Good restaurants in Calgary

[red sky]

Originally Posted by flamesrule_kipper34

I was the same way as you, after looking it up there was an article in Avenue Magazine that states it is meant to be pronounced "Char Cut".

A Cut Above Charcut

Yup. I thought it was like Charcuterie but when Connie was on top chef they said it as Char Cut.

[AR_Six]

I live directly across from Muse. It's a great restaurant, I've never been disappointed, but I also don't think it's as out-of-this-world good as some make it out to be. Kensington generally has some good places at varying price ranges, Vero, Pulcinella, and especially the Brasserie.

I wasn't that impressed with Rouge. Calgary generally has plenty of good Italian spots... Sugo is fantastic. Teatro is also great, same with Mercato. Catch was underwhelming. Trib isn't bad, but also a bit underwhelming. Rush was a disappointment. Vintage makes the best steak in the city, period; the Cowboy Chop is unreal. People often overlook River Cafe, that place has such great atmosphere and such a fantastic location and the food has been very good on both occasions I've been there. Off the top of my head.

There's a lot of wasted breath on sushi in this thread. Sorry, but the best sushi in this city is still pretty damned mediocre.

[bomber317]

Originally Posted by AR_Six

There's a lot of wasted breath on sushi in this thread. Sorry, but the best sushi in this city is still pretty damned mediocre.

I don't think it's "wasted". Just because other cities have better food based on population/proximity to water/chefs doesn't mean people don't want to eat sushi in Calgary.

You could make the same argument for a lot of food in Calgary. Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, French, etc. If you apply that for all cuisines, the only thing you'd be eating here is Steak and Ginger Beef.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by AR_Six

Vintage makes the best steak in the city, period; the Cowboy Chop is unreal. People often overlook River Cafe, that place has such great atmosphere and such a fantastic location and the food has been very good on both occasions I've been there.

Mind you I haven't been to all the names brought up in this thread, but the best meal I've ever had in Calgary was at River Cafe. That place is top notch, and such a nice setting too.

And I agree about the steak at Vintage. Best steak I've had anywhere period....and that includes Peter Lugers.

[AR_Six]

Originally Posted by bomber317

You could make the same argument for a lot of food in Calgary. Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, French, etc. If you apply that for all cuisines, the only thing you'd be eating here is Steak and Ginger Beef.

No, that's not what I'm saying at all. While we're not as big a city as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto and the quality and selection of restaurants in any category is going to be a bit less, there generally isn't a marked difference in the overall standard between these cities. In other words, I can get a damned good Italian meal in Calgary, same as I can in Montreal. I can get a very good French meal here, same as in Vancouver. Our steakhouses are better than Vancouver's, sure, but you can still get a very good steak out on the coast if you're in the right spot. This is not true of the sushi in Calgary. The standard is significantly lower, to a point where if you're going out, you're always going to get MUCH a better meal in whatever price range you're looking at if you get something else. So unless you're absolutely craving it, there's basically no point.

Part of the problem is that the japanese places here... it's like having an Italian restaurant where 90% of the menu is pasta and pizza. It's cookie cutter, and the ingredients available do not allow for that kind of stuff to end up being any good. Sushi joints in this city need to stop being sushi joints and start being japanese restaurants. Be creative, broaden the menu, incorporate more interesting izakaya stuff (no, not just gyoza, tempura and agedashi tofu), delve into regional elements. Calgary has plenty of potential to have pretty solid japanese cuisine, but as long as they continue to focus on sashimi, sushi and rolls as "what people think japanese food entails" it's never going to be better than VERY underwhelming.

[troutman]

Valentines Day suggestions:

http://www.avenuecalgary.com/blogs/tables-for-two

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by bomber317

I really like Zipang for all kinds of sushi/sashimi and japanese dishes.

Their sashimi is awesome because they actually give you a bigger portion than the sushi equivalent.

By far my favorite sushi place.
My dad and a couple of his friends have gotten to know the owner pretty well. It's gotten to the point where we don't have to order anything, he just makes us various things to try until we're full.

I highly recommend the shrimp heads.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Muffins

I highly recommend the shrimp heads.

In Vancouver I saw diners biting the heads off live prawns. That's fresh!

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Du Hast

Heritage deli. Just off 17th ave and 37th st sw. Everything is homemade . I thot the perogies were good (not on par with my baba's ) but still good. And I was impressed with the sausage and cabbage rolls too. Overall very good authentic ukrainian

Does that place at the Calgary Farmers Market sell home made perogies, etc?

