Big Taste Calgary 2014

[Flaming Choy]

Going to Briggs tonight before the Flames game. Might not go with the Big Taste menu since there are a bunch of things on the regular menu that look good. The 48 oz tomahawk ribeye looks impressive also.

[19Yzerman19]

Ox & Angela

NOTE: Our reservation last night wasn't until 8:45pm, so it was very dark in there. Their lighting on the OX side of the restaurant doesn't help, either. Basically, I couldn't take pictures. So I'm pulling pictures off Google of the dishes we had.

For those who haven't been to Ox & Angela, the concept is generally family-style dining. Rather than getting an appy, entree, and dessert, you get a bunch of little things for the table to pick at. Their Big Taste menu is essentially just their Spanish Table menu for the spring, for $10 cheaper than normal and with a few dishes taken off.

FIRST COURSE

Pan Con Tomate - Grilled sourdough, crushed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil

Jamon Serrano - Delicious dry cured Spanish ham

Delicias - Walnut & manchego cheese stuffed dates, wrapped in Serrano ham. pomegranate molasses

Bacalao - Salt Cod & potato fritter, aioli, chilies

Here, the best things were the dates and the cod & potato fritter. The dates in particular were amazing, could have eaten a few more of those. We added white anchovies to the pan con tomate, but as far as bruschetta goes it wasn't a standout by any stretch. The cured ham was good, but being a bit of a cured meat guy I wasn't totally wowed; my last month's Carnivore Club box came with spanish ham and that was better than this.
It should be added that they also give you a little thing of olives that are seasoned in-house. They get them from a guy from Turkey, and they're unbelievably flavourful and rich (they're late picked I guess).

SECOND COURSE

Calabacines - Quick marinated Zucchini salad, mint, manchego cheese, almond, lemon

NOTE: Above picture is similar but the version they served yesterday didn't have mint. I think it could have used it, personally.

Patatas Bravas - Crispy fried baby potatoes, smoked paprika ketchup, garlic aioli

Carne Asada - Grilled Alberta flat-iron steak, sauteed kale, salsa verde

　
Okay so first of all, I've had steak here before once, about a year ago. I still remember that experience, which tells you how unbelievably freaking good Ox & Angela is at beef. For a non-steakhouse it's actually mind-boggling. As a firm believer that a really good steak should generally have a bone in it, I'm left thinking, "I can't do this with a flat iron steak, how the hell do they manage it?" Seriously, this thing is delicious, and after now going 2/2 on amazing steak here I'm going back sometime to order their rib eye. The potatoes are also highly, highly recommended. They can't be anything resembling healthy, but they're outstanding. Just crispy enough, really nicely seasoned without being too powerful. The zucchini salad was just okay - I have no complaints, but it wasn't terribly interesting. The dressing just needed a bit more life to it, as the cheese wasn't powerful enough to provide the flavour on its own. It's a good idea to balance out the much heavier portions of the entree, it just needs something extra to keep it from being totally overpowered. Overall, this was a fantastic main.

DESSERT
Chocolate Tart with sea salt

No pictures, as I guess this isn't on their regular menu. It came with a bit of creme and crushed pistachio. It was a bit of an afterthought and IMO not necessary. It was just okay, somewhat like a flourless brownie. Passable but not memorable. I think what they should just do instead is serve a dessert wine, since desserts don't seem to be in their wheelhouse.

Overall, best one yet, I think. Heavily driven by the main course, which is just fantastic. I have lunch at Vintage on Friday and I'm skeptical as to whether even they can win the Big Taste steak award for me now.
That said, the reason this worked out so well, I'm sure, is that Ox and Angela are basically just serving you their normal spanish table at a slight discount with a couple of items removed. So full marks for content, but slightly disappointed that they didn't do anything special for their big taste menu. I could go back in a month and get a slightly better version of what I got for an extra 10 bucks, so I feel like it wasn't really necessary to go there as part of this week. That said, it's an understandable strategy; if this menu was your introduction to Ox and Angela, it would definitely tell you everything you need to know about what the restaurant is about and probably have you coming back for more down the road.
Next up: Blink, for lunch today... looking forward to this one. High expectations.
　

