Review of Don Day: The Gritty Underbelly of Korean BBQ

Summary: abound with Asian crews of all ethnicities and the very definition of “hole in the wall”, Don Day delivers on the ambiance, but doesn’t shine as brightly in the food arena.

As far as hole-in-the-walls go, Don Day certainly looks like it should rank amongst the seediest – just a block down from the "Crack Macs", with a sign with 1/3 of the letters missing and the steamy, delicious smells of meat and grease emanating from its cramped interior.  Sounds like the perfect place to feature in our blog!  Kiran, Kent and I stopped in for a quick bite and a bit to drink a while back, though we didn’t have enough time for a multi-course meal.

Upon taking our seats/stools around the crusty table/BBQ pit, we perused the picture of food mounted along the wall – there were some rather intriguing-looking dishes, including what appeared to be a rack of bacon.  I made a mental note that we would have to come back to try that!

As usual, Kiran opened with a question about vegetarian options, which prompted the waitress to turn around and march out the front door (that had to be the most confused I have ever seen a server –Kiran).  Luckily, she did return, though bringing with her the unfortunate news (for Kiran) that none of the soups were vegetarian friendly – all of them have either a meat or seafood base (although, to be fair, the mark of an authentic Asian restaurant is the lack of vegetarian options –Kiran).  Kent and I decided to split the Gam Ja Tang – Pork and Potato soup – while Kiran ordered some sort of omelette that resembled the egg that you occasionally find on sushi (and it turned out to be pretty delicious – nothing spectacular, but delicious nonetheless –Kiran).

The soup came out mere seconds after ordering, indicating that they probably have huge quantities of it stewing in the back.  It didn’t have quite the same foliage as the picture of it, sadly, but there was definitely a good helping of meat.  If you’ve ever eaten the meat off of a soup-bone that was used to prepare a broth or stock, you’d have a good idea of what this pork was like – melt-in-your-mouth tender, but without much flavour as most of it was boiled into the soup.  The worst thing about the soup was that there was only a SINGLE potato in it – I must admit, normally it would be impressive to have a dish with more meat in it than all of the vegetables/starch combined but when you’re sharing a dish (which is almost a requirement, given how ginormous it is) you don’t expect to have to fight over the potato.

A handy tip for handling your soup, if you happen to order it – DON’T hold on to your metal bowl while you are filling it with boiling-hot soup!  Kent had to learn this the hard way.  There’s a gas stove provided so that you can keep your soup boiling hot for the duration of your stay, which is something my dad would certainly appreciate (he loves his food piping hot).

Of course, a visit here wouldn’t be complete without some Korean spirits – so we grabbed a bottle of soju as well as a bottle of yellow rice wine to try out.  The rice wine was actually surprisingly pleasant, and quite sweet (rice wine is made from rice, koji, ginseng, ginger and other Asian ingredients I don’t know how to pronounce; it tasted like watered down horchata to me -Kiran). The soju, as usual, was insidiously subtle in taste but higher in alcohol content than you would suspect.

All-in-all, Don Day has some decent soup and looks like it would be a solid place for Korean BBQ as well – just make sure you don’t wear your work clothes when you come, because you’ll never be able to get the grease out (unless you are a greasy motherfucker like Richard in the first place – then it wouldn’t matter –Kiran).

-Richard

Ranking

	Richard
Ambiance	N/A	But awesome
Service	3/6
Plating	5/6	For the stove!
Taste	3.5/6	Soup only, BBQ not rated
Authenticity	6/6
Value	4.5/6
Overall	22/30 = 73%

Review of Jacqueline Suzanne’s Weekend Brunch

Summary: a mediocre brunch experience that left me wanting for more.

I love Inglewood, especially all the boutique restaurants, art galleries, and stores that have opened up in that area of the last 2-3 years. I always knew Inglewood was cool, but it wasn’t until my field assignment – where I would rotate in and out of Calgary on a two on, two off basis – that I truly got to explore one of our oldest neighbourhoods. Having finally gotten the chance to explore that community in greater depth, I “discovered” all the cool restaurants like Nectar (now Without Papers), Sugo, Bite Groceteria, and of course, the subject of the current blog post, Jacqueline Suzanne’s.

