Recommend A Restuarant

[eiysa101]

Looking for a dinner recommendation for an out of towner coming in on the weekend.

Sushi, Italian, steakhouse, East Indian - nothing in particular but what spot do you suggest for best overall experience.

[A790]

The Carmichael (formerly Jacqueline Suzanne's) :)

[CompletelyNumb]

Originally posted by A790
The Carmichael (formerly Jacqueline Suzanne's) :)

When did this change? New menu?

[A790]

Originally posted by CompletelyNumb
When did this change? New menu?
Changed a few months ago. The restaurant decor was changed up and a new bar was put in.

They are planning on making changes to the menu for spring (I believe).

[zaider]

Totally depends on how much you want to spend.


General Recommendations:
Market (on 17th) $$$
Rouge $$$$$ - you aren't getting out of here for less than $100/person
Mercato $$$
Boxwood $$$ - great lunch place
Notable $$$
Model Milk $$$ -especially their Sunday night dinner

Pizza (all italian thin crust):
Una $$ - try the 4 cheese :)
Famoso $$
Pulcinella $$ -try the Fungi Fritti (battered mushrooms in gorgonzola sauce)
Double Zero $$

Sushi:
Globefish $$
Ichi Rock $$ (my new fav sushi place, their salmon sashimi is amazing)

Cheap / Late Night:
Clive Burger (on 17th ave) $

[bleu]

It's in an odd area of town but Rea's is a good restaurant for Italian.

[buh_buh]

I'd vouch for Jacqueline Suzanne's. Great spot. I'd also really like Carino.

[ExtraSlow]

Rea's is a nice pick. Not really an "odd" area of town, everything from 16th to mcknight is little italy man.

[Isaiah]

Originally posted by A790
The Carmichael (formerly Jacqueline Suzanne's) :)
Woah.

[msommers]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Rea's is a nice pick. Not really an "odd" area of town, everything from 16th to mcknight is little italy man.

Bridgeland too.

Cassis Bistro for French is one I've recently discovered that's quite good. Laurier Lounge is relaxed and pretty decent.

Chicago Chophouse for steak. Open Range was good the one time I went there, would go back again.

Zipang for Sushi. Not really fussed on other places.

La Brezza or Da Guido for Italian. Mercato is good too, go hungry though!

A friend keeps raving about Alloy, keep meaning to try it.

Catch for seafood, or Big Fish for good food and not as pricey.

Charcut. Teatro.

Depends what you were thinking for budget pp.

Pulchinella on average is pretty darn good pizza. I've been to Italy and have had my share, it's pretty close depending on the area. Without Papers is good also. Haven't tried Una, keep hearing great things on here about it.

[CanmoreOrLess]

Una is rather loud (loud talkers, hard walls, close tables) if it matters, the pizza, desserts, two bottles of wine, coffee took down the noise level a bit. As the night wore on the noise, table distance became less of an issue. Excellent food, service, etc as noted before, I think the bill was around $300 for the four of us. I eat there once a month or so, everyone orders a different pizza and we swap slices.

[Strider]

Originally posted by eiysa101
Looking for a dinner recommendation for an out of towner coming in on the weekend.

Sushi, Italian, steakhouse, East Indian - nothing in particular but what spot do you suggest for best overall experience.

I'm loving Briggs Kitchen and Bar lately, Model Milk is good too.

Maybe a little background would help... where are your guests coming from, so we can suggest something different?

Obviously if they're coming from say... Vancouver, you wouldn't want to take them for inferior sushi.

[JLau]

Belvedere - french
Notable
La Dolce Vita - Italian
La Brezza - Pasta!!
Vintage Chop House - steaks
Caesars - steaks
Zipang - Japanese
Briggs

[BigDL]

Originally posted by msommers

Cassis Bistro for French is one I've recently discovered that's quite good. Laurier Lounge is relaxed and pretty decent.


Hey I'm heading there tomorrow for dinner, where is the parking?

[khanan]

la chaumiere is pretty good for french.

