Author Archives: bcorbett907

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About bcorbett907

I'm a Calgary-based writer who enjoys exploring the landscapes, and menus, of western U.S./Canada

Fabulous Local, National Beer

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A very happy hour at National Westhills

For more than a decade, the National Westhills has been my go-to neighbourhood pub—even if it is located in a large southwest Calgary mall. It’s a bright, large but comfortable space for meeting friends and family, with an energetic staff contributing to the good-times vibe.

While lacking the intimacy of a brewpub, this beer “market” allows you to order draft pints from dozens of largely local breweries. It’s where I was introduced to Last Best’s fabulous Tokyo Drift double IPA, one of my favourite beers on tap.

While prices, as everywhere, have gone up, the happy-hour menu for drink and food remains extensive. Even at full price, my crispy chicken sandwich ($21 with fries) is a massive piece of breast meat barely contained by the potato bun.

A fabulous, meaty chicken sandwich

National Westhills
180 Stewart Green SW, Calgary
Opens daily at 11 am, happy hour weekdays 2-5 pm
403-685-6801

Simply Fine Italian Food at Rea’s

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No fancy tablecloths at family-run Rea’s Italian Cucina

Rea’s Italian Cucina advises diners to make reservations, preferably by phone. Considering it’s early lunch mid-week in industrial northeast Calgary, I don’t bother.

Wrong move. By the time I’ve finished spooning up the vestiges of my rose sauce, the darkened interior is nearly full of loyal patrons.

Family owned and operated since 1996, Rea’s is an unpretentious Italian restaurant, far from the starched tablecloths of swanky downtown joints.

Fresh-made tortellini

The focus here is on fresh-made pasta, milk-fed veal dishes and pizzas. My Tortellini Zia Teresa ($24) is a heaping, piping hot bowl of veal-stuffed pasta, mushrooms and capocollo. Served to me by family member Alfredo.

This is my kind of pasta place.

Rea’s Italian Cucina
431 41 Avenue NE, Calgary
Weekdays 11:30 am-2 pm, Saturday 5 pm-9 pm. Closed Sunday
03-230 7754

Free Coffee at Calgary’s Q.lab

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Buy beans, get a free coffee

Here’s a deal that’s better than happy hour. Free.

Every time I pick up fresh-roasted coffee beans at Q.lab,in Calgary’s Beltline, they give me a free coffee—in my case a meticulously crafted, two-cup pour over, normally costing about $6.50.

A. fabulous, free pour over

I usually order two pounds of their Chronicle beans, which at $40 is quite reasonable for this high quality.

So, great beans and best coffee in Calgary, at $6.50 off. What’s not to like?

Calgary’s best coffee?

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

Foot-High Burger at Austin’s Bar & Grill

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Can hardly get my hand around this burger bad boy at Austin’s Bar & Grill

Austin’s Bar & Grill, in deepish south Calgary, is a prototypical neighbourhood pub—with dim lighting, walls of sport tv screens, lottery betting machines and mostly national-brand beers.

Austin’s is your classic neighbourhood pub

But I’m here for the acclaimed cowboy burger ($18.95, with fries). It’s a thick, house-made, flame-grilled sirloin patty, onion ring and piles of toppings stacked inside an overmatched bun. My biggest challenge is getting a dentist-stretched mouth around this foot-high monster.

A delicious, messy feed. Hope no one’s watching.

Before hostilities commence

Austin’s Bar & Grill
11, 11625 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary
Daily 9:30 am-2 am
403-281-7561

Bottoms Up Canucks

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Sign of the times

A growing number of Calgary coffee shops have changed the name of their Americano drinks to Canadiano. Best explanation is this chalkboard: Canadiano is “like an Americano but nicer.”

But will it get us out of hot water?

Driving For A Great Calgary Burger

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Patio dining at Lynx Ridge Golf Course in northwest Calgary

A lifetime ago, when I was a golfer, I had a simple maxim. If you want a good burger and beer, head to a golf clubhouse, even if you aren’t hitting any balls. The idea being that after four or five hours of ball whacking, golfers can get mighty hungry, thirsty and demanding.

Fast forward about 40 years, and I’m driving, on a warm fall day, to Lynx Ridge Golf Course in far northwest Calgary to test that old thesis. Lynx certainly meets the location criteria: a lofty patio overlooking the driving range and distant Bow Valley.

A way-above-par burger with onion rings

And it definitely aces the taste test—a bbq mozzarella burger, featuring a dense, moist, 7-ounce AAA beef patty, topped by crunchy onion rings and sautéed mushrooms. Oh, and a pile of hot, crispy fries.

I must say, better than most of the more lauded burgers in Calgary. And with all that greenery to boot.

Free-range burgers?

Lynx Ridge Golf Course
8 Lynx Ridge Boulevard NW, Calgary
Lookout restaurant 11 am-10 pm daily
403-930-7359