It’s fascinating to me how prices widely considered outrageous are, by the second or third time around, deemed almost normal. This applies to the current war-time gasoline price, which has been bouncing above $1.70 a litre, with little evidence of motorists curbing their mileage. Similarly, many folks no longer even blink at hotel room rates of $200 or $300.
Fabulous bennies at Sweatered Hen worth the $24 price
For Marathon Mouth, the tipping point has been the $20 breakfast. I fondly recall the overflowing bacon-and-eggs platters, which for about $8 (U.S.) kept me nourished till supper on long road trips south of the border.
Those days are long gone, (as are my American visits). Somewhere along the way, I went from “a bridge too far” to a shrugged “cost of doing business.”
Which perhaps explains why, in the space of a week, I three times indulged in Calgary breakfasts costing an average $23.50, plus coffee, plus tip. To be honest, I’d rather pay more for a quality meal than face a steady “shrinkification” of portion size and substitution of inferior ingredients.
My first breakfast was a fabulous benny bowl at The Sweatered Hen on the Beltline’s 17 Avenue SW. (click above for my review). The second was at ZCREW Cafe, an Asian fusion joint on the eastern edge of downtown Calgary.
ZCREW a hopping joint in Victoria Park
The latter’s eclectic breakfast menu ranges from overnight oats to brekkie wraps and bowls. But I was here for a spicy Korean twist on a fried chicken benny ($23). Lovely stuff, with nicely runny eggs, a cone of hot breakfast potatoes and a sensible amount of hollandaise.
Korean take on a chicken benny
My third stop was at long-time Bridgeland stalwart Blue Star Diner. It’s a personal go-to breakfast joint for three reasons.
Blue Star Diner one of the best breakfast hangouts in Calgary
First, it has a busy yet cozy neighbourhood vibe that’s unequalled in Calgary. You just want to hang out with friends here.
Second, the breadth and creativity of the breakfast menu. Fried chicken and pancakes anyone? Or breakfast poutine? My breakfast bowl came loaded with poached eggs, chorizo, cured bacon, house potatoes and a boatload of roasted veggies.
Third, you certainly get your money’s worth, even at over $20 for all the above dishes. And at $20, the monstrous breakfast burrito might be the best morning deal in the city, a true two mealer.
In sum, there’s a lot of great breakfast places in Calgary. Just don’t look too closely at the bill.
One of my most memorable coffee experiences was at SnowDome Coffee Bar in Jasper. My Americanos were expertly crafted on a high-end Slayer espresso machine and went down well with house-baked cookies.
But what really stuck with me was the location—in the corner of a subterranean laundromat, surrounded by gleaming stainless machines. Which got me thinking: Why aren’t there more such obvious partnerships, turning a chore into a pleasant hangout in a captive market?
Jasper’s late, great SnowDome Coffee Bar and laundromat
That was 12 years ago, and not much has changed, other than the closing of SnowDome. But if I expand my horizons beyond laundromats, I can find a half dozen such “more than just coffee” places in Calgary, a couple quite new.
The most popular of such marriages is the coffee and bike shop, often extended to include skis in the winter. The idea is to offer espresso-based drinks and pastries while your bike or skis are being tuned.
I don’t know how I missed this, but Bike and Brew (921 1st Avenue NE: “Calgary’s Original Caffeinated Bicycle Shop”) has been offering cycling gear and services for nine years along Bridgeland’s busy 1st Avenue NE, close to the city’s expansive pathway. The drink and food menu is impressive, from Fratello-based cold brew coffee and local craft beer to Peppino Italian sandwiches and fresh-baked cookies.
Bridgeland’s Bike annd Brew
Velet (105, 206 11 Avenue SE) is Calgary’s quirkiest cafe—a bike/ski repair and tuneup shop, on the edge of downtown, that also serves excellent coffee. Oh, the entrance is from a back alley. When I visited, owner Hakan Kayabasi was doing it all: ski/bike technician, expert barista and purveyor of fresh-baked Turkish treats.
Velet subterranean cafe
Want to avoid the persistent Marda Loop traffic jams? Just jump on your kick-ass Italian bike and head to The Wheelhouse (2136 33 Avenue SW) for a “decent espresso” or to join an organized ride into the foothills.
Detour: A long, long ride north of Calgary in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, excellent Midnight Sun Coffee Roasters shares space with vibrant bike shop Icycle Sports.
Want a facial or lip wax with that latte? Distilled Coffee House (2408 34 Avenue SW) is a combination coffee shop, wine bar and beauty bar, also in Marda Loop. Order a Rosso Roastery coffee and a fresh-baked cookie or charred beet salad.
