Fueling Edmonton’s Culinary Scene

from Modern Luxuria Vol 14 July 2021

by Modern Luxuria

Rare Wine Report

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Fueling Edmonton’s Culinary Scene

Food Trucks and Talented Traders are the Perfect Summer Combination

WORDS BY JESSICA LACCETTI, PH.D

PHOTOS: ROKA PIZZA BY ROKA PIZZA OHANA DONUTERIE BY KYLE KOZEL BOTTLED BRONCO BY VW VAN - GH PHOTOGRAPHY WHITE HORSE TRAILER - KYRA JASMAN PHOTOGRAPHY CONGA LINE - DALLAS OLGA PHOTOGRAPHY & FILM TRUCK KEG STAND - SHANTELLE LOUISE PHOTOGRAPHY BLUE HORSE TRAILER - JOY BREITKREUTZ PHOTOGRAPHY

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If you’ve explored around the #YEG area lately, you can see the changes. There are new businesses, new faces, and new foods to tempt your taste buds! You might be craving traditional wood-fired Italian pizza, or how about a Salted Caramel Espresso doughnut, or, what about a signature cocktail to cool you off?! Here’s a little sample of some of the freshest flavours we have found that are hand crafted and made locally!

On the #T4X scene for five years and about “20,000 pizzas,” Rōka Wood Fired Pizza is living their adventure. Flavor-purveyors Rob and Karen Shortreed were in Arizona, escaping from the Alberta winter, and had their epiphany for a “wood fired pizza trailer.” If it could be done in Tucson...why not their home town of Beaumont? Having lived there for 25 years, they thought it would be the perfect place to start this adventure. As they say, “nothing ‘ad’ventured, nothing gained.”

Karen, a Journeyman Machinist, and Rob, a Journeyman Mechanic, were looking for something to do when they weren’t wintering in warmer climes. They had their vision and immediately ordered a pizza oven from Portugal and then took a year to perfect their dough and the cooking for the pizza. Rob and Karen bought a trailer in the USA, drove it home and then tweaked it how they saw fit! Today, Rōka Wood Fired Pizza focuses on using the freshest quality ingredients and reasonable pricing so that “everyone can enjoy [the] pizza.”

Add Rōka Wood Fired Pizza to your food truck hit-list; youwon’t be disappointed!

www.facebook.com/rokawoodfiredpizza

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Continuing the foodie scene in the Edmonton area, let me add Ohana Donuterie to your list of sweet treat faves. Now, this legend on the sweet scene began as an idea in 2016 and after 18 months of perfecting the craft of a 130 year old recipe, founder Adam Biel was ready to share with the community. It took over 2000 tries of the same doughnut but on the 6th of June in 2017, Ohana served their first doughnut (a “perfect vanilla cream-filled original donut”)!

The food truck was a hit and barely six months later,Ohana Donuterie opened their brick and mortarlocation in Old Strathcona.

When asked why bring traditional Hawaiian doughnuts to #yeg (that’s malasadas by the way), the founder responds, “because YEG is who we are, it’s where Adam was born and where, after years of travel and working abroad, he kept coming back to...it’s where our family is, we are Ohana after all.” Now, if that deep tie to family and community doesn’t win you over, flavors like Salted Caramel Espresso will or how about the Father’s Day edition featuring Dadeo’s Southern Fried Chicken?! Why not add Ohana’s “signature drink;” the Macadamia Macchiato and you’ll be wondering how you made it this long without it.

ohanadonuts.square.site

If you don’t see something on their long list of flavour combinations, Ohana is “always open” to custom orders (I might have asked about garden parties and weddings). The founder is active in the community and excited to collaborate with local businesses. Adam’s favourite quote sums up their ethos: “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind - or forgotten - Lilo and Stitch.” If you’re ready to elevate your taste buds, get to Ohana where every family member can find their perfect match.

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Inspired by mindless internet scrolling, The Bottled Bronco’s founder Danille found herself something she could do while heavily pregnant. Danielle Vogler was used to “heavy labour jobs” and while pregnant, wasn’t able to work. Enter the internet and the idea to convert horse trailers into mobile bars. Serendipitously, Danille has a cousin, Janel, who is a certified event planner. Together, The Bottle Bronco was born.

As you might have guessed from the name, this is a cocktail-forward enterprise. This business is comprised of two horse-trailer cocktail bars, a truck box cocktail bar for smaller spaces, a tapped truck to serve kegs, and a guest favourite: a VW van converted into a photobooth (thanks to Curtis, of Fotovon, the mastermind behind this Instagrammable fave).

Danielle explains that they can set up anywhere that a vehicle can go. There are some stories to tell, including when owners have taken down sections of their fence to get The Bottled Bronco set up in the back gardens. Like their guests, Danielle and Janel and their husbands who have been roped into the running of the business, love to bring the “unexpected.” They get “people out of their seats” and always offer signature cocktails and lawn games.

The Bottled Bronco has been featured at birthday parties, open houses, graduations, weddings, and even babies’ first birthdays! While Danielle might be a “tequila girl,” she works with clients to create bespoke drinks and an ambience that will give a unique vibe to your event. Now that’s something to ‘Cheers’!