[19Yzerman19]

Blink

Note: Blink offered a choice of for each course - two starters, three mains, two desserts. Since I was with one other person we ordered different mains and desserts so you get to see a wider array. The starter we didn't get was a mushroom soup, and the main we didn't get was a risotto, which was the vegetarian option. Also, this is the lunch menu, though a number of dishes cross over with the dinner menu including the Arctic Char.

Course 1

Salt baked Poplar Bluff golden and chioggia beet salad with shaved fennel, black olive vinaigrette, lemon oil and shaved pecorino

Really very good. Particularly the olive dressing, which was sort of like a tapenade but not overly salty. Not a large portion, but given it's lunch I was okay with it. The plating is just great.

Course 2

Grilled Diamond Willow sirloin of beef with confit rutabaga, parsnip frites and onion jus

This one was mine. Beef was perfectly cooked, the onion jus was delicious and I wish I knew how to make non-potato fries crispy like this. There was nothing particularly experimental or out of the box here, it was just a classic sirloin dish executed really well and plated attractively.

Roast fillet of Arctic Char with organic 1 year aged risotto, Jerusalem artichoke and balsamic cream

　
Course 3

Warm sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce

I had a bite of this. It was excellent, but not on the same level as the one from River Cafe I posted earlier. A much more traditional embodiment, more of a molasses taste, and much breadier. If I hadn't had the River Cafe one I'd be singing this one's praises because it was very well done but everything is a comparison, etc.

　Valrhona chocolate terrine with brown butter crumble and espresso creme anglaise



This was incredibly rich. You can see on the plate they only give you a little bit, but honestly, I would have been fine with half as much as I got. If you like chocolate, this is for you. I do, so I was pleased. The creme didn't add much, which was disappointing, but the crumble was totally essential to give relief to the velvety, rich texture of the chocolate. Great dessert.

Overall, freaking awesome, full marks for presentation and execution. If the goal of this whole Big Taste thing is to get people to want to come back to your restaurant in the future, mission accomplished. All three dishes I had were home runs. Not that there's NO room for improvement, but you can't realistically expect much more than this, and this was a $25 menu. I got $50 of value at least.

My only complaint was with the service, in the sense that I was seated at 12:30 and didn't see my main until 1:15. The delay between course 1 and 2 was the only significant one, but it was about 15 minutes past the point where you start wondering where your food is and watching everyone who comes out of the kitchen. On the other hand, I doubt it would have bothered me if it wasn't lunch because at dinner time I don't have an office to get back to.

Next up: Vero Bistro tomorrow night.

[nik-]

I know this is the wrong thread for it, but did you ever get a chance to try the jamon Iberico there?

I didn't even realize we had a place with it in Calgary ... I need to go to this place now.

[calgarywinning]

Keep going. I'm enjoying your posts and reviews. Ultimately, you will have to choose only one!! or not.

[Philly06Cup]

I've always thought these 'Restaurant Weeks' are big scams on the consumer. They offer a more limited menu, at an increased price. My guess is they are marketed towards the blue-collar class who don't normally eat out. The only upside would be an increased level of service, in order to try to retain some customers.

A better plan:
Eat a a 'Big Taste' restaurant. Don't order from the jacked up menu. Enjoy the increased service.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by Philly06Cup

I've always thought these 'Restaurant Weeks' are big scams on the consumer. They offer a more limited menu, at an increased price.

WTF??? You clearly have zero clue what you're talking about... It's the total opposite of this, the price is seriously decreased for the prix fixe menus. The idea is that they do this during the late winter when people aren't really going out to eat as much, and get bodies in the door. In exchange, they give you a break on the menu.

From the outset, I would say my Bonterra meal was about 50% of what it should have cost, the river cafe one was about 10-15 bucks cheaper, Trib is actually obvious since most of the stuff is on their normal menu anyway and I saved about $20 there (more if you order the $20 wine pairings), and as for Blink are you kidding? $25 bucks for that? Insanely good deal.

