Last week I was lucky enough to get a week all to myself and I flew to Edmonton, Alberta to see my best friend of almost twenty years. My only pre-requisites for the trip were that we a) eat well and b) go to book stores! And now I have three fantastic places to eat and three lovely book stores to tell you about!
First off for the food, I was told going in that Edmonton was a bit foodie and I have to say I agree, there were some amazing looking restaurants on almost every corner. The three I want to highlight though are:
Little Brick
I didn't get any pictures from this absolutely adorable little cafe because it was my first day and I was exhausted. Little Brick has the best vibe, casual but classy. It had indoor and outdoor seating, little heaters and an overhead tent for the colder or wetter times of year, and my pulled pork sandwich and Sam's grilled cheese were both just SO good. My pulled port sandwich was served on a soft bun and topped with cheese and hickory sticks.
Rebel
We had a hard time deciding where to eat on Friday night but I think we both agreed after going to Rebel that it was the best choice. We had some drinks (I had a malibu sangria and a strawberry lime drop) and some appetizers. The first round of appetizers we had were an absolute culinary experience. The grilled halloumi with citrus honey was so delicious I wish we had gotten more and the "Devils on Horseback" (dates stuffed with jalapeno havarti, wrapped in bacon and topped with maple syrup) were absolutely out of the world. At one point I bit into one and had to stop Sam from talking to me so I could just close my eyes and experience the taste. We finished with an order of truffle honey butter wings (wow!) and pretzel bites with queso that were so soft and spicy. I'll be thinking about these appetizers for a while.
MEAT
On Saturday we went to MEAT with Sam's partner and brother/SIL. MEAT is a BBQ type place that serves full and half orders of things like brisket, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, plus all the sides. We got the brisket (delicious), the mac and cheese, cornbread skillet (yum), cherry chili ribs, coleslaw, and garlic fries (woooow). Paired with a few beer, this is the type of meal you just want to keep eating and gives you lots of leftovers to take home too.
As for bookstores, we started with Wee Book Inn which was a used book store with two levels (!!) and while I didn't buy anything (it was my first day), the browsing was so lovely. In addition to this one we also checked out:
Daisy Chain Books
Daisy Chain was an adorable store which has both new and used books on their shelves, mixed in together which I loved. It had great division of sections, staff picks, and tons of bookish merch. I could have browsed there all day and if I hadn't been travelling with carry-ons, I would have bought lots of merch for sure.
Glass Books
Glass books actually isn't in its permanent location yet I'm told, it was operating out of a pop up in an art gallery. The minute I walked in I was like "on yes, this is my type of bookstore". It had the mainstream literary fiction books we see all over instagram but also the lesser known ones and a lot of locally published, diverse reads too. Just by looking at the books on the shelf you could tell it had a different feel, different vibe than other book stores and I absolutely loved it. I grabbed a book I've wanted for a while (The Barren Grounds) as well as a book I bought based on recommendation from the sale person (Cold Enough for Snow).
This was the perfect kind of vacation for me. Lots of relaxing, lots of reading, food, bookstores. The last day there Sam and I literally just sat on the back deck and read together, how lovely!