vanderb

Sorry for the slow response, burried at work these days with very little time at home to check up on things. The above mentioned Kensington area is always good for walking and coffeeing and is easily accessible from Downtown. Otherwise you're looking to head south from downtown (about 10 blocks on average) to 17th Avenue SW. Same idea as Kensington but a much longer stretch of walking and coffeeing. You may also know 17th Ave by it's other moniker... "the red mile".

Merlin's and my previous list are still valid and are all still in business, it's strange with all the loot in town and all the money being made there still aren't any new establishments of note. If you're looking for some outstanding home style Italian and don't mind getting to Kensington I highly recommend Niko's Bistro. It's not high end fine dinning but it is great food, extremely well executed in a friendly and intimate setting. The wine list is a bit irritating but the food more than makes up for it. The Penne a'la crema and the spaghettini Fruiti di Mare are both outstanding and very consistent. As for good wine shops downtown, there's Metrovino on 11th Avenue and 6th Street SW (Beltline area), Wine Cottage in Banker's Hall and if you're in the Kensington area at Niko's, Muse or Pulcinella's you can always hit the Kensington Wine Market.

I haven't had much of any time to contribute for the Calgary contingent of late and for that I apologize... but I can say that Merlin's list of great dinning in Calgary would closely match my own. I would add just a block away from Muse on Kensington Cres. NW there is Pulcinella's. They do an outstanding job of Napelitana pizza as well as other southern italian appetizers. Centini downtown on 8th Ave and 1st SE (across from Teatro) is also at the top of my list for fine Italian dinning, but this is likely due to the fact I have not made it to Capo. I recently had the opportunity to try Q Haute Cusine (the old La Caille on the Bow location). Our group had the 7 course tasting menu and were all very pleased. Content was varied and not the "usual" fare by any means. Of particular note were the sea perch poached in butter and the braised elk short ribs. Service was a little slip shod, but that is sadly very normal in Calgary right now as staff are very hard to come by, but it did not detract badly from the experience. Vanderb

Dinah Sarah, it was a pound cake in the strawberry short cake. It was very good and this coming from someone who does not normally partake of desert. The Reisling icewine was quite good, but I am not the best to judge as sweet wines are not something I normally enjoy.

NYE dinner at Truffle Pigs, Field, BC... you'll have to excuse my lack of forethought in not bringing a pen and paper to write down all the details... I've got most of it but a few of the wine pairings have eluded me. Not that they weren't great I was just so focused on trying to remember the food I didn't have brain power left for the wine. BTW all the wines served NYE were BC wines, which made me very happy especially the 2002 Black Hills Nota Bene. - Fondue and homemade pate with a Bellini - Shrimp Bisque w/ vietnamese style spring roll w/ Okanagan Pinot Gris - Thin sliced muscovy duck salad with Quebecois Chevre Noir and Arugula w/ Kettle Valley Pinot Noir - Large fresh water prawn and scallop on a bed of fresh mixed veggie slaw w/ Okanagan Gewürztraminer (dry) - Lychee and rosemary glace w/ Molson Canadian *explanation below - Rare lamb tournedos w/ yam fritter and black BC wild rice w/ Black Hills Nota Bene - "strawberry short cake" in a champagne flute w/ Mt Boucherie Riesling Ice wine Dinner was exceptional and I've only listed my selections from the nights menu, no way I could have committed the SO's selections as they were totally different. The real highlights for me were the duck salad, the duck was cut super thin and then fried like strips of bacon, and the lamb entree but that had more to do with the Nota Bene. The lamb was excellent and the black wild rice a great accompaniment based on the texture. The Nota Bene really went well with this and satisfied all of my taste buds' requirements. I would really like to get my hands on a few bottles of the Nota Bene but every time we're out in Oliver they are sold out * Explanation for the Molson Canadian - as a mid evening rest from all the food our hosts had us sing Bob and Doug Mackenzie's 12 days of Christmas, the Molson was the perfect pairing... too bad they didn't have stubbies. Overall the evening was outstanding, there were 30 of us in attendance mostly local Fieldites but a few from out of town, including a couple from the UK who were staying at Emerald Lake lodge but ate every meal (I mean every) at Truffle Pigs during their stay. There was a local musician with his acoustic guitar to keep us entertained and the food just kept coming. We rolled out about 15 minutes after midnight (started at 6:30pm) and joined many locals in a walk around town to try and work off the early courses. Once again a marvelous meal at Truffle Pigs, we'll be back... if possible for NYE next year too.

