Review of The Big Cheese

Like clogging up your arteries with potato, gravy, and cheese curds? Yeah, well so do we. This fine establishment is right beside Melrose on 17th Avenue, making it the perfect location for grabbing a late night snack as you stumble out of the bar at 2 am. The last thing a drunk wants is healthy food, and they definitely don’t want to walk more than 3 blocks to get it.

The menu is all poutine, baby. One section dominated by chicken, one section with pork, one section with beef, some traditional poutine, and even vegetarian (probably using gravy made with veggie stock). You can even custom build your poutine, choosing from a few different types of curries and gravies, cheeses, and meats. I ordered the Porky Pig (sausage, bacon, mushrooms, onions), and a few others ordered the Buffalo Chicken (chicken, franks red hot sauce, peas). Every poutine is served in 2 sizes, small and large. The small is really not that small – it’s enough to serve as a meal in my opinion. Having ordered the large, I felt the need to curl into foetal position on the bench and take a nap immediately afterwards. The large would be pretty good on an empty stomach.

The Porky Pig is pretty much standard fare poutine, but with the addition of bacon and sausage. You still get the Quebec cheese curds, gravy, and fries like any normal poutine. It comes out hot and fresh in a waxed cardboard take-out box, so, if you can’t find a seat inside (the place is not that big), you can sit outside on a nice sunny day or go for a stroll along 17th and not have the poutine leave a big grease stain on your crotch. Trust me, I know from experience (I trust you, Kent. Although, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a “grease” stain. Thanks for clearing that up. –Kiran)

As far as the taste is concerned, I didn’t find the fries and gravy anything that exceptional. The serving comes out hot but the fries are not too soggy. The gravy is rich, thick, and not extremely salty. But, what really sets it apart is the different varieties of poutine, gravy, and toppings that you can throw in. It really depends what you order. Some (like the Porky Pig) will have the meat overpower the taste of everything else. The Buffalo Chicken has a bigger emphasis on the hot sauce. I think I am more impressed with the originality and selection on the menu than the taste of the poutine. Although I didn’t try the original, unmodified poutine, so my opinion could change.

Richard’s Notes

It feels like Calgary is growing into a full-out metropolis!  The Big Cheese feels like the sort of place that you might find in the Big Apple – charming style, interesting theme, big lineups (at certain times of the day – people seem to come here in waves).

The dilemma of getting just the right amount of food with a small vs. getting good value for your money with a large is grossly magnified here – typically a large only costs a couple bucks more than a small but you seem to get twice as much (fries, at least – toppings probably aren’t doubled).  I’d recommend coming with an empty stomach or with a friend so that you can split a large if you are looking to stretch your dollar.

From what I have seen, they are struggling a bit with consistency in the quality of the food – though perhaps this is normal for a brand-spankin’ new place.  I’ve had one friend tell me his fries were fried to death, while I found mine to be soft but largely unremarkable.  I quite enjoyed the Montreal Smoked Meat, but was less impressed with the Porky Pig (I did have these at two separate occasions though, so it may have had to do with how hungry I was each time).

Summary

You probably won’t be disappointed by The Big Cheese. The fries and gravy might not blow your mind away. But as a whole, combined with an orgy of different toppings to choose from, it is incredibly satisfying. And for those who are famished or maybe looking for a big hangover meal, you can order a pretty large portion and not blow too much money. Not that you would notice anyway after a long night on 17th Ave. (Kent’s review is spot on. The draw of this place isn’t the poutine, it is toppings themselves. The poutinerie isn’t any different from Tubby Dog – I don’t go there to eat their awesome dogs, I go there for the messed up and unholy goodness of toppings. That said, I did try the traditional poutine (with vegetarian gravy) at The Big Cheese and…well, it begged the question why poutine is so huge. Some of you haters might say that’s cause it was a vegetarian gravy, bitch. But, you know what, I eat veggie hot dogs all the time, and they taste delicious, so I don’t buy that argument. All in all, I am glad I tried it, but the next time I am at The Big Cheese, I am going to order their Mexican Vegetarian Poutine –Kiran)

