Take Out Chronicles: Al-Salam Bakery & Restaurant

Al Salam Bakery & Restaurant

10141 34 Ave NW

Edmonton, AB T6E 5X9

(780) 944-0000

Quick snapper to tell you about one of my favorite places in the South: Al Salam Pita. You can choose your own adventure as soon as you enter Al Salam. Go right to explore their Middle Eastern grocery store, turn left to enter their full-service restaurant, or straight ahead is the kitchen and take out counter.

Mixed shawarma platter

I am partial to the mixed shawarma platter. After being sliced from the spit, the beef and chicken are grilled a little bit more before being topped with pickled turnips, pickles, and peppers. The fatoush salad is a loaded with dressing, which always leads to it being a bit limp by the time it gets home. The thick hummus packs a wallop of garlic, which, as a garlic-lover, is something I don't complain about.

Pita

The pitas are made in-house, daily, and toasted as the other food is being prepared so that it's slightly crisp on the outside. The pita itself expands like a pillow and has an inside soft like velvet.

I took me twenty years to try Lebanese food. I had no particular misgivings about it, but I was restricted by the limited options available in my small hometown. Shawarma was just another word I had no idea how to pronounce.  Pitas were a finicky vehicle for tuna salad when I ran out of bread which arrived in bags, flat and lifeless, from the grocery store. Since discovering Al Salam Pita, I've ordered enough shawarma that I feel my pronunciation is getting pretty solid, and, man, now I know what a pita should really be.

MyEmpanadas

MyEmpanadas

10631 51 Ave NW

Edmonton, AB T6H 0K8

(780) 756-1345

Wedged between a laundromat and an abandoned deli on 51st Avenue is MyEmpanadas, a Argentinian empanada shop. In contrast to its dilapidated strip mall facade, the interior is clean, and alive with the aromas of spices and baking pastry. A couple of tables are available, but the business functions largely on takeout orders.

Empanadas

Though MyEmpanadas sells frozen empanadas (bake at home for 15 minutes), I had mine cooked in the restaurant. They arrived golden brown in color with a crispy, flakey crust, and were roughly the size of a pizza pop. I'd suggest 2-4 empanadas per person per meal, depending on the individual and their appetite.

Creamy spinach (L) and beef (R) empanadas

Ten varieties of empanadas are available to choose from, including three vegetarian options. I sampled the beef, creamy spinach, chicken, and cajun pulled pork empanadas. With the exception of the mild creamy spinach empanada, all had moderate--but not overwhelming--heat, allowing their rich and savoury flavours to come through. The cajun pulled pork, my favorite, burst with pulled pork and cabbage and featured a cajun spiced crust.

I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch from MyEmpanadas, I found their prices very reasonable, and I appreciate the option to buy frozen and bake at home. If you've driven by this place and wondered about it, I'd encourage you to next time stop, and head in for a delicious pocket packed with Argentinian flavour.

Restaurant website

Take-Out Chronicles: Papa John's

Papa John's Terwillegar

14030A 23 Avenue

Edmonton, AB 

T6R 3L6

(780) 439-7220

Papa John's is a US-based pizza chain that's had a presence in Edmonton for about a year now. Though there was a period of time during my undergraduate days that I subsisted almost entirely on take-out pizza, these days, the pizza I do eat is usually made at home, so I haven't had the chance to try Papa John's since the chain came to Canada.

This Monday, however, a promo code combined with an exhausting day were the push I needed to order in and try it. The promotion I took advantage of is their NFL Monday Deal which offers a percentage discount (on regular priced items) based on the highest score in Sundays football games. The Seattle Seahawks smoked the Arizona Cardinals 58-0 the day previously, so my discount Monday was 58% -- I think I could really get behind this team!

From left upper corner clockwise: Chicken pizza, cinnapie, pepperoni pizza, cheese sticks; Buffalo wings (center).

Two pizzas, a pepperoni, and a chicken & tomato, were both topped with plenty of cheese and toppings. I prefer their pizza sauce to other chains, bright with tomatoes and the zest of garlic Italian seasonings. The Cinnapie and cheese sticks were on the same pleasingly chewy crust of the pizza. Surprisingly, there are no salads on the menu, so we opted for some buffalo wings to round out our meal. These were decidedly average.

This particular Monday's discount was the highest in the course of the promotion, so it wasn't surprising that the restaurant was flooded with orders. It took just over and hour and a half for the order to arrive (despite the email confirmation indicating 45 minutes), and, it's likely the delivery driver made several stops on the way to my place, as the food was only slightly warm by the time it arrived. This was understandable in light of the promotion, and my patience was greater on account of the discount. I was not expecting to be blown away by the food, and I wasn't, but I was adequately satisfied based on the price I paid; however, had I the additional 42% for regular price, I'm not so sure I would be.

