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.

1. You guessed it. The unfortunate name, replacing the perfectly serviceable Avenida. The latter is what most people still call it.
2. An odd south entrance
3. Somewhat high prices
4. 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.

I’m Stuffed owner/chef Sarah Lewoniuk