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The Bison Restaurant – Banff, Alberta

Banff has always been my favourite go to place, and I am always out there for whatever reason! This time, I was out there for Bon Appetite Banff which is their 3rd annual event, and we ventured out even with a snowfall warning! I made reservations at The Bison since it has been a place I’ve been meaning to go to, and this is the perfect time to try new places as they put out special 3 course meals at a set price. This restaurant is located on Bear Street, just off of Banff Avenue and it’s upstairs of The Bear Street Tavern.

We sat down and I ordered my usual drink of choice right now, I seem to have phased into a Virgin Cesars lately, I know, it’s just Spicy Clamato juice in a pretty cup – but who cares! I like it. It was still a tasty drink.

Once we got comfortable, a bread basket came and it was neat as the basket was tree bark! The bread wasn’t anything special, but I guess the butter was… she called it Butter with Olive Oil and Organic Sea Salt. I don’t have an opinion on it as it was kind of like greasy butter? I do appreciate flavoured butter, but I guess I don’t understand this one.

For starters, we had 2. The Bon Appetite menu offers a starter, a main and a dessert for each person… so we just ordered different things to share to get more variety. We had a bowl of Sweet Potato Soup which was absolutely fantastic, with roasted marshmallows on top and a strip of bacon! Everything is better with bacon and this soup needed the salt from the bacon as it’s a sweeter soup! I loved it and I think I will try to make something along the lines of this one day!

The other starter we got was their Seared Sea Scallops which was seared to perfection. It was as though they had one giant scallop and cut it in half on the plate, or they only seared the visual side. It was bare on the underside. Regardless, it was quite delicious and not over cooked or anything like that! It also had a strip of bacon!

Now that we’ve devoured the appetizers our main courses came out! I love seafood so I ordered their Maple Sake Seared Monkfish and it was a nice portioned sized monkfish perfectly cooked and seasoned on a bed of risotto. I love fish, so needless to say, I ate it all up!

The other entree we ordered, more for the husband was the Braised Bison Gnocchi and it had a TON of delicious braised bison on the dish. We weren’t use to the size of the gnocchi, but it was still delicious light pillows of soft potatoes, even though they were “king sized pillows”! This was a fantastic entree!

Now that we’re full and stuffed, we made room for dessert! I ordered their Milkshake with Cookie and it was good! I love any sorts of cookies and this one was pretty good! It was a cookie milkshake but it was quite runny of a shake with cookie crumbs in the bottom. It wasn’t my favourite milkshake as I like them thick and creamy!

The other dessert ordered was their creme Brulee which was a chai tea spiced creme brulee with a shortbread cookie. It was kind of funny as it looked like someone ate half of it! I guess I just would’ve used a shallower dish if I was going to only give the amount given. It was tasty, but I actually thought it was a pumpkin pie flavour, not chai!

Overall, we loved this place! The meal was delicious, the service was fantastic and we had a great window seat table where we over looked the parking lot across the street! It was very entertaining! It was a night to remember and hopefully we’ll be back for more dinners to come! This Bon Appetite dinner was $45 per person, but it was 3 courses – so it was quite alright! This dinner was worth the venture out during the snow storm for sure!

The Bison on Urbanspoon

The Bison

211 Bear St
Banff, AB
(403) 762-5550

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Boogie’s Burgers – Calgary, Alberta

I guess one evening, my husband really wanted burgers for dinner. He ended up taking me out to Boogies Burger which was very interesting! I’ve seen the sign for it when we drive along Edmonton Trail, but oddly, I’ve never once thought about trying “boogie” burgers! But, we did it! The location can be a little tough to find as it’s tucked in a bit, and it’s not really lit up.

The interior is pretty neat, it’s kind of decorated retro style and it definitely brings you back into the past with arcade games, which my husband did try to play them… and reported one of the buttons was broken, so he stood no chance. I think he just had no chance and came up with the excuse. Regardless, I think he had fun!

I was browsing through the menu and I found a huge section on milkshakes! I love the good old fashion style milkshake, and I was curios to see if this place would hit a home run with it. I got their Strawberry Milkshake as it’s my favourite and it use to be the one I’d get in our old family restaurant. My husband ordered the Pina Colada Milkshake and I’m so happy to report these milkshakes are AWESOME! It’s thick, creamy, delicious and proper! I can’t wait to go back for another shake!

For the burger, I got the Fay’s Burger and it was a decent burger stuffed with a patty, some bacon, mushrooms, onion, lettuce and tomatoes. It almost sounds like a standard burger but the burger was huge, almost the size of my head. The patty wasn’t a well formed patty but it was still good! Being the person I am, I ordered some spicy fries with my meal and it was quite good! It wasn’t too spicy, but well seasoned! I enjoyed the fries!

My husband decided to order their Boog-Mac which is probably their take on a “Big Mac” with 2 patties, thousand island sauce, cheddar cheese, pickles, lettuce, onions and tomatoes. It was a gigantic burger and a messy one, but it as nice with more sauce in the burger! It was nice!

Overall, I fell in love with the milkshakes as it bright me back to my childhood! I would only have the straw to complain about as it seemed too flimsy for the milkshake. I’d suck the straw and it seems to collapse! That’s probably just an Elsie issue though. But, this was a great place to be!

Boogie's Burgers on Urbanspoon

Boogie’s Burgers

908 Edmonton Trl NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 230-7070

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Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted my own cooking now… but, I recently was asked to make my best friend a fail proof recipe for something chicken and fail proof. I chose to teach her Chicken Pot Pie as it’s very versatile, and you really can’t goof on it.

