Top 5 Restaurants in YEG - Sarah York | Foodies of Edmonton

Foodies of Edmonton’s Top 5 Restaurants in YEG

1.Sabor

This spot has to be my top choice for this exquisite list for top 5 restaurants in Edmonton! Featuring the flavours of Iberian coastal cuisine using sustainable seafood, served alongside the passion and energy of live music with a Latin flare you are sure to enjoy your experience! The atmosphere is lovely along with caring service. Choose from an array of delicious handcrafted drinks using fresh ingredients, with an interesting variety of tapas and well thought out selection of seafood and as they like to call it “landfood”. Too top it off there are many gluten free options!

My dinner of choice would have to be the “Rack of Lamb” with roasted potatoes, vegetables and fresh mint-parsley.

2. The Marc

The Marc is one of those places where you leave and say, “I’ll be back!” Named one of the top three dining experiences in Edmonton and four-time winner of “Best Steak” by Avenue Magazine, it is sure to impress. The decor is simple and unpretentious, with a smooth casual but professional feel making in comfortable and relaxing. There is also the quaint street side patio available, of course in Edmonton weather permitting ;) The service and attention to detail is simply admirable with choices of a variety of traditional bistro fare.

My dinner of choice is the “Arctic Char” With precisely executed pan seared fish, served with couscous, and vegetable pieces. This colorful and summery dish will not disappoint!

3. Central Social Hall

This gastropub is the epitome of the meaning, while serving high-end beer drinks and food. Central began with a focus on its night time atmosphere but following renovations and months of re-working the menu it's clear that they value fresh, unique spins on classic pub fare. Particularly being impressed with the effort they put in to locally sourcing their food. Not to mention the free chicken wings on Friday from 3-6pm ;)

My dinner choice has to be the “Tokyo chicken” with crisp fried ginger + soy marinated chicken, crispy won ton chips with srirancha mayo accompanied by “The Beautiful Salad” grilled herb chicken, avocado hummus, ribbon carrots, candy cane beets, watermelon radish, spinach, cucumber, quinoa, grape tomatoes, toasted sunflower seeds, apple cider vinaigrette

4. Kabuki Sushi and Grill

My top-rated sushi spot by far! Kabuki Sushi has a mind-numbingly wide selection of items on the menu; the sushi, sashimi, tempura, noodles, katsu and don buri (rice bowls), and a higher level of "exotic" variants. There's an adventure in figuring out what to order, and another adventure in consuming your catch! Fancy sushi rolls, easily big enough to share for two on date night. Sometimes the whole adventure is just searching through the menu, pinpointing those rolls which perfectly match the mood.

My dinner choice would have to be and order of “Dragon Eye Salmon”-House special combination of deep fried salmon, green onion and rice drenched in house sauce with the “House Roll”-Shrimp tempura, crab with unagi, avocado, tobiko on top

5. RGE RD

Last but certainly not least RGE RD! As they say it is “off the beaten path” with this Canadian cuisine inspired by our country’s fields and forest, our mountains and oceans. Source ingredients and provisions from farms and small-scale producers across Western Canada. Decadent farmhouse to table food! Those comfort foods you love elevated! Some special points about this dazzling restaurant are that RGE RD organizes a lineup of Farm Dinners across Alberta as well as having a butchery for some freshly prepared terrines, rillettes, sausages and selection of cured meats along with offering fresh baked breads!

My dinner of choice is the “Four Whistle Farms Duck” with roasted duck breast, duck tourtière, oven roasted pear, garden greens, cardamom duck jus. Delicious!

TIPSY TUESDAY - When to Consider Hiring a Social Media Manager | Lilia Communications

Within the last few years, “social media” has evolved from a place where young people post silly photos and chat with their friends to a must-have marketing tactic slash multi-million-dollar business. Every year, something new is happening in the social media world. Platforms are rising, falling, and evolving; algorithms are changing; and more businesses without an online presence are finding it increasingly challenging to stay relevant.

While posting on social media for personal reasons has stayed more or less the same over the years (aside from the styled Instagram accounts of influencers and public figures, most of us still post less-than-stellar selfies and pictures of our pets), social media for businesses has changed a fair bit. Gone are the days of “Oh, this is a cool pic. I’ll post this on Facebook.” Hello calculated social media strategies.

Social media isn’t just something businesses have because “everyone has it.” (If this is your business, I recommend considering a social media manager sooner than later.) It’s now a real marketing tool where businesses invest real marketing dollars and see real results. New analytics integrations have also made it easy for businesses to see exactly how social media is impacting their product or service sales.

While it really is impossible to become an expert in the field of social media, with time, effort, and a little bit of help from someone who has worked in the field for a few years, it is becoming easier to spot what works and what doesn’t. If you happen to be managing your own social media platforms, and you notice any of these red flags, it might be time to consider hiring a social media manager to help you stay on top of your competition:

1. Your social media is inconsistent and does not reflect your business.When I chat with business owners, there are often times when I can tell, right away, if social media is just another item on their to-do list. They don’t necessarily see the value in proper social media strategy and management, so they post whatever they feel like whenever they have time. Unfortunately, there are two main things wrong with this. One, for most businesses, in order to be successful on social media, you need to post semi-regularly. This doesn’t mean you have to post every day (the frequency with which you post on each platform will vary), but you must stay relevant and in the forefront of your consumers’ minds. Secondly, if the content you’re posting does not provide value, represent your company, or help you reach your goals, there really isn’t point to posting at all.

