Heartland Cafe – Okotoks, Alberta

I’ve been eyeing going to Heartland Cafe for a very long time. There has been previous occasions where I’ve been there and no one seated us so we walked away. Finally, we went there one afternoon and there was actually some service!

It took awhile before the waitress came give us our menus let alone take our order. So, be prepared to spend an afternoon here if you’re going for lunch, but the food is worth it! I already went there with the anticipation it’ll take a long time from previous times so I started with a drink. I did order their Flat Iron Steak Sandwich with their soup of the day and it was something worth the wait!

We also had a their Ahi Tuna Tacos but we ate it like a lunch and it was really fresh and light. It was mouth watering and tasty.

The environment was great as we sat outside on their patio. It was fun to watch the people go by and I guess it was a car show that weekend so we got to watch unique cars go by. The food was amazing and worth every second!

Heartland Cafe

46 McRae St,
Okotoks, Alberta
(403) 995-4623

Indian Flavors – Calgary, Alberta

There seems to be a good handful of change around the area lately, and most recently I found Indian Flavors where Ricky’s used to be on 130th Ave SE. We entered this restaurant on a chilly afternoon when I wasn’t feeling the best and just wanted something to warm me up.

Unable to decided what I really wanted, I just opted for their buffet as it was there and the other table didn’t look disappointed as they were having a great time! What was neat was they had lamb option and fish in their buffet which isn’t something I normally see.

I just had a plate of sampler basically of the things I wanted to try with some rice. The food smelled amazing, but it was definitely much milder than I’d like to satisfy the general crowd. It was strange as there was spice, but it just seemed a bit watered down for me.

What I truly appreciated was them bringing a basket of fresh naan instead of just picking some out of the buffet area. It was delicious fresh and I was really glad they did that special touch!

Just as I was about to leave, the staff told me to go have some dessert. You tell me there’s dessert and tell me to have some, it’s a done deal! So, I tried both their mango mousse which was awesome with a bit of sour from lemons! It was a fresh an amazing twist on the normal light mousse!

It was a decent buffet, the service was fantastic and there was definitely parking! The buffet was just under $17 an adult and with the selection, it was pretty good!

Indian Flavors

4307 130 Ave SE #207
Calgary, Alberta
(403) 460-9700

Gorilla Whale – Calgary, Alberta

This was a fun afternoon here at Gorilla Whale which is a place that takes a spin on Japanese food. Nothing here is “traditional” but it’s exciting!

I wasn’t sure what to have, and one of the managers came and sat with me and introduced some of her recommendations to me. She told me to try their Chicken Chicken Bang Bang Noodle Soup so, I ordered that! This noodle was in a Japanese curry broth with chicken, crispy fried chicken skin, with pickled ginger! This was a really neat mix of ingredients and taste! The fried chicken skin was amazing and I would eat an entire plate of it!

The other thing we ordered was their Karaage Burger and this was really different. The fried chicken was really crispy and delicious. It was not greasy at all. The bacon was amazing and was almost he star of the show! The mixture of flavours here was unique and it compliments each other.

Overall, it was an amazing experience and definitely not your traditional Japanese restaurant. I enjoyed the modern twist and the fun spin!

Gorilla Whale

1214 9th Ave SE
Calgary, AB
587-356-2686

Shuswap Pie Company – Salmon Arm

We have been driving out to Vancouver a lot for no good reason. Sometimes, we just have an itch to go eat at the wharf, and we’ll do crazy things like leave after work to stop at Salmon Arm or Sicamous, stay the night, wake up early on Saturday and arrive to spend a few hours in Vancouver. On Sundays it’s always just the drive back home to go to work on Mondays. With this trip done so many times, and always arriving when this cute pie place is closed, I wanted a special trip to Shuswap Pie Company on a day it’s opened. We made a special trip for pie!

For me, nothing beats a homemade Apple Pie à la Mode whenever possible. Once I saw a fresh apple pie on the counter, I knew it was what I wanted. The line was long, but absolutely worth the wait.

I normally drink a coffee, but this day I just ordered a London Fog and it was super! It was a nice blend and I appreciated this hot drink that didn’t take away from my pie!

As we got here for lunch, dessert wasn’t the only thing we ordered. I can’t survive a meal without meat, so we had a Chicken Pot Pie and that was amazing! The crust was perfect, the filling was tasty and hot!

The overall experience here was perfect. Well worth the effort and the experience was amazing. I still talk about driving here for an afternoon pie, but we haven’t done it again yet. I’m sure if I run out of ideas on things to do, it’ll be back on my list!

Shuswap Pie Company

331 Alexander Street,
Salmon Arm, BC
250-832-7992
Shuswap Pie Company Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sockeye City Grill – Richmond, British Columbia

We were travelling to British Columbia, into Vancouver as our friend wanted us to tag along to his work conference.. so we did! We’re not hard to convince to do things if we have some interest. We got off the plane, got our rental vehicle and made our way to Steveston which is in Richmond, BC. We were hungry and found ourselves gravitating towards Sockeye City Grill. When we got here, the rain let off and a bit of sun came out so we even sat on the patio.

There was 4 of us in total, and all we wanted was their Fish & Chip Platter, and thiw was amazing. A 2 tiered platter full of fried goodness right! This platter offered a piece each of cod, halibut and salmon, with 2 oysters, 4 prawns, and a giant portion of lemon coriander crusted calamari, and a bed of fries.

The service was great, the ambient was fun as we were outside on the patio watching both locals and tourists walk around. Most importantyly, the food was amazing and the weather held up for us! We even got to walk around and tried to find the areas where a show my friend watched was filmed. She was so excited! It was a great afternoon!

Sockeye City Grill

3800 Bayview Street
Richmond, British Columbia
604-275-6790
Sockeye City Grill Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato