The problem for me is that we always seem to be just on the cusp of big changes toward building a more sustainable city, but then progress seems to stall. This despite the fact that we have probably the biggest potential of any city in Canada to set a new standard that cities around the world could look up to and strive to be like.

The two problems I’m seeing are 1) a city council that talks big but is much more timid in action, and 2) not all city departments are on the same page as even the smallest visions of council, the transportation department primarily.

Things that I think would help:

1. Get the Transportation department in line. From little things like giving inner city and mature neighborhoods priority for snow removal and street sweeping, to making sure big roadway projects like 99 St. reconstruction not only respect but further enhance the experience for more than just cars – pedestrians, cyclists, and transit.

2. Revise The Way We Grow (yes, this soon after it was passed). The 25/75 split of infill versus expansion is ridiculous and unsustainable. For those new neighborhoods that we do approve, set the standard much higher: Allow more mixed uses, include alternative transportation as design rather than afterthought, build walkable and vibrant community centres that don’t require everyone to drive for everyday things, and require sustainable design and building practices.

3. Build neighborhoods and communities instead of roads. 99 St. is a prime example here, too; the opportunity existed to enhance and build a cool little niche of a neighborhood; instead of got a widened thoroughfare in what was once one of the more walkable mature and central neighborhoods.

4. Lose the fear of traffic and congestion. Traffic and congestion are going to happen, that’s just a fact of urban life. But the longer it takes to happen is the longer it takes for people to ditch their cars, move closer to work, and demand more transit, LRT, and bike infrastructure. Don’t be afraid to narrow roads to provide more sidewalks, bike lanes, transit lanes, or metered parking where appropriate. Don’t be afraid to tear apart the ridiculously overbuilt interchanges by the Muttart, and return the land to the public as park space.

A prime example of nos. 3 and 4: The proposed “winter garden” pedway over 104 Ave. as part of the arena project. 104 Ave is too scary to cross at grade? Maybe if we brought it down to the scale of a downtown arterial rather than a near-expressway it might be less scary. Narrow it down, convert the curb lanes to metered parking, and ensure all new developments (including the arena) have an active street front brought up to the sidewalk with minimal setback. Make it feel like a downtown street, and maybe it will feel less intimidating to walk along or across.

I realize it’s a difficult balance that the city needs to find, but I don’t believe we have found it yet – we’re not even close. We have grand dreams and visions, but those don’t seem to be getting passed down to the departments and people who are empowered to act on them. But we are taking a lot of good steps and making good strides, and I hope to see that momentum continue and grow.

I know it’s a Sun article (avoid reading the comments) and the slant is obvious, so I dread even linking to it, but I feel the need to comment anyway. I understand that Edmonton is a car-city as it is, I understand that parking is tight in the area, and I understand that free parking is handy when you are driving there.

But Edmonton cannot always be a car-city. More parking is not the solution to congestion in the area, it is part of the problem. Free parking is an enormous subsidy, particularly on land as valuable as this parcel.

Here’s an idea: Increase transit service to and through this area. Fast-track LRT plans. Add bike lanes to the streets in the area. Then zone the land to allow at least 280 residential units (with street-front retail of course) to create at least 280 permanent residents in this central, highly accessible, highly desirable, highly walkable, well-transit-serviced area, to replace the 280 people who just come, contribute to the traffic and parking problem, and then leave.

Old Strathcona is what it is today because it is a vibrant, active, and desirable neighborhood. It will continue to succeed and grow with more residents, not more parking. It will survive the loss of this lot.

While we’re at it, here’s another breathtakingly rational thought: If citizens and city alike supported other, similar retail areas (Downtown, 124 St., Alberta Avenue, East Whyte, Jasper Place, etc.), or better designed newer neighborhoods to include walkable retail strips, there would be less pressure on Old Strathcona to be the only destination in town of its kind.

Create a neighborhood and a city worth living in, not just one for driving through.

I’ve also been learning some cooking.  Last weekend, Jenn and I attended one of Sorrentino’s cooking classes,  of the Caribbean-islands focused Date Night events.  The particular one we attended was for Curaçao, an island I happen to have some experience with, as I lived there for a spell while working for a now-defunct online poker site.  While I wasn’t much of a foodie back then (it was back in 2003-04), I do remember being amazed at how much good food there was to be had, be it from one of the hotel restaurants to the little roadside snack shacks.

This is actually the second class we have taken at Sorrentino’s, the first being a “Valentine’s Day” Italian cooking class back in 2009.  The classes are held at the Sorrentino’s catering kitchen, which backs off of the Sorrentino’s Caffe on 107 Ave. and 109 St.  Catering manager and chef Christopher Hrynyk leads the classes, and is both an excellent teacher and an excellent cook.  He is very interactive with his students and seems to have a lot of fun hosting these classes.  Amazingly, he recognized us from the last time we attended one of his classes.

We started off making Conch Fritters, a tasty fried appetizer similar to crab cakes (and in fact crab can be substituted instead of conch if desired), served with a salsa made with pineapple (can also use mangoes), red onion, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and lime zest and juice.  Getting everyone started on appetizers (with a complimentary glass of white wine) and then trying them right after is a great idea, since we would no doubt be getting pretty hungry by the end otherwise.

Shortly after, we started preparing a Coffee and Spice Rubbed Chicken, which we marinated with onion, some habanero, and a rub of ground coffee, chili powder, and thyme.