[bomber317]

Originally Posted by AR_Six

Part of the problem is that the japanese places here... it's like having an Italian restaurant where 90% of the menu is pasta and pizza. It's cookie cutter, and the ingredients available do not allow for that kind of stuff to end up being any good. Sushi joints in this city need to stop being sushi joints and start being japanese restaurants. Be creative, broaden the menu, incorporate more interesting izakaya stuff (no, not just gyoza, tempura and agedashi tofu), delve into regional elements. Calgary has plenty of potential to have pretty solid japanese cuisine, but as long as they continue to focus on sashimi, sushi and rolls as "what people think japanese food entails" it's never going to be better than VERY underwhelming.

Thanks for expanding on your post.

I do agree with you on this point. I do think that Zipang and Wa's have some traditional dishes that are worth trying but they're generally specials and is not on the regular menu. (unless you count Wa's grilled food). That being said, I don't go to those places for the non-sushi/sashimi items.

[_Q_]

Originally Posted by AR_Six

No, that's not what I'm saying at all. While we're not as big a city as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto and the quality and selection of restaurants in any category is going to be a bit less, there generally isn't a marked difference in the overall standard between these cities. In other words, I can get a damned good Italian meal in Calgary, same as I can in Montreal. I can get a very good French meal here, same as in Vancouver. Our steakhouses are better than Vancouver's, sure, but you can still get a very good steak out on the coast if you're in the right spot. This is not true of the sushi in Calgary. The standard is significantly lower, to a point where if you're going out, you're always going to get MUCH a better meal in whatever price range you're looking at if you get something else. So unless you're absolutely craving it, there's basically no point.

Part of the problem is that the japanese places here... it's like having an Italian restaurant where 90% of the menu is pasta and pizza. It's cookie cutter, and the ingredients available do not allow for that kind of stuff to end up being any good. Sushi joints in this city need to stop being sushi joints and start being japanese restaurants. Be creative, broaden the menu, incorporate more interesting izakaya stuff (no, not just gyoza, tempura and agedashi tofu), delve into regional elements. Calgary has plenty of potential to have pretty solid japanese cuisine, but as long as they continue to focus on sashimi, sushi and rolls as "what people think japanese food entails" it's never going to be better than VERY underwhelming.

This...

It seems as though every discussion in this city about good food degenerates to a discussion about Sushi. Yes, there's decent sushi in this city, but really, it's not the only thing to eat here. In fact, I dare any sushi addicts to go out and spend equal money on any other meal and tell me they didn't enjoy the meal more.

[moncton golden flames]

going to rush this evening before the game to sit in the lounge for some food. will review tomorrow...

[bomber317]

Originally Posted by _Q_

This...

It seems as though every discussion in this city about good food degenerates to a discussion about Sushi. Yes, there's decent sushi in this city, but really, it's not the only thing to eat here. In fact, I dare any sushi addicts to go out and spend equal money on any other meal and tell me they didn't enjoy the meal more.

But why does it have to compare? If I want sushi, I'll go spend money on sushi. If I want Italian, I'll go spend money on Italian. It's not about how much I spent but what I wanted.

It does seem there's a disproportional number of people talking about "good" sushi as opposed to any other cuisine.

Some of my favorites....

Italian - Mercato
Thin Pizza - Famosa
Thick Pizza - Spiros
Chinese - the new Ginger Beef by silver city (hand made noodles)
Dim Sum - Teapot
Sushi - Zipang
Vietnamese Soup - random vietnamese restaurant by London Drugs in Sunridge. (only the soup and rice is good, dry noodles not so much)
Fast Burgers - 5 guys
French Deli - L' Epicerie

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by fotze

This gives me hope, I desperately want to like sushi. I have tried ~35 times, but it tastes like fish. Maybe I have only had gross Calgary sushi and people here are just bullshatting themselves that its actually good or don't mind that rotting thing of the sea flavour.

I do remember liking the sushi at a place called Sushi Ran in Sausalito. I have been trying to recreate that taste here since like 8 years ago.

I don't think Calgary sushi is terrible. It's not the best sushi in the world, but I think if you don't like it here, chances are you're just not a sushi guy.

