Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest in Blink! We had no idea the response would be so overwhelming (we sold out in twelve hours), but I think it bodes well for future pop-up initiatives. On to this week’s food notes:

• Still looking for Valentine’s Day ideas? City and Dale had a great list last week.
• Latitude 53’s first annual Patio Parka Party should be a blast! It is being catered by Elm Cafe, Upper Crust and The Bothy.
• Winefest is back, on February 17-18 at the Shaw Conference Centre.
• Remedy’s new location downtown (10279 Jasper Avenue) is now open! One of the best things is they are open until midnight – great to have more casual late night options in the area.
• Chef Shane Chartrand left L2 Grill and is now cooking at Murietta’s.
• Liane revealed today that NAIT’s 2012 Chef in Residence is another Food Network alum, Massimo Capra, of Restaurant Makeover fame.
• Liane also posted that Come Dine With Me Canada will be filming in Edmonton this year. I find it an odd choice for Edmonton Tourism to woo, as it doesn’t necessarily highlight the city in the same way as a show like Eat St., and actually, never seems to paint the amateur chefs in a very good light.
• It’ll be interesting to see how Edmonton’s Food and Agricultural Strategy shapes up – also from Liane, a short interview with Aaron Falkenberg, the man who is in charge of the project.
• Mack and I checked out the new Lucky Supermarket (I want to call it “Lucky 127” for old times sake) that recently opened up at 13851 127 Street. It’s a beautiful store, with a lot more room than the Chinatown location (they even have a eating area). They also have a large halal meat and product section – it will be interesting to see how it will affect the neighbouring Superstore’s business.

Lucky Supermarket

Interior

• We were also uncharacteristically in the suburbs on the weekend, checking out the Currents of Windermere (and we thought Creekside Chapelle was on the edge). We ended up stopping at the Tim Horton’s/Cold Stone Creamery there, which has been open for about a month. I know there are other dual outlets in the city, but this was our first visit to one. The sizes were much smaller than Marble Slab, seemed much more expensive (a small was $2.89), and there were less mix-in options. I had my usual vanilla and cookie dough combination, and I have to say I prefer Marble Slab’s ice cream. That said, Mack’s Tim Horton’s double-double flavour was the clear winner – it tasted exactly like coffee with a cream finish. Short of satisfying a coffee ice cream craving, however, I think we’ll be back at Marble Slab more often.

Cold Stone Creamery at Tim Horton’s

Ice cream

Happy Valentine’s Day – hope you have a great one with your loved one!