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Eat Eat \ Suzette Bistro

On September 24, 2015

Parlement de Bretagne (2009)

I’ve written at length about my love for Lyon, but my first French love was actually for Rennes. Ten years ago, I packed my comically large suitcase for a semester abroad in a small French city in the northwest region of Brittany. At twenty, I had no real clue what I was getting myself into or how the experience would change me.

Rennes (or Roazhon, if you speak Breton) felt like a small town to me, & I spent the next six months exploring every inch of it.The city is considered to be one of the most festive in France & I made every effort to take in as much of that as I could. It certainly lived up to its reputation – I can barely keep track of how many festivals & events took place during my stay.

One of the many festivals: Fest-Noz

Wandering the old streets of the beautiful historic center was by far one of my favourite pastimes during my stay. A picnic in one of the beautiful parks also isn’t a bad way to spend an afternoon, & thanks to the large student population, Rennes also boasts a vibrant nightlife. There’s even a street made up only of bars. Nicknamed “rue de la soif” (Street of Thirst), rue Saint-Michel is the place to be on a Thursday night during the school year.

One of the beautiful squares

Portes Mordelaises: the last remaining gate to Rennes from the middle ages.

Crêperies at St Anne

Parc du Thabor

Opéra at Christmas (2005)

A rare snowfall at Villejean Residences

If that wasn’t enough to make me fall in love, the local food certainly did. Brittany has many wonderful specialties including seafood, salted butter caramels, numerous pastries, cidre (hard apple cider), & half salted butter (for some reason, it’s unreal). You can find most of these at the weekly Saturday market, le marché des Lices. For my favourite traditional Breton delicacy though, you’ll want to head over to Crêperie St Anne & order a galette. Breton galettes are the crêpe’s savoury soulmate, made from buckwheat flour & filled with anything from smoked meats to vegetables & cheese.

Le marché des Lices

An having a galette jambon at the market

Galette Complète – jambon, œuf, frommage.

I thought I’d have to go back to Rennes for my galette cravings until Suzette Bistro opened this year. I could barely contain my excitement as I walked over to meet N for dinner last Friday. Reminiscing about my time in Brittany, I had high hopes for our meal.

A quick look through their drink menu & I decided on the cidre brut (dry cider) – a favourite from both times I lived in France & an easy choice for me. Their selection also included a decent assortment of beer & wines. I love that the cidre was served in a traditional ceramic mug like you would get in Brittany. Things were certainly off to a good start!

For my main course, I chose the Complète, with French ham, Gruyère cheese, & egg (always my favourite variety in France!). N went with the Norvégienne, which should come as no surprise to anyone who’s eaten with him as it features smoked salmon. All galettes come with a a mixed green salad. Ours orders arrived quickly & that was the first thing I dug into. It doesn’t look like much, but this is exactly the same salad I’ve eaten in countless restaurants across France, & it is fantastic. The magic is in the perfect dressing. If that didn’t take me back to Bretagne, then my first bite of galette certainly did. It was perfect combination of ham, cheese, & egg in every bite! & the actual galette tasted exactly as I remembered. I tried a couple bites of N’s, & it was delicious too. A generous serving of smoked salmon paired nicely with the creamy leeks.

Despite barely having room for dessert, I convinced N to share a Bretonne crêpe with me. I couldn’t resist the idea of caramel beurre salé (can you blame me?!). I also ordered a cappuccino. It was the perfect way to cap off our meal.

A perfect crêpe, bigger than my face.

Suzette Bistro gets tops marks from me as authentically Breton & incredibly delicious. The prices are reasonable, the service was pleasant (you could even practice your French with some of the staff, if you wanted!), & the food was fantastic. It seems we aren’t the only fans of this new Mission addition either – the place was surprisingly busy despite our early reservation.

I highly recommend you check out Suzette Bistro – they do weekend brunch & weekday lunch & dinner (with the exception of Mondays). Thank you to Suzette for a wonderful meal & a fantastic trip down memory lane.

Eat Eat \ Parc Brasserie

By whoalansi

On July 7, 2015

In Food

When N was back a few weeks ago, I took him out for an evening to celebrate his (then belated) birthday. It seems like there are so many new places opening up all over the city so we decided to check a couple of them out. We started the night at Proof, a new cocktail bar with an impressively extensive menu, grabbing one of the last tables on what was looking to be a pretty busy Friday night.

