Meat and Potatoes and Delightful Dinner Guests

Meat and Potatoes is a delicious downtown restaurant in Pittsburgh that one of the client employees had told us about. The food is fantastic, the ambiance is really cool and it has a really fun and energetic vibe. I had tried it out once with my colleague on the project and knew that it was amazing. So when I was staying in Pittsburgh by myself, I wanted to go back and enjoy it again.

To confirm I wasn't missing out on something better, I asked the front desk attendant about the restaurant when I checked in. Her eyes lit up as soon as I mentioned the name. Excellent - this night was shaping up fantastically!

The hotel lobby was incredible but I was starving. I couldn't wait to run up to my room, drop my things, and start out on my walk to the restaurant. I jumped in the first elevator and headed down the hall. Upon opening the door, I heard myself gasp a little. I did not realize I was checking in to such a beautiful hotel for the night.

I found myself taking a little longer to wander through the room. I had two full walls of windows, the one bank overlooking the front street of the hotel and the other overlooking the river and PNC Park where the Pirates play! The windows even extended into the bathroom. It was such a stunning view!

But alas - I was still starving. So a quick change and I was off.

I headed down the street weaving upstream through the crowds as they headed towards the ball park behind me. I couldn't believe it when I turned left down Penn street - there was the Heinz Performance Hall that I had driven past the last time I stayed in Pittsburgh. I had no idea that I was so close. Just past the theatre was Mean and Potatoes - the patio was open, people were still spilling out into the lobby but I was in luck, as they were about to seat a couple from the bar, I could pull up a stool and grab a seat there.

I walked over to the bar, which was in the middle of the restaurant. The couple gathered their things and I bee-lined to grab one of the seats they were leaving. A gentleman had come in right behind me, overheard my exchange with the girl, caught that I was dining alone and quickly grabbed the other seat for himself.

As I was investigating the menu to determine what I was going to order, the guy started to chat with me a little. By the time our meals had arrived, we had learned where each other was from, that we both travel a lot for work, we enjoy good food and both prefer to stay downtown in a city verses off in the suburbs.

Then somewhere during our meal, he mentioned he does music for a living. I asked him if he played an instrument, he countered that he does video and follows that up with volunteering that right now he is touring with the Dave Matthews Band.

OH MY MERCIES!!!!!!!!!!

I tried to sneak in a breath, ensure I was putting on my best poker face and then calmly let him know that we just saw Dave's summer tour in Dallas AND that if my husband was sitting next to him, he would kiss him as he loves Dave. (Inside I wanted to ask him if he could get us an invite to a bbq with Carter but didn't think that would maintain my cool exterior however telling him that Jimmy would kiss him certainly did!)

He commented on how funny I was and how much fun he was having chatting up the Canadian. We talked about his hatred for pizza and baseball. I told him he was crazy on both accounts. We chatted about how you cannot get good Mexican in any country outside of the US and Mexico. I told him my love of corn tortillas and how those are rare to find in Calgary. He told me how he introduced corn tortillas to his girlfriend in London and she now has a similar love but can't find them there either. I suggested he package up a care package for her. Yes, yes I did. She can thank me for that!

We enjoyed watching the bartender shake the cocktails. We exclaimed over our delicious meals. We talked about my plan to visit Primanti Brothers the next day and his desire for those sandwiches to find their way on the tour bus. We laughed and told stories. I told him about the funniest interview I had ever conducted and he told me about his buddy who was so excited to introduce him to this cool local bar with great food, TGI Fridays.

I didn't think that this reality good get any better, but then a bunch more of the crew showed up for dinner. We had such a fun time chatting - I didn't get any good Dave stories per se but there was some good natured ribbing, chatting about tour bus stories, etc.

I knew that to maintain my composure, I needed to pay the tab and head out. It took every ounce of determination to take my leave and walk out the door first. I couldn't let them think that I was some roadie girl. I am smart, intelligent, and they are just people. People that happen to tour with Jimmy's favorite band EVERY day. People that put on the concerts we have spent good money to attend. But just people all the same.

