the week that was and is - november 11th, 2009

Hopefully everyone can take a moment today and just remember. Remember all those things that have brought us to where we are today. It's a lot, if you ask me.

• Big congratulations to fellow E-town food blogger, Court, on the newest addition to her clan.

• I'd totally forgotten about Edmonton's Chili Cook Off this past Friday, so it was nice to see Mack do a guest post on Only Here for the Food.

• The City Palate is running a 'name' contest, as their royalty agreement has expired and will no longer be called the City Palate. If you think of a good name, submit your idea to marybee@shaw.ca before November 20th for a chance to win dinner for four at the Hardware Grill.
  

• It looks like Bulk Barn, which I mentioned last week, is set to open November 25th. It garnered a lot of interest, so now I'm even more curious to check it out.

• "Kraft Foods has gone hostile in its bid to buy Cadbury."

• A 330 foot California Roll (now the world's longest) was created at Berkeley recently. "The roll was made from 200 pounds of dry rice, 80 pounds each of cucumber and avocado, and 180 pounds of fish"

• I never thought I'd see the day someone could donate their deer hunt to fill empty shelves. Good work Minnesota.

• I totally forgot to put a picture of my pumpkin adventures last week. After all the hard work that Sarah and I put in, I couldn't not put them in this week.

• Picked up a large order of Wor Wonton soup this week from Tin Tin. A huge portion, it supplied enough for both of these really large bowls. A great mix of meat, wonton's, and vegetables, it's only downfall, if any, was a slightly neutral broth. I would definitely pick this up again.

• I opened my first bottle of Fuller's 2008 Vintage Ale recently. 2008 was the 11th year Fuller's has put out a vintage ale, and this bottle was great. The thing that surprised me was how smooth the beer was for 8.5% alcohol. With an initial flavour that many beer drinkers may find overpowering, it leaves your mouth in a very smooth manner. Being bottle conditioned, these ales form a layer of sediment and last for a very long time. Good thing I have one more bottle tucked away, because at 9 or 10 dollars a bottle, they aren't cheap.

And I leave you with this. A picture of our lovely city from the recently opened 23rd Ave overpass. It really will be something when it's done.

P.S. Don't forget about the new John Mayer album (Battle Studies) next week. It's fantastic.