I ended very well for 2005 and although I forgot my pen and paper to note all the different wines we had paired with our tasting menu on NYE the top scores were for the Okanagan Kettle Valley Pinot Noir - 2003 and the top of the night 2002 Black Hills Nota Bene. Thank you to Truffle Pigs Bistro in Field, BC, Canada. Midnight was welcomed with a 2004 Blanc de Noir sparkling wine from Sumac Ridge. The Blanc de Noir was very good but I was not as happy with it as I have been with Sumac's Stellar Jay's sparkling. There was an under tone of petrol to the Blanc de Noir, not sure if it was supposed to be there as it was my first tasting... not unpleasant just odd.

Dinah Sarah, thanks for the info on the old Strombolis, sounds promising. I haven't been to Merle's yet, with the holiday season I just haven't had time but it is on my list. It will be hard to compare to Alberta King of Subs Montreal Smoked meat which is absolutely the best I've had west of Montreal. Now for NYE dinner at Truffle Pigs, you'll have to excuse my lack of forethought in not bringing a pen and paper to write down all the details... I've got most of it but a few of the wine pairings have eluded me. Not that they weren't great I was just so focused on trying to remember the food I didn't have brain power left for the wine. BTW all the wines served NYE were BC wines, which made me very happy especially the 2002 Black Hills Nota Bene. - Fondue and homemade pate with a Bellini - Shrimp Bisque w/ vietnamese style spring roll w/ Okanagan Pinot Gris - Thin sliced muscovy duck salad with Quebecois Chevre Noir and Arugula w/ Kettle Valley Pinot Noir - Large fresh water prawn and scallop on a bed of fresh mixed veggie slaw w/ Okanagan Gewürztraminer - Lychee and rosemary glace w/ Molson Canadian *explanation below - Rare lamb tournedos w/ yam fritter and black BC wild rice w/ Black Hills Nota Bene - "strawberry short cake" in a champagne glass w/ Mt Boucherie Riesling Ice wine Dinner was exceptional and I've only listed my selections from the nights menu, no way I could have committed the SO's selections as they were totally different. The real highlights for me were the duck salad, the duck was cut super thin and then fried like strips of bacon, and the lamb entree but that had more to do with the Nota Bene. The lamb was excellent and the black wild rice a great accompaniment based on the texture. The Nota Bene really went well with this and satisfied all of my taste buds' requirements. I would really like to get my hands on a few bottles of the Nota Bene but every time we're out in Oliver they are sold out * Explanation for the Molson Canadian - as a mid evening rest from all the food our hosts had us sing Bob and Doug Mackenzie's 12 days of Christmas, the Molson was the perfect pairing... too bad they didn't have stubbies. Overall the evening was outstanding, there were 30 of us in attendance mostly local Fieldites but a few from out of town, including a couple from the UK who were staying at Emerald Lake lodge but ate every meal (I mean every) at Truffle Pigs during their stay. There was a local musician with his acoustic guitar to keep us entertained and the food just kept coming. We rolled out about 15 minutes after midnight (started at 6:30pm) and joined many locals in a walk around town to try and work off the early courses. Once again a marvelous meal at Truffle Pigs, we'll be back... if possible for NYE next year too.

Now I wonder where you got this idea for NYE? I'm not as up on my champagnes as I'd like to be but I'm very fond of Erhenfelser, Auxerois or even a dry Guerwertztraminer (sp) with my fondue. There are people with far greater wine knowledge out here than myself but I thought I'd add my two bits.

Just out of curiosity does anyone watching this thread know what's going into the old Strombolis location in Kensington (Calgary)? I had heard the last new owner was arrested for cocaine trafficing and that the original Stombolis owners had bought it back. The renos are intense, they have completely gutted the place and are starting from scratch (at least on the main floor that I can see when walking by). Still no idea of what will be going in though... it would be great to have an affordable Italian joint in the hood again. I love Osteria de Medici but every day affordable it is not.

