Posted on

Cravings Market – Calgary, Alberta

Cravings Market is truly a unique experience. It’s almost like an upscale fast food cafeteria, or food court. I’ve been here a few times for lunch, and it is really packed all the time. It’s got a huge variety of food stations where you pick what you’d like to eat, and they’d charge you by swiping it onto a card that you’re holding. When you’re done with your meal, you pay the balance on your card either individually or by table – as the table you sit at, you would all get the same table card, and then they are numbered for an individual card basis. It is a great idea, and avoid problems when customers from local business would like to “split the bill”.

For breakfast, I ordered an Open Sea Panini which was a panini sandwich with smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomatoes, red onions and capers. The sandwich was extremely tasty, but I think the chef forgot that capers were salty. So, overall, the panini was too salty. I didn’t return it back to the kitchen as it was bearable, but would have been a better experience if that wasn’t the case. You really got the smoke salmon taste, and that really made it the reason why I still loved it.

I also ordered a Pina Colada Smoothie which was great! It was packed with pineapple and coconut flavours that you can taste right off the back. The best thing, it wasn’t alcoholic, so I drank the entire glass right away! The portion of the smoothie was quite generous as well, as they filled a milkshake glass to the top!

We also ordered a breakfast in a bowl, and we tried the All Canadian breakfast in a bowl which was a bowl full of pan-fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, cheese, tomatoes, bacon, green onions and Hollandaise sauce on top. It also came with really good buttered bread on the side.

For a drink, we ordered a large Hot Chocolate which wasn’t anything special of course, but still good!

Cravings Market
7207 Fairmount Dr SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 252-2083

Posted on

Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill – Las Vegas, Nevada

We were in Las Vegas celebrating our wedding anniversary, and wanted something nice, but still quite reasonable in price. We heard lots about Mesa Grill from Bobby Flay’s show on Food Network (Throwdown with Bobby Flay) as they use this kitchen as a test kitchen sometimes (their test kitchen is the one in New York though). Regardless, we made reservations to be a guest a Mesa Grill.

We were a tad early, and was seated by the bar as we waited for our table. It wasn’t a long wait at all, before we got seated at our table. The atmosphere in Mesa grill was really quite cozy, yet it was high end, and a tad dark!

As we first got seated, the waiter immediately asked us for our drink orders and brought us a basket of bread, with wonderfully tasting bread – which I believe were: corn bread muffin, jalapeno bread, and a nut bread! I had a piece of each of the breads and my favorite would be the jalapeno bread!

For main, I tried the Ancho Chile-Honey Glazed Salmon which was a perfectly pan seared piece of salmon, topped with spicy black bean sauce & roasted Jalapeno Crema. The crust on the salmon was so good, even until the last bit, it was still a nice crisp! The ancho chile was full of flavor but was not over powering, it was a great balance of textures and flavors.

We also ordered Pan Roasted Venison which is served with Sweet Potato Tamale. The venison was really quite special and it is something most people don’t order by looking around! We really enjoyed both main entrees and have nothing but good to rave about.

For dessert, we enjoyed ourselves so much we thought we would stuff ourselves extra for this special occasion. We ordered both Churros which was deep fried long dough, dusted with Cinnamon Sugar & Star Anise with a Dark Chocolate Dipping Sauce. We also had Pineapple Upside-down Cake with a rum caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream on the top. Both desserts were really good, but I must admit, the Churros was much more memorable as it’s not as common of a dessert.

The price of the dinner is higher than your typical dinner, but was reasonable for where you are, and what you’re eating! Bobby Flay is after all a celebrity chef, which a Michelin Star earned in 2008!

Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill

Caesars Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
(877) 346-4642

Posted on

A Ladybug Bakery and Cafe – Calgary, Alberta

I have always loved strawberry waffles and A Ladybug Bakery and Cafe sure knows how to make them the way I like them! Previous to this experience with Ladybug, I’ve only been to their old location at the Currie Barracks, which has now closed, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to open a new location in the new Calgary Farmers Market

We had a few people that joined us for lunch, and we got pictures and their comments of the dish also! 🙂 But, I did order the Strawberry Waffles and it was as very tasty. The texture of the waffles was amazing with generous toppings!

We had an order of their lasagna and it looked really amazing! The smell of cheese, you could smell it at least a table away! This lasagna was packed with mushrooms, bechamel sauce, ground beef, and tomato sauce, it truly was an awesome choice!

I did enjoy their Chai Tea Latte and I found it was a bit watered down, but the quality of the chai tea was really good. I didn’t mind it was a little more subtle.

We had dessert to complete the meal, and I had a Tiramisu because I wanted a delicious one that I was craving since our trip to Las Vegas. It was a very delicate and delicious tiramisu here.

We also had their Chocolate Eclair which was quite decent! A delicate filling inside a beautiful chocolate donut.

A Ladybug Bakery and Cafe

2132 10 Aspen Stone Blvd
Calgary, AB
(403) 249-5530

Posted on

Sea.Fish n’Chips – Calgary, Alberta

I went to Sea’s on a quiet afternoon. It was a beautiful day, and just after the lunch rush, so I got the place pretty much to myself.

Sea’s is a little location that offers a few tables, that offers freshly fried fish, chips, and all sorts of other goodies. Their take out menu isn’t as complete as their sit down menu, and both menus are available on their website.

One thing I was kind of craving was something like a crab cake, but it didn’t have to be a crab… they didn’t have any starters that had just that, but it’s alright, I’ve had their calamari before, and it was good. But since I came alone this time, I know I wouldn’t have been able to finish everything if I ordered calamari on top of my meal.

I had a nice refreshing glass of home made lemonade which was really tasty! Just as I would expect home made lemonade to taste like! It was perfect for a nice bright summery day!

As much as I wanted to try their burgers, I went to a fish and chip joint – so I should enjoy fish and chip! They had an array of options, from halibut, cod, and haddock. So, I chose a haddock meal with chips, just like how England would do it! It was freshly fried, great piece of fish – not fishy at all, lightly and flaky – perfect! and the fries were really crispy on the outside, and tender & juicy on the inside.

The decoration inside really suite the theme. There was a giant net on the ceiling, and there were a lot of posters that stayed with the “sea” theme. It is a cute place for sure! I can see myself being back in the near future.

Sea.Fish n’Chips

45 High Street SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 452-3474

Posted on

Solara Resort & Spa in Canmore

Solara Resort & Spa is one of Bellstar‘s newest properties! It offers a new modern ambiance, and the interior decoration and design is very sleek, modern and masculine. The resort opened it’s doors to the public at the end of 2010, where it was loved by many – even with the amenities not completed. Today, the pool has opened, and the kids water play area, and some other, but I have not been back yet!

The resort is really warm, and quiet! The floors are cork flooring, which really softens any noise you may hear around! The patios/balconies are really large, and the space overall in any suite is really big and comfortable! It is an excellent resort to park yourself at! Solara offers complimentary secure underground parking with a car rinse stall for you to wash off all the highway pest!

My favourite part about my Solara experience would have to be the bathrooms. In our suite we stayed in, it had a lovely stand alone soaker tub that I took advantage of! After a long day of hike, my feet were tired, and really appreciated the tub. In the morning, I loved the walk in shower! It has a large rain shower faucet, as well as body jets!! You can use both either to relax after a long day, take a nice refreshing shower to start a long day, or just use the extra faucets to get wet, and rinsed as fast as you can!