25 Best Things to Eat in Calgary 2010

It can be difficult to choose the 25 best things I’ve tasted in Calgary in any given year, what with all the great new restaurants, bakeries, takeout joints and gourmet groceries popping up around town. Add to that the creative farmers and food producers, the chefs branching out into upscale delis and the wine bars, and it’s all a bit of a blur. But, here’s a taste of what’s new and delicious. 

25 Best Things to Eat in Calgary 2010: The Map
Where to find all 25 purveyors of Cinda Chavich's top eats in the city for 2010.

CHIP AN EGG
The crispy eggplant chips at Vin Room are wicked. This stylish wine bar specializes in small plates and a current addiction is the thin rounds of purple eggplant, crusted in parmesan and panko crumbs and deep fried until golden brown. Served like a deconstructed eggplant parmigiano, with intense tomato chutney and toasted pine nut aioli on the side, it’s a decadent study in textures to be enjoyed sparingly. (2310 4 St. S.W., 403-457-5522, vinroom.com)

BELLY UP
Pork belly — really just un-smoked bacon — is the latest hot ingredient among the charcuterie set, and few do it better than head chef Alain Chabot at Sky 360 in Calgary. Chabot serves a small, crispy cube, no bigger than a stack of poker chips, glazed with soya on a somen noodle salad with mirin vinagrette in this iconic room atop the Calgary Tower. (101 9 Ave. S.W., 403-532-7966, sky360.ca)

PUFF DADDY
When you fancy real French pastry, flaky butery croissants, chocolate éclaurs and other ethereal treats, a trip to Éclair de Lune bakery is in order. Philippe Pncet creates perfect three-cheese or sweet almond cream-filled croissants, puffed pain au chocolat filled with chunks of Callebaut chocolate and shattering palmier. Magnifique. (1049 40 Ave. N.W. 403-398-8803)

A CHICKEN ON EVERY GRILL
The fat, juicy chicken breasts from Country Lane Farms east of the city are a wonder on the barbecue. While Country Lane’s Chicken isn’t certified organic, it’s fed whole grains and raised without chemicals, hormones, antibiotics and animal by-products, with extra space to keep birds as stress-free as possible. It all adds up to old-fashioned chicken flavour. (403-934-2755, great-chicken.com)

IZAKAYA DREAMS
Bross Izakaya Dining in Braeside specializes in kushiage, a panko-crusted deep-fried Japanese kabob on a stick (think oysters, scallops with bacon, chicken or pork cutlets, even quail eggs). But you must order the Cruncky sushi — a giant roll filled with crispy soft-shell crab cream cheese and fish roe, then rolled in panko and fried to crispy perfection. Presented with tobiko and wasabi mayo, it’s a sight to behold. (26, 11440 Braeside Dr. S.W., 403-238-3770, brosscatering.com)

THE OTHER RED MEAT
The folks at Valta Bison have perfected smoked bison, a bit of Alberta-centric charcuterie. Called Montreal Smoked Bison, the dense, deep purple slices are lean, smoky and silky. It’s not exactly like the smoky beef from Montreal, but it’s even better on a round of bannock bread or slivered in soup. Find it at the Calgary Farmers’ Market or at Valta Bison’s funky little gourmet grocery in Ramsay. (703 23 Ave. S.E., 403-237-9667, valtabison.com)

BITE OF RICE PUD
Bite Groceteria now has a rice pudding bar in the store, featuring several flavours of Teatro executive chef Romuald Coladon’s creamy puds, from vanilla to nutty pistachio, chocolate and citrus-infused rice pudding. (1212 9 Ave. S.E., 403-263-3966)

MARGARITAVILLE
Moxie’s Classic Grill’s California fish tacos — three tacos served on small, very fresh corn tortillas, with crispy pieces of fish, guacamole and fresh tomato salsa — will satisfy your cravings for Mexican food. Check out the stylish 17th Avenue location with its apple green and black leather upholstery, a busy cocktail lounge and some inspired multi-ethnic noshes. (1331 17 Ave. S.W., 403-228-1447, moxies.ca)

HOT AND SOUR SUPREME
Hans Restaurant is a hole in the wall tucked inside a tiny mini-mall on Centre Street, next to a food court, and is renowned for its fresh, spicy Taiwanese food and friendly owners. Try the bubbling hot pots, deep-fried long beans and onion pancakes for breakfast. And its traditional hot and sour soup is the best in town. (116, 303 Centre St. S.W., 403-263-5667)

VERY CHERRY WINE
The industrious fruit farmers at Field Stone Fruit Wines have taken old-fashioned fruit wines to new heights, creating two new, modern, very drinkable incarnations of that chokecherry wine you might remember from generations past. The Field Stone cherry wine is reminiscent of a very fruity pinot noir, and the wild black cherry dessert wine, aged with oak, has a distinctly port-like flavour. Both work well with pork. (403-934-2749, fieldstonefruitwines.com)

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
Executive chef Justin Leboe always has something sublime to taste at Rush, like his elegant milky vichyssoise served in a “cereal” bowl of paper-thin, house-fried local Agria potatoes. It’s fun with fine food in one of the city’s most luxurious locales. (100, 207 9 Ave. S.W., 403-271-7874, rushrestaurant.com)

THE GAME’S THE THING
Chef Tim Wood has teamed up with Wapiti Ways elk farm to create a line of yummy game entrees, including huge elk pies. Called Hunter’s Pie, they are filled with lean elk simmered in dark ale gravy with mushrooms, carrots and pearl onions, and have a pastry elk cut-out leaping across the flakey pastry top. Available at Wapiti Ways at the Calgary Farmers’ Market. (wapitiways.com)

