Farmers market has it all

Pickled beets, dips and spreads, flavoured honey, and something called Korean mundoo -- tiny deep-fried morsels with beef and vegetable fillings. That's what I'd sampled so far, and it wasn't that long since breakfast.

Free nibbles are just one reason the aisles are crowded at Edmonton's wonderful Farmers Market, held every Saturday, year round, in the Old Strathcona neighbourhood.

It combines the comfort of an old-time market with contemporary touches sought by discerning foodies and shoppers concerned about what they put on their plates and where it comes from.

The produce, for example, isn't grown thousands of kilometres away, then trucked to a huge, central food terminal before being moved to Edmonton. It's grown nearby. Market rules state that vendors must grow or make whatever they offer and be present when it's being sold.

So those pickled beets I tried first came from Holden Colony Greenhouses, a Hutterite operation about 90 km east of Edmonton. The dips and spreads were made at The Happy Camel, the flavoured honey at Very Berry Honey, the mundoo at Korean Food Market, all in Edmonton.

In the next aisle were Dip-Sea Chicks (seafood spreads), Marina's Cuisine (salads such as a carrot with cheese and walnuts), and The Pasta Guy, with an enticing array of seasonings and sauces.

But I had another stop, the two-block-long Downtown Farmers' Market on 104th St., open Saturdays from Victoria Day weekend through Thanksgiving.

That's where Gail Hall, owner of Seasoned Solutions, shops before she and her cooking class students prepare a meal. (Visit seasonedsolutions.ca.)

Our lunch featured tenderloin of bison from Tom Cliff's Pemmican Hill stall. Cliff told us his 250 head are grass fed, making them leaner "and better for you'' than even Alberta's vaunted beef.

Half-inch-thick medallions were brushed with minced garlic, thyme and olive oil, sprinkled with pepper and seared over medium-high heat in a heavy saute pan (about 20 seconds per side for medium-rare). Hall transferred the meat to an ovenproof plate, which she covered and placed in a 350-degree oven.

Next she added white wine to the saute pan, deglazed the juice and bits, and sauteed diced shallots a minute or two until they softened. Goat's cheese was added and heated, and the sauce was served over the bison. It was easily as tender as a tenderloin of Alberta beef I'd had earlier.

Another chef who buys locally is Blair Lebsack at Madison's Grill in the Union Bank Inn (unionbankinn.com). A "forager'' he provided the forest mushrooms that went into the soup that started out supper there, along with potato gnocchi and parmesan cheese. Alberta's many greenhouses and abundant winter sunshine mean heirloom zebra tomatoes -- featured in Blair's salad with Camembert cheese and balsamic fig jam -- can be had year round.

Other downtown eateries getting good reviews include Il Portico and Normand's. I've eaten twice at Packrat Louie's (don't let the name put you off) in Old Strathcona. Edmonton writer Gilbert Bouchard, who knows the restaurant scene, also likes these three in the same neighbourhood: Flavours (goulash), Daddio's (Creole/Cajun cuisine) and Continental Treat (schnitzel).

Several events that focus on cuisine are held in Edmonton. Visit festivalcity.ca for details.

Accommodations: Rates at the Union Bank Inn, where I stayed, include a la carte breakfast, parking and daily wine and cheese.

Day trip: You can view bison on the hoof at Elk Island National Park, a 40-minute drive east of Edmonton. No sooner had we turned onto Elk Island Parkway than we were stopped by clusters of plains bison wandering beside and on the road. I counted more than three dozen. Guide Karen Evenden, owner of Urban Insight (urbaninsight.ca), said this was more than she'd seen in three years of park visits.

Alberta’s UNESCO sitesIMS announces nationwide availability of iLane

Canadian sports trivia

How well do you know Canada's sporting past? Score one point for every correct answer!

2. MLB team established in 1977.
3. NBA’s Grizzlies were located here.
4. CFL team with five Grey Cups.
5. Former Baltimore Stallions.
6. Canada’s first MLS team.
7. Edmonton’s National Lacrosse League team.
8. Alberta NHL team with one Stanley Cup.
9. Original Ottawa Senators team moved here in 1934.
10. Only Canadian NBA team.


