Scroll through the list of restaurants, cafes and bars participating in this year’s Sweet Treats and Latte Festival and you might be struck by the sheer number of participating venues — largely within the borders of Old Strathcona. Nearly 40 eateries are participating in this year’s event, highlighting both unique drinks and tasty treats — from a black sesame latte at Cafe Mosaics to a miso caramel mini tart at Pablo Cheese Tart to hot ube white chocolate at Yelo’d Ice Cream.
“Over the last three years we’ve seen a doubling of the number of participants for the festival,” says Andrea Donini, interim executive director of the Old Strathcona Business Association, which organizes the festival. “It puts it on people’s radar, but it also opens it up to more variety.”
Some participating venues create new, limited-time offerings available Feb. 12 – 22, while others highlight existing favourites.
And at least one — Global Pet Foods — has a featured treat for your four-legged friend. Stop by that shop for a “bark-cuterie or cat-cuterie” or frozen goat milk treat.
“We always try to do something pet-friendly with everything we do,” Donini says. “Old Strathcona is a wonderful shopping district for the city, but it’s also surrounded by residential communities, so there are lots of pets around here all the time.”
Participants can print off or pick up a festival passport to collect stamps at participating venues and, potentially, win up to $1,000 in gift cards from Old Strathcona businesses.
“There are so many participants this year, it’s easy to get stamps,” Donini says. For her part, she’s looking forward to trying out the Mexican-spiced chocolate mousse-style dessert with gluten-free oreo crumbs at Marlo Tacos.
“We’ve got The Next Act, Marlo Tacos (and their neighbouring sister restaurants). This is their first time being part of it. Then we have The Buckingham and the brand new King of Tarts. There are a bunch of new businesses around and I think it’s really awesome they’re part of the festival. It gives people a chance to come out and experience it,” Donini says.
The other appealing aspect of the event: it’s relatively affordable. Rather than sitting down for an entire meal, participants are generally spending $5 to $10 on a drink or treat.
“This is a low-cost way to get into these cool places that you’ve wanted to try and have an experience so that you can decide if you want to come back for a special occasion later,” Dononi adds. “Part of the fun is seeing what restaurants dream up.”
The Sweet Treats and Latte Festival takes place at venues around Old Strathcona from Feb. 12 to 22.