With so many cocktails to choose from, it took us a while to make a decision. I finally went for the Millionaire – a delicious combination of whisky, grand marnier, grenadine, & egg whites. I’m such a sucker for cocktails with egg whites so it was a bit of a no brainer for me. N went with Fire in the Pharmacy, which is a scotch float with lemon, ginger, honey, & mezcal. I’m not really a scotch fan, so I never would have ordered this, but I’m so glad he did. It is delicious – such a great surprise!

birthday boy

Unfortunately we only had time for the one drink before we had to head to dinner. I look forward to going back & tasting more cocktails. I also plan on trying some food off their menu next time too – everything coming out of the kitchen looked incredible.

The space itself is pretty cute, with high ceilings & big windows facing the street, but the wall of bottles behind the bar is probably the most impressive piece. It commands your attention, especially if someone has to hop on the ladder.

drinks

an impressive wall

In order to make our reservation, we hopped in a cab to Parc Brasserie for dinner. Walking in, the decor was exactly what you’d expect of a French Brasserie, with black & white checkered floors & simple design. We were seated at the back, by the kitchen, giving us a great view of the rest of the restaurant. I loved the art on the walls, especially the familiar photos of different landmarks across France. I spotted a few favourite spots in their gallery.

We decided to dive right in with a bottle of wine – a Côtes du Rhône we really enjoyed. We also shared two aperitifs: the Croquettes & the Rillette de Lapin. The croquettes were a perfectly fried combination of Emmental cheese, ham, & potatoes, topped with aioli & a little extra cheese for good measure. The rabbit rillette came with pickles, capers berries, mustard, & crostini. We enjoyed both thoroughly. Another nice touch was the fresh bread they came around with as we waited for our starters. It was some of the best bread I’ve had in this city (so I suggest you say yes if they ask – go for the country style).

Deciding on a main course was tough as everything sounded delicious. In the end I went with the classic choice: Steak Frites. Topped with roasted shallot butter, mushrooms, & peppercorn sauce, it was cooked perfectly & full of flavour. Pairing it with the accompanying arugula made for the perfect bite! The fries were generously portioned, crispy, & flavourful. I loved the aioli that came on the side.

N’s choice stole the show though. He went with the duck, which came with asparagus, lentils, & an orange sauce. It was incredible. We capped off the night with cheese – the perfect dessert, if you ask me. It came with three beautiful cheeses, crostini, & two jams. It was a great way to end the meal.

Steak

Frites

Canard

Cheese Course

Our experience at Parc was wonderful – our server was great, as were the others we interacted with throughout the night. They were attentive & helpful every step of the way.

I hope to head back for a repeat experience soon. I’m a sucker for a good french brasserie & I’ve been eyeing the Tuesday night moules special.

Thank you for a fantastic evening, Parc!

Parc Brasserie, 17th Ave:

On part-time long distance (& a new favourite spot)

By whoalansi

On May 22, 2015

In Food, Personal

N has started a work rotation up north. Fourteen days on, seven days off. Good for his career, unfortunate for our lives. We’re more than halfway through the longest span of him being away & I am eagerly anticipating his return – making belated birthday plans & thinking up fabulous meals to cook together. He was thrust into this new position pretty quickly with a week of training followed by a longer rotation. So when he gets back next week, he’ll have been away 21 of the last 24 days (Sink or swim!).

Luckily (or unluckily?) we’re no strangers to this long distance thing. In fact, until last year we’d probably spent more time living apart than we had together.I moved to Montreal for school four months after we started dating. We weren’t even sure where this new relationship was headed, but we decided to try to make it work anyway. We spent the next two years courting primarily over text message, skype, & occasional visits. Once I graduated, I moved home, thinking this was the end of this “style” of romance. Ironically, my cross-country move coincided with N’s work travel ramping up. An out of town project popped up nearly every time we made plans or bought concert tickets. The threat of having to reschedule or find a last minute friend to buy his ticket was never far from our thoughts.

Then, a couple years ago, he changed jobs. Deciding he wanted to get some different experience, he took a project engineer position that required fieldwork. We expected to go back to this quasi-long distance relationship, but dodged that (as well as the salary uplift) until now. So while I do miss him very much, it’s been almost two years in the making. We discussed the pros & cons & made a conscious decision to accept a rotation up North. That simple fact makes it a little bit easier to take, I think (at least for me, but I’m not the one working most of the summer).

