This may be the most colourful lunch experience in Calgary. Also, one of the cheapest and fastest. With business mostly conducted in Chinese.
At tiny BBQ Express, in north-central Calgary, you line up in front of a display case of hanging ducks and other meats. If you’re following the standard of ordering the lunch combo, you’re asked to choose two meats (roast pork, barbecue pork, duck etc.).
And now the colourful really begins: a cleaver-wielding worker starts hacking your chosen meats into bite-sized pieces. These are all stacked atop a mountain of white rice in a takeout container now weighing 29 ounces. And costing $11, cash only.
Because there’s no seating, you’re quickly out the door, with the choice of messily eating with a little fork in your vehicle or waiting till you get home, where it will easily provide two meals.
A little fatty? Sure. But still one of the best lunch deals in the city.
BBQ Express 1403 Centre Street North, Calgary Daily 10 am-6 pm, except closed Tuesdays
Here’s my big idea: Have an Olympic Games every year.
This means, say, a Winter Olympics one year, a Summer Olympics the next year, a Winter Games the year after and a Summer Games the year after that. In other words, there would be an Olympics of some kind every year. This would replace the current, longtime practice of a Winter Olympics every four years and a Summer Olympics the same.
But why change?
First, there’s an insatiable appetite for televised sports, especially for an immensely popular, iconic event like the Olympics. It nicely fills in “dead” space in the sporting calendar, like the depths of winter or the dog days of summer. What would you rather watch in mid February: the Olympic hockey final (with its 10 million Canadian viewers) or two irrelevant NHL teams going through the motions? Even if you have to get up at 6 am for the former.
But, you might argue, the Olympics are already horrendously expensive for host countries to stage. Wouldn’t a doubling of Games just exacerbate that. Especially when many freshly built facilities are torn down or repurposed right after the closing ceremonies.
Here’s my solution: Have three permanent hosts for each of the Summer and Winter Games, plus a rotating fourth for one-time hosts. So for the Winter Games, your three permanent hosts could include Salt Lake City, the French Alps and Beijing, with Toronto snaring a one-time fourth. For Summer Games, how about London, Los Angeles, Tokyo and a one-time Brazil? Permanent hosts could reuse their facilities, plus maintain a large pool of professional managers and trained volunteers.
Double-down Olympics would also be a tremendous boon for competing athletes, who spend year years training, developing skills and gaining experience. Under the current format, athletes must wait four years between Games. But what if, on the appointed day/s, they’re too injured or sick to compete? Or get run over by a Korean speed skater or forced to ski in a sudden blizzard? Too bad. Just four more wasted years of their prime,
But under my two-year cycle, they might squeeze in four or five shots at Olympic glory.
Currently, fans quickly form attachments to their nation’s athletes and keenly follow their successes or failures. But once the Olympic lights go out, the fans don’t see, or think about, these athletes for another four long years.
Shorten that wait to two years and stronger bonds are formed. Being in the spotlight every two years could also help these athletes make more money, attract more sponsors and perhaps form professional leagues, like women’s hockey.
Under my two-year Olympic formula, sponsors, advertisers and television networks could conceivably make twice as much money, while higher licensing revenues could help organizers defray costs. Alas, it would also probably lead to more money going to the venal IOC, which frankly should be abolished.
A higher profile could perhaps also prompt national governments to increase spending on their Olympic athletes, who bear the brunt of entertaining we fans. The Canadian government hasn’t increased funding for Olympic athletes since 2005, athletes who often spend $100,000 out of pocket per year. Shameful!
Time to head to KinDee Street Kitchen, in a northeast Calgary industrial mall, where one of three sister owners kindly introduces me to Laotian cuisine and how it differs from Thai food. The emphasis here is a balance of spicy, sour and salty flavours.
Laotian chicken wings
I start with a fine appetizer of fried chicken wings (kai tod) and sticky rice. I’m warned of the fermented fish sauce pungency of the green papaya salad, but find it nicely tangy.
The pork and chicken gizzard laab is a further step into the unknown. That’s another visit.
Still, if you’re not up for experimentation, there’s all the Thai standards on the menu.
KinDee Street Kitchen 3449 12 Street NE, Calgary Opens daily at 11 am, except closed Sunday 587-349-9768
Rendezvous Korean is one of 40-plus food kiosks in this deep-south Calgary market
Fresh & Local Market + Kitchens, in deep-south Calgary, has four initial strikes against it.
You guessed it. The unfortunate name, replacing the perfectly serviceable Avenida. The latter is what most people still call it.
An odd south entrance
Somewhat high prices
A rabbit’s warren layout
An incongruous entrance
Still, it’s easily the best, most diverse major food market in Calgary, with more than 40 kiosk kitchens. Just about every ethnic base is covered: Korean, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Venezuelan, El Salvadoran, Mexican, southeast Asian; the list goes on.
Located at 12445 Lake Fraser Drive SE, the market opens at 11 am Thursday to Sunday
A sprawling food court
Let’s start with the eclectic Krooked Provisions, an outstanding wife-husband, Red Seal chef operation, showcasing their imaginative takes on pirogies, Reuben sandwiches (house-made sauerkraut), four-cheese mac ’n cheese and a Mennonite sausage doused in a pineapple-ginger-sauerkraut salsa.
