REVIEW | POPEYES (NORTH) | EDMONTON

Before we dive in too deep, I should probably provide a disclaimer of some sort. Yes, I know Popeyes is a chain. Yes, it's fast food. Akin to KFC, McDonalds, that sort of thing. But you know what, no one's too good for fast food. It has a time, a place, and a purpose. So you can roll your eyes back now. Let's get started.

If you've ever made a trip down south of the border, you might have heard of, or even tried, Popeyes. Famous for their Southern-style fried chicken, Popeyes has about 2,600 locations worldwide. Edmonton is now home to two of them (and counting!).   

Popeyes' first location in the city, and the first in Western Canada, opened up late last year in the southwest neighbourhood of Tamarack. It was so popular that hour-long line-ups were the norm. Not sure how busy it is now, but being a northside girl, ain't nobody got time (to drive and wait) for that.

Their second location is thankfully much closer for me, situated a little west of Northgate in Griesbach Village. During their opening weekend, my parents were in the area (AKA at T&T) and decided to pick up some Popeyes to try it out. According to them, it was only about a 20 minute line-up, and a 10 minute wait for the food. Then again, they went around 2:00 on a Sunday.

They picked up an 8-piece bonafide meal ($25.99) which comes with eight pieces of fried chicken, one large side, and four biscuits. The chicken comes in your choice of spicy, mild, or both. They decided to get the chicken mild, and for the side, coleslaw.

The chicken is aggressively battered so it's ridiculously crunchy. Probably the crispiest fried chicken out of all their fast food competitors (I'm looking at you KFC). Since the demand is also so great, the quick turnover in the kitchen also guarantees that the chicken is fresh and hot when you receive your order, not just sitting there for who knows how long.

As for the side, I'm not a fan of coleslaw from fast food joints. Usually the recipe calls for 50% slaw, 50% dressing. But the fam did mention the coleslaw had bits of pickle in it, so it's something different. 

Now the biscuits. Many people rave about them, but I didn't find them particularly special. If I were honest, they were a bit chalky tasting.

My dad also wanted to try the butterfly shrimp tackle box ($5.99) since it was pretty inexpensive. The box comes with fried shrimp (tail-on), a side of your choice (he got onion rings) and another biscuit. Do you sense a theme with the colors here? According to the receipt, the shrimp was also supposed to come with Cajun cocktail sauce but we didn't receive any in the bag. 

I say skip the shrimp and stick to the chicken.

More shades of beige -- dessert was a strawberry and cream cheese pie ($1.29). It's what you would expect. Artificial strawberry and cream cheese in a deep fried pastry shell.



All in all, Popeyes' chicken is good, I'll give them that. But to wait in line upwards to an hour? Ehhhh. I'd rather wait for the hype to die down.

Popeyes (North)

popeyeschicken.ca 

9934 137 Ave NW

Edmonton, AB
(780) 250-1133

- CT

REVIEW | LA BOULE | EDMONTON

 

** This restaurant is now closed. **

 

Anytime someone says the word patisserie or bakery, my ears perk up from a mile away. "It's like I have ESPN or something." So knowing my affinity for pastries and cakes, it's sort of sad how my visit to La Boule has been a long time coming.

Situated a little off of Whyte Avenue, La Boule first opened their doors back in December. If you've heard of La Boule since then, no doubt it's because of the multiple flat-lay pictures you see appear on your Instagram feed. Marble tables, white plates, and pretty desserts? Aesthetic goals. They really know how to appeal to their demographic.

We went in Sunday afternoon and found a full house. Space is limited in their seating area so it might be difficult to find a table if you decide to stay in, especially on the weekend. You can already tell it's a popular gathering spot for catch-ups over coffee and cake.

When you make your way to the counter, you'll find three separate glass cases with all sorts of tempting treats. The first case houses eclairs, the second, cakes and tarts, and the third, croissants, scones, cookies, and the like. They also have a small drink menu consisting of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.

Prices are on par with other bakeries around town and considering their presentation and quality of goods, quite reasonable. The only thing I noticed is that their cakes and tarts are on the daintier side.

Éclairs seem to be one of their signature items, considering that they have six varieties on any given day. When we went, the flavours were classic, black forest, pistachio, mango lime, tiramisu, and passionfruit. We went for a tiramisu éclair ($4.00) with Kahlua tiramisu filling, and a mango lime éclair ($4.00) with mango curd and housemade mango jelly.

The choux pastry is thin and narrow, which means they're limited on how much filling can be piped inside. That, combined with the generous dusting of cocoa powder, made the tiramisu éclair a bit dry to eat. The mango lime éclair was definitely my favourite of the two, as the flavour was nice and bright from the lime.

Of course, LT's pick had to be the chocolate espresso hazelnut torte ($6.50) which is enrobed in a silky chocolate ganache and topped with edible gold leaf. All of the flavours shone through but apparently it wasn't chocolate-y enough for my sister. I think she expected actual chocolate cake layers, similar to her favourite Duke Cake from Duchess.

We also tried the vanilla bean sour cherry cheesecake ($6.25) which seems to be a popular pick for many. Hidden underneath the white cheesecake dome is a layer of graham cracker crust and cherry compote. I think this might have been my favourite out of the items we tried. Cheesecakes are usually dense and heavy but this was amazingly soft and light. Surprisingly it wasn't too sweet either.   

The white chocolate raspberry tart ($4.75) was an item that I was most excited to try, especially after Dauphine closed down, bringing my beloved white chocolate pistachio tart with them. In comparison, La Boule's version is less sweet, and a lot lighter and fluffier in texture. Instead of a ganache, the white chocolate portion is more like a mousse. I also liked how the creaminess of the white chocolate was offset by the tartness of the raspberry. The tart shell was also well done in that it broke apart easily but didn't crumble into a mess with each forkful.

La Boule is a welcome and beautifully refined addition to the dessert and pastry scene in Edmonton. I foresee many more visits to them in the future and I'm excited to see them as they grow.

 La Boule

laboulebakery.ca

8020 101 St NW

Edmonton, AB  
(780) 760-2253

 
 

- CT