While we waited for the chicken to marinate, we moved on to starting a pineapple rum cake by cooking some pineapple in butter and brown sugar, and flambeing it with spiced rum.  A pan was lined with the pineapple, covered with coconut and the sugar mixture, and then covered with a cake batter that was pre-prepared for us.

After that went in the oven, we moved on to searing the chicken and putting it in the oven to bake.  While our main course and dessert baked, we prepared a watermelon chutney using a pureed watermelon reduction, with the white rinds diced and cooked with ginger, garlic, a bay leaf, sugar, vinegar, and a hint of Tabasco.

Lastly, we prepared Tutu, which is like a corn meal polenta with black eyed peas, onion, and sugar.

When everything was finished and ready, we plated it ourselves (we were allowed to plate as creatively or not as we liked) serving the chicken with some of the watermelon chutney and pineapple salsa alongside the Tutu.  We took our plates out to a table at the now-closed-to-the-public Caffe to enjoy the fruits of our labours with our choice of red or white wine (I had the red, but forget the label).  The chicken was juicy and perfectly spiced, reminiscent of a jerk chicken.  There was little taste of the coffee remaining, replaced with a slight cocoa flavour.  Both the chutney and the salsa were excellent compliments.  The Tutu was fluffy and filling, and quite tasty with the onion and peas mashed in.

After the main course, we returned to the kitchen to serve ourselves our pineapple cakes, after soaking them in some more spiced rum.  The cake was as sweet and delicious as it sounds, and rounded off the meal nicely, though we probably could have afforded to cook the pineapple a little more.

There was a fair bit of conversation around the table during and after dinner; passing around wine is a great way to get strangers to loosen up and talk with each other.  We talked about Edmonton, about the food scene here and compared to other places, local chefs (it’s great being able to discuss such things with those in the trenches), and an assortment of other topics.  Of course I talked about my time in Curaçao a bit too, I never miss an opportunity to share my own experiences when the opportunity presents itself.

In closing, I highly recommend one of these classes, and Chris is an excellent teacher; the Date night series is great for couples and at $150 for two, it’s a great deal and a fun and unique experience for a date.  Go, sign up for one!

Sorry I have no photos to compliment this post, I think I will inquire about bringing a camera if we attend another class.  I am already behind processing a bunch of other photos, though.  Soon, though, I will be able to post some more.

This city has got to straighten out its priorities. The City of Edmonton frequently treats those who have chosen to live or continue to live in its mature central neighborhoods as second-class citizens; neighborhoods which have sustained the city for half a century or more and now today bear a tax burden that essentially subsidizes infrastructure and services in new neighborhoods at the edges of the city.

While we are becoming more enlightened to how unsustainable it is to continue to push the city outward, we are also seemingly doing little to encourage people to choose to live centrally, while also doing little to reward those who already do.

While we talk about revitalizing downtown and once again making it a focal point of our city, we again miss a simple opportunity to make us believe that it can or will ever get that treatment from City Council or administration.

Giving central neighborhoods street sweeping priority is just one small thing that the City of Edmonton could do make a huge difference in perception of where its priorities lie, while also encouraging more walking and cycling in these neighborhoods as well.

City Council needs to make inner city priorities part of the culture and DNA of every department, from planning to transit to roadway maintenance, if it intends to walk the talk when it comes to building a better, more vibrant, more sustainable city.

(A modified copy of this post is being sent to the Transportation department, City Council and the Mayor, and The Edmonton Journal.)

I don’t even like most of their other songs, even though this is one the best songs I’ve ever heard. Is that weird?

But you know what? Sometimes you just need to suck it up and pick the best option from the worst choices. At least doing so will be more likely to get you one step closer to making things better; with apathy, however, the situation will only get worse.

And worse it will get if Harper is allowed to have a majority government. That’s right, dear readers, I threw it on the ground. Shit just got real on my blog. I rarely express a political preference here, but this is one time that I have to speak out (at the risk of opening a shitstorm in the comments or at least instilling mild disappointment from some friends and family). As much as I believe in voting for the party you think best represents your views, this is one time that I have to advocate an anybody-but-Conservative policy using strategic voting.

Why do I hate Harper and his Conservatives?

• Complete disdain for women’s rights and first nations¹
• Climate change denier, reduced funding for scientific research, gagged Environment Canada on climate change²
• $29Bn for fighter jets³
• Building prisons and increasing funding for the prison system despite crime actually being on the decline⁴
• Attempted to quietly remove the long-form census, which would severely limit the government’s ability to make informed decisions⁵
• Weakened food safety regulations⁶
• Attempting to weaken privacy laws⁷
• Promised honesty, openness and accountability, has done the complete opposite⁸
• Tax breaks for the wealthy while doing little or nothing to create and keep jobs in Canada⁹
• His ego is just frightening¹⁰
• The G20 summit – shamefulwaste of money, shameful violation of Canadians’ rights¹¹
• Promised a reformed senate, has instead appointed additional senators¹²
• Lost Canada’s Security Council seat, and emerassed all of Canada on the international stage¹³

And these are all things he has managed to do with just a minority government. Imagine the damage he can do to Canada with a majority.

On a more local note, remember how Harper and his party have treated Edmonton?

Remember how Edmonton offered up not one but two excellent bids for the new National Portrait Gallery, when the Conservatives asked for cities to rally private bids to host it? Remember how they shut down the competion when it became clear that Calgary was not going to be able to get a bid in, and that Edmonton in all liklihood was set to win?¹⁴

Remember how the Conservatives asked cities to put together bids for Expo 2017 for Canada’s 150th birthday? And remember how Edmonton was the only city to step up to the challenge, only to have the entire thing shut down by the Conversatives when it was clear Edmonton was going to get it?¹⁵

These guys have done nothing for Edmonton, and what they want to do for Canada frankly scares me, and should frankly scare the bejesus out of you too.

