What is there about Edmonton, Alberta, Canada that represents the best of Canada, North America or world-class? Here's the start of a list below. If you'd like to add to it, please e-mail me at graham.hicks@hicksbiz.com or Facebook (Graham Hicks) or add a comment.If you have the source of your statistic, please include it. I'd like to make this the "go-to" list for Edmonton's points of pride. Last updated, April 27, 2013 PCL Construction, Canada’s largest construction company and sixth in North America, is headquartered here. Stantec is a Canadian architecture, design and engineering giant, closing in on its goal of being in the top 10 North American construction service firms. North American’s second largest energy park is Leduc-Nisku with 4,650 acres and another 3,000 acres in reserve by the airport. Its 600 companies are leaders in adaptive technology for oil extraction. Three-quarters of them sell internationally. The deep bitumen extraction technology of choice, Steam Assisted ... Read the rest of entry »

Make Something Edmonton: Hicks on Biz originally published Edmonton Sun, April 6, 2013

“Make Something Edmonton” works as an Edmonton slogan.It may be generic, but it keys in on the essence of Edmonton.We do make things happen in this city and region. (References to "Edmonton" in this column means "Greater Edmonton." We're all in this together.)As slogan originator Todd Babiak points out, there’s no aristocracy here. We’re not glamorous, but we’re not phony. An urban “barn-building” culture means we get things done.The trick will be to spread the “Make Something Edmonton” expression beyond the downtown artisan community, to make the attitude expressed in that slogan a point of pride in the entire business community.Make Something Edmonton isn’t wishful thinking. It's reality.The git-‘er-done attitude and accomplishments of our entrepreneurs over the past decade has been remarkable. And in researching the “git-‘er-done” success of Edmonton, surprises have emerged.Mayor Steve Mandel has brought all the players onto the same page and pointing in the same direction. Before his watch, we squabbled e ... Read the rest of entry »

Queen Elizabeth II crash a miracle: Hicks on Biz, originally published in Edmonton Sun, Sat. March 30, 2013

We still don’t know how it all started.But we do know.Most of us have driven through white-outs, knuckles as white as the pelting snow, intensely aware that the slightest mistake on the steering wheel could send our vehicle caroming out of control with just a few thin strips of metal between us and eternity.In our imaginations, a massive ghost truck looms out the whiteness.There’s nowhere to go but straight into its headlights.RCMP still truly don’t know how it all started at about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 21, not until every collision report is complete and every driver and passenger interviewed.On the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, 20 kilometres south of Leduc, 50 kilometres north of Ponoka, just past a rise, in the midst of a white-out, heading north, one vehicle must have collided with another.Vehicle after vehicle came over that rise, sliding helplessly into other vehicles – sedans, SUVs, pick-ups, bigger trucks, tractor-trailers, fuel-tankers, buses, cattle-liners.The lucky ones, about half of the 85 ... Read the rest of entry »

A Taste of 118th Avenue, El Rancho and Battista's Calzone Co.: Weekly Dish originally published in Edmonton Sun, Wed. March 27, 2013

Battista’s Calzone Co.Corner 118 Ave. and 84 St.780 758 1808@battistacalzone►Food: 4 of 5►Ambience: 3.5 of 5►Service: 3.5 of 5►Lunch for two: $10 to $20El Rancho11810 87 St.780 471 4930►Food: 4 of 5►Ambience: 3 of 5►Service: 3 of 5►Dinner for two: $20 to $30There’s something about 118 Avenue’s restaurants and bakeries. From The Barbecue House at 97 Street to Uncle Ed’s past 50 Street are dozens of restaurants of every ethnic variation. The bakery cluster, from the Popular to the Handy to the Italian, creates more fresh bread choices than anywhere else in the city.The 118th Avenue blend of ethnic, artist and community has a small-town feel. But its low-income nature is a brake on gentrification, keeping rents affordable for family-run restaurants.These family restaurants are usually friendly, unpretentious and economy-priced. Trendy flatbreads or sliders don’t show up in these parts.Their village-style food, as typified by Battista Vecchio’s Calzone Co. at 118th and 84 Street and Dora Arevalo’s El Rancho Spani ... Read the rest of entry »

Select is a treat: Weekly Dish review originally published in Edmonton Sun, Wed. March 20, 2013

Select10018-106 St.780 428 1629www.selectrestaurant.caFood: 4 of 5 starsAmbience: 4 of 5 starsService: 4 of 5 stars(gluten-free options)Dinner for two (without beverages): Basic, $50; Multi-course, $90——How exciting to witness re-birth.Just over a year ago, the Packrat Louie group, led by managing partner Jodh Singh, purchased Café Select.Café Select … in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, this café/bistro on 106 Street just around the corner from the Avord Arms was one popular space. Its signature dishes are remembered by many - a vodka-spiked tomato soup, mussels, steak tartare and coquilles St. Jacques.From the outside, it wasn’t much. And it still isn’t today.But to enter then, as now, is to walk into a cosy Brussels or Prague café, with beautiful dark wood, gilded mirrors and antique light fixtures.Over the last decade, the café had deteriorated. Discerning diners lost interest. Things were fading to black.Enter the Packrat Louie gang. “I knew the restaurant was for sale,” says Jodh. “I went to dine. It was ripe f ... Read the rest of entry »