This article by Margarita Wilson appeared in our Info Edmonton Magazine—March/April 2022.
WHERE EDMONTON’S FAVE FOODS CAME FROM—AND WHERE TO TRY THEM…
Over the years, a few foods have emerged as tried-and-true favourites around the city—dishes that can be considered Edmonton signatures. But how did they get that way? We’re diving into the history of some of Edmonton’s signature foods, and giving you the best places to try them for yourself.
Green onion cakes
You can’t talk about Edmontonian delicacies without mentioning green onion cakes. These phyllo-pastry and onion treats are so much a staple of our city that there was even a push in 2015 to make them our official food. While it’s still not official yet, they’re pretty much everywhere in our city especially come festival time, where the lineups prove just how tasty and popular these treats really are.
Though savoury cakes made with green onions or scallions are popular throughout China and Korea in different iterations, Edmontonian green onion cakes are unique in that they use a leavening agent, such as baking powder. They come in both pancake- and doughnut-shaped varieties, depending on which seller you’re getting them from. Their origins lie in 1978, when Siu To, aka the “Green Onion Man”, began selling the pastries out of his two restaurants, Happy Garden and Mongolian Food Experience. Having immigrated from Northern China, he brought along his recipe for pancake-shaped, savoury green onion cakes. The original is also notable for the time and effort that goes into making it. According to Siu To, it takes seven times as long to make a green onion cake as it would a typical dish, but it’s worth it if it means sharing his heritage and making customers happy. To’s first customers were immigrants from Taiwan, who eventually began bringing their friends and spreading word of the delicious confections. To then began selling his green onion cakes at some of Edmonton’s biggest festivals, including Heritage Festival and Taste of Edmonton, which drove up his reputation and his sales. Other local restaurants began offering their own spin on the dish, and the rest is tasty, tasty history.
You can still find the original at the Green Onion Cake Man (9132–118 Ave.), where you can also purchase the cakes to cook for yourself at home. Lots of local places offer their own version of the treat, including Double Greeting Wonton House (10212–96 St.), which offers deep-fried onion cakes, and Chili Hot Pot (7219–104 St.), where you can get it as a side dish for your soup.
EDMONTON DONAIRS
When it comes to a hearty lunch or dinner (or breakfast—we won’t judge), it’s hard to beat a donair. These tasty wraps are full of shaved beef or chicken, a sweet sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Like the donair itself, its origins are a blend, influenced by Turkish doner, as well as Lebanese and Greek proprietors. They’re such an Edmonton staple—with over 150 donair shops in the Edmonton region, more than any other city in Canada—that YEG can easily be called Canada’s Donair Capital, even though Halifax made the donair their official food in 2015.
Edmonton donairs are just as tasty to some as they are controversial to others. Edmonton donairs are distinct from the wraps you might find in Halifax, widely considered the place where donairs first made landfall in Canada. Unlike Haligonians, Edmontonians like their donairs with lettuce. Another difference is the option to get tzatziki or garlic sauce in place of the traditional sweet donair sauce. Overall, it seems Edmontonians are more loose with their considerations of what constitutes a donair; it’s taboo to call a wrap with chicken a “donair” in Halifax, but we don’t bat an eye up here. Shape-wise, the Edmonton donair has much in common with a pita wrap, perfect for picking up and enjoying on the go. Their delicious cousins include gyros, typically made with pork, and shawarma, which uses cuts of marinated meat rather than shaved slices.
The Edmonton-style donair has its beginnings with Chawki El-Homeira, otherwise known as Charlie Smart, a Lebanese immigrant who came from Halifax to Edmonton in 1978. In 1982, he opened Charles Smart Donair, regarded as Edmonton’s first donair shop, on Whyte Avenue. His target demographic was Atlantic Canadians moving west to work in the oil fields, who he correctly supposed would want a taste of home. El-Homeira’s claim to the title of Edmonton’s donair king was bolstered by “The World’s Largest Donair,” a five-foot-seven, 660-pound creation that he kept inside his cold storage fridge. That same year, fellow Lebanese immigrant Sam Tawachi opened his own Edmonton donair shop, which would later grow into Athena Donair; Athena still supplies donair meat to many of Edmonton’s donair shops today, as well as donair shops around the province and beyond.
El-Homeira sold his business in 2008 and Charles Smart Donair has since closed, but his and Tawachi’s legacies live on in the dozens of donair shops that now call Edmonton home. Try High Voltage (10387–63 Ave.) for unique recipes like Caribbean Jerk Donair, or Swiss Donair (8308–144 Ave.) for their “mixed” donairs, which include both traditional donair meat and marinated chicken. Those with gluten sensitivity can still get their donair fix with Wheet Nothings (5411–51 St., Stony Plain), which offers a completely gluten-free menu. For a real Edmontonian meal, pair your donair with warm french fries—or combine the two with a mouthwatering donair poutine from Shan’s Kitchen (Premium Outlet Collections, 1 Outlet Collection Way, Leduc).
PEROGIES
In Western Ukraine, they’re pyrohy, in Eastern Ukraine, they’re varenyky, and in Poland, they’re pierogi. But here in Edmonton, you know them best as good old perogies. These tasty dumplings are traditionally filled with potatoes and cheese, but the great thing about them is that you can fill them with pretty much anything you want, from blueberries to sauerkraut. Whether you enjoy them boiled or fried is up to you. Their close ‘relatives’ include Russian pelmeni, which are smaller and filled with ground pork, as well as piroshki, which are made of a yeast dough bun filled with a variety of fillings. They’re also said to potentially have their origins centuries ago in Chinese-style dumplings.
Perogies first came to Edmonton in the early 20th century, brought over by settlers from Ukraine and Poland coming to Canada as farmers. Their simple ingredients and abundant energy (they’re a carb-lover’s dream) made them perfect food for farmers working long, hard days on the prairie. However, it was with a second wave of immigrants following World War II that perogies really caught on in Canada. New immigrants from Poland and Ukraine opened restaurants across the country that served the dish, and churches began selling perogies in their fundraisers. By the latter half of the 20th century, perogies had become as much a staple of Canada as they were of Eastern Europe.
Today, Edmonton could reasonably be considered the perogy capital of Canada as home to Heritage Frozen Foods, makers of the Cheemo perogy brand eaten across Canada and the U.S., which opened in 1972. Our city is also home to a significant Ukrainian population, the fourth highest in Canada by percentage (behind Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Regina), who continue to share and enjoy this delicious staple.
If you want to stock up on perogies at home, check out the selection at Uncle Ed’s (4824–118 Ave.) or Saskitoba Diner (1501–8 St, #1, Nisku). For a more elevated experience, try the perogies at Rge Rd (10643–123 St.), which are topped with crème fraîche, onion cream, and gouda cheese. Get your perogies loaded.
