NEAROF

You can take the boy out of Edmonton, but you can’t take the Edmonton beer out of the boy’s beer fridge. Or something like that. I may be leaving Edmonton for a sweet new gig in Calgary, but province-wide distribution means I won’t have to give up this classic E-town beer that’s just about tops [...]

I’ve seen plenty of energy bars before, but an energy ball? Isn’t that just a polite way of selling a smaller, rounder energy bar? We’ll see … The Pitch: This Fudgie Walnut Brain Storm flavour is described as “a chewy mix of nuts, carob and seeds.” Also: GM-free and gluten-free, with no artificial preservatives, flavours [...]

Unexpected fusion foods tend to capture my attention. Combining one cuisine with another in a culinary mashup can yield both interesting results and unmitigated train wrecks; the results vary widely. In this case, R.W. Garcia Thai Sweet and Spicy Tortilla Chips combine Thai seasoning with tortilla chips, which sounded like a combination that would yield [...]

My experience with New York Fries’ butter chicken poutine convinced me that Indian fusion can work in mysterious ways, so was it any surprise I was drawn to the new Butter Chicken Indian pizza at Panago? Butter chicken must be the most widely available Indian dish in Canada, the result of a perfect combination of [...]

I like hoppy, flavourful beers, so a quality India pale ale is a match made in heaven. I’ve found such a brew in Wild Rose Brewery’s India Pale Ale, a hoppy brewed creation from Calgary. And speaking of Calgary, now is probably as good a time as any to make an announcement of sorts. Here [...]

The Pitch: “Greetings to you from Willy Wonka himself!” says the wrapper, which describes the Wonka Exceptionals Scrumdiddlyumptious chocolate bar as “milk chocolate with scrumptious toffee, crispy cookie & crunchy peanuts.” Also, there’s an encouragement to read a book (Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, naturally), which is the first time I’ve seen a [...]

Coconut is all the rage these days. Coconut water has spread far and wide from niche grocery markets catering to tropical tastes, Starbucks has brought their mocha-coconut Frappuccino from Hawaii to the wilds of Canada, and even chocolaty treats like M&Ms are getting in on the coconut action. (I tried some. They were good.) And [...]

Corn chips are about as commonplace as a snack food can get. There are countless tortilla chip varieties ready for dipping in salsa, along with pre-seasoned things like Doritos and Fritos. But chips made with popcorn? I’d never seen such a thing until I ran into Popcorners. The Pitch: “The new shape of popcorn. Popcorners [...]