Soooo, I walked with my head held high, prayed I didn't trip, made sure I was at least a block away before I excitedly dug in my bag for my phone, dialed Jimmy's number and squealed the exciting news to him! Too fun!!!

Oh and on the left of me was another guy eating alone. He was in from Montreal, a sports reporter to cover the hockey series. He also happens to know Kris Letang. And Kris Letang is good friends with the owner of Meat and Potatoes. So the story continues that the poutine on the menu is all as a result of Kris Letang requesting it from his buddy. However, in what some might consider expected Quebec fashion, the reporter was a little 'stiff' and didn't want to partake in our conversations much. Oh well - his loss!

P.S. Meat and Potatoes was as delicious as always! I had this yummy salad and a small little fig appetizer. Delicious!

The fantastic weekend didn't stop there

It continued on with a fantastic shopping date with Susan. We have had it on our list to wander through Inglewood and Sunday afternoon was the perfect time. She wasn't working, the guys weren't playing hockey until later and Calgary finally saw a sunny break.

Other than the lovely conversation my favorite has to be the Silk Road Spice Merchant:

Doesn't the store front scream 'come in come in'! So we did. And I picked up a few new spices to try.

A little lavender vanilla sugar. I was thinking sugar cookies or shortbread and Susan was thinking coffee. Just might need to bake a little something and invite Susan over for coffee to compare:

 

Next up, some Sel de Provence and oooh is it tasty. This would taste delicious with a homemade bagette (found a fantastic recipe here at Dinner with Julie for just the thing) drizzled with olive oil and some homemade ricotta (Dying to try your hand at ricotta? Patent and the Pantry has a fabulous recipe here)

 

And finally the spanish smoked paprika. The smokiness smelled and tasted delicious. It was the perfect compliment for these lamb wraps (my brother and sister are getting into sheep for all those interested so Jimmy and I figured we need to figure out how to cook this meat so we can be supporters of the cause) that I found in a delicious new cookbook that mom gave me for Christmas (thanks mom - there are so many good recipes in there; excited to try some more!).

Thanks Susan for the delightful end to a perfect weekend!

The Perfect Day

I had such a lovely brunch with a dear friend today. It was so nice to just sit, ramble, cover all the little details across many topics, laugh, complain, eat and above all just be.

Thanks Shan for such a wonderful time!

And a big shout out to the Big Fish:

I would highly recommend the Wild Mushroom Scramble!

Love you my friend! Thanks for being you and always being there!!

p.s. this delicious bite to eat was after I came from the optometrist which included new contacts (oh my gosh they feel so nice), new specs ordered (and they are pretty fun - a little geek chic if you will) and after discovering they had mis-interpreted my prescription last time and had my one eye with a much higher prescription than need be . . . hmmmmm . . . could that be why my other eye has been giving me grief and why I was getting headaches a little more frequently . . . not to mention they gave me 'monthly contacts' that are actually bi-monthly. Really Calgary Optical???? It's only my eyes - one of the most important things that we need to take care of. Oh well - all is rectified now . . . and new glasses - long overdue and so excited!

The perfect night

My handsome hubby, a light breeze on a warm night, a patio, cheese enchiladas and sunset fajitas

Mmmmmm

My very first Texas BBQ. Almost as good as Trev's! Although the decor is something Kim can only long for.

Black or is that Green Betty Burger Bar

It's hard to believe that we had had our dinner club going for 8 ish years(?)!! And over those years we have had some amazing dining experiences. We have had a couple busts and perhaps our standards have been raised a little. But we certainly have had many many wins and not one experience that has been so awful that I have been motivated to write a review on urban spoon. That is until last night. 

Our experience last night at Black Betty Burger and Wine Bar was disappointing and gross to be perfectly honest with you:

- our server was disengaging and rude

- our appetizer never arrived and our server was frustrated that we would want to cancel it after our meals arrived

- the atmosphere was so loud as they were pumping themselves up for the Calgary Stampeders stampede party downstairs

- the one meal arrived covered in mold... Not just a little bit but throughout the inside of the sandwich and along the edges ; yes that is what I said.... Mold!!!!!!

