IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT A GREAT DISH OR FOOD PRODUCT IN CALGARY, I’D LOVE TO KNOW....SEND ME A NOTE AND YOUR NOMINATION COULD MAKE MY NEXT BEST LIST

Click here for Avenue’s ’07 Restaurant Awards

By CINDA CHAVICH

Time again to sleuth through the city for the tastiest stuff to eat – our annual 25 Best Things to Eat in Calgary list.

There’s nothing better than discovering a new gem, something delightfully addictive at a local restaurant, bakery or deli that haunts your dreams and lures you across town for another taste.

From local Italian sausages and Callebaut chocolates, to obscure makers of fresh pita breads, knishes, gelato, colorful cupcakes and Vietnamese subs, every year we unearth new delicacies, grown, baked, and created by talented and caring producers and cooks right here in Alberta. Some turn up on top menus – others are discovered in small, out-of-the-way places.

Good, better, best – it’s impossible to be definitive. But everyone has their own favourite haunts and delicious diversions and these are some of my current food faves, listed in no special order.

1. Barbecued squid at Globefish Sushi & Izakaya -  smoky, tender and beautifully presented in concentric rings on a slim tray. Calamari like you’ve never seen – or tasted – before. Or try their creative “special rolls”, stacked into artful pyramids, and strewn with colourful flying fish roe. It’s sushi with style! (326 14th St. N.W., 521-0222)

2. Lemon tarts at A Ladybug Pastries. These handmade lemon tarts, with their tender shortbread pastry, are little miracles – the perfect balance of tart fresh lemon and sweetness. You can buy individual tarts for $3.50 each or a larger tart to share ($15). While you’re there, pick up one of their new take-and-bake baguettes and don’t miss the blue cheese croissant! (Calgary Farmer’s Market, or the “workshop” at 510 42 Ave. S.E., 243-0244)

3. Spoon Fed soups. You can survive on good, homemade soup – the kind the good people from Spoon Fed deliver to dozens of inner city neighborhoods every week. Sign up and get their emailed “soup bulletin” every Tuesday, then place an order fast (they sell out quickly) and big 1-L jars of their “all-natural” homemade soup will turn up on your doorstep on Sunday. Leave last week’s jars and a cheque in the cooler, and better living through soup is just a click away. Every week they make three small batches of soup using fresh, local, organic ingredients so it’s hard to pick a fave – how about the “Earl” (curried cauliflower), “Uhleen” (a chunky potato and corn chowder with double-smoked bacon), Chicken and Caramelized Onion, or Butternut Squash Laska with Sauteed Prawns. Mmmmm, soup. (www.spoonfedsoup.com)

4. Sylvan Star aged cheddar. We’ve all talked for a long time about Sylvan Star’s amazing award winning, Albert-made gouda cheeses but now it’s time to talk cheddar – white, sharp and burly, this is a big, tasty cheddar to melt in your next grilled cheese sandwich or set proudly on the cheese plate. Damn good cheese. (available at the Calgary Farmer’s Market and any good cheese counter).

5. Pepper bacon biscuits at Euro Pastry. This tiny pastry shop next to a Hungarian deli in southeast Calgary makes all manner of unusual Croatian, Hungarian, Serbian and other eastern European goodies – including a peppery biscuit shot with bits of crispy pork. Hardly healthy but oddly sustaining and good to grab while you’re in there picking up the walnut kifle, poppyseed rolls and hearty cheese burek. (4016 26th St. S.E., 273-0087, www.europastry.ca)

6. Pizza at Il Centro. Fedele Ricioppo has been making pizza in Calgary for years but these days you’ll can find his authentic, thin crust Italian pizza at Il Centro, a unassuming little cafe and take-out spot tucked into a strip mall just east of Chinook Centre. Il Centro is off the beaten path as far as restaurants go, but the pizza is always perfect so it’s worth the trek. My favourite is the spicy capicollo with red peppers and mushrooms but prosciutto, olives, artichokes and mushrooms comes close. (6036 3rd St. S.W., 256-1194)

7. The ricottoa gnocchi with lobster sauce and truffle oil at Capo. This may well be the richest, most decadent version of this homemade peasant dumpling you’ll find anywhere. It arrives in a pristine, white miniature casserole dish and when you lift the lid the aroma of truffles envelopes you. The tiny pillows of gnocchi, in a slightly creamy tomato sauce studded with lobster, are ethereal and gone before you know it….a dish to savour as part of Guissepe Di Genaro’s elegant multi-course Italian menu.