Last time N was home, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather & headed over to Cannibale. This new addition to our neighbourhood (or neighbouring hood, anyway) already has me looking for excuses to grab a drink on their fabulous patio. More than just your average neighbourhood bar, Cannibale features creative cocktails, an excellent selection of wines, beers, & spirits, & a delightful take on bar food.

With two successful restaurants in Dairy Lane Cafe & Blue Star Diner, I had high hopes for their menu. & there’s been no disappointments so far! In fact, they’ve exceeded my expectations with their friendly & welcoming bar staff, killer design (think trendy speakeasy vibe), & inspiring menu.

The menu. I’m partial to the Santiago.

N & I shared the Foie Gras Parfait on our latest visit &, honestly, it was parfait. I’ve also tried their Peasant Cheese Board: a lovely selection of cheese, crostini, & honey. A bite of one of their sandwiches had me wishing I’d ordered my own. As for the cocktails, I personally love the delightfully sour Santiago, while N favours the Jungle Bird (& the Pimmy Gibbler is more than just a funny cocktail name). Although, the bartenders are always game to make suggestions if you’re unsure. My favourite craft beers round out the drink menu & I’m looking forward to making a dent in the wine list (if cocktails aren’t your thing).

With a full bar & a patio, what more could you ask for? A classic, full-service barbershop perhaps? That’s right, Cannibale also features an attached single-chair barbershop at the front. It reminds me of Blind Barber in NYC. I just love this concept! I’m looking forward to watching Cannibale become part of the neighbourhood.

The one perk to long distance is that you really take advantage of the days when you’re together & make the most of that time. Thank you, Cannibale, for giving us a great spot to do so. & welcome to the neighbourhood.

Holidays at the Lake

By whoalansi

On May 15, 2015

In Family, Travel

As I was packing to spend May Long weekend at the lake, I realized that I still hadn’t posted anything from my last two trips out there. We spent both Christmas & Easter with my family out at the lake & I took a few photos. I love spending time out there! Most of the weekend consisted of cooking & eating, but I captured a few moments from Christmas morning too. So here we go, a big old fashioned holiday photo dump!

N & his giant stocking

It’s not Christmas without a little sparkle

the freshest of figs

Dad decided to roast a couple ducks, which turned out incredible. You also get the added benefit of duck fat when you cook duck, which we proceeded to cook our potatoes in for the rest of the weekend. If you’ve never had potatoes fried in duck fat, I strongly suggest you get out there & try it.

Two sitting ducks

It turns out that carving a duck is completely different from carving a chicken, so unfortunately (ha!), we’re going to have to practice. More duck, please!

The next morning, I took a turn in the kitchen. I’d made a paleo banana bread the week before, so I decided to make banana bread french toast. Seems impressive, but it’s actually a very simple breakfast. My favourite kind of cooking.

I was also in charge of dinner on Saturday night. We didn’t have much planned that day so I decided to go with a slow braise. The leisurely pace of the prep for this type of meal is perfect for a quiet day at the lake.

I picked up a pork shoulder from my favourite butcher in Calgary, Bon Ton Meat Market. They’re a bit out of the way for us in their new location, but I know I can always trust them for specialty cuts (or any large roast, bone in). We also brought our extra large Staub out of storage at N’s parents. (We’re storing a lot of wedding gifts at both of our parents’ houses until we find a house.) I used that for this roast, since it was larger. I chose this Martha Stewart recipe, & the only thing I’d have done differently is trust my gut on the amount of liquid. It got a little low since my Staub is so large. It still turned out delicious. Caramelized onions & bacon…need I say more? (I also thought it’d be funny to live tweet the process, so if you’re interested the hashtag was #deBoersmakedinner.)

Look at that awesome sear!

The next time we were up at the lake was for Easter. I literally only took food photos with my DSLR, although we did more than just eat. We also discovered a new ATV route, got a couple good runs in, & played some games.

I seem to have great timing for when my parents chose to open some of the wines from their trip to France in 2006. They brought back some beauties & this Volnay Clos des Chênes was no exception! They also catered to me & served lamb again this year. I always joke that I don’t like ham, which isn’t entirely true. I love bacon & prosciutto, & I’d never turn down a slice of Iberico Ham. When you put a glazed ham up against lamb though, lamb wins every time for me. (& don’t talk to me about turkey at Easter. No.)

Lamb > Ham, any day.

So there you have it – all caught up on my holidays at the lake, always a very food-centric time for us. I assume if you’re reading this blog, you’re into that type of thing.

