Calgary Food, coffee, etc.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Jimby

Soon they will be facing off on opposite sides of Blackfoot/Ogden! I like Naina's too, but their stuffed burgers are too huge for me.

Unfortunately, Rocky's will win. I just hope they don't destroy her business.

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Ramsay, Naina's is sooooo on my short list but we keep heading to Alaturka at Crossroads. That or whatever the taco place is called now.

She does a pretty good job. I try to limit myself to one burger a month and she's my goto place.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Jimby

The pic is at their original location today. Not sure what the set-up will be at Crossroads. December 20th they re-open there.

Mug Shotz, which is in the same 1950s era plaza as Naina's, is supposed to have great wings.
JimStar Bar & Grill a little further on Ogden Road now boasts they are Bonnybrook's best kept secret. I wonder if they are related to Jimstar Welding of Bonnybrook?

I heard about the Vagabond burger, I wonder if they're just trying to ironic being that the place is called Vagabond and all.

I'm pretty sure JimStar Welding owns JimStar Bar & Grill. I'm guessing most of his staff drank their when it was that god awful chinese buffet place. They had domestic beer on for pretty cheap.

Great way to get back the money you pay your employees. Just open a bar down the street.

[Spring2008]

Is Anous even open anymore? Looks like they've been moving things around in there for a couple weeks.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

Is Anous even open anymore? Looks like they've been moving things around in there for a couple weeks.

I had lunch there a couple of weeks ago- falafel crepe, it wasn't bad but crepe was too brittle. Pecan caramel tart for dessert was amazing. Anyway I sort of chastised the owner- the woman, not the Egyptian guy- about how they hadn't been open the night before, a Saturday night, at just 7pm (they're supposed to be open until 9) and she rolled her eyes and said they had staffing issues.

And it looks like Marble Slab on 17th has closed. Too bad, it was my fave location of the chain (in Calgary at least) but I never saw it crowded there even on hot summer days. Oh, speaking of ice cream I got a cookies and cream gelato at Crepes and Cravings today- oh my GOD it was delicious. Perfect texture for gelato and just... wow.

[Spring2008]

I'm not sure if they're still open? They've got a bunch of coolers etc parked within the seating space. Maybe some renovation work going on?

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

I'm not sure if they're still open? They've got a bunch of coolers etc parked within the seating space. Maybe some renovation work going on?

Closed after 17 days. This after something like two years of planning and one failed opening at another location. Makes zero sense to me. 17 days isn't even time to fail financially.

[red_179]

Originally Posted by Jimby

Speaking of burgers, Vagabond Brewery has a $100 burger.

Some details on the $100 burger at Vagabond.

http://www.avenuecalgary.com/blogs/4...riciest-burger

[Jimby]

Condé Nast Traveller magazine has the Longview Steak House on their list of the 15 best steak houses in the world! The only Canadian restaurant on the list.

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommend...iew-steakhouse

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by red_179

Some details on the $100 burger at Vagabond.

http://www.avenuecalgary.com/blogs/4...riciest-burger

That was a horribly written article.

Originally Posted by Jimby

Condé Nast Traveller magazine has the Longview Steak House on their list of the 15 best steak houses in the world! The only Canadian restaurant on the list.

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommend...iew-steakhouse

That is awesome. There are restaurant owners all over Canada going WTF right now.

[Ramsayfarian]

I've done a little informal study on which of the 3 most prominent local roasters give you the most beans for your buck.

They are in order from best to worst.
Fratello, Rosso and finally P&S.

Whilst not highly scientific, my research was as follows.

Cafe Rosso offers their beans in a jar, you return the jar and they knock a buck or two of the price.

I tend to buy my beans when the jar is getting low and will pour the new bag into the empty jar. P&S consistently fills less of the jar than Rosso or Fratello.

Fratello's bag contains more beans than the jar can hold and Rosso obviously comes close to topping the jar off, although I have noticed they don't seem to be filling the jar to the the brim.

