Ricky’s All Day Grill

I’ve been to Ricky’s All Day Grill before, but never the location at Deerfoot Meadows in Calgary until now. I really like going to Ricky’s, but from all my experience from dining here – I’m always expecting to be there “all day”. This location was interesting as they warned us the kitchen was backed up the moment we walked in. The food came faster than any other Ricky’s and we were not only happy, but we were so confused as well.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Sandwich – 6oz chicken breast grilled with Jamaican Jerk seasoning, lettuce, tomato ad Cajun aioli on a Portuguese roll – served with potato wedges! The potato wedges was really delicious, and especially dipped in my turkey gravy! The burger was quite different as it was a grilled chicken burger. The seasoning was quite tasty, but I wouldn’t say it’s jerk seasoning. It’s as though it was cajan seasoning they put on.

Ricky's Jamaican Chicken Sandwich

I enjoyed the Hawaiian Burger with a beef patty dipped in Teriyaki sauce, and then topped with lettuce, tomatoes and a ring of pineapple. I found that there as a little too much teriyaki sauce on the burger, which made it a bit over powering. The ring of pineapple was out of a can, but it’s always fresh and refreshing to have a ring of pineapple in the burger.

Ricky's Hawaiian Burger Meal

Overall, I had a great experience at this Ricky’s location, and I know I’ll be back. I like spending an entire weekend afternoon – especially during those cold snowy ones where I don’t want to do anything in a restaurant and stay warm, watch people enjoy their meals and what not! It’s always worth the wait at Ricky’s! 🙂

Ricky’s All Day Grill at Deerfoot Meadows

860, 8180 – 11th Street S.E.
Calgary, AB
(403) 266-1616

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

I’ve been in search of the “best burger ever” status for my records and was introduced to Five Guys Burgers and Fries and with my hopes nice and high, knowing that all their ingredients were fresh, it couldn’t go wrong!

We sent in to Five Guys Burgers and quickly saw a long line up. It was on the weekends, but quite late in the afternoon. So, to my delight, I waited in line to order my burger.

I ordered a Regular Hamburger thinking it was the size of a normal hamburger. When I got my burger, it was 2 patties high, and I loaded it up with their condiments. I must say, it was a delicious burger, but some how, I’ve made burgers that was even tastier. So, I was unable to crown them “best burger ever” in my books. I’m almost looking for a place that can make a burger better than mine, and till this day, I haven’t found it.

I’m not saying their burgers are bad by any means. I sat there, and within 5 minutes, I gobbled down the entire burger.

We also had the Regular Bacon Cheeseburger thinking more “fat” would equal “more deliciousness”. It was true, this burger truly was more delicious, but not as good as my burgers.

Five Guys Burgers is a location I will be back – but after I’ve tried all other burger places, in search of the best burger ever! 🙂

  • Five Guys Burgers and Fries
  • Five Guys - Regular Bacon Cheeseburger
  • Five Guys - Regular Hamburger
  • Five Guys - Regular Hamburger
  • Five Guys - Fountain Drink Machine
  • Five Guys - Regular Drink

Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Urbanspoon

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

#222 33 Heritage Meadows Way SE
Calgary, Alberta
(403) 252-3373

Holy Smoke Barbeque and Smoke Pit – Calgary, Alberta

I was recently introduced to Holy Smoke Barbeque and I have to say that I LOVE it! It’s delicious, and once you walk by the building, you can smell the meat being smoked! Outside of their washrooms is the wood that they use and it makes the “washroom area” smell great too!

I actually stuffed myself really full at Holy Smoke BBQ and it was worth it! I had a small Chopped Beef Brisket Sandwich with couple of ribs! It’s so neat here, they sell rib by the bone for only $1!! And, it’s fall off the bone tender, with the right amount of smokiness! I did use some sauce just to try, and I really liked their house sauce, so I used it to dip my ribs into the sauce.

The beef brisket sandwich was really tender and juicy, and I was actually a little worried when I first ordered it because I hate it most when it’s not tender enough to bite through. Here, it’s done to perfection. This is my favourite smoke house so far!!

We also ordered the Manwich Sandwich which was a combination of the beef brisket and the pulled pork, and this was a large sandwich! It’s topped with some coleslaw and a pickle, which adds not only a bit to the sandwich, but some acidity to balance the flavours. It’s a wonderful sandwich, and a must try if you’re hungry!

Overall, we definitely will return as I mentioned, it’s our favourite place for smoked meat right now!