AMEN TO THAT
Beef and blue cheese is a match made in heaven, and at the Holy Grill it’s served with a little love from the staff on an all organic patty. Their gourmet beef burger with creamy blue cheese and avocado is a divine combo, but it’s just one of the great burgers made to order here by one of the city’s friendliest cooking and service teams.
(827 10 Ave. S.W., 403-261-9759, holygrill.ca)

SOUTH INDIAN DELIGHTS
The dosa, a crispy crepe made with rice and lentil flour, is a rare commodity in Calgary, but Southern Spice will cure your craving for this south Indian specialty. The Paper Dosa is especially ethereal. Have it filled with spicy masala potatoes or topped with sambal. Wednesday is dosa night — $5 for a big Madras masala dosa. (102, 4655 54 Ave. N.E., 285-2255, southernspicecalgary.com)

PUCKER UP
Korean frozen yogurt is tangier than regular frozen yogurt and it’s a fresh, new trend in cities like Vancouver and Seattle. Now we have our own Spoon Me franchise in Calgary, the first in Canada. Try a scoop of plain, acai or green tea flavors with fresh fruit toppings. It’s tart, tangy, low in sugar and fat-free, and served in biodegradable containers with spoons made from cornstarch.
(100, 1130 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403-453-2101, spoonme.com)

WELL PRESERVED
Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts now has many of its specialties available for takeout, including breads, desserts, frozen pizza, soups, sauces and a variety of its famous preserves. Whether it’s bumbleberry jam, pickled local yellow beets, mustard melons for your charcuterie platter or fig jam, you’ll find it on the shelves at CRMR at Home. (330 17 Ave. S.W., 403-532-0241, crmr.com/athome)

FLAMING GOOD
The Tart Flambe at the new AKA Winebar isn’t actually flaming, but it’s bloody good. While the original usually includes quark or fresh fromage blanc, AKA’s version is topped with sweet caramelized onions and lean chunks of yummy Broek bacon lardon and drizzled with crème fraiche. (709 Edmonton Tr. N.E., 403-984-7534)

CRABBY CAJUN
When you have a hankering for crab, Bookers BBQ Grill & Crab Shack is a great spot. It serves crab in all its guises in a funky old warehouse space — buckets of crab legs, perfect crab cakes with red pepper aioli and all-you-can-eat-crab on Sunday and Monday evenings. (316 3 St. S.E., 403-264-6419, bookersbbq.com)

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
From the tiny open kitchen to the small, creative menu, everything is affordable, doable and delicious at Petite. Executive chef Jared Alvey turns out perfectly balanced, creative dishes, like his superb marriage of pine nut crusted scallops with scalloped potatoes and brussel sprout and arugula salad. (1301 10 Ave. S.W., 403-452-5350, petiterestaurant.ca)

SIMPLE PLEASURE
There’s nothing as perfectly comforting as a bowl of pasta with meatballs and tomato sauce at Cilantro. Chef Ken Canavan tweaks this old-time fave to take it into gourmet territory with tender penne pasta made on site and spicy meatballs made with Spolumbo’s chorizo sausage with the restaurant’s beef tenderloin trimmings. (338 17 Ave. S.W., 403- 229-1177, crmr.com/cilantro)

PERFECT PORK
The Berkshire pork from Broek Pork Acres near Lethbridge is turning up on all of the best menus, and for good reason. The Vanden Broek family (Joanne, Allan and their nine kids) raise their pigs the old-fashioned way — on plenty of pasture with sunshine, natural feed and no antibiotics or growth hormones. Special order their Berkshire bacon at Second to None Meats (3, 2100 4 St. S.W., 403-245-6662, stnm.ca), or look for the Broek pork with saskatoon berry barbecue sauce on the menu at River Café (200 Prince’s Island Park, 403-261-7670, river-cafe.com). (broekporkacres.com)

BLACKOUT
If you love licorice, you’ll love Dutch Cash & Carry, a longtime Calgary institution. Set in a nondescript warehouse in the city’s southeast industrial strip, this little grocery features all things Dutch. Whether you like your licorice hard and salty, layered in colourful licorice allsorts or chewy and wrapped around pastel fillings, this is a licorice-lover’s heaven. (3815 16 St. S.E., 403-298-5899)

FRENCH MACAROON
The macaroon has replaced the cupcake as the trendy sweet of choice, and you can find a variety of flavours, from pumpkin spice and maple to addictive double lemon, at Nectar Desserts. Rebekah Pearse is even offering courses to teach devotees to create these exquisite little meringue cookies at home. Or you can simply buy them at her popular Inglewood dessert café. (Upstairs, 1216 9 Ave. S.W., 403-263-8486, nectardesserts.com) 

SUPER SALAD BAR
The selection of creative salads at Planet Organic’s deli counter in the city’s southwest is superb — fresh, organic and made on site daily. From the edamame salad with meaty green soy beans, arame and sesame seeds, to the drop-dead-delicious sweet potato salad, you’ll never miss the meat. Try the kale salad, couscous, wild rice salad and Mediterranean lentil salad. (10233 Elbow Dr. S.W., 403-252-2404 and, 4625 Varsity Dr. N.W., 403-288-6700, planetorganic.ca)

CANADIAN PRAIRIE PIES
They say the butter tart is a classic Canadian treat, but when you add saskatoon berries, like they do at Pearson’s Berry Farm, it’s a pure prairie pie. Sweet and gooey, loaded with buttery brown sugar and those saskatoons, these big butter tarts are a step up from the ordinary. Available from Pearson’s at the Calgary Farmers’ Market. (airenet.com/pearsonsberryfarm)

25 Best Things to Eat in Calgary 2010: The Map
Where to find all 25 purveyors of Cinda Chavich's top eats in the city for 2010.

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