Calgary Food, coffee, etc.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Or you have different tastes than yourself.

Regardless of your preference, Bison cooked past medium is Bison cooked incorrectly. If you like you're meat past medium, you're wasting money buying Bison.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

Regardless of your preference, Bison cooked past medium is Bison cooked incorrectly. If you like you're meat past medium, you're wasting money buying Bison.

I cooked a $25 bison steak to medium well, and it was still nice and juicy, though medium rare tastes much better.

Speaking of steak, anyone been to Ruth's Chris? I've heard it is the best steakhouse in the city, no contest.

[tsumetai]

Ruths Chris is amazing. I've been there three times (once in Edmonton, twice here). Being an American chain, They give you a choice of Alberta AAA beef or the US counterpart (highest grade). Haters gonna hate, but i think the US beef tastes better. A farmer once told me the diff is due to grain vs grass fed, or corn fed?, tho not sure of that.

One thing tho is that their steaks are heavily buttered. Some people don't like it.

The desserts at Ruth Chris are pretty good too if I recall. Creme Brulee was the 2nd best I ever had (best was Vancouver Granville Island).

I would definitely recommend it!

[Innersoul1]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned or reviewed Double Zero Pizza (Maybe Rusty has as I know he has "liked" them on FB). http://doublezeropizza.ca/

Anyway, I went there last week for lunch and I am more than impressed. They have done a wonderful things with the space that was once occupied by the Elephant and Castle. Service was prompt and courteous. I would strongly suggest if you are going for lunch that you make a reservation. It gets very busy and we saw numerous people turned away who did not have resos.

As for the food, our group shared the Salami(salami, goat cheese, nicoise olives), Mushroom(cultivated mushroom duxelle, basil, fontina), Sausage (housemade italian sausage, green onion, artichoke ) and Mortadella(mortadella, pistachio, rosa sauce, basil) pizzas. They were all outstanding save for the salami which was a bit salty for my liking. My favourite was the mushroom and at sausage was actually quite a surprise as the homemade sausage was VERY flavourful). There is a great list of wines and beer to choose from to supplement your meal. Pizzas range in price from $13-$18, which is fairlu pricey all things considered. Obviously the downtown office crowd have no problem with this. It's a great place to share some za.

Check it out for sure!

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by tsumetai

Ruths Chris is amazing. I've been there three times (once in Edmonton, twice here). Being an American chain, They give you a choice of Alberta AAA beef or the US counterpart (highest grade). Haters gonna hate, but i think the US beef tastes better. A farmer once told me the diff is due to grain vs grass fed, or corn fed?, tho not sure of that.

Hoo, boy. Please educate yourself about the horrors of corn-fed cattle. You'll never step in Ruth's Chris again. And no this has nothing to do with "animal rights" so don't go there. This is about an environmental nightmare created by US corn policy. And corn-fed beef is for people who can't stand the taste of real beef.

innersoul- I only "liked" them so I could post on their wall. That's how it works on fb. But I've heard only positive things. Still haven't tried them or WOP but eager to sample both.

[freeweed]

Ugh, corn-fed. It's about everything - animal rights, the environment, taste, everything.

I suppose it's possible to develop a taste for it. It's possible to develop a taste for anything. Some people eat snails and oysters and other things that taste like snot. But corn fed beef... yuck. The only people I know that like it are Americans who've grown up with it.

And I'm usually the last thing from a food snob where I try to dictate that such and such is how things should be et. Corn-fed is just plain wrong.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

I cooked a $25 bison steak to medium well, and it was still nice and juicy, though medium rare tastes much better.

Speaking of steak, anyone been to Ruth's Chris? I've heard it is the best steakhouse in the city, no contest.

Are you sure it was Bison? The one comment I've always read and heard about Bison is not to cook it past medium.

Speaking of meat, I checked out Jojo's BBQ on Edmonton trail. Pretty damn good. Her sauce was a bit oily but tasted great. Her sandwiches are cheaper than Holy Smoke, but her ribs cost a bit more. Too bad she's a bit of a hike else she'd be a regular lunch spot for this carnivore.

