Monday Night Supper Club: Home Tasting Room

Dan    Monday Night Supper Club     #MNSCyyc, awesome, calgary, dinner, eating out, friends, social media, twitter

How do seven days go by so quickly?

It seems like it was only yesterday I was having dinner at Chelsea K‘s house, marveling at the 8000 pound salmon she had bought and cooked for our inaugural Monday Night Supper Club. Ok, maybe not 8000 pounds, but it was so large in fact that she had mentioned bringing leftovers to our next outing. Of course, I politely told her ‘No‘.

Moving on, given the ‘one week in, one week out’ mantra of this supper club, it was time to ‘go out’ this time around and I knew exactly where we should go: Home Tasting Room.

It was a warm, beautiful Monday evening when we headed down to the restaurant. Actually, it was the hottest day of Calgary’s summer thus far and you have to soak up the nice weather while it’s around since it can be, well, fleeting. So, it was clear that sitting on the patio was the only reasonable thing to do. It seemed like many others shared our same sentiment, as all Stephen Avenue patios seemed to be exceptionally populated. Executive Chef Geoff Rogers had recently updated his menu for more of a summer feel, and we were definitely up for a taste.

Our group was split down the middle, about half of us had dined at Home Tasting Room before and the other half were eating here for the first time. Gentle nurturing and menu guidance ensued from the non-virginal half (in the context of dining there, of course…).

My main point of recommendation for the table was the bison tartar. Accompanied by crostini brushed with truffle aioli, it is one of my favourite things to order. It’s a never-fail.

Chelsea W opted for Home’s tomato soup with lavender oil and parmesan crisps. Summer in a bowl? I think so! My friend Adam, a newcomer to the Monday Night Supper Club movement, went for the ricotta gnocchi. If Chelsea W’s soup was ‘summer in a bowl’, then this was definitely summer on a plate. Look at it!

Normally, I reserve gnocchi for those cold winter nights (as opposed to those summer nights) when you need something comforting and potato-y, but this plate looked as light and fresh as the breeze outside.

New to the menu was Chef Rogers’ pacific octopus dish. Joined with chorizo, clams, and some baguette pieces to soak up the juices, this was another table favourite. Several of us opted for this dish on Monday. The octopus was cooked perfectly. Sometimes it can get overdone and be pretty chewy (like bad calamari), but this was awesome.

As always, the best part of the evening, aside from the great food, was the conversation. Sarah (pictured, right, beside Chelsea K and Peter) had just returned from a five day trip to New York city and told us all about her awesome experiences there. In addition to eating at some fantastic New York restaurants, Sarah and her husband happened to pass by a food truck where Todd English was spending the day working. How sweet is that? That’s certainly more exciting than anything that happened to me, so my stories of last week paled in comparison, but at least I told a few good jokes during dinner…or at least I think that I did? Just let me think that I did.

I ended my dinner with Chef Rogers’ dessert du jour, a berry orange crumble. Not to be confused with a very orange crumble…they’re berry different…It was berry delicious…Ok, no more berry puns, I promise. This dessert was not listed under ‘sharing plates’, so I didn’t share.

Next Monday, we’re flipping back to the potluck side of things and I’m hosting the dinner. I’ll be manning the grill and BBQ-ing some pizza. I’ve never done it before, so hopefully first time is the charm? As previously mentioned, we’re always looking for great individuals to join us on one of our Monday Night Supper Club outings. Do you like food? Send us a message, we’d love to have you!

Twitter in Attendance:

@dansgoodside
@chelscore
@myownbiggestfan
@frecklesandash
@chelseamwatson
@alexKGT
@eileenstan
@bodieVAN
@jamiepenno
@biggieswalls
@dave_khan

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