-Kent

Ranking

	Kent	Kiran	Richard
Ambiance	4/6	4/6	5/6
Service	4.5/6	4/6	4/6
Plating	4.5/6	4/6	5/6
Taste	4.5/6	4/6	4/6
Originality	6/6	5.5/6	5/6
Value	5/6	5/6	5/6
Overall	28.5/36 = 79%	26.5/36 = 74%	28/36 = 78%

Easy Vegetarian Thai Green Curry Recipe

I had been craving Thai food for a while, so when I stumbled upon Rasa Malaysia’s Asian-themed food blog, I knew I had hit the jackpot. I am a big fan of Thai curries and was pumped to come across a green curry recipe, which is the spiciest of them all. Unfortunately, like all Southeast Asian (SEA) cuisines, this one was chock full of meat which didn’t work for me as I am a staunch vegetarian (although really, I have no ethical issues with animal culling for meat consumption).

I love this recipe as it is super-quick to make (30 min. max), hits the spot for spicy and flavourful food, and believe it or not, is quite nutritious with all the veggies inside. Here’s my modified recipe (click here for the original):

1/2 lb. winter squash cut into 1” cubes
2 tbsp. Mae Ploy Thai Green Curry Paste
1 473 ml can coconut milk
1/2 bag Europe’s Best Imperial Blend frozen veggies (with bamboo shoots) 
3 kaffir lime leaves, split and thinly sliced (optional) 
1/4 cup Thai basil leaves
1 tbs. palm sugar 
2 tbs. vegetable oil

I replaced chicken with winter squash as the sweet-tasting squash would compliment the spiciness of the dish. The recipe’s original author calls for Mae Ploy brand as it is supposed to be the best; I was able to track it down in T&T without any problems. I made sure it was a paste that didn’t contain any fish sauce (there were many other brands with fish sauce in the paste) and also eliminated fish sauce from the actual recipe itself. I was too lazy to get additional kaffir lime leaves as the paste is supposed to contain some.

Here are the directions:

- Peel and evenly cut the squash into 1” pieces and roast for 15-20 min. at 375 deg F

- Heat oil in a wok and sauté the 2 tbsp. of green curry paste over medium heat until fragrant

- Add 1/2 the can of coconut milk and stir until evenly mixed

- Add the diced squash after roasting and cook for 5-10 min. until the pieces are soft enough

- Add remaining coconut milk and the frozen veggies. Add palm sugar.

- Stir evenly and bring to a boil.

- Cook until all the veggies are thawed and soft.

- Add basil leaves, stir, and remove from heat.

That’s it! Mmmm…this is some tasty sh*t! Pretty spicy, so you might want to temper it with some delicious coconut-milk rice. I just use regular rice as I find the combination of coconut-milk rice and curry a bit rich.

Thai curries are akin to pasta – you get the biggest bang for the buck in terms of costs + time input vs. taste + satisfaction output. Can’t get better than that.

Have fun salivating!

Review of Niko’s Italian Bistro

Niko’s is one of those places that you have heard of before, know it is good, but somehow never quite found the time to make it over. We were taking a stroll in Kensington when we happened to walk by Niko’s, so even though I didn’t have my camera, I couldn’t pass up the chance to check out this Kensington institution. Upon walking in, we were immediately greeted by the very friendly Niko himself, and even though we didn’t have any reservations, were seated almost immediately. Looks like we had just got in time, as 30 min. later, the place was packed…on a Sunday night.

The first thing that strikes you about this bistro is that it is an awesome date place. It’s casual and classy, but not fine dining. It is upscale, but not snooty. Floor to wall windows facing Kensington Rd, high ceilings, an elongated rectangular hallway, and mood lighting give it an air of sophistication. True to the description, there were several couples there, not to mention a high school double date, which my partner thought was cute. I was just a bit amazed that high school kids these days could afford places like Niko’s. Definitely not a place for three dudes to go to “hang out.”

Typically, I have found that any Italian restaurant worth its salt bakes its own bread. However, considering Niko’s did not offer that appetizer, we ordered their bruschetta ($8) and caprese salad ($8) to set a baseline comparison. I also ordered the prosecco ($7), a type of Italian dry white wine that is consumed an as aperitif.  Niko was pretty knowledgeable about the menu, which I suppose is a no-brainer considering he is the owner. Still, it is heartening to see the owner at the front of the house, mingling with the patrons, ensuring first hand that they are having a good time.

