Calgary Food, coffee, etc.

[RWin]

When does Artigiano open? I've got to try a new coffee shop.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by RWin

When does Artigiano open? I've got to try a new coffee shop.

R- the original estimate was October, but of course Centrium itself (the bldg where Artigiano will be) wasn't completed on time. I googled "artigiano calgary" and found a blog that referenced a JANUARY opening. This is not good news but, ya know, it's almost November, so if it does open in Jan that's only a 2.5 month delay. Seems par for the course- restaurants (and good cafes like this one) seem especially prone to opening delays.

[Deepstar]

I like the idea of this thread, I can talk about restaurants all I want without feeling any guilt


So, folks, where's the best Indian buffet in town? I've been to a few of them, and they seem to be hit and miss. Tandoori hut is probably my favorite, it's reasonably priced and the food is good.

[Arriviste]

I don't know about buffet, the The Kashmir is ridiculous as far as Indian goes.

[freeweed]

I like Glory of India, because it's close and they have butter chicken by the boatload.

Something tells me it's a bit pedestrian for the folks around here though.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Deepstar

I like the idea of this thread, I can talk about restaurants all I want without feeling any guilt


So, folks, where's the best Indian buffet in town? I've been to a few of them, and they seem to be hit and miss. Tandoori hut is probably my favorite, it's reasonably priced and the food is good.

Please try the buffet at Surya- it's on 11 St and 11 Ave SW in the Connaught Centre building. They have a huge selection and are a couple of bucks cheaper than, say, Moti Mahal. Also unlike MM, Surya has butter chicken on the buffet every day, but I prefer their beef curry (it's so odd how "beef curry" isn't a misnomer in Calgary since so many Indian places here are Sikh or Muslim owned!). They also have completely superb naan, I mean world-beating naan.

Kashmir ended lunch service, never mind buffet, but I agree that it's a great resto.

Freeweed, GoI is one of the most respected Indian places in town!

[dubiousmike]

The new restaurant opening in the old Elephant & Castle space is going to be called "Tangerine Supper Club".

What's with the recent trend of horribly contrived restaurant names in this town?

And come visit my new restaurant, it's called New Century Marquee Restolounge & Grill.

[RWin]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Please try the buffet at Surya- it's on 11 St and 11 Ave SW in the Connaught Centre building.

I'll have to go there. Always on the lookout for a new Indian place.

[Rusty van Reddick]

I don't care if the name is contrived, but I am getting damn tired of only high end places opening downtown. If "Tangerine" is a clone of Blink (also a "supper club") that makes yet another expense-account joint on Stephen Ave. I haven't seen the menu at Seven (speaking of contrived names!), but it sounds expensive.

I'm happy to eat shawarma and cheap sushi (which Calgary is becoming increasingly good for- the only ridiculously ovepriced food I had in Germany was sushi, something we're more blessed with here than most people realise since they use Vancouver as a reference point instead of so many other cities that have shitty and expensive sushi). But I wish Calgary had places like, to use a random example, Clyde Common in Portland, which has delicious, creative food in a gorgeous room with mains never exceeding about $18.

We're having dinner at River Cafe tonight- with a gift cert- and though I love River, it's going to be a larf to see how expensive it's become since my last meal there last December. I'm expecting to see no main less than, say, $28.

[dubiousmike]

^^^

Couldn't agree more. At the end of the day, I like a cheap slice of pepperoni pizza or a hot dog cooked on the street.

I've worked as a professional cook, and I like to think I can taste the difference between a dish prepared by someone who knows and loves food and a dish prepared by someone who thinks they can just half-ass it, gloss it over with decor and hot waitresses and then charge 40 bucks for it.

I don't mind forking out at an upscale restaurant as long as the food is actually good. But I'm not gonna be instantly impressed by your dish just because you served it with aioli or blue cheese.

The rest of these yuppies might be fooled, but I know Bovril when I taste it.

[jeffwhit]

The lunch buffet at Royal India must be tried by all. More expensive than most ($16) but quite worth it imo. It's on 4th and Centre, in Sun Life.

[jeffwhit]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

. But I wish Calgary had places like, to use a random example, Clyde Common in Portland, which has delicious, creative food in a gorgeous room with mains never exceeding about $18.

Speaking of Portland, another thing I saw there that I was envious of was a surface lot downtown that was lined on two sides with food vendors facing the sidewalks. Think of the Imperial lot with the Montreal Smoked Meat place being just one of dozens of similar options, that would be sweet.

[RWin]

Where in town can you go that has a decent kids menu?

It seems most places (and even some of the high end ones) have crap for the kids - chicken strips, frozen pizza, Krap Dinner, etc.

Where would you go if you wanted kid portions of real food? It seems we have to order a dinner from the regular menu and ask for another plate. They're happy to do that but I feel stupid asking.

[NumberFive]

I'm having lunch at "Seven Restogrille" or whatever it's called next week... I'll post back as to how it was. I get the feeling it's going to be a lot like Met Grill (same ownership I think).

