Posted on

Starlite Diner Car – Bowden, AB

I love looking for hidden jems in the middle of nowhere, and I can definitely say I found one in Bowden, Alberta. We made this stop just before our stop to Red Deer from Calgary just to try this diner car out. Situated just off the highway is Starlight Diner Car which is a diner car decorated to look like an old school diner – with extra terrestrial and alien decoration inside!

Just going inside puts a smile on anyone’s face and this was no different! It was just a wonderful place to experience and the service here was wonderful!

Once we sat down, we ordered a coffee each as it was early in the morning. I ordered their Starlite Breakfast which was a large breakfast with sausage, toast, eggs and hashbrowns. They had a generous portion size which was perfect for a long day ahead for me! The sausages were split in half, but you don’t normally get 4 sausages! It was delicious!

My husband ordered their Sirloin Steak and Eggs breakfast which was quite a large piece of sirloin steak, well seasoned and cooked to perfection. With the steak and eggs, it came with some toast, which was also a large breakfast

Overall, we really enjoyed this place and has recommended it to a few friends and family members — with strange looks on their faces as we tell them about here! But, it’s just fun and a great way to start off a weekend!

Starlite Diner Car on Urbanspoon

Starlite Diner Car

1-3 Heritage Dr
Bowden, AB
(403) 657-3503

Posted on

Bistro Praha – Edmonton, Alberta

I was recently in Edmonton to celebrate my birthday and we stumbled to Bistro Praha as it was walking distance from our hotel located in downtown Edmonton. I recognized “Praha” from my travels to Czech a few years ago, so I figured it was European food here – which I loved! We went inside and it was quite busy but they had a table for two, just for us!

We wanted to start the dinner off with some appetizers and we picked some out on the menu – until I found in the soup section some Bistro Beef Goulash “Zhorelec” which was basically a beef stew with some Czech bread, which is known as dumplings. This dish offered tender and juicy pieces of beef flank and with their Czech bread to soak up the sauce, it was almost a meal on it’s own!

For dinner, I ordered the Wiener Schnitzel which came with a salad. The salad was really large and I asked for their green garden salad which the dressing was an interesting vinaigrette! It was light and refreshing, and actually quite tasty!

The Wiener Schnitzel was amazing! A tender piece of veal perfectly tender and juicy – pounded thin with a crunchy crust! Although this is a Vienna specialty, they seemed to have mastered it! It did taste as good as the Schnitzels I had in Vienna! This dish I would recommend to anyone as it was just delicious!

The other dinner entree picked by my husband was their Smoked Boned Pork Hock which I should start by saying I absolutely love ham, and smoked ham tops off my list. Here, they serve this generous portion of ham with some Czech bread and mustard and it was divine! The pork was fall of the bone tender and extremely juicy!

With this entree, we got the tomato salad which was much more interesting than it looks! It was both sweet and tangy and very refreshing! A perfect salad to a hot day!

Overall, this was an amazing place to celebrate my birthday dinner and I would recommend it to anyone for any reason! The food was amazing, service was great and the prices were decent – well worth it for a taste of Eastern Europe!

Bistro Praha

10117 101 St NW
Edmonton, AB
(780) 424-4218

Posted on

Bernie & the Boys Bistro – Drumheller, Alberta

We actually didn’t know what to do one weekend and we were in the North end of Calgary when we suddenly remembered John Catucci on You Gotta Eat Here featured a place in Drumheller called Bernie & the Boys Bistro, so we decided to drive out there just for lunch! We got there and it’s on the side of downtown Drumheller where we’ve never ventured off to, so we’re glad this gave us an excuse to go to this side!

Once we got in, I knew immediately I wanted a Strawberry Milkshake, so I ordered one and my husband ordered an Almond Milkshake! Their milkshakes are awesome and made the good old school way! Thick and creamy and loaded with flavour! It brings me back to the past with such milkshakes!