The prosecco was a nice balance of dry-but-too-dry and sweet-but-not-too-sweet. Although, I prefer sweeter wines (screw you, snobs), I didn’t mind this version of the drink. It was a nice mellow drink that also served well as a palate cleanser between the different dishes. The appetizers were another story. I found them to be generally underwhelming and lacking in freshness. IMHO, the only thing that differentiates a good from an ok bruschetta or caprese salad is the quality and freshness of their ingredients, especially the tomatoes. In this case, it simply wasn’t there. My favourite part of the bruschetta was the crostini, which I sadly disappointed to find out, isn’t actually made in-house.

However, I refused to let that deter me as my partner had been here on several occasions, and couldn’t stop raving about there main course. As I am a vegetarian, there weren’t very many options that could be ordered wholesale without seriously compromising the chef’s original vision. N. was a huge fan of the gnocchi caprese ($16), so we both got a plate to share.

It turned out to be the best food-related decision I have ever made. I don’t have the range in my food-related vocabulary to illustrate just how fantastic this dish was.  From the potato dumplings that melted in my mouth, to the creamy and savoury tomato sauce, every bite was pure delight. When N. couldn’t finish hers, I was more than happy to finish it off for her. From now on, this will be the gnocchi that all other gnocchi will be compared against. Hands down, no questions about it. Well done, sir, well done indeed.

N. wanted to order some desert, and after the gnocchi-related food-gasm, I couldn’t really say no. Plus, the desserts sounded really, really good, so I was happy to oblige. I ordered the Grande Marnier Banana ($7) and N. ordered Crème Caramel ($7). It was odd to see no mention of any tiramisu on the menu though…

The Grande Marnier was another winner. It was sublime and a very good finish to the meal. The banana slices were perfectly ripe and were caramelized just enough to bring out their flavour. You couldn’t really tell there was any alcohol in the dessert, which for me, is always a plus. My only complaint would be that the vanilla ice cream was already melted by the time it came out, which probably means that it was sitting on the counter for a while, waiting for the crème caramel to be finished. The crème caramel was delectable, although frankly, it did not come close to even touching the Grande Marnier.

Summary

Niko’s is a great place for a date or for a family dinner. The casual but sophisticated ambiance, great food, and excellent service make it a worthwhile visit. Don’t miss out on it!

Ranking

Ambiance	5/6
Service	5/6
Plating	4.5/6
Taste	4.5/6
Authenticity	5/6
Value	4/6
Overall	28/36 = 78%

Review of Wicked Chili

In our relentless quest to expand our gastronomic palates, we look to all kinds of sources for ideas on new restaurants to try – in this case, Groupon (or one of those similar sites) was the hook that pulled us in with a $40 food for $20 voucher.  Having decided to finally check it out, Kiran called to make reservations, only to find out that they were “very busy” and essentially full.  Just to be sure, Kent went to check it out in person and discovered that the place was half empty.  Perhaps the place is much busier at lunch, but it still seemed odd that the person on the phone was willing to turn us away when there were tons of available seats.

The venue is a curious little joint on 17th Ave. and 4th St., right next to La Casita Mexicana, with which it shares ownership (and apparently wait staff).  The interior is styled with some Indian-looking architectural features, along the lines of a typical budget Indian buffet-style restaurant.

Kiran thought this place was supposed to specialize in Hakka cuisine (the Indian-Chinese fusion style, not traditional Chinese Hakka), however to his severe disappointment (as you’ll see below), it turned out to be a mere footnote on the menu.  The Hakka menu was made up of a measly 5 or 6 dishes with no descriptions, only a strange statement that you check with the waiter for “prices and availability” of these specific dishes.

