Serben’s Organic Farm
Part of The Sunday Review’s Hot Dog series and the Farmers’ Market series.
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For several years, while we still lived downtown, my wife and I shared a treasured summertime tradition. Most Saturdays around lunch time, we would walk a few blocks from our terrible apartment to the 104 street market.
Our visits usually involved people watching, buying some amazing frozen meat pies for mid-week dinners, drinking good coffee, and ended with the best hot dogs in Edmonton. The franks came courtesy of the good people at the Serben Free-Range tent. Serben offered a variety of prepared frozen meats, as well as freshly-grilled sausages on a simple white bun. The hot dogs weren’t enormous, but they were without parallel in Edmonton for flavor. Serben also made a very nice smoky. To be honest, the only thing they sold that I didn’t like was their rosemary sausage, but that’s because I strongly dislike the flavour of rosemary.
The end of summer 2014 was our last visit to the market before it closed for the season. Not long afterward, we moved out of the neighborhood. One of the saddest things about moving was losing proximity to this market, and to this stand in particular. The tent is operated by a lovely family with whom we’ve always had a great rapport. During our last visit, we learned that the proprietor was pregnant. I wish her family all the luck and success in the world.
The interim period hasn’t been a happy time. Our moving kick-started one of the busiest and most-stressful years of my life. It was only last week when we had the first opportunity to return to our beloved market. Several things remain familiar, while others have changed. Sadly, none of the changes were for the better (yes, I’m looking at you, bogus Ukrainian food truck). Our visit was disappointing, but we hoped that we’d saved the best for last. On our way out, we stopped by the Serben tent, now with a new banner, and (tragically) a new menu.
It’s a curse that, once I find something I like on a menu, that item disappears. The 2015 tent has gone one further by removing all of its old items. I didn’t recognize anything: not the food, the staff, or even their new banner font! Their new sausages look, taste, and feel like they’re made by a completely different company. The sweet onion & sage has a very mild flavour and crumbly texture. The chili & lime has virtually no flavour whatsoever. They’ve also hippied-up their buns and gone to a multi-grain over their old simple white ones.*
This is really heartbreaking, because I want to support these people and the good work they do. I don’t know why they stopped serving their old items. I hope whatever the reason for the changes to the menu that the family continues to do well, but what they currently serve is not something I want to eat again. Considering that we now have to drive across Edmonton to reach this market, I honestly don’t know if and when we’ll have a reason to return. They don’t currently sell anything I enjoy. Let’s hope this is only a seasonal menu variation. Fingers crossed.
O.Z.
* An aside on perfect hamburgers and hot dogs. One of the quickest ways to destroy a hamburger or hot dog is to get fancy with the bread (and, when relevant, cheese). These kinds of food don’t need the competition of texture and flavor. What they need is simple white bread. Period. (And, when relevant, in the case of cheese: processed cheese. Period.) Real/fancy cheeses don’t melt properly and contain oils which ruin the experience. Real/fancy breads tend to be tough, dry, and make it harder to eat, rather than easier. They might be healthier options, but they ruin the experience entirely.