[msommers]

Originally posted by BigDL


Hey I'm heading there tomorrow for dinner, where is the parking?

I wish I could be more helpful but I live a block away so I've only walked. They might have underground parking or usually street parking on 24A st.

[ga16i]

How out of town? If we're looking for a place representative of what other people think of Alberta Canada, the Cattle Baron is a good choice.

Seems sufficiently small and not exactly a chain. The name is very good, and is pretty much what you'd expect from a steak house. Yes, there's Caesar's, Chicago Chop House, etc, but just by going by the names and ambiance, they're not what you think of when you say Alberta.

Given the choice between Caesar's and Cattle Baron, I'd remember Cattle Baron more.

I prefer The Keg for the actual steak, but there's Keg all over the place in North America.

East Indian is very representative of Calgary NE, but I don't think there's many Indian restaurants where Indians actually eat at haha. Anything you find in the plaza by 52nd Street and McKnight Blvd will do.

[ercchry]

i'd remember the cattle baron more too... since you tend to remember the shitty experiences more than the great :rofl:

[ga16i]

haha, yup, but would you say that the Cattle Baron is a place that is most "Albertan"? I didn't say that the food was good. Food is average at best there, but definitely not disgusting.

I don't think I've had many memorable meals where I actually remember the food. The ones that sticks with me usually has a neat location, name, decor, talent, etc. Good restaurants where I go regularly for food is for when I'm near home. Tacky touristy food is for when I'm traveling. :love: Find a place that serves elk, or bears or something while out here near the mountains.

[ercchry]

i dunno... Caesar's is kind of a calgary institution

[ga16i]

ok sure, that it is, it's been around for quite some time. But looking back years from now in old age, you'd think Caesar's was in Rome or Vegas, but not Calgary.

I know! Bring them to the Bear's Den in Bearspaw and tell them they're having bears for dinner. :clap:

[msommers]

I wish we had this, would definitely be "Albertan"

http://simpsonswiki.com/w/images/3/38/Theslaughterhouse.png

[ga16i]

Yes! I would totally go there if it was around.

So all this talk about the Cattle Baron by myself made me want to go there. So I had dinner there 30min ago and it was good. :drool: South location. I'd stay away from NE for everything.

[Graham_A_M]

You guys should pick up John Gilchrists book "My favorite restaurants in Calgary". Hes a restaurant critic for CBC, and I've found some unbelievable places just by his recommendation. I keep his latest book in my car, so if Im ever running out and about and am in a certain place, I can resort to the book for some amazing eats.


ANYWAY, here are some recommendations for the various places close by

Banff:

Banffshire club
Coyotes
Buffalo mountain lodge
Eden
Grizzly house
Kootenay park lodge (In Kootenay, whereever that is)
Le Beaujolais
Maple Leaf
St. James Gate
Saltlik
Ticino
Typhoon
Waldhaus





Canmore:
Chez Francois
Copper Door
Crazyweed Kitchen
(^Apparently its unworldly good food thats not a bank breaker)
The Griesser spoon
Melange
Morrieta's
Quarry
Sage Bistro
Dez Alpes

In the book he has detailed listings about each and every place. With average costs, address, reservation phone number, what to expect, how much $$$, and so on.

But there is NO way Im typing that in this thread.

Its only $17, and you can pick it up at any Chapters or at the CBC headquarters on Memorial.

If you're set on finding out more about which ever place, either just pick up the book yourself and read up on it or google it.

[firebane]

Teatro.. Bleh.. So overpriced for no food.

Good food is on Stephen Ave called Trib. They have a nice quiet restaurant downstairs.

[bleu]

Grizzly House is a favourite. So good!

For EI I like Puspa. Everything is consistently good and the restaurant is quaint and welcoming.

[A|pine]

There is the spice hut, which is a hole in the wall up by 64th ave in the NE.

6554 - 4th Street NE

The food is actually pakistani, but you can get the westernized stuff like butter chicken. The only people I've seen eating inside are of middle eastern decent, but people typically order take out there because it is as described - a hole in the wall.