Please vote, this election could literally make or break Canada. Information on how to vote, where to vote, and who you can vote for can all be found here.

Sources for the above can be found after the jump.

1
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/804414–conservatives-accused-of-culture-of-intimidation?bn=1
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/project-for-slain-women-faces-end-84292267.html
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2009/09/harper-denial-g20-canada-has-no-history-colonialism
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CTVNewsAt11/20040227/harper_gaffe_040226/
http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/making-waves/2011/03/first-nations-drinking-water-and-federal-election
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/aboriginals/undoing-kelowna.html
2
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/26/canada-criticised-over-climate-change
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2009/03/17/tech-090317-gary-goodyear-evolution.html
3
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/ottawas-fighter-jet-estimate-all-hogwash-us-watchdog-warns/article1971274/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Politics&utm_content=1971274
4
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Prison+spending+spree+wastes+scarce+dollars/4089927/story.html
5
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/page/view/long-form-census-07-19-2010
6
http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=2fa3e7f8-9c83-4ea9-ad60-c13b548fe688
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=f6a4a56e-c4bc-4742-869f-ef2e5e686e2a
7
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2010/11/01/justice-nicholson-justice-isp.html
8
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/former-tory-mps-speak-out-against-in-and-out-campaign-financing/article1929865/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/04/05/former-aides-criminal-past-dogs-harper-on-campaign-trail/
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071214/taser_lobby_071214?hub=Toronto
9
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2009/12/28/NoCorporateInvesting/
http://cupe.ca/child-care/Harpers_1_billion_ch
10
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=9c6b53f6-f0a2-4eca-93bb-559023144731
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/03/04/pol-harper-govt-brand.html
11
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/904988–dimanno-more-needed-than-glib-answer-on-g20
12
http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=1306
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-to-revive-senate-reform-plan/article1420300/
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/687216
13
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/security-council-rejection-a-deep-embarrassment-for-harper/article1754419/
http://www.680news.com/news/national/article/67295–sachs-slams-harper-g8-maternal-health-plan-criticizes-planned-aid-freeze?ref=topic&name=ra&title=
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-complicit-in-torture-of-innocent-afghans-diplomat-says/article1369069/
14
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2008/11/08/edm-portrait-gallery-reax.html
15
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2010/11/22/edmonton-feds-kill-expo-bid.html

For those who aren’t already aware, I’m getting married this year. In about 8 weeks, actually, on the 5th anniversary of our first date. Jenn and I are just having a very small wedding, so don’t feel bad for not being invited; the entire attendance will be 12 including us, and all are immediate family. Even so, it has required a fair bit of planning, and will still cost us a fairly surprising amount, which makes me even happier that we’re keeping it small. Besides, we already bought a beautiful house and committed to a multi-decade mortgage; in many ways we both feel that was a bigger step to take together.

Earlier this year, we went to the Bridal Show just to look around and see what was being displayed and offered. Wandering around between the exhibits of limos, tuxedos, white dresses, caterers and fancy dinnerware, it struck me just how much of a formula exists for “your perfect wedding.” My cognitive processes had a problem trying to process out how anyone can call a wedding day uniquely theirs while pretty much being told to follow this prescribed formula for how it should happen.

Thankfully Jenn agrees with me on this, and so we’re having a small and relatively simple wedding, and we’re doing it our way as much as we possibly can. Jenn is foregoing the white dress for this lovely number from Rowena, and purchased a custom made veil and flowers made of ribbon via Etsy. I just bought a simple but snazzy black suit, and – because footwear is one of the few areas where I actually am picky about style – these awesome shoes from Gravity Pope. (I had actually originally wanted a pair of Fluevogs since I like that brand a lot, but these turned out to be much more stylish and much more comfortable.)

We’re getting married in one of the most beautiful public parks in Edmonton, and our wedding music will be a selection of Led Zeppelin songs. Instead of renting a hall and booking a caterer, we’re just having our reception dinner in the private dining room at Creations at the Sawridge (UPDATE: We’ve moved our dinner to Tom Goodchild’s Moose Factory due to lack of communication from Creations/Sawridge), and we’re having a small but nice cake done by Custom Creations Cakes & Pasteries. Having a nice cake is the only other thing I was picky about.

Not counting the honeymoon (two actually, we’re taking one in the mountains, and another in San Francisco later in the year), the most expensive things about our wedding are the rings from Vandenberg’s Jewellers, and the photographer – we hired my buddy Jason for that task.

It dawned on me when we went to get our marriage license, filling out the paperwork for the next step toward our marriage that I had zero hesitation signing into the next phase of our commitment. I think I’ve watched too many TV shows and movies where someone gets nervous, worried, cold feet or whatever, because my experience has been the exact opposite of all of this and hasn’t wavered. Put simply: I love Jenn and I want to marry her; I love the wedding we have planned out for ourselves, I’m excited to be taking this step in our lives and our relationship, and I’m looking forward to everything that comes after.

For me, Earth Hour is akin to reposting a status on Facebook, or changing your profile picture to a cartoon character: fun as it may be, it is ultimately useless. (And I say that even despite having been Darkwing Duck for a few days on Facebook, but I did that for fun not under any illusion of it making any kind of difference.) That is, unless it is followed up by some actual action sustaining the cause in question.