8. Wild Boar from Hog Wild Specialties.  One of the most impressive things I saw cooking at a restaurant this year was a whole pig on the barbecue at the River Café – it was one of Earl Hagman’s wild boar and when it hit the plate, it was succulent with a crispy bit of crackling intact, just like real roast pork should be. Order a whole pig for your next big barbecue or their wild boar roasts, hams, sausages and other products from www.hogwild.ab.ca

9. Liberating cuisine from the Liberated Cook. If you love to eat but don’t find time to cook at home, let chef Andrew Hewson and his team from The Liberated Cook help you. This “make-and-take” concept lets you assemble your own meals to freeze and cook later at home, or just take out to heat and eat immediately. Because the chefs precook the protein, it’s always perfect, so try their tender free run chicken breast marinated with fresh thyme and fireweed honey with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and veggies; house-smoked maple pork loin with vegetable rissoles; or boneless short ribs braised in red wine sauce. Eating out at home. (Stadium Shopping Centre, 1941 Uxbridge Dr. N.W.)

10. Eggplant Antipasto from the 2 Greek Gals. Roula Dimakis makes an eggplant antipasti that’s addictive. It’s $6 for a small tub but this rich, melt-in-your mouth combination of shredded eggplant, bell peppers and fruity olive oil is perfect to spread on crackers or to serve atop a piece of grilled fish. (Calgary Farmer’s Market, Currie Barracks)

11. A curried chicken roti at Joycee’s Caribbean Foods. This is a tiny, friendly Caribbean grocery-cum-takeout down in the Bridgeland strip mall, a one-stop shop for all things Jamaican, from frozen oxtails and cassava root, to fresh plantains, jars of coconut oil and jerk seasoning. But stop in for a rolled roti sandwich to eat at the counter or take back to your desk – Joycee’s tender chicken is exotically spiced with just enough allspice and cinnamon to take you right back to the islands, man! (#5 – 630 1st Ave. N.E.)

12. Cunningham’s Cold Smoked Rainbow Trout. Joe Cunningham lives in Pincher Creek, in the heart of Alberta’s best trout fishing terrain, so it’s no surprise he’s figured out just how to smoke it. Using the age-old Scottish method – slow smoking for two days at  cool temperatures – he takes the local rainbow trout (and arctic char) into new gourmet territory. This is regional Alberta cuisine at its best – delicate, moist and the perfect appetizer. Served on all of the finest menus and available at the Cookbook Co., Janice Beaton Fine Cheese or direct (www.cunninghamscoldsmoking.com)

13. Creative sandwiches at Café Koi. This cool karmic café offers a nutritious take on breakfast, lunch and late night noshing in a hip, artsy atmosphere. Among the many offerings – from homemade granola for breakfast to Thai roasted salmon with ginger garlic greens - are some tasty sandwiches, all served on artisan breads. Carnivores will like the shaved smoked meat, Swiss and sauerkraut with grainy mustard while vegetarians can have a virtual salad on rye – basil rosemary cream cheese topped with shredded carrot, snap peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach and red peppers. The simple panini with brie, caramelized onions and pears is equally alluring. Don’t miss the roasted yam fries and local art. (100 – 1011 1 St. S.W.)

14. Planet Organic’s Cosmic Power cookie may be the biggest, healthiest cookie in the local universe. This is one of those chunky breakfast cookies made with all things organic, from flax and pumpkin seeds to chewy raisins, rolled oats, coconut and, of course, big chunks of dark chocolate. Thick, dense, filling and $1.49 each (two locations)

15. The interactive cuisine (that is, stuff to share) at The Living Room including their upscale fondues – gruyere and emmenthal cheese fondue with grilled apples, peppers and French bread; black truffle and cheddar fondue made with three cheese ravioli, asparagus and fresh bread for dipping (sort of a deconstructed pasta dish) - or the Szechuan Black Angus beef tartare with peppers and rice crackers. A glass of wine and thou? (514 17th Ave. S.W.)

16. A plate of Doro Wat (tender chicken stew in an thick sauce layered with exotic spices) at The Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant. This is a popular hang-out for the local African-Canadian crowd and it’s no wonder – the generous servings of wats (meat or vegetarian stews) and injera (a spongy, fermented flat bread used to scoop them up) will keep you coming back. This is the place to take your vegetarian friends – who knew there were so many delicious ways to cook lentils? (239 12 Ave. S.W.)