Distilled’s beauty and the brewsy
This isn’t the only instance of caffeinated beauty in Calgary. At the new Kennedy and Oaks (1919 Sirocco Drive SW), you can browse an expansive menu of Vietnamese-style coffees while getting your brows worked on.
Kennedy and Oaks high-brow beauty and Vietnamese coffee shop
Bonus: I recently noticed a Calgary laundromat offering coffee, but it was Nespresso. Does this count?
Phillistines produces a gorgeous display of Middle Eastern sweets
You may be reluctant to drive all the way out to industrial northeast Calgary for a few pieces of honey-soaked baklava. But it’s well worth the effort to experience arguably the most spectacular display of hand-crafted sweets in the city. And while you’re loading up on delectable Arabic desserts, you might want to go next door to order a pita pie that rivals many of Calgary’s best pizzas.
But at Phillistines Bakery & Sweets, I’d start with a treat or two, washed down with an espresso or a Turkish coffee. There are more than 15 types of “baklawa” on offer, ranging from assobeh and pistachio rolled pastry fingers to the divine ash al bulbul (bird’s nest). Or how about seven varieties of show-stopping baked kunufa dessert?
I’m just scratching the surface of sweets I’ve never heard of, inspired mostly by a grandmother’s Palestinian recipes. Like ma’amool mad with kishta, sable cookies or creamy warbat. Even the familiar has a fusion twist: see za’atar croissants.
A flock of birds’ nests
Obviously, I need a few more journeys up Deerfoot Trail to sample just a slice of these Middle Eastern delicacies. Or I can simply follow the lead of seasoned customers and fill up a bag with goodies
To balance the honey loading, walk next door to the affiliated Mr. Meat Pie, a newish place that produces Middle Eastern flatbreads known as manakeesh. Choose from more than a dozen toppings—from za’atar spice and cheese to a spicy beef sausage known as sujuk—and then watch your pie bake to blistered perfection in a giant, high-temperature oven.
Giant “pizza”oven at Mr. Meat Pie
Best eaten piping hot, the four slices make an ample meal for one, mostly for less than $10.
Fabulous flatbreads
Phillistines Bakery & Sweets (Mr. Meat Pie is next door, opens at 8 am) 3003 21 Street NE, Calgary Opens daily at 9 am except 10 am Sunday 587-968-6050
It was the best breakfast I’ve had in Calgary in years… and the most expensive. It was a BBQ brisket bowl at the Beltline’s Sweatered Hen. At $23.50, it was worth every glorious forkful.
A newish Beltline classic
Here’s what was in this outsized bowl. Two perfectly poached, medium-runny eggs smothered in house-made hollandaise. Loads of roasted potatoes and onions, along with burnt brisket ends, swimming in Kansas City BBQ sauce.
What put it over the top was the execution. Quality ingredients. Efficient delivery. Everything hot, including the house-made potatoes, which in many places are just warmed-up hash browns. Bottomless cups of locally roasted coffee (an additional $4).
Being a bowl, my meal didn’t come with toast. Didn’t miss it. In fact, my companion and I could scarcely finish our marvellous breakfasts. His Mediterranean bowl was a whopping $26.50, but with an ingredient list this long (see photo), he wasn’t complaining.
The catchily named The Sweatered Hen is the inspiration of owner and chef Andrea Darling, who also started Calgary sandwich shop L’il Black Rooster.
The Sweatered Hen 819 17 Avenue SW, Calgary Opens daily at 8 am 587-387-7272
Costco’s most legendary meal deals are its $1.50 hot dogs and sodas—the price not raised in decades—and $8 rotisserie chickens.
As well, its cheese prices are significantly lower in an otherwise expensive Canadian dairy market. Which is why I always pick up a hefty $10 wheel of its Kirkland double brie whenever I’m shopping there.
The latest deal is a Kirkland partnership with Coastal cheddar, arguably the best, crumbliest cheese in the Costco roster. While the $19 price may not sound cheap, the 810-gram block is a virtual doorstop. If you like full-bodied cheeses, I’m sure you’ll love this one.
Fabulous Coastal cheddar
A couple of Costco deals I never take advantage of. Gasoline is considerably cheaper than elsewhere, but I can never bring myself to wait in line to fill up (also, you can’t clean your windows). Second, Costco will accept almost any returns, but again I won’t wait in line to return a bag of avocados that didn’t ripen.
Marathon Mouth 