I would like to start by saying that Uncle Ed's is located in a part of the city that I would never normally visit: Beverly (specifically Beacon Heights). I'm grateful that this restaurant forced me out of my comfort zone and got me to branch out. It's really unfortunate when we only stay in our own little corners and miss out on what is happening elsewhere! Edmonton has a massive Ukrainian population - in fact, it's the largest Ukrainian urban community in Canada. So when VUE Weekly said that Uncle Ed's is the #1 Best Ukrainian 2018 in Edmonton... It's probably pretty good. My personal background is Polish and Russian - two countries that boarder Ukraine - and all of those Easter European flavours certainly carry similarities between countries. I was looking forward to experiencing comfort food that would remind me of my grandparents.
Visiting on a Saturday evening, the restaurant doesn't look like much from the outside. Started in 1986 by the Stawniczy family, its got that strip-mall-from-the-80s vibe (but in the case of restaurants you should never judge a book by its cover). Entering the building, I was surprised to see that the entire right side of the space is set up as a store and deli - mainly a place for them to sell sausage (and other products) from their main location in the town of Mundare. (It's a town about an hour east of Edmonton and they even have a giant 42 foot tall sausage there. It's the world's largest sausage.) Mundare clearly knows it's way around a Ukrainian sausage and so you must definitely visit Uncle Ed's to try the kovbasa. I found the store section very interesting and enjoyed a quick perusal of the small aisles. If you're looking for interesting and authentic Eastern European imports, this is the place.
The left side of the room is the restaurant - nothing fancy - just some simple tables and booths. The service was especially wonderful. We had two different servers taking care of us and each of them were warm, friendly, and went above and beyond to make our experience an enjoyable one. I could tell that they take pride in the food and are truly invested in what they do. It feels like a family business in every sense of the word (and they'll happily welcome you into the fold).
Eastern Europeans loves them a soup. And yes, borscht is on the menu. But it's the Kapusnyak (Cabbage soup - $6.00 for a bowl) that caught my eye. I feel like my Polish grandmother used to make something similar to this and I was in heaven after the first bite. A dollop of sour cream is a must and this soup sang in my mouth. Big and bold, it's dense with shredded cabbage and has a strong pickled sauerkraut flavour to it. There were bits of carrot, beans, and lots of dill. Every bite felt like it was fixing my soul and I would return just to eat this soup again. It might not be for everyone. But it's absolutely for me.
Next we were going straight for "The Real Deal," the traditional part of the menu filled with truly authentic Ukrainian plates. You've gotta try a bit of everything! The #8 Mundare Sausage combo (4 perogies, 4 cabbage rolls, 2 baked cheese buns, 2 cheese crepes - $14.00 for full size) seemed to really include all of the items that I wanted to taste. Plus I added Mushroom Gravy ($2.00). For some reason this meal took a really long time to arrive at our table. It seemed like someone forgot to make it. The restaurant was decently busy the entire time that we were there but it wasn't that busy. The server finally noticed that we still didn't have our food and it arrived shortly thereafter. This plate was filled with foods that I was excited to try - some familiar and some brand new. I jumped straight in and tried the famous Mundare sausage, otherwise known as kovbasa. Nicely grilled, juicy, and flavourfully smoked, I can see why this is a great example of Ukrainian sausage. Our server brought two types of mustard to eat it with (hot and mild) and I really loved the way that the hot mustard added a spicy kick. Next, perogies. You KNOW that the menu at Uncle Ed's is filled with perogies, otherwise they would be doing it wrong. Most cuisines around the world feature some sort of dumpling and the humble pierogi are certainly the all-stars of Eastern European cooking. (Who does them? Everyone! Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia...) In Ukraine they're known as varenyky and Uncle Ed's makes four flavours; cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, onion, and sauerkraut. (Each flavour is mixed with potato.) I ordered the sauerkraut ones because that's the type that I remember the most from my childhood. I loved that they came drenched in butter and covered in fried onions and bacon bits (plus served with sour cream, of course). They tasted great! The dough wasn't too thick but had a good bite to it, and each little pocket was nicely uniform. I loved the sauerkraut interior, although it was fairly subtle in flavour (nothing like the previous soup). I enjoyed eating them with