Taste of Calgary

[A|pine]

Taste of Calgary™, the city’s premier festival celebrating international foods and beverages, takes place for its 15th year at Eau Claire’s Festival Plaza. Visitors indulge in sample-size menu items at sample sized pricing, from Calgary's finest food and beverage establishments. Listen to live music presented through the day by a variety of local musicians.


http://www.tasteofcalgary.com/

[Gainsbarre]

http://www.tasteofcalgary.com/2011_menu.htm

Shiraz Persian Cuisine! :drool:

Not sure if it's worth visiting at "Taste of Calgary" though, seeing how I've already had a full serving of each menu item at the restaurant.

What else is worth trying? Bacon wrapped prawns are always tempting...

[D'z Nutz]

I just came back from there. What a fucking rip off!!

[slick2404]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
I just came back from there. What a fucking rip off!!
:werd:

Lots of hunnies though :poosie:

[Gainsbarre]

I just went for a walk there at lunchtime. No more of thsoe "20 tickets for $15", it's all $1/ticket now.

As mentioned, the talent is decent...Didn't feel like buying anything though.

The "ROAD CLOSED PEDESTRAIN EVENT IN PROGRESS" sign was there again this year -- always cracks me up when I see it, especially now that "Taste of Calgary" has become rather pedestrain...

The two guys in suits standing outside this Investors Group tent looked particularily sleazy :rofl: -- I saw the older guy of the two going up to pester people at nearby tables

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
I just came back from there. What a fucking rip off!!

how so? i've been psyched to go since last week with the gf, now all these long ass lines and beyond reviews i feel like i should make a 'i cant go cause i have explosive d's' excuse or something

[dennisaur]

Had lunch there today, spent 20 bucks on tickets and man, that doesn't really get you much. Good eats though.

[lilmira]

Went there few years back. It can get expensive if you want to fill up your stomach. For the price you pay, you can probably get a decent meal at a sit down restaurant with no line up and no sweaty people around you.

It's not a bad thing to do outside though.

[HyperZell]

I don't think it's about filling up. It's supposed to be about getting to try lots of different things, right? I'm looking forward to going this weekend.

[dino_martini]

Are the crowds any worse than all the morons down on 8th Ave for the food trucks yesterday? :rofl:

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by n1zm0
how so?

Comes down to the cost of portions. I mean, yeah I understand they're all supposed to be samples, but c'mon!

- $2 for a single piece of shrimp wrapped in bacon
- $3 for a double shot sized sample of jugo juice
- $4 for a spring roll
- $4 for a few pieces of calamari
- $4 for a portion of a waffle

for the price you may as well just go to the restaurants and get yourself a meal. Maybe I'm just thinking like a cheap chinaman, but I'm pretty sure Jay-Z and Kanye aren't the only ones who will be able to afford to chop up a Maybach after this weekend.

But yeah, the eye candy was pretty awesome though. One of the girls at the ford setup had a nice ass and was hopping and dancing around. I almost tripped on the uneven pavement cause I couldn't stop staring :rofl:

[msommers]

When taste of Calgary first started, it was kind of expensive but not insanely so. But if those are the prices for this year, that's enough for me not to bother going anymore.

[Sorath]

it seems to get worse and worse every year

[rx7_turbo2]

Something about the event is lost on me.

My understanding of such events is that the primary purpose is to promote local food establishments. The goal of vendors SHOULD be to serve me a small tastey sample of their food in an effort to draw me in to their business to pay full price.

The idea that I have to pay at all for these small portions is just odd. I've never been asked to pay to test drive a car? Or try on a new pair of jeans.

I mean from a vendor point of view it's pure genius. I understand that the goal of any marketing campaign is to indirectly generate revenue, but I'm not sure I know of any other marketing campaign that the campaign itself is a revenue generator.

Maybe it's just me?

[Benny]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
Something about the event is lost on me.

My understanding of such events is that the primary purpose is to promote local food establishments. The goal of vendors SHOULD be to serve me a small tastey sample of their food in an effort to draw me in to their business to pay full price.