Richard’s Ruminations

We started just by ordering drinks (chai for me and Kiran), though had we known how long it would take between ordering drinks and food,  we would probably have ordered everything at once.  Slow service was the name of the game that evening – not too surprising given that there seemed to be only 2 waiters serving both Wicked Chili and La Casita Mexicana, with a few more busboys running drinks and plates.  No wonder they tried to turn us away!  The chai was alright, though unsweetened – I felt it could have used a bit more spice and less tannins (it would have helped if the staff actually brought out sugar with the tea instead of making me walk up to them and demand sugar –Kiran).

Much to Kent’s dismay, just as we were all getting ready to order the Baingan Bharta (eggplant mash), we were informed that they were out of vegetable samosas and eggplants! We ended up ordering a number of dishes to share, including till mill zhinga (masala shrimp with naan), okra masala, paneer pakoras, Hakka noodles, aloo kulcha (potato-filled naan) and lamb vindaloo, with a side of saffron rice.

The till mill zhinga was essentially a sweet and sour shrimp, though not as sweet or sour as what you might typically find in Chinese restaurants.  Sadly, the shrimp was overcooked and hard, but the naan that came along with it was deliciously light and well buttered.  The okra dish was ok but rather salty; similarly, the Hakka noodles were on the salty side as well (which I thought was fine as I felt it was a rather plain dish to begin with – just stir fried egg noodles with cabbage, peppers, onions and chili flakes).  The vindaloo had a nice kick to it, and had a good mix of meat and potatoes.  Likely the best dish of the night was the aloo kulcha – like a perogie but better, with a silky potato and cilantro interior and a buttery naan exterior.

Kiran’s Judgement

This place is getting a lot of buzz and I don’t know why.  Maybe cause it’s on the prime 17th Ave SW strip. Either way, they have been pissing me off for weeks. Every time I would call to make a reservation, they would be “fully booked.” I am guessing this was just a ploy employed by the owner to hype up the place and make it sound super popular.

Another thing that irritated me about the restaurant was it’s supposed Hakka cuisine offerings. The wickedchili.ca website clearly states that it offers Hakka cuisine, and has an entire menu dedicated to it under the Oh Calcutta! brand, which is oddly at the same address as Wicked Chili. Clearly, what happened is the owners tried to make a go at it with Hakka cuisine, didn’t work out, switched to Indian cuisine, and left a few Hakka dishes in there so as to qualify for the “Hakka” moniker.

The third thing that pissed me off was the restauranteur’s reluctance to make any of the Hakka cuisine dishes claiming that it would take too long – I actually had to cajole him into making the dish for me. What the hell kind of restaurant refuses to make a dish cause it takes too long? Don’t fucking include it on the menu then if you don’t want to make it.

All the above would have been tolerable/ignorable had the food been actually good. I ordered the Hakka noodles and it was a disappointment. It was good, but only because it was greasy as fuck and was doused in salt. What wouldn’t taste good with lots of grease and salt ? To boot, the veggies didn’t serve any purpose except as fillers. It was like putting a scoop of noodles in your mouth, followed my a fistful of shredded cabbage to chase the noodles down. W.T.F.

The only redeeming quality about this restaurant were the paneer pakoras and aloo kulcha, which were straight out of heaven. I food-gasmed in my brain and mouth after one bite.  It didn’t hurt that the naan was slathered in butter, and hence, was super soft and moist. The decision to sprinkle the paneer pakoras with chaat masala was inspired and added a touch of tanginess that was very addictive.

Ultimately, the aloo kulcha is pretty much the only reason to visit this “restaurant.” These guys badly need a restaurant intervention from Gordon Ramsay..

Kent’s 2 Cents

So about the food? It actually wasn’t that bad. I enjoyed the amount of spice that was in the okra and lamb; not enough to give you the “ring-of-fire” the next morning, but had the right amount to stimulate your senses. The Hakka noodles tasted fine, but it was guilty of false advertisement. It was more Chinese, not enough Indian. The spices you associate Indian food with were absent from the dish. Both the okra and the Hakka noodles were a bit too salty for my taste. If they dialed the salt down a little, it would taste much better. The highlight of my visit was the potato naan. It consisted of carb on carb, doused in grease. In other words, potato inside naan bread, brushed with ghee (butter). Extremely filling, and would work really well with any curry or sauce. Hell, I could eat it on its own everyday. Butter really does make anything taste good.