I get that it’s an awareness thing. I think awareness of causes is important. But I think they serve little purpose when they require little to no effort on the part of those participating in the awareness campaign. Unplugging stuff and turning out the lights for an hour requires little more effort than copying and pasting a status on Facebook. After that hour is over, what about the remaining 525,540 minutes in the year that aren’t Earth Hour? How many of those rallying behind it are making longer-term changes to their lifestyle in meaninful ways that make a bigger impact in the rest of those minutes?

I’m sure it doesn’t ring as hollow for many out there, and to you I salute your ongoing efforts. For everyone else, making a difference takes effort and work, and sometimes a little money (but it doesn’t have to be that expensive either). My suggestion? Forget Earth Hour and make everyday lifestyle changes instead, such as these easy (and often obvious) ones:

• Replace your lights with CFLs and turn off lights in empty rooms
• Get a programmable thermostat to turn down the heat at night and when you’re not at home
• Spend a little more up front on your house to live closer to where you work, shop, etc.
• Replace your windows, furnace, hot water heater and appliances with more efficient ones
• Use a drying rack for your clothes instead of a dryer
• Compost your organic waste, and make the utmost best use of your local recycling programs
• Buy more local food, or even try growing some of your own
• Bus to work, or consider taking up cycling during the summer months
• Where you do need a car, consider something smaller and more fuel-efficient

There’s lots more that can be done of course, but these are very basic, simple, everyday things anyone can do to make a difference in how they live every year for the entire year, not just an hour of it.

We ordered the 3-course Downtown Dining Week special. The first course was a small caesar salad, with sundried tomato and pine nuts, both of which added nicely to an otherwise usual salad. The second course was a flank steak pinwheel, duck perogies, and asian slaw with Earl Grey sauce. I have to say I was disappointed with what might have been a great dish, but it was absolutely saturated in black pepper. Overwhelmingly so, it drowned out all other flavours that might have been there (and to think they offered us more fresh ground pepper when they brought our dishes out – good thing we declined). The duck perogies were good at least and not too peppery, but even their flavour was lost after a few bites of the steak and slaw. The third course – dessert – was a mint and chocolate brulee and a scoop of chocolate gelato. I enjoyed the brulee, though the mint was maybe too subtle. Jenn definitely thought it should have been mintier, and and also wished the chocolate layer had been thinner and easier to break. I personally thought the chocolate gelato was good, but it wasn’t anything special. Jenn wasn’t even sure it was actually gelato.

I like the selection of wines at Moriarty’s, I like the decor (bunny lamps included), and our Downtown Dining Week experience last year was much better. The service was also pretty reasonably good. I’m likely to return for at least these reasons (unlike our experience at Madison’s), and I hope the next food experience there will be better.

This evening (Friday), we went to Niche. We hadn’t given Niche much thought before, but we were the lucky winners of a $25 gift certificate from a contest by The Journal. I got nervous when I first called to make the reservation on Thursday, when they had told me they were already booked up. This is when I found out how small the place really was (ergo the name I guess). I was able to book a reservation at the bar, though, which was apparently wide and still comfortable enough for dining.

When we arrived (15 mins early for our reservation even), we were told they could actually accommodate us at a table instead of the bar, which was a nice surprise. It was quiet when we first arrived, but we could hear behind us the staff were busy taking calls and declining reservations due to being booked up for the evening. I ordered a glass of White Wire, and Jenn ordered a Spiced Cherry Ginger (Sailor Jerry and ginger ale, with some fresh shredded ginger and a cherry. Both drinks were very tasty. It looked like the only menu offering was the Downtown Dining Week menu, with a choice between a 5-course meal or a 3-course, both with several options. We both opted for the 3-course with the same options, starting with the quinoa salad with roasted veggies, spinach, and goat cheese, tossed in a lemon tahini vinagerette. The salad is probably one of the best I’ve had; the spinach was fresh and soft, the goat cheese was mild and tasty, and the flavour and texture of the quinoa was excellent.

For the second course we both ordered the duck confit with golden mashed potatoes and lemon thyme gravy. The duck was excellent and flavourful, and fell right off the bone. Jenn commented that she wished the skin had been a bit crispier. The mashed potatoes had an excellent texture and tasted great, and the gravy worked well with both. Dessert was a salted brownie with a lemon honey whipped cream and a caramel sauce. I actually found the brownie slightly too salty, and would have preferred the salt be a little more subtle. It was still very good, though, the sauce and the whipped cream did subdue the saltiness somewhat. Jenn didn’t find it was too salty at all, so it’s entirely possible I’m just more sensitive to it.

By the time we left the place was almost full, and they were turning away people at the door who were hoping to drop in without a reservation.

Niche has interesting decor (including an interesting concept for the washrooms), great food, and great service, and excellent wine and cocktails as well. We are very likely to come back here (with a reservation made well in advance of course).

I’d like to close with a little mostly related anecdote: After dinner at Niche, we walked to 104 St. hoping to stop in at the new Queen of Tarts shop (here’s a link to a review on another blog, since they apparently don’t have a website or even so much as a Facebook page – and there’s really not much excuse for not having these things in this day and age) to check them out and maybe pick up something for breakfast tomorrow. We arrived at about 6:45, opened the door and started downstairs into their shop when a woman behind the counter informed us that they were closed. We stood on the stairs for a minute, a little bit dumbfounded given that a) the door was open, and b) there was no sign indicating whether or not they were open and c) there were no hours posted anywhere to be seen. We asked why their door was open and informed that they were receiving a delivery (though we didn’t see any delivery vehicles). They simply apologized and suggested we come back tomorrow. Not even that politely, either.

