Mary EATS: Smoked Salmon Spaghettini

Have you used the iPod Touch Urban Spoon app to find your dinner before? Niko's Bistro was what it came up with when my friends and I were looking for a place to eat last week. Friday night, and thankfully, someone cancelled...so there was room for us. Score! At least the place was popular...

The atmosphere in this Italian restaurant is cozy but modern - a long bench along one wall of the narrow dining room, dimly lit lamps for a romantic ambience...and lots of buzzing conversation - some of it sounded distinctly Italian! Score 2! Italians go to this Italian restaurant!

I ordered the Smoked Salmon Spaghettini, which was a nice big portion of pasta for $14. The fragrant flavours of the creamy tomato sauce infused with a mouth-watering smoked taste was so delicious! I really enjoyed my pasta. One of my friends ordered the lamb, and it wasn't too great - a bit overdone (well, she DID order it well done) but the taste was gamey, and not very flavourful. The penne with tomato sauce that accompanied the lamb was an absolute disaster - soggy noodles - ick! The calamari appetizer was so-so...a bit too heavy on the tomato sauce - I prefer the breaded fried calamari myself.

I'd go back just for the pasta though ;)

http://www.nikosbistro.ca/

Delicious Thai lives up to its name

Delicious Thai is a new restaurant in Kensington - it is in the same location as the old "Tibet on 10th" restaurant. They have a very extensive website - and I actually found the place by just searching "Thai restaurants Calgary" in google! The decor is simple and unassuming, but modern. The wait staff are very courteous, like in any traditional Thai restaurant. My first visit there was on Halloween, and the Pad Thai is the best I've had in Calgary! Really quite authentic - just the perfect mix of peanuts and not too much "sauce". The Chicken Green Curry was really nice too - fresh herbs and a nice melange of vegetables. A couple nights ago, I tried the Chicken Massaman curry, and really enjoyed it's peanut-based earthy flavour. To top it off, they have mango sticky rice!! My absolute favorite Thai dessert - the mango slices were a bit stringy, but that's what you can expect from mangoes in North America in this season...

Great menu, authentic tasting Thai, pleasant service and resonable prices! :)

http://delicious-thai.com/

Are you wondering why people have moustaches this month??

Because it's MOVEMBER! Help fight the battle against prostate cancer...

Olives is here!

August 3rd, 2008

http://www.olivesrestaurant.ca/

Olives opened last month, right at the beginning of Stampede. After one month in operation, things seem to be going well. Beautiful mosaics and chain mail curtains make the restaurant decor modern, with a classic twist. The light sweet fluffy appetizer bread complimented the house-marinated olives well. The sparkling water, Qvarzia, was not as good. This Italian brand didn't have enough fizz, and after it defizzed, the water tasted like crisp, Canadian tap. For an appetizer, we shared the beef carpaccio. The portion was small, but super delicious. Smooth, melt in your mouth black angus, with just the right amount of arugula bitterness, virgin olive oil and grana padano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grana_padano) accompaniment. The house-made truffle parsnip ravioli was bursting with sweet, smooth marscapone finished with a swirl of mushroom cream sauce on a bed of asparagus and wild mushrooms. The pasta was quite sweet and almost would have made a nice dessert! The fragrant truffle oil made this dish. The halibut entree was freshly seared, arranged beautifully amidst a sea of temptingly colourful red currant brown butter and chanterelle mushrooms. Mmm Mmm!! For dessert, I could not pass up the chance to try their tiramisu. The presentation was gorgeous, with a trail of chocolate espresso beans leading to a tall glass of illy espresso tiramisu topped off with a dollop of espresso gelato. It didn't disappoint! Very smooth, and the espresso crystals inside the mixture added just the perfect amount of crunch. Now all I have to do is go back at lunch to try their paninis and espresso.

Food Heaven in Toronto

April 30, 2008

I've been in Toronto for 5 days and I'm convinced...food is waaaaaay overpriced in Calgary!! Down on King street, a chic mix of boutiques, new condo projects and outdoor orientated stores like MEC, there are a bizillion well-priced restaurants too!

 

Urban

http://www.urbanrestaurant.com

Andrea, Donna and I went to Urban, where a "Spring Fest Urbanlicious" lunch special caught our eye. 3 courses for $20!! What a deal.  The starter was a Vegetable Wellington, a creative dish with a puff pastry stuffed with red pepper and portabello mushrooms, served on a bed of lovely fresh tomato sauce and wilted spinach. So beautiful!  We had fish and chips as a main - it was ok, very crispy, but overly battered for my taste. 

The home-made fries were very nice and 

paired great with the caper tarter sauce.  On the side, we tried the portabello mushroom pizza, with a fresh soft goat cheese and pesto sauce on a crispy thin fresh-made crust.  LOADS better than the soggy pizzas at pulcinella in Calgary!  For dessert, we had a heavenly banana & blueberry cake served with fresh vanilla cream cheese mousse.

 

Sushi on Bloor

http://www.sushionblo

or.com

Tuesday night, and this two floor restaurant was PACKED!  There was a big student contingent, undoubtedly because this place is such good value for the money!  Stephanie had the Gold Vegetable Set, which came with tempura, maki rolls and the traditional soup/salad to start.  Very prompt and fresh - all for $11!  I started with a 6 piece sashimi appetizer, featuring huge pieces of salmon, tuna and yellowtail, all for $7.  I ordered the Spider Roll which features tasty crispy melt in your mouth soft shell crab and avocado....8 pieces for $8.5!! WOW!

 

ABC Bakery

somewhere in North York

yup, just the place for those flaky egg tarts.  the crust COULD be flakier, but the egg part, as Donna said, was just perfect.  Very nice egg taste and still warm when we got them! Thanks for driving us there Alvin!

 

Free Dove Chocolates

Midland Wal-Mart

LOL, I got these free samples of Dove Chocolates outside Eau-Claire market at lunch one day, and looked all over TO's convenience and drug stores for the "purse pack", which was free with the coupon that came with the chocolate sample.  Where else would I find them but Midland?!? It is about 40 mins from Barrie btw.  Thank you Melissa - good spot in the check out aisle!

 

Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon

2004 Napa Valley

Wow, this wine was so fruity - lots of ripe black fruit, like blackberries or currants!  The nose and palette matched very nicely, and it was very easy to drink for such a oaky red.  Still a bit acidic and tannic because of its age, but the fruit aroma is so great, you won't mind one bit.  Too bad we didn't have a steak lying around to go with it!