Wicked Chili is a decent Indian restaurant with some disappointing service that undermined the overall experience. Prices were nothing out of the ordinary (as far as Indian restaurants go), and the food was a mix of a few hits and a few misses. Maybe next time I will visit when it is not a Friday when everyone is finishing work.

Summary

Ultimately, I found the food to be pretty good overall (with a few misses), but the service could definitely have been better – it certainly seemed busy enough to warrant additional staff, especially if they were going to be sharing with La Casita Mexicana (which I think was even busier). If you’re looking for Hakka cuisine, though, you could probably do better elsewhere.

-Richard

Ranking

	Richard	Kiran	Kent
Ambiance	3/6	3/6	5/6
Service	2/6	2/6	2/6
Plating	3/6	3/6	5/6
Taste	4/6	4/6	4/6
Authenticity	4/6	5/6	4/6
Value	4/6	3/6	5/6
Overall	20/36 = 56%	19/36 = 53%	25/36 = 69%

Review of Los Chilitos Taco & Tequila House

The early spring winter storm that had Calgary by its balls finally blew over leaving behind a nice sunny day. I had been eyeing Los Chilitos on 17th Ave for a while now, primarily because I am a huge tequila fan. Richard hadn’t had lunch yet, so it didn’t take too much cajoling to get him to relinquish his right hand…off the computer mouse…and come join me on this beautiful afternoon.

Walking into Los Chilitos is like being teleported to a casa in Mexico (maybe one that fancies gaudy decorations -Richard). This restaurant has arguable been the most successful of all ethnic eateries in capturing the essence of the home country. The tiny interior itself was a nice mixture of kitschy and cool – the favourite by far was the portrait Jonathan Goldsmith of The Most Interesting Man in the World fame.

Los Chilitos was surprisingly busy for a Sunday afternoon. There were only two waitresses serving all the patrons, and it was clear they were understaffed – it took our waitress a good 10 min. just to take our drink orders and we caught her taking drink orders from patrons who were seated later then when we came in.  Not cool.

As this was a “tequila house,” we decided to go with straight shots of tequila like the locals do in Mexico and chase it down with sangrita – a mixture of fruit (and vegetable) juices that varies in recipe across establishments. According to the menu, everyone outside of Mexico who shoots tequila with salt and a lime wedge is a bitch and only worthy of denigration. Lesson learned.

 

It was hard to choose from the large selection of blanco, anejo, and reposado tequilas offered on the menu (there are 25!), but we both ended up ordering reposados, which is essentially tequila that has been aged for a minimum of 2 months (but less than a year) in oak barrels. Being a big fan of tequila, the prospect of trying out something sweeter, more complex, and subtler in taste appealed to me, and I wasn’t disappointed. The only disappointing part was the sangrita, which quite frankly, was probably V8 and nothing more.

Food

Being only the two of us, Richard focused on ordering the main course, whilst I focused on the appetizers and dessert. The two items that caught caught our attention right away were “Jalapenos Rellenos” ($6.95) and “Totopos.” The former was an interesting take on stuffed jalapenos. These jalapenos were cut in half and stuffed with a mixture of beans and goat cheese, instead of the standard cheese stuffing, and topped off with a generous drizzle of honey-chipotle dip and toasted almonds (tasted more like peanuts to me -Richard). Cutting into the jalapenos created a sweet-savoury gooey goodness of goat cheese, beans, and honey-chipotle sauce  – pretty hard to say “no” to. However, the almonds added little in the way of taste, except to add an additional dimension to the texture. Also, the runny goat cheese was weird as it oozed more like water instead of being thick and creamy.

 

Next up was the Totopos which was tortillas served with pico de gallo with optional sides of guacamole and four salsa samplers ($9.95). Unfortunately, while tasty, the pico de gallo was just not on the same level as when had in Mexico. This was disappointing as it is a hard dish to screw up – the secret lies in the quality and freshness of vegetables. Same went for the salsa – while good, the samplers simply didn’t have the oomph that I was expecting. However, that said, their take on the concept of salsa was interesting and warrants further consideration.

