Dinner @ CHARCUT Roast House – Calgary, AB

It’s no secret that CHARCUT Roast House has been one for my favourite places for lunch. In fact, I’d been there for lunch at least five times last year (Visit #1, Visit #2, Visit #3, Visit #4, and Visit #5).  However, I’d never gotten around to trying CHARCUT for dinner until last month. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to try their pop-up restaurant, CHARPOP, but the menu at the CHARPOP event was totally different from the regular dinner menu at CHARCUT. Last month, when I had friends visiting from out-of-town, I was tasked with finding a nice restaurant for a celebratory dinner. Since one of my dining companions is gluten-tolerant and allergic to seafood, I thought CHARCUT would be the perfect choice as their menu is meat-centric and many of the items are gluten-free.

We started off with an order of the Lonzino ($9), which is an Italian-style bar snack made with strips of pork loin flavoured with fennel pollen, orange and black pepper. The Lonzino was basically like pork jerky. It was very savoury and the flavours were very well-balanced.

Next up were the Warm Olives “Cerignola and Arbequina” ($6), which were marinated in fennel pollen and lemon preserve. The olives tasted ok but didn’t really have a wow factor. For me, my favourite olives are still the Marinated Olives from Without Papers Pizza.

For our third dish, we had the House Baked Soft Pretzels ($8), which were served with kitchen pickles and a Bavarian cheese dip. The pretzels were baked a touch too long and so the outside was a little crispier and not as soft as we had anticipated. I loved the flavours of the Bavarian cheese dip. The kitchen pickles consisted of pickled cukes, carrots, and jalapeno peppers. The pickles were delicious except for the jalapenos, which were slightly frozen as they were probably placed too far back in the cooler.

Next was the Pig Head Mortadella and Brassica Mustard ($9). This is one of the signature items at CHARCUT. Connie DeSousa, the co-owner and co-executive chef of CHARCUT, is famous for being able to debone a pig’s head very quickly. Last year, she broke her own record and managed to debone one in just over two minutes during a demo at Eat Vancouver. The hollowed out pig’s head is then stuffed with hand-mixed pork, truffle, and pistachios. This dish was definitely the star of the show. The slices of mortadella just melted in our mouths. The flavours were really well-balanced and I was impressed I could actually taste the subtle flavour of the truffle. To me, this is a must try item at CHARCUT.

We also tried the Chicken Liver Terrine with Apricot Conserves ($15). I was really impressed at how good the Chicken Liver Terrine tasted. I was surprised the terrine didn’t taste liver-y at all. I would eat chicken liver more often if it always tasted this good!

By then, we were already fairly full from the starters and house cured charcuterie  so we decided to order two mains to share amongst the four of us. The first was the Spring Creek Butcher Steak ($24). The steak was served with a chimichurri sauce, arugula and matchstick potato fries. Flavour-wise, this dish was spot on. I really enjoyed the bright flavours of this dish. However, the steak was way undercooked. I had asked for the steak to be medium-rare and it came out very rare to the point of almost being blue rare. Usually, I don’t mind my beef to be too rare. I often eat beef sashimi and steak tartare so raw beef doesn’t bother me. If a steak were to come out with the incorrect doneness, usually I would prefer it to be more rare than overcooked. However, in this case, we found the rare bite-sized slices to be too chewy and sinewy.

The kitchen staff sent us a gift order of their famous Duck Fat Fried Poutine ($8), which came topped with cheese curds and truffle gravy. Initially, I had decided against ordering this item because I wasn’t overly impressed with the Poutine from their Alley Burger Food Truck last year, which was prepared in a similar fashion. I’m sure glad we had the opportunity to try this Duck Fat Fried Poutine at CHARCUT as it was simply amazing and easily one of the best poutines I’ve had in Calgary. The fries were crispy and flavourful. I loved that I could actually taste truffle in the gravy. I’m definitely ordering this again on my next visit.

