Two guys meet over pizza, form a strong bro-bond, realize their mutual love of bacon, and soon find themselves doodling names for a food truck they dream of owning one day. That’s a synopsis of Chapter 1 in the story about Mark Bellows and Ryan Brodziak, the two fellas behind The Local Omnivore.
Ryan Brodziak (L), Mark Bellows (R) inside The Local Omnivore (food truck) – photo from TLO Facebook
Chapter 2 sees Ryan and Mark enter a new phase of their relationship with the opening of their permanent digs at 10933 – 120 Street in a light industrial area of Edmonton. Everyone loves it when trucks go ‘brick and mortar’. The guys, it seems, are doing alright.
The menu’s focus is sandwiches with a few token sides (salad, soup, fries, etc.) and is open Tuesdays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an intriguing brunch Saturdays and Sundays from 11-2. The space is closed evenings, Sundays and Mondays. This allows the owners to make the space available to other chefs for pop up events. That’s smart thinking.
The sandwiches are solid, the meat is very well prepared, the food is pretty straight forward and well-executed.
Here’s what we had:
Poutine: ‘Pirate spice’ fries, cheese curds, vegan gravy. $8.50
Turkey Chop Chop: deep fried bits of leftover turkey parts served with mango-sriracha puree $9
The Canon features a house-made sausage (chorizo on the day I went) with malted honey mustard, sautéed onions, citrus-dressed arugula $8
Mr. Pink – different cut of pork daily. Here, roasted pork loin, shaved thin, topped with Swiss cheese, malted honey mustard, mayo on Russian rye $9
The succulent roasted pork loin sandwich.
Unpretentious, straight up delicious. Some of their made-from-scratch products are also available in their retail cooler.
I’ll be curious to see how Chapter 3 turns out. Their website is frustratingly barren, so check TLO’s Facebook page for more details and updates. You can listen to my CBC Edmonton Am review of The Local Omnivore here.