[Dine-Out] Calgary: Bonterra Trattoria {Big Taste 2013} March 8, 2013

In an attempt to not be a horrible blogger, here’s another post on Big Taste 2013!

I would like to preface my next sentence with the following statement: I usually don’t like Italian food, I don’t know why, I just never feel like Italian food.

I. ADORE. BONTERRA. Pretty much, it’s the only Italian restaurant that I have voluntarily gone to for the last 2 years. The food here is delicious, the atmosphere is homey and welcoming, the portions are huge, and they have an amazing patio (when the weather is nice, of course).

Go here for the Big Taste. Their $15 lunch menu is amazing. Case and point:

Agnello e Cinghiale

The Big Taste menu’s 1st course is Agnello e Cinghiale, which literally means lamb and wild boar. It’s a gorgeous little plate of pâté (of lamb and boar) topped with micro greens, blood orange, pistachio, and sea salt.

I didn’t want to have 2 plates of the same thing, so I ordered à la carte and got the ricotta from the antipasti section as a starter.

$11

Holy moly. This was a huge plate of ricotta. Of delicious ricotta – so not complaining. But man, I was pretty stuffed by the time I made my way through this plate. I even shared.

Locally made ricotta cheese. Cherries. Sea salt. Crostini. Lovely. Make sure that you ration the cherries though, the rich and creamy ricotta taste infinity more delicious when eaten with the sweet yet tart cherries.

Big Taste Main – Tagliatelle Bolognese

Tagliatelle Bolognese – a delicious portion of beef, veal, wild boar, shiitake mushroom, sweet pea, and grana padano.

Half size – $12

I got the half portion of spaghetti alla puttanesca. It comes with side stripe shrimp, bay scallop, tomato, black olive, squid, anchovy, and basil. This sounded scrumptious on the menu because of all the seafood BUUUTTT the first bite that I took must have had a lot of black olive in it annd I made the bf switch me dishes. I don’t like the taste of olives, but I thought I could handle it because of all the delicious seafood. Apparently that was just my bite though because the bf said that it wasn’t as olive-y as I made it out to be.

You can see from the picture below the difference between the half portion and the full portion. It’s pretty much exactly a half portion.

Pasta Galore!

And for the big taste dessert - Cioccolato del Scoppio:

Pretty much a cake pop

Moist chocolatey cake innards

The dessert was okay, but as I might have mentioned before – I don’t really like chocolate. It was a double chocolate Nutella cake pop – the Nutella made the cake super moist though. The candy pearls were a nice touch.

Fact: I have a reservation for the Big Taste dinner at Bonterra this weekend.

You should get one too.

BONTERRA TRATTORIA
1016 8 Street Southwest
Calgary, AB T2R 0J3
(403) 262-8480

 

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Ric’s Grill {Big Taste 2013} March 4, 2013

I’ve been having a great time with the Big Taste. Always excited for this event.

Thought I’d post this before the event ends. DON’T BOTHER WITH RIC’S GRILL.

Such a mediocre restaurant. There are so many better participating restaurants to try that this one is definitely not worth your time, money, or stomach room.

I really should’ve listened to my gut (hahaha) and not bothered with this place. I always look at the menu and think about going for dinner. And every time I would decide that it wasn’t worth going to. The prices aren’t great and the menu isn’t even that exciting. But I thought, hey, for $35 – why not give it a try?

I mean, the quantity of food isn’t bad for $35, but the quality? That’s another story. And, man, the servers there do not dress appropriately. Also, service wasn’t the greatest. We had to wait upwards of 20 minutes to even get our bill, pay, and leave.

First – the bread. It totally reminds me of the bread you get when you go to Old Spaghetti Factory. Where they charge you $10 for a 3 course pasta meal. Yeah. That one.

Bah

These weren’t half bad. Toasted coconut prawns. After eating the first one did it occur to me that I don’t like coconut on my food. Haha, oops.

Toasted Coconut Prawns

The escargot weren’t half bad either. Canned variety? They came out super hot. Super greasy and cheesy. Again, reminds me of something you could get at Old Spaghetti…

Escargot Stuffed Mushrooms

For his main, the bf got the Salmon Florentine. “Grilled wild salmon topped with prawns, tomatoes and fresh basil in brandy cream sauce. Served with basmati rice pilaf & seasonal vegetables”. Shocking – no fresh basil anywhere. Instead of the rice pilaf, he got a double serving of vegetables.