With N away for work right now, I’m bringing a couple girlfriends to the lake this weekend. There’s been talk of dad’s famous pizza, which should make it a little more difficult to focus through the final workday!

Calgary Poutine Crawl 2015

By whoalansi

On May 10, 2015

In Food, Social

Someone needs to start a YYC Salad Week. Seriously. Now that poutine week has come & gone, my pants fit a little tighter & I’ve been craving vegetables. We tasted some delicious poutines though so I think it’s a fair trade off. I tried to implement my own personal salad week last week to balance things out. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately?) it was Alberta Burger Fest. I spent far too much time ogling the delicious entries & gave in to Eats of Asia yesterday. The things I do for charity, right? (ha!)

This year I scored tickets to the Poutine Crawl again, taking place on the final day of Poutine Week. I wasn’t about to attempt much more than that (I’m no Kyle MacQuarrie – He ate 36 poutines over the course of 7 days!), however we did warm-up earlier in the week with Anju‘s Poutine for your Seoul. I’m always impressed with Roy Oh’s creativity & this poutine was no exception. It combined Kabayaki gravy with Kennebec fries, gochugaru salt, soft tofu, cheese curds, & dehydrated kimchi. The entire dish was a hit, but the gravy stood out as one of the best I’ve ever had. Well played, Anju.

Come Saturday, our little group met the rest of the Poutine Crawlers at Below Deck Tavern. We quickly ordered a few drinks as we waited for the event to begin. I went with a caesar since it felt a bit early for beer. Below Deck’s poutine was an East Coast Donair Poutine. The fries were perfectly crispy & flavourful, the curds squeaky, & the donair sauce was an unusual, but delicious addition. I found myself wishing there were more curds & meat, but overall it was a great start to our crawl.

We didn’t have to crawl too far for our second poutine. We found ourselves across the street at Mango Shiva for our next poutine. I’ve been meaning to visit this beautifully decorated Indian restaurant for a while & I know I’ll definitely be back after tasting their delicious curry. Their poutine was a Rogan Josh lamb curry with cilantro, cheese, tomatoes, & fries. The flavour in the curry was unreal. I will absolutely be back to try more of their curries after that! Unfortunately, we thought the fries could have been a bit crispier & found ourselves wishing it was paired with naan or rice instead. I guess it wouldn’t have really been a poutine then, though!

Full of delicious Indian spices, we wandered down Stephen Avenue to City Hall, where the Joey’s Double Decker Diner awaited. We lined up at the window for our enormous Greek Poutine. This thing was seriously huge, & full of amazing ingredients. Fries, gravy, tomatoes, tzatziki, cucumber, feta, & chicken may seem like an odd combination, but we all loved it. Imagine poutine topped with greek salad & tzatziki. Delicious!

Charcut has long held the title for my favourite poutine in the city so I was very excited to see it on the list. We arrived a bit earlier than expected – it was a bit chilly to continue hanging out outside the Joey’s bus. After three poutines, we welcomed the little break, & their delicious beer selection kept us occupied.

Before too long, they made the rounds with their contribution. Their take saw crispy fries topped with squeaky curds, a light gravy, & truffle oil. When used sparingly, truffle oil can take a dish to the next level, & this was certainly the case here. This was my favourite poutine of the day, & to top it all off, we chatted with one of the chef’s, Connie DeSousa. It was great to meet her & hear a little bit about their choice of flavours & ingredients.

We’d reached the fifth stop on our crawl & we were stuffed. I was ready for a break…& maybe a nap. But the Poutine Crawl soldiered on; it’s not for the faint of heart. Swine & Sow served up a fondue poutine. It consisted of house-cured ham, swiss fondue sauce, crisped pancetta, & a cabernet reduction. The flavours here were incredible, & incredibly rich. I could barely finish this poutine despite thoroughly enjoying the flavours.

Our last stop was Black Betty. By this point, we’d had a few beers & were understandably full. A few of us decided to try out their cocktails, on the recommendation of one of the guys. They had some unique options. The poutine itself was also interesting. The fries seemed to be battered & it reminded me a little bit of fried chicken. It wasn’t my favourite, but I was pretty full at that point & more interested in the upcoming Flames game.

Once again, the Poutine Crawl was a great event. Thank you to Karen Richards for organizing it again this year – it’s pretty incredible to have an event sell out when you can only buy tickets if you purchase a mealshare item & post it to Facebook.

