The dining scene in Calgary is quite diverse; it's a far cry from the days when Calgary cuisine seemed to be dominated by steak houses, pancake chains, and the occasional pizza place or Chinese restaurant. Today, you can find food from all the major international cuisines (French, Chinese, Italian, Japanese) done very well indeed, and many other cuisines (Indian, Greek, Thai, Mideastern, Vietnamese, Korean, Ethiopian, German, Moroccan, Spanish) are also well represented.
Please note that there is no requirement for Calgary restaurants to post menus (and most do not), so you may want to ask to see a menu before you're seated, to be sure that the food selection and prices are in step with your expectations.
A note for smokers, non-smokers, and families: Effective January 1, 2007, a city bylaw banned smoking in all restaurants and bars, and also on their outdoor patios. The only restaurants granted an exemption were those which had built specially-ventilated, physically separated smoking areas. They will be permitted to continue operating the smoking areas until 2008. Minors are not permitted in any public area in Calgary where smoking is allowed. The only other public areas where smoking is still allowed (until 2008) are casinos and bingo halls.
Restaurant Inspection Reports
In July 2008, the Calgary Health Region made all recent restaurant inspections (since January 2008) available through online search. The five most recent reports can be viewed; make sure to have the name and address of the restaurant handy.
Breakfast
If you enjoy a hearty breakfast, try Nellie's. You may have to wait in line though. It's a good way to start your day or wake up really late and go in around noon for your breakfast.
There are several locations:
- 516 - 9 Ave. SW
- 2308 - 4th St. SW
- 2015 33 Avenue SW
- 1414 Kensington Road NW
- 738B 17 Avenue SW
Other places which offer an all day sit-down breakfast are locally-based chains, such as Smitty's , Phil's , and Humpty's . All of them are family-oriented.
Lunch
A good stop for lunch in the downtown core is Falafel King on 1st St. SW just a block south of the downtown Hudson's Bay store.
Japanese
Sushi-Bar Miki (10, 5032 - 16 Avenue NW) is one of Calgary's more traditional Japanese restaurants, although it's a tiny little place that's often overlooked. For travellers, it's conveniently located at the west on of 16th Avenue (aka the Trans-Canada Highway, or Hwy 1) in a strip mall on the north side of the road, just west of Home Rd. and across the parking lot from the Safeway grocery store. Although it's called Sushi-Bar Miki, the sushi bar is fairly small. The entire place holds about 30-40 people--the capacity of one tour bus. ( The specialty menu in Japanese characters that's posted on the wall is a clue. And the restaurant is sometimes closed for private parties.) Aside from the sushi bar and a half-dozen tables, the restaurant also has two tatami mat booths; if you want one, reserve it.
The sushi is very fresh, and the sushi chefs are very knowledgeable. There is also an extensive menu of hot dishes, which includes familiar dishes like teriyaki, sukiyaki, and tempura, but also less-familiar ones such as okonomi pizza--an amazing and filling dish, but it requires significantly longer preparation time than most other menu items.
Special Local Dishes
The Bloody Caesar (called "Canada's national cocktail" by some) was invented by bartender Walter Chell for Marco's Restaurant, an Italian restaurant at the Calgary Inn (now the Calgary Westin). That restaurant is now the O.N. Bar and Grill. It is often thought that the drink originated at another Calgary restaurant, Caesar's Steak House, but in a 2005 interview, Gus Giannoulis, co-owner and co-founder of Caesar's, stated that the Bloody Caesar wasn't invented there, "but we perfected and promoted it."
Ginger beef is an established specialty of Calgary Chinese restaurants. It was introduced by Calgary restauranteurs Louis and Alice Chan at the Silver Inn in 1974. Although the Chans no longer run the Silver Inn (having moved on to operating many other successful restaurants) the signature dish of lightly battered, deep-fried beef strips in a ginger and chili sauce has been adopted by every Calgary Chinese restaurant. A good ginger beef dish is never chewy, and the spiciness varies from pleasantly gingery (for the first bites, from the top of the dish) to hot'n'spicy by the time you reach the last delicious morsels that have been soaking up extra ginger-chili sauce .
Bernard Callebaut chocolates are award-winning Belgian chocolates, made in Callebaut's Calgary plant. How can you make Belgian chocolates in Canada? By importing high-quality chocolate from Belgium to start the whole process, and then making it into couverture for a wide variety of fillings for boxed chocolates. The chocolates are treated with the greatest care to keep them fresh before purchase (the entire store is kept cold) and you will be given advice on the best way to keep your chocolates fresh after purchase and until they're consumed. A special treat is available at the end of November or beginning of December: specially-selected BC cherries, hand-dipped in chocolate and allowed to marinate in Kirsch liqueur for five months. Get them when you can; when they're gone, you'll have to wait until next year. (But don't forget about the pits!)
Teppan-yaki at the mall? Outlets such as Koya Japan and Edo of Japan offer a modest Japanese teppan-yaki menu in Calgary's food courts. No fancy knife-twirling, just quick, healthy Japanese food, prepared right before your eyes. Calgary seems to be the source of Canadian mall teppan-yaki, perhaps due to the influence of early Japanese cuisine pioneers in Calgary, such as Rev. S.J. Ikuta and Peter Kinjo.
Prairie oysters, a traditional cowboy specialty, are featured at the downtown Buzzards Restaurant on their evening menu. For the adventurous!
Reading
If you want more information on where to dine in Calgary, read My Favorite Restaurants in Calgary and Banff, by longtime Calgary restaurant reviewer John Gilchrist. This book is now in its 6th edition. http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/i...