The only one your comment applies to is Ox&Angela, and it's still off - they offered a more limited spanish table menu, but for $10 cheaper than they normally charge.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Philly06Cup

I've always thought these 'Restaurant Weeks' are big scams on the consumer. They offer a more limited menu, at an increased price. My guess is they are marketed towards the blue-collar class who don't normally eat out. The only upside would be an increased level of service, in order to try to retain some customers.

A better plan:
Eat a a 'Big Taste' restaurant. Don't order from the jacked up menu. Enjoy the increased service.

More like a big scam to the server. Our restaurant has way higher percentage food costs on the big taste menu than our normal menu. You can get a 3 course meal for $35. There's no way you can order a 3 course meal for that much off the normal menu. It'd be in the $45-60 range normally.

This big taste week is the hardest we've worked for the lowest net sales and tips. Thankfully I'm off the rest of the week. Oh and you can order off the main menu anyways.

[19Yzerman19]

Vero Bistro

There were two changes for us - they were out of the bolognese, and substituted a ravioli stuffed with milk-fed veal in a porcini mushroom sauce. Also, for a $10 surcharge they were offering a venetian stew. I went with the latter.

Coriander Crusted Tuna Nicoise Salad with Poplar Bluff Potatoes, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives, Balsamic

Seared ahi tuna is perhaps my favourite cold appy. Maybe the best dish I ever ate was based around it, in West Van at a place called L'Emotion that doesn't exist anymore. So yeah, I'm a fan. This version wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was very good even grading on a curve. Nicely seasoned and very good quality stuff, of the melt-in-your-mouth variety. The potatoes were a bit different but I thought they provided a good base if maybe a bit more acidic than I would've liked. The roasted pepper though was essential. Overall, up there with the best of the first courses I've had this week.

Venetian Seafood Stew with Monkfish, Prawns, Scallops, Calamari, White Wine Tomato Broth

Excellent! And available on their normal menu, so you can go try it! In the running for best seafood dish I've had in Calgary. I was slightly hesitant, because first of all I don't order seafood here. It's just never anywhere near as good as it is on the coast. Second, I'm not usually a bouillabaisse guy even when done well - the broth is too thin for my liking. Thankfully, this broth was not only deliciously flavourful, but hearty and substantial, great for eating with bread. And the seafood? Amazing. Huge scallops, prawns and mussels, and the fish cooked exactly right (you really need to cook it separately and add it at the right time to make seafood stew work). Had an Anchor Steam Brekles Brown with it. Can't go wrong.

Soft Mango Cheesecake with Fresh Mango, Malibu Sponge, Marscapone

I'm not usually big on fruit cheesecakes, so the caveat is that this wasn't really up my alley. It wasn't great, for me. Too much pure sweet, and no relief in sight, nor anything surprising. Wasn't a big fan. My girlfriend though loved and devoured hers, so this is probably just a matter of taste. But they don't normally do dessert here as far as I know, so this was probably not up their alley, either. I don't know why places like this and Ox feel the need to do something they're not set up for instead of just doing cold appy, hot appy, main. Meanwhile a place like River Cafe does that in spite of having a ridiculously good pastry chef hanging around? Just weird. Anyway, the first two dishes were so good I left totally satisfied.

Next up: Vintage, today for lunch.

[Burke Salad]

Nothing beats my Manwich with a side of tater tots I had last night!

[East Coast Flame]

The GF and I both got food poisoning from Vero last time we eat there. Good times.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I'm curious about that one. What was in the meal?

Four courses of meaty goodness plus dessert. All of which were great. You start off with a beef carpaccio topped with a caper aioli. The aioli was a bit too salty for my taste but the meat was good was good.

You followed up with a Wagyu beef tartar. Lobster sauce Americane on a beef steak and a braised beef short rib to top off the mains. Dessert was a sticky toffee pudding that was fantastic as well. Overall everything was great aside from one or two things being a bit too salty.