Best Indian Buffet IMO is Glory of India. However, I just tried Royal Indian lately and it was pretty darn good... had a pretty huge selection, and not nearly as hard to get into as Glory of India.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by dubiousmike

The new restaurant opening in the old Elephant & Castle space is going to be called "Tangerine Supper Club".

What's with the recent trend of horribly contrived restaurant names in this town?

And come visit my new restaurant, it's called New Century Marquee Restolounge & Grill.

I miss that bar, I quite liked it. So what kind of place is this "Tangerine Supper Club" going to be?

lol, I read it as the Tangerine Stripper Club at first. lol

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by dubiousmike

^^^

Couldn't agree more. At the end of the day, I like a cheap slice of pepperoni pizza or a hot dog cooked on the street.

No kidding, I'm going to that little Bratwurst stand on Stephen Ave for lunch today, and i cant wait (The Yodeling Sausage for those who don't know).

[Boris2k7]

Glory of India is the best I've been to, but then again I haven't been to many Indian places in town. I do know that Taj Mahal was NOT up to me expectations.

My biggest bit of grief with city is the lack of good, cheap Mexican. To the point that I just don't bother anymore. Better to just save it for trips to the U.S. South. Maybe if I get down to see my Aunt in Texas I can get some more (and yes, they have tons of both Tex Mex and the real thing). Here in Calgary, I've had El Sombrero, Julios Barrio, Los Marriachis. Haven't tried Salt n' Pepper yet. I'll admit, I found Julios Barrio acceptable, when a plate of enchiladas only cost $9. Los Marriachis and El Sombrero are better food, but still cost more. Not in steak-house expensive territory, but still up there.

As for Sushi, I've really been to Sushi Tokyo and Sushi Ichiban. Same place really, just different names. Sushi still costs more than Mexican though, so it's a rare treat for me.

Speaking of Japanese, I tried Soba Ten over the summer. Portions were... small, though I thought it was interesting experience.

Also tried Mongolie Grill over the summer. Good, but expensive just like everything else around there.

On the Mediterranean side of things, Jimmy's A&A is king in my books.

I'm sure many also acknowledge the relative superiority of Kim Anh when it comes to Vietnamese subs. They make things better simply by having good hours.

In terms of Vietnamese sit-down, I'm pretty much a part of the family at Oriental Phoenix. I go to the one down at Chinook, but I think the value of the food is great. I'm a weekly customer, get the same thing most days, but it is nonetheless very good. I'm pretty sure I'm going there for dinner tonight.

EDIT: On the topic of street vendors... man, I saw so many of those while on Vacation, but never had the guts to buy something from them (maybe I'm just too timid... or maybe it's because I rarely carry cash on me). There were a whole bunch on Chester Street in Ottawa and in front of Toronto City Hall. I think that Japa Dog must be the most visible one in Vancouver.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

The lunch buffet at Royal India must be tried by all. More expensive than most ($16) but quite worth it imo. It's on 4th and Centre, in Sun Life.

Seconded. And, as someone else mentioned. they're usually easier to get into during lunch.

Then again, if you really wanna sneak into GoI without a reservation, just go around 11:30. They always manage to have a couple of small tables open.

It's the one part of Calgary life that I still find funny - half the CBD is at work well before 8am, which is ridiculously early compared to many cities - but people STILL take lunch promptly at noon, for the most part. You'd think if the working day is shifted earlier, lunch might come earlier, but not for most people. Those of us that can adjust get to take full advantage and always get into popular eateries.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

My biggest bit of grief with city is the lack of good, cheap Mexican. To the point that I just don't bother anymore. Better to just save it for trips to the U.S. South.

I wouldn't call it cheap, but Juan's (which hides under an office building on Stephen Ave) is fantastic Mexican. Complete with bullfighting music and servers who hardly speak English.

EDIT: On the topic of street vendors... man, I saw so many of those while on Vacation, but never had the guts to buy something from them (maybe I'm just too timid... or maybe it's because I rarely carry cash on me). There were a whole bunch on Chester Street in Ottawa and in front of Toronto City Hall.

The complete lack of street vendors is one of my only complaints about Calgary. I don't know why, but there are hardly any here at all. It's not a climate thing, either - Winnipeg has seemingly hundreds in the downtown core during the summer. I wish Calgarians would get into this method of eating; with our "nice" outdoor weather lasting often from March through October, there's no excuse not to sit outside and enjoy some interesting food. The other great thing is the sheer variety you get - and every year it changes up, so it's not the same old "yeah, here's the dozen places within walking distance" year after year.

And now that my beloved Japanese Village has moved really far away, there just isn't anywhere good enough that I want to go over and over again. Except GoI, of course.

Food-related, but offtopic: that mall in Chinatown where Regency Palace (I think?) is - wow! I didn't even realize this place existed. Many neat little import shops. I bet Boris buys much Anime-related items there.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Food-related, but offtopic: that mall in Chinatown where Regency Palace (I think?) is - wow! I didn't even realize this place existed. Many neat little import shops. I bet Boris buys much Anime-related items there.

Nah, I get my anime-stuff at the UofC. I get a 10% discount.

I've been meaning to try out Cafe Koi, but don't know exactly what to expect. Any opinions? I believe I've seen it in Furry's blog.