Salmon Florentine

I got the 6 oz Sterling Silver Filet Mignon served with chef’s roasted potatoes, seasonal vegetables & cognac cream sauce. The beef wasn’t good. You would like it’d be good since Ric’s is a steakhouse. And, it was wrapped in bacon. Buuuut, not good beef. It had a not pleasing texture. Also, I got the chef’s roasted potatoes, which the server described as “covered in an artichoke cream sauce”. Nope. No sauce. No hint of artichoke. No hint of cream. Pretty much I just got a side of potato hash that you could get anywhere at brunch. Also the bok choy was bitter. Like super bitter. Bitter to the point that I complained and got a new side of veggies.

Filet Mignon Wrapped in Bacon

For dessert I got the vanilla bean creme brûlée. Pretty sure it was just vanilla extract. There was none of the vanilla specks you would expect to get from actual vanilla bean. Also the texture of the brûlée was more of an egg custard texture. I didn’t mind it.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brûlée

The bf got the goat cheese cheesecake with fresh berry compote.

Goooat

Pretty much this was the reason that swayed me to come. I mean I <3 goat cheese cheesecake. I had an awesome one at Open Range over the holiday and thought I’d see if this one would stack up. Not much goat cheese flavour, but overall not too too bad.

Again, the food isn’t bad per se…but it’s not good either. Very run of the mil. Nothing fancy. Pretty much like a more expensive Moxie’s but even less exciting. If that’s possible.

RIC’S GRILL
1436 8th Street Southwest
Calgary, AB T2R 1R7
(403) 269-7427

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Manuel Latruwe Belgian Patisserie & Bread Shop February 18, 2013

First thing first: I NEED to go back and have some of the baked goodies. I can’t believe I didn’t order any when I was there…what was I thinking?

Ok, on to lunch:

What could be hiding under all the greens?!

I got the ham and spinach quiche with a side of fresh garden salad.

Small Quiche $11.50

I don’t think I like quiches. The foamy eggy texture just doesn’t do it for me. Not that this one was bad or anything, I just don’t think I enjoy consuming quiches…

The bf got a baguette sandwich, which, by the way, is a way better deal than the quiche.

Baguette Sandwich $7.62

He got the Sourdough Baguette, which comes with Calabrese salami, aged Gruyere cheese, tomato confit, and black olives. Pretty decent sized sandwich for eight bucks, also, fresh baked bread!

Lovely salads though.

MANUEL LATRUWE BELGIAN PATISSERIE AND BREAD SHOP
1333 1 Street Southeast
Calgary, AB T2G 5L1
(403) 261-1092

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Escoba Bistro & Wine Bar February 17, 2013

I think Escoba has one of the better value charcuterie boards in Calgary. I love coming here just for a light meal. The bf and I usually share a charcuterie plate and a cheese plate, have some drinks, and have a relaxing night out. I also love the window seating the restaurants offer. In the summer time (or whenever its nice out), the windows are open and it’s just a great feeling!

Cheese Plate $18

For the cheese plate, $18 gets you a selection of five cheeses or $14 for three cheeses. In hindsight, since the charcuterie board also comes with some cheeses, the selection of three would’ve been sufficient. If you’re getting both boards, make sure to ask the server not to double up on the cheeses (unless you want to, of course). So making sure whatever cheeses come on the charcuterie board aren’t the same ones on your cheese board.

I’m awesome with cheeses (I pretty much only eat brie), so I can’t tell you what they are. But I think they usually have the same selection of 5 anyways. One will be a blue, one will be a brie, one will be a cheddar…so on, so on. I love the fruit preserve it comes with. I slathered it all over my garlic baguette.

Charcuterie Plate  $24

This is probably one of the most reasonably priced charcuterie boards ever. I love all the variety that comes on it and for not that expensive either! In the back right is a grilled chorizo sausage, going clockwise, there are some olives, prosciutto, pickled green beans, some sort of veined cheese, garlic flatbread. Going on the inside, the yellow-y mound in the middle is hummus, to its left - smoked duck and to its right – salmon gravlax. I think I’m especially enamoured with the grilled chorizo sausage – it’s nice to have something warm on what’s usually a cold appetizer.

ESCOBA BISTRO AND WINE BAR
624 8 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 1G4
(403) 543-8911

[Dine-Out] Canmore: Mountain Mercato February 16, 2013

Mountain Mercato is probably one of the best places in Canmore to grab a quick bite to eat. There are lots of pubs and more expensive restaurants in Calgary, so MM is a nice option for someone that doesn’t want greasy pub food but also don’t want to fork out an arm and a leg.

For my main, I got a large portion of its feature soup for $7.25:

Crazy big portions!

This was such a HUGE bowl of soup. It was some sort of chunky chicken and tomato soup.  I love me some tomato soup, but I definitely could not finish this. The bowl was probably the size of my head (and I have a huge head). Next time, I would definitely get the small portion…

The bf got the Italiano panini for $10:

Who doesn’t love a panini?

