Marda Loop Eats and Drinks: Part 1

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The west entrance to this prominent southwest retail district is graced by a large “Marda Loop” banner. A perhaps more realistic sign: Welcome to Hell.

That’s because a considerable stretch of 33rd and 34th Avenues was under construction for several years, prompting a merchants’ lawsuit against the City of Calgary. Even with the detour signs finally removed, it’s often a slow slog for drivers to get through a chokepoint on 33rd. I avoid the area as much as I can.

And yet, there seems to be new businesses, especially eateries and cafes, popping up all the time. I’m guessing the owners are anticipating a return to normalcy, with Marda Loop cementing its status as one of Calgary’s most prominent commercial communities. You have your choice of about five coffee shops and, in one block, three burger joints: A&W, Boogies and the new Rosie’s smash patties.

Vaycay Brew Pub is a new Marda Loop spot

Here’s a long list of Marda Loop eat and drink establishments worth visiting (from west to east), perhaps most enjoyably on foot. I’ve divided them into two parts, along 33rd and 34th Avenues.

33rd Avenue SW

Master Chocolate (2403 33 Avenue) is the 40-year legacy of Calgary’s father of chocolate, Bernard Callebaut. Choose a box of world-class chocolates and order an in-house mug of, you guessed it, European hot chocolate.

Masa Mama (3429 22 Street) is an upscale taqueria, with a focus on imaginative tacos such as chicken tinga and Korean fish, served on four-inch corn tortillas.

Diner Deluxe (2252 33 Avenue) was at the forefront of chic Calgary breakfast restaurants, now with three locations. Step beyond the usual morning meal with a brunch bowl of heavenly bacon and Brussels.

Diner Deluxe

Vaycay Brew Pub (2248 33 Avenue) is a new Calgary taproom. Chase a juicy ale with a fine short-rib taquito.

Choux & C (121, 2215 33 Avenue) is a refuge of elegance in a little French bakery and cafe, featuring delicate cream puffs and choux lattes.

Doughnut Party (109B, 2205 33 Avenue) is an Edmonton import with two Calgary locations. How about something exotic like a cherry chai vanilla twist doughnut?

Sammie’s Cafe (2205 33 Avenue) is a wee brunch destination, where a pork belly bennie goes down nicely.

Boogie’s Burgers (2129 33 Avenue) boasts solid Alberta beef burgers every which way (most with fried onions and mushrooms) and an equally long list of shakes.

Blush Lane Organic Market (2044 33 Avenue) is a sizeable natural foods store, featuring a small coffee bar, Connie and John’s Pizzas and an impressive selection of deli takeout dishes such as sausage rolls.

Established in 2000, Belmont Diner (2008 33 Avenue) is your classic diner, with counter seats overlooking hard-working chefs cooking standard breakfasts.

The flagship location of Calgary coffee juggernaut Phil & Sebastian (2043 33 Avenue) is surprisingly bright, with wood panels, a high ceiling and a long coffee and laptop bar. Get some ouzo butter toast or a doughnut to go with that exacting double espresso.

Aroma Cafe Bar (1845 33 Avenue) is a bright, spacious coffeehouse, with local art on the walls and a Mexican menu focus. In that spirit, order a Mexican hot chocolate and chorizo burrito.I

New High-End Coffee Shop in Calgary

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Paradigm Spark is a new high-end coffee roaster and cafe on the eastern edge of downtown Calgary

I encountered Paradigm Spark, and its owner, David Kim, when it was a pop-up coffee bar inside the Beltline’s Butter Block bakery. A few days later, it was gone. But thankfully it reappeared, some months later, as a stand-alone coffee roaster, barista classroom and cafe on the eastern edge of downtown Calgary.

Yes, you can order standard espresso-based drinks, albeit from elevated beans. But here is a chance to step up to pour overs or flights of single-origin beans from, say, Colombian Indigenous small growers, and pair it with an inhouse-baked croissant.

Owner David Kim at the pour-over coffee bar

Like what you’ve tasted? Then pick up some Paradigm Spark roasted beans or, if you’re feeling flush, connoisseur David Kim roasts.

Welcome to Calgary a place that takes its coffee very seriously.

Paradigm Spark
422 11 Avenue SE, Calgary
Daily 7:30 am-7 pm
403-918-4957

Is it a Breakfast Cereal or an Afternoon Dessert?

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Choux & C. is a new Marda Loop dessert retreat

It seems dessert shops are having a moment in Calgary. Take your expanded pick of matcha doughnuts, pistachio cream puffs or ice cream marriages with breakfast cereals.

How hot is this trend? Consider,Avenue Magazine has just published a list of 10 new dessert places in Calgary. Ten!

Sampling them all might put me in a diabetic coma. So I’ll focus on a couple of sweet spots, both in Marda Loop, and let you decide what else to indulge in. Let’s dig in.

