Posted on

Moxie’s Grill & Bar – Fort McMurray, Alberta

We went up to Fort McMurray for the oil sands tour and after the day of touring, we needed to eat! We drove around and found Moxie’s Grill & Bar which is normally a place where I don’t go as I don’t usually have a good experience for some reason or another.

I’m still in search of delicious Dry Ribs and really felt that they would do a good job with the pork ribs. The ribs were very well fried and quite delicious, but they really over seasoned with salt and pepper. I found myself shaking off the extra salt and pepper – but after we do that, it was awesome!

I decided to order Salmon Banh Mi Sandwich for some odd reason. I was really lucky as the fish wasn’t “fishy” and it tasted alright. The sandwich overall was a little bland, which was probably because my tastebuds were overwhelmed from the dry ribs, but it was good! My only complaint would be the sauce that came with the sandwich was really watered down. I also ordered gravy with the fries and it cost $1.00 for a tiny container (yup, you can’t see it, but it’s the condiment dish). To make it worse, it was runny and tasteless! They must have over diluted it, so I was not a happy camper.

Luckily, this dinner was for my husband’s birthday and his dish was good. He ordered Herb Chicken Alfredo which actually would be really sad if they messed up on it. He enjoyed it with fresh cracked pepper. It was creamy and decadent.

Overall, our experience wasn’t awful, but it definitely could have been better. There was nothing really “wrong” with our experience, just little things that seemed important to me that wasn’t satisfied.

Moxie's Grill & Bar on Urbanspoon

Moxie’s Grill & Bar – Wood Buffalo

9521 Franklin Ave
Fort McMurray, AB
(780) 791-1996

Posted on

Radisson Hotel and Suites – Fort McMurray, Alberta

We made it to Fort McMurray for an Oil Sands tour and so we decided we’d stay the night at the Radisson Hotel & Suites after the tour. It was a fantastic package that we got with this offer with the Oil Sands tour and the Marine Museum with the night stay here!

This city is definitely mostly workers in the oil sands but it was pretty neat as the culture here is quite different from any other. The room that we got to stay in was very nice! It had a nice King sized bed and of course, it was a sleep number bed which is perfect for my husband and I. We like different firmness of bed so this was wonderful!

The actual room itself was very spacious and the feel of the hotel was really new and clean. It had a desk area as well as a seating area which I didn’t take a picture of but you can see it on the clip below. The bathroom was quite spacious and although the tub was standard, it almost felt like an oversized one.

Overall stay here was fantastic. The front desk staff was friendly, the restaurant was delicious and the staff there was also great.

Radisson Hotel and Suites Fort McMurray

435 Gregoire Drive
Fort McMurray Alberta

Reservations: 1-780-743-2400

Posted on

Delta Lodge at Kananaskis – Kananaskis Village, Alberta

We’ve been by Kananaskis a few times already and we’ve always wanted to stay here. So many years later, we finally did get a chance to book a stay at the Delta Lodges at Kananaskis which was a fantastic resort in the middle of no where!

We checked into our room and was pleasantly surprised it was still a nice lodge feeling hotel (which it totally should be)! We actually got a Premier Room which has 2 queen beds and a balcony. The balcony was really nice as you can step out to the wilderness and it feels like you’ll see animals walk by while you’re out there.

The room itself was quite spacious especially for the 2 of us, and we spent our time outside or downstairs as we were celebrating my husbands birthday on this trip. On a side note, the Fireweed Grill was an excellent place to dine. The waitress was unbelievable and she didn’t even know it was for a special occasion! I’m sure if she did know, she would have made it extra special!

The beds were quite comfortable, but we were also quite tired as we made it in from Fort McMurray that same day – which was a long drive. The beds are quite tall and the pillows were perfect!

This room was pretty special, it had a little side sink outside of the bathroom and it had a little station with a kettle, and coffee maker – which is a good idea for families staying here so that if someone is in the bathroom, there’s still a sink you can use! The bathroom itself was quite standard, but at least there wasn’t really anything to complain about. It’s nothing to rave about either – so it’s a bathroom!

