Modern Sushi at Japonais Bistro

We're back with a brand new review, and this time we headed downtown for some Japanese delights at Japonais Bistro! A relatively new restaurant on Jasper Avenue, Japonais (meaning Japanese in French) bills itself as "modern Japanese cuisine" and offers a sake bar and kaiten dining, where plated dishes travel around on a moving belt. In addition to the sake bar and traditional cooked dishes, an intriguing assortment of unique sushi offerings, new twists on classic cocktails, and tempting desserts round out the large menu. We invited sushi fanatic Becky along for lunch to try some tasty food and see if we could find a new go-to sushi joint! Keep reading to find out what we thought!

Bonjour Café Bicyclette

While on the south side and looking for a simple, peaceful lunch we decided to try Café Bicyclette. This quaint little café nestled next to the Campus St. Jean in Edmonton is a great place to find fresh food at a reasonable price. While the menu is entirely in French, the staff are helpful, friendly, and willing to assist with translation. Though, for anyone with basic French language skills (we’re talking elementary school) it should be easy enough. 

Don't Be Square!

We here at Meat VS Veg are always looking to try new places, and one of the newest on the local food scene is Square One in Sherwood Park. Following the trend of locally-sourced food, they call themselves "meticulously casual", although we agreed that term is rather vague and perhaps slightly pretentious! They offer a varied food menu, a large selection of unique drinks, and even a brunch where each dish is named after the country that inspired it. Keep reading to find out how our first experience was at Square One!

Burgers at The Burg

Sometimes you just need a good burger. In order to satisfy this craving, we decided to check out a somewhat new burger joint in downtown Edmonton: The Burg. Located on the refreshed and modern 104 St Promenade, The Burg- Burger and Bar is establishing itself as a "beautiful, casual & social setting" serving up great burgers, fries, and drinks. Read on to find out if we agree!

Una Visita A Tres Carnales

On a frigid winter day in Edmonton, what could be better than some tasty Mexican food to warm you up? This was exactly our thought pattern when we headed to Tres Carnales Taqueria for a late lunch on a blustery Monday. Located in a revitalized section of downtown, Tres Carnales burst on to the Edmonton food scene in 2011 and have been feeding the good people of Edmonton amazing tacos ever since!
They pride themselves on serving locally sourced food, with many items being made in-house or sourced from bakeries and greenhouses around the city. Even all their meat (except fish of course) comes from within two hours of Edmonton. This commitment to creating authentic Mexican flavours from local ingredients is one of the main reasons they have become a beloved downtown eatery!

Mini Review: Mini Mango

Deciding where to go for a quick lunch that satisfies both meat and vegetarian cravings can be difficult, but this past week we found a great little spot that we both loved! Mini Mango is a small, casual Vietnamese restaurant located deep in the south side, on Ellerslie Road and 91st St. The inside is bright and inviting, with orange and red chairs, Vietnamese themed art, and colorful accents.

A Trip to Paris... er Duchess Bake Shop

While planning which restaurants we want to review for this blog, one of the names that kept coming up was Duchess Bake Shop. This gorgeous little shop, located on the revitalized 124 Street, is incredibly popular and for good reason. Specializing in French pastries and also serving a light lunch, they pride themselves on making all of their products from scratch daily in their onsite kitchen. The attention to detail, wide variety of items, and simply delicious food brings their customers back again and again!

Warm up with Curry Corner

On a freezing Edmonton day in late December, we headed to a little hidden spot on the south side for some tasty Indian food with our first Meat VS Veg special guest, Becky. Curry Corner, located in Riverbend Square, is a small but cozy restaurant serving up authentic East Indian cuisine in a casual setting. Like many ethnic restaurants there are numerous vegetarian and vegan options, and in fact the menu categorizes their food as "vegetarian" and "non-vegetarian" which was a novelty for Steph, our resident veggie girl!

Food For the Soul at DaDeO

Edmonton's own Whyte Ave was recently named one of the best streets in the country, and we here at Meat VS Veg definitely agree! Located in historic Old Strathcona, Whyte Ave has a wonderful eclectic feel and an abundance of great cafes, restaurants and bars in addition to unique shops and exciting theatre. So it's no wonder that when deciding on where to go for our next review, several Whyte Ave spots were at the top of our list.

On a frigid December day this past week, we felt some Southern comfort was in order (and I don't mean the liquor!) so off we went to DaDeO, a Whyte Ave institution.