I had managed to secure a brunch-for-two groupon a couple of months ago, so figured a lazy Saturday morning after the company Christmas party would be a great time to check out Jacqueline Suzanne’s brunch offerings. The usual deal is a three course brunch for $25 that you can get anytime, but in this case, the offer was $25 brunch for two people.

JS is a bistro, but the ambiance inside is quite different from all the bistros I have been to in my life. Most bistros have a light and airy feel, with plenty of windows to let natural light in. However, JS was quite dark; the interior is perhaps more suited to a romantic evening dinner than a weekend brunch. It was a cloudy but bright day outside, so the contrast was even more jarring. Honestly, I personally felt that I had inadvertently walked into a gypsy fortune teller’s lair. My gf better described it as “charmingly antiquated”…

Nevertheless, we were here for the food, not the ambiance. Although we didn’t have any reservations, we were seated pretty quickly and without much fuss. As we had a groupon, we had to choose from a pre-set three course breakfast menu. M. and I got the “Breakfast Martini” for our first “course”, which ended up being a delicious choice. I am a big fan of boozy starts to the day…something I picked up in NYC this year where bottomless mimosas seem to be de rigeur during weekend brunch.

We then headed straight to the main course, which consisted of typical fair such as eggs benny, crepes and/or French toast. Our server seemed pretty new/inexperienced, so he had a hard time time with the menu – he either didn’t know or wasn’t sure about what was in the dishes. We just ended up ordering the vegetarian eggs benedict with hash-browns on the side. Our plates came out without much delay and looked pretty tantalizing. I have never eaten eggs benny before, esp with Hollandaise sauce, so I was looking forward to it.

The dish was adequately plated. It also tasted quite adequate; to be honest, I don’t remember much about it. It came with a slice of watermelon, which in retrospect, was out of place and AND season. All in all, it was tasty, but nothing overtly memorable.

At about this time, the place began started filling up rapidly, and subsequently, the service level started dropping rapidly. After what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, I finally managed to wave down our server to ask about their dessert offerings. M. got crème brulee and whereas I went with a chocolate cheesecake. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos in my excitement as this was probably the best tasting part of the meal. It was positively heavenly. I had a taste of M’s brulee: silky, smooth, and just the right amount of sweetness. The cheesecake was also pretty delicious, but once again, unmemorable.  

At right about this time, we made the executive decision to pay our bill and get the hell out as we didn’t want to get stuck at brunch rush. I had to pay $10 for both our coffees in addition to the groupon – I guess that’s pretty standard nowadays for unlimited refills. It just hurts when it’s mediocre coffee.

Summary

I had been meaning to check out JS for a long time but was left a bit disappointed. I had had high hopes for this place but was left unsatisfied, especially with the food. It was a pretty great deal IF you had a groupon, but otherwise, $50 for brunch for two is a bit pricey in my opinion. To be fair, the ambiance and decor is a personal preference, so you can’t really fault them for that. F-log-for-thought, for instance, really seemed to have enjoyed and appreciated the space as well as the food. Anh Chu, over at icameforthefood.com seemed to have similar thoughts as myself regarding the food, although she was more apologetic in her tone for having knocked on a local, independent restaurant. Vincci over at Ceci nést pas un food blog has much better photos than my shitty smartphone ones and a much more intelligent critique of the eggs benny. At the end of the day though, the proof is in the pudding, and in this case, the pudding was only mediocre at best…

The only caveat is that my opinion is relegated to the brunch menu – the lunch and dinner offerings could be much better, but based on other bloggers’ reviews, I wouldn’t expect anything drastically different from what’s been said before. However, I don’t really plan on visiting this place again, so if you have eaten there for lunch or dinner, feel free to comment below!

