Avenue Magazine: Restaurant Round Up For The Fall

Dan    Calgary & Area, Restaurants     Avenue magazine, calgary, Canvas, Cucina, dining, downtown food, Monki Breakfast Bistro, Restaurants

One thing I’ve been bad at lately is remembering to share my writing on here from other publications. Well, truth be told, I am bad at a lot things…Dating, singing, counting…the list goes on, but, anyway, here are a few different pieces I’ve done for Avenue Magazine in the past few months. Every month there seems to be a great new restaurant popping up on the scene, which is awesome. I can’t wait to see what new flavours and culinary experiences 2013 is going to bring, now that it’s just over a month away! Yikes!

Monki Breakfast Bistro

On the corner of 10th Avenue and 12th Street S.W., right across from Community Natural Foods, and is a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.

The small space features an open kitchen with a cozy surrounding environment and a sun-filled patio (weather permitting, of course).

A step up from the standard brunch offerings, you can choose from a selection of unique egg Benedicts like chorizo, caramelized onion and goat cheese, or sliced Angus beef with sautéed mushrooms. I decided to try the smoked ham and prawn option with mascarpone cheese ($16). The perfectly poached eggs sat on top a medley of ham, prawns and cheese appropriately topped with hollandaise. A trio of frittatas, as well as a brisket hash, are also on the breakfast menu…

Click here to read the rest of this piece on Avenue Magazine’s website.

downtownfood

Yes, I spelt the name right…The same block that has recently seen a sad, permanent closing of a Calgary institution, The Uptown theatre, welcomes the opening of this new farm-focused restaurant.

Executive chef Darren Maclean works with local producers and farmers to ensure the freshest, most sustainable products appear on the menu, which is best described as Canadiana with Asian and French influences. There is always a fine line between being Asian-inspired and becoming an indistinguishable mish-mash of flavours, but here Maclean finds a perfect balance…

Click here to read the rest of this piece on Avenue Magazine’s website.

Canvas Coffee and Wine

This quaint little café owned by the Gerry Thomas art gallery and sits next door to Broken City. The interior has tall tables and white walls featuring bright pieces of artwork, adding that certain je ne sais quoi to your experience. For starters, we went with the sambal and soy prawns ($13). Grilled prawns sit on top of a mild chili lime aioli with an intense soy sauce reduction drizzled around the plate.

The porchetta ciabatta sandwich is also a hit. The sandwich is layered with sliced pork, manchego cheese, housemade pickles, pickled cabbage and a tapatillo mayo. It’s messy in a good and delicious way. The fries that accompany the porchetta are crisp, well seasoned and served with aioli for dipping…

Click here to read the rest of this piece on Avenue Magazine’s website.

Cucina

What’s in a name? Well, for starters, the word “cucina” stands for “kitchen” in Italian. The owners of Teatro opened up Calgary’s newest little “kitchen” in the Eighth Avenue Place building just a few weeks ago and, from morning to evening, Cucina has something to offer everyone.

The bistro’s interior is warm and rustic, as if grandma’s quaint countryside cottage was converted into a bustling restaurant. Adding more charm to the space are the design accents throughout that have a story: Stools have been fashioned out of salvaged wooden pews from a church in Wales, while table tops were created from rafters of the same church. Bright red bathroom doors were recovered from an old farmhouse and the long harvest table was formerly a cheese-pressing table at a shop in Europe…

Click here to read the rest of this piece on Avenue Magazine’s website.

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