Food Notes

• Caffe Sorrentino is now open in Edmonton City Centre. It's definitely a more open space than the previous Polka Cafe, and I'm sure it'll be bustling with business every lunch hour.
  
• A second T & T Supermarket is coming to town! Dickson said a sign is now up in front of the space in Northgate Mall left vacant by Save on Foods. If Calgary can sustain two of these giant Asian grocery stores, I think we in Edmonton can as well.
• Sutton Place Hotel's annual Christmas buffet will be offered starting next week. I'm not sure how many seats are left, but take a look at the extensive menu, and decide for yourself if it's worth fighting for.
• It appears the restaurants of Original Fare will be the the first Canadian group to join the PowerCard Rewards program. Somewhat similar to the points-accumulation system of Open Table, dollars spent at individual merchants are converted into rewards points that can be redeemed for cash. No indication of what "coming soon" actually translates to, date wise.
• Christopher Thrall, one of the food writers for Vue Weekly (and contributor to Edmonton Dining), started a new column in this week's issue which answers reader questions about restaurant suggestions. Good idea.
• Nestle's coffee machine, aptly named Nespresso, is trying to break into the U.S. market. They just recently opened a second specialty cafe in New York, but the article points out that Americans have a different view of coffee than Europeans - many consider it an "experience" that really cannot be duplicated at home. If I happen to pass by Bloomingdale's, perhaps I'll check it out.