Paloma Family Restaurant: Calgary’s Answer to Shitty Latin American Cuisine?

Summary: A great little family restaurant tucked away in a NE strip mall with friendly service and decent food.

Paloma’s been on my hit list for a while. Most people have given up on Mexican food in Calgary, but I have not. In my quest to find that one little Mexican restaurant that can, I continue on. Paloma is not a "true Mexican” restaurant in that they serve up a range of Latin American dishes, but the focus is definitely on Mexican food.

When we finally made it there on that blistery day, Richard and I were pretty bemused to find that the restaurant co-existed with a lounge/bar right next to it. Kinda like Africana Eatery and Cheers Pub which is a full-blown restaurant….with a pub on the side. Things were looking promising…

The interior was pleasing but ultimately typical of authentic restaurant that no longer fall in the "hole in the wall" category.

The best word I can use to describe it would be "chintzy". It wasn’t overly gaudy, but at the same time, it wasn’t anything to write home about. It was the like the whole place was designed for short people. You looked up one foot and the decor changed from the typical hacienda to just a black ceiling with piping sticking out. There was also a giant 55" flat screen TV in the corner showing static to simulate that authentic Mexican taqueira feeling. The funny part was that there was TV in the exact opposite corner that was working just fine!

Kiran’s Take

The waitress brought out the standard green salsa with tortilla chips. The salsa was actually quite delicious with a nice spicy kick to it. We ordered guacamole as an appetizer as well, and unlike the one at Fine Diner, this one was actually good. Maybe just as good as the one at Anejo. I found myself licking the bowl clean with my fingers, so that’s usually a good sign. It was the right amount of tangy and salty. Perfect.

Paloma actually had a surprisingly large amount of vegetarian dishes. I wanted to try Chilaquiles which is kinda this deep fried goodness of tortilla chips topped with cheese, onion, and salsa, but for some reason, they were "out of it". Which doesn’t make sense…who runs out of tortilla chips in a Mexican restaurant? Anyways, I ended up ordered enchiladas for 13.95. At first it seemed pricey, but it was a good sized dish that came with rice and refried beans on the side. It was a hearty meal. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the meal, but at the same time, I was stuffing my mouth with all that delicious salsa goodness. For a shitty -20 deg C Calgary night, it was very satisfying meal.

 

Richard’s Ruminations

For some reason, we have gotten into the habit of going to restaurants shortly before closing hour – in the case of Paloma, we strolled in around 8:30 while a large Spanish-speaking group seemed to be wrapping up a banquet of sorts.  Upon being seated, our Colombian waitress asked us if we spoke Spanish, as she didn’t have much confidence in her English – but it turned out to be passable (certainly orders of magnitude better than our Spanish).  The decor was an odd mix of pseudo-classy and 80′s ethnic restaurant – strangely charming

While we perused the menu, we were served some chips and house salsa – a nice smooth green salsa with a good kick, served severely chilled.  We ordered a guacamole to start, which turned out to be a great decision – garlicy, oniony and bowl-licking good.  I was having a little trouble deciding which main dish to pick out of their vast selection, but in the end decided on the Puntas de Filete a la Mexicana con Tequila – fajita-like dish comprising of sautéed steak tips, peppers and onions.  It was quite the mouthful to say, and as it turned out, many mouthfuls on the plate.  Unsurprisingly, rice and beans came as standard sides – the rice was quite nice, but the beans unremarkable.  The beef for my fajita was sadly mediocre, being overdone and with little flavour – though the peppers and onions were done very well, which helped salvage the dish.

While I wasn’t that impressed with my fajitas, the menu is varied enough to make me want to give it another shot in the future.

Summary

Paloma is like an upgraded version of Rico’s Tacos…if Rico’s Tacos managed to not get shot up in 5 years (we think it’s a front for selling drugs…but hey, the food is good, so who cares, right?). Like most ethnic restaurants, Paloma offers a huge and varied menu, so I wouldn’t mind going back to check out their Chilean dishes. While the food itself was nothing overly exciting, I had a pretty delicious and filling meal. Paloma is no Anejo, but it’s certainly no Julio’s Barrio either. The secret is in the salsa …

Ranking

Criteria	Kiran	Richard
Ambiance	3/5	3.5/5
Service	4/5	4/5
Taste	3.5/5	3.5/5
Originality Authenticity	4/5	4/5
Value	3.5/5	3.5/5
TOTAL	18/25 = 72%	18.5/25 = 73%

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 18,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 4 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

SO Much Tequila, Thanks NAFTA! An Intimate Review of Anejo, Calgary’s Newest Mexican Restaurant

Summary: An upscale casual Mexican-themed restaurant in Mission serving up delicious food along side Canada’s largest tequila menu. Prepare to be impressed.

When I heard the newest kid on the restaurant block was a Mexican-themed restaurant from the owners of The Living Room, I was immediately intrigued. Calgary doesn’t have too many (good) Mexican restaurants in the first place, much less upscale casual ones, so I had to check it out. And it was worth it.

Kent and I showed up on a bustling Friday night (Richard bitched out at a work xmas party) to their newly opened Mission location. Even though it was miserable weather, it was pretty hard to miss the only restaurant on the street, nay Calgary, with a huge flower-adorned skull next to the restaurant name.

