Sitting Out the Alberta Winter with Fried Chicken and Spiked Frulattes at Marv's in Black Diamond, Alberta

Worth the Trip

The Cowboys have a few favourite ways to pass the time when it is cold outside. 

One way is to visit friends in Alberta to do some home-style cooking. Marv Garriott, the owner of Marv's Classic Soda Shop and Diner, invited us to Black Diamond for such a visit. He wanted to tell us more about his special fried chicken and unique peanut butter burgers. We had a little surprise installed for him too with a spiked Frulatte!

This is part of the TWO COWBOYS' EPIC GLOBAL TRAVEL & CULINARY EXPERIENCE - 2019! 

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Winter is a particular time in Canada. Canadians find all kinds of ways to make the most of the snowy, frosty season. Ice Hockey, Ice Fishing, Skiing and Sledding are a few of the activities that make winter exciting and bearable. You also have the festivities of Christmas Markets and the Holidays that precede the big freeze.

However, by late February and early March, the novelty of winter has worn off. Canadians become grumpy and start to look for something new to do. These are also the hardest months for some of Canada's tourism-related small business owners. People avoid travelling when it is cold. It means that business is slow during the mid-winter months.

If you are in locations outside the main centres, you are hit harder. As a business owner, you really have only two options during this time. Either, you shut your doors and sit it out, or you find ways to draw attention to your store with something new or unique.

A fifties diner is not new or unique. However, Marv managed to add his own personal style to this iconic attraction in small-town Black Diamond. During the Summer months, weekends are busy when people stop for a malt shake, ice cream and his unique hotdogs, sodas and burgers.

During winter things are really slow. It is then that Marv comes up with new recipes and twists on old favourites like his trusty crispy fried chicken. According to Marv, it takes a little longer to properly prepare his chicken. That is why it is not on the menu during the busier summer months. He reserves the chicken for the slower winter months instead. It is hearty and worth the trip to have produce that he sources locally, brine, bread and cooks personally, for his loyal customers.

Observations

We've often seen in Canada that small business close down during the winter months. They do it to preserve cash and to prepare for when the warmer season starts again. It has a knock-on effect for others in the community. When small businesses close their doors, even if it is temporary, then casual staff go without wages, local producers don't sell their produce, and destinations don't attract visitors.

Surely, this cannot be good for their communities. Kudos to Marv for staying open and supporting his local clientele. All we can ask is that you give him a hand by stopping by for some fried chicken or burger, and a milkshake. Who knows, you may also be able to have a yummy Frulatte to remind you of the approaching summer? In the mid of winter, we know, it is a welcome reminder.

Hendrik
Frulatte Cowboy

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Classic

Burger Filming

Burger Making

Frulatte, Eh!

Two Cowboys: Every Individually Perfect Pierogi is Pinched by Hand in Airdrie, Alberta

The Little Things

When you work with dough, every batch is a little different. Only the trained eye and the sensitive touch of a master baker is in tune with the moods of the gluten gods. They all say that knowing dough is to understand its feel.

The perfect pierogi has the same demands for detail and attention. Emma Linton knows that to craft the ideal delicate shell of her creative flavour explosions, she has to pay particular attention to the dough’s consistency, bounce and stretch. She feels with her hands for when the mixture is perfect. Every pierogi is hand-crafted. She makes her pierogies the way its traditionally been made. She pinches them by hand.

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When she makes them by hand, she can trust each one to provide a thin, yet sturdy housing for her traditional and more adventurous fillings. The shell enhances the overall taste of the morsel, and it promises to remain closed so that no filling leaks out during steaming, cooking, frying or grilling.

Emma makes a lot of pierogies. She sells them at several farmers’ markets in and around Calgary. It is also available for online order through her website (http://www.pinchedbyhand.com) and delivery within Alberta.

We checked in to see how she does it and she obliged us with a privileged look into the inner-workings of pierogi making genius, by taking us through her processes. We are not divulging any secrets, but it is safe to say that as it is with all the simple classical recipes, it has a lot to do with the method of making and with the quality of the ingredients. In the case of pierogies, it also has a lot to do with practice and patience.

Pinching every one by hand is a tedious job. Why then the attraction is to do it? According to Emma, pierogi making was, and still is a family affair. It has a social aspect to it. It brings people together to collectively prepare food and share a meal - something that is quite unique to our species. When Emma makes pierogies, it brings her people together, and it is her hope and wish that it does the same for others.

Observations

Pierogi making is a lot simpler than most people think. A little dough, some filling, a bit of creativity, practice and patience and time with family and friends around the kitchen table.

Not only is it simple, it also allows small quantities of food to go a long way. If you have leftover meat or vegetables from another meal that you prepared, you can mush it together and work it into a filling for pierogies. Add some extra spices or flavouring sauces, and you will soon have your own style and unique pierogi creations. Freeze it to keep it and fry it up with lots of butter when it comes time to enjoy it.

If you are pinched for time and cannot go without your pierogi fix, then Emma will look after you. Enjoy her pierogies because it gives her a chance to come up with another recipe. Emma's pinched by hand pierogies comes with the Two Cowboys endorsement. It is that good!

Hendrik van Wyk 

Pinched Cowboy

 We earn our livelihood by producing great content and supporting inspiring people, businesses, and communities. Please book us here so we can tell your story too. If you want to see us do more of these, then please forward the favour. We will use it for the next episode to promote a local business or event.             

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Yum!

Market Day!