HicksBiz Blog

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Hicks' Weekly Dish: Rostizado a great addition to Edmonton's dining scene BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Rostizado (by Tres Carnales) 10359 104 Street NW 780-761-0911 www.rostizado.com Weekdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Weekends, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Closed Sundays and holidays Reservations – only for groups of eight or more Food: 4 of 5 Suns Ambiance: 4 of 5 Suns Service: 4 of 5 Suns Dinner for two, just food – basic $30, loaded $60 For a concrete, shining example of the Edmonton renaissance, look no further than Rostizado (by Tres Carnales). The Mexican-inspired restaurant is the brainchild of three talented, well-travelled, 30-something Edmontonians. Within the “healthy Mexican” food trend started by the Chipotle chain, it’s a unique food concept and experience, as far removed from cheap ground meat/salsa tacos as fine steak from hamburger. Rostizado is housed within the 100-year-old Mercer Warehouse, a brainchild of father/son social entrepreneurs Kelly and Devin Pope, who after renovating character buildings, carefully choose and cultivate l ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks on Biz: Edmonton is crawling to the top of Canadian cities BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

There’s a battle plan. Edmonton is galloping along at the head of Canada’s urban growth pack – every statistic available is telling us that. Behind the scenes, there’s a unified urban growth strategy that is logical to the extreme. The unity is all about leadership.  The City of Edmonton, Edmonton Economic Development (EED) – the city’s economic development agency), Edmonton Airports and the Chamber of Commerce all have seen leadership renewal. The new leaders are singing off the same song sheet. The CEOs of Edmonton’s major corporations – ATB Financial, Canadian Western Bank, Capital Power, Clark Builders, Enbridge, EPCOR, Katz Group, PCL, Servus, Stantec, TELUS and others – understand what’s needed and are pitching in. The post-secondary institutions are solidly on board. And if Jim Prentice’s advisers – Edmonton’s political stars Steve Mandel, Mike Percy and Patricia Misutka – are any indication, the new ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Day-old baklava?! Say it ain't so BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 09, 2014

La Shish Taouk 244 Mayfield Common 780-489-1313 www.lashish.ca   Food: 3 of 5 Suns Ambience: 3 of 5 Suns Service: 2.5 of 5 Suns   Dinner for two, just food – basic $20, loaded $55 In the changing ethnic face of Edmonton, La Shish Taouk is an interesting leader. The restaurant began its life as a sit-down eatery where families from Lebanon in particular and the Arabic world in general would bring the clan for a special night out. But eating habits have evolved – we eat out more often, or pick up take-out for dinner. Eating out is far more casual, not as meaningful, and we want to be in-and-out within a half hour. La Shish Taouk is one of the first full-service (i.e. more than donairs) ethnic eateries to understand the trend. There’s now four Shish Taouk restaurants (west end, downtown, Whyte Avenue and Mill Woods). All specialize in inexpensive, fast-produced Lebanese/Middle Eastern food. The mother ship – the original La Shish Taouk a ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks on Biz: Metro Edmonton: United we stand, divided we fall BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2014

Last week, Mayor Don Iveson proudly proclaimed Edmonton's population to be 877,926 based on the 2014 census run by the City of Edmonton itself. In his latest blog, Mayor Don uses the new population growth to advance the argument for a new deal between Edmonton/Calgary and the provincial government: That Alberta’s two major urban centres are now grownups and need be considered partners with, not children of, the Province of Alberta. At the same time, Edmonton Economic Development Corporation head Brad Ferguson has made it his #1 priority to “re-brand” Edmonton in the eyes of Canada and the world as a dynamic, happening city. Ferguson’s message rarely varies – get out there and blow Edmonton’s horn, tell the world we are a strong, confident Canadian urban centre, as important to Canada (and Canada’s urban identity) as Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. I am all for both messages - the renaissance going on in Edmonton and region is a wonder to behold a ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Thanh-Thanh, Vietnamese food at its finest BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2014

BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2014 10:44 AM MDT | UPDATED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2014 11:02 AM MDT Thanh Thanh’s world-famous lemon chicken Article Change text size for the story Print this story Report an error Related Stories Hicks' Weekly Dish:Value personified at Ruth's Chris Hicks' Weekly Dish: Porta Romana good but not great Thanh-Thanh Oriental Noodle House 10718-101 St. NW 780-426-5068 Thanhthanh.ca No reservations, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m. on weekends Closed Sunday and Monday Food: 4 of 5 Suns Ambience: 3 of 5 Suns Service: 3 of 5 Suns Dinner for two, just food – basic $25, loaded $50 Other Vietnamese eateries come and go, the Thanh-Thanh Oriental Noodle House is forever. For 27 years, the Van family’s kitchen has consistently produced some of the best Vietnamese food in the city. Perhaps that should be amended to Canadian-a ... Read the rest of entry »

