[Quick Bite] Calgary: Alley Burger February 14, 2013

Ah – the one that started it all. Alley Burger. Of the CHARCUT Fame. Garlic-y, delicious goodness.

After waiting in a crazy long line. Finally:

The goods.

We got the original alley burgers:

Regular ($8)

Local natural pork and roasted garlic sausage patty, Quebec cheese curds, and Piri Piri Aioli. I love that you can get most toppings for free (onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, ketchup, pickles, jalapeños). Some toppings are extra (egg, bacon, cheese curds are $1 each).

“Spiced Your Way” Fries – $3.95

I loaded the fries with all three of the delicious salts sitting outside the van. I love gourmet salts.

DISCLAIMER: These burgers are garlic-y. Have a full pack of gum at your disposal.

ALLEY BURGER
Roaming Food Truck

[Quick Bite] Calgary: Jojo’s BBQ February 12, 2013

Food truck numero three: Jojo’s BBQ.

Golden Corn Fritters ($6)

Didn’t even know I like corn fritters. But yup, they are delicious.

Smoked Sliced Brisket Sandwich ($8) with straight up fries ($3)

Griddle Mac N’ Cheese ($8)

BBQTINE ($6)

Can’t remember if the BBQTINE comes with the meat on top or if I got that for extra monies. I’m pretty positive I had to pay extra for the meat.

Anyways, this was food for three people in case you’re wondering how I’m such a big fatty. This was surprisingly good. Considering Jojo’s was probably one of the last food trucks I would’ve wanted to try (not generally a big fan of BBQ).

The portions are quite decent for the price too.

JOJO’S BBQ
Roaming Food Truck

[Quick Bite] Calgary: That Schnitzel Place February 9, 2013

Ok, being the awful blogger that I am. This place is officially closed. Although I don’t understand why. The schnitzels were frigging delicious. And with the downtown crowd, I would’ve thought they were doing quite well. Shittier places downtown have stayed open just because of the shear volume of office workers looking for a bite to eat.

Odd.

Anyways.

I feel for whoever did not get to try these schnitzels. So, here are some pictures to ease your pain:

The Luau

I got the Luau. It had pineapple chutney, roasted red peppers, ham, swiss, and coconut slaw with Serrano peppers. Pork Sirloin.

The Silk Road

This had sweet Thai chili sauce, pomegranate infused shallots, sautéed portobello mushrooms, and fresh pea sprouts. Top-end Sirloin.

Great sandwiches. I’m pretty upset that it’s no longer in business.

THAT SCHNITZEL PLACE
821 4 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 0K4
(403) 452-3737

[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

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Seattle Uwajimaya September 29, 2012

Stopped by Uwajimaya for some light browsing. But, of course, I had to grab something to eat as well.

Got a piece of spam musubi. Obviously this was nothing compared to the one at Marination Station. I realize that it looks kind of sad in the picture but it was actually not too bad.

$1.29

I also got a japanese bento box to supplement my lone spam musubi.

$5.99

It is food court food, so I wasn’t expecting to be blown away or anything, but it actually wasn’t too bad. The tempura shrimp was kind of limp and soggy, but the rest of it was good – especially for only $6. In the top left corner is a small salad. Going clockwise, there was a sushi roll type of thing wrapped around ham and tamago. Next to it is some beef and lotus root (FYI – I <3 lotus root). Then there was the tempura shrimp and grilled shrimp. Under the grilled shrimp was tonkatsu.To the left of the broccoli was some chicken karaage. And finally in the bottom left corner – a couple pieces of salmon. I loved all the different types of food I got to eat for just 6 dollas.

The bf got some Korean grub from one of the little food court places around the parameter of the building.

Probably around $10

I definitely think what I got was better value for the money, especially because of the variety. The bf liked his choice though, it was hugely portioned and meaty. Top left going clockwise – kimchi, pickled bean sprouts, hot sauce, dumplings, a huge pile of meat (chicken…?), and delicious, delicious white rice.

For dessert I got this Cyrus O’Leary sour cream lemon pie:

$2.89

This was kind of expensive now that I think about it.

Kind of sort of line a cheesecake?

I wish we had a Uwajimaya in Calgary…

SEATTLE UWAJIMAYA
600 5th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 624-6248

[Dine-Out] Seattle: Le Pichet September 26, 2012

Stopped by at Le Pichet for a quick afternoon snack. I had read that this place had an amazing charcuterie board, and I <3 charcuterie boards.

Store Front

Bf was ordering coffee and espresso left, right, and centre when we were in Seattle.

Espressoooo

Bread & butter:

Gratuite!

The bf loves his cheese, so we got a cheese plate to share as well:

Can’t quite recall what they all were, to be honest, I didn’t eat much of it…

Some super grody blue cheese, I did not partake in this at all

A milder cheese, way more by cup of tea

The charcuterie board, in all its glory:

Meat Heaven

We got the Chef’s Selection. Guess how much this whole plate was? TWELVE DOLLARS. Outrageous, this would cost at least double in Calgary. Love it.