Ranking

	Kiran
Ambiance	3/6
Service	4/6
Plating	3.5/6
Taste	4/6
Originality	4/6
Value	3.5/6
Overall	22.5/36 = 61%

Review of Raj Palace – Authentic South Indian Cuisine

Summary: an authentic line-up of traditional South Indian cuisine and the reasonable prices make Raj Palace a worthwhile addition to the nascent South Indian food scene in Calgary.

Raj Palace is one of those places that’s 5 min. away from my place but for one reason or the other, has never been very high up on my priority list. I promised a friend dinner after bitching out on him at the last minute at an unrelated event. James, who is also of South Indian descent, had mentioned that Raj Palace had a full on South Indian lunch buffets ($12.99) on Sundays, so this was the natural choice to visit on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Indian cuisine is very diverse, just like its geography and culture. Most non-Indians are only familiar with North Indian cooking, typified by the most-famous-of-them-all: butter chicken. I myself am a big fan of North Indian fare. However, the latter tends to be fairly rich and heavy and isn’t something you want to have everyday. South Indian food tends to be lighter, easier on the heart cholesterol-wise, and doesn’t put you to sleep after every meal. That said, a large part of the cuisine is rice-based, so it’s not any lighter on the calories.

Funnily enough, Raj Palace used to be Mysore Palace. However, the interior is almost exactly the same as before. Frankly, the only visible difference is the “Raj Palace” banner that sits on the exterior in place of where “Mysore Palace” used to be. In fact, the serving plates still say “Mysore Palace” on them…hahaha. So brown… 

The interior was a bit dark for a Sunday afternoon, but very spacious, clean, and inviting. You could sit in a booth for a more intimate affair or at one of the tables if you didn’t care about privacy. The impression I was left with was that management and staff put a lot of time and effort to make this place clean and spotless…almost like you could eat off the floor.

We jumped into the buffet right away, which like J. promised, offered almost exclusively all South Indian items. Raj Palace had all the traditional South Indian offerings ranging from items such as the more traditional idli (rice cakes), dosa (rice crepes), and vada (doughnut shaped lentil-based fritters), to the lesser known items such as tomato bath and uppama (seasoned cream of wheat porridge). In addition, the buffet offered other staples such as sambar (spicy lentil broth). All in all, I was pretty impressed by line of vegetarian South Indian offerings.

There were also a bunch on non-veg dishes which I didn’t pay any attention to. Typically Richard or Kent would cover this aspect, so I usually don’t pay attention to the meat offerings. I guess it’s my way of saying f-you to all the non-vegetarians out there.

Like Southern Spice, Raj Palace also offered unlimited dosas as part of the buffet. The dosas were fresh, warm, crispy, and went well with the sambar. However, they paled in comparison to the ones offered at Southern Spice – those just transported me back to the motherland!

Idli/dosa/vada are typically eaten for breakfast or as a snack, so the buffet also included some main courses such as potato fry and other items. They were also tasty, but nothing to get too excited about.

The service level was also very good. Our server was very attentive, refilling our glasses constantly, or taking away used dishes. The only thing that irritated me a little was the lack of little cups (shown in the pic above) to hold the sambar or other chutneys. Those seemed to be in a constant short supply.

Summary

AFAIK, including Raj Palace, Calgary has three restaurants offering distinct South Indian cuisine. The other two are: Southern Spice and Canada Dosa Corner. Of these, Canada Dosa Corner is the hands-down winner. That said, Raj Palace is a great alternative to get your South Indian fix and offers a very authentic range of dishes at a very reasonable price. They also apparently now offer a limited selection of hakka cuisine, which is another plus (although I haven’t tried it out).

Ranking

	Kiran
Ambiance	4/6
Service	4/6
Plating	N/A
Taste	4/6
Originality Authenticity	5.5/6
Value	5/6
Overall	22.5/30 = 75%

Olé, eh? Review of Ox & Angela

Summary: Amazing service, more than decent food, and an intriguing menu make this a worthy addition to the YYC food scene.

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Ox and Angela is a relatively new latin-inspired restaurant which seems to get its influence from pretty much everything in the Americas south of Texas – there are dishes inspired by Mexican, Peruvian, Chilean, Argentinean, and likely other countries’ cuisines.