The idea that I have to pay at all for these small portions is just odd. I've never been asked to pay to test drive a car? Or try on a new pair of jeans.

I mean from a vendor point of view it's pure genius. I understand that the goal of any marketing campaign is to indirectly generate revenue, but I'm not sure I know of any other marketing campaign that the campaign itself is a revenue generator.

Maybe it's just me?


I agree with you on principle but it just wouldn't work in practice. You can't just hold a festival for Calgary's local food establishments and give away samples of food for free because too many people would abuse it. People would just load up on free food and walk off, with nobody giving a shit about the restaurant in the first place. Have you ever seen all the cheap fucks that show up at the free Stampede breakfasts and walk off with a plate full of pancakes to bring home? Not to mention the amount of people who would just take one bite off and then waste the rest.

The way I see it, is you have to make it cheap enough that people wouldn't mind paying for the food but expensive enough to keep the cheap fucks away. I think the reason people are bitching about Taste of Calgary so much is that it's just too damn expensive. I'm put off of going to a tasting where I could spend the same amount on a meal that I already know I'd like.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Benny


The way I see it, is you have to make it cheap enough that people wouldn't mind paying for the food but expensive enough to keep the cheap fucks away.

There should be an entrance fee, pricey enough to keep those people away, say $50/person but includes like 2 items per vendor.

[Manhattan]

I think it's just fine the way it is. Last night I filled up on sliders, huge ribs, baby back ribs, and finished off with a dessert all for about $15. There is no way I can spend $15 and try all those different foods at the same restaurant.

Best way to enjoy an event like this is to bring a friend who you don't mind sharing food with and $20 each. That's gonna be more than enough try out a bunch of food and get stuffed. I agree the vendors haven't been as great as years before but I still enjoy this festival.

Most delicious part is the eye candy :poosie:

[[Yu]]

Originally posted by Manhattan
I think it's just fine the way it is. Last night I filled up on sliders, huge ribs, baby back ribs, and finished off with a dessert all for about $15. There is no way I can spend $15 and try all those different foods at the same restaurant.

Best way to enjoy an event like this is to bring a friend who you don't mind sharing food with and $20 each. That's gonna be more than enough try out a bunch of food and get stuffed. I agree the vendors haven't been as great as years before but I still enjoy this festival.

Most delicious part is the eye candy :poosie:

Well I am glad you were able to fill up on those foods you mention. But judging from the comments on beyond, I would say that the serving you had would be considered minuscule to the average beyonder. I for one would not be able to fill up on what you ate, and I am merely only 120 lbs.

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by Benny



I agree with you on principle but it just wouldn't work in practice. You can't just hold a festival for Calgary's local food establishments and give away samples of food for free because too many people would abuse it. People would just load up on free food and walk off, with nobody giving a shit about the restaurant in the first place. Have you ever seen all the cheap fucks that show up at the free Stampede breakfasts and walk off with a plate full of pancakes to bring home? Not to mention the amount of people who would just take one bite off and then waste the rest.

The way I see it, is you have to make it cheap enough that people wouldn't mind paying for the food but expensive enough to keep the cheap fucks away. I think the reason people are bitching about Taste of Calgary so much is that it's just too damn expensive. I'm put off of going to a tasting where I could spend the same amount on a meal that I already know I'd like.

I disagree.

Why do you think Chinook Centre holds their Stampede breakfast? Goodness of their heart? Fuck no. It brings people to the mall, while they're there they might head inside and spend a few bucks. Now your right not every person will go in and spend money but enough will to make it worth while. Shit Vegas is built on this idea. There are TONS of perks and promo's to bring you to a certain establishment, does everyone who takes advantage of these perks and promo's spend money in the casino? Nope. but enough do.

Taste of Calgary is a marking campaign for the establishments involved. Plain and simple. The idea that I have to pay to be "marketed" to is insane in my opinion.

However a compromise could be found in the suggestion of a "all inclusive" entrance fee. What's the right amount? My opinion? $5-10. The current setup is what's limiting the event. An "all in" fee of a reasonable amount would allow this event to grow 10 fold.

