There's Something About Markets

We love markets. I especially love markets. We try to hit up local markets (farmer's and otherwise) wherever we go, which is always fun to see how locals do in the city and what cool foods and items people are selling.

Lucky for us, there is no shortage of markets in Edmonton. Since we've moved here, we've been to the City Market, Old Strathcona Farmer's Market, and the Boyle Street Flea Market. Two more on the list are St Albert's Market on Saturdays and 124 Grand Market on Thursdays.

Our second Saturday with Chuck, we walked down to the City Market located on 104 Street between 103 and Jasper Avenues. We were pleasantly surprised, ignorant Torontonians we are, that it was actually fairly big.

We got there a bit late that day and kind of rushed through the stalls, but not before sitting on the curb to eat our bison-shaped bison burger. Being that it was bison, it was a bit too lean and dry for me but overall, tasted pretty good. And, come on - how cute? -->

We've been back to the City Market one other time since then, and really got to take our time, walk around and see the vendors properly this time around. There was an Art Battle going on where a bunch of artists had 20 minutes to create a painting and the spectators were to vote for the best painting. We didn't stick around for the vote, but ours would have gone to the dude at the far end of the street, by himself, painting his heart out but wasn't invited to the party. Poor guy.

Besides this art battle, there was also a dude on a guitar singing and playing for people seated under the hot sun on patio tables in the middle of the street, people eating tubes of kettle corn from the mobile popcorn vendor, people carrying pepper plants they just purchased, people just having a pleasant day shopping for the week's groceries from their local farmers. David had a little organic orgasm. Besides produce, there are tons of local clothing vendors, people selling homemade goods (jewelry, purses, and accessories), a variety of local, organic meats (fishies, chickies, piggies, and all the Alberta beef, bison and elk you could want), and oh my the pies. I love pumpkin pie, and what could make pumpkin pie better? Obviously nothing, but packaging it into a mini tart shell; pure genius, pie lady.

Final thoughts on the City Market: we like it. Lots of cool stuff to look at, buy and eat, and a nice way to spend a beautiful, sunny Saturday strolling through a closed, downtown 104 Street. This market is also apparently still in full swing in the winter but located in City Hall. Bonus: like 2 markets in one.

Last Saturday, we last-minute decided to go to the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market just off Whyte Ave on 83 Ave and 103 St. Again, we sort of rushed through as we had a 1pm engagement, but, and in keeping with tradition, not before having a yummy local delicacy: dumplings stuffed with potatoes and cheese fried with butter and onions.

After stuffing our faces with this yummy goodness (I had mine with the side of bacon, while David went for the sausage fest), we walked through the market, unfortunately not being able to buy any of the yummy-smelling, tasty-looking treats assaulting our senses.

Might be too premature to provide a final thought on the OSFM, but we're gonna give it a solid 2 thumbs up. The crowd seems a bit of more of the local folk variety ("folk" being the operative word here) than at the City Market, which is more downtown peeps. But definitely going back there, and again, awesome that it's open all year round, even in the deadmonton of winter.

Last but not least, Boyle Street Community Centre apparently puts on a flea market one Saturday every month, so last Saturday was that chosen Saturday and we decided to check out and check off this new market. I so wish we had taken a picture of it cause it was probably the best thing we'd ever seen. We walked into this beautiful new building and turned into this small hallway where a lady had her tables set up. We breeze past her thinking she was an intro to the goodies awaiting us, and walk towards the gym area excited to browse the rest of the stalls.

Only there were none.

The lady in the hallway with her two tables filled with collectible Cadbury tins was the market. She may have been less than pleased.

Watering down her own words, it seems that the centre went ahead with the "flea market" (I use that term loosely as it was more of a flea table than a market, really) even though only one person confirmed.

Final thoughts: It might have been the most awkward 2 minutes in life; David and I walking snobbishly past this lady to look for the good stuff, and her having to tell us that she was it.

A new kind of crazy

So, we're driving down Whyte Ave on our way to the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market (ya, we're totally Chuckin it up) and this suddenly jumps out of the radio:

I'm gonna aim my headlights into your bedroom windows
Throw empty beer cans at both your shadows
I didn't come here tonight to start a fight, but I'm up for anything tonight
You know you broke the wrong heart baby, and drove me redneck crazy

Redneck crazy.

It's kind of like Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats, oozing rage and crazy vengeance ("I took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all four tires" - come on, these lyrics are gold), but like the guy, redneck response version.

Google tells me this hidden gem is Tyler Farr's song titled (surprise, surprise) Redneck Crazy. You think by the melody that it's a sweet, country song about a dude getting his precious heart broken. And then you actually listen to the words and laugh. Click on the link. It's so worth it.

CFL and the Eskimos: not what you think it means

The first CFL experience
Not even 24 hours after I landed in Edmonton, we did something super Western Canadian: we went to our very first CFL (Canadian Football League) game. We got tickets through one of David's coworkers and we lucked out as it was the biggest game of the season - Edmonton Eskimos vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders - and the most attended CFL game of the year with over 40,000 people.

