Life in Cowtown

I’ve quite a bit of stuff to blog about, but I could not find my camera to PC cord for a few weeks, and so had zero photos to show for the last while of activity. Just as I was about to order a new cord online, James found it somewhere in the basement where it found itself after a fit of zealous de-cluttering. And all was well in the world.

You ever do that? Clean so well that you never find something again? I swear three quarters of the battle in house cleaning is finding places to put stuff, and not just temporary out of sight solutions either, but proper homes for all the ‘stuff’ that finds its way into our homes. And I’m a pretty zealous thrower-outer - I regularly toss, recycle and donate all sorts of crap that we no longer need and aren’t sure where it came from in the first place.

Anyhow, the other day found me in the Mission area of Calgary, where I managed to hit up not only Cruffs, but Yann Haute Patisserie while waiting for my ride.  Cruffs was closer to my destination so I popped in there for a quick Cream Puff – because I love cream puffs. There is not much to the store -  the counter where magic happens and a row of bar stools facing the huge store window. 

The cream puffs come in two sizes – small and huge, and since I hardly eat sweets I got huge. You know, to compensate.  The shells are pre-baked and filled with cream filling to order – so you get a perfectly creamy treat with no sogginess.  I asked the genleman at the counter what his favorite flavor was, and went with the recommended hazelnut.

The puff was perfectly crispy and tasted pretty good - none of the fake shortening-like flavor you get with supermarket frozen cream puffs, but none of the elusive taste of fresh cream puffs baked with butter. The filling was perfectly balanced blend of creamy and hazelnut, and the whole thing disappeared alarmingly quickly. Then I got one to take home.  Verdict? Perfectly lovely but not craving inducing.

3.5/5

Cruffs

2312A – 4St SW 

Wandering just a bit further, you come to a lovely jolly yellow house off 4th street, and ascending up the steps you end up in a house-turned-bakery that quickly took Calgary by storm, quickly becoming known for their macarons and other baked goods.  And here I have a confession to make. As well as being a bit indifferent towards dessert, I am not the world’s biggest fan of macarons. I’ve tried them a few times, and they just don’t do anything for me. So I blew thirty bucks on other stuff, like the best baguette I’ve tried in Calgary:

And very tasty croissants:

And the piece de resistance – a chocolate/hazelnut beignet that could make you weep. It is so good they’ve been sold out every time I’ve been back. I wish they would hang a sign when they have them or triple the batches or something. On the other hand I’m sure my waistline thanks the rarity factor.

5/5

Yann Haute Patisserie

329 23AVE SW

Thanks to Groupon and similar discount sites, I’ve been to more restaurants faster, than I normally would, which has been wonderful, since going out to eat is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Since the number of restaurants in Calgary vastly exceeds my budget, it’s good to have an extra push towards something you’d visit one day anyhow, but it might take you a couple of years to get there under your own steam.  And thus it was that on a lovely Monday evening I took my mother for an early supper at Vero Bistro Moderne.

 Despite the ridiculous name (if you can say Moderne without sounding like an idiot… more power to you), the online reviews were mostly positive, and the menu looked like it had a good variety of dishes.  Since we got there at the super early hour of about 5:30 we were able to snag a lovely table nestled in front of a large window for good light and views of Kensington.  The red and black decor was lovely,  heavy napkins graced the tables, and small dishes of olive oil and balsamic were waiting for an excellent bread basket.

Since we’re both on a perpetual quest to NOT OVEREAT – a condition which happens with stunning ease for both of us, we decided to order two appetizers and one main dish to share.  We settled on an appetizer platter, the lobster bisque, and the 72 hour braised short rib. The first thing that I loved about the appetizer platter is the abundance. Too often the portions we see seem on the small side for the price – dwarfed by the large platters they’re served on. They force the hindbrain to go into a calculation mode, trying to equitably divide small bites into shareable pieces. This one had so many things piled on in abandon, that the calculating part of the brain relaxed, knowing there’s plenty to go around.  The second thing was quality – most of the bites went very well together and were fun to nibble on. From the sundried tomatoes, to the artichokes, to a lovely lentil salad, some cured meat, olives, spicy peppers, beets… it was a mélange of good flavors.

The lobster bisque was a bit disappointing. Although lovely to look at, under a puff pastry hat, it was a shade bitter, too smoky, and just flavored wrong. Like the pot scorched that day, and the bitter flavors permeated the soup. It badly needed some cream and a touch more lobster flavor rather than the smoked undertones that it had. It was edible, just not very good.

I chose the short rib dish knowing that my mother would enjoy it, and it did not disappoint. It was an amazingly rich dish, with flavors that worked like a symphony together.  The meat was fork tender, achieving that special unctuous texture that short ribs get, the sweet potato gnocchi were perfectly tender and added a hint of sweetness to the dish, the morels subtly perfumed everything, and the fried green onions added some savory crunch. It’s a magnificent, generous dish.

It was also a very filling dish, so we had no room for dessert and simply finished off dinner with a pot of tea. I highly recommend the tea that says something about apricot flavors, it was very good.  The place was starting to fill up as we were wrapping up, and we vacated our wee table full and happy.  Overall it’s an excellent addition to the Calgary dining scene, my mother was thrilled with the dinner, and we’ll definitely be back.

4.5/5

Vero Bistro Moderne

209, 10 ST NW 403-283-8988

This was my hood yesterday morning.  We got our typical April dump that comes right after the first few days of sunshine and spring, just to give us that kick in the pants that says don’t get too comfortable – this is Calgary.

Right before I left my last job, (the one that was moving to the States), I had the chance to grab lunch with a couple of my co-workers, and we walked over to Trader’s Grill at the Mariott Hotel.

The Grill is past its glory days – it used to occupy a bigger space on the second floor, with large windows overlooking the city, and served a good lunch buffet. Now it’s on the main floor, and is little more than a cafe with a bar.  It was mostly empty the entire lunch, perhaps a quarter of the tables were occupied. 

The menu is simple but very well thought out. There is a decent selection among all the main food groups, and the dishes are not boring. I am sick to death of the usual assortment of salads, sandwiches and steaks that comprise many lunch menus, and was glad to see something like an omelet, or short rib pasta, or baguette with boursin, or the chicken schnitzel which I incidentally ended up having.  Apparently they have excellent daily specials as well, which happened to be grilled cheese on the day we visited, and it would have to be a heck of a grilled cheese to beat my homemade one.

The food took a while to arrive given the lack of patrons, but when it arrived, it did not disappoint.  Just look at it!

The schnitzel was piping hot, with a crunchy, well seasoned breading, and the chicken inside was fork tender. The roasted taters were very good, the salad was lovely if a bit simple, and the grilled lemon was simply genius.  It was a superb meal on a chilly Calgary day.

It seems like more hotels are expanding their restaurants, and trumpeting about them on Twitter and blogs. The Mariott on the other hand seems to be heading in the opposite direction, which is a shame, as the food at Trader’s Grill is as good as some, and better than many lunch options in downtown Calgary.  I should also mention that I can see the appeal of the large windows in the summer, it would be great to people watch while lunching.

4/5

Trader’s Grill

Stephen Avenue
110 9 Ave SE
(403) 231-4503