Calgary Food, coffee, etc. - Page 54

Rusty van Reddick · #**1061** Posted **Jul 2, 2008, 5:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innersoul1

I went to Globefish in Kensington over the weekend. FANTASTIC as usual. Great news, they are moving just next door into a larger location! Excited I am! LOL

...and I've heard the original location is becoming a ramen place, also operated by the Globefish group.

On the sushi tip- I have to again put the word out about Uptown Sushi, which is in a sort of invisible location right at 11 and 11 SW across the street from Midtown Market- SE corner, in the office building there. The original owner/operator, a very nice Taiwanese guy named Michael, sold it a year or so ago and the new owner and sushi chef is a Korean woman named Jenny, and she trained in Japan. I was concerned that the quality might go downhill since I was very fond of Michael's sushi but actually everything is better now. The great thing about Uptown has always been the prices ($2.25 for a tuna or a spicy tuna roll- no it's not a huge LA-style roll a la Globefish or Towa but it's very good and less than a third the price of those places); if I want to really uncomfortably stuff myself I can drop $20 there but a typical lunch for me is about $15 for one each of negitoro and spicy tuna rolls and two of their fantastic yam tempura rolls. At my favourite place in town, Blowfish which is on 11th Ave a few doors west of Broken City, I can expect to pay more than $30 for that sort of feed.

The reason why I say Jenny has improved things is that most vital sushi ingredient- what makes sushi "sushi": The rice. Michael's rice was hit or miss and it was sometimes mushy and horrible (sometimes). Jenny's has been perfect, in texture as well as amount (no thick rice doughnuts with a little scrap of fish or other filling like you get with rolls at, say, Hana). Jenny has also followed Michael's lead by always, always "toasting" the unagi before serving it w/ unagi nigiri or in rice bowls and I'd have to say hers is the best in town, so if you love unagi please visit uptown.

I mention all this because this place simply does not do the biz it should. They do a fair bit of takeout but the last few times I've gone for lunch I've been one of a tiny handful of customers and, last time, the only customer. That ain't right.

http://www.uptownsushi.ca

freeweed · #**1062** Posted **Jul 3, 2008, 1:15 AM**

Mildly squeamish? Never want to eat out again? Click here!

I swear to dog, every place I've eaten in the past week has been written up for several violations of the CHR.

Thankfully I'm not bothered by a bit o' bacteria, but maybe I'll help some folks out with their diets.

mersar · #**1063** Posted **Jul 3, 2008, 4:43 AM**

Ah. Best advice is to take with a daily recommended intake of salt. Some of the inspectors (who aren't identified in the reports) are extremely biased. Best comparison I've found so far, take a look at the asian restaurants in Cochrane, then in Airdrie. The reports would lead you to believe that every restaurant in Cochrane is a dirty, vermin filled hovel, but yet few of the asian restaurants in Airdrie that even have been inspected recently have more then the minor complaints that you'd expect, or in some cases not a single violation. The complaints about lack of food safety certification are also a joke, its only required when more then 6 workers are there at the same time, and I can't recall ever seeing a elementary school concession with more then 6 people in it at once, especially in a 400 student school.

A few of the food establishments have voiced concerns over this, but in a way this may actually be good ammunition for them to bring to the public eye the issues the the CHR has always had, and turned a blind eye to, about their inspectors being biased and not all inspecting to the same guidelines.

crooked rain · #**1064** Posted **Jul 6, 2008, 12:40 AM**

My wife and I ate breakfast at Dairy Lane on 19th St in Hillhurst today.

Awesome food! As good as any of the best breakfast diners anywhere in town!

sync · #**1065** Posted **Jul 7, 2008, 4:07 PM**

me and my future wife went to globefish on friday - amazing.

the crab paradise was awesome.

Surrealplaces · #**1066** Posted **Jul 23, 2008, 7:10 PM**

This isn't really related to Calgary, but there are a couple of U.S. food chains that would be nice to have up here, and both are in the medium price range. Chipotle, and Crackerbarrell. Not exactly god's gift to cuisine, but both are good value for the money. Any word on either of these coming up here?

Rusty van Reddick · #**1067** Posted **Jul 23, 2008, 7:53 PM**

Cracker Barrel is run by racist homophobic rednecks who would sooner commit mass suicide than open in socialist Canada. I agree their food is good in a "let's see how much lard we can pack into these biscuits" way but I guarantee they would sooner burn their stores to the ground than open anywhere but in the most hick parts of the US.

