I didn’t participate in Earth Hour. I didn’t do it this year, last year, nor any year before. Do I hate energy conservation, environmental awareness, or do I not believe in global climate change or something? I would hope no one could accuse me of anything of the sort, given previous blog posts on cycling, local food, or composting.

For me, Earth Hour is akin to reposting a status on Facebook, or changing your profile picture to a cartoon character: fun as it may be, it is ultimately useless. (And I say that even despite having been Darkwing Duck for a few days on Facebook, but I did that for fun not under any illusion of it making any kind of difference.) That is, unless it is followed up by some actual action sustaining the cause in question.

I get that it’s an awareness thing. I think awareness of causes is important. But I think they serve little purpose when they require little to no effort on the part of those participating in the awareness campaign. Unplugging stuff and turning out the lights for an hour requires little more effort than copying and pasting a status on Facebook. After that hour is over, what about the remaining 525,540 minutes in the year that aren’t Earth Hour? How many of those rallying behind it are making longer-term changes to their lifestyle in meaninful ways that make a bigger impact in the rest of those minutes?

I’m sure it doesn’t ring as hollow for many out there, and to you I salute your ongoing efforts. For everyone else, making a difference takes effort and work, and sometimes a little money (but it doesn’t have to be that expensive either). My suggestion? Forget Earth Hour and make everyday lifestyle changes instead, such as these easy (and often obvious) ones:

• Replace your lights with CFLs and turn off lights in empty rooms
• Get a programmable thermostat to turn down the heat at night and when you’re not at home
• Spend a little more up front on your house to live closer to where you work, shop, etc.
• Replace your windows, furnace, hot water heater and appliances with more efficient ones
• Use a drying rack for your clothes instead of a dryer
• Compost your organic waste, and make the utmost best use of your local recycling programs
• Buy more local food, or even try growing some of your own
• Bus to work, or consider taking up cycling during the summer months
• Where you do need a car, consider something smaller and more fuel-efficient

There’s lots more that can be done of course, but these are very basic, simple, everyday things anyone can do to make a difference in how they live every year for the entire year, not just an hour of it.

[singlepic id=47 w=320 h=240 float=left]Continuing the Downtown Dining Week experience (part I is here), Jenn and I stopped in at Moriarty’s for dinner on Wednesday evening. Being a wine bar, we of course had to have a glass of wine with dinner. I ordered a Napa Cellars sauvignon blanc, which was enjoyable. Jenn ordered a glass of Tenuta Santa Anna pinot noir-merlot rose, which was also quite good.

We ordered the 3-course Downtown Dining Week special. The first course was a small caesar salad, with sundried tomato and pine nuts, both of which added nicely to an otherwise usual salad. The second course was a flank steak pinwheel, duck perogies, and asian slaw with Earl Grey sauce. I have to say I was disappointed with what might have been a great dish, but it was absolutely saturated in black pepper. Overwhelmingly so, it drowned out all other flavours that might have been there (and to think they offered us more fresh ground pepper when they brought our dishes out – good thing we declined). The duck perogies were good at least and not too peppery, but even their flavour was lost after a few bites of the steak and slaw. The third course – dessert – was a mint and chocolate brulee and a scoop of chocolate gelato. I enjoyed the brulee, though the mint was maybe too subtle. Jenn definitely thought it should have been mintier, and and also wished the chocolate layer had been thinner and easier to break. I personally thought the chocolate gelato was good, but it wasn’t anything special. Jenn wasn’t even sure it was actually gelato.

I like the selection of wines at Moriarty’s, I like the decor (bunny lamps included), and our Downtown Dining Week experience last year was much better. The service was also pretty reasonably good. I’m likely to return for at least these reasons (unlike our experience at Madison’s), and I hope the next food experience there will be better.

