Calgary Archives - Page 4 of 12 - Eat Your Broccoli!

June 28, 2014

Sabroso Restaurant

This restaurant has been on my wishlist as I was curious about it. Curiosity has been more than satisfied. I realize that large groups perhaps are not the appropriate setting for spectacular service, but ours could really use some improvement. We had at least 20 people in our party. The evening started out good; our server was on top of our drink orders. Unfortunately, as the evening progressed, the restaurant filled and our service got progressively worse. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except we were stuck with a mandatory 18% gratuity for large groups. No incentive for good service. Amongst the faux pas: the doneness of hubby’s steak was incorrect, the server mixed up a couple of the orders, and was slow in general.

The food was for the most part, average. Many who ordered steaks had the incorrect doneness. My beef skewers were dry. The salad and shrimp I had weren’t bad and the dessert was the highlight for me.

The overall volume was loud; even before the live band started playing. Halfway through our speeches, they finally turned the music down.

I was so busy socializing that I forgot to take pictures, except for the dessert. Sorry guys, there will be no next time.

Milhojas con Arequipe Dulce de Leche Custard/ Mille-Feuille — Milhojas con Arequipe
Dulce de Leche Custard/ Mille-Feuille

June 19, 2014

Sushi-Bar Miki

I was in the mood for some traditional sushi. I love finding the small hole in the wall places like Sushi-Bar Miki. It was definitely small, but it was busy for dinner. I decided on the pan fried mackerel to start. I love the strong taste of the fish ever since my Mom pan fried them for me. It was done nicely and was big enough for two as an appetizer.

Hubby had the dynamite roll for his appy, followed by a set dinner. The tempura was part of his set dinner. He thought the food was ok, but he tends to prefer fusion style sushi.

All the food was very nicely presented. The Chirashi sushi was beautiful and it tasted good too. Yes, I will come back if I’m in the area.

June 15, 2014

Boxwood Cafe

After trying to get into Red’s Diner and Jimmy’s on 4th, we finally managed to find a seat at the Boxwood Cafe. I’ve always been curious about this restaurant since I saw it on You Gotta Eat Here! We got in just in time as the skies opened up and the rain poured down on us. The location is really neat, it’s in a park in the middle of the city.

To start, I had the Kale Aid which tasted like kale, cucumber and ginger. It was refreshing. I really enjoyed hubby’s roasted potatoes with salsa verde that tastes like chimichurri sauce. The sauce was delicious.

My main, on the other hand fell short of expectations. The chicken didn’t have much flavour and the piri piri aioli had a funny taste. It had no garlic flavour whatsoever. One of my friends also ordered it, and agreed that the flavour was not quite right. The menu did seem pricey for the serving size. We were famished after running the races at the Calgary Marathon.

I was so hungry that I ordered the Fiasco gelato sandwich for dessert. It was lemon and strawberry gelato in a sugar cookie if I remember correctly. It was very average. They ran out of the sea salted chocolate caramel which I would have preferred.

The atmosphere is nice, but the food could use some improvement.

Rotisserie Roasted Potatoes with Salsa Verde and Spragg Farm Roasted Porchetta with Clilantro Salsa Verde, Arugula and Cracklings

Mountain View Rotisserie Chicken Piri Piri Aioli, Greens — Mountain View Rotisserie Chicken
Piri Piri Aoli, Greens

June 15, 2014

Boxwood Cafe

The atmosphere is nice, but the food could use some improvement.

June 8, 2014

Bistro Rouge

I’ll have to apologize, I’m a little behind with my blog posts. We visited Bistro Rouge on May 24.

Having been to Rouge, and having high expectations for the food, I expected as much from Bistro Rouge. The food did not disappoint. However, much remains to be said about the service.

Hubby and I were seated promptly but our server did not show up for drinks for 10 minutes.
Our section was full when we arrived and our server was busy serving other tables. Service was faster once the room emptied. Hubby ordered the steak special but our server did not ask him for doneness. Good thing hubby specified medium rare. The Yorkshire pudding was just about the same size as the ribeye. He enjoyed his entree. However, the water glasses were struggling to be filled. Perhaps this is picky, but the wine glasses were not removed after we ordered our drinks.

The beet salad was good with the acidic taste of the beets and dill balanced by the crème fraîche. I enjoyed my roasted chicken; it was tender. The vegetables were well seasoned and flavourful. The dessert was interesting. The “Floating Island” was an island of meringue floating on lemon curd.

I really hope they will improve their service. But the food is well done.

Tender Beets & Apple, Crème Fraîche & Dill — Tender Beets & Apple,
Crème Fraîche & Dill

Roasted Mount View Chicken Breast, Lamb Bacon Choucroute & Dijon Sauce

Daily Special Ribeye... — Daily special ribeye…

With a Large Yorkshire Pudding — With a large Yorkshire pudding

"Ile Flottante" - Fluffy Meringue, Lemon Curd, Blood Orange Segments — “Ile Flottante” – Fluffy Meringue,
Lemon Curd, Blood Orange Segments

May 25, 2014

A La Saj and Skip The Dishes

This is the first Syrian restaurant that I’ve seen in Calgary. I love trying new things so this was right down my alley. I love falafel and I think it’s a fair standard to judge a restaurant by. The falafal was packed with veggies; rich and flavorful. I really like pickled turnips.

I tried their Italian Uno, which is wrapped in Saj bread, which is used to make the sandwiches. Saj is common in Lebanon and Syria. This is an example of one of their fusion offerings. It’s a neat idea, and if you were less hungry, this would do the trick.

