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Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria – McKenzie Towne Calgary

I’ve always wondered what the empty spaces on High Street in McKenzie Towne would turn out to be as 2 prime locations recently closed for whatever reason. I’m happy to say that a Day Spa has now turned into Famoso Neapolitian Pizzeria which has been a location where I’ve been trying to put on the top of my priority list since it opened. My co-workers can’t stop raving about it, and of course, I went during the coldest days of autumn – and I’m happy to say there was still a line out the door. It was a little cold for me as it was around 8:30PM on a Friday night, so I figured I would go during lunch on the Saturday – which I did! When I entered the pizzeria, we were immediately greeted by friendly staff asking if we’ve dined there before. We said no, and thank goodness we did as you write your order down and go up to the counter to order/pay.

I ordered a Gelato Float as I love floats. I have no idea how you’re suppose to order it as the menu only says “Gelato Float”, but I got my husband to order it, and I got the most disgusting float! I guess my husband wanted just a fountain drink of “Iced Tea”, and he must of gotten confused when ordering my float. I ended up with a Chai Tea Latte Gelato with Iced Tea, which is something I would HIGLHY NOT recommend! hahaha! Usually, I know floats with a sweet fountain drink like Grape or Root Beer with a vanilla ice cream… ah well, there’s always a first for everything!

We ordered an appetizer and a pizza, as this was a lunch – we ordered Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella Balls which was a platter with fresh mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto baked in Campania tomato sauce served with flatbread. I just scooped out a mozzarella ball onto my plate and dissected it and covered it with the delicious tomato sauce with a bit of flat bread!

The pizza that we ordered was Abruzzo Pizza which was a pizza topped with Oven-roasted Italian sausage, onion, mushroom, fennel seeds and smoked mozzarella. It was a pizza that said it’s new for the Fall & Winter season, which was a good idea as the combination of the Italian sausage and smoked mozzarella was a such a delicious combination. The pizza crust was really something special! It wasn’t greasy at all, and the texture was amazing! There’s a place in my heart for greasy pizza crusts, but for ones that aren’t too greasy – this is a great alternative!

I love the location, and the environment! The service was excellent, and the food was exceptional! Now that I’ve finally tried the pizza here, my co-workers won’t stop talking about their desserts… so, needless to say, I will be back!

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria

Southeast
5 High St SE
Calgary, AB
(587) 352-5566

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ABC Restaurant

I went to the ABC Restaurant that’s in Chinatown the other day, and realized that the sign outside has completely changed. Which made me realize they’ve changed concept and/or owner. We still went in for a breakfast as there isn’t too many places that are opened so early on a weekend in Calgary.

The breakfast concept is repetitively unchanged, and so I ordered a breakfast combo B with Satay Beef with Rice Vermicelli which comes with a hot drink for $5.25! I love how inexpensive Chinese breakfasts are!

The other breakfast that we ordered was the House Special Combo< which was for $6.75, and the 2 options ordered was the scrambled eggs and Rib Eye Steak. It also came with a hot drink and buttered toast.

The milk tea was fantastic, I like the small old school type of cup! The actual milk tea was quite silky and quite strong of a flavour. It was really good – not the best I’ve ever had, but it’s quite good!

Overall, it’s a nice place to return to. I do miss the original cafe/bakery a lot, but change isn’t a bad thing either! Here’s the post to the old restaurant, which was called ABC Bakery & Cafe

ABC Restaurant

112 3 Ave SE
Calgary, AB T2G0B7
(403) 266-2888

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Edmonton Hotel and Convention Centre

Edmonton isn’t a place where we go, unless we truly have to. Lately, my other half has been going to Edmonton once in awhile for business, and he’s been staying at the Edmonton Hotel & Convention Centre which was formerly a Holiday Inn hotel. This hotel has just gone through some updating and renovations making the interior much more modern. This review is of the Executive King Suite which offers a lot of amenities in a hotel room. The room itself is fairly large and it offers a kitchenette, seating area and a glass divider to separate the room for the business side to the personal side. This glass sliding divider isn’t frosted to ensure privacy like the website leads you to think. But, I think they did this as the room offers 1 TV, and it’s in the “bedroom” part of the suite – so when you’re sitting in the sitting area, you can see the TV.

The bathroom is quite a beauty, the shower is modern and offers some body jets. The pressure and temperatures of the shower is very reasonable, making a nice home away from home feel,with a clean, sleek, modern design. The bathroom is large/spacious and offers yours standard bathroom amenities.

The actual room itself is large, and very comfortable. As mentioned, there is a kitchenette, which includes a small fridge and microwave making longer stays much more comfortable – or even left over meals, or packed lunches for the following day. There is even a little dining area as well, which is really neat! This suite has more than enough seating area for guests and visitors.

