^Yup. I thought it was not bad, but not great. It seems like older people seem to like it, so maybe it was much better at one time. It seemed like they didn't season the meat. It was fairly bland.

Don't even mention Siding Cafe to me. I want to firebomb it its demise angered me so.

I didn't know Siding Cafe had gone downhill. Last time I was there which was about two years ago, it seemed great. What happened??

Basically Siding went from being a really nice sort of modern diner that had great takes on classic comfort food, like superb meatloaf and eggs benny- good food, good value- and then for no clear reason they renovated (when the place was already gorgeous) and redid the menu so it was more like your typical "upscale casual" place which are a dime a dozen (you know, Earls, Milestones, Redwater, etc etc), got rid of most of the good stuff, raised prices, and basically broke what didn't need fixing. Also for some reason service went from excellent to horrible.

Maybe it had something to do with Ned Bell leaving Murrietta's (parent company), but the thing is the coffee at the Palette Coffeehouse upstairs, another Murrietta's project, is much better now than before and they have pretty good food there too.

Is Siding Cafe still owned by Murrietta's? I would have guessed that some accountant or dentist bought the business and had big ideas, but didn't know a thing about the restaurant business.

As far as service, well bad service seems to be popular these days.

By the way, when did Siding open, early 2004? Ned Bell left Murrietta's not long after that anyway I thought.

I met Ned Bell at a tanning salon (that sounds so sleazy I know) on 17th and he struck me as a bit of a douche. This was back in dec 2005 just as he was planning to open "ei8ht"- and this makes me realise what an impact he had in this city (I am pretty sure he's in BC now, maybe Van Isl?), with Murrietta's, its spinoffs at Art Central, Vintage, Eight, Redwater, Tribune... anyway, the reason he struck me as douche-y was, first, that he was at a tanning salon to begin with (I was just there to get a pre-Hawaii base coat, 'kay?), and up close he's all frosted tips, fake tan and generally greasy, and second, think about many of his restos: Vintage, Murrietta's, Tribune at first, and Eight (if you count adjacent Mercury) ALL had smoking lounges. This was at a time that was indeed before the smoking ban, but most fine dining places were already smoke free- Teatro, Centini, Catch, River Cafe, Divino, I could go on and on. You had to initially walk through smoking areas in Murrietta's and Tribune to get to the dining room. When I asked him about this, he said "you can't survive without allowing smoking in Calgary." I thought that was presumptious and, more importantly, completely incorrect. It made me wonder if he did any lobbying. Pissed me off, actually.

Ned Bell catered a Christmas party I was at last year (he's related to the company owner). The food was excellent, but when he hung around after to enjoy the party, he certainly came off douche-y (yes, frosted tips, fake tan et al). I believe he spends a lot of time at a family-owned winery in the Okanagan.

Anyways, food good, person bad.

Ned Bell's in Kelowna actually. I used to see him at the Eau Claire Y all the time, and yes, frosted tips and a fake tan. Actually, I have friend who used to tend bar at Murrietta's and I got to drink for free there once in a while, Ned Bell was often also at the bar, with a fake tan. He was a regular on the douchiest of all cooking shows, cook Like a Chef.

Maybe his next resto should be called Chez Douche.

''he certainly came off douche-y (yes, frosted tips, fake tan et al). I believe he spends a lot of time at a family-owned winery in the Okanagan.''

That's an Okanagan boy for ya. A style that is timelessly douchey.
I remember back in the mid to late 90s in Kelowna when frosted tips, double hooped earrings and jeeps with a 'fear on' sticker were all the rage. Apparently, it hasn't changed. These dudes and there silicon girlfriends were one of the main reason I left my hometown. Going to the clubs and watching these people walk in to walls was just too much. I moved to Vancouver to reinstate my faith in humanity.

Chez sac a douche ;)

Speaking of Ned Bell, what do you guys think of Murietta's? I've eaten at Tribune (owned by Bell), and it was pretty good.

Tribune is owned by Bell?
I think Murrietta's is nice, however, I feel like it's at the end of the same family tree that contains places like Earl's, it's a better version of that kind of food.

To echo what Furry lamented earlier, where Calgary is sorley lacking are restos that offer simpe, high quality food at an affordable price, like Diner Deluxe and Route 40. A prime example in a town most of us would look down upon would be Calories Bakery in Saskatoon, a place I would prefer to eat at over Murrietta's 100 times out of a 100, costs less and is just as suitable for business or a romantic evening.

Very true. We have hordes of high end, fancy (and of course, expensive) restaurants in Calgary. We'll have to wait until the economy cools off to get better value places.

Speaking of just plain expensive. I ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse the other night, and was less than impressed. Nice decor and ambiance, but not much value. Basically reasonably good food for high prices. There are several better steakhouses in town.

Just have to add my 47 kopecks to the discussion here:

• Indian: Surya. Their lamb kadhai (a curry that sneaks up on you to plant an ever-so-loving five knuckles into your kisser) goes beautifully with the naan and a Kingfisher.
• Greek: Pegasus. Can't remember what it's called for the life of me, but they have a lamb and orzo stew in a cinnamon-red wine sauce that is something of a comfort-food dish. Don't you dare forget the saganaki as a starter.
• Pizza: Nick's. As an unrepentant carnivore, the Number 26 is near and dear to my heart (and nearer and dearer to my aorta than I care to admit).
• Chinese: Haven't been to Inglewood's Dragon Pearl in ages, but I have many happy memories of their Szechuan beef over steamed rice.
• Italian Casual: Popped into Mercato in Mission with the wife and a couple of friends, and came away most impressed.
• Diner: How many gazillion Beltline residents on this board and no-one mentioned the Galaxie?
• Steak House: Steak Pit's kind of fun if you're out Bragg Creek way, but hands down it's Buchanan's for me.

One last point--Skazka's been on my to-do list for ages. Any advance word on the place?

I ate at the Ruth's Chris near Disneyland (Anaheim) and it was okay. Nothing special for sure. There are better steak houses around town. I don't know if it's me, but American USDA just doesn't seem to have the flavor of top quality Alberta beef.

Love the Galaxie also. I used to go there for brunch on occasion, when I could actually get a table...

And I had a pretty bad experience with Pegasus...mostly just with the service though...

Nectar in Inglewood, it is heaven at the top of the stairs

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2032/...e38bf63f_b.jpg

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Motorcycle Tires

Nectar has one of the still-too-few La Marzocco espresso machines in the city, a Linea. In Portland every coffeehouse, including crappy ones, shell out for the LM.

I sure hope they're doing good biz at Nectar- the concept seemed pretty outre for Calgary (a city with basically no desert-only spots). We need more of this!