Lunch – Page 33 – Elsie Hui

August 11, 2014

The Bavarian Inn Restaurant – Bragg Creek, AB

From traveling on my birthday, we discovered how wonderful Eastern Europe food could be so we were excited go to Bragg Creek to try Bavarian Inn Restaurant. We were here around 3PM and they had to turn people away as they were too busy and booked up! We would never have guessed but we were lucky we were ahead of that little rush.

Once we got seated by the window, we browsed through the menu and saw a few items we would love to try. But, since this was a late lunch/early dinner, we could only eat so much. We started with Goulash Soup which they called it “ungarische gulasch suppe” which was like a hearty beef stew with more liquid component – so it turns it into a soup. The flavours were really developed as you can tell a lot of time went into this awesome soup.

I decided to try their Schnitzel Krustchen not only for their pork loin schnitzel, but for smoked salmon as it’s something I really love! This lovely dish is also topped with a fried egg with red cabbage and potatoes on the side. It’s a hearty meal and to my surprise the red cabbage was relatively sweet, so I really enjoyed it as I don’t love all types of sauerkraut; I was a little worried. I actually cleared everything off on my plate and I was impressed with myself!

My husband enjoyed a Jager-Schnitzel which was also a pork loin schnitzel, but what caught his eye was the creamy mushroom sauce that accompanied the dish! On the side was some spatzle, which is really short noodles or dumplings made of flour. Till this day, he still raves about this dish so obviously he truly loved it!

We had such a fabulous time here as the food was amazing, we even tried to order a slice of their Homemade Black Forrest cake, but they ran out. I was shocked that they ran out at that hour as dinner service hasn’t even started – so hopefully they started baking again! I know I will be back to try other amazing dishes here and even their desserts!

The Bavarian Inn Restaurant

75 White Ave
Bragg Creek, AB
(403) 949-3611

August 11, 2014August 11, 2014

Fireweed Grill – Kananaskis, Alberta

We had to do a birthday dinner redo as I was not satisfied with the original plans for my husband, so during a quiet getaway to Kananaskis, we dined at Fireweed Grill which I must say was amazing and perfect for any occasion – even lack of an occasion! It was perfect!

We didn’t order anything to start with, so for my entree I had Quebec Pork Tenderloin which I don’t know how it Quebec, but it was lovely. The meat was slightly overcooked but because it was pork tenderloin, it remained really tender and delicious. With the glaze topped with the salsa, the dish was heavenly!

The birthday boy ordered the New York Striploin which was a 10oz steak which was cooked really funny. The thickness difference was 1cm from either sides, making one edge of it “over cooked” and the other edge “perfect”. We didn’t say anything, but it was still tasty and the sauce did help with the well-doneness and everything else seemed so perfect!

Since everything was amazing, we decided we would have dessert. Our waitress was Kelsey who was absolutely amazing and adorable. She recommended her favourite to us, the Banana Bread Pudding which we were shocked how incredible it was. It was piping hot from the bread pudding and ice cold from the ice cream. The combination of it together — there are no words to describe it. Even eating the portions by itself was absolutely memorable. We eat a lot of desserts and so for, this ranks #2 out of ALL desserts we have had to date.

Overall, we were stuffed and extremely satisfied. The dessert and Kelsey really made our experience one to remember and we would return any day! It made the perfect weekend getaway!

Fireweed Grill – Delta Lodge at Kananaskis

1 Centennial Dr
Kananaskis, AB
(403) 591-6270

August 11, 2014August 11, 2014

Prime Social Kitchen – Fort McMurray, Alberta

We went for breakfast in our hotel at the Radisson Fort McMurray at Prime Social Kitchen and the breakfast here was really delicious. The service was quick and friendly as well.

I ordered the Waffles and Berries which was just what I wanted. Delicious sweet waffles that were perfectly prepared with fresh berries for me to place on top. The breakfast was satisfying and it made me really happy! It looks a lot prettier after I put the berries and the whipped cream on top, but I took that picture with my cellphone and I’m actually too lazy to transfer it.

My husband ordered one of his favourite breakfasts of all time, Steak and Eggs and this one a 7oz piece of New York steak with 2 eggs. The steak was well seasoned and tender, cooked to his liking! We definitely had no complaints here!