What they say about us2010 Impreza Pricing Announced By Subaru Canada

Where celebs ran wild

The day before the 2008 European premier of Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight, bad boy actor Christian Bale was arrested in London’s Dorchester Hotel and charged with assault. The world held its breath: Had the caped superhero meted out swift justice to an intruder in the tea lounge? Defended the honor of a damsel in distress in the piano bar? Not quite. Bale, it appeared, had flown into a rage at his mother and sister in his hotel room, one of whom went on to file charges, later dropped. Batman taken down by his own Mum? As notorious hotel security incidents go, this was up there with the tawdriest.

See our slideshow of Bad Behavior in Good Hotels.

Celebrities have been trashing hotel suites or overdosing on heroin in marble-floored bathrooms since the invention of the mini-bar. In fact, the rock star throwing the TV out the window, or the pop tart throwing up by the roof-top pool bar has become so common as to be cliché. What was so special about Christian Bale’s behavior was how, well, odd it was. Throwing a fit at your Mommy? Batman?

“Luxury hotels offer anonymity, privacy, and escape,” says Steven Ferry, who, as Chairman of the International Institute of Modern Butlers, has trained staff in some of the most exclusive properties in the world. “But the combination of wealth, anonymity, and being tended to hand-and-foot by the best butlers in the world sometimes leads to bad behavior. The secret of a good hotel is to keep stories like this secret.”

Ferry has seen his share of bizarre incidents involving guests over the years but, like all top-class butlers, is discreet enough not to reveal the who, where, what, and how. Fortunately, the list of bizarre, tawdry, or just plain weird behavior in hotels that we do know about is long and colorful.

See our slideshow of Bad Behavior in Good Hotels.

Up there with Batman was Gladiator star Russell Crowe’s performance with a deadly weapon in New York’s Mercer Hotel in 2005. The deadly weapon? A telephone. Australian Crowe, in New York to shoot the boxing movie Cinderella Man, had been unable to get a connection on the room phone to his wife in Australia. Crowe charged down to the lobby at 2 a.m. to complain to the desk clerk. Finding the attention to his problem less than he expected, he promptly threw the phone at the concierge on duty, hitting him in the face. Then he threw a ceramic plate. Then, like Maximus before the emperor, he took up a deep theatrical bow. Job well done, Rusty.

What line-up of notorious hotel behavior would be complete without an offering from volatile supermodel Naomi Campbell? In 2005, Campbell allegedly beat up Italian actress Yvonne Scio at the beautiful Hotel Eden in Rome. The cause of La Campbell’s rage? Campbell had arrived at the hotel to pick Scio up to go to a party together, but was disturbed to find that Scio was wearing the same dress as hers.

That said, not all the worst behavior is by bratty celebrities. Few hotel security incidents are as tawdry as the case of former Democrat Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in August 2008. Edwards, the wholesome, happily-married family man of the campaign trail, was caught by tabloid reporters engaged in a secret meeting at the hotel with a blonde divorcee they claimed was his mistress, and the love child he had supposedly fathered with her. Shocked to find a camera crew in his face, Edwards ran and hid in a men’s room on the hotel’s lower floor, with reporters chasing after him. Eventually hotel security guards had to rescue the ashen-faced ex-Senator and ushered him out the hotel—and out of political life.

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New York minutes

The Big Apple is a great place to have a mini-vacation with the family. Here are five tips to get the most out of the city that never sleeps during a three-day visit that won't break the bank.

Tip 1 -- Fly In

If you only have three days to spare, you'll want to fly in and Porter Airlines (flyporter.com) is a good choice to do just that.

You can take public transit to the Toronto City Centre Airport ferry and save on parking. The five-minute ferry ride is free and it will leave you right at the terminal. Inside, as you await your flight, you and the kids can enjoy free coffee, pop, water and snacks. The freebies don't stop there. On board the plane you will be served a snack box with your choice of beverage that includes free wine or beer for the grownups.

Porter flies into Newark Airport seven times a day and after comparing the price of flights, it was still the cheapest option from Toronto, even after adding a fee for getting into New York City. The cost for that is a $25 round trip if you take the Newark Liberty Airport Express (coachusa.com), a direct motorcoach that can be booked upon your arrival. Children 12 to 16 pay only $10 and those under 12 are free.

