One of the city’s most popular festivals, Taste of Edmonton, is back. Attendees are in for a treat, with amazing items available from restaurants and food trucks, plus entertainment, culinary workshops, programs for kids and, of course, the popular Sip and Savour pop-up restaurants. Join the hungry masses at Churchill Square July 21 to 30, 2016. [Image credit: iStock.com/Lauri Patterson]
This popular vegetarian restaurant is serving up their take on “chicken” satays with peanut sauce, as well as “PFC” – Padmanadi Fried Chicken. This dish, which is making its debut at this year’s festival, is also vegetarian, of course.
This elegant restaurant is serving up a dish that is locally grown, vegetarian and gluten-free: Champagne and lemon olive oil dressed 104 Street City Market vegetable salad. It’s served in a paper cone and looks amazing. And, once you’ve had your fill of fresh veggies, treat yourself to dessert at their booth. They’ll be serving a decadent banana bread pudding with caramel sauce, whipped crème and bruleed banana (also vegetarian).
There’s two hearty items up for eating here: chicken shawarma with rice and hummus bruschetta topped with veggies. They’re both popular items returning from last year, and the bruschetta is vegetarian. This Mediterranean food truck knows what it’s doing, so both items are sure to please your taste buds and fill your belly.
If you’ve never tried their famous Bully Mac, now is your chance. They’ll serve their version of mac and cheese, which is baked with six different kinds of melted cheese. They will also offer one of their other most popular items, the Philly Beef. It’s AAA Alberta beef brisket rubbed with organic Doi Chaang coffee. It comes on soft bread and is covered in onions, peppers, Bully cheese sauce and aioli.
This restaurant, which has a long and interesting history in Edmonton, serves Western food with Eastern-inspired spices and ingredients. For Taste of Edmonton, they’ll offer pineapple chicken on rice for a main course. It’s breaded chicken with pineapple and a delicate sweet and sour sauce. The dessert will be Chinese bow ties, which consist of deep fried pastry lightly dusted with icing sugar and drizzled with chocolate.
One of the most popular food trucks in Edmonton, Eva Sweet serves up gorgeous, tasty waffles on the go. At this year’s festival, they will serve the very popular original Liege waffles, which have a coating of caramelized pearl sugar and taste like vanilla. They’re best eaten nice and hot! Or, you can try a waffle with bacon and maple syrup. A hot, crunchy waffle topped with two slices of bacon and drizzled in maple syrup? Count us in.
If you didn’t catch the TV show, The Quon Dynasty, about the family who runs this restaurant, now is your chance to familiarize yourself with their cuisine. They’ll serve dry spicy chicken and Chinese mini doughnuts. The doughnuts, which are drizzled with a sugary sauce, made their debut last year and are making their triumphant return to the festival (they're vegetarian, too!).
The Smokehouse BBQ Food Truck will sell bacon bombs, their most popular item. It’s a loaf of spiced Italian sausage wrapped in bacon and smoked to perfection. Bonus: It's gluten-free! They’ll also serve hush puppies, which aren’t on their restaurant menu. This vegetarian item consists of balls of deep-fried cornmeal dough, which are guaranteed to be delicious.
There will be two fantastic-looking, easy-to-devour items from The Melting Pot this year: cheese fondue in a bread bowl and a chocolate fondue cup. The bread bowl will be filled to the brim with a soft, hot, cheesy mixture, while the chocolate fondue cup will satisfy your sweet tooth without making it ache. Plus, both items are suitable for vegetarians.
This Asian fusion food truck will pull out all the stops and serve the hungry masses their famous duck tots — crispy tater tots combined with braised duck legs, lime sriracha sauce, hoisin aioli, green onions, peanuts and cilantro. If that doesn’t fill you up, try their chilled Thai watermelon soup. It’s vegetarian, gluten-free and sure to cool you down on a hot day.
One of the most traditional Japanese restaurants in Edmonton, Japanese Village will serve two dishes that will tickle your fancy. Start with the hearty bean sprout salad with ginger sauce, then move onto the succulent sirloin beef on rice with sesame sauce — if you still have room. The bean sprout salad is vegetarian.
If you’re hungry for something traditional, try their Montreal smoked meat sandwich. They're also dishing out a new item this year: gluten-free, vegetarian, locally-grown potato salad. Yum!