Well well, here we are again ready for another edition of Patsy’s Favorite Foods!

This time we take a trip to Edmonton, the city where I grew up.  Each time I come to Edmonton, I try and get my fill of my staples — vietnamese cuisine, breakfasts and of course DONAIRS.

Queen Donair - an Edmonton staple.

I disappointed myself on this trip, I only had one donair, and it was a small one — BUT LET ME TELL YOU, it was delicious — nothing beats Halifax Sweet Sauce and being in Vancouver, I sure am missing out!  There’s no better food to eat at 1 in the morning after a long night of anything.

Cora’s

Back when the summer started, my wonderful life-long friend TJ Tubbs took me to Cora’s for a fantastic Canada Day breakfast!

I had never been to Cora’s before, but heard about it from everyone and their dog, so I figured I’d check it out — and I was not disappointed.

I’m not much of a fruit-eating-gal, but I sure love looking at it!

So this is Rosemary’s Sunday.  You get two eggs done your way, two blueberry filled pancakes, a bunch of roasted potatoes, 4 strips of crisp bacon, and then your serving of fruit — I only had the strawberries but they were nice and fresh and JUICYYY.  (Mmm Chocolate milk too)

And here is my bestest buddy jammin’ up his toast.

Not only is Cora’s a great place to indulge in a variety of hearty, meaty breakfasts, they also offer crepes, waffles, fruit plates, and many offerings for the dainty breakfast eaters.  The staff and ambience is what really makes Cora’s special, it’s incredibly homey and has something for everyone.  I can’t wait to go back! (Or for them to open one in Vancouver!)

Barb & Ernie’s

On my most recent trip to Edmonton, my lovely girlfriend Courtney joined me for an incredibly filling breakfast at Barb & Ernie’s on 99th St.

Is it that obvious that it was 10 am on a Sunday after a rough night for both of us? Haha.

I wish I had gotten some more pictures of the restaurant itself, cause that’s what’s really fun.  It’s decorated with a mixture of German bier steins, and wood carved wall hangings, and served by a great staff, led by the man in the lederhosen!  He decided that Courtney and I needed to have some more attention sent our way so he shouted out “HEY! THESE HOT SEXY LADIES HAVEN’T HAD THEIR ORDER TAKEN YET!”, causing all of the men in the restaurant to turn around and look at our no-make-up, terrible hair and scrubby clothes — good times.

As a Tomkins girl through and through, I ordered my classic breakfast treat — Bacon, eggs and hashbrowns.  Although I didn’t eat the disgusting cantaloupe (I’m a melon hater) I did have the super delicious, ultra-juicy oranges, adding a nice taste to my meal.  The bacon was perfectly cooked, a bit chewy and crisp around the edges — and it wasn’t that thin microwave stuff that so many places are sending out now.  The potatoes could have been a bit more cooked, cause they kinda turned into mashed potatoes when I mixed them with my egg yolks, but otherwise the meal was superb.  **Please note the ever-present chocolate milk…mmmmm**

Courtney’s Mushroom, cheese, tomato and bacon omelette.  Pretty fancy stuff.  (Too bad I don’t like egg whites / scrambled eggs, mushrooms, melted cheese and cooked tomaotes haha)   But really, that thing was HUUUGE!

Perhaps my most pleasant surprise in all of this, finding a little picnic table holder for the ketchup and….drumroll please….HONEY MUSTARD.  I love me some honey mustard and I find that I always get stuck with dijon, so this was a refreshing change.

All and all, I really loved the atmosphere, the food and staff.  It was a great morning with the most amazing company. <3

Calgary Trail Noodle House

A few years back, on a first date with my now-ex, we went and tried out a place our friend suggested, which has since become my ultimate favorite restaurant.

I’ve since taken many of my friends to this marvellous little place, and I hope to be able to do so for years to come.

On my most recent adventure there, I invited my BFF Mason and his girlfriend Sarah.  **Please note, they were unaware I was taking this picture, and me being me, I’m still going to post it.**

So let’s get started then shall we?

I’m really bad at photographing my food — cause I tend to just start eating it first.  So here is about half of the order of wontons.  I gotta tell you, I consider myself to be somewhat of a wonton connoisseur, and these happen to be some of the best.  There’s plenty of meat, ground pork to be exact, mixed together with some amazing aromas.  The sauce itself is very good as well, it’s nice and light with a great sweet and sour taste.

#56. My classic favorite. “Pan Fried Lemongrass Beef on Rice”.  It’s seriously, one of the best things I’ve ever had in my life.  It’s a mix of both spicy and sweet, and by the end of the meal, I’m always blowing my nose — but it’s sooooo worth it.  (I do pick out all the onions before eating haha.) The sauce itself is just fantastic, and when I’ve tried to make it on my own, it just doesn’t happen, so I guess they’ve got me hooked.

Here is Mason’s combination plate #58.  Grilled beef & grilled pork on rice served with a spring roll.  Mmmmm their fish sauce is the bomb.

Here is Sarah’s custom order plate — half white rice and half shanghai noodles.  This is just another one of the benefits about being a regular here, they’re willing to make some changes to the menu to accommodate you.

The best part of this evening for me, was seeing the staff again after being away for so many months.  They knew exactly what I wanted to eat, they asked me where I’d been and congratulated me on all of my success — truly remarkable people.  I can’t wait to go back again! And again.. and again…

Oodle Noodle

After working in the west end for a while, I grew fairly attached to a little noodle shop called Oodle Noodle.  They make a variety of stir fry like dishes from all across asia, mixed with beef, chicken, prawns of tofu.

This last visit home, I had my awesome friend Janet join me for an afternoon of chatting, and we stopped off for a quick noodle bowl.

This here, is my personal favorite — Bun Cha Gio — Vermicelli Box + Beef.  The spring rolls here are to die for.  For being deep fried, they’re remarkably not greasy, nice and crunchy and chopped up into the perfect bite size pieces.   The sauce is pretty much indescribable, it’s a combination of sweet, spicy, salty and vietnamesey.

**Me being the meat eater I am, I always ask for no veggies, but it does come with bean sprouts, carrots and lettuce under normal circumstances.**

Swiss Chalet

Unfortunately, there is only one Swiss Chalet that I’ve seen in Vancouver, and it’s too far for me to walk, so I go back to my classic family favorite — Swiss Chalet.

When I was growing up, my parents would take me to Swiss Chalet for my birthday and any other special occasions, and I was always so stoked to get a Shirley Temple, a quarter chicken and a toy!  Although my order has since changed (and for whatever reason they don’t offer toys to adults…pfft.) my drink of choice has remained, too bad you can’t get it through the take-out menu!

On my recent trip to Calgary with my favoritest Carrie, we stopped in at good ‘ol SC for a meal on our way out of dodge.

Mmmm chicken breast on a kaiser, fries covered in chalet sauce, and a delicious serving of coleslaw.  Such a satisfying meal mmmmm mmmm mmm.

Mama’s Kitchen

On my last trip home, my mom made a moose steak dinner on my last night at home!  And her world famous super awesome mashed potatoes (and canned peas cause she accidentally burnt the good ones )

Mmmmmmmm

Well that’s it for this round, stay tuned for more of my favorite foods!

P.♥