Tip 2 -- Stay in Manhattan

If you are wondering how you are going to afford a Manhattan hotel, wonder no more. With the travel industry reeling from the recession, there are lots of great deals to be had, especially if you schedule your trip during the week for even greater savings.

We stayed at the newly renovated The Hotel at Times Square (applecorehotels.com), which is a mere two blocks from the world famous tourist attraction after which it was named. The hotel was an economic choice with its double rooms starting at $129 US, including a hearty continental breakfast and free Internet. The double rooms are a great choice for a family of four because each room has a nice flat-screen TV and a good amount of space.

Tip 3 -- Buy a CityPass

Want to visit New York City's most iconic attractions for less than $100? For just $79 US, you can purchase a booklet of tickets known as the CityPass (citypass.com/city/ny.html).

Each pass includes free admission to five attractions -- Empire State Building Observatory, American Museum of Natural History, Guggenheim Museum, Musuem of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art -- and discounts for other attractions.

But the convenience doesn't end there. Each ticket has a tip on how to bypass the main ticket lines.

When we visited the American Museum of Natural History on a weekday morning we were faced with huge ticket lineups, but with our CityPass in hand we were able to bypass the crowds by going to the customer service desk.

The price for a youth (13-17) is $59 US, and while many attractions are already free or discounted for children 12 and under, you may want to consider additional youth passes for younger kids in order to bypass lineups. Check the CityPass website for a list of attraction prices for kids.

Tip 4 -- Cheap Thrills

There's no doubt that New York City is expensive, but there are many places a family can visit that won't cost a dime. The most famous of all is obviously Times Square. The best time to see the busiest intersection in the world is at night when all the neon billboards can be fully appreciated.

As well, the kids will want to check out the gigantic Toys "R" Us store with a working Ferris wheel inside, not to mention M & M's World where they can marvel at the metres of colourful chocolate adorning the walls.

Another must-see is Battery Park and its vendors. It's the place to go where you can get your caricature drawn in charcoal for $5 US, but be prepared for when the artists hit you up for another $10 to place the drawing in the protective matte you'll need in order to get the picture home intact.

And don't be surprised to see Spider-Man hamming it up with tourists or a boa constrictor wrapped around a man's neck. While we were there a large group of young men broke out into an impromptu Capoeira (Brazilian martial arts dance) performance, much to the delight of the crowds. It just goes to show you that you never know what you might see in Battery Park.

Tip 5 -- Take Transit

Although walking to many NYC attractions from Times Square is possible, you might want to give little feet a rest. The best way to do that is to pick up a one-day FunPass for $8.25 US. With this card, you can take unlimited subway and bus rides from first use until 3 a.m. the following day.

If you are worried about getting lost in the vast subway system, don't be. We were repeatedly helped by friendly New Yorkers who showed us how to get where we wanted to go with a smile.

For details the FunPass, see mta.info/metrocard/tourism.see nycgo.com.

More information

- For details on special offers, see nycgo.com.

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Bonds for a day

WASHINGTON -- An Ohio family of five recently went undercover in the nation's capital to help foil a cyber "terrorist attack." Their attire wasn't very suspicious: shorts, T-shirts and jackets tied around their waists.

They were playing a new game at the International Spy Museum that sends tourists trolling through the city with handheld GPS devices to search for clues and codes to stop the attack before it starts.

The game, called "Spy in the City," was developed by former intelligence officers who want to teach the public a bit about their craft.

Carol Metzger, Brock Sturgeon and their three kids -- Brooke, 11, Luke, 8, Alaina, 6 -- thought they were up to the task, squeezing it in with a recent beach vacation in Delaware and a trip to Capitol Hill.

The mission: find a hidden password to deactivate a terrorist device that could wipe out computers in the nation's capital. Players also must test clues from a source, code-named Catbird, to see if he can be trusted.

The first clue -- a photo of their first destination -- sends the quintet down the block to an old bank's night deposit box, then on to Ford's Theatre where (Abraham Lincoln was shot) and past the real FBI headquarters.