2. You have no idea what to post on social media, and you don’t have time to look into it. As mentioned above, if you’re posting whatever you feel like on social media, without rhyme or reason, there’s a high chance you won’t see desired results. You might not see any increase in following or increase in sales. What you post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. is important, and it varies. Ensuring you’re posting the right content (e.g. videos for Facebook and high-quality images for Instagram), with the right messages (proper tone and voice), and an enticing call-to-action (“learn more about this new product on our site”) can take your social media profiles from dead to vibrant in a short period of time. Conducting this research, planning the posts, writing the content, and finding the visuals takes time which is where a social media manager can help.

3. Your competitors are leaving you in the dust. In some industries (business-to-business sales), fewer companies have a strong social media presence while companies in other industries might not be able survive without it. Regardless of the type of industry your business operates in, you might want to consider investing in a social media manager if you notice you are losing business to a competitor who has upped their social media game. With people spending hours on social media every day, your business is at a disadvantage if your competitors are repeatedly popping up in your customers’ feeds and you aren’t. To stay relevant in your industry, and prevent competitors from scooping up your clients, it might be necessary to invest in social media management.

Of course, if you’re starting a business from scratch, social media is something you might want to consider sooner than later. It’s better to start off on the right foot than make a handful of corrections down the road when your business is established and you’re swamped with other duties and costs.

One note of caution: When you’re hiring a social media manager, I recommend hiring someone who has experience managing social media accounts for businesses or organizations. Unfortunately, posting on social media for pleasure (personal) and business aren’t exactly the same. By hiring someone who doesn’t really understand how to navigate social media for business, you might just be dumping a lot of responsibility and pressure on someone who eventually reverts to exactly the same methods you were once using. You might not see the results you were hoping to see either.

Social media isn’t the be-all-end-all of every business, but it is important. My hope is for every business owner to have a positive relationship with social media, instead of a negative one. If you’re a business owner yourself, and you have any questions about social media, please feel free to message me! I’d be more than happy to provide some advice.

MAD LOVE MONDAY - Lauren Fuller | Sweet Skin Body Sugaring

My name is Lauren (pronounced La-ren) and my business is Sweet Skin Body Sugaring. I chose that service because I love making women feel beautiful and good about themselves. I also chose body sugaring because more people need to know about this amazing, all-natural way to remove unwanted hair. There are no chemicals in sugar (made up of sugar, water & lemon) and will never burn or peel your skin. Its semi permanent and is also a natural exfoliant. Every time someone tries sugaring, they never go back to shaving or any other kind of hair removal.

I was inspired to start my own business because I wanted to be in charge of my own hours/days that I work, I wanted to get into a field that I truly love (I wasn’t happy with my current job), and honestly, my mom was and still is a huge inspiration. She has been sugaring for almost 20 years and has always said I would be very good at sugaring because I have the personality for it. You must be good at making people feel comfortable and welcomed. I think I do a wonderful job at that.

My go to quote would be “you only live once.” I know, sounds so cliché, right? However, I really do believe that if you want to be a business owner, a teacher or an astronaut, then you CAN. Why waste time working at a job that you hate? Living your life unhappy? You have ONE life, so live it the way you want.

I would love to open my own sugaring spa one day! Right now, my business is out of my home and it’s a fabulous set up, but I dream of opening a store front. I could train other women to sugar and they could work at the spa. Doesn’t need to just be sugaring. As long as its all natural! Facials, massage, acupuncture, etc. I hope I can accomplish that within 2-3 years.

I get excited booking clients in, teaching them about skin care, making their skin smooth and building friendships with women. I learn something new from each person that walks through my door. I feel good when they compliment my home and sugaring room. It inspires me to work harder and do better each day.

I felt like giving up a week ago when I was starting to unpack my sugaring room and put everything together. I was very successful in Fort McMurray with my business because I knew way more people and built it up for 1.5 years. Moving to Edmonton has been overwhelming because I’m starting from the bottom again. I have to work extra hard to promote myself. However, I like a challenge and building my business again will be a wicked challenge. I can’t give up. I need to keep motivating myself and tell myself that things take time. I got this.

When I was still in Fort McMurray, I decided to quit my full-time job and only do body sugaring. I was so scared and nervous. My boyfriend was supportive and to this day is still very amazing about me being a business owner. I thought, what if I fail? What if something goes wrong? But it didn’t. I pushed past those nerves and built my clientele base up faster then I ever thought possible. That was a big moment of reassurance for me. Knowing I can do this without failing.

I have stressful days at times, so I usually have a bath, garden or walk my dogs. I find gardening the most therapeutic because I turn the tunes on and get into my own world. I love going to yoga when I have free time as well.

I hope to learn from other YEGBOSSBABES and I hope they learn from me. Us women need to stick together and support one another. This world is harsh, but if I can encourage even one person, my heart will be full.