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.
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
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
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…
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
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
Perfectly pleasing egg ‘n bacon pizza at Coco Brooks
It’s been more than 20 years since I discovered Coco Brooks, the little personal pizza-in-a-box joint in southeast Calgary. Each time I go (about every two years), I order the same thing: a marvellously fluffy scrambled egg ‘n bacon pie hot from the oven. Trust me, it works.
An efficient, no-frills operation
At $11.43, it’s a bargain for four thick slices that can easily keep me going for two meals.
Coco Brooks
640 42 Avenue SE, and two other Calgary locations
Monday to Saturday 9 am-7:30 pm
403-243-2677
Marathon Mouth 