Taste of Edmonton: Edmonton AM's top three picks

Once again,Twyla Campbell, Edmonton AM's food columnist, takes on Taste of Edmonton with suggestions for how best to use those precious foodtickets by offering her top three picks at Churchill Square this year.

The winners include aThaidish, a good old Alberta roast beef dish, and a Mexican dish: all very different and representing different cultures "what I love about Edmonton, the best part about Taste of Edmonton," Twyla says.

With only a couple of days left in the festival, let's get right to it,starting with number 3:

Almond SatayThai Noodle Salad -Noorish

Twylacalled this salad a welcome change from thehigh-calorie, deep fried foods that seem to be themainstays of food festivals.

This salad is made with kelp noodles.

The sataysauce is made withalmond butter,tamari,molasses,sesame oil andapple cider vinegar

Juliennedred andyellow peppers,green onion andbean sprouts top it off.

Twyla callsit very light, refreshing with lots of depth in thesataysauce.

She liked that they got creative, offeringsomething that truly reflects their mission:Healthy, vegetarian, raw foods

The salad "shouldentice people to come to their restaurant that should be the goal of all the vendors," she said.

At number 2:

Roast beef sandwich -Farrow

Farrow is a little sandwich shop on 109thStreet on the southside of the river. It isthe offspring of Three Boars and known for its wild combinations of food.

Twyla saysit is one of the top, if not the top, sandwich spots in the city,and the roast beef sandwich reflects that.

The roast beef isridiculously tenderwith the perfect amount of horseradish, she says.

The miniature bun ispillowy soft and spread withhorseradish,mayo,arugula, pickled onion, ripple chips.

That's right. Ripplechips on a sandwich. That's the sleeper ingredient, Twylasaid. "Makes everything better."

She also gave bonuspoints foroffering something easy to eat.

Now for Twyla's top choice at the 2016 Taste of Edmonton:

Vallartashrimptostadas -La Mar,a Mexican food truck

For me, the hands down winner, Twyla says. "Iwould definitely look for this truck and this item when they'reback on the streets."

Tostadameans toasted and refers to the fried tortilla used for the base.

The tortilla iscut into fourpieces for easier handling. ("Appreciate that!" Twyla says. "Don't want to fight with food or have food spilling everywhere at an event like this.")

The topping consists ofpicodegallo, red cabbage, chili threads, whichLOOK really cool andadd a bit of smokiness, she says.

The shrimp is topped with "secret sauce"calledchimichile, which is similar to anArgentinianredchimichurrisauce, but is creamier.

Like Farrow's ripple chips, this is La Mar's sleeper ingredient that one component thatcompletes the dish, Twyla says.

As food trucks rotate through and can't stay for the duration of the festival, you should check the schedule to catch a particular truck,she says.