Food worthy of a detour: Mercato West in Calgary, Canada

It was a cold winter day in 2007, I worked at an auto body shop and an older gentlemen walked in to fix the damage on his new SUV. While I was working on his quote he gave me his business card and I noticed he was the owner of Mercato. Soon enough we were on the topic of food and I could tell this gent was passionate about it.

Imagine my surprise earlier this year when I went to Fergus and Bix for a friends birthday party to see the Mercato sign. At first I thought this can’t be the same Mercato, the Mercato I knew was a cozy affair, how can they pull it off in this space which you could open a decent sized auto repair business.

Well with my curiosity and the lack of worthwhile fine dining on this side of town besides Le Villa I was looking forward to the experience. But I hit a bit of roadblock, even though it has only been opened for 3 months I couldn’t make a reservation on a weekend between 6:30-8:00, they were booked for a few weeks out.

Open kitchen with bar seating around it and tables on one side of the restaurant

Market and lunch counter on the other side of the restaurant

As we arrived the hostess approached us immediately and we were seated right away. We each had a small bowl of olives already on the table. Water was offered and on the table in a timely manner. While browsing through the menu I noticed it’s nearly identical to their Mission location.

Our waiter was very personable but even too much so. After taking our drink orders he went into a schpeel about how people in North America eat backwards and the salad should be the last course to help with digestion.

For our first course we ordered the Carpaccio. It was topped with parmesan cheese shavings, arugula, lemon jiuce, thin red onions, kosher salt and was drizzled with olive oil. A perfect way to start off the meal. About halfway through the waiter came by and asked us if we’ve ever had the beef appetizer at another restaurant called Zen 8. He couldn’t remember the name of the dish but after he described it I mentioned Tataki and he replied “Yeah that’s it!” I found it odd that he was mentioning food from other restaurants.

Next up we had the gnocchi and tagliatelle. They serve the pastas in two sizes and even the small is fairly substantial bordering on the size of a main pasta in many sit down franchises. The handmade gnocchi were a large size and had mascarpone sauce with crunchy walnuts on top. I still prefer the mushroom gnocchi at Il Sogno but this dish I will order again. I’ve had it served with lamb and goat at the Mission Mercato before so thought I may miss my meat intake but didn’t.

The tagliatelle is the most popular pasta according to our waiter. It’s very basic but it’s the simplicity where a really good chef shines. The pasta was homemade and came in a spicy tomato sauce, it was delicious.

Tagliatelle on the right after helping ourselves

For our main we shared the Bistecca with mushrooms. We also wanted to have our tagliatelle served with the meat but our waiter said the timing just won’t work. We just let it go but it would have been nice to have some red sauce pasta with our main. The Bistecca is a very popular dish at Mercato, when it was served we were told “We serve about 200 of them a night.” They let the meat rest and then the chef cuts it with impressive precision to nice slabs of goodness. It’s wasn’t as seasoned compared to my memories of the Mission location but was still a good main.

The mushrooms were nicely sautéed and a good addition to the slices of beef.

A few spoonfuls already eaten

I’m looking forward to our next dinner here and the reservation is already made. Overall if you are looking for a nice dining experience on the west side of Calgary I highly suggest you check out Mercato West.

Chef assembling their 8lb meat platter

Calgary, Canada: Food worthy of a detour

For someone who was born in Calgary, with no ocean nearby, it’s hard to find tasty seafood. Thanks to our mountain fed lakes we do get to enjoy fresh and local trout and pickerel (Walleye). But it’s very rare to enter a place and feel like you are close to a coast with the display of oysters in the middle of the Catch Oyster bar.

Shucking station

I’ve been to Catch a half dozen times in the last year even though they were closed for quite a few months for a remodel. We’ve enjoyed birthday parties, date nights, couple nights out and even taken our parents here to meet for the first time.

To start there are actually two restaurants here, Catch the Oyster bar downstairs and Catch restaurant upstairs. Upstairs is more on the fine dining side of things but the actual room doesn’t give off this vibe. The restaurant has a large private dining table and the whole room has a fun upscale feel to it.

The Oyster Bar downstairs has an open kitchen and fresh oyster bar with bar style seating. There are booths along the windows which are comfortable for two but I would think slightly tight for four people. The menu at Catch Oyster bar isn’t as fine dining as upstairs and this works well for me.

Open kitchen at the Oyster Bar

The prawn tempura is one of their hit starters and I really suggest you order at least a half order on your first visit. I enjoy them but not as much as my dining companions who always order these on their visits. The clam linguine is a hit in my books. The dish has the right amount of spice and just works well together.

Prawn Tempura; 3 in a half order 6 in a full order. $2 each on Tuesdays

We always get a pot of mussels too. It’s a substantial portion compared to other restaurants in Calgary and you have a choice of 5 different broths. I always start with a few oysters per person while dining here. They have at least a half dozen different types and I’ve enjoyed them all. The oysters are accompanied with some fresh horseradish, lemons and two very tasty sauces. So in case you have any first timers or people who like to dress up their raw oysters these extras do a fine job.

