Bibimbap at Korea House
Korea House: bring on the kimchi
The old Le Stockpot location has been bustling over the last couple of weeks, as a new Korean restaurant has drawn crowds of curious Yellowknifers to 51st and 49th. Korea House is still very much in soft-launch mode, reports general manager Anna Chung.
The menu, which currently features a lots of Korean home-cooking favourites like bibimbap, (a rice bowl with marinated veggies, an egg and hot sauce), galbi (marinated short ribs), various types of meat with spicy bulgogi, kimchi-fried rice and ddeokbokki, a spicy rice cake dish, and jap chae, stir-fried glass noodles, is still in flux.
Next week they’re going to start introducing daily specials, Monday through Saturday, as well as several hearty, winter-friendly soups. In the coming weeks, the menu will become more defined, depending on what items prove most popular. So far Chung has been happy with the reception the restaurant is getting, and she’s been surprised at how much Yellowknifers already know about Korean food.
NWT Brewing: all systems go
A couple of weeks after the Woodyard opened its doors, the NWT Brewing Co. is finally brewing. If all goes to plan, we could be sipping on some local pints by Christmas. Co-owner and brewmaster Fletcher Stevens says the fermenting yeast arrived this week. Once the brewing gets underway, it usually takes around 17 days from grain to glass.
The first local brew to hit the taps will likely be Summer’s Too Short – a Belgian-style white ale, similar to the Fernie Brewing Co.’s Ol’ Willy Wit that’s currently available at the Woodyard, but with more chamomile to add “a little herbal flavour.” The next in line will likely be the Ragged Ass Pine pale ale, followed by Honey Bucket nut-brown.
If YK’s drinking habits over the past few weeks are any indication, Stevens is going to have his work cut out keeping the Woodyard’s burgeoning crowd in their pints. According to co-owner Miranda Stevens, the Woodyard was going through a keg every 41 minutes in the opening weeks. And they’ve had to double the size of their beer orders after twice running out.
“It’s gone better than I ever expected,” says Stevens.
Twin Pine Diner: burger bonanza
Finding that customer demand for his burgers have been far outstripping their hunger for other menu items, Robin Wasicuna has decided to go with the flow and turn the Twin Pine Diner into even more of a burger joint. The menu will be doubling from around 10 to 20 different burger options in the coming months, with new variations hitting the grill every couple of days. He’s even changing the name slightly, adding “Burger Palace and Sandwich Emporium” to the current name “Twin Pine Diner.”
Among the new meat-and-bun creations are creative options like the Fat Elvis – with peanut butter, bananas, bacon, hot sauce and pickles – or the El Rey – a Cuban-inspired pork/beef blend with smoked mayo, Swiss cheese, potato chips and mojo-marinated onions.
Wasicuna is also expanding his sandwich menu with a number of New Orleans-style po’boy subs on baguettes. And continuing with the original artisanal diner vibe, he’s begun making his own processed cheddar cheese in-house and is currently working towards a deal with a farmer in Alberta who, he hopes, will start raising cattle exclusively for the diner.
One of a Thai: home again
One of a Thai moved back to its winter location in the downstairs of the Curling Club last week. The popular food truck’s bricks-and-mortar location features a much more extensive menu than the handful of dishes they serve at the curbside. And this year they’ve expanded that menu even further. There are two new stir-fries – spicy basil and bamboo, and shitake mushroom – and a new Thai-style wonton soup. They’ll also be serving spicy ribs (one EDGE Online staffer swears these are the best in town) and chicken wings made with their garlic satay sauce.
City Limits: new breakfast joint
Nearly a year after a flood caused Trek Restaurant to close, a new restaurant called City Limits opened at the end of October on the third floor of the Day’s Inn. Right now it’s primarily a breakfast joint catering to hotel guests, although it’s also open to the public 6:30 to 11:00 a.m. seven days a week. And they’re hoping to open for buffet dinners in the coming months once a liquor license is sorted out.
The dishes are mostly of the hotel-breakfast-comfort-food variety that you’d expect, although there are several more creative options, like the Japanese-style breakfast called the Aurora featuring eggs, salmon, rice and miso soup.