Krooked Provisions’ award-winning mac n cheese
Next door, The J Spot has closed, replaced by another hand-made burger joint, Muy Bueno. Strech your culinary wings and try the smoky rib burger.
Muy Bueno is a new burger joint
Mestizo Taqueria boasts perhaps Calgary’s most diverse taco roster, ranging from slow-braised beef brisket to fried pork intestines—all served on corn tortillas. It’s also worth ordering a gordita, in which fried corn dough is stuffed with grilled meats and pork rinds.
Is there a more evocatively named Calgary restaurant dish than Crack & Cauliflower? Didn’t think so. It’s the arranged marriage of two best sellers—crispy pork belly and tiger cauliflower—at Expat Asia.
Expat Asia is a father-son operation
It’s just one of the innovative recipes arising from the fertile minds of father and son co-owners Jeff and Joel Matthews, who bring decades working as chefs in Jordan, Bali, Singapore and Australia to their kiosk.
Arepa Ranch is a family-owned business that celebrates its Venezuelan heritage with cornmeal patties, or arepas, stuffed with my choice of pulled pork, melted cheese and garlic sauce. At less than $14, this hefty meal is one of the best lunch deals at the market.
They’re may be cheaper banh mis in Calgary. But I doubt there are any better than the massive Vietnamese subs that Bee the Banhmi pumps out from a tiny kitchen. My choice contains a boatload of fresh grilled chicken, a bargain two-mealer at $16. Bee also draws crowds for its high-end, massive bowls of pho (think oxtails or brisket) and Vietnamese coffees.
The most bountiful banh mis in Calgary?
Que Chivo celebrates Salvadoran street food. Leading the way are pupusas—El Salvador’s signature dish—hand-made corn tortillas stuffed with various fillings and grilled. Also on offer are tamales, empanadas and tacos, incorporating ingredients such as plantains and yuca.
Mexquisite focuses on fine Mexican tortas (sandwiches), using recipes that owner Jorge has brought from his home in Mexico City. Try the Mixiote torta, featuring slow-marinated shredded beef in chile sauce, stuffed into an authentic telera bun.
Mexquisite’s magnificent tortas
Nan’s Noodle House is a plant-based Asian kitchen with an impressive menu. It boasts eight forms of noodles with broth, such as black garlic ramen and ginger scallion pho, and half a dozen noodle dishes without broth. Head chef Brandon Bauzon likes to frequently fiddle with the menu, recently adding dishes like Taiwanese “beef” noodle soup and mapo tofu.
Nan’s Noodle House
Rendezvous Korean Cuisine is a wee kiosk serving all manner of unfamiliar dishes like jjam and japchae. But I’m here for the gamjatang ($18), a pork neck bone simmered for several hours in a spicy broth until the meat is ready to fall off the bone. Kind of a Korean version of oxtail soup.
These aren’t your parents’ steakhouse baked potatoes. In I’m Stuffed owner Sarah Lewoniuk’s inventive hands, they’re twice-baked spuds with toppings like bacon-wrapped jalapeños or stuffed mushroom caps, along with melted cheese, crispy onions and a side of jalapeño slaw.
Delectable Wagyu cheese burger at Bizarre Gastro Pub
Wagyu beef is usually way out of my price range. But when I see a marbled, oh-so-tender Japanese Wagyu cheese burger at Bizarre Gastro Pub for just $14.99, I’ve got to check it out.
It’s a hell-of-a-lunch special, down from the regular $23.75, and includes a wire basket of hot fries. The Wagyu beef certainly delivers—a melt-in-your-mouth patty, topped by caramelized onion, smoked cheddar, house pickle coins and Bizarre sauce, in a soft potato bun. Actually, with a patty this good, you might want to cut back on potentially distracting toppings.
A funky gastro pub
Started by two buddies in 2024, Bizarre is an evocatively named Ramsay pub, featuring smoky cocktails, a fusion food menu and a colourful interior.
Bizarre Gastro Pub 2016 Spiller Road SE, Calgary Opens 11 am daily except 4 pm Sunday 825-509-5777
In a crowded Calgary burger market, it makes sense to focus on the wildly popular smash burger trend—involving flattened patties with crispy exteriors and juicy interiors. But success ultimately relies on quality ingredients and stellar execution.
And that’s where the newish Small Bar Bridgeland nails it. Its double cheeseburger features two dry-aged beef patties, American cheese, mac sauce and a potato bun that, critically, doesn’t fall apart.
Fabulous double smash burger
At $22 for a double burger and plentiful crinkle fries, it ain’t cheap. But I’m guessing it’s one of the best smash burgers in the city. While you’re at it, might as well spend $4 extra on an excellent, unusual Bushmills peppercorn gravy.
Small Bar is a comfy but funky Bridgeland spot with an extensive list of local craft beers and wines. Its owned by the same folks who operate the splendid Blue Star Diner next door.
Lovely Bridgeland patio
Small Bar Bridgeland 813 1 Avenue NE, Calgary Opens weekdays at noon, 11 am weekends 403-454-5808
Marathon Mouth 