The votes were tallied the next day & Charcut came out on top. A well-deserved win, if you ask me!

On Meal Planning

By whoalansi

On April 24, 2015

In eat

I love thinking about food – any & all food is fair game. I take pleasure in sharing my knowledge of Calgary’s food scene & delight in the ongoing search for delicious fare. You’d think this passion for eating would perhaps translate to my enjoyment of meal planning, but it truly does not. I don’t really believe anyone who tells me they love this task. Don’t get me wrong, I love thinking about new recipes & forming an unstructured plan of what we’ll eat, but I don’t enjoy sitting down to actually plan the week. I get much more enjoyment from flexible plans, but I personally don’t find them realistic for our everyday lives. For one, I hate throwing out food. It’s one of my pet peeves. Even if something I’ve made doesn’t quite turn out, I’ll usually eat it. There’s also the unfortunate fact that we need to be a little bit conscious what we’re spending. So every week, I sit down & make a meal plan.

I used to be quite diligent about this process, but lately I’ve been struggling with finding the motivation. Recipes I’ve pinned still look delicious, but I don’t always have time (or energy) for a weekday experiment. It’s just not always realistic to spend hours in the kitchen on a Tuesday night. Sometimes I just want something quick & easy, something that I already know will be delicious.

This is exactly why I’m grateful that I’ve been so organized with our meal plans. (Excuse me while I pat myself on the back for that one.) Thanks to my penchant for planning, I have a record of every single meal plan we ever made. Originally, I typed them up in word, printed them off, & stuck them on the fridge. At the end of the week, I’d put them in a binder. (How cute!)

A couple of years ago, we made the switch to online recording. We use an app called Evernote. It allows you to create lists that sync to multiple phones, making tracking, organising, & editing simple.When N picks up groceries, he checks off the items in the app as he goes so we know whether we’re missing anything.

a sample Evernote plan

I really like our system, but I still find my inspiration lacking from time to time. A few weeks ago, I was on Instagram & noticed how often I share our meals on my feed. Why not use these for inspiration?! There’s a good mix of tried & true recipes as well as some newer, exciting ones. I created a hashtag for these photos so they’re easy to find (one of the greatest features of instagram!). You can find them by searching #deBoerDinners.

Whenever I’ve used a recipe, I’ve tagged the owner or referenced it in some ways. There are some experiments & staples up there though that will not have recipes associated with them, but hopefully they all help to inspire your meal plans when you’re feeling a bit stuck. I plan to continue to add to it as we cook more too, so it will continue to grow.

Do you ever find yourself in a cooking rut? I’d love to hear about your tactics if you do! Happy Meal Planning!

Giving Thanks

By whoalansi

On October 17, 2014

In Uncategorized

Our one Turkey holiday of the year (at least for my parents) is over & done with. We roasted an impressively large bird for five people last weekend & now we’re into leftover season. I’ll definitely be trying to take advantage of all that turkey & stuffing (my mom’s turkey stuffing is off the charts).

We spent Thanksgiving out at the lake this year. My parents headed out Friday & then N, my brother, & I drove out on Saturday. The whole weekend was filled with delicious food & family time. N & I brought out a bottle of wine & Lemon honey from Cinque Terre & picked up a wedge of pecorino to pair with it. Mom set out our usual cheese & appies (including some pickled carrots I’d made a couple weeks ago) & we dug in. This is definitely a family tradition of ours & I love it. How can you not enjoy such a spread?

Dad had made homemade pappardelle & lamb ragu for dinner that night. It was fantastic. He makes great pasta homemade pasta that we are always happy to devour.

Saturday morning, the boys went golfing while Mom & I stayed home & prepared our friend Tom the Turkey. Yes, we name our turkey & yes, his name is always Tom. We’re weird like that. This meal is such an all day affair so I don’t blame my parents for keeping it for Thanksgiving. I always enjoy the meal & it’s great to get everyone together in the kitchen as it all comes together in the end, but it is truly an all day affair. Not to mention, I love trying new things so our plan to have duck for Christmas is right up my alley.

The next day, I prepared an Egg & Meatball Tagine for everyone for brunch. It was delicious, if I do say myself. While not the most conventional of breakfast dishes, the flavours will make you forget what that even means. & sometimes it’s fun to break the rules, right?