I'm getting about 2.5 extra Americanos from Fratello's over Rosso and closer to 5 more over P&S.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

I've done a little informal study on which of the 3 most prominent local roasters give you the most beans for your buck.

They are in order from best to worst.
Fratello, Rosso and finally P&S.

Whilst not highly scientific, my research was as follows.

Cafe Rosso offers their beans in a jar, you return the jar and they knock a buck or two of the price.

I tend to buy my beans when the jar is getting low and will pour the new bag into the empty jar. P&S consistently fills less of the jar than Rosso or Fratello.

Fratello's bag contains more beans than the jar can hold and Rosso obviously comes close to topping the jar off, although I have noticed they don't seem to be filling the jar to the the brim.

I'm getting about 2.5 extra Americanos from Fratello's over Rosso and closer to 5 more over P&S.

I love all those places. In terms of just flavour, I would adopt the following ranking: Fratello Analog, P&S, Rosso. But they are all so, so, so, so good.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by fusili

I love all those places. In terms of just flavour, I would adopt the following ranking: Fratello Analog, P&S, Rosso. But they are all so, so, so, so good.

I rank them the same, with Fratello being a strong first and P&S and Rosso almost neck and neck.

Not sure what Fratello does differently but whatever it is, they have it dialed in.

They need to open up another Analog some where close to The Core or EAP as that area is a blackhole for good coffee. Nearest place is Artigiano or Deville on 1st and I find both pale compared to Analog.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Ramsay, Cucina in EAP serves and sells P&S, so your wish has already been granted.

Fratello's Godfather espresso is a great deal at just $12 for a 12-oz bag but its single origins are a lot more expensive- or can be. I got a 12 oz bag of the Arecha and it was $18. I still come out ahead as that bag lasts me around 5 days and something like 20 double espressos- so even if I'm paying top dollar for a Fratello single origin or P&S (all their espressos are now single origin; they haven't done blends for something like 4 years now), if I got it at the shop each espresso would be $2.50-$3.00. People who are mystified at the cost of my home espresso setup (the current one was around $1700 all in for the machine and grinder) don't understand that it pays for itself in less than a year.

Anyway, check out Kawa for beans too- they sell Intelligentsia among others and Intelly is one of the few specialty roasters to still sell full POUND bags. So a bag of the excellent Black Cat Analog (yes that's the name which is confusing since Fratello Analog cafe is a block away) espresso blend is $19 but I say again that's a whole pound- and with new loyalty program at Kawa the 10th bag (could be a pound or one of Elysian's smaller bags- that's Elysian in Vancouver which Kawa is the only Cgy reseller for; it's good, not better than eg Rosso but good) is free.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

INot sure what Fratello does differently but whatever it is, they have it dialed in

Yep- our go-to espresso at home has been Fratello's Godfather for a while now. The problem with Rosso and P&S as much as I like them is that they use single origins (well Rosso has its two-wheel espresso which is two beans but they also use single beans) and if you don't eg like the sometimes weird, unbalanced taste of a Guatemalan or Ethiopian, you're SOL. Godfather is a three-bean blend and blends even things out- I love them and am sad to see so many roasters shying away from them.

If you like Godfather a couple others to get to know are the JJ Bean "JJ espresso" you can get at Bumpy's and Intelligentsia's Black Cat, Analog or Honey Badger, all of which are at Kawa (not all on the shelf all the time).

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Ramsay, Cucina in EAP serves and sells P&S, so your wish has already been granted.

Fratello's Godfather espresso is a great deal at just $12 for a 12-oz bag but its single origins are a lot more expensive- or can be. I got a 12 oz bag of the Arecha and it was $18. I still come out ahead as that bag lasts me around 5 days and something like 20 double espressos- so even if I'm paying top dollar for a Fratello single origin or P&S (all their espressos are now single origin; they haven't done blends for something like 4 years now), if I got it at the shop each espresso would be $2.50-$3.00. People who are mystified at the cost of my home espresso setup (the current one was around $1700 all in for the machine and grinder) don't understand that it pays for itself in less than a year.

