Loving Calgary: Food

Love Calgary because our best restaurants are once again affordable

It’s a great time to be a budget gourmet. With many higher-end local eateries riding out the recession by offering value-packed prix fixe menus and free corkage, dining out now offers maximum taste for minimal (or at least reduced) wallet stress.

Below is a rundown of some of the restaurants offering great deals on meals, without compromising their characteristic quality.   

• Belvedere A $25, three-course prix fixe weekday lunch menu changes weekly. (107 8 Ave. S.W., 403-265-9595, thebelvedere.ca)

• Big Fish On Monday nights, oysters are two for one by the dozen. Wednesday nights, corkage is free. (1112 Edmonton Tr. N.E., 403-277-3403, big-fish.ca)

• Blink Weekday lunch two-course prix fixe is $26; three-course is $32. Dinner two-course prix fixe is $29.50, three-course is $35.50, offered Monday to Saturday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. (111 8 Ave. S.W., 403-263-5330, blinkcalgary.com)

• Brava Bistro Prix fixe dinner the first Sunday evening of the month: three courses for $32. (723 17 Ave. S.W., 403-228-1854, bravabistro.com)

• Diner Deluxe On Wednesdays, corkage is free, and all wines on the menu are $19. Tuesdays are TV dinner night, with set menus served on a traditional TV-dinner tray for around $15. (804 Edmonton Tr. N.E., 403-276-5499, dinerdeluxe.com)

• Farm Free corkage on Monday nights; fondue on Sunday for $35 per couple.(1006 17 Ave. S.W., 403-245-2276, farm-restaurant.com)

• Open Range Offers free corkage on Wednesdays, and a three-course prix fixe meal every Sunday for $46. (1, 1114 Edmonton Tr. N.E., 403-277-3408, open-range.ca)

• Q Haute Cuisine Express lunch for $15 includes choice of starter and entrée, and corkage is free on Sundays. Free entrée for someone celebrating a birthday or anniversary that month, when accompanied by another paying guest. (100 7 St. S.W., 403-262-5554, qhautecuisine.com)

• River Café Free corkage on Sundays and a $25, three-course prix fixe lunch on weekdays. (Prince’s Island Park, 403-261-7670, river-café.com)

• Sky 360 Express lunch for $23, including a selection of soup or salad and choice of entrée. (Calgary Tower, 403-532-7966, sky360.ca)

• St. Germain Sunday nights ,a three-course prix fixe menu is served for $39 and corkage is free. (115 12 Ave. S.W., 403-290-1322, saintgermain.ca)

• Teatro Bistro Lunch menu includes choice of five menu items for $15. Corkage is free on Sundays, and weekdays between 2 and 5 p.m. all wine, beer and cocktails are 50 percent off (200 8 Ave. S.E., 403-290-1012, teatro.ca)

• Vero Bistro Modern A three-course prix fixe lunch on weekdays for $15. (209 10 St. N.W., 403-283-8988)

Love Calgary because soon we’ll have a brand-new farmers’ market

It was a bit of a pickle when the Calgary Farmers’ Market learned it would not be staying at the Currie Barracks. The Canada Lands Company, which owns the federal land, opted not to incorporate the market into its plans for developing a LEED Gold-certified neighbourhood in the area. The Market’s location was up in the air until it signed a lease on an even larger 55,000-square-foot space in Blackfoot Centre (510 77 Ave. S.E.), where it will sell nuts and honey, game meats and produce once its Currie Barracks lease expires in November 2010. Crisis averted.

Love Calgary because we’ve got wine

Wine connoisseurism returned to vogue about five years ago, partly because of the movie Sideways. Since then, the proliferation of wine bars in Calgary has gone happily unabated. Seriously, they’re everywhere.

Popular new wine spots include Vin Room (2310 4 St. S.W.), Zia’s Enoteca (425 11 Ave. S.E.), Winebar Kensington (1131 Kensington Rd. N.W.) and AKA Wine Bar (709 Edmonton Tr. N.E.), which is more imaginative than its name indicates.

Vin Room is a personal favourite because of its huge variety of wines available by the two- or six-ounce glass, the fact that it doesn’t charge a premium for the smaller tastes and its stylish space.

Milk Tiger Lounge (1, 1410 4 St. S.W.) has more of a laidback vibe and a diverse drink menu for those who enjoy creative cocktails, and the wine list is solid and updated regularly.

If food is your primary reason for heading out, but you want to imbibe while you eat, Farm (1006 17 Ave. S.W.) is a great new addition to the many restaurants with solid wine lists.

And the latest entry to the local wine scene is Taste (1210 1 St. S.W.), which keeps only a dozen wines (six white, six red) on hand, but they are carefully picked and updated monthly, making it ideal for those who can’t decide.

A few of these places are happy to offer tasting notes and scorecards and other tools for learning about wine, but the best part of wine isn’t the tasting, it’s the drinking, and every wine bar in Calgary will oblige.