Our second main was the Fire Grilled Ewe-Nique Farm’s Lamb Leg ($29), which was served with shelling beans, fiddle heads, and topped with a gremolata. When the dish came out we were all totally surprised as it wasn’t quite what we were expecting. Given the name of the dish, we were actually expecting a bone-in piece of lamb instead of bite-sized medallions. Nevertheless, our biggest issue with the plate was the actual flavour, or the lack thereof. The flavours in this plate were very muted and a stark contrast to the Butcher Steak. The pieces of lamb were a bit chewy and not very flavourful. The fiddle heads were more cooked than we would have preferred and was stringy. At least the shelling beans were perfectly al dente. Overall, this was the least favourite dish amongst all my dining companions.

For dessert,  we shared an order of the Meyer Lemon Pound Cake ($8), which was served with a limoncello salad and vanilla thyme gelato. To me, this dessert was totally forgettable. The pound cake was overbaked, very dry, crumbly, and devoid of any moisture. I was actually surprised they sent it out with a pile of crumbs next to the scoop of gelato. I’m not sure if they intended the pound cake to taste this way, but it was probably one of the driest pieces of pound cake that I’ve had. After the first bite, I was actually wishing that we had ordered a different dessert instead. The limoncello salad tasted fine and I actually really enjoyed the vanilla thyme gelato. I liked that this dessert wasn’t overly sweet. If the pound cake was actually more moist, this dessert could have been very delicious as all the flavours went really well together.

As well, we had an order of their Strawberry Passionfruit Sorbet. This dessert was actually not part of the regular menu. My friend had asked for a dairy-free and gluten-free dessert and this was what they had. All the desserts on the menu had contained either dairy and/or gluten. The sorbet turned out to be a winner! It was smooth, flavourful, and delicious. I loved the tanginess of the passionfruit in the sorbet.

Thank goodness for the complimentary bags of chocolate chip cookies that our server dropped off for us along with the bill. These cookies helped to turn our evening around and end the meal on a high note.

Overall, this meal certainly had its ups and downs.  Though the service was very good, some of the dishes were real hits while others were misses. I was a little disappointed overall as I had high expectations going in and was hoping that this meal would be really memorable for my out-of-town guests. Since I was the one who chose the restaurant, I was really hoping that CHARCUT would execute our meal flawlessly. Unfortunately, this wasn’t quite the case on this visit. The highlights of this meal for me were the Pig Head Mortadella, the Duck Fat Fried Poutine, and the Chicken Liver Terrine. I definitely want to go back to try more of their charcuterie items as all their meat is butchered and cured in-house.

CHARCUT Roast House
#101, 899 Centre Street SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 984-2180
http://www.charcut.com

Tazza Deli & Grill – Calgary, AB

I didn’t even know Tazza Deli & Grill existed until my friend M told me about it. Tazza Deli & Grill is a Middle Eastern eatery located in the neighbourhood of Bridgeland. One reason I never came across Tazza before is because it is located at the far east end of 1st Avenue NE and I usually never quite make it that far into the neighbourhood.

As a casual eatery, I really like the set up at Tazza. Though Tazza is mostly a take-out type of place, they have about half a dozen tables inside the shop for customers to sit down and eat for the colder days and a nice patio outside for the warmer days. The menu at Tazza is similar to Jimmy’s A&A Mediterranean Deli on 20th Avenue NW which I’ve been going to for years. However, I find the atmosphere and sitting area to be much nicer and more cozy at Tazza.

The set up is similar to Jimmy’s A&A where you order at the counter, and the food is freshly prepared to order. The menu consists of typical Middle Eastern appetizers such as hummus, baba ghannouj, kibbeh, fatayer, and falafel balls, as well as salads, and a variety of sandwiches and platters.

My friend M ordered the Chicken Shish Taouk Salad ($12.99). Since the portions are fairly generous, she decided to get the order to go so that she could save some of it for a snack later. The salad consisted of marinated roast chicken, a variety of vegetables including pickled turnips (kabees), tomatoes, parsley, onion, and was topped with a tahini dressing.

