Food Roundup
May 12, 2026
Golf season is here, and with it comes the chance to celebrate victory with a feast or drown your sorrows with a libation just off the green. Golf course restaurants can be "very interchangeable as far as what the menus look like and taste like," said Garrett Hadfield, a professional golfer who operates the Rundle Park Golf Course and its Shortees smashburger concept. "I think it's just one of those, 'If it's not broke, don't fix it' models." While golf course food needs to be metaphorically "easily digestible" in order to please everyone, Hadfield told Taproot, that doesn't mean it has to be boring.
The food and vibes at the space shared by Flat Boy Burgers and Shiddy's Distilling inspired Hadfield to open Shortees last year. Smashburgers are a practical choice. Hungry golfers want something that can be ready between turns, usually within 10 minutes. And given that Rundle Park is a public golf course, Hadfield wanted his burgers to taste good for just $11. "Why would I charge you $23 for a hamburger when my green fee is $35 at its most expensive, on the weekend?" Hadfield said.
The Woodvale Room is another newer concept for golf course dining, operated inside the Woodvale Community League's facility at the Mill Woods Golf Club. The main floor has a new, casual clubhouse with quick bites, but hidden upstairs is a dramatic, speakeasy-like parlour with gold and green details. The menu includes elevated fare such as an artisan butter board, elk carpaccio, and mushroom risotto. There are also extensive wine, beer, and cocktail lists, plus 26 varieties of gin from across the globe. Many golf course restaurants want to be destinations of their own, Hadfield said, and The Woodvale Room certainly makes a compelling case for one.
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Openings
- Made in Palestine Cultural Cafe has opened at 15166 127 Street NW, bringing Palestinian cultural experiences to Edmonton. The cafe offers drinks, desserts, and food alongside Palestinian merchandise.
- Lotus Lao & Thai Cuisine held its grand opening at 309 McLeod Avenue in Spruce Grove.
- PlayWright has opened a new patio at Citadel Theatre, with seating and a free cornhole area.
- Abhinandan Restaurant, serving Indian, Chinese, and Italian food, is now open at 3815 34 Street NW.
- Spade's Kitchen & Bar is now open at 10401 82 Avenue NW.
- ID Donair and Fast Food is now open at 10508 Jasper Avenue NW.
- The Ivy is now open at 110, 200 Festival Lane in Sherwood Park.
- Mr. Halal Burger has opened its fourth location, at 6944 Ellerslie Road SW.
- The folks behind Great North Cookie Co. are opening up an English-inspired sandwich shop called The Ploughman's Table. It opens at 101 First Avenue in Spruce Grove on May 13.
- A new Montreal-inspired restaurant called Saint Laurent is set to open in Leduc this fall.
Closings
- Challenges such as a 10-month delay for smoker permits, COVID-19, road construction, and rising food costs spelled the end of the Transit Smokehouse & BBQ in the historic Transit Hotel on Fort Road, former co-owner Ray Pritlove told Global News. The concept is merging with Rooster Kitchen and Cafe under the new name Midnite Rooster at 10732 Whyte Avenue NW. Mayor Andrew Knack said the 118-year-old Transit Hotel building needs a new use and called for a broader "main street" plan to support the Fort Road area.
Headlines
- Food critic Ramneek Singh has started the first chapter of a donair odyssey, reviewing a cheese donair from Mike's Famous at 10526 Whyte Avenue NW. Singh began a butter chicken odyssey in 2024, which he has since turned into a one-man show that he will stage during the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival in August.
- About 200 passengers had to disembark from the Edmonton Riverboat during a Mother's Day brunch cruise after its left paddle wheel stopped working. "Our captain made the decision to deliberately bring it to rest," owner Eric Warnke told 880 CHED. "We were able to call in fire rescue and they were amazing getting everyone home safely. So she wasn't stuck or anything, we just deliberately put her there so we could deal with the engine."
- Taste of Edmonton has released its menu for its July 16 to 26 festival, featuring more than 96 new items, including Hong Kong Bakery's garlic butter prawn spring rolls and Flipside BBQ's bao. Early-bird 40-ticket sheets are available with a $10 discount until July 14.
- Mitsoh's founder and president, Ian Gladue, spoke to CBC Edmonton's Radio Active about his pemmican company, which is a finalist for a ScaleUP Award.
- Edify paid a visit to Bread + Butter Bakery in Riverdale at 10158 90 Street NW, where a wall of bread greets visitors. The bakery is known for its sourdough, focaccia, and baguettes, with each loaf taking 20 hours to bake. The menu includes coffee, house-made flavoured butters, and a rotating selection of pastries, muffins, and cupcakes.
- St. Albert economic development director Mike Erickson celebrated food chains headed to the city during the annual Economic Development Business Breakfast. Among them are OEB, Waves Coffee House, Chipotle, and others. St. Albert recently welcomed its first Denny's.
- Down by the River will feature a saloon by Sea Change Brewing Co. and catering by Freson Bros. at its next festival, which runs Sept. 18 to 20. The lineup for the folk and alt-country festival is out now.
- NAIT Applied Research shared a behind-the-scenes look at the judging process for the 2026 Alberta Food & Beverage Awards. Business development lead Matthew Labine showed how entries are evaluated by industry experts.
- Yawa Idi of United Way's Do Local Good podcast interviewed Kathryn Way from Alberta Parenting for the Future Association about the Stir It Up cultural cooking program, which uses food to build cross-cultural connection and mental health skills for kids in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, and Parkland County.
- Livestock tracker Wandering Shepherd, nutritional-gummy maker Gummy Nutrition Lab, home hydroponic purveyor Hope Innovations, and performance chocolatier 7 Summits Snacks made Scale Up Canada's Edmonton50, a list of the region's most scalable companies.
Happenings
Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:
- May 13: Indigenous Taste of the Market starting at 6:15pm at Old Strathcona Farmers' Market
- May 14: Grand Opening: 15 Seasons of Local Love starting at 4pm at 124 Grand Market
- May 14: Kyiv Konnection Banquet starting at 5:30pm at Mirage Banquet Hall
- May 15: Dragon Food Tour: Peking Duck starting at 6:30pm at 97 Hotpot 涮涮鍋
- May 16: Dragon Food Tour: Savoury Wok starting at 1:30pm at 97 Hotpot 涮涮鍋
- May 16: Jaunt to the Countryside: Exclusive Anohka Whisky Tasting starting at 6pm at Anohka Distillery
- May 17: Cranky's Bike Shop X Patricia Street Deli Ride starting at 11am Cranky's Bike Shop
- Until May 31: Best of Brunch YEG
And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:
- May 24: Japanese Tea Ceremony at University of Alberta Botanic Garden
- May 25: Reading Between the Barcode Lines: A Food Politics Book Club at Magpie Books
- May 26: Pierogies and Pints at Leduc Brewing Company
Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.