Truffle Pigs --- Field is located about 15 minutes west of Lake Louise, so not quite 3 hours from Calgary but it really depends on how you drive. Truffle Pigs is a great little bistro that is also the town grocery store and liquor store. They have about 8 tables with an extra 5 on the patio during the summer. It's hard to describe the menu, some of it is asian fusion, but some is Canadian regional and then they have a little continental depending on the chef's feeling of the day/week/month. What I can attest to is their quality in sourcing ingredients (no small feat in Kickinghorse Pass), preparing those ingredients, presenting same ingredients and then serving them. I have not been disappointed with a meal/experience there at any time. If you are vegetarian you would be happy to know they do prepare fully veggie meals that include veggie stocks and sauces. It really is the attention to detail by a highly skilled and dedicated staff that makes this place so darn good. I seem to be going on ad nauseum... I'll cut it short... and honestly I don't work there or have a stake in the place . I had a phone call last night from Truffle Pigs to let me know dinner is at 6:30pm on the 31st, starting with a champagne and fondue reception. They apologized for the early start time but explained the number of courses for the evening necessitated the early start. Needless to say I did not complain.

Quote- vanderb - nice to hear you enjoy the Italian Supermarket, I have purchased many grocery items from there but haven't tried their pizza will give it a go, I believe they had an anchoivy pizza - that's my speed!.... Have you tried the Italian Store at McKnight - behind Westjet.... their prices are much better being in the east - although their dinning area is hit and miss..Lina's and Mercato on 4th are way off on pricing WTH is that... have you been? Let me know about your NYE menu - we like to get away for a weekend - nice to hear more about the place... End Quote - Dinah Sarah, the Italian Supermarket (IS) only does the pizzas on Saturdays from 11am - 2 or 3pm and it gets busy... but they are certainly are worth it. The Italian store on McKnight is Scarpone's if I'm not mistaken and I haven't been in quite a while as I don't live in the area. I go to Lina's every now and again but mostly if I want bread or something particular from their deli case (as it's more extensive than IS). Lina's does have the best selection of Italian breads around, IS can't compare. I haven't been to Mercato yet because all the reviews I've heard have not been good. Everyone I've spoken to said their grocery prices were ridiculous and this has kept me away. Lina's prices are also quite high and is why I really only go for very specific items. If you want more info on Truffle Pigs let me know NYE is not our first visit (by a long shot) nor our first NYE dinner there. I'm somewhat devoted to the place having spent some of the best meals/evenings of my life up there.

Had an excellent Cali Syrah with the bird last night, but the top of the heap was a pre-turkey dinner of Elk pie with hunter sauce... decanted a 2002 Burrowing Owl Merlot (the last of the batch). The merlot was velvetty and full of wonderful fruit, I'm very sad it was the last bottle. The only up side is I still have a few other Okanagan vintages cellaring, Nichol 2003 Syrah, Lake Breeze 7 Poplars Merlot, Sumac Ridge vertial Merlot tasting (2000, 2001 & 2002) and a Hillside Barrel Reserve Gamay to name a few. This winter won't be so bad.

Got to admit I was feeling very lonely here the past many months. It was very rare to see another posting from someone in (or near) Calgary. Perhaps I won't be so shy now there are a few more folks kicking around. Haven't had much time to dine out lately with all the family obligations but did manage a wood fired pizza at the Italian Supermarket (4th St and 20th Ave NE) last weekend. I'm always happy with their pizza margarita. Prior to this it was old school steak at Ceasar's for a business dinner the week before. I don't eat much beef these days (mostly buffalo, elk, lamb or ostrich for a red meat fix) but they do a phenomenal ribeye there. I had it medium rare with peppercorn crust and a twice baked potato. The only disappointment was the rest of the crew didn't drink wine... I would have really enjoyed a nice Syrah or Zweigelt with that steak. Next weekend it's NYE dinner at Truffle Pigs in Field, BC. I can't wait, I just wish they'd call to tell me what's on the menu... the anticipation is killing me.

My preferred additions are rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, frozen peas/corn and an egg. I like to whisk the egg a tiny bit so you get bits of egg throughout the noodles.