We had to line up for about 10-15 min. before getting seated as the place was packed, but the restaurant has a pretty wide indoor "staging area" so you don’t have to freeze your ass off in winter. The restaurant itself was a bit too dimly lit for my liking but maybe they are going for the lounge effect. The wall immediately to the right is adorned with Mexican artwork and the wall on the far back with all kinds of awesome tequila. Overall, the feeling is that of an upscale restaurant for a classy dinner date or a lounge where you can hang out with your mates and get trashed on expensive tequila. Either way, it works.

Kent & I decided to start off with the guacamole and tortilla chips while figuring out what to order from Anejo’s extensive tequila menu, which according to the server, is the largest in Canada (that’s when you know you have kinda made it as a city). The food menu, which was quite extensive, offers a more contemporary twist on traditional Mexican cuisines while still retaining some of the authentic flavours and customs. For instance, the guacamole was served in a lava-rock mortar and prepared table-side as we were watching. It’s also got the only restaurant in Calgary (maybe Western Canada?) that serves cactus in a salad. Awesome.

While waiting for our appetizer, we went through the pretty massive tequila menu. For those who don’t know much about tequila other than the Jose Cuervo crap you shot as a university student, there’s five distinct types: blanco,  joven, reposado, and anejo. Blanco is the clear tequila that most people are familiar with; joven is a mixture of blanco and reposado,  reposado is any tequila that’s been aged for a minimum of 2 months, but less than 12 months in any oak barrel; and anejo is tequila that has been aged for a minimum of one year, but maximum of three in small oak barrels. There’s also the extra-anejo which is aged for a minimum of three years in oak barrels, but that tends to be not as common…and way more expensive.

The guac is the best we have ever eaten. Made fresh at the table in a lava-rock mortar, the only way to top this is for the staff to fly you to an avocado farm and hand feed it to you. Its fresh.  Never has there been guacamole this good in Calgary – flavoured with nothing but serrano/jalapeno salt, onions, and tomatoes, and lime juice, this was nothing if not finger-licking good. Seriously. I was literally scraping the last bits of guacamole in the mortar with my finger and licking it dry – it was that good! My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough dip for the amount of chips given.

Kiran’s Judgement

Anejo offers three 1 oz. drink flights. I ordered a "Vertical Flight" which means I got to sample one type of tequila (resposado) from three different distilleries (Asombroso, Excellia, and Baluarte). The cost of a flight is the total of each drink minus a $4 discount, so depending on the drinks in your flight, it can get expensive pretty quick.

I loved my flights. My favourite was definitely the Excellia which had a hint of sweetness and went down real smooth. My palate isn’t developed enough to pick up other aromas and flavours, but I am working on it (while writing this article ;D). It’s too bad Excellia isn’t sold at my local Co-op otherwise I would have bought it by now!

For the main course, I went with veggie tacos and chills rellenos. The former came with six, SIX different types of salsas and hot sauces. I was too wasted by the time the food came out to remember the names…all I remember is I couldn’t have enough of the hot sauces and the salsas. I rolled my eyes when the server was emphatic about the salsas packing a punch, but I take it back. I was pretty impressed by the amount of heat AND flavour each salsa or hot sauce packed. If that wasn’t enough, Anejo’s Executive Chef also has a house GHOST PEPPER hot sauce which I was super-impressed with – it wasn’t crazy hot like the store-bought ones and at the same time, packed lots of flavour. Hats off, sir.

The chills rellenos was also pretty fantastic. I have never had one with rice before, so it was an interesting take on it. The rice had too much bite for my liking, but apart from that, it was a tasty and well-made dish. I have now had chills rellenos from every Mexican restaurant I have been too, and this one, IMHO, is the best out there. Well done.

Kent’s 2 Cents

I’m not much of a tequila drinker and was hesitant to try their high-end selection. I tried the "Horizontal Flight" where I got to try blanco, reposado, and anejo varieties from one distillery (Centinella). Although I couldn’t tell much of a difference between reposado and anejo, I can definitely confirm that its better tasting than the nightclub tequila shots, which I’m pretty sure is just low-octane gasoline. I’m moving up in the world.

I was very impressed with the selection of sauces for the tacos – all made in house and there was something for everyone. A few forgiving ones, but mostly very hot and enjoyable. The ghost pepper sauce was incredibly spicy, but in a way that still had flavor and didn’t burn your digestive tract.

The tequila mac & cheese came out in a very large portion. I unfortunately was not hungry anymore after having the guacamole and tacos. The cheese was rich and creamy, but it was a bit salty for my taste. The panko sprinkled on the top was a nice touch, I think it should be used on everything. I wanted to finish it, but just couldn’t by this point.

Summary

I think I have my new favourite restaurant in town. From classy drinks to good comfort food, Anejo has it all. Even though it was a packed house, the service was top notch and on par with the food. The fact that they are doing something different from other typical ethnic eateries always excites me. Anejo is going to do to Mexican what Mango Shiva did to Indian – upscale, trendy, and the place to be. A definite must-see!

-Kiran

RANKING	Kiran	Kent
Ambiance	4/5	5/5
Service	5/5	4.5/5
Taste	4.5/5	4.5/5
Originality	4/5	4.5/5
Value	3.5/5	3.5/5
TOTAL	21/25 = 84%	22/25 = 88%

Japanese Knives & The Art of Cutting Like a Chef

I love knives. They are so…sexy. There’s a quite beauty in these sleek and sexy knives that just makes them just dangerous enough that you want to play with, but not something you want to sleep with. These knives definitely aren’t the $20 Ikea blades that you pick up cause a “knife is a knife”. Knife-making in Japan is a centuries old (samurai swords, anyone?) family tradition where the knowledge and skills are passed on through generations and apprentices dedicate entire lifetimes to hone the art of making the perfect blade.

