Cravings Market Restaurant


I’ve had my eye on Cravings Market for a while. Probably since it opened quite a few years ago. Since I was in the mood for vegetarian and hubby steak, I choose a place which could accommodate both our desires. When we left our place, it was lightly snowing. More on that later.

The restaurant has an interesting format. It’s laid out like a market with stations catering to different types of cuisine. For example, salad, stir fry main course and dessert. Each diner is issued a card. Walk up to the station, order, present the card. Servers will bring it to the table. Go right to the hostess stand to pay, no need to ask for the bill at the table. They also do take out.

I had the three salad sampler with mixed vegetables, quinoa, roasted beet and mandarin with a skewer of shrimp. Hubby had the prime rib special with roasted potatoes, carrots, zucchini, yorkies and gravy. For dessert, I had tiramisu and Rosso’s decaf. The coffee was heavenly. Hubby had chocolate mousse. Everything was delicious and freshly made. Their chefs can customize your selection and cook to order. There was enough variety for even the pickiest of eaters. Even though they don’t have a kids menu, my kids could easily eat from the regular menu. Beware though, the portions are very generous.

The service was very good. I do recommend this restaurant for special occasions. It is family friendly, so there might be an element of noise if kids are there.

We stepped out to a heavy spring snowstorm. We would learn later, that many cars had gone into the ditch on highways around town. We had about 25 cm of accumulation that didn’t melt right away. We made it home safely with careful driving.

Cravings Market Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Naina’s Kitchen

My birthday is coming up soon, so I asked hubby to take me to Naina’s for lunch. I’ve always wanted to pay a visit, except life got in the way. This seemed like a good time to go.

They were located in Ogden for the longest time, but have just moved to their new home in Victoria Park. The restaurant has been open for five days and plan to have their official opening on Friday. I love the decor. Black and charcoal. Modern and rustic, yes. Oh my gosh. The food. Yes.

Naina’s is known for their stuffed burgers. I need to get out of my Safeway deli rut courtesy of my recent trip to YVR. So I went all in and ordered the daily special, the stuffed jambalaya burger with a side of the soup special, turkey and barley. The beef was flavourful and done to a turn. My first bite was a of creamy, molten cheese. The second bite was sausage with spicy rice. It’s like alarm bells went off in heaven. There was a sauce that complimented it nicely but I totally forgot what it was. Mayo maybe? Who cares… back to the burger. The soup was nice and comforting on a rather chilly day for fall. Hubby had the eggs benny stuffed burger with a generous 1/2 portion of poutine. I had a bite of the poutine. The fries were clearly home fries. Nice and crisp and there was ample brown gravy to go around.

Ok, because it’s my birthday, I’m going for a splurge. I tasted their ice cream of the day, spicy apple with candied bacon.  Delish. This is the best ice cream I have ever tasted. Smooth apple with hints of cinnamon, sugar, notes of candied ginger and bacon. Hubby wanted just one bite but he ate half of it. If they end up selling this, I’m going to buy it by the truckload. As if stuffed burgers weren’t enough, Naina’s has recently gotten into the house made ice cream business. Watch out Calgary.

The place was empty. Long weekend, pride parade coupled with a newly opened restaurant. Great for me. Service was top notch.  The  back of my server’s tshirt said “Get stuffed”. How appropriate.

 

Jambalaya stuffed burger with turkey barley soup
Jambalaya stuffed burger with turkey barley soup

First bite of the stuffed jambalaya burger
First bite of the stuffed jambalaya burger

Second bite of the stuffed jambalaya burger
Second bite of the stuffed jambalaya burger

1/2 poutine
1/2 poutine

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New decor
New decor

Naina's Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Adobo Experience

Fact. I’ve never tried Filipino food. Ok, maybe once, when a friend brought over some cassava cake. Neither have three of my friends. So we all went down to Adobo Experience to give it a try.

