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Recap: Swine & Dine YEG at Zinc Restaurant
On Sunday May 24, 2015, Chef David Omar hosted Swine & Dine Edmonton’s first ever brunch at Zinc Restaurant. Located in the Art Gallery of Alberta, and with a glass wall giving way to a view of city hall and Churchill Square, I think Zinc is one of the most beautiful rooms Edmonton to have a meal.
While past Swine & Dines have had a start time with all diners digging in at the same time, we switched things up and allowed Swine & Diners to book their own table anytime during the regular Sunday brunch hours of 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. I organized a table of 14 for the occasion – finding friends who want to indulge in an all-Alberta-pork brunch was not difficult.
When we arrived Chef Omar allowed me to have a sneak peak in the kitchen where he was carefully dunking slices of bacon in chocolate in preparation of our dessert course.
An assortment of pork-packed pastries had just come out of the oven when we arrived.
The smell of bacon, fig, strawberry and orange tarts, bacon cinnamon buns and croissants filled the kitchen.
When I mentioned that it looked like someone had taste-tested these bacon cinnamon buns, Chef Omar confessed it was him.
There is no room for plain pastries for a Swine and Dine brunch at Zinc Restaurant – instead patrons were treated to these caramelized pear, bacon and nutmeg croissants.
The pastries course was complimented with root beer bacon butter and blackberry jam.
Sadly, this gluten-free girl couldn’t indulge in the bacon-packed pastry course, but Chef Omar did make me a plate with the bacon, fig, strawberry and orange tart filling to be enjoyed with crisp bacon bits, blackberry jam, and a selection of cheeses from the traditional brunch menu. It was delightful!
The pastry plates from my table of Swine & Diners were sent back to the kitchen licked clean.
Next up was the entree – a generous serving of Paradise Valley free range Alberta pork belly atop a white bean ragout, gala apples, onions, horseradish, and Saskatoon berry syrup and topped with a fried egg. Sweet and savoury – I let my egg yolk drip over my plate before polishing it off.
To finish our meal we indulged in a bite of maple bacon crème brûlée topped with candied pork rinds and served with a crisp piece of chocolate dipped bacon. With just one bite I knew that a Swine & Dine brunch was a great idea.
Even though we were stuffed, Chef Omar brought out an extra plate of chocolate dipped bacon; it disappeared immediately.
Chef Omar and his culinary team produced an amazing three-course meal for our first ever Swine and Dine brunch. Zinc’s regular brunch menu is full of delicious pork dishes, you can visit them inside the Art Gallery of Alberta at:
Zinc Restaurant
2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
780-392-2501