Take heed, local businesses, especially those just starting up: If you are closed, please put out a sign. Post your hours on the door. Get a Facebook page at the least, or a website on which you can also list your hours. And if – with none of the above criteria having been met – you leave your doors open after closing time and a couple of new potential customers happens through your door, don’t just turn them away! At least offer to let them in, have a look around, and maybe – if at all possible – offer to make a sale anyway if they want to buy something. That can make the different between a glowing review and a regular customer, or a disgruntled blogger who is already disappointed in your shop and unlikely to return now.

First up, Madisons: To set the stage, when I arrived they had no record of my reservation. I was told they “might be able to squeeze [me] in,” to which I politely reminded them that they ought to given that I had called and made a reservation, which they subsequently lost. I should also note at this point that there were at least two other tables that sat empty during our entire stay. “Might be able to squeeze you in” indeed.

I ordered the Spring Creek Ranch Steak Salad (Option 2 on their DDW menu), while Jenn ordered the Irvings Farm Pork Tenderloin (Option 1). I also ordered a glass of Peller Estates Riesling, which was actually pretty bland. The food itself was good, but not great, certainly not what we expected from a place with a name and reputation like Madison’s. My steak was well cooked but poorly seasoned, and the flavour of the gorgonzola – while reasonably good by itself – overpowered everything else. Jenn’s tenderloin was good, but – as she put it – not good enough to make up for the rest of the experience.

Zinc, on the other hand, was totally the opposite experience. We found we needed less time to browse the gallery than originally thought, so I called to push the reservation a half hour earlier. They were more than happy to accommodate the change. There was the odd matter of not being able to enter the restaurant from within the gallery itself and having to go around from the outside, though that may have been due to a special event happening in the gallery that evening.

Service was a little slow, but our waiter was very friendly and professional. We of course both ordered their Downtown Dining Week special, and I also ordered a glass of Pierre Sparr Gewürztraminer. While waiting for the first course we noshed on some fresh brioche with sundried tomato butter. To our surprise, Chef David Omar himself brought out our first course and explained the dish – Nori Wrapped Salmon, Salmon Roe with Creme Fraiche, and Lemon Garlic Dressed Microgreens. The microgreens were refreshing with only a mild bitterness; the flavours (and the pop) of the roe and the creme fraiche played well together, and the nori-wrapped salmon had a very “pure” salmon taste, though the nori was only a tiny bit difficult to cut through.

The wait for the second course was fairly long, but it was worth it; Salmon Chowder and Crimini Bannock. The salmon was cooked to flaky perfection, and contrasted nicely with the Yukon gold carrots. The cream sauce was served separately in a stainless tea pot, so you can serve as little or as much as one desires (the salmon stood up well even without the sauce). A small wooden dish held fresh Italian parsley and herbed coarse salt. I enjoyed the flavour of the crimini bannock, but personally found it a touch too salty. Jenn didn’t think so, so I attribute it to my tastes having been a touch sensitive that night (perhaps due to the less-than-impressive lunchtime wine).

We opted not to wait too long for the final course, having been given the choice. Once again, Chef David Omar delivered it to us personally, taking a moment to explain his overall creative vision for the meal. (Other Downtown Dining Week participants take note here.) The final course involved Maple Candied Salmon, Beet Sorbet, and a
Carrot Macaroon. The candied salmon was very complex and flavourful, a perfect blend of sweetness and saltiness. The macaroon was dipped in white chocolate, and while the flavour was also excellent, I found it was too sweet for me – again, I think this was just my tastes being overly sensitive this evening. The beet sorbet was a surprisingly refreshing treat with a much milder flavour than one would expect from a beet-based dish, especially given the deep red colour.

Overall the meal was very enjoyable and the experience was very memorable. We especially enjoyed the presentation of the dishes, and Chef David Omar’s account of finding his inspiration in the new gallery exhibits of Emily Carr’s Coastal Landscapes and the Haida artworks (the salmon), as well as Brian Jungen’s reuse of materials (the beet sorbet was made from leftovers of other dishes, while the macaroon used juice from the carrots of the previous course). As Jenn put it, it was like being on an episode of Iron Chef.

It amazes me that the two experiences we had were such contrasts from each other. If the goal of Downtown Dining Week is to get people to come in and try a restaurant that they might not try otherwise, the meal offerings should probably have some “wow” factor. Madison’s did not impress me at all in this regard; I feel that their Downtown Dining Week menu was almost a token offering to the event rather than an opportunity to show off their culinary skills, not to mention the service was very disappointing, and the wine sub-par. Zinc, even though a bit slow, still managed to provide a memorable service experience and offer us an interesting and delicious meal that will likely bring us back again.

For some reason that makes me think of old sci-fi movies and TV shows and their visions of the future, and how those visions changed and were updated with every new iteration and generation.

What this makes me realize is that sometimes, as much as we wish we were closer to transporters and  travelling the stars, we somehow still manage to surpass our own imaginations of the future on a fairly consistent basis.

Leisure, Sports & Fitness Facilities
Kinsmen Sports Centre
ACT Aquatic & Recreation Centre
Confederation Leisure centre
Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre
Grand Trunk Fitness & Leisure Centre
Hardisty Fitness & Leisure Centre
Jasper Place Fitness & Leisure Centre
Londonderry Fitness & Leisure Centre
Mill Woods Recreation Centre
St. Francis Xavier Sports Centre
Kinsmen Pitch and Putt
Rundle Golf Course
Scona Pool

Arenas
Bill Hunter
Londonderry
Mill Woods
Clareview
Confederation

Attractions and Cultural Facilities
City of Edmonton Archives
Fort Edmonton Park
John Walter Museum
Muttart Conservatory
Edmonton Valley Zoo
City Arts Centre

Free-as-in-beer.  Free free free!

