Heritage Bakery & Deli – Calgary, Alberta

I really love Ukrainian and Polish food and when I heard about Heritage Bakery & Delicatessen, I knew immediately it was a place I needed to go to! This summer, we spent a few days up North, north of Edmonton to attend Babas and Borsch and other fun Ukrainian events and even visit Glendon, where the largest perogy sits! So, needless to say, when we got back from that type of cuisine, I missed it and had to seek it out – so we came to Heritage Bakery!

This place is like a store and a sit down place combined! I love the idea and I’m glad it works in Calgary! It’s not a huge place, but I want to say it’s big enough! Of course, it would be more fun if it carried even more items for me to gain ideas for, when I cook at home!

But, after we browsed around, we ordered 2 combos an sat down. We ordered their Combo #1 which included Cabbage Roll, 4 Perogies, Hunter’s Stew and Sausage! I really liked this combo as it was like a variety plate where you can sample a lot of items!

The other combo that we ordered was definitely one of my favourites! It was Combo #4 which was Small borscht and perogies! It was great and just what I needed! The perogies and borscht was quite delicious!

I can’t say “we” liked this place, because I don’t care! I LOVED this place and I already think about going back to eat their meat crepes or potato pancakes and their schnitzels! Hopefully that second visit will come around sooner than later!

Heritage Bakery & Deli on Urbanspoon

Heritage Bakery & Deli

1912 – 37th Street SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 686-6835

Dairy Lane Cafe – Calgary, Alberta

My favourite thing to do on weekends is to wake up early and find breakfast! I love breakfast, as normally I have the weirdest breakfast… so, I really enjoy traditional (I guess “American”) breakfast. Lately, I’ve been eating wontons for breakfast which a lot of people think it’s so strange. So, I seek out regular breakfasts when I have the time! This time I find myself wandering in the Northwest part of the city at a place called Dairy Lane Cafe which is a small but popular cafe!

We got seated about 20 minutes after arrival, and that was pretty much as fast as it can get for this location! Once we got seated, I needed a Hot Chocolate… as nice as the outside looked it was still quite breezy! Now that I’ve warmed up some, it will take me another 20 minutes to figure out what I want to eat!

This particular day, I figured I’d try some Stuffed French Toast which is an unusual item for me to pick from if you know me at all! I even picked it with the sweet toppings of cinnamon cream cheese and field berry compote! I thought it was very odd as well, but I’m glad I did! Even the table beside me had to ask what it was that I ordered! 🙂 It wasn’t overly sweet probably balanced out with the thickness of the bread. It wasn’t all bread either, it as stuffed with the compote, and I drizzle it with syrup! I loved it and I recommend it!

My other half has always loved savoury food, so he ordered himself a Double Triple which from the name is obvious, right? Well, if not, it’s a breakfast consisting of 3 eggs, pork sausage, chicken sausage and bacon! The sausages were really nice, I enjoyed the textures and flavours of it, and of course bacon, there’s nothing better than bacon in this world! I didn’t try his toast, eggs or hashbrowns, but the meat on the plate was wonderful!

Overall, it was a nice sit down place for breakfast! I nice way to kill some time when you’re planning a lazy day! As busy as they are, you don’t feel rushed to get out, but yet your own conscience will tell you to take your conversation elsewhere! The prices are decent, I consider it high, but it’ll always be higher than breakfast at Chinese places. The bill here was just over $35… not good, not bad! But, I left happy and really full, and even got to show off my french toast – so it was wonderful!

Dairy Lane Cafe on Urbanspoon

Dairy Lane Cafe

319 19 St NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 283-2497

Tropical Delight Noodles House – Calgary, Alberta

Nothing warms one up more than hot and spicy food – so on this cold Saturday afternoon, that’s what we wanted! We heard wonderful things about Tropical Delight Noodle House in the Northeast end of Calgary, located in a strip mall with very little parking. This place is worth seeking out though, so be patient with them as they’re quite popular and they’ve got really limited hours (Monday through Saturday, 10am to 5:30PM).

Once inside, there it wasn’t too bad as it looks like other customers didn’t want to venture out during a snowfall warning day — so we got seated quite quickly this time! I started by ordering one of their Red Bean Drinks, well, it was called that in Chinese, don’t remember their English name given, but it was actually really good! It was the perfect subtle amount of sweetness and even though it was cold outside, it was still a nice treat!

I knew what I wanted, I wanted their Laksa Noodle Soup which was hot, flavourful and delicious! It hit the perfect spot in my belly! This spicy bowl of soup had shrimp, tofu, egg, and fish ball with rice vermicelli, of course in their awesome soup!

We also ordered their 2 Item Combo which was suppose to come with a drink — and they never gave it to us. It wasn’t something we needed, so we actually just left without a word about it at the end, since I paid $5 for my drink, I felt like I had to finish it instead. Anyway, for this combo, we had rice with beef randang and curry chicken. It looks like Chinese beef stew with 2 pieces of curry chicken. Both were really delicious and filling too!

Overall, an excellent choice for a place to put on your to-go list if you like ethnic and spicy food. Not everything is spicy, even though I do recommend the laksa! The Beef Randang was extremely delicious and I know my husband would recommend that before the laksa! Well, there you go, you gotta go now and figure out if you like the soup or the rice more!

Tropical Delight Noodles House on Urbanspoon

Tropical Delight Noodles House

4604 12 St NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 261-1811

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! 🙂

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