[hampstor]

My reason for attending taste of Calgary in previous years was to be able to sample all the 'signature dishes' of local restaurants. I used to go, taste a bunch of different food and then go and actually visit those restaurants later where I liked the food I sampled. i never went there to try and fill up on food.

It's a marketing event for local restaurants so i'm curious as to why they are charging as much as they are for the food. Either they're trying to make a ridiculous profit off the food, or the event organizers are charging a pretty penny to be a part of the event.

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2


I disagree.

Why do you think Chinook Centre holds their Stampede breakfast? Goodness of their heart? Fuck no. It brings people to the mall, while they're there they might head inside and spend a few bucks. Now your right not every person will go in and spend money but enough will to make it worth while. Shit Vegas is built on this idea. There are TONS of perks and promo's to bring you to a certain establishment, does everyone who takes advantage of these perks and promo's spend money in the casino? Nope. but enough do.


However Chinook Centre organizes it as a means to, as you say, drive traffic to the mall. The Chinook Centre management does not directly benefit from their Stampede breakfast.

As far as I'm aware, Taste of Calgary is organized by a professional festival organizer, and thus there is a direct profit motive for the organizer.

The questions I have is; where does the money go? Using D'z Nutz's experience....

- $2 for a single piece of shrimp wrapped in bacon
- $3 for a double shot sized sample of jugo juice
- $4 for a spring roll
- $4 for a few pieces of calamari
- $4 for a portion of a waffle

That's $18 spent. Does the vendor keep the whole $18 that was redeemed? Do the organizers take a cut? I think answering that question would explain a lot of the pricing principles.

Having said that, I'm going tonight and it looks like the sample scaling seems awfully ridiculous. Like $4 for a single spring roll (I assume one), whereas many restaurants have a 3-spring roll appetizer for ~$6. That's unfortunate.

[diamondedge]

The prawn cocktail at the one place. Rip. Prawns? Mothereffin' shrimps. Tiny ones.

The ginger beef, however not as beefy, was most satisfying

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by sexualbanana


However Chinook Centre organizes it as a means to, as you say, drive traffic to the mall. The Chinook Centre management does not directly benefit from their Stampede breakfast.
Not true. A mall has MANY avenues for revenue besides standard lease revenue. Chinook Mall takes a percentage of each tenants revenue as agreed upon in their lease. Chinook management has a DIRECT benefit.


As far as I'm aware, Taste of Calgary is organized by a professional festival organizer, and thus there is a direct profit motive for the organizer. I'm sure your right, it's run by a festival organizer. Poorly! Like I said the festival has the potential to be a whole lot better and bigger. All I'm saying is that it just doesn't seem right to pay money out of my pocket in order to give someone the chance to advertise to me. Just seems wrong.

[you&me]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
I'm sure your right, it's run by a festival organizer. Poorly! Like I said the festival has the potential to be a whole lot better and bigger. All I'm saying is that it just doesn't seem right to pay money out of my pocket in order to give someone the chance to advertise to me. Just seems wrong.

The part you're not considering is who these restaurants want to target with this form of marketing.

They don't care if the attendance increases ten-fold. Their target market is people that appreciate food and don't mind spending a few bucks on it, not "cheap fucks", as another poster so eloquently put it.

I've never been to Taste of Calgary and despite the reviews here, plan on going this afternoon. After being to the other food fests around Calgary, the prices here don't sound all that bad.

[PremiumRSX]

Originally posted by you&me

They don't care if the attendance increases ten-fold. Their target market is people that appreciate food and don't mind spending a few bucks on it, not "cheap fucks", as another poster so eloquently put it.


I spend $20 each time I go but to be honest, the food there isn't even that great. I have gone a few times in the past years and I don't remember any one vendor having food that made me want to visit their restaurant.

The line ups don't help either.

[OU812]

Originally posted by sexualbanana



The questions I have is; where does the money go?

That's $18 spent. Does the vendor keep the whole $18 that was redeemed? Do the organizers take a cut? I think answering that question would explain a lot of the pricing principles.



If I recall correctly last year. Each vendor gets 75 cents for each ticket collected and a quarter goes to the organizer.