Anyway, check out Kawa for beans too- they sell Intelligentsia among others and Intelly is one of the few specialty roasters to still sell full POUND bags. So a bag of the excellent Black Cat Analog (yes that's the name which is confusing since Fratello Analog cafe is a block away) espresso blend is $19 but I say again that's a whole pound- and with new loyalty program at Kawa the 10th bag (could be a pound or one of Elysian's smaller bags- that's Elysian in Vancouver which Kawa is the only Cgy reseller for; it's good, not better than eg Rosso but good) is free.

Thanks for the heads up on Cucina, I've been there for lunch, but never think of it for just coffee. Can one stay there for a coffee or do you have to get it to-go?

As I'm usually meeting clients, I need a place where we can sit and chat.

Even with Cucina's that area is still in desperate need of another a decent coffee shop. Sadly there is no shortage of Second Cups or Starbucks in that area.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Yep- our go-to espresso at home has been Fratello's Godfather for a while now. The problem with Rosso and P&S as much as I like them is that they use single origins (well Rosso has its two-wheel espresso which is two beans but they also use single beans) and if you don't eg like the sometimes weird, unbalanced taste of a Guatemalan or Ethiopian, you're SOL. Godfather is a three-bean blend and blends even things out- I love them and am sad to see so many roasters shying away from them.

If you like Godfather a couple others to get to know are the JJ Bean "JJ espresso" you can get at Bumpy's and Intelligentsia's Black Cat, Analog or Honey Badger, all of which are at Kawa (not all on the shelf all the time).

Thanks for the 411. I haven't tried the Godfather yet, I really liked their Competition offering they had for awhile, now I usually just try whatever is available. My most recent purchase was the Finca EL Socorro from Guatemala. I think it might be single bean as they refer to as a micro lot. At first I misread that as micro dot and was worried about trippin' at the office.

My setup at home is fairly basic as I just drink Americanos. I have a good burr grinder and an Aeropress. Would the Godfather be a good blend for that setup?

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

Thanks for the 411. I haven't tried the Godfather yet, I really liked their Competition offering they had for awhile, now I usually just try whatever is available. My most recent purchase was the Finca EL Socorro from Guatemala. I think it might be single bean as they refer to as a micro lot. At first I misread that as micro dot and was worried about trippin' at the office.

My setup at home is fairly basic as I just drink Americanos. I have a good burr grinder and an Aeropress. Would the Godfather be a good blend for that setup?

I heard they were reformulating their competition blend, but frankly I think Godfather has improved so much (it was once your basic dark blend like Good Earth espresso, which Fratello also roasts) that I probably would stick with Godfather regardless.

It's excellent in the aeropress! In fact it's about the only coffee I've ever used in my aeropress- which I actually gave up on since I really prefer pourover so at my office I have a hario hand grinder, kettle and hario V60 plastic filter cone with paper filters. I could honestly live with this every day for coffee and needless to say this setup is a lot cheaper than my espresso one in my kitchen- the grinder was maybe $40, the V60 was free but goes for maybe $15 but you can get the same results with a $3.99 Melitta one shot.

[Jimby]

Wendy's on Macleod Trail has re-opened.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Jimby

Wendy's on Macleod Trail has re-opened.

You don't like?

[Jimby]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

You don't like?

I used to like Wendy's but I feel my trust in them was violated when they were closed down for being filthy. I probably would never eat out again if I knew what went on in restaurant kitchens and even if I didn't eat out ever again, who knows what the groceries I buy from a retailer have been through. I originally posted about Wendy's being closed, so I thought I should say that they are open again, although I won't be back. Well, maybe a Frosty from the 17th Ave location!