Here is a quick walk-through of the room that was used during the visit to Edmonton.

Edmonton Hotel & Convention Centre

4520 – 76 Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
T6B 0A5

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Chili’s Texas Grill (Southcentre Mall)

I’ve never been to Chili’s and to be honest, we went there because we heard about a fantastic promotion they have going on… it’s the 2 for $25 which was one appetizer to share and 2 full sized entrees! Even if they didn’t do a full size entree, it’s still a fantastic deal! We visit the Chili’s location at South Centre mall, which is located outside of the mall, towards SportsChek. We went during mid-week evening, and thinking there wouldn’t be a line up, there was! It was exciting to see so many guests, it makes me think the place is always good!

We got inside and they took our name and they advised us it would be about 45 minute wait for a table. We said that’s fine and we sat down to wait. Not long after we sat down, they came out with some appetizers for their waiting guest – which was a really nice touch! They were bringing out Jalapeno Cheese Bites which was a delicious jalapeno cheddar that is breaded in panko and deep fried to perfection!

When we sat down, we flipped through the menu, and figured we wanted to upgrade our dinner to the other special 2 for $30 special, which is the same deal, but the food sounded more appetizing for us! We ordered a Texas Dry Ribs for our appetizer to share. It was a huge portion and it was delicious whether we took it as is, or splashed some lemon juice on it!

I ordered the Classic Chicken Fajita which is something I really like! I love eating with my hands, and with fajitas coming out on a sizzling plate with caramelized veggies, this was a fun meal for me! The chicken was delicious and it was truly a full sized entree. There was only 3 tortilla wraps, but it’s alright, I just ate the entire thing off the sizzling with the condiments poured on top! It was really enjoyable and memorable!

The other entree that we ordered was the Chicken Enchilada Pasta which is a huge bowl of penne with some grilled chicken, corn, mushrooms and onions in a rich enchilada sauce with melted mixed cheese. It was a hearty meal and cheesy too!

We really enjoyed our time at Chili’s and we’ve been thinking about returning – especially during the spring/summer months and enjoy their patio too! Regular meals are reasonably priced, and the service was exceptional. To top it off, the food was spectacular and very pleasant to eat! We’ve just selected Chili’s as a location we will add to our circulation of places to go for dinner now!

Chili's Texas Grill (Southcentre Mall) on Urbanspoon

Chili’s Texas Grill

282 100 Anderson Rd SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 225-2150

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Saigon Annam Vietnamese Cuisine

I love eating Vietnamese food, especially during cold winter evenings when I don’t want to cook. This usually happens during weekends, and my favourite Vietnamese restaurant doesn’t open on Sundays, so I was out on a hunt looking for a new Vietnamese cuisine that was opened! I found one, and I like it! It’s Saigon Annam Vietnamese Cuisine which is opened daily from 11:00 to 9:00PM. This business is located on 24th Street SE just off Deerfoot Trail and Douglasdale Blvd/24th Street exit. It’s at the same area as Sobeys plaza, but further west. It is a stand-alone building.

We started our meal with their Prawn Salad Rolls which came on a plate with 4 salad rolls, which was decent in size, for $6.50, I wouldn’t expect it to be small. The shrimp was quite fresh, which is always a delight! The worse thing is having soggy shrimp with a fishy smell/taste! But, thankfully this little restaurant doesn’t server stuff like that!

We wanted a good satay noodle, as the last time we had one, it was nothing but chili oil in the soup – which isn’t “satay” flavour. So, we ordered a bowl of Satay Beef Noodle Soup, and we love it! It was actually a bit spicy and it offered some great satay flavour! There was a lot of noodles and beef in the bowl, and for a price of $9.50, it ranks in on the high end of regular Vietnamese noodle prices. I really like the portion sizes that justifies the price tag!

As the temperatures get colder and colder, all I want is spice! So, I ordered a bowl of Bun Bo Hue which is something I order a lot, but with caution since a lot of times, it just turns into a bowl of SUPER spicy noodles with again, no taste. I am happy to say it was really good here, and the texture of their noodles was perfect! It was just a great bowl of Bun Bo Hue – and now I’m thinking about ordering another bowl for take-out tonight!

Overall, I really like this place. The service is great, fast and friendly. The cost is really decent for the amount of food you get (even though it’s Asian food), and it’s not too far from home! I’m sure I’ll be back, and I know I would love to thy their Vietnamese submarines, as I haven’t had a delicious one in a long time!

Saigon Annam Vietnamese Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Saigon Annam Vietnamese Cuisine

11566 24 St SE
Calgary, AB T2Z3J3
(403) 457-3885