One of my Mike’s favourite restaurants is Earls! Over the years, he would typically pitch Earls as the place to go for dinner, or is delighted when we end up at Earls. Receiving gift cards to Earls is always a joyous occasion for him too. Most of Mike’s birthday dinners have also been at Earls (the one off Whitemud has a nice space for large parties for 20-ish people!)

Earls Tin Palace in downtown Edmonton.

I love smaller, locally-owned restaurants, and admittedly haven’t been to Earls too much in recent years. Chain spots usually get a bad rap sometimes, but there are a few in the city who do offer really good food (and always very consistent) – Earls is one of them!

Good food, varied menu options, nice atmosphere, good service, and very consistent experience, it’s a nice step up from more casual restaurant chains, but isn’t too fancy.

I was happy to return to Earls this week for lunch with my friend Diane!

The indoor, heated patio at Earls Tin Palace is amazing.

We visited the downtown Earls Tin Palace location and requested a spot in their gorgeous, indoor heated patio.

What a lovely space (and so well-lit! So important for food photos…)

The last time I had lunch at Earls I tried their chicken, brie, fig and apple sandwich (also really good – the brie, fig and apple combination works so well together).

This time around, I wanted to try their tuna tostadas – chili rubbed albacore tuna with cilantro aioli, avocado, jicama slaw, on a crisp corn tortilla with radish, chili, and lime ($13).

The refreshing tuna tostados – chili rubbed albacore with cilantro aioli, avocado, jicama slaw, on a crisp corn tortilla with radish, chili, and lime ($13) at Earls.

I love tuna appetizers and I found the tuna tostadas dish at Earls to be so delicious – bright and refreshing, with some great textures (crunch on the tortilla, crunch on the slaw) and a nice kick with the chili.

Also you know when something just feels healthy? I got that feeling with these bites too.

Close-up of the tuna tostados – chili rubbed albacore with cilantro aioli, avocado, jicama slaw, on a crisp corn tortilla with radish, chili, and lime ($13) at Earls.

My visit was timed with the release of Earl’s new Tuna Tostadas: More Than Meets The Eye behind-the-scenes/recipe video.

The quick video, starring Earls’ Chef Ryan Stone, breaks down how to make this popular dish at home! It also includes some handy cooking tips!

When making the cilantro aioli for example, did you know the stems are just as flavourful as the leaves? So there is no need to pluck the cilantro before blending! I also have never cooked tuna before so I didn’t realize placing a partially cooked tuna in a bowl of ice cubes and water will stop the cooking process immediately.

Get more tips and see how easy it is to make this dish in the video below:

And check out the detailed recipe for Earls’ Tuna Tostadas here! 

(Recipe by Earls Chef Collective, Chef Dawn Doucette).

How-to: recreate the Earls’ Tuna Tostadas at home!

I’m going to try making these at home myself!

Recently I’ve been cooking more (but still eating out quite a bit… because I love doing both lol) but this is a great one to add to my to-cook list.

A bit of soup, a bit of truffle fries, and a bit of tuna tostadas.

At our lunch this week, Diane and I also enjoyed the Thai soup and truffle fries, and I had some of their Hunan Kung Pao (+ chicken) as well (unpictured), but honestly I could’ve had two (or more) plates of the tuna tostadas and that would’ve been just excellent.

If you’re hungry now (as I am… all the time) and would rather be served this tasty tostadas dish instead of making your own, I’m giving away a $100 gift card to followers over on my Instagram @lindork!

** GIVEAWAY **

ENTER TO WIN A $100 GIFT CARD TO EARLS
(try their tuna tostadas!)

This giveaway is being run on my Instagram account so be sure to:

• Follow me @lindork
• Follow @earlsrestaurant
• And leave a comment on my post, tagging at least 2 of friends you’d love to share the tostadas dish with if you won the $100 gift card!

I’ll randomly select a winner after the contest closes on February 5, 2016.

Thanks to Earls for partnering with me on this giveaway!

See the #Earls More Than Meets The Eye Tuna Tostadas recipe video and get the recipe for the dish here!

So have you been to Earls? Thoughts? Favourite dishes? Have you tried the tuna tostadas!?

Linda

Follow @lindork

Disclaimer: I will always provide my 100% honest opinion on this blog. Earls Restaurant partnered with me to promote their tuna tostadas recipe video and gave me a gift card to giveaway to readers. This has no impact on opinions stated in this post.