Jenn and I will probably be at Fort Edmonton Park, cameras in hand.  This is probably Edmonton’s best attraction, and affords some amazing photographic opportunities (as seen in the photos on this post, taken during a prior Free Admission Day).

So maybe I’ll just do it piecemeal.  And I’ll start by just saying this:

Edmonton: The City Centre Airport is not the most important issue facing our city right now.  It is a red herring in one friend’s words.  It is the most talked about issue right now, and getting the most press, but far from the most important.

Consider infrastructure.  Consider transit and LRT expansion.  Consider cycling infrastructure.  Consider regional co-operation.  Consider school closures.  Consider brain drain and how to keep and attract an educated workforce.  Consider economic recovery and unemployment.  Consider economic diversification.  Consider the downtown arena.  Consider the Expo.  Consider neighborhood revitalization.  Consider policing, safety, and crime.  Consider homelessness and affordable housing.  Consider clean streets and sidewalks, and snow clearing.  Consider urban sprawl, infill housing, and intensification.  Consider how to retain business and head offices.  Consider how to attract new business, employment, and head offices.  Any and all of these issues are far more important to Edmonton and will affect far more Edmontonians for far longer than the City Centre Airport issue.

Forget for a moment whether the airport should be closed if it should stay open.  Talk to the candidates running in your ward and running for Mayor and find out what they think of the real issues facing our city moving forward, and ask them for their ideas on how to approach or solve them.  Ask them what their vision for Edmonton is.

Vote for the candidates you feel have the best vision for the city, and the best ideas on how to get there, and the airport issue will take care of itself.

The presentations were good, I think the consultants have done an excellent job, and really seem to understand this stuff and the neighborhood concerns, and for the most part seem to have been able to incorporate recommendations made in the last open house with the communities.

I think the vibe was generally and overall positive, I think a lot of people really want this LRT to move forward and believe that the concepts presented are on the right track.

There were of course a few oddball questions as can be expected, but some good ones were raised, and some of those asking questions seemed satisfied by the answers that the consultants were able to provide.

Some of the concerns raised were possible loss of greenspace around Louise McKinney, the Muttart, and the ski hill, geotechnical concerns around Conners Hill, the fate of Cloverdale Hill Road and ingress/egress from Cloverdale neighborhood, and of course parking and traffic concerns, particularly around 73 Ave.  The consultants did an admirable job listening to the concerns, explaining where they had already been considered, and otherwise took notes and advised people to fill out the surveys to ensure their feedback is taken into consideration for the next round.

In the breakout sessions after the presentation and Q&A, I was able to confirm that a multi-use trail will be maintained for the new river crossing, and will actually be built at approximately the same grade as the existing bridge.  I also brought up concerns about east-west bike travel since it does not appear to have been accounted for on 95 Ave., for which I will be submitting comments to the online survey.

Jenn and I got into a minor argument with a Strathearn couple who didn’t appreciate that the LRT alignment down 95 Ave. would change the traffic patterns predicted for the Strathearn redevelopment.  I understand their concerns but also tried to point out that much of that will be mitigated by the presence of the LRT station, and would in fact be worse without the station there.  They didn’t seem to get it, but oh well, you can’t please everyone.

Overall I think there is a lot of support for the alignment as it is and confidence that the right balance and compromises are being made.

This ad, by Mother Advertising Limited, is brilliant on so many levels – and I say that as someone who hates nearly all advertising, especially on TV.

First, well, it’s cats.  Kitties, kittens, furry balls of fun cats doing cat things.  What’s not to love?  It sounds like such a random idea, too, especially when you watch the behind-the-scenes video (below).  I imagine it went down something like this:

Ad person 1: “IKEA has hired us to make an ad for them.  Ideas?”

Ad person 2: “I’m going to release one hundred cats in the store and film them!” [Starts packing cameras]

Ad person 1: “Wait, what does that have to do with IKEA products?!”

Ad person 2: “Don’t worry about it.” [Jumps in van and takes off]

The cats play out an amazing scene.  First they let loose, run, jump, and play.  Then they explore and interact with their environment with the curiousity of, well, of a cat.  And finally, they settle down, relax, and even take a little snooze at the end.

The folks behind this ad are true artists, both in how risky executing an idea like this must have been, and of course in the amazing cinematography.  It’s brilliant, between the high-speed filming (slow-motion effect), the narrow depth of field, and in their ability to capture scenes which would have been difficult or impossible to stage or recreate if they had been missed.

And then there’s the music.  Such a brilliant choice of music, that soft, simple, somewhat flat piano tune.

It all comes together and just gives one a sense of warmth, calm, and soft snuggly fuzziness.  “Happy Inside” indeed.

I may not be big on advertising, but I know art when I see it, and this is more art than ad.

Here is the behind-the-scenes look at the making of:

Since we were both pretty new to composting, we decided to sign up for and attend one of the Backyard Composting Workshops put on by the City of Edmonton at the John Janzen Nature Centre.  I can’t rave enough about this program.  The instructor was very knowledgeable on the subject and related topics, and very good at presenting it and answering questions.  I would highly recommend this course for anyone who wants to get into composting (and I would highly recommend everyone getting into composting where possible).