The Italiano comes stuffed with salumi, provolone, and balsamic peppers. Bf said it was delicious.

We also got an aperitivo to share:

Salumi and Olives $11

This was such a great portion for the price. I wish there was somewhere to get quality meat boards for this price in Calgary…

Can’t quite recall what all the meats were, but there is some housemade pate and a variety of salumi in there…just some yummy cured meats is all you need to know!

Mmm…this makes me want to go back to Canmore. Maybe a weekend hike is in order.

MOUNTAIN MERCATO
817 8 Street
Canmore, AB T1W 2B3
(403) 609-6631

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Diary Lane Cafe February 8, 2013

I’ve heard so many good things about brunch at Diary Lane Cafe, that we finally made our way down there one Sunday morning. It’s a little out of the way, but it makes for a nice walk on a nice, warm morning. There was a little line when we got there, but it wasn’t too bad. I think we got in after waiting 15 minutes…

The bf got the Triple Double. Seemed a little excessive…but, to each his own…

TRIPLE DOUBLE $15.75

This was SO much food. He barely finished it. He definitely loved all the protein. The breakfast plate came with THREE Sylvan Star eggs, Broek Pork sausages, Spolumbo’s chicken sausages, and local naturally cured bacon. And on top of all that, there were local red potato hash browns and Engel’s toast. Crazy. We both could’ve definitely shared this.

I got the back bacon and Sylvan Star Gruyere stuffed french toast. I have this love hate relationship with french toast. I hate french toast but I love it when it’s stuffed with salty goodness. French toast is always a hit or miss for me. For example: awful french toast experience here.

Back Bacon & Sylvan Star Gruyere Stuffed French Toast $12.75

This one was…drum roll…GOOD! I loved the little details like the chives on top. and the bread wasn’t too soggy. Also, loved the local red potato hash.

The rest of the menu looked delicious too. It also serves lunch and dinner, will have to come back and try it some other time~

DIARY LANE CAFE
319 19 Street Northwest
Calgary, AB T2N 2J2
(403) 283-2497

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Black Betty Burger & Winebar December 29, 2012

The bf and I made a trip down to Black Betty to try out its grilled cheeses. We really didn’t plan on having alcoholic drinks that night, but BACON & SMOKED SALMON CAESARS? Ok, definitely have to give them a try.

The drinks were $8 each. Which, is…reasonable…

You know you live in Calgary when $8 is considered reasonable for a drink.

I got the “Bakon Caesar” which came with stripes of bacon actually in the drink. Fantastic. The bf got the Smoked Salmon one, no bacon so obviously, not as awesome. But still good.

I <3 Caesars

The bf got “The Betty”. He was intrigued by the house blend brisket patty. It was so-so. Nothing spectacular, but for $15, can’t complain too much. The burger came with mozzarella, maple peppered bacon, frizzled onion, vine-ripened tomato, butter leaf lettuce, and honey truffle Dijon.

Not too shabby

Fries were yucky though – too limp and soggy.

I got the “New Classic”, which is a brie, poached apple, maple pepper bacon, and applewood cheddar grilled cheese. Quite yummy. I love the combination of brie and apple. Plus the addition of bacon = bliss.

I got a side of the feature soup, which was a Thai soup of some sort. There was actually a couple shrimps in it, which was a welcomed surprise.

Grilled Cheese & Soup. Classic.

The restaurant itself was quite loud though. There was a live band upstairs, which, don’t get me wrong, I love live music, but it was really really LOUD. We sat downstairs right near the staircase so the sound just travelled straight down. We could barely have a conversation without shouting at each other. Probably would’ve been more enjoyable were we sat a little further in.

But all in all = pretty good, would definitely go back.

BLACK BETTY BURGER AND WINEBAR
606 1 Street Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 3B1
(403) 265-4230

[Dine-Out] Calgary: 80th and Ivy December 22, 2012

Short post.

We went to 80th and Ivy for dinner. Ordered a butcher board filled with hunks of meat:

So. Much. Protein.

I shared this with a girlfriend. We definitely had leftovers. For $60 total, it isn’t too bad of a deal. Top left is roasted mushrooms, going clockwise, half a rotisserie chicken, Driview lamb, delicious delicious Spring Creek rib eye (I <3 beef), and roasted brussel sprouts. I can’t remember the sauces in the middle. I think the one in the middle was a gravy and the rest was rotisserie jus. Didn’t like them much anyways.

Oh. My. God. Was the brussel sprouts ever good – double smoked bacon and maple drizzle. Makes all vegetables delicious. 

