• Liane Faulder profiled The Happy Camel (Callingwood Mall, 177 Street and 64 Avenue) last week. Using no preservatives to make their pitas or their spreads, it will be worth a drive out some time to see how fresh their products really taste.
• Another fresh-focused local food stop was profiled in Vue Weekly: Careit Deli (5236 199 Street), mentioned in the Edmonton Journal a few months ago. Their take-out options sound amazing.
• I came across an interesting sign advertising the price increase of various commodities in the bakery aisle of my neighbourhood Sobeys. Random, no?

“Commodity Update”

• Janice was nice enough to pick up some cupcakes for me from The Cupcake Shoppe, which occupies a booth at the Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market. While I am amused that their cupcakes are made from “scratch” (their quotation marks, not mine), they weren’t bad. I tried the Triple Threat (chocolate-chocolate chip cake with thick chocolate frosting), and appreciated the nice texture supplied by the dotting of chocolate chips beneath the icing.

Triple Threat and Lemon Drop cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe

• In January 2007, a cupcake at the Buttercream Bakeshoppe in Calgary was $2.50. Last weekend, they were priced at $2.95. Understandably, with the price of flour (among other things) increasing, they are more than justified in the mark-up. Still, I found the price of two cupcakes, $6.20 (with tax) just a little hard to swallow. One could easily buy a small cake for that amount!

Funky Monkey and Dreamy Blue cupcakes melting in the sun

• Mack and I had the pleasure of drinking in the sun on a rooftop patio at Starbucks of all places in Calgary. Why doesn’t Edmonton have one of these?

On the patio!