Sushi If I want my Sushi fill I go Zipang in Bridgeland or Wa's on Centre.

Korean Seoul is great, simply because they are so popular (turn over rate is good, so you know its fresh). Han Corea on the west side of downtown is good too. Sura, has great food but service issues (not staffed enough).

Banff & Rocky Mountain Cuisine Bear's Den is a different experience, but if you want a great meal (don't mind spending $$) I would recommend the Rim Rock or the Post Hotel Dining Room.

Calgary Downtown "Lifestyle" Charcut, Murrietta's (in the historic Alberta Hotel Building, but the food is more italian / west coast). Caesar's as retro it is, has been a staple in Calgary. It's great for company get togethers and is a hoot, but the food is average for a steak house. Ruth's Chris, great steak - overpriced.

17th Ave For quality of food, I really like Farm. Portions are small but it's a nice cozy place. Coup is eclectic in that it is vegetarian, something different for sure. Cassis is great for French food. If you want cafe style food you can go to l'epicerie which on Macleod Trail. Same french owner as Cassis, they also do service in French if you want to try it out. Then you can head next door for some great pastries as Manuel Latruwe. Too bad it is closed from the flood.

Pizza Without Papers - cool place where Nectar Desserts used to be. Una - It's on 17th great food, loud ambience it is where yuppies and hipsters hang. Rea's - Family establishment great pies and pasta. LDV (La Dolce Vita) - They pump out a pretty nice pie and the building feels quite rustic and cozy (second floor). Il Centro, another family establishment. Same deal as Rea's.

Best Burger
Boogie's burger is pretty good for a classic American style (another eclectic joint, but more of a rock feel). For me, the most interesting one I've had is at Carino. It is all hand made to order to you can order it to temperature. If you get a rice patty for the burger instead of the normal bun, they give you an Arrancini bun(which is fried rissoto). Super rich, delicious.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by ga16i
Yes! I would totally go there if it was around.

So all this talk about the Cattle Baron by myself made me want to go there. So I had dinner there 30min ago and it was good. :drool: South location. I'd stay away from NE for everything.

see, i've never, ever had a steak that i was happy about there. but all this steak talk got me to book a table for monday at chicago chophouse :rofl:

[CanmoreOrLess]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
You guys should pick up John Gilchrists book "My favorite restaurants in Calgary". Hes a restaurant critic for CBC, and I've found some unbelievable places just by his recommendation. I keep his latest book in my car, so if Im ever running out and about and am in a certain place, I can resort to the book for some amazing eats.


Gilchrist is as a rule fairly trustworthy (places can change overnight, chefs quit, kitchen overload, etc; the food biz is not an easy one) and there's an app as well:
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/calgary-eats-7-by-john-gilchrist/id489226900?mt=8

Part of a review of the app: "The apps themselves (both this and his "Cheap Eats") are $2.99 but in order to get any content--I.e. his reviews-- you have to spend another
$4.99 or $7.99."

[Disoblige]

Steak: Vintage Chophouse, hands down.

Korean: Insadong (yummy BBQ there, and you'll be stuffed).

Cafe/Dessert: Cafe&Bar CEREZO. Great atmosphere, excellent London Fog, lattes, etc. Desserts are amazing and housemade as well. Best I've ever had in Calgary. Great place to bring a date or have a chat with someone after dinner. Love this place.

[Justing]

http://wherethefuckshouldigotoeat.com/


Personal faves: Charcut, Teatro, Rush
Need to check out The Carmichael asap!

[Strider]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
You guys should pick up John Gilchrists book "My favorite restaurants in Calgary". Hes a restaurant critic for CBC, and I've found some unbelievable places just by his recommendation. I keep his latest book in my car, so if Im ever running out and about and am in a certain place, I can resort to the book for some amazing eats.

Gilchrist has gained a reputation (whether deserved or not) of being a media whore who expects to be recognized and treated like royalty wherever he eats (and reciprocates with favourable reviews)...

