Creations fascinates the senses with extraordinary food and decor from start to finish

Once in a blue-cheese moon, if we’re lucky, a restaurant comes along that packs more culinary and sensory creativity into one location than some eateries do across an entire chain. Creations — Where’s Best New Restaurant of the Year — is that rarity.

Creations Dining Room & Lounge, in the atrium of the Sawridge Inn Edmonton South, is what happens when investors believe big-time in River City, when the design and decor team hit an artful home run — and when gifted chef and sommelier put their palates together to craft a tantalizing menu and wine list that’s sure to bliss out even the fussiest gourmet.

“I think it’s the most unique dining setting in Edmonton,” says Colin McBeath, General Manager of the Sawridge Inn. “It encompasses all the visual, the sensory, taste, touch, smell, everything. . . . You don’t see that very often.”

Speaking of sensory, did we mention Creations has its own gallery of fine Canadian art, to feed your soul as well as your appetite? Designed by Mona Foreman of Vancouver’s Sheffield Design Studio, Creations serves a visual feast of soaring rockwork, hoodoos and pine trees; coffee tables of recovered driftwood; hollowed-tree-trunk lamps; and the biggest dream catcher we’ve ever seen.

A wall of fire divides dining room from lounge, while a rainbow-hued waterfall curtains off the art gallery. From intimate alcove booths to a private dining salon for 12 — as well as the art gallery for up to 75 — you’ll have no trouble finding a fave table here.

Executive Chef Michael Laird’s passion for pairing fresh, local meat, fruit and veggies — with his desire to deliver healthy entrees that won’t sludge up your arteries — does a heart good.

“As much as possible, we try to work with fresh fruits and berries, rather than doing the heavy gravy-type sauces, which gives some First Nations nuances to our menu. It’s so much healthier for you. You can’t beat fresh blueberries that have just come in...Or locally grown hothouse tomatoes. Or the green tomatoes that I use in my relishes. The flavour is so much superior as well; it hasn’t spent two weeks on a truck.”

Two of his best sellers are Almond Crusted Alaskan Sole (stuffed with spinach and served with wild mushroom barley) and Steak Chanterelle (a char-grilled flat-iron steak, with roast onion and goat cheese strudel, finished with brandied chanterelle sauce). Starters include unique salads like his Char-Grilled Watermelon and Sweet Onion Salad and his Bison Maki Rolls or Grilled Radicchio. His Pistachio Lamb is to die for.

Dining will never be same-old, same-old at Creations. The menu evolves every few months in tandem with patrons’ desires and Laird’s imagination. “On our new menu we’re going to have a Blueberry Pappardelle (a thinner, broader fettuccine),” says Laird. “We make all our pastas from scratch.”

As well, Creations whips up all their ice creams from scratch. “Our homemade Lavender Ice Cream is amazing. There’s so much flavour in it; we use fresh lavender. Another really popular dessert is our Pumpkin Bread Pudding with cranberry rum sauce.” Let it be known that the Black Cherry Clafoutis — a baked French fruit custard of sorts — makes the perfect soulmate for that Lavender Ice Cream.

“We’ll be introducing milkshakes,” adds Director of Food and Beverage Robert Dziurman, whose charisma easily fills his establishment. “I must put it on the menu, a Lavender Ice Cream Bourbon Milkshake!”

A certified Sommelier, Dziurman relies on three criteria for his wine list. "First of all, the food. As the menu changes, wine is like a little community. We’re always getting new neighbours — so the wines change, accordingly, to complement the entrees. Secondly, we obviously listen to people and what they would like to drink here. The third criteria? I choose what I love as a Sommelier, to share my best discoveries with our diners.”

The lounge splashes up original drink creations unique to Edmonton, using rare and hard-to-find vodkas.

“Our menu is constantly evolving. It’s organic and natural in flavours. I would say it’s the purest form of Canadian cuisine that I think you can find in Edmonton and, indeed, Alberta,” says McBeath. “It’s comfortable. It’s not contentious. It’s not ‘big box’ — it is personalized, and it’s all made from scratch. It’s original and fresh.”

“Mike is probably the most open, the most creative chef I’ve ever worked with,” says Dziurman. “We both have so much passion for the wine and the food that it comes easy, even after a 12-hour day.”

Laird sums up with a smile: “I love seeing people enjoy good food.”

RESTAURANT INFO:
Creations Dining Room & Lounge
Sawridge Inn Edmonton South
4235 Gateway Blvd.
Reservations line: 780-989-4439
On the web: creationsedmonton.com

GUILT-FREE LUNCH BUFFET

The Skinny: In a delectable endeavour that Laird and team call Operation Transformation, Creations has created a lunch buffet that promises “delicious, guilt-free, healthy choices, with zero trans fats . . . and includes soups, salads, entrees and and desserts.”

The Guiltless: Oriental Chicken Salad; Chilled Seafood Salad; Char-grilled Watermelon and Sweet Onion Salad; fruits, berries and nuts; herb-marinated veggies; creative soup of the day; cheeses with stone-ground crackers; berries and sliced fresh fruit.

Buffet hours: 11:30 a.m. – 2 pm Monday through Friday.