Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Origin of Philippine Chicken

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Smoking hot Philippine chicken at Darwin’s

It’s a gorgeous summer’s day in a generic new mall in northeast Calgary, and Darwin’s Charcoal BBQ Chicken is jumping. The narrow space is packed with diners, with takeout bags flying out the door.

A lot crammed into a small space

They’re all here for Darwin’s Philippine-style chicken, marinated for 48 hours and then grilled in a rotisserie over hardwood charcoal. The dozen rotating birds produce a cloud of smoke mercifully sucked up by powerful exhaust vents. The resulting moist, delectable chicken appears on most menu items, from a quarter-pound leg to grilled breast chunks in my massive tropical salad bowl ($18, two meals).

My massive chicken salad

The servers and cooks are a whir of efficient activity; a worker transports boxes of supplies inches from my arm. Wouldn’t want to waste any space not devoted to this fabulous chicken.


Darwin’s Charcoal BBQ Chicken
Monday to Saturday 11 am-9 pm, Sunday noon to 8:30 pm
2550 Country Hills Boulevard NE, Calgary
587-575-6516

Calgary’s Best Eat-Drink Pairing?

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Impossibly good Butter Block bread pudding muffin with a Q.lab pour over

First, stop at Butter Block (908 17 Avenue SW) and pick up this odd concoction—chocolate banana bread pudding—which may be the finest muffin in the known universe. Then walk a short block north to Q.lab, (926 16 Avenue SW), which may make the best, most precise pour-over coffee in Calgary.

Bliss ensues.

Baristas at Q.lab expertly prepare pour-over coffee in a modern café setting.

Pita Pies Better Than Pizza?

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Fabulous folded pita pie and brisket sandwich at Doughlicious

Doughlicious does a lot of things well. First and foremost, it’s a northeast Calgary Mediterranean market, selling big bags of fresh-baked pitas, baklava and all manner of Middle Eastern groceries.

It’s half Middle Eastern market, half restaurant

For its mouthwatering Friday and Saturday 11 am barbecues, it serves applewood-smoked brisket and roasted chicken platters. It even deep fries made-to-order little doughnut balls.

They even deep fry, made-to-order mini doughnuts

But what keeps me coming back is the huge, chewy pita pies, with more than a dozen toppings—ranging from a basic zaatar (a steal of a lunch deal $4) to my roasted red pepper and cheese mumhmara ($6.99). And how’s this for a mashup: a shish tawock, featuring roast chicken, fries and garlic sauce wrapped in a pita?

How about chicken and fries wrapped in a fresh pita?

Now that I think about it, a good pita pie is a poor man’s pizza, costing about one quarter the price of an upscale, thin-crust pie. So why not also check out the longstanding Village Pita Bakery in the city’s northeast, where you can grab a pizza-sized meat pie for only $5.25.

A pizza-sized meat pie at Village Pita Bakery

If you want to go hog wild, order an additional covering of grated cheese for an extra $3.75. Or, for $9.00, get a fresh spinach and feta cheese pita. To really stretch your wings, consider toppings of zattar spices or strained yogurt (labneh). And don’t forget to grab a bag of fresh-baked pitas.

Doughlicious
4140 6 Street NE, Calgary
Monday to Saturday 9 am-7 pm, Sunday 9 am-4 pm
403-230-5160

Village Pita Bakery
208, 255 28 Street NE, Calgary
Monday to Saturday 8 am-7 pm, Sunday 9 am-5 pm
403-273-0330

Great New Calgary Bakery is Just a Millo Away

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Millo Millo Bake Shop is a fine new bakery in Calgary’s Killarney neighbourhood

It’s great to see an upscale bakery just open in my neighbourhood. Millo Millo Bake Shop is an elegant space on Killarney’s busy 37 Street SW, a 2-kilometre drive from my house.

It offers a wide range of baked goods, from croissants and Earl Grey scones to loaves of sourdough bread, bagel sandwiches (starting at $12) and high black forest cakes.

Mostly sourdough loaves

I start modestly with a lovely, chewy pretzel bagel ($3.75) and a local Chronicle-roasted coffee. After all, it’s a short drive for repeat visits.

A nice, chewy pretzel bagel

This little pocket of 37 Street is becoming a bit of food scene, with Freo Breakfast & Lunch next door and Balkan-based Erina Bakery around the corner.

Millo Millo Bake Shop
3003 37 Street SW, Calgary
Wednesday to Saturday 8 am-4 pm, Sunday 9 am-4 pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday
587-353-0777

Calgary’s Best Pizzerias: It’s a New Culture

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UNA Pizza delivers a perfect margherita

The votes are in (just mine count). Here are my five best Calgary pizza picks, also reflecting my thin-crust bias.

5. UNA Pizza + Wine
618 17 Avenue SW and four other Calgary locations

At the vanguard of the thin-crust movement in Calgary 15 years ago, UNA has since expanded to five city locations. A dozen blistered-crust offerings are complemented with a mountainous kale Caesar salad topped with crispy prosciutto and a hard-boiled egg.

4. Coco Brooks
649 42 Avenue SE and two other Calgary locations

Not so much a guilty pleasure as a three-decade love affair, I always order the hearty, one-person scrambled egg ’n bacon pizza ($11.43), served in a little cardboard box.

Perfectly pleasing egg ‘n bacon pizza at Coco Brooks

3. Azzurri Pizzeria
2404B Edmonton Trail NE

This is old-school Napoletana pizza, from the 00 flour dough to the Riccioppo family that runs this cozy joint.

Fabulous blistered crust at Azzurri Pizzeria

2. Noble Pie
Back alley, 720 11 Avenue SW

Noble Pie transitioned from a brewpub pop-up to a back-alley Beltline location. No matter. The cool kids are all over this delightful spot, lining up for a 4 pm opening.

And the winner is…

  1. Pizza Culture
    1114 Centre Street North

It’s not just me who loves Pizza Culture. It’s a certified Napoletana pizzeria and has been named the 96th best pizza place in the world. Bonus: The sourdough crust is perfectly blistered in 90 seconds in the 900-F wood-fired oven.

90 seconds in Pizza Culture’s wood-fired oven and it’s done

Best Calgary Pizzas: Azzurri Pizzeria

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Fabulous blistered crust at Azzurri Pizzeria

Azzurri is old-school Napoletana pizza, from the 00-flour thin crust to the dough tossing to the 900-degree brick oven. The resulting blistered crust is perhaps the best in Calgary. What puts this little spot over the top is the wonderful family ownership of mama Terry and sons Allesandro and Faustino Ricioppo.

Azzurri is very much a family operation

There are 13, 12-inch pizza styles on offer, many featuring San Marzano tomato sauce, fior di latte, prosciutto and, in the case of my Italia ($29.50), house-made spicy sausage. As you can see, the prices are a little on the high side. 

Azzurri Pizzeria
2404B Edmonton Trail NE
Tuesday to Saturday 4 pm-9 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday
403-299-8774