The premiere location to get knives in Western Canada (and maybe the whole of Canada) is Knifewear down in good ol’ Inglewood, Calgary. Going into that store is like going to MEC – you know you are going to come out with something cause you “really need it”. I don’t think I have ever walked out of Knifewear (or MEC for that matter) without purchasing something. It simply cannot be be done.

The last time I went into this store, I was looking for something in the $150 range, but ended up walking out with a Suisin INOX Honyaki that cost double that. Traditionally, Japanese knives are forged from carbon-steel which provides the hardness necessary to hold a razor-sharp edge. However, carbon-steel is prone to rusting, so these knives require more care and proper-handling. Often, the carbon-steel inner core is “sheathed” by sandwiching it between outer layers of software stainless steel. These knives have the advantage keeping their sharpness but are protected from rusting, so don’t require as much maintenance.

Honyakis are hand-forged from one single material such as high-carbon steel (carbon steel is the traditional material of choice) which is very hard. Because of this, they are difficult to forge and sharpen, which translates into a a higher price. Also because of high hardness honyakis are more prone to breaking, chipping and cracking. It took about 20 years for Junro Aoki (the designer of the Suisin line) to perfect the technique to sharpen these knives. On the positive side, they can be sharpened to incredibly thin and sharp edges that will hold for a very long time. The advantage of using stainless steel is knives that are super-light and just as sharp as carbon-steel knives. They are also corrosion resistant, and thus, easier to maintain.

The knife pictured in the photos in this post is the Konosuke Sakura and is hands down the most beautiful knife I have ever seen. These knives are similar to Honyakis in that they are also forged from steel but are capable of holding an edge similar to carbon steel knives, keep their edges, are easy to sharpen, and of course, don’t rust. This particular cherry blossom pattern is unique to Konosuke knives.

So, the point of the lengthy digression is that when Knifewear had a 2-for-1 deal on knife cutting skills, I jumped at the opportunity. There’s no point owning a Ferrari if you drive it like a mini-van.

Some of the more basic tips for keeping your knife sharp are:

• Don’t ever throw them in the dishwasher
• Wash and dry the blade by hand after every use
• Do not cut through bone
• Use only plastic or wooden cutting boards; never cut on glass, marble, or granite as they are harder than the steel
• Use the top of the knife to clean things of the cutting board, not the cutting edge
• Hone your knife after every use using a ceramic honing rod, not a stainless. If it’s a Japanese knife, hone it at a 15 deg angle; European ones at 22 deg.

We also had hands-on lessons on how to baton and julienne veggies, how to dice onions without breaking out into tears like a 12-yr. old, and how to cut herbs to ensure the retain their flavour (the trick is to NOT chop like a madman).

My favourite tip was that for cutting veggies, a nakiri is the way to go as it has a straight edge which prevents the “vegetable accordion” effect that you get from using the traditional curved edge blades that don`t cut all the way through to the bottom.

So, the next time you are in Inglewood, make sure you check out Knifewear. If nothing, you will gain a deeper appreciation for knives as works of art.

Fortney: Calgary eateries keep proving to Food Network, You Gotta Eat Here

Every couple of days, I stumble upon an article that warms my heart and reaffirms my belief in Calgary as a city where great things are happening behind the scenes. There’s this great momentum developing in Calgary where we are slowly shedding the “cowtown” image and propelling down the path of arts & culture and “foodie” mecca.

This particular article chronicles the experiences of John Catucci of the You Gotta Eat Here! fame at  Boxwood. The latter is the brainchild Sal Howell, the owner of another popular and award-winning restaurant, River Cafe (not to mention, one of my favourites).

My favourite part in the article was how Calgary is not only on the forefront of the foodie scene, but is also leading the country. From food trucks to pop-up restaurant experiences, there’s almost some sort of an “underground” foodie movement taking place in Calgary. There’s this sense of newfound curiosity and amazement at all the cool shit happening in town…it’s almost becoming too hard to keep up with the food scene in this town!

via Fortney: Calgary eateries keep proving to Food Network, You Gotta Eat Here.

No Monkeying Around – A Review Of MONKI Breakfast Club & Bistro

There’s no such thing as too many brunch places. You can say that about pizzerias. You can say that about schwarma joints. And you can say that about Vietnamese restaurants, but most people would universally agree that there is no such thing as too many brunch places. At least in Calgary anyways.

So A. and I woke up early one Saturday morning to check out the newest kid on the brunch block – Monki Bistro. They are located just opposite off the Community Natural Foods and occupy a pretty cozy spot at the corner of 10th Ave and 12th St SW. We got there at 10ish and it was already packed, but luckily for us, there was room at the kitchen counter which was fine by me as I love open-concept kitchens that open up to the entire restaurant – it’s like getting a front row seat to your favourite band. We got there in good time too, cause as soon as we were seated, a huge line-up started, most of whom didn’t get seated until we left…two hours later.

"Cozy" would be an understatement when describing this place. I don’t think I have ever been to a tinier restaurant. Shit-hole Korean restaurant Don Day, by comparison, is palatial. Nonetheless, the cozy atmosphere coupled with primate-art adorning walls and large windows that let in plenty of natural light gave this place a kind of a "happening" buzz. Not quite the same happening vibe you get from OEB or Una, but somewhere halfway in between. It’s getting there.