I personally prefer word of mouth, or reviews of real people, even forum strangers who share common tastes (based on their previous posts).


Originally posted by A|pine
There is the spice hut, which is a hole in the wall up by 64th ave in the NE.

6554 - 4th Street NE

The food is actually pakistani, but you can get the westernized stuff like butter chicken. The only people I've seen eating inside are of middle eastern decent, but people typically order take out there because it is as described - a hole in the wall.

This place seems to review really well on Urbanspoon, but I haven't figured out why. I ordered takeout from there and they seemed genuinely pissed off to have a paying customer (both when I phoned, and when I picked up my food). The curry wasn't very good either... the butter chicken was too sweet and tomatoey, and the lamb vindaloo was strangely watery and had chunks of butcher twine in it.


Originally posted by Disoblige
Cafe/Dessert: Cafe&Bar CEREZO. Great atmosphere, excellent London Fog, lattes, etc. Desserts are amazing and housemade as well. Best I've ever had in Calgary. Great place to bring a date or have a chat with someone after dinner. Love this place. [/B]

Great dessert and quaint atmosphere, but the espresso beverages really don't measure up.. probably slightly below Starbucks level (this coming from a coffee snob).

[ga16i]

Originally posted by ercchry


see, i've never, ever had a steak that i was happy about there. but all this steak talk got me to book a table for monday at chicago chophouse :rofl:

Good! Fine choice of steak house.

I'm not too picky about food, there's only a handful of places where I thought the food was disgusting and would never return. I can appreciate a rib steak, but I'm also happy with a top sirloin steak sandwich at some dive.

[ercchry]

yeah, i've been spoiled at home with steaks... so im kind of picky since i feel like if im going to pay someone to cook one for me it should at least be on par with what i can do myself :rofl:

[msommers]

Originally posted by A|pine
17th Ave For quality of food, I really like Farm. Portions are small but it's a nice cozy place.

Man I love Farm. Their mac n cheese is the bomb too!

[A|pine]

oops

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by Justing
http://wherethefuckshouldigotoeat.com/


Personal faves: Charcut, Teatro, Rush
Need to check out The Carmichael asap!

LMAO, WTF..... I need to download that on the apps store hahaha. Epic

[l/l/rX]

Downtown Food...IMO one of the most underrated restaurants in the city.

[CanmoreOrLess]

Originally posted by Strider

Gilchrist has gained a reputation (whether deserved or not) of being a media whore who expects to be recognized and treated like royalty wherever he eats (and reciprocates with favourable reviews)...


It is best when being a food critic to not actually be known by face or voice. It only makes sense. Having worked with the guy a couple of times I can only speak to his interpersonal skills and it is safe to say his wallet has never been open, he is beyond thrifty. The guy must eat alone a great deal of the time.

[btimbit]

A lot of chatter in this thread about Steak so just wanted to throw this out there. Some of the best steaks I've had in the last few years was at Earls. I worked there for a few months just for the opening of their new location on 130th and it changed my mind about that place. Before I had it lumped into the same garbage pile as other chains like Moxies and Boston Pizza, and had only eaten their once before and wasn't overly impressed. But they literally make everything fresh from scratch. The cost of the steaks themselves is big, they only use the top 1/3rd of AAA angus. I don't think they have it anymore but the 16oz ribeye with fresh horseradish was amazing. The investment they make on equipment surprised me as well, for steaks instead of having a grill they use an infrared broiler which caramelizes the steak evenly rather than having char marks. The company that makes the broiler is one that I have a complete hatred for (Garland) so hopefully it's reliable for them and the quality doesn't suffer.

Caeser's I'd say is average. I'm sure it was better in the past but the quality just isn't there. Ruth Chris' was a bit better but way overpriced for what you got.

Cattlebaron is pretty good. But the place is a bit more expensive than competitors and The Keg is better in every area. The exec chef at Cattlebaron south is a bit of a meathead as well. He is fairly talented but he can't work with a team very well. He cooks great, but he's got a very short temper and can't lead a team which makes for a very inconsistent product.