Sorry but a chain that set out a few years back to fire every one of their openly gay employees, no matter what they've done in recompense since then, is not one I want to see in Canada.

jeffwhit · #**1068** Posted **Jul 23, 2008, 8:13 PM**

^^ well, then you tell me where the hell I'm supposed to get my Chicken Fried Chicken from?

Surrealplaces · #**1069** Posted **Jul 23, 2008, 8:26 PM**

That's too bad about the owners.....I hadn't heard about that, it's a shame as I actually like the food there, not that it's great quality, but it's good value IMO.... simple and cheap. You're right though, it has a very 'country folk' feel to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Cracker Barrel is run by racist homophobic rednecks who would sooner commit mass suicide than open in socialist Canada. I agree their food is good in a "let's see how much lard we can pack into these biscuits" way but I guarantee they would sooner burn their stores to the ground than open anywhere but in the most hick parts of the US.

Sorry but a chain that set out a few years back to fire every one of their openly gay employees, no matter what they've done in recompense since then, is not one I want to see in Canada.

Rusty van Reddick · #**1070** Posted **Jul 23, 2008, 8:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

^^ well, then you tell me where the hell I'm supposed to get my Chicken Fried Chicken from?

Po' Folks or Waffle House- but I don't see either of those in Canada either...

jeffwhit · #**1071** Posted **Jul 23, 2008, 11:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

That's too bad about the owners.....I hadn't heard about that, it's a shame as I actually like the food there, not that it's great quality, but it's good value IMO.... simple and cheap. You're right though, it has a very 'country folk' feel to it.

You're a stronger man than I. In college I used to occasionally stop at a CB outside of Cincinnati, and always felt disgusting afterwards.

(Furry, I actually don't find the lack of chicken fried anything to be a problem in my life

In Bloomington we had "fake" Waffle House, not at all the same as those is Kentucky or Tennessee.

Me: What's chicken fried chicken?
Waitress: It's like chicken fried steak.
Me: ?????

Rusty van Reddick · #**1072** Posted **Jul 23, 2008, 11:26 PM**

jeff, you must miss Stuckey's

I had lunch at Blowfish today, that's 11th Ave SW a few doors west of Broken City, and I think I've worked out what to order there to avoid a $40 lunch. Today I had an order of agedashi tofu, an order of "butterfish" nigiri (two big pieces) and a spicy tuna roll. I'd never had their take on agedashi and it was delicious- it's $7.95 but a big order, about 8 pieces of succulent deep-fried soft tofu with a sweet-savoury sauce that had a Chinese taste to it. The tofu was crisp and a little chewy on the outside so its texture was a bit like deep-fried mochi, which is an utter delicacy if you haven't tasted it. The sushi was delicious as always, and my bill w/ water came to about $28 before tip. Not terrible but I can still stuff myself beyond reason at Uptown for $20. Still, Blowfish is so creative and tasty. I'm happy to note that it's now survived a year and a half in a somewhat difficult location, the old Bar Fly space.

Surrealplaces · #**1073** Posted **Jul 24, 2008, 7:31 PM**

Jeff, to be honest, I've only eaten there twice. The last time I was there I had grilled catfish and three vegetable sides, so nothing too greasy or hard to screw up, and for twleve bucks seemed like good value. The first time I think I had a steak, and vegetable sides, hard to screw that up too.

Waffle house is pretty good. I've eaten there a few times, and it's good for a cheap decent breakfast. The first Waffle House I ate in was just off the highway in Atlanta. I was the only white guy in there, kind of an interesting experience, although it like like everyone was watching me, they were certainly friendly.

Strangely enough, I remember there was some controversy at Waffle Houses in the past, something to do with racial issues..can't remember what it was all about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

You're a stronger man than I. In college I used to occasionally stop at a CB outside of Cincinnati, and always felt disgusting afterwards.

(Furry, I actually don't find the lack of chicken fried anything to be a problem in my life

In Bloomington we had "fake" Waffle House, not at all the same as those is Kentucky or Tennessee.

Me: What's chicken fried chicken?
Waitress: It's like chicken fried steak.
Me: ?????