We went early, around quarter to 6. The place wasn’t busy and our server was eager to take our order. We needed more time. To explore this exotic to us cuisine. We finally went with his suggestion of crispy pata which is deep fried pork hock to share as an appetizer. Mmmm, crispy pork skin. Three of us choose different versions of adobo, which is a meat stew. Hubby was the odd one out and went with the kare kare which is a peanut sauce based stew. The food was tasty. They also have a meal for a large group called Boodle Fight Experience. Google it. It’s now on my bucket list.

The food came reasonably quickly. But after that, the service fell down. The restaurant got really busy and it turned into Chinese style service. Where you play hail the waiter. If they see you. We decided to share the halo halo dessert which is more than enough for the four of us. It was pretty tasty. But it took a long time to order and then to arrive. Food is good, service not so much.

Crispy Pata
Crispy Pata

Halo Halo
Halo Halo

Kare Kare
Kare Kare

Traditional Adobo
Traditional Adobo

Adobo Experience Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Red’s in Ramsay

Feeling hungry after a session at the climbing gym, hubby and I decided to check out Red’s in Ramsay. It is really hard to find a brunch spot on weekends in Calgary, but Red’s uses the NoWait app which piqued my interest. It worked out really well for us. We arrived; we were seated ahead of a few other parties that were waiting. I wish that busy restaurants would use this more often. You don’t have to be at the restaurant to reserve your place in line.  It’s real time, unlike Open Table.

I dug into one of the specials of the day, turkey and bacon on marble rye with creamy chicken and vegetable soup. I found the food pretty average, but it was enough to satisfy a climbing appetite. Service was friendly, but a little spotty as they were busy. Nice location and definitely a neighborhood eatery.

Turkey and bacon sandwich with creamy chicken and vegetable soup
Turkey and bacon sandwich with creamy chicken and vegetable soup

Red's in Ramsay Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus

I went to the Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus for brunch a while ago, it has taken me this long to follow with the post. When we arrived, it was a Saturday around lunchtime. As expected, the place was fairly busy. I ordered the herb butter pannenkoeken. It made for a substantial meal. The side salad was a nice fresh accompaniment to the substantial pannenkoeken. Hubby preferred mine over his Mediterranean.

The icing on the cake (literally!) was the Black Forest pannenkoeken. It was big enough for three or four people to share, after the main meal. It came with a cupful of liquor in a chocolate cup! Good thing I was driving home, as hubby had it all to himself. It was definitely a chocolate and cherry lovers dream. Need to go back…

Kruidenboter (Herb butter) Ham, mushroom, onion and cheese served with a herb butter patty and a small house salad on top
Kruidenboter (Herb butter)
Ham, mushroom, onion and cheese served with a herb
butter patty and a small house salad on top

Mediterrian (Mediterranean) Chicken, spinach, olives, feta cheese, house blend cheese, garnished with fresh tomatoes and red onions
Mediterrian (Mediterranean)
Chicken, spinach, olives, feta cheese, house blend
cheese, garnished with fresh tomatoes and red onions

Zwarte Woud (Black Forest) Warm cherries, ice cream, whipped cream, Kirschwasser in a chocolate cup and chocolate sauce
Zwarte Woud (Black Forest)
Warm cherries, ice cream, whipped cream,
Kirschwasser in a chocolate cup and chocolate sauce

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Vina Pizza and Steakhouse

On this cold Saturday night we didn’t want to venture far for dinner. We went to an old standby, Dairy Lane, but the wait was 2o minutes. Not wanting to wait, we decided to try Vina’s next door.

Vina’s is a family run neighborhood restaurant. It was busy, but we were seated quickly. The menu is pizza and classic favorites. I decided on the Chicken Souvlaki. It came with a side salad and garlic bread. The portions were generous and the food was satisfying.  The food came out hot which is always a good thing. The roasted potatoes were nicely done and so was the chicken. The only thing was the vegetables looked like they were from frozen.

The service was friendly and quick and the prices were good value.

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