The overall stay was awesome, the hospitality was wonderful and it was memorable. I will stay here again as it was a nice getaway and it was remote! The experience was memorable.

Delta Lodge at Kananaskis

1 Centennial Drive
Kananaskis Village, Alberta T0L 2H0 Canada

Phone: 403-591-7711
Fax: 403-591-7770
Reservations: 888-890-3222

Posted on

Via Cibo – Calgary, Alberta

I was having one of those crazy days at work that left me feeling really tired and exhausted. Luckily on this day, we got to meet up some friends at Via Cibo which is located at Deerfoot Meadows in the Southeast.

Because of such a tiring day, I decided to order myself a nice cup of Latte which was not only presented beautifully, but it tasted really rich and creamy. It was quite perfect actually! Anything would have been perfect on a day like this, but this was beyond perfect!

We started with a bowl of Chef’s Soup which was a chicken egg drop soup. It looked really greasy but it didn’t taste like it – even though it was! This soup was made with chicken, chicken broth, carrots and celery – of course with the egg drop. It was quite flavourful and quite different from any other kind of soup I’ve had before.

As there was a bunch of us, we had 2 pizza’s ordered. The first pizza was their Margherita Pizza which was a vegetarian pizza with mozzarella, tomato and basil. It was a fine pizza with a fantastic crust! As simple as it looks it was jammed pack with flavours!

The other pizza that we devoured was their Via Caslinga Pizza with tomato, sausage, salami and cheese. It had a nice kick to it and it was delicious! The crust again was quite tasty with a nice texture and thickness to it.

As we’re in an Italian place, we couldn’t skip trying their pastas. I must say – they have excellent pasta and it exceeded my expectation! We ordered the Pomodoro with Meatballs and it was really something special. The texture of the pasta was fantastic, the meatballs were large, juicy and tasty. The overall dish was delicious and something I would order again!

Then, we actually made it to dessert round during the same visit! You would think we have been starving for weeks – but the food was too good, we couldn’t stop eating. One of the workers suggested we try their Zeppole which was Italian donuts with sugar coating and a chocolate filling. I do not need to say anything else. These were little bites of heaven!

And then, just in case you thought we had enough – we ordered some Fiasco Gelato also to share! We’ve had them in the past and they were awesome, and this day – same thing!! Nothing beats Italian ice cream!

Overall experience was beyond expectations. We ended up eating the entire restaurant before we left and loved it! I’m sure we’ll be back soon!

Via Cibo on Urbanspoon

Via Cibo Deerfoot Meadows

7929 11th Street Unit# 2
AB T2H 0A7
403 253 9273

Posted on

Big Fish Dockside Seafood Restaurant – Calgary, AB

I was looking for an occasion to try Big Fish and really didn’t have one, but I wanted to go anyway – so we did. Located right on Edmonton Trail, you got street parking as an option. The restaurant is a little one, so it is best you make a reservation.

I really enjoy eating crab cakes, so I ordered their Crab and bay Shrimp Cakes so I ordered some and they were quite tasty. The taste and texture was really amazing, with the citrus aioli, it was a fantastic pairing.

Our other started was the Seafood Chowder which was quite hearty and filled with tons of seafood and flavour. I really liked it as it wasn’t rich or heavy, so it was a really good starter.

I ordered the Seafood Pot au Feu and it was interesting! It looked and smelled amazing and it actually tasted quite good, until I ate a piece of some fish that was in here and it left a terrible after taste in my mouth that I couldn’t get rid of for the rest of the night. I’m not even sure what it was, but I couldn’t finish the fish from there after – but I ate everything else!

My husband ordered the Pistachio crusted Artic Char and that tasted really amazing! There was enough pistachio on it that you knew what it was and it left a nice crust on the char! The portion was large and the char was perfectly prepared. It was pretty unique and amazing!

Overall, we had quite an amazing time! We think about returning for their oyster specials on Mondays and just to relax with those and some friends. So, we’ll be back to trying other things!

Big Fish Dockside on Urbanspoon

Big Fish Dockside

1112 Edmonton Trl NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 277-3403