One of the main reasons I wanted to check out Monki was for their Banana and Frangelico cream cheese-stuffed French toast topped with Nutella and condensed milk (yes, you read that right). Who wouldn’t want to try that? However, I don’t like sweet breakfast options, so I convinced A. to order it (with empty promises of sharing my order) whereas I went with a burrata, vine ripe tomato, arugula, pesto olive oil  & balsamic panini. As soon as the server left, an absolutely mouth-watering eggs benedict dish of some sort went past us, making me instantly regret my order. Oh well, I guess I have an excuse to go back again.

The dishes were well plated, but the stuffed French toast in particular looked like a thick piece of steak. I don’t know if others would find that comparison tasty, but that’s the first thing that came to my mind. Interestingly, based on what my eyes saw and what I had read about that dish, my mind was expecting something super-rich and sweet. However, kinda like eating dark chocolate, my taste buds were deceived and disappointed. It’s a bit of a mind-fuck, but a delicious, well-balanced piece of mind-fuck. Otherwise, you would have a hard time finishing the dish. Eating a whole jar of Nutella sounds delicious, until about your 10th spoonful. After that, you are just shitting out Nutella. A thick, gooey, dark-brown Nutella.

Next up was the panini and this dish definitely grew on me so much so that I really enjoyed it by the last bite. The panini was a much mellower and earthier dish compared to the stuffed French-toast. Furthermore, I made the mistake of eating the side salad that came with a balsamic dressing. The latter was way too overpowering for the panini. The panini was pretty much toast after the first bite of salad – all I tasted was the texture of the bread and cheese. However, the panini gradually began replacing the taste of the balsamic vinaigrette towards the end and I really started enjoying the earthy taste of the cheese, arugula, and pesto.

The food was good and delicious, but it lacked the "wow" factor for some reason. A. made the very insightful observation that the dishes weren’t balanced properly. So, for instance, the stuffed French-toast was delicious, but it was too much of a good thing. It could have used some hash browns or toast on the side. Same with the panini – the balsamic vinaigrette was simply too overwhelming thus upsetting the balance of the dish. If Monki gets this balance right, my gut feel is that it will become a solid hit.

When you show up to a new restaurant with a camera, the staff pay attention, no matter how inconspicuous you try to be. The main chef chatted me up during a brief lull and we got talking. Monki is run by a pair of chefs/owners/brothers who previously used to run the Italian-joint Gnocchi’s Ristorante (which has a 90% "Like" rating on UrbanSpoon.com). Apparently, one of their reasons for wanting to start a bistro was having a more stable 9-5 pm schedule in addition to cooking a different type and style of food. It also explains the heavily Italian-influenced menu.

One major thing to note: it took us two hours from time we got seated to when we got out. Unfortunately, the food did take a while to come out. The kitchen was working pretty deftly, but they are still working out their timings and rhythm, especially in that tiny, tiny kitchen (think food truck tiny). Typically, in most brunch places, the line-ups are much longer than how long it takes the food to come out, but either way, you are looking at around 1.5-2 hours before you have paid your bill and are on your way out. Monki is no different, except here, the food takes much longer to come out.

No one’s really heard about Monki yet, but I suspect as the word of mouth spreads and they get even busier, they will have to do a better job with getting the food out faster. Also, like most brunch places, you have to wait in line again at the end of your meal to pay before you are on your way out. This is extremely frustrating, but only Vendome has managed to find a solution for this. Either way, I am definitely looking forward to going back there to try their eggs benedict.

Ranking

Ambiance	4/5
Service	4/5
Originality	4/5
Taste	3.5/5
Value	3/5
TOTAL	19.5/25 = 76%

Until next time. PO, b.

-Kiran

Cruise ship food: the good, the bad, and the salty

This week, we have the pleasure of inviting our good friend and fellow semi-nerdist @baudais to blog about her not-so-recent adventures at sea. Alicia had the opportunity to spend some quality time on board a cruise ship for a friend’s wedding for about a week. These are her stories….

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I recently had the pleasure of going on a cruise in order to celebrate my partner’s best friend’s wedding (if that isn’t a mouthful, I don’t know what is). Our 7-day Carnival cruise took us through the western Caribbean, stopping in Cozumel, Belize City, Rotan, and Grand Cayman. Two days were spent at sea.

Now, you’re probably heard the jokes that they stuff you silly on cruise ships, and you should expect to gain a few pounds. These statements are true, though I vehemently denied this at first. I like to work out and eat healthy! I eat small portions! All of that went out the window the second I stepped on board our ship, the Carnival Legend. We feasted like kings every single meal, and most meals are included in the cost of your cruise (a meal at their steak house was an extra $35/head, and you had to pay for premium, Starbucks-style coffees). In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people went on a cruise simply for the food. You can sail for less than $600/person if you share a cabin and are deal savvy—that’s $85 a day before taxes/etc. It’s a pretty good deal when you consider that it really is all you can eat.

Instead of going through every single meal I ate, I’ll discuss the hits and misses of cruise ship food.

HITS

If you go on a cruise, take advantage of the dining room as opposed to the buffet for dinner. Each night, we were served a three course meal: an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of options available each night. There was a standing menu which consisted of standard American comfort food: fried chicken, hamburgers, pasta, etc. What stood out to me was the nightly menu which always had an “exotic” choice. I tried frog legs and alligator, and though neither of these appetizers were exceptionally delicious, it was fun to check these items off my “to try” list.

