Category Archives: Local Business

Edmonton Restaurant Review: Soda Jerks

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The entrance to the West Granville Soda Jerks.

I remember when Soda Jerks opened their first location at West Point Centre in 2011. The concept of building your own burger from top to bottom at a restaurant was pretty foreign. As such, going there became somewhat of a treat.

Eventually, that first shop closed, and I didn’t give Soda Jerks much thought afterwards. Not until this year, anyway.

A few months ago, I launched YEG Food Deals on Facebook to share my knowledge of restaurant happy hour and daily specials on another platform. It’s the sister site to the pages already found on this blog. In keeping those resources up-to-date, I’m constantly researching and I happened to see that Soda Jerks still existed, just in different areas of the city.

With my information provided to them, I started receiving their newsletters in addition to getting a promotion in the mail. Summertime yielded a feature menu and a BOGO burger offer that was to expire over the September long weekend.

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I’m not one to pass up a deal, so I was inclined to give Soda Jerks a try once more. We ended up at the West Granville location on Winterburn Road (near the River Cree Resort & Casino). It was lunch hour on a Sunday and about a third of the space was occupied by customers.

One of the servers greeted and seated us promptly before giving us several minutes to review the selection. We waffled for a while, but my mind was pretty much set on the Electric Pulled Pork sandwich ($13.50) from their seasonal “Pitch A Tent” options. I thought my boyfriend had made a solid decision. However, upon placing his order, he surprised me by going for the Bacon Jerk Jr. ($17+).

Bacon Jerk Jr. Burger

The latter was a double patty burger with bacon and an extra layer of bun in between. Processed cheese, lettuce, red onion, pickles and thousand island dressing garnished and flavoured the meal. I had a couple of bites and we both agreed that something was missing. I think it may have come down to charring of the meat and toasting of the bun. It didn’t have that grilled or buttery taste that’s so necessary. I also don’t understand why they bother to use processed (American) cheese slices. They still looked like plastic sheets when the burger was delivered from the kitchen.

Electric Pulled Pork Sandwich

As for my sandwich, I felt that it fared much better overall. It was a lot smaller, so I suppose it made for a lighter meal, too. The pulled pork was cooked with a root beer BBQ sauce that had a slight spiciness and sweetness to it. I do believe that they could have left the potato chips out of the sandwich. I get that the chips were included to diversify the textures. Yet, it failed because the sauce made them so soggy that I almost couldn’t tell they were even there. Just the beer bun with grains would have sufficed as the sole starch. On the other hand, I enjoyed the electric kale slaw. I’m quite certain that the base of the slaw used came from those Eat Smart Sweet Kale Vegetable Salad kits found in most grocery stores. But, that’s okay. The slaw was deliciously prepared; I think it was sautéed, so it was warm, and the slightly tangy dressing partnered well with the meat. A slice of melted havarti added a luxurious creaminess to the handheld lunch.

Both of us kept our side simple: Soda Jerks hand cut fries. These were decent. Cut to the same dimensions for even cooking, they were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I did find them to be a bit bland though. I definitely needed the ketchup. I also tried to sprinkle some of their signature seasoning on a portion of the fries. It helped somewhat, but to really add enough flavour, I would have had to douse a lot more on and I didn’t want to do that either.

The Build Your Own Burger Menu
Wednesday’s are a steal with 25% off burgers!

I do plan to go back to Soda Jerks to eat one of their donut burgers because I’m still trying to find something similar to what I sampled in Chicago last year. Although, once that happens, I’m not certain I’d go out of my way to revisit again. Yes, the service was good when we went on this occasion, and the prices are reasonable (especially on Wednesdays for 25 percent off burgers). But, the food was truly just alright. For the money and the calories, I know that better exists.

Edmonton Things to Do: Clay & Cupcakes

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One wall of available ceramics at Clay & Cupcakes.

For the past few years, my obsession became Paint Nite events. I went on numerous outings with friends and I amassed more pieces of art than I know what to do with. I also outfitted myself with canvases, paint, brushes and easels for creative nights at home.

While I still love to do a quick session here and there (it’s such a relaxing activity), the eagerness to go every few weeks has abated. Tucked away between those times have been various other outings: dinners, festivals, escape games and pottery painting.

My finished ramen bowl, which was painted at Crankpots.

I don’t do the latter often. In fact, prior to a February evening at Crankpots Ceramic Studio on Whyte Avenue, I hadn’t been since I was a child. The hours we spent painting our ceramics was a lot of fun. Yet, the experience at that venue wasn’t the best. The space was overcrowded, customers hoarded paint colours, instructions from staff were poor, and we were almost charged twice for our items. Despite my ramen bowl looking gorgeous, I do think that the glazing was subpar because it chipped off (even though my boyfriend and I had been careful to hand wash everything) in a few spots after only several uses. Plus, Crankpots doesn’t phone or email to let patrons know if their pieces are ready to be picked up. I guessed and showed up the following weekend with fingers crossed that our stuff would be available.

