Downtown Dining Week: A Downtown Dining Day

This year's Downtown Dining Week spanned from March 10-19, 2017. Unfortunately, I was limited as to when I could taste my way through the core. So, I decided to grab both a Downtown Dining Week lunch and dinner on one sunny Friday.

For lunch, I opted for the Free Press Bistro (80, 10014-104 Street). The Free Press Bistro is a great lunch spot for a tasty sandwich and soup or salad sort of deal. It's almost next door to the Red Arrow downtown office - convenient for travelers who need a quick bite! There's a great selection of sandwiches that are pressed to perfection, which you can enjoy with a hearty and creamy tomato soup, light green salad, or home cut potato chips to boot for $15. The menu does delve outside of the sandwich spectrum, but their Downtown Dining Week lunch offerings showcased their pressed sandwiches and supplied home cut potato chips in addition to your choice of soup or salad for the same price of $15.

A Caesar salad may seem like a simple matter, but there is such a bad thing as a poorly executed one. This, however, was not! The pieces of Romaine lettuce were light and crisp, the croutons added a great crunch, there was a solid salad to dressing ratio, and just the right touch of Parmesan to finish it off.

For my second course, I opted for The Club. The sandwich was a generous size, with a great filling to toasted bread ratio. Perfect crunch on the outside to be met with juicy, saucy goodness on the inside, bacon included! That aioli was delish too! I obliterated the pile of home cut potato chips. Can't stop, won't stop.

For dinner, I went out with a friend to Cocoa's (10222-102 Street) in the Delta Hotel at Edmonton City Centre. Cocoa's is a charming little place, located on the top floor of Edmonton City Centre's west side, right by the movie theatre. It's got a slightly older feel to it, which is comforting in that you can enjoy some finer food without an uptight feel in the air around you. For $28, Cocoa's Downtown Dining Week menu offered a 3-course dinner featuring a baby kale salad, a choice of surf or turf, and a custard for dessert.

The first course salad was a good, light start to the meal and while the dressing was served on the side, the salad itself was a little bit dry for my taste - perhaps there just needed to be a little bit more dressing. The vinaigrette was simple and not overpowering, so that you could still taste all the nuances in the variety of vegetables on the plate. Given the amount of salad served, I found it interesting that it was presented on a rectangular plate, necessitating that you take your time eating it so the baby kale wouldn't end up falling onto the table.

For the second course, I opted for the Cajun Flat Iron. The portion was perfect for the 3-course dinner - generous, yet not so generous that you'd feel guilty for not being able to finish it. I always order my steak at a medium-rare, and it was a little closer to medium, but the Cajun rub was great and the steak itself was wonderfully juicy and full of flavour. The Boursin mashed potatoes and demi-sauvignon sauce were amazing, and the fried onion scattered on top were a great touch!

The third course was a lovely finish. I was anticipating the temperature, texture, and viscosity to be something more like a creme brulee, but the custard was a little thicker, topped with the peach and apricot compote, and chilled. Nonetheless, it was delicious and not too far on the sweet side. The fresh cream and fresh berries were great choices to cut the richness. Bravo!

In comparison to my Downtown Dining Week experience last year, this one certainly blew it out of the water - steak included. I always appreciate this festival for highlighting some of the great eateries in Edmonton's downtown core. Looking forward to Downtown Dining Week 2018!