Hubby and I happened to be in the deep south of town Monday night. On our way home, we were looking for a place for dinner. We decided on San Remo, conveniently located off the Deerfoot in McKenzie Rowne. It was also $10 pasta night, so their usual menu of five pastas blossomed into twelve. It’s good value as the pastas are half or more off the usual price.
Hubby and I shared the prosciutto and melon appetizer. They were nice enough to split it into two servings for us. It looked beautiful and tasted just as good. Hubby ordered the braised beef short rib. He really enjoyed it.
I ordered the lasagna for my main. The portion size looked small but it was surprisingly filling. It had a nice, rich flavour. The service was prompt and fast, but not rushed. I had a good experience here and would return if it wasn’t so far from where I live.
Prosciutto & Melon Thinly sliced prosciutto & cantaloupe, lemon, mascarpone, truffle cream.Lasagna House made pasta layered high with meat, tomato and cream sauces, topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, then oven baked.
I like a little fusion with my Italian; it keeps things interesting. On a Thursday night, the place was just about empty. Given that, parking was still a challenge. Avoid the $15 Stampede lots south of the restaurant. Instead, as advertised on their webpage, try NW of the location around 10th Ave. We parked just down the street from Village Ice Cream. Convenient dessert.
I like the decor. It is in an historical building, called the Dafoe Terrace, built in 1910. The interior is cozy with a modern touch.
I started with the minestrone. It came out piping hot. I had to give it a moment to cool before I wet my whistle. It was fresh tasting and had a rich tomato flavor. I ordered the Nero linguine for my main. I was surprised that the pasta was made from squid ink. It was piping hot like the previous dish and delightful. The seafood was cooked to a turn; the scallops and prawns were still juicy. Hubby enjoyed his gnocchi.
The service was top notch and quick. Definitely worth a return visit.
NERO LINGUINI scallops, prawns, mussels, tomato, onion, garlic, basil, tomato sauceGNOCCHI house made ricotta and potato gnocchi, double smoked bacon, red onion, tomato, basil, red chili, tomato sauce
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
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 & DillRoasted Mount View Chicken Breast, Lamb Bacon Choucroute & Dijon SauceDaily special ribeye…With a large Yorkshire pudding“Ile Flottante” – Fluffy Meringue, Lemon Curd, Blood Orange Segments
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 FalafelHalawet El Gibin
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.
Eggs Benedict with Burger and BalsamicVero Traditional
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 pepperoniItalian Stallion with sausage
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.
Chuka Wakame Salad
The grilled oyster was pretty tasty. It was cooked in a mayonnaise and cheese sauce, topped with tobiko.
Yakigaki (Grilled oyster)
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.
Tonkotsu Ramen
The staff were pleasant and friendly. We went early in the dinner hour, so it wasn’t too busy. Return visit? I think so.
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.
char siu tacos, pineapple salsa
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
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
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.
I was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes look at the St Laurent Cake House. One of my co-workers is a co-owner of the bakery and this is how I stumbled upon this opportunity. The owner has also worked as a baker in China and at Maxim’s in Vancouver.
My friend Joanne, and I managed to fit ourselves awkwardly in the tiny space that was the bakery. The first thing that came out of the oven was the Chinese style “pigs in a blanket”. I love the taste of fresh from the oven baking. The taste of a freshly baked bao right out of the oven is indescribable. I sampled the BBQ pork, hotdog bun and egg tart.
Being a baker is hard work. The owner typically works from 7am to 10pm. The prep for the next day, which includes fillings and dough is done the previous day. They are fast, and they are efficient. All the baking is done by noon so that is the best time to head down.
In the morning, the items are fresh baked. For the second proofing, they use a specialty oven that maintains humidity at 70%. I think I need something like that for my kitchen, as my buns are never as light and fluffy as they are from a bakery.
They have a large variety of buns and items for a 1-2 person shop. They are known for their delicious cakes which are also made fresh the day they are picked up. Their mango cream cake is super good. The egg tarts are delish, and they are also known for raisin twists.
I also sampled their peanut butter napoleon. The light creamy peanut custard was a nice foil for the layers of puff pastry. There was huge pasta roller like machine for rolling dough to an even thickness, as you would need for this type of pastry.
Their other offerings included: BBQ pork bun, meat roll (pork), curry beef bun, chicken pie, coconut tart, red bean paste bun, taro buns, pineapple custard bun, cocktail bun, walnut bread, sponge cake and an assortment of other pastries similar to a napoleon.
Enjoy the baking while it lasts, as the owners are looking to sell the bakery. It has a put a lot of demand on their life outside of work.
I give credit to Joanne for some of the lovely photography.
Egg tartsPig in a blanket, Chinese style, photo by JoanneHotdog buns, photo by JoanneDoh!Kneading doh!Painting egg wash on BBQ pork bunsCoconut tart shells, photo by JoanneIt’s all in the scoop, photo by JoanneRaisin twists, photo by JoanneYum. Photo by JoanneTaro baoAn assortment of goodies – egg tart, chicken pie, peanut butter napolean, meat roll and BBQ pork buns, photo by JoanneStorefront