Seeking an escape from the tumult of Marda Loop? Just step into Choux & C, a refuge of elegance in a little French bakery and cafe.  Savour a pistachio cream puff or mini croissant, paired with a berry choux latte featuring Monogram-roasted beans.

Delicate cream puffs are Choux’s speciality

Choux & C
121, 2215 33 Avenue SW, Calgary
Opens daily at 7 am, except closed Monday

Tat’s Treats advertises itself as “cereal-infused soft serve”. In other words, ice cream blended with, say, Cheerios or Fruit Loops.

Tat’s Treats is a hole-in-the-wall dessert shop

Definitely new territory for me. Might as well jump in at the deep end with a mix of Rice Krispies, crushed Oreos and marshmallows ($9).

Ceereal-infused soft serve ice cream is its speciality

Cue the nostalgia. Except for the fact my mother always served over-night oatmeal.

P.S. For those who despair of decency in today’s world, here’s a heartwarming end to my sampling. While I was scooping up my thickened ice cream on Tat’s deck, a soft server came out to tell me my payment transaction hadn’t gone through. But by the time I went in to pay up, a young woman customer had  already paid my bill and refused to be compensated. Many thanks!

Tat’s Treats
115, 1934 34 Avenue SW, Calgary
Opens Thursday to Sunday at noon

Caffe Beano an Enduring Calgary Coffee Institution

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Caffe Beano an intimate coffee experience

Our modern world likes to lionize the newest, the latest, the trendiest. So it’s a pleasure to recognize a Calgary coffeehouse that’s quietly been a neighbourhood institution for more than 35 years.

Caffe Beano keeps things simple. Good, custom-roasted coffee. Friendly, efficient staff. In-house baked pastries and fine Wayne’s bagel sandwiches. And a two-level layout that creates lots of nook seating choices—though good luck, often, finding a vacant table.

But the critical element, for me, is the ambience. It’s a place where students, artists and neighbourhood regulars gather to read newspapers and have actual conversations. Caffe Beano is a true coffeehouse, not a coffee shop.

I’m guessing that 35 years from now, things will be pretty much the same.

In-house baked pastries

Bacon bagel

Caffe Beano
1613 9 Street SW, Calgary
Daily 6:30 am-8 pm
403-229-1932

Superb Calgary Coffee and Pastry For Only $5

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Fabulous Butter Block muffin and Q.lab coffee

It’s increasingly hard to find a good coffee and pastry in Calgary for less than $10. So, here’s an outstanding pairing for only $5.

Of course, there’s a wee caveat or two. As in buy one, get one free (Can I just get the free one?) And you have to hit two places. But it’s still a hell of a deal.

Who doesn’t love a free coffee?

We start at Butter Block, in the Beltline’s Devenish Building, to pick up a superb croissant, muffin or tart for about $5. We then wander, a stone’s throw away, to Q.lab, arguably the best coffee shop in Calgary. Q.lab doesn’t serve food, but they let you bring your own, hence the stop at Butter Block.

Q.lab coffee in Calgary’s Beltline

Here’s the caveat. You need to buy a pound or more of their excellent Chronicle-roasted beans, which you probably need to purchase anyway, and for only about $20 a pound.

The good news is that having bought said beans, you get a free coffee. Which can be a fine espreso-based drink or, my preference, a lovingly prepared pour-over coffee (from your choice of more than a dozen bean types).

A perfect pour over

So here’s the math. About $5 for the pastry and zero for the coffee drink, which would normally cost upwards of $6 if you didn’t buy any beans.

My head hurts. I need some caffeine.

A swan song

Butter Block
111, 908 17 Avenue SW, Calgary
Weekdays 7:30 am-5 pm, weekends 8 am-5 pm

Q.lab Coffee
926 16 Avenue SW, Calgary
Weekdays 8:30 am-5 pm, Saturday 8:30 am-4 pm. Closed Sunday

Calgary’s Latest Brew Pub, in Marda Loop

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Vaycay a new brew pub in Marda Loop

With soaring food costs and stiff competition, you might not expect a new entry in Calgary’s crowded craft beer market. Yet Vaycay Brew Pub has just opened another such establishment, in busy Marda Loop; its three-year-old brewery is in nearby Currie Barracks.

A flight of beers

Owner Andrew Gass has a few competitive aces up his sleeve. One, obviously, is a fine roster of beers, including a salted black lager (Hidden Dragon) and a tropical New England IPA (Tangerine Speedo). And as a trained chef, he ventures well beyond typical bar food with, say, a superb short-rib taquito. 

An excellent sgort-rib taaquito

Vaycay Brew Pub
2248 33 Avenue SW, Calgary
Opens daily at noon
403-313-1463