Monday was the perfect fall day so N & I took a walk down to the lake before packing the car for home. We even ran into a few deer on our way down.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d share a few things I’m personally thankful for this year. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday & have many things on your list as well.

I am thankful for:

My family, my husband, & my friends. There isn’t much more to it really. We had a great weekend at the lake & returned to more family time with N’s parents. We also just received our wedding photos & they are a beautiful reminder of how lucky we are to be surrounded with the best people.
You. Those of you who read this blog & keep me from feeling like I’m talking to myself. I’m grateful that I have this space to write & share & be creative. Thank you for reading!
First World Problems. Yeah, I’m grateful that they are really the only problems we face on a regular basis. We both have good jobs, a roof over our heads, minimal debt, & our own cars. We’re lucky to be able to afford to do most of the things we want to do.
Our health. N & I are both quite healthy people. That seems rare these days.

I’m sure I could go on about the many other things I’m grateful for, but these are my big four.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eat \ Anju’s Test Kitchen Takeover

By whoalansi

On August 7, 2014

In Uncategorized

It’s been decided. We’re part of the Roy Oh/Anju Fanclub, maybe even the founding members. Over the course of a month, I attended 3 dinners where Roy was either the chef or a contributor, and he doesn’t even currently have a restaurant right now!

H actually has me beat though as she attended four over the course of the month. If that’s not fan girl status, I don’t know what is.

Kidding aside, if you haven’t eaten Roy’s Korean Fusion fare, you’re missing out. I know I just said that he doesn’t currently have a restaurant, but that’s all about to change soon (stay tuned to their twitter – @AnjuRestaurant. I know I will be!). If you’re familiar with the Calgary restaurant scene, his new digs will fill the space that used to be Petite (at 17 avenue & 4 street SW).

For my second Anju experience in June, a YMCA co-worker invited H & I to check out his pop up at Test Kitchen. H was a bit hesitant as this would be Anju meal three for her, but in the end she couldn’t resist.

I love this pop-up series idea going on at Test Kitchen & really hope it continues. I think it’s great to have different chefs come in & have the opportunity to do something that is maybe a little different from the usual fair in their own establishments.

We started the evening with a soju strawberry, chili, & mint cocktail. As expected, it was delicious. The flavour combination was different in the best way. The hint of spice was a welcome surprise & I’m a sucker for any cocktail that features mint.

The first course was a spicy oyster shooter. We each got a little shot glass with a spicy oyster shot. I love oysters so it was a great way to kick off the meal.

Next we had a bone marrow risotto. Rich, creamy, & decadent are adjectives that spring to mind when I think of this dish. Bone marrow has such an amazing flavour on its own; the smooth & creamy risotto was a perfect pairing. Roy had also added some anchovies that reminded us of one our unexpected favourites at the Chinese Association dinner. I’m sure I made my happy face throughout this entire dish. It was that great.

Fish & Chips were next up on our menu. We discussed what possible spin Roy would put on it. Roy’s creativity shone through as we were presented with what looked like two spring rolls on a bed of tartar sauce.

We all decided to go with wine pairings for the meal. I wish I’d taken better note of the wines we tried. They were all lovely and mostly white wines, not something I usually pick myself since I know my taste in red better.

Our last savoury course was bibimbap. This was a new dish for me, but one I think I can get behind. As usual, Roy had a bit of a non-traditional take on this wonderful dish. As I’ve come to expect with
most dishes that come out of his kitchen, I loved the combination of different flavours in this dish. This time I think the different textures were what I most enjoyed though here.

Last came dessert – milk & cookies. The milk was a sesame milkshake & the cookies were warm chili chocolate. It was a delicious end to a fantastic meal & further cemented Anju in my mind as somewhere fantastic. I will definitely be very excited to see this restaurant back on the scene in Calgary & can’t recommend it enough.

Eat Eat \ Poutine Crawl

By whoalansi

On May 10, 2014

In Food, recap, Social

A few weeks ago, one of my best friends scored two tickets to the 2014 Calgary Poutine Crawl. We’d both been anxiously awaiting the moment they were to go on sale, but she was one of the lucky 60 or so to snag a pair of tickets to the event. It literally sold out in less than 15 seconds – the first obvious sign that it was bound to be some special. I was obviously pretty bummed about it until her husband offered his ticket to me. Best wedding gift so far, Z!