Richard’s Take

First thoughts – the sangrita totally surprised me, as for whatever reason I was expecting sangria (fruit punch with wine), but this one was definitely more on the savoury side (like a Caesar).  I quite enjoyed the Aha Toro reposado, which was smooth and sweet when sipped – pretty decent for a budget tequila.  I was rather tempted to order the taco sampler – which comes with one taco filled with each of the 7 different meats on their menu – but ended up settling for just the regular taco plate (4 tacos).  I still wanted to have some variety though, so I ordered carnitas (pulled pork), chorizo (sausage), mixiote (chicken and prickly pear!) and pastor (adobo pork and pineapple).  The meal came out in a reasonable time given the number of full tables, and the food certainly looked fantastic.  Unfortunately, the taste of the food was mixed – though the tortillas were nice and soft (to the point of almost falling apart) and the cilantro fresh and flavourful, the meat was rather dry across the board.  I was surprised that even the chorizo seemed dry as normally it would be on the greasy side.  The rice and beans ended up being quite good (and I’m not normally a fan of beans), with just a nice touch of heat to add some depth.

Dessert – Kiran

To round off the meal, I ordered the very Latin tres leches cake ($6.95; literally, “three milk cake”). While the origins of this dish are disputed, the gastronomical brilliance of combining evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream cannot be. Having had home made tres leches in the past, passing up on an opportunity to try Los Chilitos’ home made version seemed egregious. Biting into the cake, I was immediately struck by the moist and fluffiness of the sponge cake. It was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. The only complaint would be that it was unevenly moist – some regions of the cake were super moist and  sweet, whereas others were not as soaked.

Summary

Los Chilitos has all the right things going for it – great location; authentic ambiance; and great choice/variety in food and tequila. The only let downs, albeit major ones,  were the service and consistency of the food. While food was great, it wasn’t the greatest and left us lacking for more. In terms of value, I paid the same for the trio of tequila, appy’s, and dessert as Richard did for his main course, so it’s certainly not cheap on the wallet. Overall though, it is definitely a place worth visiting again, especially to sample their tequilas.

Ranking

Ambience	5/6
Service	3/6
Plating	4.5/6
Taste	4/6
Authenticity	4/6
Value	4/6
Overall	24.5/36 = 68%

Delicious Japanese Curry

I am generally a pretty lazy person (but I would consider myself efficient). So I usually don’t like to invest too much time into cooking my meals. If you are like me, then you might enjoy this curry recipe (thanks to Margaret for sending this to me).

This is my take on it:

• The dish doesn’t take much time to whip up

• The curry is not spicy, and it is not supposed to be, so you’ll have to throw in some extra spices if you want to make it more interesting

• The ingredient list is not complicated – go to your nearest T&T to pick up the Japanese curry cubes.

• It tastes like my momma’s curry (and it is a pretty damn tasty curry)

 

Bingo, bango, bongo. Can’t get easier than that.

 

Love,

Kenter

A New Twist on an Old Tradition

I often catch myself thinking I was a better improviser in the kitchen. It takes a lot of skill to be able to take what you have in the pantry and the fridge and churn out a delicious dish quickly and without much prep work or planning.

Well, tonight was the night where I got to practice my iron chef like mad skills and make something delicious in less than 30 min. using ingredients I already had. It’s a twist on a dish I have seen my mum make dozens of times when she didn’t have the energy to prepare an elaborate meal. It’s a pretty simple dish involving potatoes, onions, and capsicum. Here’s the recipe:

2 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

1 medium capsicum

1 small green chilli chopped

1 clove garlic minced

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1 tbsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric (for color)

salt to taste

handful of freshly chopped coriander for garnishing

The nice thing about preparing this dish is that you pretty much add all ingredients at once and sit tight. You don’t have to worry about sweating the onions, softening the potatoes or any of that bullshit. Just chop the onions, potatoes, and capsicum to approximately even sizes so they cook quickly and evenly.

In a wok, heat the olive oil on medium for a couple of minutes and add the green chilli, garlic, and caraway seeds. Fry for a couple of minutes until the garlic starts to brown and all onions, potatoes, and capsicum to the wok. Mix all ingredients evenly so the vegetables are all coated with a nice golden layer of olive oil.