Although the dinners are assembly line meals, the food was good quality and prepared well. The chicken was always moist, and the beef and fish well-cooked. My favourite main was a savoury, spiced pumpkin tart. Though the crust was a bit tough, the flavourful filling was excellent—well seasoned, the cinnamon and nutmeg apparent, but not overpowering. The fried chicken (my second favourite) was surprisingly tasty, though salty (which I’ll get into later). The coating was crisp, and not greasy; the chicken tender and moist. The accompanying mashed potatoes were real (as in not powdered!) and well seasoned. The gravy that came along with the potatoes was amazing; it was very savoury and I loved that it had a caramel/burnt sugar taste to it.

The glutton inside of me also appreciated the fact that food truly was available to us 24 hours a day. You’d wake up to a gigantic breakfast buffet. There were themed late night buffets to satisfy your drunken munchies—my personal favourite was Mexican night, during which I indulged in a burrito (tasty and filling, with surprisingly fresh ingredients) and nachos (a miss: oddly textured chips—I don’t think they were fried properly—made out of flour tortillas and slightly sweet neon cheese sauce. This being said, I’ve been spoiled by years of eating Saddledome nachos with their amazingly tasty neon cheese sauce).

Oh, and the chocolate buffet. The chocolate buffet. In which the entire dining hall became a receptacle for all things chocolate. There was a chocolate fountain. Multiple cakes. Chocolate profiteroles. Rice pudding. Chocolate covered orange peel. Brownies. Madeleines. And, my personal favourite, an amazingly rich and flavourful chocolate pudding. Some of the items for the chocolate fountain was a miss (jello rolled in granulated sugar, aka “jujubes” and this weird citrus rock sugar), but the chocolate buffet was pretty good in general. Of course, recognizing that it was close to being the epitome of gluttony.

Did I mention that, on top of all of this, there was a daily hamburger/hotdog bar with all of the fixings, as well as a 24/7 pizza stall? My partner decided that he just had to get himself a hotdog after our chocolate buffet indulgence. See what I mean about eating? You just can’t stop. I’m glad I brought my Jenny Craig pants with me.

MISSES

Salty, salty, salty. I felt like most of the food was salted with a heavy hand. I realise this is ironic as Canada is home to some of the highest levels of sodium in packaged foods, but I felt like the salt masked many of the other flavours in the food.

Waste. I am one of those eat local, waste not kinda yuppies, and I found it extremely hard to finish everything on my plate. The portions are gigantic, and the standard buffet plate (seen above with the hotdog) is just shy of being a serving platter. People on cruises are not shy about taking piles of food and throwing out what they don’t eat.

Local cuisine. There also aren’t many opportunities to sample local cuisine in the Caribbean unless you plan ahead. If you partake in excursions, expect to have no time to explore on your own. Pre-planning is essential, as the areas in which cruise ships dock/tender are very touristy and cater to the unadventurous. The most exotic things I saw for sale were cashew wine (a speciality to Belize that, the locals say, is the best bang for your buck because you’ll be drunk for two days), conch, plantains, and local fish.

Out of all of the food available to us on board, the buffet was the most disappointing. There is certainly variety, but don’t expect the food to be über fresh (unless you have good timing). I can’t tell you how many pre-toasted, heat lamp warmed bagels I had for breakfast, and overcooked chicken breasts atop somewhat limp salads for lunch. Opt for the dining room as much as possible—while the food is prepared in an assembly line, at least it’s prepared to order.

SUMMARY

All in all, the cruise was a very good time. I was pleasantly surprised. Being a bit of a food snob, I was apprehensive about the quality/preparation of cruise ship food. Don’t expect chef’s table, amazing, quality meals—but don’t expect fast food quality food either. You’ll get fed, and get fed well. Try to lose 10 pounds before you set sail so that you won’t feel too guilty about the unavoidable overindulgence you will experience.

Would I go on a cruise again? You bet. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but it’s good value for your money if you want a sun-soaked vacation. Think of it as a moving all-inclusive resort. Another myth I’d like to debunk is the fact that you have to be a retired couple to enjoy what a cruise ship has to offer. Even the most refined yuppies will eventually come to appreciate the garish charm that the decor offers…and marvel in the sheer amount of things to do on the ship.

Just skip the variety shows if you’re used to… erm… higher quality entertainment.

~Alicia

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Until next time, good eats!

-Kiran

 

Review of ABC Restaurant (HK-style breakfast & brunch)

Summary: A cheap, quick, efficient restaurant in Chinatown that will satisfy your hunger without breaking your bank account

I randomly stumbled upon ABC on Urbanspoon.com and was instantly enamoured by it;s apparently HK-style breakfast & brunch theme. Any place that serves instant noodles for breakfast gets instantly booted to the top of my priority list.

We got there on a busy Sunday morning in Chinatown to find this pretty packed place . I didn’t have to hang around too long before being seated. It felt a bit awkward initially being the only unshaven brown guy in a Chinese restaurant, but in general, no one stared too much – now I know how white people feel in ethnic restaurants…haha.

Service was pretty quick and efficient. To avoid confusion, you write your order down on a piece of paper a la sushi restaurants. Every order comes with a choice of two toppings. A hot drink is included in the total price; you pay an extra $1 if you want to upgrade to a cold drink. James and I ended up getting the Yin and Yang which is a 50/50 combo of coffee and tea:

 

I have never had a coffee/tea mix before so was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. There was some definite hints of chicory (roasted endive roots) as far as I could tell, as that’s what Indian coffee tastes like. My parents pooh-pooh any coffee without chicory as that is what most coffee grinds in India are cut with. This is pure irony cause originally chicory was added to make up for the coffee shortage during the French Civil War – it was found to add body and flavour to the coffee.