Friday night just outside Banff, Alberta - 7000 feet above sea level at the Sunshine Inn, Sunshine Ski resort. It's not really so much about the food up here as it is the skiing and the hot tub. I guess if you've got the cash for the Eagles Nest dinning room there are some great meals to be had, but after the cost of the room I'm stuck in the lounge. Did bring along some great Happy Days chevre frais and a very nice Quebecois goat cheese (rolled in vegetable ash) to have post skiing and pre dinner. For dinner stuck to a bowl of the potato leek soup and half a pizza (spinach, chicken and roast garlic). Not the best bowl of soup nor the best pizza but the early season skiing was great and even better was just getting away for a couple of days.

I'll mention this again on this post in the event it attracts anyone to little old Alberta... we do have BYOB in this province and it's legal. Restaurants charge whatever they wish depending on the scale of the restaurant. For example Charley Chan's (a simple chinese resto down the street) charges $2 per person per bottle, where as more upscale Muse charges $20 or $22 (can't remember). There are even a number of restaurants such as Piq Niq who have "no corkage fee" nights, bring your own at no charge. The etiquette is simple, call first to ensure the restaurant does allow it (not all do or want to), ask if the wine you are bringing is on the wine list (leave yours at home if it is) and bring it in a bag when you show up at the restaurant. It's fairly simple and quite enjoyable.

According to another culinary website Gieuseppe has been seen around town lending a hand at a couple of restaurants, Teatro and La Tavola (Penny Lane). I have not yet heard if he's found a permanent home or who the potential attractors for his talents are. It is a shame he's left Il Sogno but it doesn't mean I won't return, change can be a good thing!

Good topic, tough to keep local (Calgary)... a trip to Sicily and Campania earlier in June had most of my stunning dishes of the year, but here goes. Soup: Roasted chestnut and creme frais soup at Muse Starter: Parsnip skordalia at Piato, with the Urban Baker's sesame bread Main: the family roast organic free range chicken stuffed with garlic and lemon. Until this year I haven't had an oven that worked well enough to do this safely and now that I can it's my favourtie dish. Desert: Cheese board and white port at Il Sogno. I'm not a desert person but I do love cheese and the cheeses on the board perfectly accompanied the white port. I may have to revise this after my NYE dinner at Truffle Pigs Bistro, high up in the Rockie mountains in Field, BC. Haven't been able to get there this year and it's normally my 5 star pick of the year.

I have to recommend a couple in BC (aside from Poplar Grove which was my first choice). Carmelis Goat Cheese in Kelowna, did a tasting there this fall and it was excellent. They had over 20 different types of goat cheeses ranging from the freshest of chevres to the well aged almost parmigano styles. http://www.carmelisgoatcheese.com/ Happy Days Goat Dairy in Salmon Arm is my next recommendation. I haven't actually been there yet but the cheese shop down the street carrys a couple of their chevres and both are excellent. I'm a sucker for a nice fresh chevre though. http://www.happydaysdairy.com/products.html Carmelis has on-line ordering but Happy Days just has a list of their distributors, although their list is out of date so you may want to contact them directly.

Calgary on Friday night to celebrate a recent promotion, went to my favourite special night out location - Muse. Once again a great dinner, excellent service and a good bottle of wine (although I wish Christian would get a few bottles under $40, I always feel like such a cheap skate ordering a $50 bottle). Started with the trio of salmon, one was a nicely grilled piece of sockeye, another smoked salmon wrapped around avacado and third was a little fried salmon cake. My entree was the duo of lamb, first was lamb loin grilled medium rare, second was a fried lamb cake/fritter thing that is out of this world, accompanyment were roasted potatoes, mushroom ragu and green beans. Finished off with a cheese plate and cognac. I can't complain about anything or any part of the evening, outstanding as always. Last Saturday finally tried the much ballyhooed Uptown Sushi on 11th Ave and 11th Street SW. It was as good as everyone else (chowhound.com) had said it was. Very fresh fish well presented and with prices I can afford weekly. I really enjoyed the ambiance and decor they had going, it's a small unpretentious space but it didn't feel small. Delivery for orders over $30 means there will be a fewer chinese orders to the door and more sushi in the near future.

