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.
Nearly a year ago, I extolled the excellence of Hungry Thaiger, a Thai ghost kitchen in Oakridge Community Centre in suburban southwest Calgary.
But owners Somp (chef from Bangkok) and Travis (Saskatoon) have just realized a bigger dream: opening a full brick-and-mortar restaurant, a stone’s throw from the original.
Before
That means sitting down to a steaming plate of pad Thai noodles instead of slurping them down in a parking lot. Ironically, for logistical reasons, takeout isn’t initially available in this new home.
After
Either way, the food is fresh and fabulous, from standards like tom yum soup to more exotic bird’s nest noodles. Indeed, it’s arguably the best, most affordable Thai I’ve enjoyed in Calgary.
Excellent drunken noodles
But I’m not the only one to discover this gem. After a surprise CBC radio visit, it was standing room only, especially on weekend evenings.
Pro tip: The quietest times are early lunchtime on weekends.
Hungry Thaiger 3109 Palliser Drive SW, Calgary Tuesday to Thursday opens at 4 pm, Friday to Sunday at 11 am. Closed Monday 587-229-8386
Calgary Farmers’ Market – South is a great plaace to hang out with frieds and family
You recognize them as soon as you walk in the door. They’re gathering places, where people hang out with friends and families to share a leisurely meal or drink. They’re usually packed and abuzz with conversation.
With luck or good timing, you might find an empty table. Once you do, you probably won’t want to leave.
Here’s my list of the best such eat and drink “hangs” in Calgary. Let me know yours.
It’s in a corporate headquarters lined by freeways and primarily designed to feed office workers. But it didn’t take long for neighbouring residents, many of them seniors, to flock to this stunning, high-ceilinged building for coffee klatches and affordable chef-made breakfasts and lunches. Good luck finding a parking space.
Two strikes against it. It’s in the middle of industrial nowhere, and it lives under the perpetual threat of demolition. No matter. The Wild Rose taproom is generally packed with people in vociferous conversation while sharing a beer and a bite. The real star here is the World War II airplane hangar that houses the pub.
A Calgary coffeehouse that’s quietly been a neighbourhood institution for more than 35 years. Caffe Beano keeps things simple, with 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.
But the critical element 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.
Over the years, scores of loyal Calgary Farmers’ Market customers have survived stroller Fridays, swarms of private-school students with lunch money, and more vehicles than parking spots. They keep coming back for the fresh produce, the serenading musicians and the meals and drinks, from dozens of kiosks, shared in spacious food courts.
Arguing that Cold Garden isn’t the coolest craft brewpub in Calgary could well draw howls of protest.That’s partly because the Inglewood brewery welcomes dogs inside its taproom. And on a busy Saturday afternoon, the canine cacophony adds to the general din of folks chatting over some seriously good pints. Mostly though, Cold Garden is just undeniably funky with vegetated walls, comfy couches and graffiti-covered bathrooms.
Every time I walk into this restaurant, I scramble to find a vacant seat. This is a true neighbourhood gathering place, where friends meet for morning coffee and legendary soups and sandwiches. Leave room for a slab of carrot cake and grab some frozen soup on your way out.
Lina’s is a mini Calgary empire with four locations to serve all your Italian food needs. The Mercato location’s spacious dining area is a popular place to meet friends over a coffee, breakfast sandwich or plate of pasta.
It may lack the cachet of a craft beer brew pub. But National Westhills more than makes up for that with dozens of local beers on tap and excellent burgers, pizzas and appetizers, often at happy-hour prices. The long, shared tables also encourage camaraderie among fellow diners and imbibers. No wonder it’s my go-to neighbourhood beer house.
Coffee and pastries, breakfast, lunch, glass of wine, dinner, fresh bread and groceries to go. Daily Brett has you covered. Add natural light streaming through high windows, and it’s easy to see why folks want to hang out here.
Hook up with some buddies at this hopping Beltline brewpub to watch a Flames game on a big screen TV. The pints are cold and the wings, burgers and pizza first rate. As a younger friend reminds me, “It’s not loud, it’s lively.”
For three decades, it’s been a popular Parkdale meeting spot for coffee, breakfast, lunch and dessert squares. Lazy Loaf’s signature feature is the thick slabs of fresh-baked, nine-grain, no-dairy kettle bread that envelope its hearty, build-your-own sandwiches.
It’s mid-morning, mid-week in late February, and Blue Star Diner is jumping; I’m lucky to grab a vacant counter seat.
“It’s the community,” explains my seat mate, a frequent customer. Yes, Blue Star is smack in the middle of the inner-city Bridgeland neighbourhood. And yes, the tables are full of friends happily chatting away, creating a warm morning buzz.
But it doesn’t hurt that Blue Star offers arguably the best breakfast in Calgary, from novel takes on bacon-and-egg classics to innovative bowls.
My idea of a neighbourhood coffeehouse, with folks from the southwest community of Lakeview congregating in this narrow space to chat over good coffee and scones. Other great neighbourhood coffee hangouts: Friends Cafe in Edgemont and Higher Grounds in Hillhurst.
Marathon Mouth 