Tag Archives: YEG Eat

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 Restaurant Review: Lava Rock Grille & Sushi

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The exterior of Lava Rock Grille & Sushi

Living on the far southwest side of Edmonton, I admittedly don’t make to the west end very much. Therefore, I’m often unaware of restaurants that may have opened in that area. Thankfully, Groupon has helped to keep me in the loop. The site has showcased some fantastic offers over the past few months, including one for Lava Rock Grille & Sushi.

When I first saw the deal, I checked the address and, as I suspected, this business had opened in Mayfield Common. Situated to the left of World Health, that location has been home to several other eateries in the past. Most of them were East Indian in nature and none of them lasted long despite the often excellent food. Seeing that a new restaurant was willing to take on the challenge of this doomed space intrigued me and I immediately purchased a voucher.

The Sunday that my boyfriend and I decided to go, I called about 30 minutes before to make a reservation. Although it may not be a necessity all the time, I’d recommend booking ahead. We ate early at 5:30 and there were only a few tables occupied when we arrived, but the place filled up quickly while we dined.

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I have to say that I was really impressed with the interior of Lava Rock. The whole space was gutted and updated from what I last remember it looking like. The front has a bar and the back of the venue is completely open with the kitchen shifted to the side. There are also a lot more tables than there used to be and it’s much brighter and more welcoming as well.

The set menus that we got to choose from.

Once we were seated, the server went over what our Groupon included. Basically, we had our choice of four different set menus that I believe are always available to order even without the voucher. They range in price from $24 (Striploin and Basa Filet) to $29 (Filet Mignon) with Shrimp falling in the middle. We were to pick one meal each — to be filled out on the paper we were given along with our choice of sauces — and we both opted for the 8 oz. Filet Mignon.

Dynamite and Spicy Salmon Rolls

Service was quite prompt. We received our pieces of Dynamite Roll and Spicy Salmon Roll shortly after our order was taken. Truthfully, these were quite basic. I disliked the rice to filling ratio and that the tempura shrimp in the Dynamite Roll wasn’t warmer. The latter is a sign that these were probably prepared in advance. Otherwise, the flavours were fine. The raw salmon tasted decent and the texture was okay.

Read these instructions before cooking the meat.

While we were still working on our maki, the slabs of hot rock were wheeled over to the table along with the meat and sauces we’d chosen. The server quickly ground some salt onto the stones and lay the meat on top to begin the cooking process. Before she walked away, she uttered a few instructions and then left us to our own devices. I do recommend taking the time to read the small card placed at every table. It goes over all the dos and don’ts of dining there. My biggest takeaway is that nothing other than salt and whatever protein ordered should touch the stone. One of the servers had to remind people as they ate. Her reasoning was that everything else burns and creates uncomfortable clouds of smoke.

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In any case, eight ounces of meat is a lot of food! I’m not complaining though. It was awesome. The cut I got was a bit gristly on one edge. However, it was easy to cut off and the rest of the filet was perfect. I like my red meats cooked to a medium rare. Yet, due to the number of items I was indulging on at the same time, the meat did cook a little past that point. It was still so tender though, so no matter. I especially loved the sesame sauce that I paired with my steak.

Beef Ramen and Green Salad

If that wasn’t enough, the meal also included a cup of green salad and a bowl of beef ramen soup. The salad was fresh, but it wasn’t my favourite. There were these teeny little red peppers that just had this odd taste and were a tad too seedy. The ramen also didn’t have much in the way of beef or noodles and it was cold. Mostly, I was disappointed with the flavour as the soup was incredibly bland.

Mixed Tempura

Our dinner was completed with a plate of mixed tempura: zucchini, shrimp, oyster and scallop. The portion wasn’t large. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised that they provided so much seafood rather than the usual veggies. Everything was breaded lightly and had a crisp texture. Nothing was too greasy.

By the time we polished everything off, we were both full and satisfied. Sure, there were improvements to be made; the sushi wouldn’t be my top choice and I’d skip the salad and ramen. But, overall, the restaurant offers great value with these set menus. As long as one doesn’t mind playing a part in cooking their own meal, it’s well worth a visit to eat at Lava Rock Grille & Sushi.