Ingredients: Serves 2 (you can always make more!)
2 pieces of boneless/skinless chicken thigh (or 1 piece of chicken breast)
1 chopped carrot
1 chopped small onion (1/2 Large onion)
1 stalk of celery
1/4 cup Frozen corn (optional)
1 pack of puff pastry
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp flour
3/4 to 1 cup milk

First off, preheat the oven to 375C or 400C, I like to use 375C on my toaster oven as I’m only making 2 pies. Then start by chopping all the vegetables and putting it aside. Then, chop the chicken, and I just do a quick marinade with just salt and pepper. You can add more flavouring to it if you want. Sometimes, I use seasoning salt as well…

Then, I saute the chicken in a pan, low and slow until it cooks through about half way or a little more than half way. Then, I put the vegetables in and cook the entire thing until it’s cooked through. When I get to the cooked stage, I can taste the ingredients to make sure there’s enough flavour throughout.

I then remove all the cooked ingredients out of my pan and start my roux. I keep the heat on low and melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, I put the flour in and make sure it’s completely absorbed. I cook it longer to make sure there’s no flour taste. I normally let the butter brown before I call it done, and the flour/butter mixture will be a dough like consistency.

Once I’ve achieved that stage, I put the milk in add mix with a whisk. As it cooks, the milk mixture becomes creamy and thick, like a gravy! When it’s about the thickness I’d like it, I will add in my cooked chicken and vegetables and taste it again. If I find my gravy is too thin, I cook it longer… if it’s too thick, add more milk. At this stage, you can add the corn if you opted in for it.

When this is ready, scoop the pot pie fillings into a shell. Then, cut the puff pastry into a shape to top it off. Sometimes, I purchase the pre-cut ones to make my life a little simpler.

Now, we just pop the entire thing in the oven and let it bake for about 40 minutes (or until the crust looks golden and delicious). I find in my oven, it takes about 40-45 minutes. Take it out and be careful as it’s really hot!

Now, you’re ready to enjoy your “kind of homemade” Chicken Pot Pie! 🙂

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Kilt & Caber Ale House – Calgary, Alberta

Every once in awhile, I have the need for some chicken wings and this time, I found myself on the patio of Kilt & Caber in McKenzie Towne. It’s not a hard location to find at all, and it’s a nice place!

We were seated outside (on a warn evening, of course) and it wasn’t bad! With a newly installed fireplace in the space, it was quite inviting! So, I ordered my drink of choice during this phase, my Virgin Caesar!

From there, we started with wings! We got Salt and Peppered Wings as it was during their wing night! The wings were really good, fried nicely and flavoured fully! Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside… and it wasn’t meatless wings where it’s just skin and bones! So, we were very satisfied! The picture doesn’t show that it looks good, but we often don’t ask for the celery and carrot sticks when it’s a choice! Veggies isn’t something I eat if I have a choice!

I was trying to eat a little meal, so I ordered their Greek Wrap with soup, and it wasn’t a little meal at all! The wrap was made of their naan, stuffed with chicken, lettuce and cucumbers, and topped with their tzatziki sauce! It was a decent wrap, nothing extraordinary, but not bad either! The soup was their soup of the day, Cream of Broccoli and it was pretty good, and it seemed to be perfect for a chillier patio evening!

My husband ordered the strangest looking Sheppard’s Pie which was rectangular! Strangely, he ordered it with a salad as well, so it was just strange. The Sheppard’s pie tasted fine, but it didn’t seem like it was made fresh. It almost seemed like it was just defrosted and a giant bowl of brown gravy was poured on top. At least he ate the entire thing, but everything tastes better with gravy!

Overall, I think this is a great place for wings and drinks. Unless you’re looking for an average meal where nothing really matters, then it’s fine! I really enjoyed the wings, so I’m sure I’ll be back for those! It is an Ale house afterall! I’m not sure what I was thinking!

Kilt & Caber Ale House on Urbanspoon

Kilt & Caber Ale House

53 High St SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 257-6297

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E & W Family Restaurant – Three Hills, Alberta

For those who don’t actually know me… my name starts with an “E” and my husbands name starts with a “W”… so, when we drove by Three Hills and saw E&W Family Restaurant, we knew it was a place for us to try! This restaurant is located near the edge of the highway, and it’s family owned and ran by Chinese but of course caters to a more “Caucasian” crowd with “Chinese” food.

This restaurant had a dine-in menu as well as a buffet. We just figured we won’t be a pain and order from the menu as there was really good looking food sitting at the buffet – so we opt’ed for that option. The owners felt that they should make us some fresh food to top off the buffet, and they insisted to do so, which was really nice!

I enjoyed many servings and rounds of food. Even though I didn’t have pictures of everything, I know I started with an assortment of food that they did have out! A bit of each and I soon realized I fell in love with their Peppered Chicken, so I had more every time I went back! The owners made more as well, to fill the buffet… so I almost felt the need to finish it all! I failed at that challenge, but it was delicious anyway!

I then went back and forth for a bit, and found that I also really liked their Chow Mein so I had plates of that too! I love buffets as I eat tons of what I find that I like! The only problem here was that there was too much I liked… and it was a long drive home!

Overall, we went here with an empty stomach and left really really full! The owner was telling us about Dry Island Buffalo Jump which wasn’t too far from there, so that’s where we went next! What a neat stop here at Three Hills! I’m sure we’ll be back someday! The owner sold some pet fishes from his tank, and I already mentioned next time I go there, I’ll bring a pet fish home!

E & W on Urbanspoon

E & W Family Restaurant – Chinese Buffet

1011 2 St N
Three Hills, AB
(403) 443-2388