Taste of Calgary

[FHK]

Has anyone been down there and perhaps want to share their experience? I am thinking of going down there tomorrow or Sunday.

[Baron O' Funk]

Last year was great, good food, not too many crowds. Not sure about this year but the weather is not cooperating.

[nonlinear]

meh, i took a look at their site, and after seeing the list of vendors and their offerings, i'd say it would be better (and cheaper) to just go to the one or two half-decent places on there and get the food fresh from their actual physical kitchen.

[LongCity]

Are the samples really small or do you get about a palm-sized portion?

[dannie]

We went last night. We got 40 tickets each and left overly full. The size depends on where you go. But for the most part, the portions were really good. It was well worth it. It was just as good as last year. We tried:

Chicago Chophouse: Steak Crostini
Cravings: Banana crepe
De Dutch: Strawberry Crepe
Halo: Baby Yorkies and Bacon Shrimp
La Vita e Bella: Bruschetta and Calamari
Ruan Thai: Pad Thai and Cashew Chicken
Taj Mahal: Butter Chicken and Naan
Zen 8: Tuna Cone
Belgo (not listed on the site): Smoked Brisket w spicy mustard


The brisket was awesome.

[Deetz]

The food is good, portions decent, although that can vary place to place. Best thing about the event is your able to eat such a variety of different food, one after another. Sure is great trying new things!

I'll be hitting it up :D

[JordanAndrew]

My girlfriend and I went last Thursday and also ended up buying 40 tickets ($30). It was decent but like what everyone said, the weather isn't the festival's friend right now.

The crepes were terrible, don't bother with those.
The ribs from Ric's grill was meh, actually when we got it it was stone cold.
The thai cashew chicken rice bowl was my favorite and it was actually a pretty good size.
Shibuya's deep fried potato things were alright.

Drinks can be pretty expensive so I would advice for people that plan to go:

Park nearby as much as you can, bring a small cooler and bring your own drinks. We always do this everytime we go and you end up just saving more money for food.

Overall, the festival is still a good place to go, just come and expect to be full from just using 20 tickets a person though. It can get pretty pricy if you're really hungry. Save some money and bring your own drinks, we brought some Powerade & water bottles and probably saved $15 just for doing that. You can probably bring your own booze as well, just be careful because there is a few cops that walk around. Call me cheap but a lot of people are pretty tight with their money especially in this economy. Sure it doesn't stop me from going out to these festivals, I just go and be smart about it.

have fun, hopefully the weather gets better in today and tomorrow.

[Swank]

Overall I found it to be quite a rip off, $15 for no drinks or desert and I was in no way full. 3 of us went for lunch on Friday and wished we had just gone to the food court in Eau Claire instead. I think they should focus more on letting people try the foods than making money. The ticket system made it feel like even more of a cash grab. It should be $20 all you can eat, with smaller portions, and leave the ticket system for the beer gardens.

[Chandler_Racing]

Originally posted by Swank
Overall I found it to be quite a rip off, $15 for no drinks or desert and I was in no way full. 3 of us went for lunch on Friday and wished we had just gone to the food court in Eau Claire instead. I think they should focus more on letting people try the foods than making money. The ticket system made it feel like even more of a cash grab. It should be $20 all you can eat, with smaller portions, and leave the ticket system for the beer gardens.

$20 for all you can eat at reasonably high-end restaurants?

Yeah...no. :rofl:

The purpose of the event is not to fill you to the brim, but to provide a chance for people to try food at a place they would likely not try.

[92rx7]

Originally posted by Chandler_Racing


$20 for all you can eat at reasonably high-end restaurants?

Yeah...no. :rofl:

The purpose of the event is not to fill you to the brim, but to provide a chance for people to try food at a place they would likely not try.

:werd:

[nonlinear]

^^the point is that most of those restaurants suck, even the so-called 'high end' ones.

[TorqueDog]

I'll be going tomorrow night with the woman. She's been wanting to go, being a chef and all. It'll be my first time.

[Swank]

Originally posted by Chandler_Racing


$20 for all you can eat at reasonably high-end restaurants?

Yeah...no. :rofl:

The purpose of the event is not to fill you to the brim, but to provide a chance for people to try food at a place they would likely not try.

You're not eating at a restaurant...at all. Sampling food in an alley behind each of these restaurants is the equivalent of the experience at the 'Taste of Calgary'.

[cancer man]

Originally posted by Swank


You're not eating at a restaurant...at all. Sampling food in an alley behind each of these restaurants is the equivalent of the experience at the 'Taste of Calgary'.

Amen brother went yesterday and the food was cold and how old??
is anybodys guess.

Put it this way LOOK IN THE GARBAGES,there full of i can't eat this
stuff.