My Ten Favorite Edmonton Restaurants

[stovetop]

These Are In No Partucular order:

1) The crepeie

2) Bul-Go-Gi -House

3) The Armoury

4) Anything on white avenue

5) Vi's on the Rivervalley (I do not think it is there anymore)

6) La Boheme

7) The Unheard of

8) mcdonald ( cp)

9)harware Grill

10)Jacks Grill

11) Bistro Praha

[James Kendal]

Having lived in Edmonton for most of my life I would have to agree. I still go to Bistro Praha when I am in the City. Nothing like fried cheese and cheap german sparkling wine at 1 AM...

[chromedome]

I work at Unheardof; two of my former classmates are at Jack's.

[merlin]

Having lived in Edmonton for most of my life I would have to agree. I still go to Bistro Praha when I am in the City. Nothing like fried cheese and cheap german sparkling wine at 1 AM...

←

a few bottles of that sparking wine and you are likely to encounter the ghost of Frantisczek [sp?] who sadly died in the wee hours of the morning...in the restaurant I believe...a few years ago...he certainly could put away the sparkling wine...what was it? Kufenberg or something like that?

[merlin]

Hard to argue with that list Steve.

You are right about Vi's. I think Vivian sold that original location overlooking the Victoria golfcourse and then opened Vi's for Pie's on Stony Plain Rd.. Believe she has since sold the latter as well.

The Armoury. Now that is a proverbial "blast from the past". When I first moved to Edmonton in '80 we would occasionally go there for dinner. It has since gone through many facelifts as a niteclub...Club Malibu, etc..

Bul-go-gi house has seen better days from recent reports. Better Korean fare to be had elsewhere but it is hard to argue with the price and the piece of Juicy Fruit gum [smile].

It was a hang out years ago when I could not afford another meal in the neighbourhood's other spot, Bernie Peck's [at that time] Red Ox Inn.

[James Kendal]

Having lived in Edmonton for most of my life I would have to agree. I still go to Bistro Praha when I am in the City. Nothing like fried cheese and cheap german sparkling wine at 1 AM...

←

a few bottles of that sparking wine and you are likely to encounter the ghost of Frantisczek [sp?] who sadly died in the wee hours of the morning...in the restaurant I believe...a few years ago...he certainly could put away the sparkling wine...what was it? Kufenberg or something like that?

←

When I worked at Cafe Select (1988-92) we would go almost everynight to Praha and sit with Fratasheck (SP), Milan, Vaclav and Malcom until 3 or 4 AM. At that time it was Lila Deinhard...

[stovetop]

So many of us restaurant people used to meet at Bistro Praha; Edmonton, the early eighties had many places for us industry people to go after a hard day at work, Bistro Praha was a different breed, even then, it was beyond Edmonton but not above, so many good times had there. I have been a customer now since what 83??. I went again this summer twice, when I was in Edmonton and went to the Praha I reminded myself what a special place it was. I just walked back in time, entered the restaurant and become part of living History, A piece of Edmonton, memories of days gone by, I began My food Career in Edmonton and have many great memories of people and places that make the Edmonton food scene, so many people still call Edmonton home and still work in the greatest industry in the world, the restaurant business, Edmonton has been good to many restaurateurs, there is so many restaurants that go back to the eighties, they have moved with the times and have survived so many years in a business that turns over so many great men and women.

I have always wondered what make a restaurant survive for that long, when I was in Toronto in 2000, I went back to where I used to live and was surprised how the Danforth area changed so much, there was but a few places still around from 1987, there was the Only which I believe was the parent for the Fringe cafe in Vancouver, both these restaurants have some of the same roots but are thousand miles apart, if you have been to booth you will understand what I mean.

That great Greek area was so different and I used to walk up and down the Danforth and was surprised by the amount of boarded up buildings the closer you would get to Scarborough, the big mall must have effected the business on this strip, it had so many cool cafes and little ethnic shops, but in 2000 there were all boarded up, it got me thinking what makes a restaurant last, after 20 years a restaurant almost becomes part of history, being 20 years in a customers life the restaurant almost becomes like a family. People come and go, customer leave for years then come back to find many familiar faces, it is an easy reentry into an old nebourhood and where nothing is familiar.

So here is a toast to all you old dogs out there

[shelora]

Well said Stovetop. I am personally fascinated and intrigued by people's food memories and how a restaurant's history enters into it - it's like part of one's extended family.