[The_Penguin]

Originally posted by btimbit

Cattlebaron is pretty good. But the place is a bit more expensive than competitors and The Keg is better in every area. [/B]

Couldn't agree more! When the Cattlebaron (south) first opened it was pretty good, but wasn't long till it was just meh. The Keg is far better.
A couple of weeks ago someone on my Facebook feed was dissing the Keg and saying Cattle Baron was far better. Not sure what Keg he went to, but definitely not my experience.
The Keg on 12 downtown, McLeod Tr. and the one on 130 SE (the one I frequent most, actually just got back from there tonighr) are all consistently good.

[msommers]

Originally posted by BigDL


Hey I'm heading there (Cassis) tomorrow for dinner, where is the parking?

How was the food for you?

[Teknix]

These are the restaurants I regularly eat at.. I love them!

Mercato - Family style Italian food. Best pasta in the city! Always cooked to a perfect tecture.

Globefish - Sushi. Crazy Buster and Crunch and Munch roll. Delish.

Cerezo - For coffee and Dessert.

Saltlik - Steakhouse, and great calamari!

Ginger Beef - For peking Duck.


I also really want to try Carino its a fusion of Japanese and Italian food, and it looks amazing!

[msommers]

Tried Villa Firenze the other night. It's my go-to for Italian now.

Had the house-special portabella mushroom appetizer the server recommended (which I would also strongly suggest) with some in-house made focaccia. Followed by a seafood penne which was stacked with seafood, even had a leg of Alaskan king crab. Finished with an espresso and tiramisu. I really like the tiramisu at Mercato and it's very close but not quite as good. The cookies and crumbs at Mercato I think are better but if you prefer a more liquor saturated layer then Villa would be a better choice - either way they're both very good. The espresso here was also very nice and smooth instead of very bitter/overly powerful like some places.

Villa has surpassed La Brezza as my Bridgeland Italian joint. Will definitely be going back to explore more of their menu.

Lemon veal wasn't even on the menu but my guest was wanting it and the chef made it up no problem.

Definitely worthwhile trying if you haven't.

[taemo]

^have to try them now.

Linguini Scoglia and the Carbonara is what makes us keep coming back at La Brezza.


has anyone tried Rea's up in 41st ave?
heard it's good too but haven't had the chance to try them yet
http://reasrestaurant.com/reas_menu.htm

[Phl0xed]

Originally posted by msommers
Tried Villa Firenze the other night. It's my go-to for Italian now.

Had the house-special portabella mushroom appetizer the server recommended (which I would also strongly suggest) with some in-house made focaccia. Followed by a seafood penne which was stacked with seafood, even had a leg of Alaskan king crab. Finished with an espresso and tiramisu. I really like the tiramisu at Mercato and it's very close but not quite as good. The cookies and crumbs at Mercato I think are better but if you prefer a more liquor saturated layer then Villa would be a better choice - either way they're both very good. The espresso here was also very nice and smooth instead of very bitter/overly powerful like some places.

Villa has surpassed La Brezza as my Bridgeland Italian joint. Will definitely be going back to explore more of their menu.

Lemon veal wasn't even on the menu but my guest was wanting it and the chef made it up no problem.

Definitely worthwhile trying if you haven't.

Now I'm craving some Italian... Thanks for the recommendation! Going to have to check it out this weekend.

For all of the years I've been in Calgary, I've always heard about Japanese village and never been, until last night. I quite enjoyed it! Any other Teppanyaki restaurants in Calgary worth noting? I don't spend much time in the downtown area, so most of what's down there is mostly unknown to me.

[GQBalla]

id have to say Mercato is not what everyone raves it to be.

Very first time i went there it was amazing.

slowly as i kept going, service and food quality went down.

[taemo]

^I only go there when I'm not the one paying :rofl:

Mercato for me is overpriced food with too much salt sprinkled on top.

[msommers]

Mercato is delicious. No idea what you're talking about!