I ordered a regular sized Chicken Shish Taouk Sandwich ($7.99 for regular; $9.59 for large). The sandwich consisted of spit-roasted marinated chicken and fresh vegetables topped with a garlic sauce and served on a pita. Basically, this sandwich had the same components as the salad except that it was served as a wrap. This wrap tasted really fresh and the vegetables were very crunchy. My friend M got me hooked on the pickled turnips (kabees), which were crunchy and delicious. I enjoyed the garlic sauce here although personally, I prefer the version from Jimmy’s A&A as it is more garlicky and addictive.  The spit-roasted marinated chicken was flavourful and tasty.

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Tazza. I can’t wait to go back to try some of their other menu items. I like that their location is not too far from downtown. With a vehicle, it’s totally doable for me to cross the bridge and head over to Tazza for quick and delicious lunch.

Tazza Deli & Grill
1105 1 Ave NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 263-5922
http://www.tazzafresh.com

Visit #2 – Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen & Sushi Bar – Vancouver, BC

When I was visiting Vancouver back in March, I was in the mood for a casual sushi dinner and decided to go back to Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen & Sushi Bar because my friend C and I were pretty impressed with the food on our previous visit and also because we were craving their yuzu ice cream.

We started off sharing an order of the Wakame Sunomono ($3.95), which contained seaweed and rice noodles marinated in a housemade vinaigrette. Compared to our first visit, we were disappointed that the seaweed on this visit was not hydrated enough and therefore was really chewy.  Flavor-wise though, it was as good as the one from our first visit and I could taste subtle smokiness in the vinaigrette.

Next, we had an order of the Ahi Tuna & Avocado ($11.75) again. This was one of our favourites during our first visit. The dish consisted of red tuna sashimi that were served on avocado wedges and topped with a yuzu miso. The avocado wedges were fresh and creamy and contrasted nicely with the citrus flavours from the yuzu miso. Unfortunately, there were a couple of pieces of the red tuna that were fibrous and a bit on the chewy side.

For our third dish, we tried the Ebi Chili Mayo ($7.95 for 5 pieces). Ebi mayo is my friend C’s favourite dish so we pretty much order it whenever we see it on the menu. I found this version at Kishimoto to be just ok and we’ve definitely had better ebi mayo before. We didn’t find this batter to be very crispy. The batter could definitely be lighter and more crispy.  Though the housemade chili mayo was tasty, we probably wouldn’t order this again on our next visit.

Next, we tried the Toro Tataki ($9.95), which consisted of seared tuna belly topped with ponzu sauce, garlic chips and green onion. This dish was one of the Daily Specials and not part of Kishimoto’s regular menu. Though normally, I prefer to consume toro raw (as in sushi or sashimi), this dish was actually really tasty and one of the highlights of our meal.  I liked how the acidity in the ponzu sauce balanced out the fattiness of the toro. Overall, it was a really successful dish and I would order it again if it was available on my next visit.

Lastly, we had the Salmon Oshi Sushi ($9.75) again. It consisted of sockeye salmon layered with a creamy sauce and was torched and topped with thin slices of jalapeno. Even though my favourite version of this dish is actually the Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi at Miku Restaurant, this version at Kishimoto is still very tasty and great value at $9.75 compared to $14 version at Miku. I just feel that the version at Miku is slightly more refined as the salmon just melts in my mouth more and the rice is softer.

For dessert, we had the Yuzu Ice Cream ($3.95) again. This is probably my favourite item on the Kishimoto menu. The ice cream is perfectly balanced, not too sweet, and very refreshing. I like how the tartness from the yuzu is offset by the creaminess of the ice cream. This Yuzu Ice Cream is the main reason for me to keep coming back to Kishimoto.

Perhaps, it was because of what we ordered, but I didn’t find the presentation of the dishes to be as impressive on this visit as the ones from our previous visit. Overall, I thought our meal was good but not stellar and certainly not as memorable as our first visit. Though the food was very fresh, I felt some of the dishes could use a little refinement. Our favourite dishes on this visit were the Toro Tataki, Salmon Oshi Sushi, and of course, the Yuzu Ice Cream.

