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Holy Smoke BBQ – Calgary

I love smoked food, and I have been to their South location before. They’re not opened on Sundays, so we decided to go to Holy Smoke BBQ on 16th Avenue, as they’re opened! The parking lot is quite a hassle to get in, there’s only 1 driveway in, and not enough spaces, so be prepared! Once you go inside, there’s a long counter where you get food and along the window, there’s some seating for you to enjoy your food! Along the exit side of the restaurant, there is a huge selection of sauces that you can pick from! They do recommend which sauce would go with what you’ve ordered, and that’s helpful!

The moment I walked in, I was expecting to be greeted by a strong smell of smoke – like their South location, and it wasn’t a strong smell of smoke at all from here. Regardless, I ordered myself a Smoke Chicken Sandwich as I’ve never tried their chicken. I honestly forgot what they recommended to me that goes well with this smoked chicken sandwich. I can’t remember if it’s their Honey Garlic sauce or Sweet Apple sauce, but I ended up trying it with their Honey Garlic sauce. The sauces are amazing here, and I’m sure I’ll be ordering the same thing to try it with all the sauces!

We also ordered their Pork Ribs which is ordered by the rib. It’s $1/bone, and it works out to be an excellent deal as they’re pretty large in size. They’re very flavourful as is, with a hint of spiciness. The sauce we used for this was their Mesquite sauce and their Jack Daniels sauce. I didn’t care for their Jack Daniels sauce much as it was too bitter for my liking.

The ribs was absolutely delicious. It’s not “fall off the bone”, but you can definitely clean the bones really well. The flaovurs was awesome, and you know it was made with lots of love. We ordered some potato salad with the ribs, and it was made with nice chunky slices of potatoes. It was tender and not over cooked, and quite a great side! We loved the ribs so much we went back and ordered another 6 ribs after we were done! Below is a picture of the selection of sauces Holy Smoke BBQ has to offer!

For a drink, we got a Strawberry Milkshake to split. They do it the good old fashion way with strawberry ice cream and milk – then “shake” or blend it together! It tasted great and it brought back great childhood memories for me.

Overall, we love this place! The only thing we really didn’t like is the parking lot as you can get stuck in the parking lot if you’re trying to leave and someone else just got in. Make sure you bring your driving skills and some patience when you go! There’s about 4 spots for their guests only!

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Holy Smoke BBQ

420 16 Avenue NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 263-4659

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IHOP Restaurant – Calgary

I’ve been wanting to go to IHOP – International House of Pancakes in Calgary since the day it opened. Usually, every time we drive by to want to try, it’s packed. This time, we got up extra early and finally got to enjoy this restaurant! The parking lot can become a bit messy and there’s not that many spots – however, it is located in an area with lots of other spaces, which I’m sure you can use.

We were greeted by really friendly staff immediately, and everyone was in a good mood! We were seated at a table, and the first thing they asked us was what we wanted to drink. I ordered a hot tea, even though every table had a canister for coffee – I wanted tea! It came in a pretty large pot, and I loved that the cup has its logo on it.

I ordered the Pancake Platter and I opted for the double blueberry pancake, with sausage links. The pancakes was quite a decent size, and they had 3 of them, topped with fresh blueberries and whipped cream! And, around the pancakes was 4 links of sausage. I drizzled their butter pecan syrup on my pancakes and was super satisfied! The sausage had a soft casing and tons of flavour, and the pancakes was light and fluffy, with the right amount of blueberries!!

We also ordered a plate of Big Steak Omelette and it was a big plate for sure! We were never expecting such a large omelette, but was happy to see it! This meal, we even ordered a hashbrown on the side, which was really nice and crispy on the outside. Instead of toast, they give you pancakes, which was also perfectly executed! There was tons of steak and hashbrowns in the omelette with cheese and other vegetables.

Overall, we loved this breakfast dining experience. With average pricnig, you sure get a lot of food! The dining room was really clean, servers were fast and friendly, and the food tasted great! We’re tempted to go back already, which is a great sign!

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IHOP Restaurant

500-70 Shawville Blvd SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 873-9102

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Boston Pizza – Crossiron Mills

We deiced to have dinner at Boston Pizza inside Crossiron Mills while shopping one evening and we were shocked that it was so quiet. We found a seat outside on the patio, and from there, we waited a good 10 minutes before anyone came out to give us menus. The server was really nice, but I don’t know where she was most of the time.

