Don’t you want to just run down to Calgary’s River Cafe and dive into this divine tuna dish? (Photos by Helen Corbett)
Really, is there a nicer, cozier place to have lunch on a winter’s day than *River Café, in Calgary’s Prince’s Island Park? The imaginative and immaculately prepared food is usually beyond my road tripper’s budget. But during downtown Calgary’s Big Taste week (on until March 16), I can savour a three-course, scratch-made lunch for the bargain price of $15.
Maybe the best meatball sandwich I’ve eaten, at Caffe Mauro in Calgary
$13 for a sandwich? That’s why Caffé Mauro, across the street from downtown’s Mountain Equipment Co-op, didn’t make my list of top places to eat in Calgary for under $10. The sandwiches themselves were, and are, superb, reflecting owner and cook Sal Malvaso’s long-time commitment to first-rate ingredients and made-to-order freshness. You can watch him assemble a short list of sandwiches including a beef brisket Reuben and the top-selling prosciutto and bocconcini, piled high on a baguette.
Two things changed my mind. First, my sister sends me this email: “Seriously, this meatball sandwich is maybe the best lunch in town. Soft, peppery meatballs, sautéed mushrooms, in the softest baguette. YUM!”
Second was the math. When I took home an outstanding meatball sandwich and plopped it on the scale, it topped 1.3 pounds. Unless I wanted to gorge myself, it was plenty for two lunches. So $13 divided by two equals $6.50, which turns into a high-quality bargain.
Caffé Mauro makes a slightly smaller version of said sandwich for $10. Either way, add it to my list of great Calgary cheap eats.
Caffé Mauro
999 8 Street S.W., Calgary
Weekdays 7:30 am-4 pm. Closed weekends
A mountain of thinly-sliced bison in this Philly sandwich at Ponoka’s Cilantro + Chive
Note: They’ve moved to nearby Lacombe (5021 50 Street)
The central Alberta town of Ponoka is definitely cattle country, with Canada’s biggest cattle auction market and its third-largest rodeo. So it’s rather surprising to walk into a busy Cilantro + Chive and gander at the lunchtime menu. Here I find duck breast poutine, smoked trout, elk sausage spaghettini and a brown eggs and lamb burger—with many of the provisions locally sourced. There’s also a fine selection of microbrew ales. What the red-neck heck have couple Kim and Rieley, a Red Seal chef, opened here?
I go really old school and order a bison (fenced in, mind you) Philly sandwich, given a thoroughly modern twist with an espresso crust, sautéed onions and a cherry porter reduction sauce. Old-time cowboys may be rolling in their graves. But I must say, this towering, $14 sandwich is delicious, with seemingly half the tender, thinly sliced critter stuffed between two slices of bread and accompanied by my choice of the day’s onion and spinach soup.
Beef lovers, don’t despair. There’s still a regular burger, a steak sandwich and a weekly prime rib night. But can it be long before a vegan, gluten-free restaurant invades this conservative bastion?
A nice touch of floating cranberries in the ice water
Cilantro + Chive
2, 4213 Highway 2A, Ponoka, Alberta
Monday to Thursday 11 am-9 pm, Friday 11 am-10 pm. Closed weekends
Bite Groceteria & Cafe is in a bright, airy building in Calgary’s Inglewood district
Sometimes, a place gets a bad rap in the online universe. Take Bite Groceteria & Café, in Calgary’s increasingly trendy Inglewood district. The word “expensive” shows up in a lot of reviews, and certainly the grocery side of this big, open, light-filled space might merit that description.
But the food? Give me a break. I order the most expensive thing on the morning menu, a $4.95, made-to-order breakfast sandwich, with fluffy eggs, avocado, Oka cheese, thick chunks of bacon, lettuce and tomato, all stuffed between two nicely toasted pieces of whole-grain bread.
When the chef pops the groaning plate on the counter, I’m stunned at what is by no means “bite” size. Even half this monster would be a bargain. It’s one of the better breakfast sandwiches I’ve eaten, to boot, almost a morning BLT with scrambled egg thrown into the mix.
