Calgary’s Culinary Groove

If you’re one of those folks who tunes in regularly to the Food Channel and gets excited at the thought of attending one of the many Food & Wine Festivals held regularly across the USA and Canada, take my advice and head for Calgary, Western Canada’s latest destination food city on the border of the Canadian Rockies.  Call me crazy but Calgary’s culinary groove has really found the beat, especially in the last year and people who are travelling for food, one of hottest trends in the industry and still gaining considerable steam, will be ecstatic once they check-in at one of the numerous restaurants making waves there.  As recently as this past May, all eyes were on the city as two major Food Network Canada shows, Eat St. and You Gotta Eat Here, aired episodes featuring some of Cowtown’s cherished establishments as well as food trucks, a new phenomenon in town and well-known in places like Portland, Oregon and New York City. Here’s the Squire’s round-up of some of the best food being served in the friendly city of Calgary.

 

Model Milk

We’ve all heard about re-birth but sitting in the re-born dining room of Model Milk, a former working dairy in downtown Calgary, it was easy to see that the concept had reached its apex. A new hotspot in the Belt Line neighborhood of this burgeoning city, Model Milk seemingly hits the nail on the head with its concept. Surfaces are reduced to the bare bones, fabulous industrial lighting takes center stage in the expansive dining room and the skylight provides daylight (in the summer) until well after 10:30 pm. The soaring tri-level space is framed by concrete and brick and some beautiful grillwork lining the stairs and upper level.

The restaurant has a playful atmosphere and devoted following thanks to Chef Justin Leboe who has a very simple mantra – to have fun while creating food that tastes great. He has a knack for turning standards into specials like his Fried Maple Hill Chicken.  Light and crunchy outside, inside the dark meat is moist and flavorful and served with chicken gravy, a Cheddar Waffle and chopped Tomato Salad, almost like a relish for this signature Southern dish that’s a Calgary standard.

We got our motors running first with some Dead Guy Ale from the Rogue Brewery in Newport, Oregon then dove into the tomato gazpacho with roasted corn and a mustard gelee, a flavor sensation.  Then came a memorable pairing of crushed edamame and scallops accented with toasted sesame seeds, pickled nectarine and red miso.  Along with Chef Leboe’s famous chicken we shared a Fricasee of Calamari with pimento then wound down with more of the sweet brew until the dessert, an amazing Ice Cream Sandwich and Lemon Thyme Pot de Crème.

If you are a foodie, Model Milk should be on your bucket list.

308 17^th Ave. SW

Calgary, Alberta

403-265-7343

www.modelmilk.ca

 

Catch & The Oyster Bar

Catch makes a play for the best casual, yet tremendously sophisticated eatery in Calgary and succeeds.

This soaring bi-level space with a cutting edge interior, essentially two restaurants in one, is a fascinating study in making landmark buildings diner-friendly. The second floor Catch dining room is literally carved out of the remains of the Imperial Bank on Stevens Avenue and the open kitchen tucked away in the rear corner could have been the former teller windows. Here prime ringside tables and a raw bar with sushi bar seating create a delightful camaraderie with the talented and friendly staff. Their claim to fame is the best Jet Fresh seafood delivered daily and creatively prepared with a precision crafted execution by Executive Chef Kyle Groves.

This means you will be tasting fish like you’ve never tasted before in starters like his Qualicum Beach scallop carpaccio and lobster and shrimp agnolotti and entrees like a miso glazed wild halibut with a ginger and lemongrass cream and a wild British Columbia Ling cod with a red wine reduction. Convinced yet?

100 8^th Ave. SE

Calgary, Alberta

403-206-0000 ext. 244

www.hyatt.com/gallery/catch

 

Rush

If you find yourself in Calgary anytime soon, rush to Rush.  The uber-chic setting will make you think you’ve landed in New York City but the attitude here is casually Western Canadian. Even though Executive Chef Dave Bohati has obviously made his mark on Calgary’s culinary scene, it still feels like he’s cooking for you at home. Dishes like Cowtown’s signature fried chicken and waffles (re-worked using buttermilk fried baby quail) and a pork tenderloin cooked sous vide and served with glazed belly, kimchi and sweet potato with sesame prove Chef Dave’s prowess at re-interpreting food for today’s modern palate.