The basics of composting are very simple, though: Build or purchase a suitable covered container and locate it somewhere in your yard.  Collect your household organic waste in a small bucket or container and regularly drop it in the compost bin, along with any organic waste from your yard.  Try to maintain roughly a 50/50 mix by volume (or a 30:1 ratio by weight) of “browns” – carbons such as dried grass and leaves, shredded paper, etc. – and “greens” – nitrogens such as fresh grass clippings, fruit and veggie scraps, etc.

Just about anything organic can be composted from used paper towels to banana peels and apple cores, from bread that went moldy to tea bags and coffee grounds and shredded paper (which you apparently shouldn’t put in the recycling anyway).  Just no meat or animal waste – though small amounts of herbivore droppings are beneficial, and occasional eggshells are good too.  Turn or mix the compost every couple of weeks, and keep it moist.

While that’s pretty much all there is to it, I still and once again recommend the Backyard Composting Workshop.  This short course will teach you much more of the nuances, biology, chemistry, and even troubleshooting composting, with take-home materials for reference.

After just your first year of composting, you should already have some beautiful and nutritious compost, ready to mix in your soil for your veggie garden, flower gardens, or to sift and sprinkle around your lawn in the fall to fertilize your grass come spring.  Your homegrown fruit and veggies, your flower gardens, and your lawn will all see enormous benefit from organic fertilizer from compost, and your leftovers from all of these can go right back into the compost bin to recycle all those nutrients, bringing them full-circle.

While Jenn and I have always recycled as much as possible while living in an apartment building – usually a full large blue bag per week – we would still end up having to throw away about one full white kitchen garbage bag every week.  We that we compost most of our organic waste, we now throw away about half as much in the garbage every week.  To emphasize that, we have easily halved our trash output.

Composting is another very simple thing that I think could make a huge difference to our collective urban sustainability if every homeowner with the means and space started doing it, simply by virtue of how much less waste would thrown in the trash (though Edmonton has remarkably advanced waste management practices, and about to get even better), as well as by having less chemical fertilizers entering our groundwater and river basin by replacing them with your organic compost instead.

It’s easy, it’s somewhat fun, and it’s good for growing things.  What’s not to love about composting?

These people want to take the LRT, but they also want to be able to drive and park there.  They see it as the best of both worlds: the flexibility and option of driving, and increased transit usage by accommodating drivers and regular transit users.

I disagree with this entire thought process, and reject all premise behind it.  It is the worst of possible worlds; the worst use of both land and transit.

One of the arguments for it is that it reduces the amount of driving on city streets, and thus reduces congestion and reduces emissions and the city’s collective carbon footprint.  In reality all you have done is reduce some congestion on some roads, but only by shifting that congestion to the area immediately around the LRT station.

More importantly, though, driving to the LRT station is still driving; you may have shifted some of the duration of driving on your daily commute, but you have done nothing to reduce overall dependence on your vehicle. Chances are good that he vast majority of LRT park-and-ride users still need their private vehicles for everything including grabbing a quick coffee to stopping at the grocery store for milk.

Building transit in this way only rewards and encourages further outward and low-density sprawl, and further subsidizes it through the cost of the land it requires, building the lot, and servicing and maintaining it, not to mention the roadway infrastructure still needed to accommodate the traffic in and out of the area.

The only way to make transit a true long-term, viable, and sustainable solution is to build real, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods around it.  In so doing, you will build a community where being able to walk or bike to a nearby coffee shop or to grab a few groceries for dinner from the store is a normal activity rather than a rare outing, and where hopping on transit for work, school, or going out for dinner is simply part of the community’s DNA. Such a community will provide Edmonton with far more stable, long-term transit riders than any parking lot ever will.  They will also provide much needed density and infill to help take the pressure off our expanding, sprawling borders.

We have an addiction to cars and driving in this city, and it is not healthy or sustainable.  Too many people say “Edmonton is a car city” far too often as an excuse to not do anything to try and change things.  But things have to change, and it doesn’t have to be bad or scary.  Human beings are arguably the most adaptable species on the planet, even despite how much we kick and scream when we feel we are being forced to do so.

And we will adapt just fine to having less or no parking around transit.  We will learn to live closer to where we need to be, and learn that we don’t need our cars to drive us every possible place we need to go.  People in other cities have been doing this for centuries and those cities are still growing, thriving centres of culture, business, and commerce with communities and neighborhoods to be envied.  It is because communities and neighborhoods are what make cities great.  Parking lots cannot do that.  They never have, and they never will.

Do we want more of what’s in front in this picture?  Or more of what’s in behind?  Do we want to build an Edmonton where people just go to park their cars?  Or an Edmonton where people want to be and want to live?

I used to be the kind of guy who generally always wanted to live in a condo in the hustle and bustle of downtown. But over the last few years, I had warmed to the idea of having my own house, and the ability to start a garden was a big part of that (avoiding hassles of a condo board, fees, etc. and having more control over my property was another big part). I knew a garden would be a bit of work, even just the ~12 sqft one we got, but knew it would also be fun and delicious.

This year, we planted zucchini, potatoes, snow peas, bush beans, carrots, onions, spinach, a variety of lettuce and salad greens, and beets. We also had some garlic that started coming up on its own before we even started on the garden, but unfortunately not much of it turned out, probably due to too much rain. We also ended up with some pretty ridiculous amounts of dill growing throughout the garden, most of which we had to pull simply because it was overwhelming everything else.