All in all, it was pretty good food, really good atmosphere, and 80th and Ivy had some pretty cool drinks

80TH AND IVY
1127 17 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2T 0B4
(403) 452-6905

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Añejo December 21, 2012

So, I’d like to start off by saying that…I don’t like Mexican food. Well, that is, I thought I didn’t like Mexican food. I’ve always been forced to go to places like Julio’s for “Mexican” food but its menu is just full of overpriced fajitas and deep fried platters. Yuck.

BUT. I. LOVE. AÑEJO.

The food there is so fresh and so frigging delicious. I would eat here all the time.

We ordered the guacamole to share. Made table side. Love. Añejo’s guacamole is made with avocado, serrano, jalapeño, onion, tomato, lime, and sea salt.

Delicious Pile of Green Goodness

Tortilla Chips

I found the guacamole just a tad bit acidic. Maybe too much lime juice.

We also ordered six tacos to share.

TACOS

We got two beef short rib, two adobo pork, and two crispy red snapper. All the tacos are filled with picked cabbage, cilantro, red onion, avocado, and fresh jalapeño.

Beef

Snapper

The snapper was my favourite with the beef a close second. The beef had a nice spice to it and I really liked the texture. The pork was waaaay not on the list. It was just kind of plain tasting, I would definitely not order the pork again next time. Man, three tacos and guacamole = way too much food for me. It doesn’t look like a lot of food but boy, does it ever fill you up.

Tres Salsas

Top left is the pico de gallo, top right is the salsa picasa (spiciest salsa ever), and the green one is salsa verde. All delicious but I especially love the salsa picasa and its spiciness. Lather it in your taco with caution!

AÑEJO
#2, 2116 – 4 Street Southwest
Calgary, AB T2S 1W7
(587) 353-2656

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Koto Sushi Lounge November 30, 2012

3 words.

Do. Not. Like.

I’ve come here a couple of times before with the Groupon voucher (obviously no posts on those because I’m an awful blogger). The times I’ve used the Groupon vouchers, the food was fine. I mean, you can’t really complain about $30 restaurant sushi. Like, even if the food wasn’t that great, it was still good enough for super cheap sushi.

But a whoolllleeee different story when it’s $60, full-price sushi.

So, tonight we went there for dinner. I really wanted sushi and it was between Koto and food court sushi because I was really really hungry and needed food that was within 5 minutes of the mall.

We ordered 4 pieces of sushi and 4 rolls. Yes, we are only 2 people. Again, we were really hungry. Yes, we ate it all, but it wasn’t enjoyable.

[L to R] Shichimi Spicy Prawn, Dragon

The Shichimi Spicy Prawn, according to the menu, Japan traditional spice, chopped prawn mixed with spicy mayo, tempura prawn, mayo, tobiko, sweet eel sauce, and seaweed powder. One of the main things I don’t like about all these ‘fancy rolls’ is the unnecessary addition of unnecessary ingredients. I mean, why do we need more mayo when there’s already spicy mayo. Also, “chopped prawn mixed with spicy mayo” gives the impression of majority prawns, minority mayo. Noooot 90% mayo and 10% shrimp paste. The main thing that made this unenjoyable: stale tempura prawn in the middle. Like super stale. Like probably cooked it during the lunch rush stale.

Dragon, according to the menu, grilled giant eel, avocado, tempura prawn, mayo, tobiko, eel sauce, and sesame seed. I think their menu is wrong, there was no tempura prawn in this roll. And their “giant” eel was super not giant (see above). Nothing overly wrong with this one.

[Clockwise from Top L] Tamago, Volcano Calamari Maki, Saba, BC Salmon Skin Maki

First of all, the tamago tasted weird. I read somewhere that tamago is a good gauge of how good a sushi restaurant is. It’s probably more accurate for sushi restaurants actually in Japan, but nevertheless. I had half a bite and it tasted so weird that I had to give the rest to the bf so he could try. His words: “It tastes like pollock, like imitation crab meat“. Soooo, ya. Weird.

The Volcano Calamari was okay. Albacore tuna, calamari, cucumber, and volcano sauce. Meh, mediocre. Too much sauce. Rice was too starchy.

The saba was only also okay. I’m a firm believer that mackerel should come with grated ginger and sliced scallions. It just seems like the chef is lazy when it doesn’t.

Guilty pleasure = BC rolls. I really like these little suckers with the salmon skin. This was so. not. good. The salmon skin was limp and cold. Definitely not fresh. Stale like the tempura shrimp. Probably cooked during the same lunch rush period. Could’ve even been Thursday’s lunch rush period.

So. Never eating here again. I’m having the worst case of meal regret. I think I would’ve even preferred mall sushi. At least my wallet would be last affected by it…

KOTO SUSHI LOUNGE
435 4 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 0J4
(403) 457-2898