 

Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen & Sushi Bar
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
(604) 255-5550
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kishimoto-japanese-kitchen-sushi-bar/230336020316937

Fried Chicken Mondays @ Model Milk – Calgary, AB

It’s no secret that I’m a fiend for fried chicken. When I saw on twitter a couple of weeks ago that Model Milk started doing Fried Chicken Mondays, I was very intrigued. To date, I haven’t been crazy about any of the fried chicken that I can get in Calgary, with the exception of Olive Chicken. I was really hoping Model Milk would be serving up a gourmet version of fried chicken similar to the version that I had loved at the now defunct Fuel/Re-fuel in Vancouver.  Fuel/Re-fuel’s version was prepared Southern style by first marinating the free-range chicken in buttermilk for a week and then placing the chicken into their sous-vide machine for eight hours to tenderize prior to dredging it in a spiced flour mixture/buttermilk bath and then flash frying it in beef tallow. The crust was incredibly light and crispy while the chicken meat was tender and flavourful. It was a huge hit to the point that when Fuel used to have their Fried Chicken Fridays for lunch, we had to reserve in advance for the fried chicken.

I decided that I wanted to check out Model Milk’s Fried Chicken Mondays before the secret got out as I had seen how popular Fuel/Re-fuel’s Fried Chicken used to be. Hence, I convinced my food blogger friend Anna, of Anna’s Appetite, and my foodie friend L to join me for Fried Chicken Mondays at Model Milk two weeks ago.

On Mondays in addition to the Fried Chicken special, Model Milk has sleeves of Village Blonde ale on special for $5. Village Blonde is actually a local brew from The Village Brewery, which opened late last year by six partners that include two former Big Rock veterans – former VP Jim Button and former CFO Tim Duffin. The beer was crisp, light, and refreshing and was the perfect accompaniment for fried chicken.

We started off sharing Fricassee of Calamari ($14). This was my favourite dish during my previous visit to Model Milk a couple of weeks ago so I had suggested that my dining companions try it out. The fricassee consisted of guanciale, edamame, housemade croutons, and pimenton mixed in with the calamari. It was as delicious as the one that I had on my previous visit. My dining companions were quite impressed with the flavours in this dish.

All three of us decided to try the Fried Chicken ($16). This fried chicken dish is different from the Maple Hill Chicken & Waffles dish that is part of Model Milk’s regular menu. The Maple Hill Chicken & Waffles dish comprises of chicken thigh meat that is stuffed with chicken loaf, pan-fried, and served with a cheddar waffle and collard greens whereas this Fried Chicken Mondays Special consists of two pieces free-range chicken that is deep-fried in a skillet and served with creamy grits, a kale slaw, and corn bread. There is no doubt that this dish was well-composed and nicely presented on the plate. However, I wish that the fried chicken would have been more crispy. I think the chicken may have gotten a bit soggy since it was sitting atop the bed of creamy grits. I know this is how a lot of Southern places serve their fried chicken but personally, I would have preferred if the grits were served on a separate dish to prevent the chicken from getting soggy. The chicken meat itself was very juicy and flavourful. I was actually impressed at how tasty the creamy grits were as normally, I’m not even a fan of grits but I certainly will eat these grits again. On the other hand, I wasn’t a fan of the kale slaw. I thought the slaw was overdressed with the creamy dressing. Personally, I would have preferred a vinegar-based slaw rather than a creamy one to help cut the grease from the chicken. Also, in addition to kale, which I’m normally a huge fan of, the slaw contained julienned carrot and snow peas along with some crunchy peanuts.  Personally, I didn’t care for the combination of the ingredients in the slaw as I didn’t think that it paired well with the fried chicken. Overall, I thought this dish was just ok. I wouldn’t exactly say that it is the most memorable fried chicken that I’ve ever had. It tasted decent and certainly good value at $16.