The decor is relatively sleek and modern, with rich, dark wooden elements balancing white walls and chairs.  There are a few paintings and decorations that seem somewhat related to latin-America, though there’s no way you would get this mixed up with a straight-up Mexican restaurant.  There are two halves to the venue – one side a definitive sit-down restaurant, with the other side containing a bar (equipped with its own menu).

Due to a Flames game later than evening, Kent and I had to grab dinner right at 5PM – and hence found ourselves the only ones sitting in the vast restaurant.  It was quite lucky for us that we arrived then, as apparently it was booked solid that evening, and it was definitely starting to look that way by the time we left. 

It was a tough decision figuring out which of the several tantalizing dishes we wanted to try, but our server was very helpful in providing detailed descriptions of the various choices.  We decided to split the ceviche to start, as well as to order a meat dish and an accompaniment each to share.  I decided to grab the skirt steak while Kent went with the chorizo sausage, and also selected corn-on-the-cob and a cold zucchini salad at the waiter’s recommendation.  Unfortunately, the menu seems to have changed substantially since we were there, and almost none of these items are on it anymore (except for the ceviche).  The new menu seems to be less latin-based than before, eliminating things like chorizo and skirt steak and adding things like duck breast and striploin… a bit puzzling if you ask me.  The new menu also seems to have less emphasis on the sides, as before there were ~6-7 side dishes to the current 3.  The main dishes seem to come equipped with accompaniments now though, while before the meat dishes were basically meat and little else.

A real pity that they had to change the menu though, because some of the items were absolutely stellar – namely, the corn-on-the-cob.  Grilled in citrus butter and drizzled with a bit of herb oil, it was simple yet incredibly flavourful.  The zucchini dish was also really good for the first few bites, though I found it to be a bit too much of the same to finish the whole thing.  The skirt steak is pretty good too, as long as you like the taste of chimmichuri, as it is absolutely slathered in it. 

Kent’s 2 Cents

This place had some of the best service I have ever had in Calgary. The wait staff was almost absurdly attentive, constantly watching over your table. A knife was dropped at one point, and a new one was brought over a short moment later. And a dropped napkin was replaced before it hit the ground (not really, but it was damn fast). No, we weren’t intentionally throwing things to test the wait staff. And water was replenished in your cup before you would decide to fill it up yourself.  (Not to mention the ceviche came out mere seconds after we ordered it – they must have a big batch of it in the back –Richard)

RE: ceviche – it was different from the stuff I had in South America, but it was still tasty. The chips that came with it were a bit on the salty side, so the lime & jalapeno taste of the marinade didn’t show through. And maybe the fish could have been softer, as I was expecting more of a sashimi consistency (I’m not sure if it’s their choice of fish – snapper – but it had the consistency of cooked fish, which I hadn’t seen either with my previous ceviche experiences –Richard). But I like the idea of serving ceviche over chips, like a salsa.

My main was chorizo sausages, with sides of corn and zucchini. I was more impressed with the sides than the main. Although the sausage was grilled nicely, it was a lot of one single meat. Maybe I don’t consume as much salt in my diet as I used to, because I couldn’t finish the 3rd chorizo. Or maybe I needed it to be spicy, or drowned with maple syrup like a breakfast sausage.  The corn, on the other hand, was amazing. It was grilled with a citrus butter, and came out hot and slightly charred. It had sweet, buttery, and lemony tastes in every bite. And the zucchini was just as impressive. The marinade was sort of like a ceviche sauce, really limey, but a mint flavour was also thrown in. And cheese and crumbled nuts were sprinkled all over to give it a nice texture.

O&A isn’t the cheapest place around. But it probably leans closer to the fine dining end of the spectrum, with incredible service and great food. Not to say you need to dress up to come here, its pretty relaxed and has a hustle & bustle noisy atmosphere well representing everything outside on 17th Ave on a Friday evening. And you won’t be disappointed with portions. I unfortunately decided to pass on the dessert because I was too stuffed with sausage.

