Hicks' Weekly Dish: Die Pie and all things vegetarian by GRAHAM HICKS, first published Edmonton Sun, November 20, 2018

Die Pie's black garlic & truffle vegetarian pizza is an earthly slice of heaven. PHOTOS BY GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN Die Pie 11215 Jasper Ave. 780-760-7272 diepie.ca Tues. to Sun. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (10 p.m. Thurs. and Fri.) Closed Mondays Delivery: Skipthedishes.com Food:  4 of 5 Suns Ambience: 4 of 5 Suns Service: 4 of 5 Suns Dinner for two excluding tip, taxes or beverages: Basic (one pizza), $20; loaded $50 By GRAHAM HICKS Let’s be realistic. Edmontonians are not abandoning meat-based proteins. The vast majority of us love a great T-bone steak, even if it’s as expensive as a new BMW. We appreciate a slow-cooked pork belly, all velvety fat. We crave Korean-style deep-fried chicken, a seared halibut filet, herbed pork shoulder hot off a rotisserie … What’s new, and exciting, is the city-wide interest in encompassing more than a meat-based menu. Not to stop eating meat, but to eat a little less – ounces rather than pounds: To consider veggie an ... Read the rest of entry »

Weekly Dish: Halifax street food brought to Edmonton By GRAHAM HICKS, first published Edmonton Sun, Nov. 13, 2018

Cool on cool: Blowers & Grafton's toasted, then cooled, mini-lobster rolls. GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN Blowers & Grafton – Halifax Street Food 10550 82 Ave. 780-250-3663 blowersgrafton.com Food: 4 of 5 Suns Ambience: 3.5 of 5 Suns Service: 4.5 of 5 stars Dinner for two excluding tip, taxes or beverages: Basic (i.e. pizza for two), $20; loaded $50 Delivery: Skipthedishes.com 11 a.m. to midnight seven days a week; Fri. and Sat. to 2 a.m. Blowers & Grafton is an intersection in downtown Halifax. Haligonians flock to “Pizza Corner” as the bars close down to soak up internal alcohol via pizzas and donairs – originally from three competing pizzerias, today from many more nearby street food outlets. This is not mythology: Friends who have studied in Halifax attest to many a late-night pizza/donair party around Blowers & Grafton. It’s also true that what’s now known as a donair – a North American variation on the Turkish doner ... Read the rest of entry »

Weekly Dish: BUOK Fresh Korean Kitchen — in search of soul BY GRAHAM HICKS, first published EDMONTON SUN November 7, 2018

The BUOK Bibimbap bowl: rice, veggies, bulgogi beef, chili sauce all topped with an egg. PHOTOS BY GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN BUOK Fresh Korean Kitchen 10707 100 Avenue 780-244-2865 buokfresh.ca Tues. to Fri. 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (9 p.m. Thurs. and Fri.) Sat. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Sun./Mon. No listed delivery service Food:  3 of 5 Suns Ambience: 3 of 5 Suns Service: 4 of 5 Suns Dinner for two excluding tip, taxes or beverages: Basic, $20; loaded $50 By GRAHAM HICKS BUOK Fresh Korean Kitchen is disappointing, in a puzzling way. The restaurant has worked hard at creating soul. Hands-on owner Henry Song is in the kitchen every hour BUOK is open and proudly greets his customers. Song makes a big deal out of using his mother’s recipes, of making his sauces from scratch – especially the complex creation of BUOK’s in-house kimchi. The emphasis is on using fresh, fresh ingredients, as the name suggests. Yes, the food is fresh – good on BUOK. But ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Crazy hours but the best of food in Spain By GRAHAM HICKS, first published EDMONTON SUN, October 30, 2018

How could you not enjoy food consumed in such beautiful surroundings, being Seville in Spain. GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUNEdmonton By Graham Hicks Either Spain has it all figured out, with a fabulous lifestyle when it comes to food, drink and the timing thereof … or the Spaniards have the most cockamamie eating habits on Earth. My wife and I are back in Edmonton after four weeks in Spain with a side-trip to Italy. Maria loves Spain and Spanish food and the café culture.  But her stomach works on North American time – she needs her morning snack, lunch at noon and dinner by 6:30 p.m. at the latest. That is not how Spain operates:  “how do Spaniards manage to dine at midnight,” once wrote former Sun columnist Eric Margolis of the mysteries of Europe, “hit the discos afterwards, then go to work the next morning?” The Spanish do not rise before 8:30 a.m.  (at this time of year, the dawn does not break before 8 a.m. and night falls by 8 p. ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: A FEASTival of fun! By GRAHAM HICKS, first published EDMONTON SUN, September 25, 2018

The NAIT team's ribeye was one of the most impressive main dishes on offer at the FEASTival of Fine Chefs attended by over 1000 guests at the Shaw Conference Centre on Sept. 19, 2018. Photos by GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN FEASTival of Fine Chefs Show Conference Centre September 19, 2018 By Graham Hicks It’s called FEASTival, it’s been around 30 years, and it’s a lot of fun. On Sept. 19, the Shaw Conference Centre’s main exhibition hall is full. One thousand people have bought tickets or come as guests. Around the walls are booths representing just about every major hotel restaurant in town, along with a few other dining facilities such as the Royal Glenora Club. Every booth has a number. Every guest has a number. Master of Ceremonies Seanna Collins did a countdown. Three, two, one … GO! Immediately, every person jumps up to pick up the first of four courses, looking for the booth number that corresponds to the number they hold for the evening. The chefs a ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Hardware Grill shows cracks in the armour graham.hicks By GRAHAM HICKS, first published EDMONTON SUN, September 18, 2018

