The Boiling Crab

The long awaited visit is finally blogged about!

I've been dying to trying Boiling Crab ever since I heard about it. Seafood, getting down and dirty with your hands, and a bib! What's not to love??! I can now say I crossed one off my bucket list. That may sound exaggerated for those who lives in the states, or bigger cities for that matter of fact, but you have to understand that I was born and raised in a city where seafood is an imported good. I live in a city where it is land all around, and bodies of water is nonexistent. So, please, will you allow me to relive my happiness thru this post with you?

DaDeO New Orleans Diner and Bar

Do not be scared off by the "No minors allowed" sign found on their entrance door (my friend told me she wasn't sure what this place was when she walked by on a previous visit, so she strayed away).

I love the decor of this diner. It has so much character and personality.

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.

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.

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.