Ranking

	Kent	Richard
Ambiance	5.5/6	5/6
Service	6/6	6/6
Plating	4/6	4.5/6
Taste	5/6	5.5/6
Originality	4.5/6	5.5/6
Value	4.5/6	4.5/6
Overall	29.5/36 = 82%	31/36 = 86%

[COCKTAILS] Corpse Reviver #2: My new favourite cocktail

I am a big cocktail fan, so I am always on the lookout for my next favourite cocktail. I recently stumbled upon gojee.com, which is essentially a food blog aggregator. However, unlike simply focusing on food, the site also aggregates drinks, which is pretty unique (not to mention much needed). What’s even better is the ability to customize your search by inputting all the ingredients you have in your home bar. The site then brings up a list of drinks that pertain to your specific list of ingredients. Just what I need!

It was through gojee that I stumbled upon cocktailhacker.com, who seems to specialize in “hacking” cocktails. In this case, the recipe is originally from Harry Cradock’s “Savoy Cocktail Book” and listed here in the form shown in “The Joy of Mixology” by Gary Regan.

Corpse Reviver #2

3/4 oz. Gin
3/4 oz. Triple Sec
3/4 oz. Lillet Blonde
3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Absinthe (substitute) to taste (Go Easy)

1) Combine over ice.
2) Shake until chilled.
3) Strain into a cocktail glass.

The only advice I have is to go easy on the Absinthe like the recipe recommends. Absinthe has the tendency to overpower any drink even in minute amounts, so you don’t really need more than 1/4 oz. to taste and smell the liqueur.

Cocktail Hacker seems to have experimented with this recipe as well and recommends adding about 3 dashes of Angostura Orange Bitters. I didn’t have the latter, so I just tried out the original recipe, which is obviously delicious in its own right.

Happy drinking!

 

[LEARN TO COOK INDIAN] Simple South Indian Daal

A lot of folks are interested in learning how to cook Indian food, but are intimated by the “exotic” ingredients or the perceived complicated nature of the cuisine. While both are true to a certain extent, I offer two counter-arguments: 1) It isn’t difficult to go a store and buy the required spices, and 2) Not all Indian dishes are super complicated. One such dish is the South Indian daal dish from the state of Andhra known as pappu pulsu.

Pappu pulsu is essentially a yellow lentil broth that is great for a cloudy, cold winter day. Don’t be intimated by the list of ingredients – you can get most of them at Super Store. The total cooking time is around an hour, but that takes into account the cooking time for the lentils. If you pre-cook the lentils, then this dish takes like 5 min. to make.

Ingredients

- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

- 2 Thai or Indian green chillies (not jalapenos)

- 6-8 garlic whole garlic cloves

- 1 tsp mustard seeds

- 1 tsp cumin powder (or seeds)

- 1 tsp fresh ginger paste

- 6-10 dried curry leaves

- 1/4 tsp tamarind concentrate

- 1 cup split toor daal (pigeon peas)

- 3-4 cups water per cup of toor daal

- salt to taste

Preparation

- Boil the toor daal covered over medium heat for 30-40 min. until lentils are fully cooked. Using a spoon or ladle, mash lentils to a paste.

- Alternatively, soak the toor daal in water the day before or cook in a pressure cooker if you have access to one.

- Heat the tbsp. of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the green chillies, garlic, mustard seeds, ginger paste, and curry leaves. Fry until mustard seeds pop and/or garlic starts slightly browning.

- Add the toor daal broth to the above. Careful, as mixing hot oil and water is always an interesting endeavour.

- Turn the heat to low. Add 1/4 tsp of tamarind concentrate and the cumin power to the broth. Add salt to taste. Mix well.

- Serve with rice or chapatti (aka roti)

Viola! You have now cooked your first Indian dish.

In addition to being a relatively simple dish to cook, daal is also a great source of protein. A lot of people ask where I get my protein upon hearing that I am a vegetarian. This is it. Another great source of protein for aspiring vegetarians is chickpeas.

So, the next time you are looking for healthy, winter food, try this dish out. You will be surprised at how easy Indian cooking can be.

Happy eating!