- the server apologized but then barely did anything about it other than discounting that meal only off the menu

- it was warm in there as is expected when we are in a heat wave but when I asked for more water she only filled my glass even though everyone else at the table was low on water too

- the manager, chef and sous chef were all sitting upstairs at the bar and not one of them came over to personally apologize

- we weren't offered dessert nor more to drink and the bill was tossed on our table in front of the girl with the moldy sandwich no less

-  they couldn't get us out of their restaurant fast enough but then also wanted to ignore us so it makes it hard for us to pay our bill if they are ignoring us.....

The situation with the moldy sandwich was bad but it was a recoverable moment. That is what made the experience so disappointing - they did nothing to try and recover their reputation. Especially the manager! Calgary has so many good restaurants that close because they just can't compete so I don't understand how they feel they can succeed if they continue to treat people how we were treated. We are all connected to downtown through our companies we work for and talk to - do they not realize that word of mouths their biggest advertising potential?

I would highly recommend going to one of Calgary's other delightful restaurants any night of the week!

7 Quick Takes Friday - All about eating

Hey everyone - trying something new. It's 7 Quick Takes inspired by this blog. Enjoy!

--- 1 ---

I love cooking - I spend hours searching food blogs, flipping through recipe books, planning out a special meal. Here are some of my favorite blogs - hope you enjoy them as much as I do:

Dinner with Julie

In Jennie's Kitchen

Smitten Kitchen

Hope you enjoy perusing as much as I do.

--- 2 ---

I love candle light dinners with my husband. I don't do it nearly as often as I should but it never fails to be a special moment. I love it for so many reasons. I love doing something special for him. The preparation it takes is a bit like courting. I love trying new reciptes. I love that it is just us, no tv, no distractions, enjoying each other and having those conversations that you never make enough time in your life for.

--- 3 ---

I love reading the City Palate. It has been a favorite ritual of mine since I moved to Calgary. They release them every other month and can be found throughout the city or online. I have never made a recipe out of the magazine. Nor have I ever bought a kitchen gadget it recomends. But that doesn't dim my love for picking up a copy, sitting down on the couch one evening and pouring over that fresh print.

--- 4 ---

I love trying new restaurants. In the back of City Palate, there is a section called Stock Pot: Restaurant Ramblings and it documents the comings and goings of restaurants and chefs. I often find at least one new place or newly revamped restaurant that I am intrigued by. Before long, I have sucked someone into going to try the restaurant with me - whether it is my husband, girl friends or a double date. Here are the latest new restaurants that I tried and loved:

Borgo

Cassis

--- 5 ---

I love my dinner club. The ladies are quite delightful! The restaurants chosen are a mixture of classics and up and comers, diners and fine dining, exotic menus and reworked traditional dishes. It is always sure to hold many laughs. Dessert. No topic is off limits. No question left unanswered. We sample off other's plates, critique and delight in the tastes. It is many years and counting - through babies and marriages, budget restrictions and celebrations. I love my girls!

--- 6 ---

I love little food markets. Lina's and Edelwiess are two of my favorites. The meats and cheese are always so tempting. The fresh bread smells so delicious and I rarely leave without a little baked treat for later. If I am looking for unique sauces, spices or ingrediants, I always head to one of these first. Cookbook Company and Calgary Farmer's Market never fail to inspire me. The ingredients are so fresh and flavorful, the people delightful and the 'individual' portioned meals are such a delightful treat. Little grocery stores like Community Natural Foods, A1 Spices in Castleridge, T&T Supermarket and Sunterra are places that I can never run in for something 'quick'. The aisles beckon for me to stroll through and try something new.

--- 7 ---

I would love to take a food/cooking tour style trip at some point in my life. Whether that is a cooking class out at the Banff Springs, or a French cooking vacation. Italy, Spain, Turkey, Morrocco or Mexico - wouldn't that be a fantastic aspect to include in your vacation? One day - I promise.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Counting Down to 40

Jimmy turned 39 this year so we had to celebrate his last year in his 30's in style. A helicopter ride, a hike on a mountain top followed by a delicous dinner all with great friends seemed like the perfect way to do it.