Poutine Day arrived and we excitedly met at Wurst at noon. I’ve eaten (as well as enjoyed many a beer) in this great establishment & have always enjoyed the experience. There’s something about a beer hall that just says good times to me! We ordered drinks & waited for things to start, discussing whether we thought it would be something off their menu (they have great poutine) or something new.

Karen Richards, the organizer, welcomed us before the chef took the stage to talk to us the thoughts behind the day’s creation. They had decided to go with the poutine on their menu for a very good reason – they’d spent a long time creating it & think it’s great. I have to agree; it is a great poutine. They start with duck fat fries (never a bad idea, if you ask me) & add cheese curds, green peas, speck sauce, duck confit, & truffle oil.

This poutine is rich so I was grateful for the smaller portion. I have & would eat this poutine again though – the fries are great (duck fat, people!), the cheese curds squeak, & the “gravy” has a great flavour. For me, those three things are the most important components of a great poutine, & Wurst nails it.

Once we’d finished up, we got onto one of the two party buses & headed off to National 17. Not only is National one of my favourite bars in Calgary (another beer hall. What can I say? They’re just so great!), but also this next poutine would be the creation of one of my favourite chefs, Roy Oh. This poutine was by far the one H & I were most excited for, being Anju fangirls. (We’re anxiously awaiting the opening of his new restaurant – Anju 2.0!) Roy’s creation was a very cool Korean-Inspired “poutine” featuring chewy rice cakes, bacon, cucumber, gochujang sauce, & squeaky cheese curds. This is definitely not traditional poutine here, but those flavours. Seriously, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. The experience was over far too soon for me.

Back to the bus – we were headed off the beaten path, to Naina’s Kitchen, in a more industrial area of Calgary. I regularly frequent the Farmer’s Market across the street, but haven’t tried the stuffed burgers this place is famous for yet. It’s a small, unassuming little spot, but we all squished in. This one was a feast, & probably the most traditional to that point, featuring fries, cheese curds, meatballs, caramelized onions, & a sweet gravy. The meatballs were fantastic & I enjoyed the hint of maple syrup in the gravy, but the fries & curds weren’t my favourite. This was probably for the best though. If I had finished that monster, I don’t think I’d have managed the rest of the crawl (without actually crawling!).

It was back downtown for our next stop – The Libertine. Halfway through & I was getting a little full & a lot sleepy. Luckily, they have some great beers on tap, so we quickly solved one of those problems. Their team presented their poutine in little takeout boxes. I was excited to see apple coleslaw on top (I’m sure I’m almost alone in my excitement over a good coleslaw). Underneath we found fried chicken, double smoked pork belly (magical words), & of course, curds, gravy, & fries. I think the pork belly (& the slaw for me – I know I’m alone in this) were the stars for me here. The fries, curds, & gravy were all delicious though too so it was an all around well-executed poutine!

H & I had reached waddle status at this point, so she suggested we walk the few blocks to downtownfood. It was a great idea & we even arrived before the bus. downtownfood was the 2013 Calgary Poutine Crawl winner. In fact, they seem to put out some pretty amazing food for most of these types of things so I was definitely looking forward to their take.

They started us off with a lemon sorbetto to cleanse our palate “after all those inferior poutines we’d tried.” It was a clever tactic. This sorbetto was arguably one of the best palate cleansers I’ve had. Next they came around with the poutine. Servers removed funny plastic lids to uncover a steaming bowl of deliciousness, which included bacon, mushrooms, house-made cheese curds, duck-confit gravy, & delicious fries. These curds hit it out of the park for me. I could have eaten a bowlful of them. Seriously, I love curds. I also loved the flavour of the gravy, despite it being a bit on the more liquidy side. All around amazing flavours.

& then they followed it up with dessert: macarons. I’m such a sucker for macarons. Well played, downtownfood.

Last stop on our tour was a little pub across the river, Oak Tree Tavern. Wild Rose Brewery put us all in great spirits with a free beer. The poutine that followed was the first vegetarian option of the day, featuring crispy fries, cheese curds, & a sage mushroom gravy. The flavours of this poutine were great again, but I found myself wishing there were more curds. Yes, even after 6 poutines, I wanted more cheese curds. (I know, I’m a freak.) Oak Tree Tavern was a great venue to end that day on. We stayed around for a few extra beers & waited for our stomachs to shrink back to normal.