On Saturday morning my fall half lamb arrived (vacuum wrapped in my selected cuts) so I had to leave a couple of very nice shoulder chops out for dinner. Simple prep, EVOO, salt and pepper grilled to medium rare. To accompany white asparagus (my first time), rolled in the same prep as the lamb then grilled right next to it on the BBQ. I really enjoyed the white asparagus it has a far more delicate flavour than the green. Last night a couple of thick centre cut pork loin chops browned in a hot pan and set aside. Next in the pan EVOO, garlic, ginger, purple onion, crimini mushrooms sauteed a few mins later with green peppercorns and cognac. Once all this was brought together and looking good, a cup of chicken broth, a large can of crushed tomatoes and a tube of Hungarian paprika paste was added. Chops back in the covered pan and into a slow oven (240F) for almost 5 hours. A few mins before serving I removed chops, mushrooms most of the solids, added in 5 big spoons of plain yoghurt and mixed. I boiled up some German spatzle and then tossed it in the sauce and served as the side for the chops. Excellent slow cook, I had never used the Hungarian paprika paste before and it was great, I'll buy it again.

I've been good at home and only have a few little knife nicks, most notably when I got a new french chef's blade for Xmas many years ago. I'd been so accustomed to the dull old knives I'd been using for years that the new sharp one was unexpected... as was the very deep gash to the thumb print. Bled for a couple of hours, but that's standard I bleed like a stuck pig on the best of occasions. When I was working my way through University as a pizza/line cook I burned the living hell out of my forearms, pizza ovens at an awkward height are somewhat dangerous. Strangley these burns left almost no scars... but maybe that's just the passage of time, it's been a few years since University. Obviously I'm paying way to much attention at home, I'll have to learn to be more distracted/aggresive in the kitchen.

I'm a big fan of ground Elk (or Bison) burgers, essentially the same mix as for meatballs except I don't add any other fatty meats, bbq to perfection then top with a generous lump of fresh chevre cheese. Annoint with whatever sauces you find appropriate for a burger and serve on a crusty toasted kaiser. This is burger heaven. I just don't eat beef burgers since discovering how flavourful and healthy elk, bison and ostrich are. I know the ostrich isn't game in N. America but thought I'd mention it anyway.

In Calgary... New Vietnamese place in Kensington, Indochine... yes another Vietnamese place in Calgary, you'd think we'd be tired of it by now but we're not. This is in the location previously housing Bamboo Palace (Thai/Lao) and Seika Sushi (many moons ago). Indochine was pretty good considering we wandered in on their 2nd night open, the salad rolls were fresh and had some very nice fat shrimps in them. I had my old stand by Pho (sliced rare beef) and was very happy, the broth was excellent and the noodles just the right thickness for me. The only small bone of contention... they have draft beer (a few to chose from) but they are charging pint glass prices for beer glass sizes!? I'll stick to bottled beer in the future or their wine list which was pretty good all things considered. Friday night we went to Abruzzo Ristorante on the corner of 8th Street and 4th Avenue SW. I've been walking or driving by this place as long as I can remember and never gone in till Friday. We started with their obligatory bruscetta and a bottle of Montepulciano, the bruscetta was good, excellent tomatoes and EVOO used, not too garlicy. For the appetizer we went with the sauteed calamari in a tomato sauce but were sadly disappointed as the calamari was overcooked and tough. I went for an old favourite next, canneloni filled with veal topped with bechmel, tomato sauce and cheese. This was very average, nothing to really write home about. Not sure if we'll be back. I do wish there was a better affordable Italian place in Kensington, as Strombolis was back in it's day. Osteria de Medici is great but not really the everyday dinning place I'd like, plus the owner (Antoinetta) can be a bit frightening with her authoritarian attitude.

Last night... I had some chinese BBQ'd pork so I got a hold of the wok and some lo mein noodles. In the wok, chopped garlic, scallion, ginger, a little vegetable oil, then some bird's eye chilis stored in fish sauce, lime zest, lime juice, kafir lime leaves, mushrooms, the BBQ'd pork and at the very end spinich leaves, lots of red rice wine vinegar and some Rooster sauce. Poured all this over the lo mein and served. I usually do this with baby bok choys not spinich but the spinch was pretty good too, I'll just use more next time as a handful wasn't enough. Tonight... roasted organic free range chicken. We'll stuff it with a lemon, one head of garlic, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper, rub in a little EVOO on the skin, surround with little yukon gold potatoes and then roast. A small spinich salad to accompany and the last bottle of the Elephant Island pear wine. I can hardly wait.