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There is a single accredited cooking school in Calgary, and it’s located at SAIT. To prepare themselves for the rigors of running a restaurant, the students operate one on campus, serving a popular lunch buffet and a prix-fixe five course dinner.
Over the years I’ve heard a ton of glowing reviews from satisfied patrons praising the atmosphere, food and prices, and given the two month long waiting list, I’ve never managed to go. This year would have been no different, but somehow the stars aligned, I managed to keep the reservation I made, and with some friends in tow we made our cold and icy way to an iconic destination.
My expectations were not sky high given that it’s a school, but we still had to cut a bit of slack for the ‘school’ part of the experience.
Service was very very earnest, if unpolished. Our waitress did not introduce herself for instance, nor did a bread basket appear until we noticed one at the other table and asked for it. Minor things to note in the grand scheme of things, but hey, they’re a school, they should know. 
The menu was hit and miss, with fairly more hits than misses.
I started with ‘Duo of Woodstone Roasted Duck Breast and Duck Prosciutto’ – which was an absolutely lovely appetizer. The duck breast was roasted perfectly pink, it was skinless to avoid any issues with crispyness, and the duck proscuitto with baby potatoes was genius.
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My friends’ ravioli was also very good, and the oysters were superb. She said the horseradish one was her favorite, and the salmon in the sushi was good, but she’s not sure what it had it do with the oysters. Presumably the continuation of a seafood theme? She said she’d rather just have another oyster.
With the soups we had a choice of a Hungarian/goulashy-type stew, or a roasted chestnut soup. Both my friends chose the stew, and in the interests of variety I was the lone chestnut soup eater. And I had the last laugh, as the stew was so so, but my chestnut soup was superb. It was the one dish of the night worthy of hyperbole, as it was chestnutty, creamy, ever so slightly sweet and earthy and perfect. That’s the one dish I’d love to replicate at home.
All of us pulled an idiot, and got the tomato salad with bocconcini in JANUARY, which ranks right up there with a brick wall for intelligent, because it was as bland and flavorless as you’d expect. I’m sorry, but unless you have a greenhouse on yer roof, you should have no business serving tomatoes in the winter. Why could this not have been the root vegetable salad with some pretentions of being in season? Better yet, why did we order it? We’ll file it under mental mystery and move on.
For the main, I could not resist the rack of lamb. The lamb itself was perfect – rosy, well seasoned, with a perfectly good sauce and a delicious polenta cake. The only bad element was the tomato-olive chutney with manchego cheese. It was much grosser than it sounds, and everyone pronounced it inedible, as nothing meshed. The bland tomatoes, salty olives, raw onions created totally discordant notes that went neither with the lamb nor each other.
My friends ‘bouillabaise marseille’ was also not very good, with odd broth, overcooked seafood, here’s her quote: “Steak cooked to my liking and the turf part sucked. They cut up the lobster and cooked it with mushrooms in a ton of miso paste and I ended up with a bowl of salty, buttery miso lobster stew. Did not enjoy this!! ” Having had a bite, I concur entirely.
My other friends Medallion of Beef was a much better choice, although she proclaimed the beef to be average, and the sides excellent. The photo alas, did not turn out, but did not look that different from my rack of lamb.
For dessert, here is my usual caveat: I’m not a dessert person, and neither are my friends. Therefore we are uniquely unqualified to gauge dessert-worthyness of many things. However, venturing boldly into restaurant reviews, here goes:
The most FUN dessert in the world also happened to be the tastiest of the three:
There was some hazelnut ice cream going on there that was fabulous, although the banana chunks had no business being there.
The wee pumpkin creme brulee was waaay too sweet, but the little cookie was good with ice cream.
This dessert had so many elements going on that it didn’t know if it was coming or going – pistachio ice cream good, whatever it’s sitting on – sweet, corn – weird? It contributed nothing, and neither did the caramel popcorn for that matter.
And finally we were feted with some last minute chocolatey bites, all of which we were too full to try, except for that toasted marshmalow thingie which was as good as you remember from camping.
To conclude this wordy review, it’s a good deal for $44.00 – four courses and more dessert than any table can handle. Would I repeat it? Nope. That was the table consensus, so I’m not alone. I guess if you live in the area… but no, you have to make reservations welll ahead, so I’m not sure under what circumstances I’d go back. Life’s too short to eat anything but great food, so keeping that in mind, I’d give Highwood a solid 3/5.
PS – I also promise not to subject you to anymore crappy iphone photos in restaurants. At least I’ll try.
3/5
Highwood Dining Room
1301 – 16th Avenue NW
Calgary, Alberta
403.284.8615 Ext. 2
Or Open Table for Reservations
I was all prepared not to like District. The reason for this was threefold – one – a vaguely negative review by one of my favorite food blogs, the fact that I didn’t really like their samples at the Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival (not once, but twice!), and finally because most hyped restaurants disappoint me, some bitterly, others less so. They had a lot stacked against them.
The situation didn’t improve when I arrived, and burst out laughing upon recognizing that they occupy a former bar (Fox and Firkin) for those that recall those days. There I spent at least a couple of years of my youth drinking questionable drinks. I even have pictures, somewhere, (no doubt in a folder called ‘Evidence’), to be used by my future children.
The bar closed down several years ago and was something else before becoming District, so the space was renovated to unrecognizable, with a lovely wooden bar, fall-ish décor with copper, brick and gourds, and steel brewing tanks. I was also impressed by the fridge full of canned goods, which promised good things to come.
