We’ve had two pretty good meals here in the capital of Alberta. Today’s lunch was at the Café Select. I had their tomato soup and a spicy salad with fried squid, which was a lot tastier than it sounds.
Last night, though, was exceptional. We visited the Hardware Grill (on a recommendation from eGullet) and I had some spectacular lamb: lamb rib-eye wrapped with a combination of beef short ribs and foie gras in a Zinfandel reduction sauce. The wine list was all that you would expect in a Wine Spectator award winner.
As one of the commentators at the eGullet forum wrote, “Dining in Edmonton is a bit like stumbling around a catholic schoolgirl dorm — lots of boring, hardworking, plaid clad folk, but the odd mindblowing experience to be had if you knock on the right door.” I really can’t top that capsule review, so perhaps we’ll just leave it at that.