eating is the hard part

Sitting here in the pre-New Years glow, I find myself having a hard time trying to wrap up the last year in words. It seems that 2010 has brought more delicious treats into my belly than I can count, a near death experience, and more heart warming memories than my brain can manage to remember some days. Which I suppose is one major benefit to the blog, as the past two years (can you believe that), are still just a click away.

2010 started with a bang as I moved from Blogger to WordPress, and then replaced my point & shoot camera with a Nikon D90. Nothing like a new look and some sharper images to kick start the year. There was some early travel which saw me following John Mayer around Western Canada, before Sarah and I settled into life here. And then in the fall, we headed south to California to catch John Mayer again. Of course the year was full of meals, new faces, and restaurant adventures. After all it’s a good blog! I think it’s safe to say that as I look back through the year, it brings plenty of smiles.

I thought about breaking the year into good and bad, but there would be so little bad that it wouldn’t be right. Instead, I’m going to do this;

Crazy – Some of my most outrages moments in 2010 were the fast food creations that I set about documenting. From the very basic, and well known McGangBang to the Arby’s version. I have to think my favourite might have been the Glazed Bacon Burger, which featured two honey dip donuts and the inside of a Wendy’s Baconator and my first blog video. Of course, don’t forget about the Big McChicken & Sea.

Travel – Sarah and I were both quieter on this front than we’d been in the years before, but even with limited travel I have to say highlights included Incanto in San Francisco where I was able to see Chris Cosentino cook our outstanding meal and the Oakland Taco Crawl, which saw Sarah and I led around by a group of amazing locals while dining on everything from tongue to pig intestines. Finally, Over Easy, El Mariachi, and CHARCUT in Calgary, all of which rocked in their specific way.

The Social Network – 2010 was the year of social media for me. From creating a Facebook Fan Page for the blog to utilizing the connection power of Twitter to transform online interactions into real world friendships. From the dinner parties with @ZoomJer and his wife @ZoomKD, to the coffee conversations at @Luzzara, to the always heart inspiring dealings with @Lindapalooza, and @KerryPowell, it’s been great. As well, I’ve been able to sit, talk, and eat with some great chefs and producers from Owen (@PrairieMill) to Andrew (@ChefCowan). While some may slag and drag Deadmonton on a regular basis, I know a few minutes with the above (and countless more) will show you how wonderful this river city is.

In the blog-o-sphere, we’ve seen an influx of new ideas and food blogs in Edmonton. From those that come and go in the blink of a meal to those who spend their time preaching from their soapbox. It’s great to see so many people taking an active role. I know we have plenty of space in the city for food so I just hope we can share a meal in 2011. Whether you feel we should only be eating bread that was freshly milled by leprechauns, or you find yourself filling the void with a Rodeo Burger. Read more…

Christmas Dinner was a little different this year. Well actually, if you really want to know, it hasn’t followed any regular pattern since December of ’04. As that was the last Christmas as a healthy, cancer free family. But I digress, this year was different because I prepared dinner. Not just for the homestead, but for the entire Taylor-Deppisch household. That’s right, my present to Sarah’s family was food. Read more…