calgary – Page 27

November 7, 2013November 7, 2013

Dairy Lane Cafe – Calgary, Alberta

My favourite thing to do on weekends is to wake up early and find breakfast! I love breakfast, as normally I have the weirdest breakfast… so, I really enjoy traditional (I guess “American”) breakfast. Lately, I’ve been eating wontons for breakfast which a lot of people think it’s so strange. So, I seek out regular breakfasts when I have the time! This time I find myself wandering in the Northwest part of the city at a place called Dairy Lane Cafe which is a small but popular cafe!

We got seated about 20 minutes after arrival, and that was pretty much as fast as it can get for this location! Once we got seated, I needed a Hot Chocolate… as nice as the outside looked it was still quite breezy! Now that I’ve warmed up some, it will take me another 20 minutes to figure out what I want to eat!

This particular day, I figured I’d try some Stuffed French Toast which is an unusual item for me to pick from if you know me at all! I even picked it with the sweet toppings of cinnamon cream cheese and field berry compote! I thought it was very odd as well, but I’m glad I did! Even the table beside me had to ask what it was that I ordered! 🙂 It wasn’t overly sweet probably balanced out with the thickness of the bread. It wasn’t all bread either, it as stuffed with the compote, and I drizzle it with syrup! I loved it and I recommend it!

My other half has always loved savoury food, so he ordered himself a Double Triple which from the name is obvious, right? Well, if not, it’s a breakfast consisting of 3 eggs, pork sausage, chicken sausage and bacon! The sausages were really nice, I enjoyed the textures and flavours of it, and of course bacon, there’s nothing better than bacon in this world! I didn’t try his toast, eggs or hashbrowns, but the meat on the plate was wonderful!

Overall, it was a nice sit down place for breakfast! I nice way to kill some time when you’re planning a lazy day! As busy as they are, you don’t feel rushed to get out, but yet your own conscience will tell you to take your conversation elsewhere! The prices are decent, I consider it high, but it’ll always be higher than breakfast at Chinese places. The bill here was just over $35… not good, not bad! But, I left happy and really full, and even got to show off my french toast – so it was wonderful!

Dairy Lane Cafe

319 19 St NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 283-2497

November 5, 2013November 5, 2013

Tropical Delight Noodles House – Calgary, Alberta

Nothing warms one up more than hot and spicy food – so on this cold Saturday afternoon, that’s what we wanted! We heard wonderful things about Tropical Delight Noodle House in the Northeast end of Calgary, located in a strip mall with very little parking. This place is worth seeking out though, so be patient with them as they’re quite popular and they’ve got really limited hours (Monday through Saturday, 10am to 5:30PM).

Once inside, there it wasn’t too bad as it looks like other customers didn’t want to venture out during a snowfall warning day — so we got seated quite quickly this time! I started by ordering one of their Red Bean Drinks, well, it was called that in Chinese, don’t remember their English name given, but it was actually really good! It was the perfect subtle amount of sweetness and even though it was cold outside, it was still a nice treat!

I knew what I wanted, I wanted their Laksa Noodle Soup which was hot, flavourful and delicious! It hit the perfect spot in my belly! This spicy bowl of soup had shrimp, tofu, egg, and fish ball with rice vermicelli, of course in their awesome soup!

We also ordered their 2 Item Combo which was suppose to come with a drink — and they never gave it to us. It wasn’t something we needed, so we actually just left without a word about it at the end, since I paid $5 for my drink, I felt like I had to finish it instead. Anyway, for this combo, we had rice with beef randang and curry chicken. It looks like Chinese beef stew with 2 pieces of curry chicken. Both were really delicious and filling too!

Overall, an excellent choice for a place to put on your to-go list if you like ethnic and spicy food. Not everything is spicy, even though I do recommend the laksa! The Beef Randang was extremely delicious and I know my husband would recommend that before the laksa! Well, there you go, you gotta go now and figure out if you like the soup or the rice more!

Tropical Delight Noodles House

4604 12 St NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 261-1811

November 2, 2013

Kilt & Caber Ale House – Calgary, Alberta

Every once in awhile, I have the need for some chicken wings and this time, I found myself on the patio of Kilt & Caber in McKenzie Towne. It’s not a hard location to find at all, and it’s a nice place!