For dessert, we shared the PB&J Chocolate Cake ($8.50). The dessert menu on this visit had not changed from the one during my previous visit to Model Milk a couple of weeks ago. Since I had tried both the Lemon-Thyme Pot au Creme and Chocolate Pecan Pie on my previous visit already, I was really looking forward to try the PB&J Chocolate Cake, which came with a milk sorbet. Personally, since I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I actually found the peanut butter layers to be a bit too sweet for my liking. I also found the cake to be quite dense and a bit too dry. My favourite part of the dessert was actually the milk sorbet, which was very creamy but not too sweet. I’m really glad we shared it as it was a substantial slice and definitely not something I would be able to tackle on my own. Personally, if I were to choose a dessert from that menu, I would stick to the  Lemon-Thyme Pot au Creme, which was lighter and more refreshing.

Model Milk
308 17th Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 265-7343
http://modelmilk.ca

Helen’s Cafe – Calgary, AB

I stumbled upon Helen’s Cafe completely by accident. I had no idea  such an eatery even existed until I happen to drive by on my way to a meeting a couple of blocks away and came upon their sidewalk sign.  Helen’s Cafe is located on the main floor of a commercial office building just off 32nd Ave on 12 Street NE. It is quite an odd location for an authentic Chinese eatery.

I tried to find out more information about Helen’s Cafe online but there was very little about them. They are not even listed on Urbanspoon nor Yelp. I was really curious so I convinced my food blogger friend, Anna of Anna’s Appetite, and her SO to join me there for dinner one evening.

The dinner menu at Helen’s Cafe mainly comprises of mainly of Northeastern Chinese cuisine and authentic Sichuan cuisine. Though Northeastern China and Sichuan are geographically far apart, I was told by our server the reason they are able to serve both style of cuisines is because their chef has training and experience in both.

It’s too bad during the lunch hour, their menu caters to the nearby office crowd and the authentic Sichuan dishes are not available. Otherwise, I’d get my coworkers with me to go and check it out.

On this visit, we decided to focus on the Northeastern Chinese fare. Since this is my first time trying Northeastern Chinese cuisine, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

We started off with an order of the Northern Style Potato Jelly Curd ($5.95). The noodle-like curd is actually listed as da la pi (translated to mean ” big pulled skin”) in Chinese but actually resembled the mung bean noodle sheets often known as fen pi.  This was a cold vegetarian appetizer dish that was served with a mild tangy sesame based sauce and included julienned woodear funghi, carrots, cucumber, and fried egg. This dish was delicious and easily one of the better examples of fen pi that I’ve had. It had just the right amount of sauce to coat the mung bean noodle sheets without everything drowning in sauce. I would definitely order this dish again on my next visit.

Next we tried the Stewed Chicken with Mushrooms ($13.95). Our server had warned us that the chicken in this dish may seem overcooked/chewy to the Western and/or Southern Chinese palate but that it was authentically prepared and was supposed to be that way.  We decided to try it anyways since this was a classic Northeastern Chinese (Dong bei) dish. Indeed, as she had forewarned us, the chicken meat did seem to be rather chewy. However, I did like the flavourful broth that the chicken was stewed in and the mushrooms were rather interesting. Instead of the common shiitake mushrooms, they used various different wild Chinese mushrooms in this dish.

Our third dish was the Stir-Fried Eggplant, Green Pepper, and Potato ($9.95). Again, this was another classic Dong Bei dish. This dish was very well-executed and flavourful. I liked that the vegetables were perfectly al dente and not mushy.

Lastly, we had an order of the Handmade Dumplings ($10 for 20 pieces), which included dumplings with several different fillings. The fillings included shredded carrot & beef, pickled cabbage (suan cai) & minced pork, and chives & minced pork. All of these fillings are typical of Northeastern Chinese (Dong bei) style dumplings. These Handmade Dumplings were definitely one of our favourite dishes of the evening.

Helen’s Cafe was definitely an interesting find. It’s nice to see we have eateries in Calgary serving up regional Chinese cuisine that is unique and different from what one normally would get as the majority of Chinese places here serves Cantonese or Sichuan fare. I believe Helen’s Cafe, is one of the few, if not the only Chinese restaurant serving up Northeastern (Dong bei) Chinese cuisine in Calgary. I’d definitely be interested in going back to try their Sichuan dishes to see how they compare to other authentic Sichuan restaurants around town.

Helen’s Cafe
#106, 3115 12 Street NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 291-2090