Overall, Anju’s poutine was my favourite for Roy’s creativity as well as the amazing combination of flavours, but I can’t say I was disappointed with any of the poutines we tasted. The votes were tallied the next day & downtownfood came out on top for the second year in a row – a well deserved win. All the participants did an incredible job & I would highly recommend this event to anyone who likes poutine. Or maybe I wouldn’t – I’d like to score tickets myself next year.

Eat \ Bacon & Gauc Deviled Eggs

By whoalansi

On April 8, 2014

In Uncategorized

While I do a lot of cooking at home, it isn’t often that I post a recipe on here. Our kitchen is pretty tiny, with dark counter tops & terrible lighting, so I don’t often bust out the real camera. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen a lot of my food iPhoneography already (although that’s only picking back up again now that the sun stays out later). I spend most of my day thinking about what I just ate, what I’m going to eat, or what I’d like to eat. My love of food definitely isn’t the reason for the lack of recipes on here.

I love experimenting in the kitchen. It doesn’t always turn out right, but the more I take chances, the more I get a sense of what works & what doesn’t. I’m not anywhere near as good of a cook as I’d like to be, but I’m definitely proficient. & I get better all the time.

In that last few years, I’ve come to realize that I’ve surrounded myself with people who are pretty similar in that respect. My friends all love food. I suppose it’d probably be pretty hard to hang out with me if you didn’t. In the summer especially, we throw a lot of potlucks. I love trying out new recipes, but one I come back to regularly is deviled eggs. I just love them! & I’ve made quite a few variations of them over the last couple of years. Many are a little on the complicated side, but one of my favourites is from George, the Civilized Caveman.

A couple weeks ago, I was headed out to a potluck after CrossFit & I couldn’t decide what to make. We had a bit of a busy weekend planned so I wanted something quick & easy. None of my usual recipes are very hard, but I didn’t feel like messing around with an avocado. I just wanted to be super lazy. So I came up with this modification on my usual recipe.

I don’t like measuring so this recipe involved me eyeballing everything. As a result, none of these measurements are exact. I think it’s hard to mess up devilled eggs anyway. Don’t stress if you like exact measurements. This isn’t baking. It’s going to be alright.

Ingredients

– 4 strips of Bacon
– 1 T of Green Onions
– 3 T of Wholly Guacamole
– 2 T of bacon fat, melted
– 1 T favourite hot sauce
– a dozen eggs
– dusting of Paprika

Start with your bacon. Cook up about 4 pieces. I like this gluten-free bacon in the picture because there also isn’t a lot of added nitrates or soy (I prefer to avoid unfermented soy). You can use any bacon you like. I’m not the bacon police.

You’re going to want to start boiling some eggs now too. Everyone has their own method so I recommend going with that. Whatever works for you. Personally, I put all my eggs in a pot & bring it to a boil. Once it boils, I take it off the heat & put a lid on it, setting the timer for 15 minutes. Once that timer goes off, I dump the hot water & put those eggies in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Everyone says this method is foolproof.

Everyone is wrong! (Just kidding!) Sometimes this works for me & sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, hard boil some eggs. Then peel them, cut them in half, & put all those delicious yolks in a bowl. I put my egg white halves into the container I plan to use now to save time & dishes. (See? Lazy!)

Now you can start adding your other ingredients. Chop the bacon into small pieces, reserving a few pieces for a garnish if like. Add the bacon, guacamole, bacon fat, & hot sauce to the egg yolks & mix it all together.

Once it is all combined, grab a plastic bag & put your filling into it. (You can also use a pastry bag, I guess. I’m just not that fancy.)

Cut one of the corners of your bag on the diagonal. Your hole should be medium-sized. If it’s too big, you’ll have trouble controlling your filling, but it’s too small, it won’t dispense. You want it to be juuuuuust right.

Now just fill your eggs with the filling. I like to do each in a circular motion. Sometimes it works, sometimes it totally fails. I probably cut my hole a little bigger than is ideal this time, so there wasn’t much pattern to this filling. They still look & taste good, so don’t stress.

Garnish with green onion and paprika (& bacon, if you reserved some). Tada! Easy peasy deviled eggs with no weird mayo products. Give them a try!

WHOA lansi

francophile, oenophile, logophile, turophile

Tag: eat Page 2 of 4

Eat Eat \ Suzette Bistro

Eat Eat \ Parc Brasserie

On part-time long distance (& a new favourite spot)

Holidays at the Lake

On Meal Planning

Giving Thanks

Eat \ Anju’s Test Kitchen Takeover

Eat \ Bacon & Gauc Deviled Eggs

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