Add the garam masala, cumin, coriander, paprika, and turmeric and continue mixing to season all the vegetables. Fry for 15-20 min. or until the potatoes are soft.

Add salt to taste. In my case, I didn’t add any turmeric, but that’s just personal preference. Enjoy!

Peace out, bitches.

-Kiran

Review of Bookers BBQ Grill and Crab Shack (Big Taste Calgary)

NOTE: Due to technical difficulties (i.e., shitty iPhone pictures), this post doesn’t have any awesome photos. You will have to use your imaginations!

Bookers BBQ Grill and Crab Shack, in case you are not familiar with it, attempts to capture the old charm of New Orleans cuisine.  Slow-cooked barbeque meats and buckets full of succulent seafood – sounds like my kind of place!  Kent and I checked it out with a few friends during the Big Taste (formerly Calgary Dine-Out week), figuring that we couldn’t go wrong with what appeared to be a Calgary institution.

The exterior has all the indie cred that you could ask for – rustic brick exterior, hand-drawn signage and across the road from the Cecil to boot.  Inside, however, it takes on a trendier look with shiny benches, stools, and attractive glassware coupled together with equally attractive waitresses.  Bookers’ website suggested that crab races used to be held during Mardi Gras but I saw no evidence that would suggest that it is anything but propaganda.

Unsurprisingly, this place is pretty unaccommodating to vegetarians, so it was just as well that we checked this out while Kiran was out of town.  The menu is fairly extensive, with a variety of BBQ and seafood based appetizers, entrees, and platters.  It also happened to be All-You-Can-Eat snow crab night, but at north of $40, it was a tad expensive and we wanted to try a larger variety of foods anyway.

A cursory glance at the menu suggested that the Big Taste special – consisting of chowder, jambalaya and chocolate cake – was a good deal, until we found out that it actually consisted of half-sized portions of chowder and jambalaya.  Blasphemy!  At that rate, it ended up being $21 worth of food for the cost of $25 – clearly, arithmetic is not a strong suit at Bookers.  Given that our dinner-table discussions were revolving around how “pasta in restaurants is way too expensive because it is so cheap to cook at home,” such a scam left some of our friends quite affronted.  We ultimately settled on sharing a BBQ platter (brisket, ribs, wings, fries and biscuits), a crab platter (snow crab, king crab, crab-artichoke dip and crab cakes) and an order of jambalaya.  Sides of beans and coleslaw came standard with the platters.

Our anticipation began to build as they brought out our dipping butter and crab-eating tools, some of which I had never seen before.  Just as my appetite began to peak, the platters arrived. And what epic platters they were! While everything looked terrific (except the wings, which were amongst the smallest I’d ever seen, though there were tons of them), the food varied in quality from terrific to average.  The highlights to me were the jambalaya (the perfect mix of ingredients with just the right amount of liquid – on the edge of soupiness), brisket (smoky and tender, if somewhat unevenly sauced) king crab (succulent and almost lobster-like in its meatiness) and biscuits (dip them in butter for the ultimate artery-clogging experience!).  One casualty of the “huge-ass-pile-of-food” method of plating was the set of crostinis used for scooping up the crab dip – half of them were too soggy to use.  The wings were rather disappointing, being both small and dry, and were the only meat product that we weren’t able to finish.

One thing that there was no shortage of was butter – not only was there additional whipped butter on the side, but there was bottomless dipping butter for your crab (and biscuits, and fries…), which they refilled using coffee-pots full of liquid butter!  F*cking ingenious.

The final bill came to around $40 per person including drinks – certainly not cheap by any means, but reasonable for the level of gluttony that we partook that evening.  All-in-all, it was a good venue that I’d recommend to anyone looking for a taste of the South.  I don’t have the credentials to comment on the authenticity of the food, but I can say that if that’s how people from Louisiana eat on a regular basis, I totally understand why so many of them are morbidly obese.

Bottom line

BBQ Brisket, Biscuits, Butter, Buckets of crab – Brilliant.

-Richard

Ranking

Ambiance	5/6
Service	4/6
Taste	5/6
Plating	4.5/6
Originality	5/6
Value	4/6
Total	27.5/36 = 76.3%