Calgary Food, coffee, etc.

[RWin]

When does Artigiano open? I've got to try a new coffee shop.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by RWin

When does Artigiano open? I've got to try a new coffee shop.

R- the original estimate was October, but of course Centrium itself (the bldg where Artigiano will be) wasn't completed on time. I googled "artigiano calgary" and found a blog that referenced a JANUARY opening. This is not good news but, ya know, it's almost November, so if it does open in Jan that's only a 2.5 month delay. Seems par for the course- restaurants (and good cafes like this one) seem especially prone to opening delays.

[Deepstar]

I like the idea of this thread, I can talk about restaurants all I want without feeling any guilt


So, folks, where's the best Indian buffet in town? I've been to a few of them, and they seem to be hit and miss. Tandoori hut is probably my favorite, it's reasonably priced and the food is good.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Deepstar

I like the idea of this thread, I can talk about restaurants all I want without feeling any guilt


So, folks, where's the best Indian buffet in town? I've been to a few of them, and they seem to be hit and miss. Tandoori hut is probably my favorite, it's reasonably priced and the food is good.

Please try the buffet at Surya- it's on 11 St and 11 Ave SW in the Connaught Centre building. They have a huge selection and are a couple of bucks cheaper than, say, Moti Mahal. Also unlike MM, Surya has butter chicken on the buffet every day, but I prefer their beef curry (it's so odd how "beef curry" isn't a misnomer in Calgary since so many Indian places here are Sikh or Muslim owned!). They also have completely superb naan, I mean world-beating naan.

Kashmir ended lunch service, never mind buffet, but I agree that it's a great resto.

Freeweed, GoI is one of the most respected Indian places in town!

[RWin]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Please try the buffet at Surya- it's on 11 St and 11 Ave SW in the Connaught Centre building.

I'll have to go there. Always on the lookout for a new Indian place.

[Surrealplaces]

Originally Posted by Deepstar

I like the idea of this thread, I can talk about restaurants all I want without feeling any guilt


So, folks, where's the best Indian buffet in town? I've been to a few of them, and they seem to be hit and miss. Tandoori hut is probably my favorite, it's reasonably priced and the food is good.

Glory of India and Tandoori Hut are both good for that area of town. My favorite place is 'Apna Sweethouse' way up in the northeast, so it's not well known, but it is good and cheap.

If you want authentic south Indian cuisine...something you don't see very often anywhere, try Mysore Palce in the northeast. Mysore Palace downtown is the same ownership, but different menu. The one in the northeast has Rasum, and Sambar, true South Indian Dossas, etc... I should mention that it is a veggie place.


Personally I'm not impressed with Moti's, I've heard Kashmiri bites. Has anyone tried Ivory?

[Arriviste]

I don't know about buffet, the The Kashmir is ridiculous as far as Indian goes.

[freeweed]

I like Glory of India, because it's close and they have butter chicken by the boatload.

Something tells me it's a bit pedestrian for the folks around here though.

[dubiousmike]

The new restaurant opening in the old Elephant & Castle space is going to be called "Tangerine Supper Club".

What's with the recent trend of horribly contrived restaurant names in this town?

And come visit my new restaurant, it's called New Century Marquee Restolounge & Grill.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by dubiousmike

The new restaurant opening in the old Elephant & Castle space is going to be called "Tangerine Supper Club".

What's with the recent trend of horribly contrived restaurant names in this town?

And come visit my new restaurant, it's called New Century Marquee Restolounge & Grill.

I miss that bar, I quite liked it. So what kind of place is this "Tangerine Supper Club" going to be?

lol, I read it as the Tangerine Stripper Club at first. lol

[tarapoto]

Originally Posted by dubiousmike

The new restaurant opening in the old Elephant & Castle space is going to be called "Tangerine Supper Club".

What's with the recent trend of horribly contrived restaurant names in this town?

And come visit my new restaurant, it's called New Century Marquee Restolounge & Grill.