Holy Smoke Barbecue and Smokepit

4640 Manhattan Rd SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 605-9365

Colonial Fusion Cuisine – Calgary, Alberta

We drove by Quarry Park randomly and saw Colonial Fusion Cuisine and immediately we knew it was a location we wanted to try. We were excited about fusion restaurants as we always hear about them, yet we never go in to try. The fusion was a mix between Vietnamese plus Thai and some French, which is kind of awkward if you think about it – but they seem to make it work with subtle modifications to traditional Vietnamese recipes for most items on the menu.

We started the evening with Mango Salad Rolls which takes a spin off your regular Vietnamese Salad rolls, as the rice papers are stuffed with mango, prawns, vermicelli, vegetables and herbs. It also comes with a coconut hoisin sauce to dip. This starter is really different as you do taste the mango, but it is a delicious combination of mangoes into the traditional rolls. I actually didn’t taste any coconut in the dipping sauce, so the coconut taste was really subtle against the mango. It is really light and refreshing appetizer.

For the main course, I ordered Caramelized Salmon – salmon with fish sauce and jalapenos, severed with rice and vegetables. The salmon was cooked perfectly, and it tasted so good, I ended up just eating the entire piece of salmon! 🙂 It had the perfect amount of heat and sweetness what was really special!! Great flavours, and great dish altogether!

We ordered the Mahogany Quail which is quail glazed in honey, garlic, onions, coconut juice and served with coconut rice. This dish was quite far from ordinary, which was really special! the quail was chopped into quarters, and smothered in their honey garlic sauce, with sauteed onions! This dish, you definitely had to eat with your hands, and the waitress realized that and brought us a bowl of water, with a beautiful flower floating in the bowl for us to wash our hands. The rice and the sauce that was eaten afterwards went in perfect harmony as well!! In more traditional Vietnamese locations, the quail would just be deep-fried so it’s crispy. Their spin here was the sauce which was really delicious!

Curry Stir-Fry with Chicken and vegetables served with rice was the last entree that we had, and it was really flavourful. The bowl of curry was really large, and it wasn’t filled with all sauce. It almost seemed like the pile of rice was too small for the amount of curry that was given! The chicken was tender and juicy, and had great flavours of curry, and a hint of ginger.

We ended our night with Iced Coffee which was really different than the traditional iced coffee. In my optional, in this case, I prefer the normal iced coffee. This glass was filled with ice, and it didn’t have sweet condensed milk, which is what I like!

We ordered dessert, a Mango Creme brulee which was your typical creme brulee, but with mango puree. I can’t say that I would get this dessert again, as it wasn’t a nice brulee texture. It wasn’t smooth, creamy and thick. It was like a pudding with a sugar topping, instead of a custard. They probably put too much milk or cream in, but it tasted a lot like mangoes! 🙂

Overall, this is a very fancy Vietnamese restaurant, and the seating, ambiance and quality of food was really good. The price tag to the dishes seemed a little high for what it is, but we had a wonderful experience. In actuality, I’m undecided if I will return! Go figure…

Colonial Fusion Cuisine

163 Quarry Park Blvd. SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 723-6669

Dairy Queen

The Dairy Queen at this location just opened not too long ago – maybe just a few month at this point now. I’ve been looking for the perfect time to go, and I finally did!

The store is really small actually, but it works as most people take their ice cream to go! This franchise location doesn’t do the grill – which was something I was hoping for, but they do have Orange Julius.

We were only here briefly as we just wanted a cold treat. I ordered my favourite, which is a pineapple sundae and the pineapples are always really sweet, even though I personally think the sauce (syrup) is a little to runny, it’s still a delicious treat on the soft serve ice cream!

We also ordered a Peanut Buster Parfait which was really large actually! It had lots of peanuts, and they use the lovely warm chocolate fudge. It’s a perfect snack to satisfy any craving! You can have a bit with as little or as much peanuts as you like, and the peanuts are the full sized nuts which is extra special (instead of using chopped peanuts).

I’m really happy that there is a Dairy Queen here in this area now! I was really hoping for one when we first moved here! Now, I’m satisfied!

  • Dairy Queen - McKenzie Towne Location
  • Dairy Queen - Frozen Treats
  • Dairy Queen - Pinapple Sundae
  • Dairy Queen - Peanut Buster Parfait

Dairy Queen on Urbanspoon

Dairy Queen

150, 35 McKenzie Towne Ave. SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 457-4407