Nash Restaurant & Off Cut Bar

For weeks prior to their opening, I have been overhearing conversations amongst my coworkers and even strangers in the elevators, all of whom were looking forward to Chef Michael Noble's new restaurant, in anticipation for another NOTaBLE success. I was lucky enough to score a reservation this past Tuesday night at 5:30pm.

One thing I absolutely love about visiting a new restaurant is to feel the ambiance that is set from the carefully chosen decor. From the outside, Nash can easily be missed as it turns off from 9th avenue and is found peeking from behind the corner-spot that is Starbucks. Luckily, their red rustic sign glows in the dark.

Shiki Menya

What better way to acknowledge the arrival of winter than by getting a fresh bowl of hot ramen. That was exactly what I did today on my day off. I was a little unsure if the cold weather would bring about a line full of ramen fanatics or if it would've helped ward off the crowd. Luckily, it wasn't crazy busy - we only waited outside for 5 minutes before we were seated (sorry, but unfortunately you cannot stand inside the little box found between Shiki Menya and Black Pig Bistro - fire hazard rules).

It is a small and modern looking ramen shop inside. This place gives off a hipster vibe and makes me feel like I'm in a hidden ramen shop found in New York.

Anju Restaurant

I've gotten the chance to visit the renewed Anju a few times since its reopening. I returned again this past Saturday with my family in celebration of my mom's birthday. To ensure that we wouldn't be placed on a insanely long wait list, I made a reservation nearly two weeks in advance. We arrived and was promptly seated in the booths found at the back. This was a different experience for me - the previous times I've came, I was always placed at the high top counters facing the street of 17th ave. I love those window seats because it gave my dining companions and myself the entertainment of people watching (whether it be those passing by or the bustling staff found in the kitchen). This time, we were placed in the "den", and while the seats were comfortable, the noise level was a bit too high for my party's liking.

Wow Chicken

Of all the places I've ate at (and not posted) for the past year, Wow Chicken is one of the places that I really wanted to do a returning blog post on. Korean Fried Chicken (KFC 2.0 in my terms) has been on the rise in terms of popularity in Calgary for the past couple of years. New shops are opening left and right, from the first Korean fried chicken shop Olive Chicken to the third franchised Yum Yum BBQ Chicken that is yet to be open.

Bolero Fire Grill

Ok... I lied. That was a longer departure than I had anticipated. My bad! I ended up spending the rest of my summer studying my ass off. That's a good enough of a reason right? To be fair, I spent so much of my time studying that I didn't get a chance to eat out (with the exception of getting fast food or take outs just so I could allocate all my available time to studying), so I'd say that's a pretty reasonable excuse for the lack of blog posts. No eating out = no restaurant to review. But alas! - I finally have time to eat (and blog) again! Now onward to the main point of this post..

Boogie's Burgers

I visited Boogie's Burgers (a local burger joint that has been in operations since 1969) last night for the first time around 8pm thinking that I would've arrived past their dinner rush, but I was wrong. When we ordered, the girl who worked there informed us that the wait time would be roughly half an hour and asked if we were okay with that. We said yes since we weren't in a hurry. It was a Monday night, but it was also the Victoria Day long weekend Monday, so I'm unsure if that was a influencing factor in the long wait.

I must admit that Boogie's Burger looks somewhat sketchy, though I am not sure if that is just a play into their retro/old school image. Inside, there are round bar stools at the front, a number of diner-like tables that can probably sit up to ~20 people or so. In the already cramped up restaurant, there was a old school arcade machine that could be found. We decided to take a seat up in the front, on the bar stools, and one thing I noticed right away was that there was a hung string, with many tiny report clips, above the cash register that ran to the back of the kitchen by the grill. All orders printed were then clipped onto the report clips and flung back by the employee so that the orders would reach the grill where the cook was making the burgers. I thought this design was so cool - simple, old fashioned, but works as it's supposed to.

Village Ice Cream

I've been dying to go to Village Ice Cream for a try ever since I've first heard of their salted caramel flavour, but the weather was not cooperating and as a result people were seldom in the mood for a cold treat. Luckily a few weeks ago, the weather improved and over a debate that I won, I found myself at Village Ice Cream for the first time. 

AÑEJO Restaurant

I have heard of AÑEJO for some time now but was wary on trying out this place as there seemed to have been mixed reviews. I got a "taste test" from AÑEJO when I paid my first visit during the 2013 Poutine Crawl. I loved how the restaurant was designed, with its high windowed ceiling and how open the restaurant looked. I decided to go with a girlfriend of mine to catch up a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night. My friend had arrived early and was put on a wait list that would require a wait of approximately ~45 minutes. I was rushing to meet up with my friend ASAP when she told me she was early, but the wait ended up being shorter than what she was told and she had gotten a table before I had arrived. When I got there, the entire restaurant was bustling and busy. All the tables were filled up and people were everywhere. It was hard to believe that such a tiny restaurant could be so filled up. We quickly got down to business and scanned the menu together, discussing what dishes caught our attention. There were so many items on the menu that we wanted to try, but we were both not feeling all too hungry together, so we knew we had a limit on the number of dishes that we could order.

Calgary Poutine Crawl 2013

It was my first time to learn such an event existed from a friend (who had heard from her hairdresser), and without any questions in mind, I knew I would have to go. This was Calgary's third annual poutine crawl, an initiative started from scratch by Karen Richards, a word of mouth marketer and instructor from MRU. Through talking to Karen, I was impressed and fascinated by her story behind the crawl and the complications faced at start up. From having to “beg” restaurants to participate in 2011 to having all 65 tickets sold out in 3 minutes this year, Karen’s poutine crawl has grown into a very successful and popular local event. (Not going to lie, I was a bit stressed out from having to constantly refresh the page in hopes for new tickets to pop up.)

