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Higher Ground Cafe – Calgary, Alberta

I have been craving for a Cafe Rolo or some sort of Rolo Latte for awhile now. I’ve recently been to many coffee shops to see where I can find one! I found one here at Higher Ground Cafe in Kensington. Even though they don’t do foam/latte art, it’s still a good cup of coffee!

The Cafe Rolo is one of Higher Ground’s specialty coffees made with espresso, hot chocolate, caramel and whipped cream. It one quite delicious and it’s definitely sweet enough. The whipped cream is also a home made chocolate one which really adds lot of flavour to the coffee. I normally don’t order drinks with whipped cream, but this was my special case scenario! I had it and loved it! This drink, I would highly recommend.

The lattes from Higher Ground are quite typical, and it’s actually a lot milkier than an average latte. It’s not bad, but it’s not rich and creamy the way I prefer my lattes… unless they didn’t actually use the 2% milk! 🙂 Which is fine too!

Higher Ground Cafe

1126 Kensington Rd NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 270-3780

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Lido Cafe Ltd – Calgary, Alberta

We made it to Lido Cafe Ltd right before the Sun and Salsa festival started – as I was starving and needed something to eat! We randomly walked into Lido without knowing anything, sat down and looked at the menu. The first thing that popped in our minds was “random”. This menu had American breakfast and lunch menu items and Chinese lunch and dinner menu items. The place is ran by Chinese, so it was really neat.

When we were seated in a booth with a jukebox hanging off the side, we were even more confused! This place is wonderful, as it’s got no specific theme or anything! I’m sure if you want something – anything, they would have it!

All joking aside, we did go for an American breakfast, as we ordered a French Toast with Sausage and a Breakfast Special with Sausage which included 2 eggs, hash-browns, toast and your choice of ham, bacon or sausage. It was a great deal, and since we went on Sunday, they served this all day long!!

The food tasted just fine, the price is just right, so, nothing wrong with that! 🙂

Lido Cafe Ltd

144 10 St NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 283-0131

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Evelyn’s Again Coffee Bar – Banff, Alberta

I was looking for a nice place to sit down and relax with a nice cup of coffee, away from the usual chains, and found myself sitting outside on the patio of Evelyn’s Again Coffee Bar right on Banff Avenue. It’s a nice little coffee shop which offers really good lattes and mocha’s at a reasonable rate.

We sat there and watched the hussle of Banff start to fill up during the afternoon hours on a busy weekend. It was fun to watch the world go by and see all the tourists who are so excited to be there! It truly is an exciting place!

We ordered a latte and a mocha and both were extremely delicious, and topped with foam art which I appreciate so much!

So next time you’re in Banff, slow down and have a seat outside of Evelyn’s Again Coffee Bar and enjoy yourself for a little while! It’s a wonderful place with a wonderful view!

Evelyn’s Again Coffee Bar

119 Banff Avenue
Banff, AB
(403) 760-2907

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deVille Luxury Coffee & Pastries – Calgary, Alberta

I was wanting a nice cup of coffee, and I’ve always recalled seeing a sign for Krups Cup of Excellence, and when I looked it up, deVille Luxury Coffee & Pastries was the 2010 recipient of this award! Knowing just that information alone, I knew I would have to go and try their coffees, and enjoy my favourite – foam art!

Located right at the intersection of 7th Ave, SW and Centre Street on the second floor gave this location really quite spectacular of a view! Depending where you sit, you can get a great view of the new Bow Building and the Calgary Tower! The hours for deVille claims they open from 7am to 7pm on weekdays. We went there after work one evening, and got there around 6:15pm. It was all fine and dandy, until I looked over at around 6:30pm, and the gates were already pulled. The barista actually closed the door on over 8 guests early!! Some potential customers even tried to ask her where would be the next closest coffee shop – and she actually sent them away! I was really disappointed in that type of customer service. For poor customer service, it made me not enjoy myself, so I do not think I will be back – as I don’t know if I travel all the way there to see the “CLOSED” sign up early.

Regardless, we did order our lattes before this early closing. I enjoyed a cup of Nutella Latte, which actually was quite delicious! The coffee wasn’t burnt or anything, and it did have a subtle taste of nutella. I did put in a pack of sugar into my coffee, and to my excitement, they use Cane Sugar instead of the usual. I really enjoyed my cup of nutella latte!

We also had a cup of Chocolate Latte and my better half really enjoyed it! He loves his coffee dark, and his chocolate dark, and this was a perfect marriage of the 2 for him! It was thick, yet creamy – so the coffees from deVille did satisfy us!

The prices of the coffee from deVille was very reasonable as well. For a downtown location, I would expect it to be much higher, and it’s setting is such an ideal location, it’s very modern and comfortable. It is quite a spectacular location for sure! I do recommend trying, but go early!

deVille Luxury Coffee & Pastries

807 1 St SW
Calgary, AB T2P1N3
(403) 263-0884

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Thi Thi Vietnamese Submarine

I’ve been going to Thi Thi Vietnamese Submarine for about 11 years now, of course with about 7 years in between when we stopped going – as we weren’t going to Chinatown as much. We went back, and there’s still a line up outside — just as we remembered the good old days! It’s the same owner and his wife, and now with someone else as well. The line does seem to move faster, no matter how big of an order ahead of us placed. It is often that a representative from a company or something would put in a huge order of 10+ subs right in front of you! Everyone knows this is a great place to go if you’re willing to wait outside.

The prices are still very reasonable and competitive to other submarine locations, Vietnamese subs or not. I got my peppered chicken for $6.50, which seems less than I recalled, which is a good thing!

I had the Peppered Chicken which has always been my all time favourite from Thi Thi. Yes, the amount of chicken has seemed to reduce, and it’s not nearly as peppery as it use to be. But it still tastes wonderful!! The pickled carrots are really tasty unlike some other Vietnamese locations that seem to just use normal matchstick carrots. The sauce was really tasty, the meat was tender and juicy!

The subs from Thi Thi quite big and full of flavor!! The bun is toasted nicely, crispy on the outside, but still soft in the inside. The cheese is melted perfectly! I don’t know how they do it, but they sure mastered the art of Vietnamese submarines.

I think over so many years, this place hasn’t changed, and it’s a great thing! I will be back, and hopefully it won’t take me another 5 years to return! 🙂 This location is a take-out only location, and cash only! Such a small & great place!

Thi Thi Vietnamese Submarine

209 1st St SE
Calgary, AB T2G2G3
(403) 265-5452