This evening (Friday), we went to Niche. We hadn’t given Niche much thought before, but we were the lucky winners of a $25 gift certificate from a contest by The Journal. I got nervous when I first called to make the reservation on Thursday, when they had told me they were already booked up. This is when I found out how small the place really was (ergo the name I guess). I was able to book a reservation at the bar, though, which was apparently wide and still comfortable enough for dining.

When we arrived (15 mins early for our reservation even), we were told they could actually accommodate us at a table instead of the bar, which was a nice surprise. It was quiet when we first arrived, but we could hear behind us the staff were busy taking calls and declining reservations due to being booked up for the evening. I ordered a glass of White Wire, and Jenn ordered a Spiced Cherry Ginger (Sailor Jerry and ginger ale, with some fresh shredded ginger and a cherry. Both drinks were very tasty. It looked like the only menu offering was the Downtown Dining Week menu, with a choice between a 5-course meal or a 3-course, both with several options. We both opted for the 3-course with the same options, starting with the quinoa salad with roasted veggies, spinach, and goat cheese, tossed in a lemon tahini vinagerette. The salad is probably one of the best I’ve had; the spinach was fresh and soft, the goat cheese was mild and tasty, and the flavour and texture of the quinoa was excellent.

For the second course we both ordered the duck confit with golden mashed potatoes and lemon thyme gravy. The duck was excellent and flavourful, and fell right off the bone. Jenn commented that she wished the skin had been a bit crispier. The mashed potatoes had an excellent texture and tasted great, and the gravy worked well with both. Dessert was a salted brownie with a lemon honey whipped cream and a caramel sauce. I actually found the brownie slightly too salty, and would have preferred the salt be a little more subtle. It was still very good, though, the sauce and the whipped cream did subdue the saltiness somewhat. Jenn didn’t find it was too salty at all, so it’s entirely possible I’m just more sensitive to it.

By the time we left the place was almost full, and they were turning away people at the door who were hoping to drop in without a reservation.

Niche has interesting decor (including an interesting concept for the washrooms), great food, and great service, and excellent wine and cocktails as well. We are very likely to come back here (with a reservation made well in advance of course).

I’d like to close with a little mostly related anecdote: After dinner at Niche, we walked to 104 St. hoping to stop in at the new Queen of Tarts shop (here’s a link to a review on another blog, since they apparently don’t have a website or even so much as a Facebook page – and there’s really not much excuse for not having these things in this day and age) to check them out and maybe pick up something for breakfast tomorrow. We arrived at about 6:45, opened the door and started downstairs into their shop when a woman behind the counter informed us that they were closed. We stood on the stairs for a minute, a little bit dumbfounded given that a) the door was open, and b) there was no sign indicating whether or not they were open and c) there were no hours posted anywhere to be seen. We asked why their door was open and informed that they were receiving a delivery (though we didn’t see any delivery vehicles). They simply apologized and suggested we come back tomorrow. Not even that politely, either.

Take heed, local businesses, especially those just starting up: If you are closed, please put out a sign. Post your hours on the door. Get a Facebook page at the least, or a website on which you can also list your hours. And if – with none of the above criteria having been met – you leave your doors open after closing time and a couple of new potential customers happens through your door, don’t just turn them away! At least offer to let them in, have a look around, and maybe – if at all possible – offer to make a sale anyway if they want to buy something. That can make the different between a glowing review and a regular customer, or a disgruntled blogger who is already disappointed in your shop and unlikely to return now.

Friday saw the kick off of Edmonton’s 8th annual Downtown Dining Week. Jenn and I decided to take in a couple of the venues, one for lunch and one for dinner. I made us a lunch reservation at Madison’s Grill (in the Union Bank Inn), and a dinner reservation at Zinc (in the new Art Gallery of Alberta, where we also bought ourselves a membership to the gallery and took in some of the current exhibits before dinner).

First up, Madisons: To set the stage, when I arrived they had no record of my reservation. I was told they “might be able to squeeze [me] in,” to which I politely reminded them that they ought to given that I had called and made a reservation, which they subsequently lost. I should also note at this point that there were at least two other tables that sat empty during our entire stay. “Might be able to squeeze you in” indeed.

