Anyone heard of Dishcrawl before? A dishcrawl is like a pub crawl. Except for foodies. And you tour through four different restaurants to eat in one night. Sound weird? It totally isn't.

Dishcrawl actually happens in a variety of cities in North America, and was an idea originated and first executed in the United States SF Bay Area. So when the opportunity came up in Edmonton ($45/ticket excl. drinks), I just had to join a group of 20 some other people and hit up local restaurants!

What I find really fun about the concept is that you don't know which restaurants you'll be going to. 48 hours before the night of the event, you will find out which restaurant to meet at, but the rest will remain a secret. My good friend & ambassador Teresa (@DishcrawlYEG) teased everyone days prior, by posting little clues here and there, trying to hint us as to where we were going. I basically gave up from the get-go because I'm terrible at guessing games.. but it was fun trying nonetheless!

The first stop of the night was at Red Star Pub (10534 Jasper Avenue NW), where we were treated to three different dishes. BAM. I really wondered if I would be able to eat all the food that night, especially if each restaurant were to throw 3 items at me. First up was the Roasted Tomato crostini - tender roasted tomatoes, with enough juice remaining to combat the dry crostini base. The cheese, pine nuts, and basil placed on top was the perfect touch. I loved this!

Next up was the Cannellini Bean Crostini - another yummy start to the night, but I preferred the roasted tomato version. The beans were pureed, with a texture similar to hummus - it had a nice garlic flavour to it. But with everything pureed, there's not much bite to it.

To end our stop at Red Star, we were served Mini Burgers: ground tenderloin tip with bacon apple relish and applewood cheddar. Finally some protein - the burger was juicy, well seasoned, and the sweetness from the relish was a nice touch.

After congregating outside, our group walked for what seemed like ages - down through to Churchill Square and past the Law Courts to arrive at the Oil Lamp (10247 97 Street NW). I'm not going to lie.. but this is one restaurant I never would have ventured into on my own time. It is located in a more run-down area, but once you step inside, it feels homey and is anything but run down. The bright yellow walls and decorative trinkets around the restaurant are welcoming, as is the owner George Broumas. Here we had a sampling plate consisting of spanakopita, a chicken skewer on a pita, and fresh greek salad with a side of tsatziki. The spanakopita was amazingly crisp, but unfortunately too salty for me to eat. Everything else was great though!

After some more walking, we found ourselves ouside the doors of Crepe Symphony (10115 100A Street NW), which is a place I had been wanting to try for ages. I love crepes, and I still haven't found a place that I really like here in the city - this makes Crepe Symphony the perfect contender. Owner Gelior Tataev treated us each to one savoury and one dessert crepe. First out was the Chicken and Mushroom crepe, which arrived hot to the table. The chicken was tender and tasty, while the crepe had a creaminess to it when eaten. The pickle pieces on top added an unexpected zing - but I liked it!

Shortly after, we were treated to the Banana Nutella crepe - I was so excited to dive right into this one, as you all know I love my desserts. I don't think I need to say too much about this one as it is self explanatory, but it really was melt in your mouth delicious. It was probably my lucky day too, since one of my dining companions hates bananas and I got a little extra ;)

To end the night, we finished our dishcrawl at The Free Press Bistro (10014 104 Street NW). I had never been before, and their newspaper theme is absolutely adorable. The inside is decorated with various newspaper clippings, all from historical events like the sinking of the Titanic for example. At this point, I was nearly stuffed and didn't think I could eat anymore, but we were given a plate with the Philly Press, Russian Potato Salad, and Homemade Potato Chips. The Philly Press is made with lean steak, peppers, and onion, which unfortunately was too dry for me. The Russian Potato Salad had a heavy dill pickle flavour which I did like, but I wouldn't be able to eat a lot in one sitting due to the prominent sour flavour. But hey, I don't think you can ever go wrong with homemade chips!

All in all, the downtown Dishcrawl was an awesome event! I got to meet some new people, and even lose some calories with them along the way. What I really love about the concept is that it is almost like a guessing game, and you can discover new restaurants or hidden gems along the way. For myself, I had not visited any of these four restaurants prior to, so it was great to try so many new things at once. I highly recommend trying out a dishcrawl near you (click for cities where its held!) - but act quickly, tickets sell out with the blink of an eye!