We ordered our drinks to start with and I decided to go for the Virgin Caesars which was a pretty good mix here! But, for the main meal, I ordered their new Jalapeno and Crispy Onion Prime Rib Burger which sounded absolutely delicious from the name alone. It was a half pound or prime rib burger topped with jalapenos and crispy onion rings. It was quite good as a burger, but I found the crispy onions were too thin or something – you don’t actually get the texture of the crispiness while eating. The jalapenos weren’t spicy at all… so, it was just a good burger at the end of the day!

As it was the rib event going on at Boston Pizza, we decided we would order their Full Rack Slow Roasted Pork Back Ribs and these were fall of the bone deliciousness! The ribs had tons of flavour and just the right amount of sauce. The meat was juicy and tender – it was really good! We got it in their Signature BBQ flavour! These, we will definitely have again!

Overall, we had an enjoyable experience. We didn’t eat dinner as this meal had already taken us over an hour as is… and there was a little more shopping to do. I’m sure we’ll be back, but maybe after all the shopping next time as they do run on a more relaxed time.

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Boston Pizza

520 261055 Cross Iron Boulevard
Rocky View, AB
(403) 250-1007

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Earls Kitchen and Bar – Shepards Flats

I’ve been trying out restaurant patios lately and I’ve been loving them! I never know whether or not to wear my hat, but that’s another problem! I’ve found myself at Earls in the south by McKenzie Towne just off 130th Avenue and 52nd Street. It’s very new, quite large and full of friendly staff serving delicious food! We had to wait a little bit for a late lunch on the patio and at the front, they actually took our drink orders while we waited!

For the drink, I decided I was going to have their White Peach Lemonade as I was already feeling dehydrated from the nice heat from summer! It was the perfect drink for a hot summers afternoon with the refreshing lemonade flavoured with white peach, fresh lemon and soda!

As this was a late lunch kind of thing, we just settled on a bunch of snacks. We started with a nice bowl of their Earls famous Clam Chowder which was really delicious! It’s no wonder it’s famous! It’s not like the typical full cream ones as this one has tomatoes in it – which makes it taste lighter. The soup was a little separated but it didn’t matter as it was one of the best clam chowders we’ve had!

Then, we ordered a Prawn & Pesto Pizza and this pizza was served on thin crusted that looked like a wood burning oven from the big burnt bubble on the top and the thinness of the crust to ensure it’s cooked to its entirety. The pizza was really tasty, the shrimp was really fresh and of course with the pesto, it was great!

Finally, we ordered some chicken wings! We ordered their Thai Chicken wings and these wings are done really nicely! It’s fried to a perfect crisp on the outside and tender & juicy chicken! Then, it’s tossed in really great sauce! We’ve been back during their wing nights on Wednesdays afterwards as well as we’ve enjoyed it so much. They only come in 3 flavours, hot, hotter and Thai!

Overall, as you can tell, we love this place! We’ve been back already and I’m sure we’ll be back many more times to come!

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Earl’s Shepard Flats

200 – 5155 130 Ave Southeast
Calgary, AB
(403) 255-3275

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Blue Dragon Tomato & Sweet Chilli Cooking Sauce

I haven’t cooked with my Blue Dragon cooking sauces in awhile now, and today I just felt like trying their Tomato and Sweet Chilli Cooking Sauce and I’ve got to say, it ranks really high in taste for me!

I made a simple dinner with this sauce so I first sauteed my onions with the chicken slices, until the chicken is almost completely cooked.

Once the chicken is almost done, I add the sauce, and mix it completely. Then, I add the asparagus (or any kind of vegetable). I just had fresh asparagus from the market, so it’s what I used for this day! 🙂

Now, I just let the entire contraction simmer away in the wok until the asparagus is at tender crisp – and I claim it done! It’s a delicious dish of food with tons of sauce to serve over rice – that’s how I had it!

Overall, I love this sauce and it’s a great balance of the spice and sweetness from the tomato. I’m sure I’ll buy this again as I’m sure it’s going to be great with noodles too!