Food wise, there weren’t too many vegetarian options (as expected) so I went with the instant noodles in a spicy szechuan soup base with mushrooms. The noodle soup looked pretty enticing with the veggies, noodles, spices, and oil all floating in a delicious turmeric-tinged harmony:

Alas, the noodle soup wasn’t as flavourful as I would have liked it or expected it to be. I had to top it up with sambal and salt to bring more “oompf” to the the dish. I would expect a szechuan soup base to have packed more flavour and oompf.

I also got congee for no real reason except that I felt like having some and it was $2.95. It’s tough being a high-roller with so many options in front of you:

The congee, although really plain (there were no options for vegetarian toppings), was actually pretty delicious. It was the right texture, consistency and saltiness. And for $2.95, it was large enough to fill an entire developing nation…so pretty good value for your money.

James decided to get the Malaysian-style Beef Brisket Curry, which was a simple dish cooked in authentic Malaysian style.

Like my own dishes, ABC didn’t skimp out on the portion sizes or the meat. He also found it less spicier than the one he had in Singapore, and even though it was a bit on the oilier side, all the spices were well balanced and the meat was tender and moist. His only complaint was that it was on the pricier side for Chinatown. At first, I found this comment odd, but then I realized James is brown, so anything > $0 is “a bit on the pricey-side” for him…hahahaha

I was pretty disappointed though with the lack of HK-style buns or toast. That was the one thing I was looking forward to after reading about it over at For the Love Of. Maybe I didn’t know how to order, but it seems like a lot of menu items that For the Love Of or Elsie Hui talked about are no longer offered. I confirmed this with our server who mentioned that the menu had changed from the previous iteration a while ago. It appears that there has been a change in ownership, and with that, some of the more HK-themed items are no longer available.

Summary

Although ABC didn’t quite have all the items I was looking for, it was nonetheless a cost-efficient and quick meal. With the change in ownership, I don’t think it’s quite the beloved restaurant it used to be and doesn’t offer the baked goods that it was known for. Other than that, it was a pretty decent meal for the price paid!

Ranking

	Kiran
Ambiance	3.5/5
Service	4.5/5
Taste	3/5
Originality	3/5
Value	5/5
TOTAL	19/25 = 76%

Review of Clive Burger

Summary: Another hip burger joint. 

So. Burgers are all the rage now. They are the new pizza. There’s even an entire food blog dedicated to reviewing just burgers. Clive Burger is the latest addition to the scene that has been dominated so far by places like Rocky’s Burger Bus and Boogie’s Burgers.

Occupying the former space of Wok Box, Clive Burger aims to bring hipster cool to the latest trend in the yyc food scene. The front of the house reminded me of a sushi lounge or ramen noodle house in Japan:

If you are in a group, you can sit in a booth that is adorned with hip burger-joint art (that`s right, I just created my own genre of art):

I loved the interior space – it was bright and inviting – as food for me is a total sensory experience. The ambiance definitely plays a factor in the overall experience.

You order your custom burger off a giant “menu” and pick your own toppings too. Kinda like Subway for burgers. I dig it. If you are feeling extra hungry or just want to carbo-load before that big 10k run the next day, you can order a “custard shake” for $5. AND if that wasn’t enough, you can wash it all down with some beer on tap (from Village Brewery; they also have other wine and beer). For the vegetarians and celiacs out there, Clive also serves up any burger 100% vegetarian or gluten-free. I approve.

Once you order, the burger goes through an “assembly line” of line cooks that construct your burger with the love and care a greasy fat guy with a cigarette in his mouth cannot possibly match.

 

Kiran’s Thoughts

I ordered the double cheese burger with the vegetarian patty along with a vanilla custard shake as I was feeling extra frisky that day. For my burger toppings, I went with friend onions, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and Swiss cheese all topped off with hot sauce and Clive sauce.

The custard shake came out right away and it was downright sinful how good it was. Song said it was like drinking liquid egg tarts. Kent said it was like drinking ice cream.

I say it was fucking delicious.

We got our burgers to go and find a spot outside to enjoy a nice sunny spring day in the City. I eagerly bit into my burger expecting to find glory, but alas, I only tasted mediocrity. Don’t get me wrong, it was a solid burger, but there was nothing that stood out. The bun was a bit soggy, and the patty (although well seasoned) wasn’t crispy on the outside that gives one the satisfying crunch of biting into a mean burger. I liked the Clive sauce though, as it was nice and garlicky and had a mild vinegary pucker to it that I wasn’t expecting.

Overall, a pretty solid burger and and shake that satisfied my hunger.     

Richards’s Ruminations

Burgers, beers, Battlestar Galactica.  This is what you can look forward to grabbing at the slick-looking Clive Burger on 17th ave (ok, maybe not Battlestar [That’s only at Dickens pub during Sled Island -Kiran]).  There seems to be a bit of a burger boom going on in Calgary these days, much in the way that thin-crust pizza places have been all the rage in the past few years.  Clive Burger punches in with their own sustainability-focused take on the classic burger joint, proudly touting their organic food sources and offering fully-recyclable or compostable containers and utensils.  Even the straws and stickers are biodegradable apparently. In fact, they don’t even have a "trash" container within the store.  The simple line cartoons and modern minimalistic design make it seem like a place that would fit in nicely in Vancouver.