[malcolmk14]

Yeah I was just about to post what was in it! I thought it was a great deal for $65.

[calgarywinning]

This is not part of big taste, but CIBO had a 15$ deal from 3pm to 5pm on a choice of half order of 3 types of pizza, or 3 types of pasta or 3 types of sandwich, a choice of 3 salads and an appetizer bite for $15 which was just excellent. It's new this week and was extremely excellent for anyone that missed big taste.

[_Q_]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

Ox & Angela

O&A Review

I think you're being extremely generous with this review.

I went to Ox and Angela last night for the Big Taste menu. To preface this, I have always enjoyed the food at Ox and Angela so I had pretty high expectations going in.

I think your review of the appetizer course is pretty spot on, although I didn't think the dates were that great. Not bad, but nothing special in my mind. The tomato on toast was just that... pureed tomatoes on toasted bread. No seasoning or any other flavours. It was definitely a miss in my mind. I thought the ham was just what you would expect. It was OK. The star of this course was the cod fritters. They were excellent and exactly what I would expect from a place like Ox & Angela.

The main course, in my opinion was extremely disappointing. The zucchini salad was very bland. As you said, it was fresh and light, but it was missing something (maybe some herb, olive oil, lime or salt.... or maybe all four). The potatoes were again, exactly what I would expect from this place. They were awesome. The steak however.... oh boy.... that was a disaster. Maybe I am a bit of a steak snob, so I was almost insulted with what I was served last night. We got a tiny, dry, cold, underseasoned piece of meat on a bed of this neon green sauce that tasted like pureed grass. Again, the sauce was very one dimensional, tasting only like lawn mower clippings. No salt, no spices, no oil/fat, no acid.... absolutely horrible.

The desert, was exactly as you said. Decent, but a bit of an afterthought.

The other thing that was apparent, the portions were tiny. As in me and my date had to go eat again after an hour and a half. My gf and I are definitely not huge people and while I can usually eat a healthy amount of food, she has the appetite of an average woman. Last night's dinner, however, felt like it was a slightly larger course of appetizers. Sure, that's what I should maybe expect from a tapas menu, but generally speaking, if you order 7 items from O&A's regular menu, you and your date are leaving the place fairly content.

[Philly06Cup]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

WTF??? You clearly have zero clue what you're talking about... It's the total opposite of this, the price is seriously decreased for the prix fixe menus. The idea is that they do this during the late winter when people aren't really going out to eat as much, and get bodies in the door. In exchange, they give you a break on the menu.

From the outset, I would say my Bonterra meal was about 50% of what it should have cost, the river cafe one was about 10-15 bucks cheaper, Trib is actually obvious since most of the stuff is on their normal menu anyway and I saved about $20 there (more if you order the $20 wine pairings), and as for Blink are you kidding? $25 bucks for that? Insanely good deal.

The only one your comment applies to is Ox&Angela, and it's still off - they offered a more limited spanish table menu, but for $10 cheaper than they normally charge.

How many restaurants participate in Big Taste? I count 80+. You think these restaurants are lining up to participate to give you 50% off their menu?

It is not fair to compare the Big Taste prices to their normal prices. Big Taste portions are smaller than normal portions. The average person does not orders an appetizer, main, and soup for lunch - that'd be too much food. I also strongly doubt the average person's lunch cheque is $25. I would take the under.

[tete]

My husband, toddler daughter and I wen to Ox and Angela tonight and had the Big Taste menu - overall we were impressed, though we both felt that it could have used one more plate - we didn't feel very full afterwards. The steak was overcooked, but it still had flavour and I liked the kale salsa verde that it came with. Potatoes were excellent, cod was good, didn't have any ham, my salted meat fan of a daughter scarfed all of mine, bread and tomatoes were ok - they reminded us of all of the tomatoes on bread we ate in Menorca when on vacation a number of years ago.

It was our first time going there and we'd go back to try off their regular menu.