Added bonus, paleo eaters get extra meat.

[polishavenger]

How would you characterize the taste difference between corn fed and properly fed beef? Im not sure I've had corn fed beef.

Originally Posted by freeweed

Ugh, corn-fed. It's about everything - animal rights, the environment, taste, everything.

I suppose it's possible to develop a taste for it. It's possible to develop a taste for anything. Some people eat snails and oysters and other things that taste like snot. But corn fed beef... yuck. The only people I know that like it are Americans who've grown up with it.

And I'm usually the last thing from a food snob where I try to dictate that such and such is how things should be et. Corn-fed is just plain wrong.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

Are you sure it was Bison? The one comment I've always read and heard about Bison is not to cook it past medium.

And I've always heard the same thing about beef. People who like raw-ish meat will always say things like that.

Bison is just fine (and very tasty) when cooked thoroughly. Unless you prefer your meat more red, in which case you'd probably call it "burnt".

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by polishavenger

How would you characterize the taste difference between corn fed and properly fed beef? Im not sure I've had corn fed beef.

In all honesty, I've never eaten the 2 side-by-side. I've kinda always wanted to, just to get a real feel for it. All I know is that no matter where I eat in the US, when I eat non-ground beef it tastes weird. Almost sweet, but that's not exactly right. It definitely tastes "cheap" - even when they claim AAA beef.

Mind you, I'm not a heavy red meat eater anymore so some of this may be entirely subjective and influenced by my hatred for the corn subsidies.

[Wigs]

Cattle are supposed to eat grass, plain and simple. Not grain, not corn.

The most disgusting thing I ever heard on this topic was from a rancher that works part time at Bar U ranch. Just previous to the following statement I felt bad for the guy because he told my friend and me how hard it is for the independent ranchman to make it since Cargill opened up in High River. The little guy just can't compete.

Anyways, He said and I'm paraphrasing here "Feed for cattle costs a lot of money. So when the cow is ready for slaughter you want to extract the undigested feed (up to 70 lbs) from the cow and reuse it again to feed your live cattle. It's OK as long as you don't get brain stems in there."
My friend and I just stared at each other at that horrifying statement.

[Rusty van Reddick]

http://ubulounge.com/

I think this is where Smyth and Kang used to be in the Lougheed Bldg- the chef, Tomo Mitsuno, used to be the head sushi chef at Blowfish before he moved to Canmore- he's back. Exciting sushi times, the man is brilliant.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by freeweed

And I've always heard the same thing about beef. People who like raw-ish meat will always say things like that.

Bison is just fine (and very tasty) when cooked thoroughly. Unless you prefer your meat more red, in which case you'd probably call it "burnt".

The National Bison Association begs to differ.

"Remember "low and slow." Cook buffalo meat to the same doneness that you prefer in beef. We recommend medium. Overcooked or dried out buffalo meat will bring you the same results as other meats that are overcooked - something nearly as palatable as an old boot. If you must have your meat well done, consider one of the very low temperature (180-200 degrees) recipes, where the meat is cooked for 10 hours or more."

I'd also like to point out that based on previous posts from you stating what that you enjoy Pizza Pizza, what you consider tasty might be slightly different from the norm.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

http://ubulounge.com/

I think this is where Smyth and Kang used to be in the Lougheed Bldg- the chef, Tomo Mitsuno, used to be the head sushi chef at Blowfish before he moved to Canmore- he's back. Exciting sushi times, the man is brilliant.

That looks interesting. I really liked Blowfish when it first opened, but it sure went downhill after he left.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

Are you sure it was Bison? The one comment I've always read and heard about Bison is not to cook it past medium.

Speaking of meat, I checked out Jojo's BBQ on Edmonton trail. Pretty damn good. Her sauce was a bit oily but tasted great. Her sandwiches are cheaper than Holy Smoke, but her ribs cost a bit more. Too bad she's a bit of a hike else she'd be a regular lunch spot for this carnivore.