Game creators at the Spy Museum believe their game is a first of its kind, and they're planning more scenarios with varying levels of difficulty.

"The old days of a museum being just dusty artifacts in a display case that you walk by and admire, I think are long gone," said Peter Earnest, the museum's executive director who was in the CIA for 35 years.

Games, in fact, could play a big role in keeping museums relevant in the future, according to a recent American Association of Museums lecture by Jane McGonigal of the California-based Institute for the Future. She urged curators to recreate museums as places where visitors can interact, perhaps through games that solve real-world problems, and have fun at the same time.

The spy museum has been a popular draw for about 700,000 visitors a year since opening in 2002, despite its $18 US admission fee. It has also benefited from the buzz of spy-themed movies and video games over the years. Recently, Angelina Jolie was filming at some of the same D.C. sites as those in the museum's game for the upcoming spy movie, Salt.

That blend of pop culture, reality and a dose of education is key for how the museum hopes to nab visitors willing to pay $14 US to play.

"You actually get to feel what it's like to be a spy," said Anna Slafer, the museum's education director. "That's what our public has told us they want."

The plot is based on a combination of real spy stories, the creators say. One was the Kitty Hawk case, in which the FBI used a double agent to help identify Soviet intelligence officers.

It also draws on practices that date back to the days of George Washington, who used secret, invisible writing with some of his agents. The spy game includes similar secret messages the players must uncover.

"When you don't know who to trust, when you don't know the answers, when you're sort of dropped into a situation and you're not sure what to do, that's real espionage," Slafer said.

Slafer said the museum's game can spark curiosity among players about real challenges the intelligence community faces, namely the idea that terrorists would try to knock out computer systems.

"With this particular plot and in this city, the idea of cyber warfare is very real," she said. The game is not "just run, run, run, fun, fun, fun. It's really more reflective."

The players find clues at the National Archives and in small fountains and statues. The toughest task is decoding a message from the words of the First Amendment, engraved in stone at the Newseum, a journalism museum on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Metzger and Sturgeon family, from Findlay, Ohio, completed the mission, despite a few wrong turns on city streets.

Brock Sturgeon, 38, said he liked it but felt like "a fish out of water" as they tried to find their way.

"Keeping track of where you're at is kind of hard," he said. "I don't think it's for little kids."

Brooke and Luke said the game was fun and that they might like to be spies someday. "I'm sneaky like that," Luke said, hiding behind a museum display. It didn't always hold the attention of younger sister, Alaina, though. By the end she had other thoughts: "I'm hungry."

The family didn't quite foil the terrorist plot on their own, after hitting the wrong button and failing to deactivate the cyber terrorism device. "Spy agents" who were directing the operation had to step in.

"Although your work today wasn't stellar," they were told by spy HQ, "we definitely think you have potential as a covert spy agent."

On the Net: International Spy Museum: spymuseum.org

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UNESCO updates world heritage list

MADRID - Italy's Dolomite mountains were among 13 new sites added to UNESCO's world heritage list.

Other new natural sites added to the list included the Wadden Sea wetlands, an area rich in wildlife in Germany and the Netherlands; and northern China's Mount Wutai, a sacred Buddhist site known for its five flat peaks and a landscape with 53 monasteries.

But in a rare move, UNESCO dropped Germany's Elbe River valley at Dresden from the heritage list because of a bridge under construction across the river, saying this spoils the landscape.

Dresden, whose historic centre has been painstakingly restored since it was ravaged by Allied bombs in 1945, is often referred to as the Florence of the Elbe because of the baroque architecture that gives it a distinctive skyline.

The UN agency's World Heritage Committee announced the additions to the list at a June meeting in Seville, Spain.

The new designations included the first UNESCO World Heritage sites in the countries of Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Kyrgyzstan. The Cape Verde site was the city of Cidade Velha, the first European colonial outpost in the tropics, which UNESCO said bears testimony to the history of slavery. In Burkina Faso, the designated site was the ruins of Loropeni, a thousand-year-old fortress important in the trans-Saharan gold trade. In Kyrgyzstan, the site was Sulamain, a sacred mountain on the Silk Road with ancient petroglyphs and places of worship, including two 16th century mosques.