So far the most fruitful thing we’ve been able to grow has been the zucchini. We planted just one row of it, and part of the row didn’t even come in, but we have so far this season managed to harvest about three dozen of them, some of them bigger than small cats, probably due to all the rain we got this year. Jenn and I are running out of recipes to use them in (though we did just have a delicious zucchini penne with ricotta just last night), and have already given away a couple dozen to others.

I also discovered this year that you can eat the flowers from a zucchini. They’re pretty good battered and fried and served with marinara (or pasta) sauce.

We’ve also blanched and frozen about a kilo of the green beans, eaten more snow peas than we can count, and just about every morning for the last month we have gone out to pick fresh lettuce for our sandwiches. We’ve had some delicious salads using the greens, with some nasturtium flowers from one of the smaller flower gardens thrown in.

Not bad for the first year of a couple of relatively inexperienced gardeners, eh?

We also got a pretty good yield of raspberries from the plants lining the driveway in the alley. Reflecting the thoughts of another Edmonton blogger, raspberries are as close to a zero-carbon food as there is. They require no extra watering aside from rainfall, no fertilizer, and only a bit of maintenance, and they will grow like weeds and produce a pretty reasonable amount of fruit, even after some neighbors and kids have helped themselves to a few (which we don’t mind at all; as kids we both used to sneak raspberries from neighbors where they grew into the alleys).

And in addition to that, we now have more apples than we know what to do with. The tree is pretty big and produced far more than we could have expected, and it decided to start dropping them about a week ago. We’re pawning them off on our friends, family, and co-workers as fast as we can, and still have more than enough to make some applesauce and maybe a crisp or four.

The amount of food that we have managed to produce (and have had to give away already because it is more than we can consume by ourselves) is staggering, and we haven’t even harvested it all yet.

Thinking about all this with a perspective of sustainability – not that I’m an expert on the subject, but I do think I have a pretty good grasp on it – I can’t help but wonder what a difference it might make if every homeowner in the city set aside even half as much of their property as we have to grow their own food. How much less would need to be imported from elsewhere, and how much less carbon output would be required to put it on your plate. How much could be shared with family, friends and neighbors when there is excess, or even how much could be donated to the Food Bank to help others in need.

Jenn and I aren’t experts at any of this by any stretch of the word or of the imagination. Our garden hardly cost us a thing to start – some basic garden tools from Canadian Tire, seeds, and maybe a little water when it hasn’t been raining ridiculous amounts. We haven’t needed fertilizer (we use compost – more on that in a later blog entry), have not used any pesticides, etc. I honestly think and believe this is something that just about anyone can do – and absolutely should.

Why should? Because it’s fun. It’s educational. It’s good for reducing your carbon footprint. It gets you outside and gets you some exercise. Giving it away makes you good friends and good neighbors. And because it’s damn delicious! After a dinner of mixed garden greens, baked potatoes, and roast beets just tonight, I am only further reminded that there is nothing as amazing as making a meal with fresh food that you yourself grew and nurtured and harvested.

]]> http://daveography.ca/index.php/tomato-fare/feed/ 3 http://daveography.ca/index.php/dave-on-cycling-sharrows-in-edmonton/ http://daveography.ca/index.php/dave-on-cycling-sharrows-in-edmonton/#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:06:15 +0000 Dave http://daveography.ca/index.php/dave-on-cycling-sharrows-in-edmonton/ The City of Edmonton has been working on adding sharrows to a number of roadways to help indicate shared bike lanes throughout the city.  At first I was unsure about the use of these over separated bike lanes, but after some thought and after hearing opinions of others on these, I now support them in favour of separated lanes.

The main reason for that is really psychological: a solid-line separation implies that cyclists are only ever supposed to stay inside that line.  So if a cyclist needs to make a left turn, drivers may not be prepared for a bike to suddenly cross the solid line and switch lanes. Drivers and new cyclists may not even think this is allowed.

A sharrow on the other hand is more like a reminder that bikes share the road, not even just that one lane.  There is no solid line, so hopefully less expectation that cyclists movements on the road are supposed to be limited to the rightmost part of it.

Incidentally, I also think the sharrow markings would make for a neat tattoo:

(Image source: Word Spy)

I hope to see the city expand this program to encompass existing roads that have been widened to allow for cycling, and to replace all blue-signed bike routes with these markers.

I’ve been a fairly regular bike commuter in Edmonton for about 5 years now; though I don’t bike in winter and generally avoid biking in inclement weather (unlike others I know), it’s really not a bad experience, and generally most drivers are excellent and courteous.  With the number of cyclists seemingly increasing year after year, and the city investing more in cycling infrastructure such as this, I imagine that the experience can only improve.

It occurs to me that I’ve largely ignored the importance of social media when it comes to network in this day and age.  Not that I’m new to social media, of course, I’ve just done my darnedest to ignore it for as long as I could.  Given that this site is also my showcase for my photography, the added traffic and exposure can only help me.

I think this will also be a good exercise for me, bringing together more of my outlets in one place where it’ll be hard to ignore any one of them.  Those are of course writing and photography.

In all honesty, I’ve been in a big slump for a number of months now.  I’m going to use this blog and site as a means of trying to get out of it.  Call it a mid-year’s resolution to write more, take and post more photos, and to network more through it.

So, welcome! It took a lot of wrangling with WordPress and this template to make it work, but I’m pretty happy with the result so far. I will undoubtedly do quite a bit more to it over time, not to mention add to my portfolio here and – hopefully someday soon – use it to help me sell some prints.

Welcome to Daveography.ca.