Added bonus, paleo eaters get extra meat.

I bought it at a bison shop in Inglewood, so it better have been Bison, it tasted like Bison.

I think the difference is Bison is leaner than Beef, so it's less juicy. I usually let my steak (Beef or Bison) soak in some dark beer (usually Trad) for about an hour before I grill it, and every time I flip it, I soak the side that was on the grill in the beer for a few seconds just to make sure it's really nice and juicy. I usually sear each side for about a minute on high heat so that the juices stay in, then I cook another 3 or 4 minutes each side.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

The National Bison Association begs to differ.

"Remember "low and slow." Cook buffalo meat to the same doneness that you prefer in beef. We recommend medium. Overcooked or dried out buffalo meat will bring you the same results as other meats that are overcooked - something nearly as palatable as an old boot. If you must have your meat well done, consider one of the very low temperature (180-200 degrees) recipes, where the meat is cooked for 10 hours or more."

Jesus himself may beg to differ, it doesn't for one second change the fact that it's impossible to claim "one true correct" way of cooking things - it's simply a matter of taste. Actually in that quote they claim that you should cook it exactly as you do any other kind of meat, which confirms precisely what I said - for those that like their meat more raw, you'd call it "burnt". Otherwise it's fine no matter how you cook it.

I'd also like to point out that based on previous posts from you stating what that you enjoy Pizza Pizza, what you consider tasty might be slightly different from the norm.

One of the most successful restaurant chains in Canada ... I'd say if anything my tastes are a little too much like the norm. By definition.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Jesus himself may beg to differ, it doesn't for one second change the fact that it's impossible to claim "one true correct" way of cooking things - it's simply a matter of taste. Actually in that quote they claim that you should cook it exactly as you do any other kind of meat, which confirms precisely what I said - for those that like their meat more raw, you'd call it "burnt". Otherwise it's fine no matter how you cook it.



One of the most successful restaurant chains in Canada ... I'd say if anything my tastes are a little too much like the norm. By definition.

I give up you win on the Bison front.

Popularity != Good. Case in point Justin Beiber.

[Ramsayfarian]

Note sure where Kate and Will ate, but the PM and the rest of the royal entourage ate at The Rouge last night.

Harper strikes as a guy who likes his Bison well done, actually Harper strikes me as a guy who probably wouldn't eat Bison as it's too exotic for his tastes.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

I give up you win on the Bison front.

Popularity != Good. Case in point Justin Beiber.

It's not a matter of "winning", I'm just sick of people telling me that my (and other people's) tastes are wrong. It's like if I walked into a sushi restaurant and proclaimed "you're ruining perfectly good rice with that seaweed and fish, you morons". It would come across incredibly douchy and people would rightly be offended. Yet when it comes to how to prepare red meat, it seems acceptable to tell people that THEY'RE DOING IT WRONG. Like there's one and only one acceptable way to do something. It's just rude, is all. And for whatever reason, it's considered perfectly fine to berate a dinner guest when they order a medium-well/well steak. I see this with wine, coffee, beer, steak. All the things real food snobs insist on walking around and telling people what you should like.

And hell yeah, popular != good. It doesn't change my tastes though. I don't specifically try to only enjoy things that are not popular (or vice versa, for that matter). I'm just pointing out that you can't call my tastes "abnormal" if I eat what the masses eat. They may be very unrefined mind you...

Speaking of shitty, popular food - I think I found a new favourite at Stampede last night. $6.50 for a positively huge piece of chicken schnitzel on a bun. Considering the overpriced nature of the food there, this was a hell of a deal. Very filling for the price. It's been around for years but I've never tried it (I'm a schnitzel snob) but it was surprisingly tasty. Or maybe I was just in the mood for shitty greasy fare - I followed it up with fried cheddar nuggets.

Didn't have room for the deep fried pop tart. That seems new this year. Gotta try it next visit.

[Jimby]

I'm living a Pop-Tart free life, but deep fried sounds enticing.