Jul. 01, 2009 - Issue #715: The Bestest of Edmonton 2009
Keep it real
Buying local doesn't just support our economy, it tastes better
As vibrant neighbourhood cafés and upstart art galleries slowly replace pawnshops and derelict motels, the last decade has seen another fascinating trend contribute to the neighbourhood's rebirth. From 50 Street to Kingsway Garden Mall, 118 Avenue is home to one-of-a-kind grocers, bakeries, delis, and import stores from every corner of the planet. Here you'll find Serbian butchers, Portuguese bakers, Indian bazaars, African food markets and cafés, not to mention the strip's close ties to Little Italy and Chinatown. These rare gems not only specialize in unique ethnic products, they also serve as cultural hubs for the communities they supply and draw support from.
Word of these types of specialty suppliers, however, is slowly leaking out to the larger food community. Fiercely independent restaurants and multinational hotel chains alike have begun to employ these tiny, oftentimes family-run businesses as their suppliers for hard-to-find specialty items like custom baking and ingredients for diet-specific and alternative menus. After an afternoon spent chatting with these store owners, it becomes obvious why: the passion and pride they show for their product and heritage makes for a food experience you simply can't find anywhere else in town.
Take the Portuguese Bakery (5304 - 118 Ave), for example. With its low shelves and improvised café, this unique bakery/grocery is a refreshing break from the chainstores' overwhelming stacks. But don't let the casual décor fool you; locals in the know line up here daily for fresh baking. The bakery also carries everything Portuguese from pimento paste and dried salt fish ("bacalhau") to religious paraphernalia, be it Our Lady of Fatima prayer fans or soccer banners. Of course, they are best known for their melt-in-your-mouth Portuguese buns, but if you prefer crusty buns, they informed me coyly to simply call back tomorrow.
Their selection of unique Portuguese cheeses, which range from soft, island goat cheeses to the pungent continental sheep cheeses, could keep you sampling for a year, as could their selection of blood sausage and other deli specialties. In the freezers in the back, you'll find a large selection of fish and other staples that play a prominent role in traditional Portuguese cooking. Portuguese extra virgin olive oil, for example, carries a higher acidity, and therefore a purer taste, than Italian or Greek oils.
Amid the Portuguese banter and smatterings of English, it slowly dawns on me that the bakery is not just an old-school neighbourhood corner store; it serves as the cultural hub for Edmonton's Portuguese community. I would soon find this commonality between all the different ethnic shops I would visit. Not four blocks from the Portuguese community church, the bakery's storefront is splashed with posters advertising events in the local community. For other Portuguese bakeries, visit the Popular Bakery (9307 - 118 Ave) and Charcuteria Micaelense (9574 - 118 Ave).
As you walk in the Fiji Bazaar Imported Foods (8632 - 118 Ave), you are immediately greeted by the smiling owner and the enticing aroma of curry. Open bins of masala spices and lentils lie empty at the end of another busy week, as every week locals seeking Fijian cooking spices come here and clean out the supply of authentic spices and alternative flour sources (rice and pea). The store owner is happy to take phone orders for fresh curries to go, and don't be surprised to find a group of friends and family hanging out in the back, sharing coffee, quiet chatter and genuine laughter.
Likewise at Paraiso Tropical Latin American Imports (9136 - 118 Ave), the cozy aisles are alive with chatter and families shopping for traditional comfort food. Quesos, chorizo sausage, papusas and specialty meats crowd the freezer at the back; across the aisle, you'll find votive candles, potions and piñatas Soccer jerseys, posters of Che Guevera and local Salvadorean dance troupes colour the store, amidst stacks of sacks of beans and corn flour. The wall of dried chilies is not to be missed. Customers can also snack on freshly-served flautas, tamales and empanadas while they shop.
Kasoa Tropical Food Market (9320 - 118 Ave) provides an honest market feel, where bins of spices and root vegetables share the warehouse space with freezers of African snapper and other seafood specialties. Alongside the shelves of palm oil and condiments, you'll find a fascinating selection of custom pots and cookware that are required for preparing traditional African meals. This is another pattern I discover across the many one-of-a-kind ethnic grocers: it's not just the hard-to-find ingredients—you'll need the custom cookware to go along with it.
This type of specializing reveals the intimacy of knowing and respecting the customers these stores are marketing to. Most proprietors explain that I should call regularly to find out what specialties would be available from week to week. The Balkan Style Sausage, Deli and BBQ House (9403 - 118 Ave), for example, informed me to come early Saturday mornings for the popular roasted pork, fresh off the charcoals. "But please call first," he mentions courteously, "to make sure we haven't sold out yet." This deli prides itself on the use of local meat suppliers, as well as traditional "forgotten recipes" that use no chemicals or preservatives. Products range from cold cuts and bacon to sausage and whole cuts like ribs and shank, made of beef, pork, lamb and goat. Everything is prepared and smoked on site, while up front their shelves are neatly lined with hard-to-find specialties like Serbian coffee, chocolates and spreads.
One of the best examples of selection and specialty comfort foods is the Polish Food Store (10135 - 118 Ave). Heaps of sausage rings are surrounded by mountains of mustard and horseradish displays, as well as freezers full of perogies of every flavour (plum? blueberry?!) You'll find shelf upon shelf of chocolates and bottled spring water, soccer jerseys and ball caps; they even offer parcel service to Poland. But for a tour-de-force in traditional vinegars, spreads, pickles and preserves, head to the back of the store.
Annand Olivierre is sous chef and kitchen manager of Culina Highlands (6509 - 112 Ave), one of a growing number of independent restaurants that believe in driving a locally-grown food industry. Olivierre explains why his restaurant chooses to use 118 Avenue's array of specialty suppliers.
"They match our local mandate. But beyond that, knowing your suppliers creates a personal relationship of mutual dependency. We both have a vested interest in the local economy, which creates a sense of collaboration. As far as running a restaurant is concerned, we know we can get personalized serviced and custom orders. Portuguese Bakery, for instance, makes custom-sized buns for us—you can't get that from Costco. And they don't charge us for delivery because they're six blocks away. These businesses take such pride in the quality of their product and in the reasons they do things. The India Bazaar [4516-118 Ave], for example, carries unique, hard-to-find spices, and they are also full of suggestions about their use. Their approach to their products inspires us." V
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