Rusty van Reddick · #**1074** Posted **Aug 13, 2008, 1:15 AM**

BUMP!

Crave, eh?

Oh, I have to do my monthly pimping of Uptown Sushi- I had lunch there yesterday and chef Jenny makes superb cones, which are things I stopped eating a while back because the nori was too often like trying to chew through plastic- I got her dragon cone (unagi, avocado, and omelet) and it was just perfect. $9 for two generous cones are a superb deal- and Uptown has what I consider the best unagi in town, always served warm and never fishy.

freeweed · #**1075** Posted **Aug 13, 2008, 3:25 AM**

From the Crave website:

Willow Park Village

We're excited to announce the opening of our third Crave Cookies and Cupcakes location! All your favourites in another great location

It's the little strip mall just north of South Centre, for those not familiar with the burbs. I actually think it's a poor location (zero foot traffic) but they will certainly get the drive-by SUV/minivan housewife crowd. And me.

Ayreonaut · #**1076** Posted **Aug 13, 2008, 3:32 AM**

I'll hit it up.

IntotheWest · #**1077** Posted **Aug 13, 2008, 5:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeweed

From the Crave website:

Willow Park Village

We're excited to announce the opening of our third Crave Cookies and Cupcakes location! All your favourites in another great location

It's the little strip mall just north of South Centre, for those not familiar with the burbs. I actually think it's a poor location (zero foot traffic) but they will certainly get the drive-by SUV/minivan housewife crowd. And me.

That's turning into one of the best "strip malls" in the south of Calgary IMO. Willow Park wine is also in there, as is North Sea Fish Market, Springbank Cheese, etc. Crave just adds to it, really.

I thought when you were saying South Center, I was picturing Crave in South Center (didn't look right)...Willow Park Village does.

EDIT: I read "Willow Park Village" and stopped - didn't see you commented you think it's a poor location! That couldn't be further from the truth. Very, very, very good location. Actually, the best one that far south. I should add there's also a Starbuck's in Willow Park Village as well.

freeweed · #**1078** Posted **Aug 13, 2008, 1:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by IntotheWest

EDIT: I read "Willow Park Village" and stopped - didn't see you commented you think it's a poor location! That couldn't be further from the truth. Very, very, very good location. Actually, the best one that far south. I should add there's also a Starbuck's in Willow Park Village as well.

Well, you can't get much further away from the retail presence of Kensington or 17th Ave. A strip mall in the middle of the burbs isn't exactly an ideal location for a business that seems to rely heavily on foot traffic and impulse shopping (Vancouver's cupcake place fits this mold as well). That being said, from the other things you describe in there, I'll have to check it out further. Sounds rather unique.

Oh, and there's a Starbucks in every damn Chapters, Indigo, Sobey's, Safeway, and seemingly every other street corner (only mildly exaggerating). Not sure why that would be listed as a highlight of anything. I have 4 or 5 within a block of my office alone

IntotheWest · #**1079** Posted **Aug 13, 2008, 3:26 PM**

^Because you can stop there, grab a coffee and a cupcake - that's why I mentioned it

EDIT: There are no Starbucks in Sobey's.

Willow Park Village may at first glance appear to be just another "strip mall", but the first three stores I mentioned are most definitely "destination stores" to anyone in the south part of Calgary. Willow Park Wine is likely the best known wine store in Alberta, and North Sea Fish Market and Springbank Cheese serve up some of the best fish selection, or cheese selection (close to Janice Beaton IMO)...and are quite busy. We'll drive specifically to Willow Park at least once a month to hit all three of those.

Crave is - IMO - a destination store as well, and so it fits well in this location.

In fact, there are more unique stores in Willow Park that you'd expect to see in a Kensington or 17th than probably most any other strip mall in Calgary. There are also about 7 non-franchise restaurants in there - I wouldn't say the best restaurants - but popular regardless.

IntotheWest · #**1080** Posted **Aug 13, 2008, 3:33 PM**

Looks like Krispy Kreme has pulled out of Calgary, after 4 years. A blurb about it in the Herald today said it closed Aug 1.

I only went twice, and probably within the first 1-2 months of opening. I thought for donuts, they were good - but only if they were less than 10 minutes old. My wife picked some up once at a Wal-mart (I believe) - packed that day, but not minutes-fresh...and they just weren't great.

Personally, I won't miss this.