For dessert, I decided to be adventurous and order the Halawet El Gibin which is a sweetened cheese dessert. Unlike the last pudding I had, which was overwhelming with the flavour of rose water, this was more subtle. I generally don’t like floral notes in my food, but this was just enough to announce it’s presence, but not like an overpowering perfume. The dessert itself was chewy and the texture reminds me of Chinese glutinous rice balls.

I decided to try SkipTheDishes, a new food delivery service in Calgary. I’ll have to admit, my only previous online ordering experience was with Panago Pizza.

SkipTheDishes will take your order online, for a variety of restaurants and deliver the food. They are a Canadian company; based out of the Prairies. Calgary is new territory for them. They work with over 75 restaurants in Calgary. Most of their restaurants don’t have the capacity to take online orders or drivers to deliver. They hire SkipTheDishes to handle this part of their business. Their target market is Central Calgary at the moment, so you might be out of luck if you live in suburbia.

Their website is nicely done and easy to use. There is no charge for the costumer. The food arrived at an appropriate temperature, and at the estimated time. If my favorite restaurants are on their list, I would definitely use their service again.

I order delivery around a couple times month. I do like the model of online ordering as in the past I’ve had issues with accents and English proficiency over the phone.

I was asked to review their service by the company. As most of the readers of this blog will know, I am honest and upfront with my views and my opinions are not influenced by requests for reviews.

Uno / The Italian Our take on a bresaola sandwich with fresh rucola, grated parmesan cheese, olive oil and balsamic reduction and Falafel — Uno / The Italian
Our take on a bresaola sandwich with fresh rucola, grated parmesan cheese, olive oil and balsamic reduction
and Falafel

May 3, 2014

Vero Bistro Moderne

We decided to go to Vero after seeing the lineup out the door at Lido Cafe last weekend. It’s been on my wishlist for some time; and I’m glad that I’ve finally gotten around to visiting.

By mistake, we were given the dinner menus to order from. Our server sort of did a double take on our order, when she realized we had the wrong menus. I ordered a glass of their freshly squeezed orange juice. I settle on the eggs benny with burger. The bread was a crisp brioche that paired well with the veal meatballs and runny vita egg. I like my eggs orange and full of omega-3s. Hubby enjoyed his Vero Traditional. I had my eye on that as well, but decided we shouldn’t have the same dish.

The food is interesting; as they advertise it, a fusion of French and Italian. They source from local suppliers as well. The service was pleasant and not obtrusive. It is a combination that works well for them.

20140426_105315 (640x535) — Eggs Benedict with Burger and Balsamic

20140426_105309 (640x441) — Vero Traditional

May 3, 2014

Avatara Pizza

Looking for some pizza to go with our boardgames, we decided to try Avatara. Their selections are quite unique. Pick your choice of pizza and optionally add meat. Their crust is also gluten free. I found the flavors quite satisfying. The crust was good, for a gluten free crust. They also have dairy/lactose free/vegan/vegetarian options. Their pizza boxes were interesting too.

L-R clockwise: Guru with chicken, Italian Stallion with sausage and Che with pepperoni

Italian Stallion with sausage, close up — Italian Stallion with sausage

April 28, 2014

Sushi Bistro Anzu

Ahh, another restaurant has risen from what was formerly known as Wa’s. Another new restaurant, serving ramen. A must try for me. Well, they are a sushi restaurant, and just happen to have two ramen dishes. And a bunch of udon and soba.

We were quite hungry after a day at the climbing gym. We started with the wakame salad. It was light and refreshing topped with what tasted like toasted burdock root.

The grilled oyster was pretty tasty. It was cooked in a mayonnaise and cheese sauce, topped with tobiko.

I ordered their tonkotsu ramen, which had the white broth which is typical of this style. It was quite good. I inquired about the noodles; they were from frozen. Which is fine with me, as I’ve had frozen ramen that was tasty. My friend had the spicy ramen, appropriately called “Hell Ramen”. I had to agree, it was hot.

The staff were pleasant and friendly. We went early in the dinner hour, so it wasn’t too busy. Return visit? I think so.

April 20, 2014

Shiki Menya

Ah, Calgary is finally catching up with the ramen trend prevalent in Toronto and Vancouver. Two new ramen shops in less then two months. I took a long lunch for this visit, as they have a limit of 150 bowls a day, and typically run out before dinner. Good thing I arrived early as it is a small shop and a lineup developed soon after.

Our food arrived soon after we ordered. I had the sense that turnover would be quick; ramen is fast food, but cooked slow food style. The char siu tacos were delicious. The pineapple salsa offered a nice kick.

My friend ordered the tonkotsu black. She enjoyed her meal. I had a taste and found that it had a strong flavour of garlic, which I love.

tonkotsu black negi, soft tamago, menma, char siu, corn, black garlic oil, squid ink garlic — tonkotsu black
negi, soft tamago, menma, char siu, corn, black garlic oil, squid ink garlic

I decided to order the tonkotsu classic. The broth was not the creamy white as I might expect from a classic tonkotsu broth. The broth was flavourful; I overheard that they cook it for 16 hours. It was just a tad over salted though. The noodles were homemade. They were very good and they retained the chewy texture expected of ramen noodles. The egg was cooked to a turn and the char siu had a nice flavour.

tonkotsu classic negi, soft tamago, menma, char siu, spring greens — tonkotsu classic
negi, soft tamago, menma, char siu, spring greens

The service was quick and attentive. I think I will be back to try some of their other selections. As an aspiring home cook learning to make ramen; I appreciate it when a restaurant takes the time to make it from scratch.