Therefore, when my friend suggested we check out BYOB Ladies Night Out (held every Thursday night; a waiver must be signed if consuming alcohol on the premises) at Clay & Cupcakes, I was slightly apprehensive. However, I figured that there was no harm in checking out a new place. It couldn’t be worse than Crankpots. I was right.

The night we decided to go, the two of us rode the LRT and bus from downtown to the Summerside location on Parsons Road. It was easily accessible by transit.

The door prizes for BYOB Ladies Night Out.

We had booked spots in advance through their website. Therefore, when we walked in, tables had already been reserved with each of our names. The $10 payment for the event included a free cupcake ($3.75 otherwise) as well as the chance to win some door prizes. Unlike Crankpots, they do not charge paint, studio or firing fees. The use of all supplies and the space, as well as glazing, is built into the price of the ceramic piece(s) chosen, which means dropping in on any other night shouldn’t even require an additional reservation cost like it does for Ladies Night.

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Should one visit Clay & Cupcakes, I’d suggest sitting to the left side of the door when walking in and closer to the windows for the best lighting. Once we’d settled our stuff down at our table (no cocktails or beer, just bubble teas), we got up to peruse the selection of pieces on the shelves. I noticed that many of them were repeats as I looked around, but several caught my eye. It’s certainly wasn’t difficult to find something to decorate. The only thing one might be weary of is the dollar amount. I’ve learned that these ceramics tend to be a bit expensive. I lucked out on this occasion as I had an ADmazing Savings coupon for 15 percent off. With the discount, I ended up selecting a doughnut jewelry box for under $30, which quite honestly was perfect for me in terms of price and style. The staff member who was working that shift rinsed my ceramic in water to get me started.

All prepped with paint and brushes!

I then went about deciding on paints, which were all laid out by hue on a shelf, essentially in rainbow order. Palettes were stacked beneath them. I grabbed a couple trays and started to fill them with the colours I planned to use. The bottles of paint are to be placed back onto the shelf for others to refill as needed. Brushes — they could use more with finer tips for detailing — and sponges were also available from that area as well. Bowls of water for rinsing brushes had already been set out for each group. Overall, it was a very organized setup and there was actually ample room for guests to work since tables are comfortably set for four people each.

Painting completed! The slip on the right is to be filled out, so they can keep track of your piece.

As is typically the case, it’s recommended to layer the paints two to three times to get an even coat. My friend and I sat there for about two and a half hours making sure we did just that on both of our ceramics. Clay & Cupcakes has a good variety of paint colours, including ones that are speckled. Just check with the staff to make sure that there’s enough in stock to cover everything you plan to do with your piece; we were warned in advance of one or two bottles nearing empty, which they did not have replacements for.

My raspberry chocolate cupcake.

When all was said and done, we filled out a small slip of paper with our email address, phone number and the description of what we had made. We brought that up to the counter with our painted ceramic, and the employee rang our bills through. After I wiped up my hands, I finally ate my raspberry chocolate cupcake. I’m not sure where they get them from, but mine was delicious. While the raspberry icing was sweet, it wasn’t overly sugary, and the cake itself was dense, moist and tasted of dark chocolate, so there was a great balance.

About six days later (shorter than the 7 to 14 days mentioned on their website), I received a phone call to let me know that my box was ready. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it until the weekend, and I should note here that Clay & Cupcakes is surprisingly closed on Saturdays.

My fired and glazed doughnut jewelry box.

I eventually made it there on my Monday off of work. When I showed up, all I had to do was give them my name. The staff member went to the back and I watched as she looked through the shelves at rows of paper bags. It seems that they have all of the fired pieces wrapped up and sorted in alphabetical order by moniker to keep them organized and make them easier to find.

After a few minutes, she brought a package over to me and unraveled the tissue paper to show me the contents. It was my doughnut box and it turned out beautifully! The glazing was applied evenly and thickly, so I’m expecting it to hold up well. I could not be happier with it.

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Before I left the shop, I had to take another peek around. They really weren’t kidding when they told us that new stock arrives regularly. Dozens of new ceramic designs lined the shelves on both sides of the store, and I wanted to buy half of them. I even saw on their social media pages and their website that they sometimes offer glass fusion and silk screening workshops. Both would be extra reasons for me to revisit. Not only does my boyfriend want to go back with me, but my co-workers even thought it’d be a wonderful idea for a future night out, so I suppose Clay & Cupcakes is now my new thing. Crafters and artists, make it yours, too.

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