Posted on

Graze Restaurant and Grill – Calgary, Alberta

I’ve been going to Graze Grill once a year now for the last 5 years – and we only go on Valentines Day. They put out a really good Valentines Day Buffet at a really great rate! You don’t need to make reservations, but I have been doing it anyway the last 2 years.

The restaurant is located inside of Executive Royal Inn also known as the Royal Inn in Northeast Calgary. It’s really neat because I know that some flight crew that overnights in Calgary stays at this hotel – and sometimes you see them eating at this buffet for V-Day! The prices are really reasonable as well – as all other places really mark up their prices for this day, adults was only $25/adult in 2011. Sure, the selection isn’t HUGE as it is in a smaller hotel and really, how much selection do you need when the food tastes good? My favourite station of course is the carving station! We’ve had from beef roasts to prime rib and it’s always good!

This is a great buffet to go to in Calgary during special occasions because they care about the product of their food and they make it taste really good. The environment is really nice, warm and inviting. I’ve never tried their Sunday Brunch buffet before, but I’ve really never tried that anywhere in Calgary, except for a select few locations. It’s a place I’ll continue to go to annually for the special Valentines Day Buffet!

Overall, I think the buffet is well worth it! It’s got great food, and it’s close to a lot of amenities if you’re looking for something to do or somewhere to go afterwards. The dessert chocolate fountain is always fun too! Their desserts are quite decent as well! definitely hits the spot!

Graze Restaurant and Grill

2828 23 St NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 219-7484

Posted on

Mighty Skillet Food Truck – Calgary

One of our newest members to the Food Truck in Calgary would be The Mighty Skillet which recently started hitting the streets in November 2011.

I ordered the Eggs Benny which is their take on the Eggs Benedict. It still was delicious and just by looking at it, you knew it was suppose to be an eggs benedict. This platter of food came with 2 perfectly poached eggs, on top of a slice of ham, and that all sat on top of a bed of hash browns. Along side was a slice of toast. The hashbrowns was different from any other hash brown, as they were not crispy and it was made of what seemed to be a lot of onion shavings with a lot of herbs and spices!

We also ordered the Corn Beef Hash which again used a different type of hashbrown! This time, it wasn’t as “spiced” up, but still very flavourful! This dish was their spin on the regular corned beef hash as well! It was shredded potatoes with pieces of corned beef (deli?) mixed into it! It also had a fantastic egg on top!

Everything from this truck was very flavourful and well worth the wait! We went during a wind storm, and it was actually a lot of fun braving the elements and enjoying some good and hot food! Well worth the visit! These guys know how to prepare really good breakfast food and they’re awesome at making eggs in my opinion! Great work!

Posted on

Boston Pizza Chinook Centre – Calgary, Alberta

This particular evening we were wanting to eat at Boston Pizza which is somewhere we use to go a lot, but has cut down. We went to the Chinook Centre location as it’s not only convenient, but we could also get some Christmas shopping afterwards! This location is one of the newest locations in Calgary, and I think it’s great!

I ordered the Baked Chipotle Bacon Penne which was excellent, with a nice spicy smokey chipotle taste which was kind of subtle, but enough to detect. This plate of penne was a large portion but was really good – it was penne with creamy alfredo sauce tossed with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. Then to make it extra special, they put a nice layer of cheese on top and baked it to oozy gooey yumminess!

For the pizza, we ordered Spicy Perogy Pizza and this was such a different type of pizza. Instead of your typical tomato pizza sauce, they use sour cream, and they line the pizza with potato slices. The toppings was delicious and it had lots of smoky bacon, cheese and green onions!

For dessert, even though we were super stuffed, we were convinced to try the Sticky Toffee Pudding and we’re so happy that we tried it. It was a delicious steamed chocolate sponge cake, topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream smothered with rich caramel sauce.

The food at this location was phenomenal, and the service overall was excellent. The prices was right, and you’ll never know what kind of new menu items you’ll find from Boston Pizza. It’s not your typical Pizza Chain as it offers not only your usual suspects at a pizza joint, but it offers new and exciting menu items and even specialty items like gluten free dishes.

