FFWD: Best of Calgary 2012

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by tete

FYI, for those looking for good Mexican food, Paloma in the NE is a nice hidden treasure - not far from Whitehorn LRT station.

I have no clue at all what dubstep is - I'm going to have to look that up.

Is it where Chi Chi's used to be? Because that would be ironic.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

Best off-the-beaten-path day trip

1. Bragg Creek
2. Drumheller
3. Kananaskis

Really? Bragg Creek is full of people on weekends. And Drumheller is an international destination.

At least they haven't heard of this hidden treasure I like to visit called Banff National Park.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by troutman

+1 - Hillhurst/Sunnyside/Kensington has many great amenities for children.

Like accessible crack, and a great used needle market. Oh, don't forget all of the free candy vans parked around there.

I heard that stuff is even making it into the suburbs now. Its really time I move to Airdrie... wait. They have Canadian Tire now. Big city problems on the horizon.... Beiseker?

[Yeah_Baby]

Plus I heard that Beiseker is only 20 minutes to Downtown!

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Ya think?

I would venture to guess at least half of the voters came from Sunnyside area which his how you explain the propping up of the area, Peace Bridge, and Drue Farrell. Conversely pretty well any voters from other demographics would vote the exact opposite on the bridge and Druh which is why explains the opposite extremes in their placing on best/worst lists.

Yeah, no. More than half from the inner city yes, but sunnyside is a community of a couple thousand people.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by tete

........

I have no clue at all what dubstep is - I'm going to have to look that up.

It's bleeps and bloops with drops.

[nik-]

I live in Sunnyside and I remember coming down to HotWax when I was in Grade 9 and High school like 15 years ago. If anything, this area is more chain/commercial than ever. The Hipster/Squeegee kid statements are kind of odd since the alt people who still hang around outside of that coffee house place seem out of place compared to everyone else now.

If the Hipster crowd is hanging out in Kensington, they're about 15 years too late.

FFWD Best of list has always been a lazy list, people just name what they remember, it's the reason the Ship still is listed so often and it's the same reason Vietnam Spiceland on 12th was voted "best vietnamese" over and over until just like 5 years or so ago.

[Ozy_Flame]

Lol . . . Some of the smug / pretentious comments in this thread are hilarious. FFWD releases this list every year, and every year people always point fingers at biased granola-eating hipsters saturating the results of this poll. I look no further than the Peace Bridge as being both the best and worst waste of tax dollar categories as showing a broader scope of respondents. But its less about the respondents and more about the reaction is creates; people love to discuss other people's lists as being wrong or stupid. Its human nature.

I also bet a good chunk of us have used this list as a reference point for eateries, places and people that we would not otherwise know about, particularly restaurants. I know I have. Avenue magazine too.

[Bill Bumface]

Best posts in this thread:

1.

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Lol . . . Some of the smug / pretentious comments in this thread are hilarious. FFWD releases this list every year, and every year people always point fingers at biased granola-eating hipsters saturating the results of this poll. I look no further than the Peace Bridge as being both the best and worst waste of tax dollar categories as showing a broader scope of respondents. But its less about the respondents and more about the reaction is creates; people love to discuss other people's lists as being wrong or stupid. Its human nature.

I also bet a good chunk of us have used this list as a reference point for eateries, places and people that we would not otherwise know about, particularly restaurants. I know I have. Avenue magazine too.

Worst posts in this thread:

1.

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Lol . . . Some of the smug / pretentious comments in this thread are hilarious. FFWD releases this list every year, and every year people always point fingers at biased granola-eating hipsters saturating the results of this poll. I look no further than the Peace Bridge as being both the best and worst waste of tax dollar categories as showing a broader scope of respondents. But its less about the respondents and more about the reaction is creates; people love to discuss other people's lists as being wrong or stupid. Its human nature.

I also bet a good chunk of us have used this list as a reference point for eateries, places and people that we would not otherwise know about, particularly restaurants. I know I have. Avenue magazine too.

[GP_Matt]

I know I wasn't sure who I should be hating in Calgary before reading the list. Now I have three new names for my enemies list.

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

Plus I heard that Beiseker is only 20 minutes to Downtown!

Isn't their town mascot a skunk?

[meanmachine13]

I agree with John Manzo being named one of the top profs

[holden]

'Butterface' Belland again. Wow. How many years is that in a row?

[MarchHare]

Also, wtf is up with Charcut being on the list for best steak? Don't get me wrong, I love Charcut as a restaurant, but they're not at all a steakhouse. Do they even have steak on their regular menu? I ordered a skirt steak there once, but I think it was a special.

I know a waitress who used to work there, and she told me that many people unfamiliar with the restaurant would come in expecting a steakhouse and were disappointed when they saw the menu.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Also, wtf is up with Charcut being on the list for best steak? Don't get me wrong, I love Charcut as a restaurant, but they're not at all a steakhouse. Do they even have steak on their regular menu? I ordered a skirt steak there once, but I think it was a special.

I know a waitress who used to work there, and she told me that many people unfamiliar with the restaurant would come in expecting a steakhouse and were disappointed when they saw the menu.

Yes, they have steak, but I would never order it. You're right about the name, it's short for charcuterie, but I can see people expecting them to specialize in beef instead of yummy, yummy pork.

On the topic of the list, I can state with a fair amount of confidence that anyone complaining about it didn't fill out a ballot.

[Clarkey]

http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_r...y=80&size=650x

[Clarkey]

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I lived there in a basement suite one year when I was in college. It's okay if you are young and work downtown but not a place I would bring up a family.

Ya, it is terrible place to live seeing as I am married with a son. Oh the horrors I live with, like having a doctor, architect, engineers, high level managers, who live on my street, and at least 20 children under 6 in the near vicinity.

Oh and our block party this week (yes like 1980's Calgary block party) was horrible, just awful. The way everyone pitched in and cooked food, and rented a balloon tent for the kids to jump in the green space on our block.

Oh and the worst was our 90 year old neighbors who recently moved away to Braeside. I had to have my ear talked off for an hour while they complained about the suburbs and how it is the apitomy of awful. No community, no caring. It was just terrible.

Anyways, I should probably put my house up for sale soon. I have no idea how my child will grow up in such a non-family environment.

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Ya, it is terrible place to live seeing as I am married with a son. Oh the horrors I live with, like having a doctor, architect, engineers, high level managers, who live on my street, and at least 20 children under 6 in the near vicinity.

Oh and our block party this week (yes like 1980's Calgary block party) was horrible, just awful. The way everyone pitched in and cooked food, and rented a balloon tent for the kids to jump in the green space on our block.

Oh and the worst was our 90 year old neighbors who recently moved away to Braeside. I had to have my ear talked off for an hour while they complained about the suburbs and how it is the apitomy of awful. No community, no caring. It was just terrible.

Anyways, I should probably put my house up for sale soon. I have no idea how my child will grow up in such a non-family environment.

uhm... so.... yah....

[Regular_John]

You know why I love the ship? Consistency.

In the 8 years I've been in Calgary it's the one place that hasn't changed, like at all. If you didn't like what it had 5 years ago you won't like it today, if you don't like it today you won't like it in 5 years time either.

But I love knowing it's not gonna jump onto trends* like "a billion beer on tap" or "eclectic pizza" or "bacon bacon bacon!" that come in & out of vogue each year. Change is good, some of these new businesses are fantastic and it's great that the local food scene has exploded over the last few years. But sometimes I just wanna be a grumpy old man and enjoy a pint of trad and a burger without needing to hear the history of the aromatic mustard.

*And yes, I fully appreciate the irony in calling the trendiest of pubs "non-trendy"

/rant