In Europe, other newly designated World Heritage sites were Stoclet House in Belgium, a 1911 building considered important in the history of the architectural styles of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and modernism; the Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse and landmark in Spain dating to the first century; La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle, Swiss towns that were planned to accommodate the watchmaking industry; and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and canal in northeastern Wales, built without locks and considered an engineering and architectural feat of the Industrial Revolution.

Elsewhere in the world, UNESCO added to its World Heritage list the Shushtar hydraulic system in Iran, an engineering masterpiece that dates to the 5th century B.C.; the sacred city of Caral-Supe, a 5,000-year-old archaeological site in Peru; and the royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea, built from 1408 to 1966.

There are now a total of 890 properties on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

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A real head trip

NEW YORK -- Americans are finally able to fully rediscover their Statue of Liberty, whose crown has been off-limits to the public for the past eight years. The reopening on July 4 -- U.S. Independence Day -- has proven to be symbolic, in a small way, and may help erase the memory of terrorism and heal some of the wounds of 2001.

The morning before the reopening, a small group of journalists wait in the port of Manhattan for a Coast Guard boat to take them for a preview visit. No one can hide their excitement, even if it means climbing 354 stairs in stifling heat. After all, no member of the public has been up in the Statue of Liberty's crown since Sept. 11, 2001.

We arrive on Liberty Island half an hour later. The whole island is deserted. It's total silence, an unbelievable luxury before hundreds of tourists come streaming off the boats the next day.

There's enough security to rival any airport. Visitors are searched before boarding the boat and after arriving on the island. They then enter a tent fit for a sci-fi movie, where a scanner or sorts blasts them with powerful jets of air to test for chemicals on the body. Meanwhile, bags are X-rayed. Why so many precautions?

"Because the statue is the ultimate symbol of the whole nation," a National Park Service ranger explains, making it a perfect target for terrorists.

Americans don't have the same relationship with the Statue of Liberty as Canadians do with their CN Tower or other monuments. Officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World -- and affectionately known as Miss Liberty -- the statue is more than a tourist attraction: It's a symbol of the very essence of their country, liberty, democracy and the end of oppression. It was a gift to the American people by France in 1886 to commemorate the centenary of American independence.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the symbol has been muted. The Bush administration barred access to the statue as the 123-year-old monument clearly wasn't up to modern security standards.

It was never meant to be an attraction of Disney-like proportions. You realize this once inside; it's cramped and claustrophobic, a hostile environment for overweight tourists.

The crown is accessible via a narrow, 12-storey spiral staircase with slippery metal steps. Not to mention the barely knee-high railing. Once you start going up there's no way back down unless everyone turns around with you.

Before 2001, it wasn't uncommon to see tourists have panic attacks here. Some would faint from the suffocating heat (it's 20 degrees hotter inside than out and very humid). If you move around too much up top, the structure starts to sway several dizzying inches.

"Don't be afraid, it's designed to withstand hurricane winds," a ranger reassures us.

After a major $20 million overhaul, the statue's base reopened to the public in 2004. But the crown, which was still too difficult to evacuate, was kept off-limits. Up until the last minute, the opening wasn't a sure thing. Studies piled higher until the White House recently gave the go-ahead.

Major repairs are scheduled to be completed in two years time. For now, people can only go up ten at a time, escorted by a ranger. It is a more intimate experience than in the days when hordes of tourists crammed the top of the structure.

A DATE WITH LADY LIBERTY

Reaching the crown requires registering on the Internet. The lucky 240 who get to go up each day are chosen by lottery. Bookings are currently being scheduled for the fall. Admission is $15 US for adults, including the boat ride. About 50,000 people are expected to visit this year. That number could climb to 100,000 the year after. For details, go to statuecruises.com.

LIBERTY LORE

- During its first 16 years, the statue served as a lighthouse. The torch was visible 39 km away.

- The 91-metre-tall statue was inaugurated in 1886 and was designed by French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi. The plans were drawn by Gustave Eiffel.

- The torch was replaced in 1986 with a flame covered in 24-karat gold.

- In 2006, the Statue of Liberty had 2.5 million visitors.

MJ.PARENT@SUNMEDIA.CA

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