East coast oysters are usually larger then their west coast counterparts because they take longer to mature.

Half order of mussels during their Thursday night Mussels and Fries special

The night before I watched a new episode of Deadliest Catch so I had a crab craving on this visit

A few times we have eaten here right at 5:00pm and the place is usually fairly full so there is a social atmosphere. You can also park underground at the Hyatt hotel and the reception will validate your parking which is a good perk. As for service, every visit has been excellent except once. Otherwise the staff have been terrific and I notice little turnover which is a good sign for us frequent guests.

Overall if you are craving seafood in Calgary head to Catch. Weather you are in the mood for a more casual setting and food or fine dining this place has both options covered and their seafood really is that fresh since it’s flown in daily.

Impressive

Enjoy some live music at Thomsons across the hall from Catch

Plenty of places to grab a drink before or after your meal on Stephen Ave.

Victoria BC, Canada: Food Worthy of a detour

I lived in Victoria while in High School and I’ve stayed at the Fairmont Empress before but I never really noticed The Veranda. When you walk through the hotel it looks like an English lounge but what you don’t see is the beautiful patio overlooking the harbour. The Veranda doesn’t take reservations so it takes some effort to guarantee you get a table on the patio but not too much to deter one from coming here.

Fairmont Empress Hotel

We were lucky enough to be right along the veranda and could people watch as they strolled by the hotel along the boardwalk. It was a Saturday night and every table was full adding to the social ambiance even more. The crowd was a mix of everyone which I like and the tables are well separated so you don’t overhear other conversations.

With a view of the ocean it’s tough not to get tempted by the seafood tower on the menu. As you see the people indoors having afternoon tea and eating all sorts of goodies you can’t help but want a tower of delicious critters from the local waters. The value isn’t really in the food; you are mostly paying for the service and atmosphere.

Sunset view

Tea service indoors

Busy promenade

This is the kind of spot where you can get comfortable with some drinks and if you are in the mood to nibble grab a bite to satisfy that craving. It opens in May and is only open during the summer. Even if it’s chilly outside they provide blankets and heaters too. Whether you are looking for a nice spot to start the evening, end it or anything in between The Veranda is excellent and I can agree with their saying “Quintessentially, the best place in Victoria.”

Our Seafood Tower: Warm mussels on top and the rest chilled

Crab and fresh oysters

View of the Parliament building from our table at night

http://www.fairmont.com/empress/GuestServices/Restaurants/TheVeranda.htm

Canmore AB, Canada: Food worthy of a detour #Poutine

Nestled in an industrial park in the beautiful city of Canmore which borders Banff National Park is an informal eatery dedicated to making delicious burgers, smoked meat sandwiches and most importantly poutine. I know poutine sounds a bit naughty when you first hear it but the best way to describe it is Canada’s way of making fries.

Poutine is a combination of crispy fries mixed with fresh cheese curds and covered in gravy so it all melts together and is the best hangover meal ever. Poutine was created and perfected in Quebec. I used to enjoy this dish often in Montreal when I went to university with my limited budget.

I’ve eaten at many poutineries since leaving Montreal and have never found a place where even the most finicky of poutine lovers would be impressed except here. La Belle Patate also has a location in Victoria and Vancouver. The 3 locations are run by two brothers and one of their friends.

They have many different kinds of poutine such as Montreal smoked meat and Mexican with ground beef and jalapenos. I’m a traditionalist so I always go with the regular poutine, even though it’s simple the satisfaction from those melting cheese curds, crunchy fries and warm gravy all at once really works. La Belle Patate is poutine perfection right here in the middle of the rocky mountains!

Partially eaten but still overflowing with tasty cheese curds. When this dish hits the table taking pictures first is not an option

http://labellepatate.com/

Vienna, Austria: Food worthy of a detour

What makes the perfect schnitzel? To start it has to be at least as big as the plate. It also must be extremely crispy and thin. Figlmuller even goes a step further and just uses the tenderloin of the pork. So even though you will see many other schnitzel ads and get a few leaflets handed to you with specials I suggest you make your way to the place which has been around since 1905.

Original Figlmuller

The concierge at our hotel warned us of the lines. There are two locations just around the corner from each other. The original location in the little alley is smaller and usually has a longer line-up. In our case there were two of us so my girlfriend took a spot in this line while I quickly went around the corner and noticed the location added in 2001 only had 1/3 of the people.

After a 10-15 minute wait we were seated at the table on your right as you enter. At first I was a bit sceptical because the crowd waiting stands right next to this area but the bartender who took care of us did an excellent job. The table actually worked well because beverage refills were on our table within a minute of ordering.

View of the line from our table

In addition to our schnitzels we ordered house specialty salads which were different types of coleslaws and potato salads which complimented the entrée well. We didn’t order ketchup but did get a few more lemons to drizzle on our perfect schnitzel. This is one place I will be back to next time I step foot in Vienna.

Best schnitzel I've ever had!

http://www.figlmueller.at/index.php