Go Seattle?

Restaurant website

Take-Out Chronicles: Pizzeria Prego

Pizzeria Prego

5860 111 Street NW

Edmonton, AB T6H 3G1

(780) 439-7734

I drive by Pizzeria Prego's bright neon sign on a daily basis, and have occasionally peered in their window on my way to visit Sunterra, but finally ventured in to grab some dinner. They've got a pretty big menu with pizza (of course), pasta (lasagna & spaghetti), wraps, and basic salads and they seem to particularly emphasize their gluten-free offerings.

Caesar salad (large)

The Caesar salad was slightly better than the standard I've had at a lot of takeout pizza places. I appreciated that they packed the dressing separate from the rest of the salad (to avoid sogginess) but there wasn't enough dressing for the amount of salad. I like the shredded parmesan, and the dressing was pleasantly lemony. Nothing special, but a good side for pizza.

Lasagna (individual)

One of the sins many take-out pizza places commit is using their pizza sauce as the sauce on their pastas. Pizza sauce is not pasta sauce! Pizzeria Prego's lasagna came covered in cheese, as it should, with a meaty pasta sauce -- different from what was on the pizzas! It was basic, not mind-blowing, but not terrible. I appreciated the effort.

Pepperoni & extra cheese, standard crust (8")

You can get an 8" two topping pizza for $5, cooked to order, so we decided to get one of those, and one with a few more toppings. The pepperoni pizza with extra cheese on their standard crust wasn't as cheesy as I'd hope, nor was it particular meaty. It was pretty much your standard issue pepperoni pizza.

Chicken, feta, spinach & tomato, whole wheat crust (12")

I got a bit more creative with our 12" pizza: chicken, feta, tomatoes, spinach, and mozza on a whole wheat crust. Pizzeria Prego offers several crust options, including standard, sesame flax, whole wheat, and sunflower pumpkin. The whole wheat was just the right balance of chewy and soft texture with a slightly buttery flavor. The rest of the toppings complemented the crust nicely, but the crust was a total star.

In a lot of ways, Pizzeria Prego is your standard neighborhood pizzeria with plenty of average dishes on their menu. It's clear, however, that some ingenuity has gone into their menu resulting in some gems. For persons with celiac disease or gluten intolerance it's a goldmine. Experiment with their plethora of toppings and crusts and you might even find a new favorite pizza.


Website: http://www.pregopizza.com/

Take-Out Chronicles: The 3 Amigos

The 3 Amigos

4035 106 Street NW

Edmonton, AB T6J 2S3

(780) 490-6394

The 3 Amigos started off as a takeout joint by three brothers (hopefully they're still amigos) from the state of Oaxaco in Mexica. Though they eventually expanded to a full-service restaurant, they still do plenty of take-out, and, after a crazy day at work, it was a take-out kind of night.

The take out side retains the bones of the old Subway restaurant it replaced, but it's clear that plenty of effort has been put in to make the space their own. Often on weekends a guitarist is present to serenade patrons with Mexican melodies.

Amigos nachos with chicken... minus the peppers & onions

The nachos served here are made fresh on-site, not dumped out of a bag. Frankly, I'd enjoy them just as much with nothing on them. The mild salsa provided that we later dumped on top was indeed mild, but tasty nevertheless.

Tamales

We decided to sample both the chicken and the pork tamales. We enjoyed the spicy meaty filling, but, unfortunately, both were pretty dry.

Chicken torta

3 Amigos offers seven varieties of tortas (a Mexican sandwich) to choose from, and I eventually settled on the chicken torta. It was loaded with lettuce, tomato, mayo, onions, refried beans, and avocado. The bread was nicely toasted, fresh & crusty, really complementing the contents. Tortas come with salad or fries. The salad was fresh but a bit naked without any dressing (not sure if that is how it is or if it was an oversight). I think I'll go for the fries next time.

Chicken enchiladas

I've had their enchiladas before, and I really want to like them, but they never have left me wowed. The enchilada sauce is ok. The black beans they come with are ok. I actually really like the potato and rice blend they're served with. I wish I could put my finger on what's missing.

Empanada de pina

The highlight of it all the was the pineapple empanada. The outside was perfectly crisp, and the inside was soft and sweet but could have used more pineapple. It came with ice cream, which was package separately so it wouldn't melt during the drive home. Unfortunately, even the most careful packaging couldn't save it from me forgetting about it on the counter.

Reviews of Mexican restaurants always seem to attempt to judge a restaurants authenticity. I don't think I'm qualified to rate that, but I do know we had a pretty good meal, with a particularly strong start & finish. It's a nice addition to the neighborhood, and definitely worth trying, but I'm not sure I'd trouble myself to get there for a repeat visit if it wasn't so handy.



Website: http://www.thethreeamigosedmonton.ca/