A marvellous, monster breakfast sandwich for only $4.95
For a buck less, the breakfast wraps and burritos are an even better deal. Lunch prices are somewhat higher, starting at $11.50 for a pulled pork sandwich or $9.40 for a bacon mac ‘n cheese.
Bite is on the ground floor of a stunning new building in east Inglewood. Popular, cozy Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar is just down the hall. And it’s well worth climbing to the 4th floor to visit one of Canada’s finest contemporary art galleries, the Esker Foundation, with a commanding view of Calgary’s downtown.
Great views of downtown Calgary from the stunning Esker Foundation art gallery
Bite Groceteria & Cafe
1023 9 Avenue SE, Calgary
Monday and Saturday 10 am-6 pm, Tuesday to Friday 9 am-6 pm, Sunday noon-6 pm
Co-owner Dawn Donald delivers an excellent Burmese chicken curry and samosa at Junction House Cafe
Update: The Junction House has been renamed The Mad Dog Cafe & Market. Same owners, same great food.
The Junction House Café & Spice Market, just east of Canmore, is by no means content to offer just one curry of the day. No, there are six, which co-owner Dawn Donald spends several minutes patiently explaining to me. There’s a forehead-perspiring beef vindaloo, a couple of vegetarian options and my choice of a complex Burmese chicken curry, based on husband Russell Donald’s family recipe, and accompanied by a fresh mango chutney and a puffy puri (Indian fried bread). Of course, I can’t resist adding an excellent vegetable samosa to the bowl.
The Burmese chicken curry is from an old family recipe
The Donalds are similarly not content to just run a restaurant. They sell complete spice kits for many of the curries, along with fresh chutneys and frozen samosas and finished curries. In winter, Russell also runs a dogsledding tour business, aptly named Mad Dogs & Englishmen.
Open for about 18 months, Junction House is located along the Trans-Canada Highway in the equally delightfully named tiny community of Dead Man’s Flats. The Donald’s building has seen a succession of restaurants come and go over the years. Here’s hoping this great addition to the Canmore-area dining scene can last.
The Junction House Cafe & Spice Market
120 1 Avenue Dead Man’s Flats, Alberta
Sunday to Thursday 8:30 am-5:30 pm, Friday-Saturday 8:30 am-7:30 pm
It’s a terrific Peruvian family experience (Nicole, left, and Consuelo, right) at Calgary’s Inti Restaurant
When I hit a lunch buffet, I’m squarely focused on three things: quality, volume and price. Service? Just point me towards the groaning tables of steamer trays. But *Inti Restaurant, a fairly new Peruvian restaurant in a northeast Calgary strip mall, nails all aspects of a great buffet dining experience, for only $16.
First and foremost, there’s the excellent and rather exotic Peruvian cuisine. It starts with what, for me, is the meal’s highlight, a spicy chicken soup with peas, which I accompany with a tangy squid and shrimp ceviche. Of course, this is followed by two platefuls of pork stew with potatoes and peanuts, rotisserie chicken, savoury kidney beans and fried yucca. Surprisingly, there’s also a tray of ginger beef, a nod to a post-World War 2 influx of Chinese immigrants to Peru; who knew?
A fabulous spicy chicken soup
Purple corn makes an appearance in a house-made fruit drink, chicha morada, and a fruit dessert. Apparently, purple corn is good for high blood pressure. Need more dessert? A friend sings the praises of the coconut rice pudding, but I’m too stuffed to join in.
The usual overflowing buffet plate
Good as the food is, it may be topped by the interaction with our lovely host, Consuelo. Her son, Hans Puccinelli, officially owns the family-run place, but he’s ensconced in the kitchen. That leaves Consuelo to come by with clean plates, menu explanations and suggestions. By the time we leave, we’ve heard about the family’s migration from Peru to Canada, and Consuelo is imploring us to come for a future pisco sour tasting.
Note: Inti is a favourite hangout for star chefs John Jackson and Connie DeSousa, when they’re not busy running their Charcut Roast House.
Inti Restaurant
208, 3132 26 Street NE, Calgary
Lunch Tuesday to Saturday 11:30 am- 2 pm, Sunday noon-2 pm, dinner Tuesday to Sunday 5 pm-9 pm. Closed Monday
Marathon Mouth 