I didn't know there was an Elephant & Castle pub in Calgary. The only one I've been to is in Guangzhou in China. I'm not sure the company knows their name and logo is being used over there in Asia because it's not on their website, lol. And I'm pretty sure there's one in Dongguan too

[Rusty van Reddick]

I don't care if the name is contrived, but I am getting damn tired of only high end places opening downtown. If "Tangerine" is a clone of Blink (also a "supper club") that makes yet another expense-account joint on Stephen Ave. I haven't seen the menu at Seven (speaking of contrived names!), but it sounds expensive.

I'm happy to eat shawarma and cheap sushi (which Calgary is becoming increasingly good for- the only ridiculously ovepriced food I had in Germany was sushi, something we're more blessed with here than most people realise since they use Vancouver as a reference point instead of so many other cities that have shitty and expensive sushi). But I wish Calgary had places like, to use a random example, Clyde Common in Portland, which has delicious, creative food in a gorgeous room with mains never exceeding about $18.

We're having dinner at River Cafe tonight- with a gift cert- and though I love River, it's going to be a larf to see how expensive it's become since my last meal there last December. I'm expecting to see no main less than, say, $28.

[dubiousmike]

^^^

Couldn't agree more. At the end of the day, I like a cheap slice of pepperoni pizza or a hot dog cooked on the street.

I've worked as a professional cook, and I like to think I can taste the difference between a dish prepared by someone who knows and loves food and a dish prepared by someone who thinks they can just half-ass it, gloss it over with decor and hot waitresses and then charge 40 bucks for it.

I don't mind forking out at an upscale restaurant as long as the food is actually good. But I'm not gonna be instantly impressed by your dish just because you served it with aioli or blue cheese.

The rest of these yuppies might be fooled, but I know Bovril when I taste it.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by dubiousmike

^^^

Couldn't agree more. At the end of the day, I like a cheap slice of pepperoni pizza or a hot dog cooked on the street.

No kidding, I'm going to that little Bratwurst stand on Stephen Ave for lunch today, and i cant wait (The Yodeling Sausage for those who don't know).

[dubiousmike]

Originally Posted by johnnyc

No kidding, I'm going to that little Bratwurst stand on Stephen Ave for lunch today, and i cant wait (The Yodeling Sausage for those who don't know).

"Our 'wurst is the best".

My second favorite slogan ever.

Number one would be Bubba's, a burger chain in Hawaii, which was "We relish your buns."

[jeffwhit]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

. But I wish Calgary had places like, to use a random example, Clyde Common in Portland, which has delicious, creative food in a gorgeous room with mains never exceeding about $18.

Speaking of Portland, another thing I saw there that I was envious of was a surface lot downtown that was lined on two sides with food vendors facing the sidewalks. Think of the Imperial lot with the Montreal Smoked Meat place being just one of dozens of similar options, that would be sweet.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

Speaking of Portland, another thing I saw there that I was envious of was a surface lot downtown that was lined on two sides with food vendors facing the sidewalks. Think of the Imperial lot with the Montreal Smoked Meat place being just one of dozens of similar options, that would be sweet.

Yes this is a 3 yr old bump, but I was just there and I wish we had that here:

my pic

[jeffwhit]

The lunch buffet at Royal India must be tried by all. More expensive than most ($16) but quite worth it imo. It's on 4th and Centre, in Sun Life.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

The lunch buffet at Royal India must be tried by all. More expensive than most ($16) but quite worth it imo. It's on 4th and Centre, in Sun Life.

Seconded. And, as someone else mentioned. they're usually easier to get into during lunch.

Then again, if you really wanna sneak into GoI without a reservation, just go around 11:30. They always manage to have a couple of small tables open.

It's the one part of Calgary life that I still find funny - half the CBD is at work well before 8am, which is ridiculously early compared to many cities - but people STILL take lunch promptly at noon, for the most part. You'd think if the working day is shifted earlier, lunch might come earlier, but not for most people. Those of us that can adjust get to take full advantage and always get into popular eateries.

[RWin]

Where in town can you go that has a decent kids menu?

It seems most places (and even some of the high end ones) have crap for the kids - chicken strips, frozen pizza, Krap Dinner, etc.

Where would you go if you wanted kid portions of real food? It seems we have to order a dinner from the regular menu and ask for another plate. They're happy to do that but I feel stupid asking.