Boston Pizza in Calgary Chinook Center

232 – 6455 Macleod Trail SW Map
Calgary, AB
(403) 255-2525

Posted on

Fernandez & Wells – London, England

While we were in London, we really wanted lunch, and had absolutely no idea what we were wanting to eat – but knowing we had to eat! We just happen to be walking down Lexington Street, and we saw 3 cured legs at the window, and we knew this was the place where we wanted to eat! This lovely location is called Fernandez & Wells which seemed perfect!

This store front is wonderful! It’s small, warm, cozy, and the smell of freshly roasted and cured meats fills the air! When we got to the counter to see what we wanted to eat, there was a pile high of sandwiches on a selection of ciabatta buns or ‘bocadillos’ (crusty flutes) – and they get grilled after you order them.

I ordered the Grilled Chorizo Sandwich which is made of their fresh chorizo, and lined with some roasted red peppers and rocket leaves. After this sandwich was grilled, it was delicious and it was kind of spicy and super tasty!

We also ordered Rare Topside of Beef Sandwich which was a sandwich packed with roast beef and some horseradish. The roast beef was perfectly roasted and it wasn’t tough at all! It was tender and full of intense beef flavour which was very nice! I personally think they put a tad too much horseradish on the sandwich, as it cleared my sinuses and made my eyes water! I ended up scooping off some of the horseradish before finishing up my half of the sandwich.

Fernandez & Wells really keeps things simple. When we asked what there is to drink, they looked at us funny and said “wine or water”, so we opt’d for wine, as it looks like the thing to do! We don’t ever drink wine, so it was kind of funny as we had a nice buzz from it! 🙂 We ordered the Alpha Zeta Chardonnay which was quite light already. I can’t say if it was good or not as I do not know how chardonnay is suppose to taste, or the difference between any wines. But, it was crisp and light – and actually a bit refreshing!

This was one of the best sandwich lunch places we’ve had in a long time! Things are kept basic, simple and rustic and that made for a delicious place to eat! We even went at an odd time, and there wasn’t seating left. Most of their customers take away, or they’re sitting there enjoying cheese and wine or something like that! It was just nice to step out of the busy streets of London and step into their restaurant and we were able to relax and watch the world pass by. This location is truly a hidden gem for us!

Fernandez & Wells

43 Lexington St
Soho, UK
(020) 7734 1546

Posted on

Fiamma Trattoria – Las Vegas, Nevada

We were staying at the MGM Grand Resort & Casino, and didn’t want to venture out too far one evening. We actually wanted to try Nobhill by Michael Mina, but they were closed, along with Seablue by Michael Mina. So, we opted for Fiamma Trattoria on Studio Walk inside the MGM Grand.

Fiamma is an Italian restaurant, and in the past, they have been a 4 Diamond AAA Recipient from 2006 – 2010. This restaurant does feature a delicious and large selection of items on the menu. I ordered the Grilled Atlantic Salmon and it was cooked to a perfect medium as requested. The salmon wasn’t tough or fishy but it was tender and flaky. A large piece of salmon portion was on the plate, and it was sitting on a bed of vegetables which was sauteed zucchini and peppers. On the side, there was a dipping sauce that was a parsley and chive sauce with lots of lemon juice in it! The acidity was really nice to balance out the salmon, and the fresh vegetables. This dish was absolutely fine and I would order it again!

Our table also had the Roasted Petaluma Chicken which came on a large plate with chicken stacked up to sky high! There were 2 large pieces of roasted chicken, roasted to perfection as it was super tender and juicy and fall off the bone goodness. These pieces of chicken rested on a tall bed of sauteed swiss chard, roasted fingerling potato – cut up into smaller pieces. This entire plate was then drizzled with the sauce from roasting the chicken and was really a great home cooked meal masterpiece!

Finally, we ordered a plate of Fettuccine, and custom ordered our to use Alfredo Sauce instead of the Basil Pesto sauce that is stated on the menu. It was delicoius and this bowl of pasta had Santa Barbara Spotted Prawns, which were extremely large prawns, sweet, crispy, fresh and awesome!

The food from Fiamma was really good, portion sizes was large, service was excellent and the prices was very reasonable! It’s a place I wouldn’t mind going back to and even taking family and friends. They’re only opened for dinner, so be sure to book a dinner here one day!

Fiamma Trattoria

3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
(702) 891-1111