Not gonna lie; it was a super hot day, sun beating down on us, we really didn't have much clue as to what was going on, and the ultimate torment was not being able to cheer for either team cause a) we were sitting in the Saskatchewan section and were surrounded by Roughrider fans (some of whom we also came with), and b) surrounding them were Edmonton fans. Not knowing who was worse to piss off, so we kept our cheers neutral. Like for when the cheerleaders and mascot performed.

The fourth quarter was pretty exciting though, a lot of back and forth between the teams, with the Roughriders eventually beating the Eskies 30-27.

The Edmonton Eskimos are called the Eskies so as not to confuse them with indigenous people who were once called eskimos.

Example: Flashback two weeks prior to a conversation between David, his mom Nancy, and I are having at the kitchen table.

David: Jen knows a bunch of Eskimos. She said she'd introduce us.
Nancy: David, I think you mean Inuit or First Nations.

Communication: Fail.

The second CFL experience, which actually happened before the first
It only occurred to me after talking to our buddy George that Edmonton is where the Food Network's The Quon Dynasty was based which is about this family who runs a Chinese restaurant called The Lingnan. Anyone else heard of this? Anyone? Anyone...? Bueller...?

So, the mom on the show, Amy, apart from the restaurant also has her own food court joint yummily called - and here's where worlds collide - Chicken for Lunch, also known for short as CFL.

George took us to CFL during our intro trip to Edmonton, and having watched a handful of episodes of show, the mom was exactly as she was on TV. She's this cute, little, overbearing Asian mother-type, treating her customers like she was feeding her own children. The instructions (per George) were clear: You line up. When it's your turn, don't order anything. Just say you like chicken and you either like it spicy or not, with noodles or rice. Hand over the cash and be on your merry way.

The strict no-talking-let-her-serve-you-and-all-you-say-is-I-like-chicken plus being a bit reality-TV-star struck made me nervous to go up and order. But once you get through the chicken version of the Soup Nazi and they give you your heaping two kinds of chicken plus noodles or rice, you kind of feel accomplished. It was actually pretty good value, in terms of quantity, price and taste. Plus, I love a good play-on-words and this was an especially happy coincidence. Mind blown.

where the f* should i go for drinks?

While that title may be offensive to some, the hilarity of this website we stumbled upon and the obvious service it provides should trump that. It's like a Google search for places to drink based on your location. Definitely worth a look-see: http://www.wherethefuckshouldigofordrinks.com/

And if you want to fill up before getting sloshed, they also accommodate: http://www.wherethefuckshouldigotoeat.com/

We have yet to really try any of the places recommended by either site, but it's just too hilarious not to share.

Ya, we did.

You know what's great? Getting to cross things off your list that wasn't even on your list. And that thing was riding a mechanical bull. Check.

Last Friday, we went out with some coworkers for a goodbye party and our first real night out in Edmonton. We started off having drinks at Julio's Barrio on Whyte Ave, where we all had some variation of a bulldog: a bottle of Corona (or Coronita if you're a wuss) inverted into a 2-oz-Tequilla-and-lime-slush-filled goblet. Ah-mazing.

A few more bulldogs and a little less coherence later, we went to a proper country bar - a saloon, if you will - and cowboyed it up good. Friday night at Cook County Saloon was the scene of our first attempt (and failure) at two-stepping. We were probably the most awkward couple that night, second maybe to the couple where the girl was clearly leading and dragging her dude across the dance floor. What was amazing was that everyone in the bar knew how to two-step! Points to you, Alberta. We have since decided that we are going to learn to two-step and bring this back to Ontario. Prepare yourselves, our friends. This will be part of our future parties.

After a poor-showing at two-step, the group consensus was that the fresh-off-the-boat Ontarians were going to do something very Alberta: ride the mechanical bull.

Mechanical bull: conquered.

Let me tell you: it ain't easy bein' a cowboy. We each lasted about a minute and left with bruised egos inner thighs. But it was pretty freakin fun. Everyone should try this at least once in their life (read: we will make everyone who comes to visit us do this).

We capped off our victory against M.bull with pizzas at the Funky Pickle, which I'm sure, as with most things eaten when drunk, are also just as awesome eaten sober.

The rest of the weekend was spent recovering from this epic night. Thanks, Chuck. You did good.

Hello, Internet

Welcome, people, to Sarah, David & Chuck: a coming-of-age story about two Torontonians drawn to the big city lights to pursue their dreams of making it big in... Edmonton?

Yes, you read that right.

Two months ago, we decided to leave our 400 sqft downtown Toronto condo (for two) and cushy, crowded lives to move to the capital city of big ol'Berta and discover how the other side of the country lives. And now here we are in Edmonton, aka The Chuck.

Follow us as we try to navigate this strange, cowboy country and we promise there will be no shortage of two-steppin', mechanical-bull-ridin', country-music-singin', moose-huntin' fun to be had.

Sarah & David