Overall, we had a fantastic breakfast here and we left for a long road trip stuffed, but not so full where we were uncomfortable!

Prime Social Kitchen

435 Gregoire Drive
Fort McMurray, Alberta
780-743-2400

August 11, 2014August 11, 2014

Moxie’s Grill & Bar – Fort McMurray, Alberta

We went up to Fort McMurray for the oil sands tour and after the day of touring, we needed to eat! We drove around and found Moxie’s Grill & Bar which is normally a place where I don’t go as I don’t usually have a good experience for some reason or another.

I’m still in search of delicious Dry Ribs and really felt that they would do a good job with the pork ribs. The ribs were very well fried and quite delicious, but they really over seasoned with salt and pepper. I found myself shaking off the extra salt and pepper – but after we do that, it was awesome!

I decided to order Salmon Banh Mi Sandwich for some odd reason. I was really lucky as the fish wasn’t “fishy” and it tasted alright. The sandwich overall was a little bland, which was probably because my tastebuds were overwhelmed from the dry ribs, but it was good! My only complaint would be the sauce that came with the sandwich was really watered down. I also ordered gravy with the fries and it cost $1.00 for a tiny container (yup, you can’t see it, but it’s the condiment dish). To make it worse, it was runny and tasteless! They must have over diluted it, so I was not a happy camper.

Luckily, this dinner was for my husband’s birthday and his dish was good. He ordered Herb Chicken Alfredo which actually would be really sad if they messed up on it. He enjoyed it with fresh cracked pepper. It was creamy and decadent.

Overall, our experience wasn’t awful, but it definitely could have been better. There was nothing really “wrong” with our experience, just little things that seemed important to me that wasn’t satisfied.

Moxie’s Grill & Bar – Wood Buffalo

9521 Franklin Ave
Fort McMurray, AB
(780) 791-1996

August 5, 2014August 5, 2014

Via Cibo – Calgary, Alberta

I was having one of those crazy days at work that left me feeling really tired and exhausted. Luckily on this day, we got to meet up some friends at Via Cibo which is located at Deerfoot Meadows in the Southeast.

Because of such a tiring day, I decided to order myself a nice cup of Latte which was not only presented beautifully, but it tasted really rich and creamy. It was quite perfect actually! Anything would have been perfect on a day like this, but this was beyond perfect!

We started with a bowl of Chef’s Soup which was a chicken egg drop soup. It looked really greasy but it didn’t taste like it – even though it was! This soup was made with chicken, chicken broth, carrots and celery – of course with the egg drop. It was quite flavourful and quite different from any other kind of soup I’ve had before.

As there was a bunch of us, we had 2 pizza’s ordered. The first pizza was their Margherita Pizza which was a vegetarian pizza with mozzarella, tomato and basil. It was a fine pizza with a fantastic crust! As simple as it looks it was jammed pack with flavours!

The other pizza that we devoured was their Via Caslinga Pizza with tomato, sausage, salami and cheese. It had a nice kick to it and it was delicious! The crust again was quite tasty with a nice texture and thickness to it.

As we’re in an Italian place, we couldn’t skip trying their pastas. I must say – they have excellent pasta and it exceeded my expectation! We ordered the Pomodoro with Meatballs and it was really something special. The texture of the pasta was fantastic, the meatballs were large, juicy and tasty. The overall dish was delicious and something I would order again!

Then, we actually made it to dessert round during the same visit! You would think we have been starving for weeks – but the food was too good, we couldn’t stop eating. One of the workers suggested we try their Zeppole which was Italian donuts with sugar coating and a chocolate filling. I do not need to say anything else. These were little bites of heaven!

And then, just in case you thought we had enough – we ordered some Fiasco Gelato also to share! We’ve had them in the past and they were awesome, and this day – same thing!! Nothing beats Italian ice cream!

Overall experience was beyond expectations. We ended up eating the entire restaurant before we left and loved it! I’m sure we’ll be back soon!

Via Cibo Deerfoot Meadows

7929 11th Street Unit# 2
AB T2H 0A7
403 253 9273