A certain famous Oiler always orders the Hardware Grill's signature sea bass, and with good reason! Photos by GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN Hardware Grill 9698 Jasper Avenue Hardwaregrill.com 780-423-0969 Reservations: opentable.com Mon. to Thurs.  5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat. 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Sundays No listed delivery service Food:  4 of 5 Suns Ambience: 4 of 5 Suns Service: 4 of 5 Suns Dinner for two excluding tip, taxes and beverages: Basic, $70; loaded $130 By GRAHAM HICKS A bit of slippage here, Mr. Stewart. Not that any other restaurant will knock the Hardware Grill off its perch as THE downtown place for corporate dining, special occasions, or simply to enjoy a dinner for two based on surprisingly well-priced small plates. But last Friday’s dinner for four — at least the tenth time I’ve dined at executive chef/owner Larry Stewart’s fine restaurant — was not as effortlessly perfect as in years past. The at-table service wa ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Drunken Ox Sober Cat — reimagining the steakhouse By GRAHAM HICKS, first published Edmonton Sun, September 11, 2018

An unusual and delicious treatment of brussels sprouts and pancetta. Photos by GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN DOSC (Drunken Ox Sober Cat) 10190 104 St. 780-540-0606 Dosc.ca Reservations: opentable.ca Seven days a week, Mon. to Wed.  7 a.m. to 12 midnight Thurs. 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fri. 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sat. 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sun. 9 a.m. to 12 midnight No listed delivery service Food:  4.5 of 5 Suns Ambience: 4.5 of 5 Suns Service: 4 of 5 Suns Dinner for two without tip, taxes or beverages: Basic, $40; loaded $100 By GRAHAM HICKS DOSC (which should be named Drunken Ox Sober Cat – see below) is a wonderful addition to the city’s dining scene. In a historic building on 104 Street a block north of Jasper, DOSC is full of aesthetically pleasing design, ambience and theatrics.  All is meticulously assembled into an eclectic, harmonious whole. DOSC is loaded with atmosphere. The food is near original – the notion of a “craft steakhouse” is bri ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Go foraging for Sorrentino’s 24th Mushroom Harvest By GRAHAM HICKS, first published Edmonton Sun, September 4, 2018

Porcini mushroom sauce and crimini mushrooms deepen this grilled beef rib feature at the Sorrentino's Mushroom Harvest. Photos by GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN All Sorrentino’s Restaurants Sorrentinos.com (Please check website for hours and addresses of individual restaurants) Food:  4 of 5 Suns Dinner for two without tip or beverages: Basic, $40; loaded $70 By GRAHAM HICKS It ‘s a chilly 6C outside and overcast. Daybreak didn’t peep through the bedroom blinds until 7 a.m  The garden tomatoes remain stubbornly green. The Eskimos lost, once again, the Labour Day Classic  Much as one mourns the passing of endless sunlight, wasps and evening thunder clouds, it’s time for heartysoul-warming comfort foods. The greatest of these are mushrooms. The Rago family’s Sorrentino Italian restaurant chain – Downtown, South-Side, West End, St. Albert, Stony Plain, Little Italy and Bistecca – began its autumn mushroom-based festival menu 24 y ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. – Quality within quantity By GRAHAM HICKS, first published Edmonton Sun, August 28, 2018

Some 20 shrimp variations are to be found at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in West Edmonton Mall, including these delicious coconut shrimps. Photos by GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Second Level, West Edmonton Mall – overlooking Santa Maria, below Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre complex 780-244-4867 Bubbagump.com 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, Fri. and Sat. to 11 p.m. No listed delivery service Food:  4 of 5 Suns Ambience: 4 of 5 Suns Service: 4 of 5 Suns Dinner for two without tip or beverages: Basic, $40; loaded $70 By GRAHAM HICKS Stating the obvious … but if you don’t like shrimp, don’t go to Bubba Gump’s! Actually, that’s not true. While 20 shrimp variations are on the menu, also for the eating are chicken wings, chowder, salads, fish and chicken sandwiches, burgers, ribs, steak, crab legs and a decent selection of other fish dishes – fish ‘n’ chips, mahi-mahi, salmon, flounder and tilapia. The new re ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Vintage Fork — inelegance within elegance By GRAHAM HICKS, first published Edmonton Sun, August 21, 2018

The Vintage Fork lunchtime "Butler Steak" and vegetables. Photos by GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUN Vintage Fork 11153 Saskatchewan Drive, Rutherford House, University of Alberta 780-427-4113 Vintagefork.ca Tues, to Fri. 9 am to 5 pm Sat. and Sun. 9:30 am to 5 pm closed Mondays Reservations accepted, parking out front No listed delivery service Food:  4 of 5 Suns Ambience: 3 of 5 Suns Service: 2 of 5 Suns Lunch for two without tip or beverages: $40 to $60, depending on the day of the week By GRAHAM HICKS There’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde aspect to Vintage Fork, the lunch/tea house on the main floor of the University of Alberta’s historic Rutherford House. On the one hand, the food is very good. The reviews on Google, Yelp etc. have been generally positive. On the other, serious criticism has been voiced by food bloggers about slow and inattentive service. On our noon visit, sadly, Mr. Hyde was running the shop. Despite the small number of diners — one party of ... Read the rest of entry »