Only the Best: Airport Eating at North 51

There is something comforting about an airport hotel dining room.

It has a sense of “vacation,” with kids jumping into the pool, groups of tired-looking travellers sporting Mazatlan T-shirts and tans, the lilt  of international languages in the air and the feeling that no one’s in their own time zone.

Such is life at the Delta Calgary Airport (the hotel right across from the Departures level at Calgary International), where almost no one stays for more than one night — and where many Calgarians have never set foot. Why would we, when there are so many other airport hotels in other cities in which we’ve had to while away our time?

There’s one very good reason — North 51. That’s the hotel’s higher-tone, but still-casual dining room. Earlier this year, executive chef John Maclean decided to take an all-Alberta (or almost all-Alberta) stance with his menu.

Maclean is a local boy who has cooked his way around the hotel scene in Canada and abroad. He knows his food.

So you’ll find the typical Alberta beef, pork and lamb, of course, but there’s also Alberta wild rice, white fish, barley (for risotto), rainbow trout, bison, duck and a wealth of fresh produce, much of which is organic.

The list goes on: watercress, lemon balm, goat cheese, Gouda, elk, wild mushrooms, honey, saskatoon berries.

In Maclean’s hands, these ingredients become a stunning collection of classically prepared dishes: free-range rabbit confit with wild mushrooms; tomato, basil and mozzarella terrine topped with canola oil; arugula and duck confit salad with dried cherries and a black-cherry vinaigrette.

Maclean did his research and expanded his supplier list from the shortlist that hotels typically use to one that includes more than 20 suppliers.

He now deals directly with many small producers who don’t have enough vegetables or herbs or meats to attract the attention of the large food distributors. These producers are more often found at farmers’ markets and independent restaurants — not in airport-hotel dining rooms.

The food is great and very skilfully prepared. The Hotchkiss arugula and Noble Farm duck salad is crunchy and appropriately oily and piqued by the presence of the cherries. (And yes, the cherries are grown in Alberta.)

The tomato terrine would be at home in so many food cultures. The tomatoes are sliced and layered in multicoloured ribbons with the cheese. The basil and the Highwood Crossing canola oil meld the flavours into a sumptuous, savoury palate-pleaser. The slab of prime rib is perfectly cooked and sided with fresh vegetables — some hot-housed — and a mound of barley risotto.

The risotto is the second-best use of Alberta barley we’ve seen — the first was to create the backbone of any decent Alberta beer, which is also available at North 51 and its sister establishments, Compass Restaurant and YYC Lounge.

Together, they occupy a big chunk of the main floor of the Delta, and they look remarkably like most other airport hotel restaurants. Big-screen televisions in the lounge; an indestructible collection of tables and chairs in Compass that are perfect for shifting-about to accommodate large groups; and nicer tables and chairs, plus comfy booths in the dining room. All done in soft tones so as not to irritate the rough edges caused by long flights and even longer flight delays.

The service is soft and pleasant, too. The staff knows most of their customers don’t really want to be there. Rather, they have to be there for a short period. And everyone wants that time to be as short and soothing as possible. So the better the food, the better the experience. International travellers appreciate a taste of the local cuisine, especially if it’s this well prepared. (Try the bratwurst at Frankfurt’s airport — it’s great.)

One more thing we like about North 51 is that, though the menu showcases the best of Alberta, it is not slavish to it. The wines? Global. The chocolate and the coffee? Not sure, but definitely not Alberta-grown. Which is fine — Alberta has always been about looking outside our borders and bringing in global ideas and ingredients that make our experiences better. It’s not about being shut off to the world, but about supporting our own producers as much as possible. Which seems like the perfect tone for an airport hotel dining room in Calgary to take.
So you don’t have to be a stranger to check out North 51. In fact, if you’re from around these parts, you’ll really fit with the program.

North 51 is located in the Delta Calgary Airport across from the Departures level of the Calgary International Airport.