We ordered some wings to share and we decided to try their Smokin’ Wings and it was smokin’ hot! For some reason my husband thought the hot wings are the “screaming or liquid magma or even their blair wing project”. I honestly think it’s hotter than their “hot” wings! It wasn’t just hot tasting either which made these wings awesome. They were spicy and extremely flavourful! They were so good – we ate it all up, even though our mouths couldn’t handle it!

I ordered their Hawaiian Burger which was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had! It was juicy and delightful! Tons of toppings but didn’t take away from the burger taste or experience. It was like a Hawaiian Pizza in a burger, with ham, pineapple and cheese with some pizza sauce! It was a great experience!

My husband ordered the NY Steak Sandwich which was very tender piece of steak, cooked to perfection and seasoned well. There’s nothing we can find to say negatively about this – so it was a great experience!

We love this place and like John Catucci says, “You Gotta Eat Here!”!! Even if you just stop in for a milkshake or just wings or something, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

Bernie & the Boys Bistro

305 4 St W
Drumheller, AB
(403) 823-3318

Posted on

Saigon Pearl – Calgary, Alberta

I’ve been going to the Asian supermarket near here a lot lately and this one day I wasn’t feeling the best and just wanted something light and refreshing — I wanted rice vermicelli! So, we stopped in at Saigon Pearl and we’ve been here in the past but we were glad it’s still the same people, same quality of Vietnamese food.

I ordered their Grilled beef and Spring Roll Rice Vermicelli which is something I like to order once in awhile, especially during the summer! The bowl was large, and it didn’t have too much lettuce in the bottom. The beef was delicious and of course their spring rolls were delightful!

My husband did enjoy one of his go to orders at a Vietnamese restaurant Beef Stew Noodle Soup and it was absolutely wonderful here! Tons of tender beef chunks in a delicious broth with rice noodles. It’s a great warming soup – which was the opposite of my dish!

We use to go here a lot more and I think we might be coming back more often as well! The food, service and price was decent and that’s what we love. It is a family restaurant and a place that seems to have tons of kids here. So, it’s not a quiet restaurant – and that makes sense!

Saigon Pearl on Urbanspoon

Saigon Pearl

9650 Harvest Hills Blvd N
Calgary, AB
(403) 532-3999

Posted on

White Elephant Thai Cuisine – Calgary, Alberta

I’ve been going through some personal things and it’s been making me kind of depressed lately. The few cravings I’ve been wanting lately have been complete fails and so when I had a craving for Thai Chicken Pineapple Fried Rice, I looked for a place with the best reviews and found White Elephant Thai Cuisine inside the hotel. I was kind of low on patience when I got there and they said to me it was cash only and a wait. Good thing my husband decided to do the wait as I was happy with the food! We started our meal with their Hot and Sour Soup with Chicken or what they call Tom Yum Gai which is one of my favourite Thai soups. It’s fragrant and spicy, well balanced.

Of course, with my craving, I ordered their Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken and it was exceptional. It was spicier than expected but nothing I can’t handle, especially after the tom yum soup. The portion size was large, tons of chicken and pineapples and I was really quite satisfied with this fried rice.

Then, we ordered some Red Curry with Beef and Pineapples as my husband knows I love pineapples. We had an order of coconut rice with it, and I was expecting us to bring some curry home… but we actually ate the entire thing. The beef was tender, tons of slices of beef as well. Again, tons of pineapple and the curry was smooth and delicious. The coconut rice was a great with this dish!

After my visit here, I have no problem returning here for any Thai craving that I may want. It’s not cheap here, but the portions are quite large. It’s great for sharing! The location is a little intersting as it’s located inside a hotel and there’s not much signage to the location, but follow your nose! I really enjoyed my evening here. It is smoky as the ventilation isn’t great, and the service is kind of slow… so, don’t come when you’re on a tight schedule and you’ll enjoy it!

White Elephant Thai Cuisine on Urbanspoon

White Elephant Thai Cuisine

1808 19 Street N.E
Calgary, AB
(403) 464-8558