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Hip Edmonton

By Genevieve Paiement

Once best known for its sprawling West Edmonton Mall, these days Alberta’s capital is experiencing a cosmopolitan culture boom. With its thriving arts scene, top-notch restaurants, stylish hotels and trendy boutique shopping, suddenly Edmonton is looking downright sophisticated.

See

Culture vultures should make a beeline for the city’s bustling Downtown Arts District. Check out the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, home of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, where such diverse acts as Rufus Wainright and the Harlem Gospel Choir have appeared. Or visit the nearby Citadel Theatre, where five performance spaces showcase everything from classic musicals like Oliver! to cutting-edge, independent productions from Canada and abroad. But you’ll have to wait until 2009 to see the district’s crowning glory on Sir Winston Churchill Square. That’s when the dramatic new Art Gallery of Alberta, designed by acclaimed L.A. architect Randall Stout, will be complete. (Think stainless-steel curves and lots of glass.) For now, check out the museum’s collection of over 5,000 works of art and travelling exhibitions at its nearby temporary location.

Shop

Discerning style hunters head to Madeleine’s Home & Gift Boutique, an exclusive lifestyle emporium stocking Israeli Dead Sea mineral-based Ahava cosmetics, Vera Wang dishes and Vie Luxe scented candles — not to mention jewellery, baby goods and linens. And for those who like the comfort and convenience of a mall but want that chic boutique experience, there are some surprisingly fashionable finds in that old favourite: the West Edmonton Mall (which still holds the title of the largest mall in North America). Pop into cult-status Italian bag purveyors Mandarina Duck, peruse the powders at hip Swedish cosmetics seller The Makeup Store (their only Canadian outpost) and marvel at the 5,000 square feet of high-end kitchen wares at Le Gnome, the city’s premier one-stop shop for serious home chefs.

Eat

Every Saturday, year-round, dedicated foodies flock to the Old Strathcona’s Farmer Market in the historic and newly hip Old Strathcona neighbourhood. Nibble on such made-in-Alberta delicacies as North Country Bison Meats' organic bison jerky and Crystal Springs Gouda; then bring home a jar of golden Meadow-Sweet alfalfa honey. For dinner, head to the outstanding Hardware Grill for what chef-owner Larry Stewart calls “Canadian prairie cuisine” and a wine list that spans 600-plus bottles. Try the soy-lacquered duck and homemade duck sausage with crushed blue-mascarpone potatoes, winter squash-pear hash, pine nuts and balsamic-fig sauce – phew! That’s a mouthful…

Sleep

If you think “boutique hotel” equals austere minimalism and lots of beige, the Union Bank Inn in the heart of downtown will pleasantly surprise you. The property combines comfort (gas fireplaces, fleece robes and goose-down comforters) with style (unique rooms decorated by leading local designers in a historic 1910 Modern Renaissance building). The hotel’s restaurant, Madison’s Grill, with its market cuisine and well-chosen wine list, is equally impressive.

(Montreal-based editor and writer Genevieve Paiement last wrote for onAir about Auckland cuisine in the March Issue.)

TOP PHOTO: IZABELA HABUR / ISTOCKPHOTO
HARDWARE GRILL: NOEL ZINGER