A trio of baked breads is whisked to your table pronto after the sommelier pours a little champagne uttering, “We like to start off with bubbles any way we can.” Raise those glasses to the inspired Chef Dave who, when we visited during the world famous Calgary Stampede, had the nerve to serve his flawless 6 course tasting menu themed around the Stampede’s midway staples, like corn dogs, sausages, funnel cakes and the like. Just wait till you try his petite ice cream cone filled with Lake Wagyu beef and the house Merguez corn dog with tomato relish. Yum!

100-207 9^th Ave. SW

Calgary, Alberta

403-271-7874

www.rushrestaurant.com

 

Charcut Roast House

Beauty is in the details and Charcut’s got them.  Try softening up an expansive commercial space with splashes of white, a jolt of red, poured concrete floors and miles of beautiful Canadian wood.  It works! This is a restaurant that looks almost architecturally relevant and is one of the forerunners on Calgary’s epicurean scene. Some of the decoration in the warehouse-like space takes its cue from Calgary’s western roots in cowboy culture like the large ceiling fixtures in the shape of wagon wheels.

When it comes to the food however, you can’t get any further away from cowboy, although the strength here is definitely on meat. What’s in a name?  Here the CHAR is for the custom built charbroiler and CUT for the featured vintage-style slicer and hand crafted charcuterie bar. Although Chef/Owners Connie DeSousa and John Jackson have cut their teeth with some of more established luminaries in the culinary field here they’ve hit on a simple trick in their invention that works – urban rustic cuisine with the menu changing daily. That boils down to house-made sausage and rotisserie meat sandwiches for lunch (a killer prime rib sandwich with Quebec cheddar and Brassica mustard) and cured meats alongside roasted pork belly for dinner. Add cheddar grits, fried matchstick potatoes and a duck fat fried poutine for sides and you get the gist. Connie and John’s goal is to evolve simple ingredients so prepare to see some old favorites newly conceived.

101-899 Centre St. SW

Calgary, Alberta

403-984-2180

www.charcut.com

 

Rouge Restaurant

The Rouge philosophy of fine dining is apparent when Chef and owner Olivier Reynaud invites you to have a look at his garden. Here in the famously red “Cross House”, a designated Calgary Municipal and province of Alberta Heritage site bordering the banks of the Bow River in the idyllic neighborhood of Inglewood, the foundation of the food begins with the best ingredients. Chef Olivier and his partner Chef Paul Rogalski work closely with local food growers and suppliers so that, paired with their own homegrown produce, they can afford wonderful ingredients to inspire their menu.  This translates to dishes like a velvety smooth wild mushroom veloute, an elk carpaccio and Amaretto cured foie gras terrine and a Moroccan spiced sausage wrapped lamb loin.  With these, Rouge shoud easily win you over.

Above all Rouge embodies an indie spirit, rich with atmosphere and history, and lunch or dinner here is like a quick escape to wine country with rural appeal, huge trees and an orchard.  If you opt for lunch,  plan on not going back to work afterward.

1240 8^th Ave. SE

Calgary, Alberta

403-531-2767

www.rougecalgary.com

 

*THE BIG TASTE is an 11 day Calgary dining event and the city’s premier dining festival. Offering new perspectives on food, it’s the perfect way for curious epicureans to discover Calgary’s top restaurants at a fraction of the cost. For the past 11 years, The Big Taste has showcased the rapid change in the Calgary culinary scene with the rise of the independent restaurant and the growth of local talent.  Held in early March, top chefs present a three-course experience for either lunch ($15 – $25) or dinner ($35).

www.visitcalgary.com