Blast from the Past - Mayfield Dinner Theatre's Top of the Pops - Review by GRAHAM HICKS

Top of The Pops: A British Rock Invasion Mayfield Dinner Theatre in the Doubletree by Hilton West Edmonton Doors at 6 p.m., show at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Sunday brunch, closed Mondays Tickets, with buffet, $80 to $105. Through February 1, 2015 Review by GRAHAM HICKS The Mayfield Dinner Theatre has truly perfected the art of entertainment. Don’t expect a pop culture treatise from its just-opened Top of The Pops: A British Rock Invasion.  Just enjoy the (much-improved) buffet, sit back and let an entertaining evening of some 35 British pop songs, plus skits featuring the likes of Shakespeare, Henry VIII, Sherlock Holmes and the crazed Scotsman, to wash over you. The economics of the Mayfield Theatre have always been a source of wonderment. How does an unsubsidized theatre manage to keep eight very talented musical actors plus a crack five-person band (on stage with the singer-actors all evening) on the payroll for a three-month run? The answer, of course, is to give the people – a slig ... Read the rest of entry »

The Citadel's One Man, Two Guvnors - is it humanly possible to laugh this hard? Review by GRAHAM HICKS

One Man, Two Guvnors Citadel Theatre, Shoctor Stage Through Sunday, November 16, 2014 Tickets $30 and up, www.citadeltheatre.com Review by GRAHAM HICKS In One Man, Two Guvnors, Francis (John Ullyatt) splays away with a metaphorical comedic machine gun, shooting off humour in every which direction, at every which moment, within every which comedy device ever devised since the first playwright walked on his or her back legs. Lord, this is one great screwball comedy that Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre has used to brighten up its 2014/15 season – up there with previous productions such as Monty Python’s Spamalot, Noises Off, the Noel Coward runabouts and Tom Wood’s initial adaptation of The Servant of Two Masters – on which this show is also based – back in 2002/03. As the program notes usefully point out, British playwright Richard Bean is a worthy heir to the brilliant line of British physical/spoken humour that stretches from Spike Milligan to Peter Sellers, John Clee ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks on Biz: ATB Financial reflects the new Alberta BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2014

It was about a year ago that ATB Financial deliberately upset its own advertising/image apple cart. Gone were the staid, run-of-the-mill banking ads. President & CEO Dave Mowat was being prominently featured, saying “C’mon down and try us.” The ads – everywhere from conventional media to YouTube to Facebook to sponsorships – were cheeky, and fun, and reflected a “new Alberta”. How about the posterior shot of four college-aged kids jumping into the water, with the caption “Who’s got the best assets? We do!” How about ATB being the presenting partner of the upcoming Tour of Alberta cycling race, or lead sponsor of the Edmonton Fringe? Or the pix of a young woman’s clenched fist, with “promise” tattooed above the knuckles? It’s been an extraordinarily bold advertising campaign, something no other bank in the country has done.  What’s most impressive is that it was all done in-house. No adver ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks' Weekly Dish: Sage Restaurant features a taste of Europe BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2014

Sage Restaurant, River Cree Resort and Casino 300 East Lapotac Blvd, Enoch, AB 780-930-2636 www.rivercreeresort.com evenings, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., 11 p.m. on weekends closed Mondays Food: 4 of 5 Suns Ambience: 4 of 5 Suns Service: 4 of 5 Suns Dinner for two, just food – basic $60, loaded $100 Cooking can’t be all work, no fun — a creative chef would go bonkers. Fortunately, River Cree Resort General Manager Vik Mahajan happily releases the enormously creative Shane Chartrand from his day-to-day chores at the resort’s fine-dining Sage Restaurant for a monthly special, a themed evening of five or six set courses with wine pairings at a remarkable price-point of $49 per person. “A Taste of Europe” is a homage by Chartrand to respected European chefs — Jose Andres (Spain), Sven Elderfeld (Germany), Massimo Bottura (Italy), Marco Pierre White (England), Alain Ducasse (France) and Peter Goossens (Switzerland). It’s available as a s ... Read the rest of entry »

Hicks on Biz: Human error is inevitable BY GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN FIRST POSTED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2014

We all want to have our cake and eat it too. We all want to believe minerals, oil and gases can be pulled out of the ground in the Canadian wilderness, processed and shipped safely, with minimal disruption to the environment. That anything grown – trees to grains to livestock – stays within the rules of sustainability, and that those rules move along as scientific knowledge unfolds. I’m reasonably confident that the shared communal interest has resulted in safety and environmental systems and practices in Canada that are among the best in the world. Human error is the wild card. And, most often, human error is the direct or indirect outcome of sloppy corporate or regulatory practices. And sloppy corporate/regulatory cultures, I would argue, are most often caused by excessive/over-zealous cost-cutting or performance expectations. You’ll never see “cost-cutting” listed as an official cause of a major industrial accident in any follow-up public report. ... Read the rest of entry »