The items to the right and bottom of the cornichons are Pâté Albigeois (country-style pork pâté) and Gâteau au foie de volatile (a smooth chicken liver terrine). The two square pieces in the middle of the dish is langue de boeuf. Beef tongue. Bf was so excited about this. He loves all sorts of unconventional meats. This was actually really good, it had really nice spices. To the top of the gherkins is Saucisse Lyonnais, a Lyon-style sausages with pork and pistachios. That’s all I recall…can’t remember the rest. I do remember that the ham (I think it was Jambon cru Serrano) to the right of the beef tongue was absolutely delicious though.

Go here. Eat meat. Do it.

LE PICHET
1933 1st Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 256-1499

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Gourmet Dog Japon August 31, 2012

We would always walk by Gourmet Dog Japon on our daily walk down to the Pike Place Market. I’ve heard good and bad things about this little street cart, but after walking by it everyday, what the hell? Why not give it a try?

Look at all the choices!

I chose the Kabuki dog. Piled high on top of the sausage was bonito flakes, katsu sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise, grilled cabbage and beni shoga. The bonito flakes (katsuobushi), a dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna, added a depth of saltiness and fishiness to the overall hot dog. While the beni shoga, a red pickled ginger, added the much needed acid.

I’m a sucker for Bonito flakes.

The bf got the spicy Masuri for $0.25 more. The sausage itself is a smoked Louisiana hot link. The Matsuri is GDJ’s most popular dog, it consists of dried green seaweed (nori), pickled carrots, the same sweet mayo as the Kabuki, and teriyaki-glazed onions.

The MASURI

These were only okay…so I guess I had to right to be skeptical after all…haha. They’re kind of fun to try if you’ve never had “gourmet” hot dogs, but since Calgary has Tubby Dog, nothing was really that out of the ordinary for me at GDJ.

GOURMET DOG JAPON
245 Pike Street
Seattle, WA 98101

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Marination Station August 31, 2012

Man, was this hard to find. That’s what I get for just grabbing the address off of google and not going on its website. Its website clearly clarifies that in order to get your fill of Hawaiian/Korean/Mexican goodness, you’d have to make your way to the second floor. Didn’t see that and walked up and down the block literally 20 times.

Finally! Beat the rain too, look at that grey sky…

For my meal, I ordered the Kalbi taco and the spam musubi. Honestly, the spam musubi was the only reason I wanted to eat here. I love me some spam. Sure, sure, some of you might think it’s gross, but growing up in Hong Kong, it was a staple that we ate. You have to pan fry it so that the outer bits are all crispy and delicious. Don’t knock it until you try it the right way!

SPAM SPAM SPAM 

A spam musubi is pretty much spam sushi. Hawaiians love it, I love it, the bf loved it and tried to steal it from me. Rice, spam, seaweed. Simple salty goodness that is almost like a comfort food. Apparently, the Marination Station doesn’t have the spam musubi as a regular menu item, so if when you’re there and it’s on the menu, ORDER IT. If you’re going to try spam, might as well try it in sushi form.

I also got the Kalbi taco, a flour tortilla filled with tender short ribs marinated in a soy-based marinade.  This was good, but I would’ve rather eaten more spam musubi.

The bf also got a Kalbi taco and he changed things up with ordering a spicy pork taco as well. The spicy pork is likened to the classic Korean bulgogi.

This plate is missing something…hmmm….maybe a little SPAM?!

MARINATION STATION
1412 Harvard Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122

[Dine-Out] Seattle: Uli’s Bierstube August 30, 2012

Uli’s Bierstube. 2 words: German. Sausages.

Storefront

We actually walked by it several times before finally deciding to go inside to get a meaty snack.

We ordered the 2 link hausplatte to share. It came with 2 sausages of our choice and 3 sides of our choice. For the sides, we chose (from left to right) the white wine sauerkraut, the wine vinegar red cabbage, and the house made potato salad. I don’t quite remember what we ordered for ze sausage, but one was from the spicy category and one was from the medium category. both were delicious.

$10.95

The only fault I found with this place was that the service was kind of lacking. The owners (?) were quite intimidating and the process of ordering and paying was a little confusing.

ULI’S BIERSTUBE
1511 Pike Place
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 839-1000

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Bistro 2210 (Big Taste 2012) August 22, 2012

I love going to Bistro 2210 during the Big Taste – this restaurant always offer so many choices. This is probably the only restaurant where the bf and I both ordered something off of the Big Taste menu.

Crab Croquettes

This was a super popular item, pretty much every table had an order of the croquettes.

Crabby Goodness~

Look at how much crab were in these croquettes! They sure don’t skimp on these panko crusted goodies. The sauce that comes with them is a sriracha aioli. Love.

The bf got the Terrine:

Game & Pork

The terrine was served with toasted baguettes, wee little pickles, and a cranberry mustard.

For my main, I got the Steak Frites:

Alberta flatiron beef

This was such a huge plate of food. The house cut fries came with maitre d’butter. I loved the broccolini, it was such a nice touch!

The bf got the Boudin Blanc:

Sausage again!

A veal sausage with pomme puree and and apple & currant sauce. Again with the apples

For dessert I got the Pots de crème:

Deeelicious~

Yum – vanilla custard with caramel, chantilly cream, and a pear compote.

Crepes au Mascarpone

The bf finished his meal with a warm mascarpone filled crepe topped with berry coulis.

Bistro 2210 honestly never disappoints. One of my favourite places in Calgary to eat for sure.

BISTRO 2210
2210 4 Street Southwest
Calgary, AB T2S 1W9
(403) 228-4528