Of course with seafood it's all about getting it as fresh as possible. A place like California or Vancouver will have a quicker access to fresh fish, so inevitably it's going to taste a bit better. One of the only things that seems to be a good deal in Vancouver is the sushi... it's great and reasonably priced (at least the restaurant i went to).

[Bane]

Originally Posted by fotze

This gives me hope, I desperately want to like sushi. I have tried ~35 times, but it tastes like fish. Maybe I have only had gross Calgary sushi and people here are just bullshatting themselves that its actually good or don't mind that rotting thing of the sea flavour.

I do remember liking the sushi at a place called Sushi Ran in Sausalito. I have been trying to recreate that taste here since like 8 years ago.

I tried sushi for the first time a couple of weeks ago at Sushi Club in Kensington, and I have to say it was way better than I expected. No fish taste at all. Just buttery soft salmon. No rotting sea flavour at all.

[_Q_]

It's not like I hate sushi or anything, because I really do enjoy it. I sometimes crave it actually, and nothing else can satisfy that craving. However the way I look at it is this, if I'm going to spend over $140 for a dinner for two, I better get something pretty damn good and frankly, for the money you pay, there are far better options. I have been to all the good sushi restaurants in the city, so it's not like I'm speaking from a position of ignorance. The service usually sucks and the product is pretty meh for the price you pay. I have been to Vancouver and yes, the stuff is slightly better there, but it's still not this life changing experience that is worth several hundred dollars per meal that some people make it out to be. Again, sushi is great sometimes, but it's not the only thing to eat.

Anyways, that's enough of my rant on sushi.

My favorite restaurants are:

Notable - Best meal in the city and price is decent for what you get. Almost everything on their menu is spectacular, but the burgers, roasted chicken and steak are out of this world. The menu looks kind of boring, but they do all the food with such perfection, that pretty much everything is fantastic.

Model Milk - Almost as good as Notable, but much nicer restaurant (in my opinion of course). The hamachi crudo is one of the best raw fish dishes I have ever eaten... yes it's better than sashimi.

Una Pizza - Best thin crust pizza by far. The other menu items are pretty good as well and they have a great beer selection (although nothing on tap)

Ox and Angela - Same owners as Una. Mostly Latin American cuisine. Very good food. The cowboy steak is huge and unbelievably good.

Sushi Club - If I'm eating sushi, this is my favorite place. Very fresh fish and customer service is actually attentive for an asian restaurant.

Borgo Trattoria - Extremely nice restaurant. Reminded me of some of the higher end restaurants in Montreal. Nothing is better than taking a date to Borgo, sitting by the giant open window (more like open wall) in the summer overlooking 17th ave and enjoying a bottle of wine with some appetizers. The food quality is fantastic, but be warned all the items are super small. So order a lot if you're hungry.

Over-rated: Charcut, Anju, Globefish.

[NiklasSundblad]

Originally Posted by fotze

People say that to me all the time, even when I am there eating with them. They will say 'see, not fishy at all' and I say 'ya, this is good', yet 2 pieces later I am chasing the fishy tasting nuggets with gulps of beer and whatever else I can. I can taste it.

Would actually like to do a pepsi challenge with fish that has never been frozen to the stuff we get here that 'hasn't been frozen'

You know tuna is frozen right on the boats from which they are caught, in the middle of the ocean. If you go to the morning tuna auction at the Tsukiji central market in Tokyo, half of all the tuna is already frozen.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by fotze

Would actually like to do a pepsi challenge with fish that has never been frozen to the stuff we get here that 'hasn't been frozen'

Pretty much all the sushi you eat is flash-frozen on board after it's caught. In the US it's illegal to serve sushi that hasn't been frozen (I think the only exception is tuna)...I doubt Canada is much different.

edit: bah, beaten to the punch.

[malcolmk14]

I agree that most of the sushi in Calgary doesn't stack up to places in cities like San Francisco, Vancouver, New York City, or Tokyo. But that does not make a critique of Calgary's sushi scene any less viable on its own.

This thread should absolutely be about more than sushi, because there are a ton of great places in Calgary to get all different kinds of cuisine. Some of those places are better and some are worse than the sushi restaurants that have been discussed.

There are 91 sushi restaurants in Calgary according to Urban Spoon, of course some of them are going to warrant some kind of discussion in a thread about food.

My favourite meal in the city is at Notable.

_Q_, where are you going for sushi that you're spending $140 for two people?!

[SeeBass]

Favourite Indian- Clay Oven