The concept of this year's poutine crawl involved two party machine buses, 6 restaurants and one afternoon, all for the price of $48. The restaurant participants included Brava Bistro, Teatro, downtownfood, Brasserie Kensington, AÑEJO Restaurant, and National Beer Hall on 17th.

White Elephant Thai Cuisine

I've been hearing the latest rave about this authentic Thai restaurant lately so when my brother and I were debating on a place to dine late Friday night, I suddenly remembered this restaurant.

For some reason, I was under the impression that White Elephant was found in close proximity to North Hill Mall. I was proven wrong as we continued to drive along 16th avenue into the NE side of town. We didn't find the restaurant initially and had to stop the car to take a look around us. There were no apparent signs advertising the restaurant's existence but I knew it had to be right in front of us because Google map told me so! It was then that I spotted an elephant on the side of a run down hotel, Point Inn. We drove over and sure enough we had found our White Elephant. Not going to lie, we did not expect such a setting but we entered the Inn as skeptical as we were (Urbanspoon ratings were a huge influential factor in this).

We were quickly seated as most tables were leaving since it was 9pm by this time. The restaurant looked old and run down, but in a god way - like one of those long standing restaurants where the grungier they appeared meant the better tasting they were. As an Asian myself, I'm aware to not judge a book by its covers when it comes to restaurants because past experiences have taught me that the more sketchy a restaurant looks, the better tasting the food is.

Cafe Momoko

It would be an understatement if I said I was ecstatic and counting down the minutes until Tuesday's dinner. My friend had recently switched jobs, and as a result his office moved from downtown core to the south end of town near Heritage. This change resulted in him having to drive to work on a daily basis, as well as forced me to lose a lunch buddy. After a month or so, we were finally able to schedule a dinner. With his new found commute, the possibilities were endless when it came to picking out a new restaurant to try. I began scouring Urbanspoon like a mad woman, trying to find high rated restaurants in locations that were out of the way and/or in the deep south of Calgary. I couldn't pass off this rare opportunity with just any restaurant. After narrowing down to a handful of choices, we settled on Cafe Momoko based on its high rating as well as the fact that it was found in section of Calgary that we would seldom go to.

Jimmy's A&A Mediterranean Deli

It isn't my first visit to Jimmy's A&A for their famously greasy yet satisfying donairs. Every time I visit, I ensure that I have brewed up an appetite to eat an entire cow. I am not joking. I highly suggest that you visit with the ability to eat eat. Jimmy's is known for loading up the donairs so that all who attempts to eat it will do so in a complete mess. Don't say I didn't warn you when I tell you that you will have sauce dripping down your hands and meat falling out of your pita. This is not the ideal place for a first date and most definitely not the place to "share" a donair with your significant other. With that being said, I highly suggest that you either take out your order to devour at home away from the public eyes, or if you cannot wait a minute longer, there is a tiny seating area upstairs. Just do not try to eat this "on the go" in your car. Personally, I have always ate my order on the premise of Jimmy's, and had never had a problem with finding a vacant table despite the size of the seating area.

UNA Pizza and Wine

I finally got to try UNA Pizza and Wine for the very first time (after hearing many good things about it) on Saturday night. We arrived at 8pm, a time that I initially thought would've been close to the end of the long wait that UNA is known for having, due to its popularity. We were told that for our party of 3 there would be about an hour wait, so we left our name and number and went to a nearby pub for a drink, while waiting for their call that would notify us when our table was ready. Sure enough, we received a call at 8:50pm and headed back.

Having sat down and settled at our table, I took a scan of the restaurant. UNA was lively and energetic with a low light setting, creating an atmosphere suitable for all things between a first date to a casual and comfortable outing with a small group of friends.

Yume Sushi

I finished my dance class and was heading towards Little Caesar's on 14th Street for their $5 pepperoni pizza as a late dinner. I was hungry and it was getting late, so I wanted something quick and cheap. As we were nearing Little Caesar's, I remembered that Yume Sushi was in the plaza strip right next to it. I've heard of Yume previously and the $1.00 sushi that they are known for, so I changed my mind and decided on sushi for the night instead. I stepped into the restaurant right before 9pm and the only person found sitting at a table was the owner who appeared to be doing paperwork of some sort. I wasn't sure if they were open so I walked in reluctantly. The owner was friendly and told us to come right on in as they were still open and to mind our steps as the floor was wet from being freshly mopped. I told her I just wanted to get some take out and she gestured us to the front of the restaurant and once again reminded us to be careful of our steps. When I neared the front counter/sushi bar, I saw a stack of binded in-store menus as well as paper take-out menus. Neither the owner nor the employee who stood behind the counter directed me the menu to use but I quickly figured out I had to check off items to be ordered from the paper menu.

CEREZO cafe & bar

I visited CEREZO, a Japanese fusion tapas themed cafe & bar, for the very first time on Saturday for a late lunch with a couple of friends. It was a bit difficult for me to find at first because I wasn't expecting CEREZO to look like a house on the outside. Upon entering the cafe & bar, the ambiance reflected was very coozy and home-like. The seating arrangement was spacious and we were lucky enough to have sat at a table in an area away from the other customers. It works just like any cafe - order up front and have the food brought to the table as it is made. As I stood in front of the till, my eyes bounced back and forth from the chalkboard menu to the glass display  filled with homemade desserts, and once again I was faced with my usual dilemma of deciding what to order. After what seemed like a decade, I had made my decision. For starters, I ordered a couple appetizers to share with my company.