For some reason, they have an absolutely enormous staff – perhaps this is only apparent due to the open-kitchen layout, but maybe they are also big on the social sustainability and are looking to generate as many jobs as feasible   Even though their staff is substantial, this isn’t exactly a "fast" food joint – burgers are freshly prepared, and they can take quite some time to come out.  Luckily, the cashiers issue you a buzzer that vibrates when your food is ready to pick up, so you can sit and sip your beer with your friends instead of having to huddle around anxiously at the pickup counter.

Visually, the burgers sort of resemble the ones from Shake Shack with soft round buns and nice ruffly lettuce, though unlike Shake Shack the toppings selection is vast, arguably even better than Five Guys.  They offer everything from $6 plain singles up to a $17 monstrosity with 3 patties, bacon and a fried egg to boot. There’s also a good range of hipster beers in tallboys and cans, plus a delicious custard shake which is like drinking a liquid mix of egg-tart and ice cream.

I went with a single cheeseburger and an order of fries to share – and it’s a good thing that I was planning on sharing, because it ended up being a pretty crazy amount of fries! (Be warned that there is only one size of fries offered, so better show up with a friend or a huge appetite if you plan on ordering them).  Deliciously fried in peanut oil, they struck a nice balance, being soft but with a tenderly crisp skin – I could easily eat them on their own, but they also came with ketchup and Clive sauce for dipping.  As for the burger – well, you might want to change out of your dress clothes before eating here because it is MESSY!  Maybe it’s because I ordered every free topping except for sauerkraut, but it was oozing goodness from all sides.  The meat was nice and hefty and the topping fresh, so all-in-all, it was edging on excellence – though given that the burger’s appearance reminded me of Shake Shack, it also made me think that the burgers could be even better if cooked medium-done (these were definitely well-done)

Kent’s 2 Cents

Model Milk’s chef is involved with Clive, so it has to be good.
Well, they definitely didn’t fuck around. The beef is some sort of free range, organic wizardry where the farmers feed the cows caviar and Thai massage it to death, creating a pretty satisfying patty. You are free to add on all sorts of fresh toppings, with no additional cost. And like the fries, I think they use peanut oil on the patties too. Heart attack right? Well not really. I found the single & double patty to be just enough to make you full, but not too much to feel like ass immediately afterwards. Just make sure to share the order of fries with a friend or two, its a big serving.

Clive is also doing their part to slow down the destruction of Earth. Compost and recycling have their separate bins. The forks, knives, and other packaging is biodegradable. So you can head back to your Ford F-350 after the meal and feel great about yourself for at least an hour or two.

Summary

We went back to Clive after a night out at Sled. To our delight, we discovered that they are open till 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays. This is awesome as it’s a sign that Calgary’s finally growing up – any large city worth its salt has late night offerings other than Denny’s and Humpty’s – and has options other than 3$ pizza.

I am ambivalent about this place. It’s pretty hip and cool, and the milkshakes are downright mind-blowing, but I found the burgers alright. Richard and Kent found the burgers delicious, so I guess that evens things out.

At the end of the day, after a hard night of partying, this is a great place to grab a bite and chill out with your friends.

Ranking

	Kiran	Richard	Kent
Ambiance	4/5	4.5/5	5/5
Service	3.5/5	2.5/5	3/5
Taste	3.75/5	4.5/5	4/5
Originality	3/5	4.5/5	4/5
Value	4/5	4/5	4/5
TOTAL	18.25/25 = 73%	20/25 = 80%	20/25 = 80%

Food Truck Weekend Overload (Part 2)!!

Richard and I headed up to Lilac Fest a couple of weekends ago to kick-start the summer festivals circuit. Although I personally find most of these street festivals a bit blasé, they are an awesome opportunity to make lots of food-related discoveries.

After the initial successful pilot, food trucks are now here to stay, with their numbers reportedly rising up to 30 by the end of summer. It seems like food truck frenzy has taken over the city, with a new one popping up every week. Lilac fest had a plethora of food trucks so it was the perfect opportunity to review a few more trucks from the day before…

Snoberry: Shaved Ice-Cream

The first one that caught my eye was the latest offering from the folks over at The Noodle Bus, which explains the following photo:

But no one can beat the one Asian gang sign to rule them all:

(Kiran’s so jealous of my style -Richard)

(I am. –Kiran)

But, I digress…

Snoberry serves up shaved ice treats and allows up to two toppings per cup. The toppings range from the classics like blueberries, to the more exotic like “mochi” and “lychee burst”.

What is shaved ice, you ask? The “formal” Wikipedia definition describes it as a “large family” of ice-based dessert made of fine ice shavings or finely crushed ice and sweet condiments or syrups.”

Basically, it’s a fuckin’ snow-cone…aka kala khatta in India or Ais kachang in Southeast Asia

And not a good one at one. The texture of this shaved ice was that of shredded wheat. The texture basically turned me off the dessert completely. Plus, a real shaved-ice treat would actually be dripping with syrup and other condiments (like red beans or peanuts) that you can scoop or suck on. Instead, Snoberry’s version just blurs the line between a frozen yogurt and snow cone, and unfortunately, the end result isn’t very good. (I tried it and was rather ambivalent to it – it’s not really much like a snow cone, as the flavour is imbedded in it rather than in syrup form like the types that Kiran is familiar with. It’s more like those ice crystals that you get on the lid of an ice cream container when you over freeze it – vaguely milky-flavoured, but a relatively dilute taste. Sure it’s a bit overpriced, but the main thing that made it shitty was the horrible combination of flavours that Kiran picked – sorry, peanuts and chocolate don’t go with mango ice and lychee bursts. –Richard).