We were seated outside (on a warn evening, of course) and it wasn’t bad! With a newly installed fireplace in the space, it was quite inviting! So, I ordered my drink of choice during this phase, my Virgin Caesar!

From there, we started with wings! We got Salt and Peppered Wings as it was during their wing night! The wings were really good, fried nicely and flavoured fully! Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside… and it wasn’t meatless wings where it’s just skin and bones! So, we were very satisfied! The picture doesn’t show that it looks good, but we often don’t ask for the celery and carrot sticks when it’s a choice! Veggies isn’t something I eat if I have a choice!

I was trying to eat a little meal, so I ordered their Greek Wrap with soup, and it wasn’t a little meal at all! The wrap was made of their naan, stuffed with chicken, lettuce and cucumbers, and topped with their tzatziki sauce! It was a decent wrap, nothing extraordinary, but not bad either! The soup was their soup of the day, Cream of Broccoli and it was pretty good, and it seemed to be perfect for a chillier patio evening!

My husband ordered the strangest looking Sheppard’s Pie which was rectangular! Strangely, he ordered it with a salad as well, so it was just strange. The Sheppard’s pie tasted fine, but it didn’t seem like it was made fresh. It almost seemed like it was just defrosted and a giant bowl of brown gravy was poured on top. At least he ate the entire thing, but everything tastes better with gravy!

Overall, I think this is a great place for wings and drinks. Unless you’re looking for an average meal where nothing really matters, then it’s fine! I really enjoyed the wings, so I’m sure I’ll be back for those! It is an Ale house afterall! I’m not sure what I was thinking!

Kilt & Caber Ale House

53 High St SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 257-6297

November 1, 2013November 1, 2013

Crepes & Cravings – Calgary, Alberta

This one evening, I met up with a good friend, and we decided to grab dinner at Crepes & Cravings located right on 17th Avenue. It’s a cute little place that offers both sweet and savoury crepes, and even gelato!

I never know what I want to eat. It’s best if you order for me… but, this day, I knew I wanted their Philly Cheese Roast Beef crepe, and it was a good one! It was jammed packed with roast beef and provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion and their cheese sauce! It was actually a lot more filling that I would ever imagine!

My husband went for his go-to if he sees it, and so he ordered the Montreal Smoked Meat Crepe and it definitely looked good – filled with Montreal smoked meat with Swiss cheese, spinach, tomato and mustard! We normally would split half and half, but by the time I finished half of my crepe, he was pretty much done! So, I actually never tried it. Clearly, he was in love with it!

My friend ordered the The Sicilian and I must admit, her’s looked THE BEST! I didn’t try it either, but she loved it! Her crepe was filled with Italian meats and provolone cheese, roasted pepeers, tomatoes, onions and olives!

At the end of this visit, we all agreed this is the perfect place for a light dinner, or an awesome lunch! We all thought we would be back! Next time, maybe we’ll split some crepes and make room for dessert crepes or gelato!

Crepes & Cravings – Crepes, Gelato & Ice Cream

1013 17 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 228-6523

November 1, 2013

Caffe Artigiano – Calgary, Alberta

We were downtown running a few errands this one afternoon, and walked into Caffe Artigiano for a quick bite and some coffee! The cafe was beautiful on the outside and welcoming, so we walked in!

We had ordered a Latte which was not only made to perfection, but they topped it off with foam art. It was really rich, but luckily it wasn’t my cup!

I got to enjoy a cup of Chai Tea Latte which was really good here. It ranks on the top for one of my favourites, although not at the top, it’s still really high up there!

Then, we decided to grab a quick lunch as well, so we ordered their Cranberry Smoked Turkey Panini, or something like that… anyway, they heated up the panini and brought it to our table. It looked and smelled absolutely amazing, and I’m soo glad we ordered this! It had the perfect balance between sweet and savoury!

Our overall experience here was just top notch! The environment was great, service was really awesome, and the location is quite optimal! Best of all, their stuff tasted great! I’m sure when I’m in the area again, I’ll try to stop in for another delicious treat!

Caffe Artigiano
100-332 6 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 699-9855