Blondes Diner – Calgary 4th Street

The most wonderful meal for me is breakfast – and my favourite place to enjoy breakfasts are at diners. I love them, old style, new style or even no style! I first heard about Blondes Diner from watching TV actually… on Top Chef Canada, they have a chef that’s a contestant on the show. Right away, I knew I had to try this diner! The location of this diner is right on 4th street and I believe it use to be a Greek restaurant at this location. It’s easy to find and quite spacious inside. Parking is a little trickier, but that’s the area!

We went in on a Sunday, relatively late in the afternoon – for sure past noon. There was still a line up for a table which is a good sign! The service was casual, but it wasn’t slow! By the time we got to our table, our waitress came right away. It was a awful weather outside, so I decided to have a nice cup of Hot Chocolate which I enjoyed thoroughly! I wish it was a tad bigger because I was almost done my hot chocolate by the time my lunch got to the table. Well, maybe I was just enjoying it too much! 🙂

Looking around the restaurant, it was really clean and modern. There were seats with plastic chairs and some cozy chairs! I was fortunate enough to sit by the window in the cozy chairs! It was a really relaxing experience at Blondes, and that’s something I love!

I love coconut, and so when I saw it on the menu, I knew I had to try their Crispy Crepe which the menu describes it as coconut frangipane, seasonal compote, whipped creme fraiche! It turns out as a delicious thin crepe with shredded coconut filling inside, and topped with pineapple compote! Wow, this was such a delight to have and something I wouldn’t mind having again and again!

We didn’t know what else to order, and thankfully they had a delicious sounding featured breakfast! This breakfast was a hot beef sandwich with a side of chickpea salad. The hot beef was full of flavour and it sat on a nice thick toast with tons of gravy on top. The chickpea salad was so refreshing and would be an awesome side for a summers night!

Overall, we had a great time here! It was fun and exiting and a nice modern take on a diner and more upscale. With that said, it’s just a nice breakfast/brunch/lunch place instead of a diner! But, worth it was worth the visit!

Blondes Diner on Urbanspoon

Blondes Diner

2005 B 4th St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 474-3867

Sushi Towa Calgary

It was my birthday, and I was looking for a special place to celebrate it! We were originally thinking about something along Stephens Avenue – however, it was not only the beginning of wedding season, it was grad season as well. It was impossible to find parking anywhere, and we had no reservations for anywhere (mid week)… so, we went to plan B. This plan was going to Sushi Towa which is located on 4th Street! This little sushi place looks like a house, so look carefully for it if you want to eat here!

We were recommended something unique, so we had to try it! It was the Ishikari Soup which was an item on a printed menu – which was absolutely delicious! I would recommend this soup to you if you like salmon and soup! It was creamy and savoury. It roughly translates to salmon miso soup.

Of course, when I go for sushi, the first thing I look for is the surf clams (hokkigai)! They have some here, and it’s my favourite! I like it so much we ordered it sashimi style! We also really like salmon and tuna, so we opted for salmon this time! What a beautiful plate of sashimi! In the center, it was some Spicy Crunch gunkan style sushi.

We didn’t stop there either, we ordered a few more rolls, and the one I want to mention would be their Fire Cracker Roll which was made of jalapeno tempura, sour cream, smoked salmon which was a great combination! The first few pieces weren’t really spicy as the jalapeno pepper wasn’t spicy – however, there were a few pieces at the end that was extremely spicy, which was probably how this sushi roll was suppose to be! The sour cream really helps cut down the heat level, and the smokey smoked salmon was a great balance of taste and flavours all in one roll.

The last roll that we had is a sushi roll I still dream about! It consists of all things that I love – in a form I love too!! It’s got pineapple, cucumber, avocado, red onion, shrimp, spicy sauce, balsamic vinegar on side. This wonderful roll is called the Hawaiian Roll which is something I would highly recommend if you enjoy sweetness from pineapples in your food.

This sushi place isn’t like any other place I’ve been too. Sure, the prices are a little higher than usual, but their quality is exceptional! The service is great but the most memorable thing is the overall experience that Sushi Towa provides with their food!

Towa Sushi on Urbanspoon

Towa Sushi

2116 4 St SW
Calgary, AB T2S0H3
(403) 245-8585