(It was a fuckin’ delicious combo. –Kiran)

The Happy Truck

We were looking for a solid meal, and the bright and cheery Happy Truck caught our eyes and stomachs. We were also intrigued by their po’boy offerings with decidedly non-traditional po’ boy ingredients like satay sauce, tempeh, and beef.

I decided to get the temphee (sic) po’boy (that was pretty much my only option) which was a cornucopia of ingredients that you wouldn’t necessarily see often but nonetheless excited me somewhat in my loins. The big “mystery” ingredient for me was tempeh (deep fried fermented soybeans) which turns is something that has been consumed in Indonesia for centuries. The tempeh was supplemented with a generous (and I mean fuckin’ generous) load of shredded/marinated cabbage, pineapple chunks (?!?!), carrots, and cucumber, all topped off with satay sauce and dollops of sambal.

The above ingredients sound delicious on paper, but unfortunately, where the po’boy failed was in delivery and execution. I didn’t know how to eat the fuckin’ thing. The bread was cut through on both sides so there was no way to hold the sandwich without ingredients oozing out and dripping onto your lap. The above would be forgivable if the sandwich was mind-blowing, but it wasn’t, thus exacerbating my dislike for the po’boy.

Richard’s Thoughts

The Happy Truck, eh? The name certainly appealed to me, and the people running it inside seemed happy enough. Ok, worth a try, right? Their off-beat offerings were a strange mix of Asian-inspired flavours (from samosas to Southeast-Asian satay) centered around a “Po’ boy” that was the Southern-States standard in name only. It was more like a Viet/Thai style sub (though the bread was certainly po’boy-like), filled with satay beef, cabbage, seemingly cooked cucumber, pineapple pieces, hoisin sauce, and slathered with a generous helping of peanut-y satay sauce.

It was certainly an adventurous combination, but I can’t say that I was a fan of it. The sweetness of the pineapple and hoisin sauce combined with the strong peanut flavour of the satay made it taste like I was eating a PBJ sandwich – that happened to also have beef and cabbage in it . Seems like it might appeal to people who like the PBJ hotdog at tubby dog though . I also had a spring roll, which was almost like an Asian-style sausage roll – unlike many spring rolls, there was no vermicelli or vegetable fillers – only pure, pot-sticker-style meat. On the plus side, the Happy Truck accepts credit cards, which was rather welcome.

Purple Pastry Chef

The set of cupcakes that were on display in front of the little van caught my eye as we were walking by, and the cheerful ladies manning the little van seemed pretty down-to-earth, so I figured it would be a good place to grab some dessert. The flavour selection was very unique (cinammon, rosewater, and mojito were among the offerings that day), and each cupcake was exquisitely decorated and packaged in individual windowed boxes. We were informed that everything on the cupcakes was edible (including the well-crafted butterflies that adorned several cupcakes) – except for the straw that adorned the mojito cupcake (which was what I ended up ordering).

The cupcakes were almost too adorable to eat – but eat, we did. Unfortunately, I’d say they made better decorations than desserts – the cake itself was nice, if unremarkable, but the icing was too viscous for my liking (almost like marzipan) and the flavour was mostly one-dimensional – sugary (there were wisps of rum/mojito mix but it was pretty muted). Luckily, it came with a slice of key-lime that I bit into in between bites of cupcake that helped cut the sweetness and added some zing. The sugar mint leaf on top was actually also really good, but it wasn’t really big enough for me to get a piece of it with every bite of the cupcake. They weren’t that cheap either ($3.50 or $3.75, I think?), but I don’t doubt that a lot of care went into each and every cupcake so the price was somewhat understandable. –Richard

I went with the white chocolate and rose water cupcake, which like Richard’s selection, was absolutely gorgeous to look at. However, like his, mine was also better admired than eaten. The icing was too thick and sweet for my liking and the cake wasn’t really all that special. I attempted to eat the rose petals, but ended up just coughing them out.

It was pretty disappointing to have something that delicious looking turn out to be not that delicious, but such is life. #firstworldproblems. -Kiran

Other Trucks

4th Street was lined all the way with food trucks and amongst the new and interesting ones we saw were:

Which essentially seems to be Edo Express on wheels:

Then there are other trucks like The Naaco Truck that weren’t at the Lilac Fest, but which I am SUPER-excited about as white people need to know there’s more to Indian food than butter-chicken (which 95% of India Indians won’t be able to afford anyways):

Summary

Food truck mania is definitely taking over the city. I can’t thank Nenshi’s office enough in pushing this concept through City Hall. Calgary’s a pretty cool place, and although it will take us a while to be as trendy, hip or cool as Montreal, we will get there (in a couple of decades or so!). I personally think Calgary’s main problem is how young of a city it is. A lot of people don’t realize that we have grown to a million in the span of only 60 years, whereas a lot of the major cities around the world have two or three CENTURIES worth of history.

As the food truck scene explodes, there will be an increased scrutiny on the quality and price of the offerings. BUT, ultimately, regardless of the food quality, the concept of street food is only going to help revitalize our City.

Looking forward to what summer brings in our local food scene.

-Kiran