17. Thick cut home-smoked bacon from Jan’s Meats & Deli. It’s always best to buy your bacon from a real butcher who smokes it from scratch (you’ll never go back to the supermarket stuff) and the Polish family at Jan’s makes some of the best lean, smoky bacon around. Ask them to cut it thick and fry it up for breakfast with eggs or stuff it into a toasted tomato sandwich. Yum! (2436 - 2nd Avenue NW)

18. Ginger Beef at Silver Inn. This is a Calgary classic - “deep fried shredded beef in chili sauce” (aka ginger beef). This has been the trademark dish for the Silver Inn since the family opened the restaurant opened in 1975 – in fact the original owners lay claim to creating ginger beef here, an iconic Chinese-Canadian dish that’s now found on every Chinese restaurant menu.  This family-run restaurant was ground zero for Peking-style cuisine in Calgary and everything is still made from scratch – from their delicious grilled dumplings and hot and sour soup, to chicken and cashews in yellow bean sauce, and those sweet and spicy shreds of deep fried Alberta beef. (2702 Centre St. N., www.silverinn.com)

19. Gourmet perogies at River Café. Chef Scott Pohorelic digs into his own ethnic background to come up with the sexiest perogies this side of the Rockies. How about a tender dumpling stuffed with braised bison or lamb; or a chanterelle and fresh Taber corn perogy, served with crème fraiche and microgreens? Pure comfort and nostaligia – with a soupçon of  style – in an idyllic, river-side setting . (Prince’s Island)

20. Indian sweets from Skylark Restaurant. Indian cooking is the hottest new trend and while you may be perfecting a Lamb Vindaloo for your next party, there’s no way you’ll be making the creamy pistachio burfi or spongey gulab jaman to serve for dessert. Enter the Indian sweet house – a bakery-cum-teahouse where you can pick up all manner of fudgy milk- and nut-based goodies. There may be fancier spots in town to pick up your sweets, but after a side-by-side taste test, we agreed with an Indian expat (now living in Vancouver) who still orders his homestyle burfi from Skylark. A great place for samosas and butter chicken, too. (#15, 5315 17 Ave. S.E.)

21. Rabbit rillette at The Tribune. This is a delicious traditional French appetizer that’s fairly new to local menus but is catching on (as are all things French, from bistro-style moules frites to the Tribune’s pressed duck). The rillette is a kind of potted rabbit pate to spread on baguette, served with tiny sweet cornichon pickles on the side. Add a glass of wine and it makes a lovely light lunch or chic snack. Slip into a comfy leather club chair and relax in this very stylish spot in a lovely heritage building downtown.

22. The Brome Lake Peking Duck platter at Opus on 8th. This chic new downtown lounge has a trendy Izykaya – Asian small plate - menu to go with its sleek, contemporary atmosphere. While the noshes here are pricey, they are definitely a notch above the usual pub fare and all made from scratch, including their perfectly crispy and beautifully glazed half duck, slivered and served the classic way with cucumber and green onion strips, and tender little Peking pancakes for wrapping. A nice diversion for two for $21 with a glass of Gewurz. (628 8th Ave. S.W.)

23. Curry Chicken Soup at Pho Anh Huyen. This friendly little eat-in/take-out joint makes all manner of Vietnamese noodles – egg or rice noodles in soup (pho) or with a variety of fresh herbs and spicy toppings. A favourite is the curry chicken soup with rice vermicelli noodles, Thai basil, crunchy fresh bean sprouts and just enough creamy coconut milk to tame the fiery broth. A big bowl of cold-weather sustenance for seven bucks! (1403 Centre St. N.W.)

24. Lamb merguez sausage from Old Country Sausage Shop. You can drive all the way to Raymond to Klaus Schurmann’s sausage shop, or buy his extensive selection of handmade sausages at the Calgary Farmer’s Market. Everything he makes contains pure lean meat, spices and little or nothing else – certainly no MSG, binders, fillers or chemicals. Schurmann is a sausage purist and all of his homemade sausages – from South African Boerwors to Mennonite Mettwurst and Spanish chorizo – are made using authentic recipes. But try the lamb Merguez – spicy, with lots of exotic flavour. (Calgary Farmer’s Market).

25. 25.Albacore Tuna Tataki at Raw Bar@Hotel Arts. Chef Duncan Ly is doing a Pacific Rim-inspired menu in the funky Hotel Arts and while the room has a sultry lounge vibe, the food ranges from Lamb Vindaloo to steak with shimji mushrooms. But tuna lovers rave about Ly’s tuna tataki – a piece of top quality tuna, quickly seared until crisp on the outside, then thinly sliced and served with a shiitake and wakame (seaweed) salad. (119 12th Ave. S.W.)
    

IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT A GREAT DISH OR FOOD PRODUCT IN CALGARY, I’D LOVE TO KNOW....SEND ME A NOTE AND YOUR NOMINATION COULD MAKE MY NEXT BEST LIST

©Cinda Chavich 2007

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