I ordered the Spring Creek Ranch Steak Salad (Option 2 on their DDW menu), while Jenn ordered the Irvings Farm Pork Tenderloin (Option 1). I also ordered a glass of Peller Estates Riesling, which was actually pretty bland. The food itself was good, but not great, certainly not what we expected from a place with a name and reputation like Madison’s. My steak was well cooked but poorly seasoned, and the flavour of the gorgonzola – while reasonably good by itself – overpowered everything else. Jenn’s tenderloin was good, but – as she put it – not good enough to make up for the rest of the experience.

Zinc, on the other hand, was totally the opposite experience. We found we needed less time to browse the gallery than originally thought, so I called to push the reservation a half hour earlier. They were more than happy to accommodate the change. There was the odd matter of not being able to enter the restaurant from within the gallery itself and having to go around from the outside, though that may have been due to a special event happening in the gallery that evening.

Service was a little slow, but our waiter was very friendly and professional. We of course both ordered their Downtown Dining Week special, and I also ordered a glass of Pierre Sparr Gewürztraminer. While waiting for the first course we noshed on some fresh brioche with sundried tomato butter. To our surprise, Chef David Omar himself brought out our first course and explained the dish – Nori Wrapped Salmon, Salmon Roe with Creme Fraiche, and Lemon Garlic Dressed Microgreens. The microgreens were refreshing with only a mild bitterness; the flavours (and the pop) of the roe and the creme fraiche played well together, and the nori-wrapped salmon had a very “pure” salmon taste, though the nori was only a tiny bit difficult to cut through.

The wait for the second course was fairly long, but it was worth it; Salmon Chowder and Crimini Bannock. The salmon was cooked to flaky perfection, and contrasted nicely with the Yukon gold carrots. The cream sauce was served separately in a stainless tea pot, so you can serve as little or as much as one desires (the salmon stood up well even without the sauce). A small wooden dish held fresh Italian parsley and herbed coarse salt. I enjoyed the flavour of the crimini bannock, but personally found it a touch too salty. Jenn didn’t think so, so I attribute it to my tastes having been a touch sensitive that night (perhaps due to the less-than-impressive lunchtime wine).

We opted not to wait too long for the final course, having been given the choice. Once again, Chef David Omar delivered it to us personally, taking a moment to explain his overall creative vision for the meal. (Other Downtown Dining Week participants take note here.) The final course involved Maple Candied Salmon, Beet Sorbet, and a
Carrot Macaroon. The candied salmon was very complex and flavourful, a perfect blend of sweetness and saltiness. The macaroon was dipped in white chocolate, and while the flavour was also excellent, I found it was too sweet for me – again, I think this was just my tastes being overly sensitive this evening. The beet sorbet was a surprisingly refreshing treat with a much milder flavour than one would expect from a beet-based dish, especially given the deep red colour.

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Overall the meal was very enjoyable and the experience was very memorable. We especially enjoyed the presentation of the dishes, and Chef David Omar’s account of finding his inspiration in the new gallery exhibits of Emily Carr’s Coastal Landscapes and the Haida artworks (the salmon), as well as Brian Jungen’s reuse of materials (the beet sorbet was made from leftovers of other dishes, while the macaroon used juice from the carrots of the previous course). As Jenn put it, it was like being on an episode of Iron Chef.

It amazes me that the two experiences we had were such contrasts from each other. If the goal of Downtown Dining Week is to get people to come in and try a restaurant that they might not try otherwise, the meal offerings should probably have some “wow” factor. Madison’s did not impress me at all in this regard; I feel that their Downtown Dining Week menu was almost a token offering to the event rather than an opportunity to show off their culinary skills, not to mention the service was very disappointing, and the wine sub-par. Zinc, even though a bit slow, still managed to provide a memorable service experience and offer us an interesting and delicious meal that will likely bring us back again.