Many people have posted about slow to non-existent service at District, and they proceeded to oblige. While waiting fifteen minutes or so for my friend, I was not approached for a drink order, and after my friend arrived, we were promptly ignored by every passing waitress, studiously avoiding eye contact, for about 20 minutes. It was not just us, since ALL the tables in our area were left to look around for someone, anyone. Finally my friend got fed up and spoke to the bartender about sending someone over, at which point we proceeded to get good, congenial service from a gal who just started her shift.
So. District was on notice at this point, and not knowing whether the food would justify the rest, we proceeded to order a decent sample of dishes so as not to come back if it wasn’t worth it.
We started off with a charcuterie platter, served on the ubiquitous wooden cutting board. Ordering is done on a piece of paper, sushi-style, that contains all manner of delicacies, and we agreed on duck bacon, dry salami, olives and Riopelle cheese from Quebec. Served with awesome seed crackers, house chutney, pickles and something sweet that I can’t recall, it was a very good charcuterie plate. The salami was full of meaty flavor, not too smoky, properly salty, and in general far superior to the Elk Salami (which I tried on my second visit). The duck bacon was about as delicious as it sounds, and went oh so well with that berry concoction. The cheese was sublime and a treat in its own right. The pickles were perfectly crunchy, blissfully not sweet, not as good as mine, but not bad at all, and the relish was fantastic with the salty meats.
Another major win were the Guinness braised shortribs. Fall off the bone tender, deep mahogany in color, with beefy taste and a subtly sweet sauce they were absolutely divine, and I already crave them in anticipation for the winter ahead.
The poutine was a shade below sublime. On the plus side, the fries were hot, well cooked, fresh and the portion size just right. On the minus side, I prefer a more subtle gravy than the dark, concentrated one District uses, and I also prefer peeled, thicker cut fries. Would I order the poutine again? Absolutely, because when one is craving poutine this one will do nicely.
The burger was the least exciting, not the least because by then we were stuffed. But in the interest of scientific research, we dutifully eat most of our halves, and declared it – just fine. Not disappointing by any stretch, and no revelation either. Did I mention we were stuffed? It was fine, a decent burger. I’d choose shortribs anytime.
Stuffed to the brim with pretty rich dishes, (the lonely salad notwithstanding), we didn’t even contemplate dessert. Barely finishing my Creemore Springs took about all remaining energy, and a siesta seemed in order. Food coma would not be an inappropriate term to use.
So, given the pluses of the food and the service issues would I be back? I sure would. The food is everything it’s hyped up to be, local, seasonal, house-made with love and respect for the ingredients. Do they need to reconsider service? Yes, simply because it’s not a one-off.
Too many people online have mentioned it, and the second time I went back, our main dishes arrived before the charcuterie board. And we could see it sitting on the bar, lonely and abandoned for at least fifteen minutes. By the time it arrived, we were busy eating the hot food so it doesn’t get cold, and let’s face it, charcuterie has no appeal once you’re full. But the food is still worth it.
District
4/5
607 11 Ave SW
(403) 233-2433
This morning as I type this, snow flakes are gently swirling from the dark and foggy sky. It’s our second official snow fall this year, and a sure sign that winter will show up eventually. But that’s okay with me, you know why? Because on Thursday it was 21 degrees out (70F), sunny, and I enjoyed a patio lunch. This even is so unlikely in late October that it felt not unlike the pleasure I felt when skipping school as a kid.
There is a park a couple of blocks away from my building, which has recently been renovated. This project cost eleven million dollars, and as far as I can tell accomplished some tree removal and some new garden beds. Allegedly there was a fountain and some new paths too, but to me it didn’t look too different. I think a college full of summer students could have done it all for less than a million, but what do I know?
In this newly renovated park though, there is now a cafe, called the Boxwood Cafe. Owned by the same folks who brought us the River Cafe, it’s meant to be a more casual, fun take on locally farmed food. I personally am not a big fan of the River Cafe, but thought that a more casual take on the food may work very well.
The building is one story, and a lovely sand color. The lineup was building as we arrived, and it was lack of room as well as the weather that led us to sit outside. Indoors was a lovely long room, done up in natural wood and neutral colors. The counter’s where you order and watch the assembly line make your sandwiches, efficiently and accurately, calling out the order with any modifications.
There is a lovely selection of soups, salads and sandwiches along with some larger dishes, like roast chicken that would be much better for supper. My friend and I each opted for a sandwich, and a pot of tea.
The porchetta sandwich is a masterpiece. Cut from a juicy pork roast covered with crisp, crackling, deeply burnished skin, and served on a bed of caramelized onions it was a most satisfying eat. The flavor of the pork was the dominant flavor, and the skin, oh that skin.
The chickpea fritter sandwich was just shy of excellent. I don’t know what would have put it over the top, but I suspect crispier fritters, some extra spices in the chickpeas, and a hint of garlic or tahini or hummus, would have taken it from good to outstanding. The eggplant was undetectable, and it would have been better with less pickled onions and more eggplant.
Both sandwiches took a while to arrive, and were not warm. We suspect the order got lost since the other diners got their food before we did, although we sat down first. If they had been warmed up it would have helped bring out the flavors too, since cool food needs extra seasonings to offset the temperature. The ciabatta they were served on was excellent though, first grade bread and it was SO NICE not to see piles of watery, tasteless lettuce clouding the sandwiches.
Prices veer a tiny bit into the steep category, based on portion size and quality. If you wanted a soup and sandwich, you’re easily getting into 16-17 for lunch, which is getting up there. I’d love to see them offer half orders of everything, because it’s nice to have variety but neither my stomach nor my wallet need that much food.Overall though it was a lovely new experience, and I can’t wait to go back and eat that sandwich in the park in the summer.
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