 
The views were incredible. We had never seen the mountain tops from this vantage point before.

Flying over the mountains felt a little bit like a crazy roller coaster when we hit the wind channels that curve over the top.

We landed at broken lakes and went for a little hike.

You will notice I cropped out my 'flood' ski pants. I even have boys ski pants and they still aren't long enough for these legs!

 We finished our day at the Iron Goat Pub & Grill in Canmore. The food was delicious and the mountain view incredible. Would certainly recommend it! You can check out their website here. Tim, Tanya and I all went with the Kobe 'Oscar' Burger (house-made with kobe beef, lobster, blue crab, provolone, tomato, tarragon mayo, ciabatta) and were not disappointed!

Jimmy made dinner the other night. He rummaged around in the freezer and came up with ground pork and sausage meat. I had bought both to make burgers - these delicious pork satay burgers that we both quite like and the sausage meat was to mix with beef for a variation on regular beef burgers.

I had tried this a few months ago when using up this sausage meat that one of Jimmy's friends had bought and Jimmy exclaimed how much he liked it. Making dinner is totally worth it when my loved ones exclaim over how good things are and so even though sausage meat is not my favorite thing I am willing to make the odd thing I do not love for my handsome husband (that is of course fully dependant on the fact that he continues to do things like mowing the lawn or shovelling snow!!) and his dinner enjoyment!

Despite his best efforts with cheese and creams and other such additions, the pork and sausage goulash did not quite cut it. The potatoes more than made up for what the goulash was lacking and sour cream did help cut the taste of sausage and pork a bit but I still couldn't eat much of it. Eventually Jimmy, who also wasn't loving his meal, speaks up and states that he doesn't really care for the sausage meat. I bust out laughing - phew - I admitted I didn't either but had merely bought it for those burgers that he was exclaiming over. 

We proceeded to polish off the potatoes, through the rest of the meat mixture out and walk to dairy queen for blizzards!!

Glad we didn't spend years buying and eating sausage meat, both pretending that we love it, before finding out this little fact. I wonder what else Jimmy is pretending to love . . . I am sure time will tell!

Update: I forgot to mention in the original version that Jimmy said the only reason he pulled it out of the freezer was because he thought that the sausage meat was one of my favorites! Mercies . . . hee hee

I finally got the courage to share something pretty special with Jimmy. I was nervous that he wouldn't like it and so wasn't quite ready to face that fact. Especially when he loves to mumble under his breath 'Germans, the germans are coming'. But it had been far too long. So I scoured the shelves yesterday to make sure I had the best there was to be had. I spent two hours this afternoon browning, mincing, chopping, stirring, simmering, hoping and praying.

Buroch and Bouteglaise . . . soooo delicious! Even Jimmy said so and I don't think he was lying as he didn't shy away from seconds.

I just wish that Gramps was here to make these with me. I would have loved for Jimmy to have met my Grandpa . . . I think that Gramps would have liked him . . . I also think that Gramps would have kicked his butt in crib!!

gourmet hot dogs

So I had my first fancy schmancy hot dog the other day. The kind you load up with something other than ketchup and mustard. Honestly - not a drop of ketchup on the hot dog . . . . and it was delightful. More delightful than I imagined it would be. It could have had something to do with the delightful company. Or the fact that I was starving. Maybe the mountain air helps. Regardless, I would recommend it. Ranks up there with hot dogs at a ball game on a hot sunny day! Yum!

Pizza Showdown

In case you haven't figured it out already, I love eating. And for those of you still wondering - it takes a lot for me to get tired of pizza.  Don't judge me - we all have our guilty pleasures! Thank goodness pizza happens to be one of Jimmy's as well.

So somewhere over these last couple of months, it has become our mission to try all the joints out there claiming to have 'the best pizza in town'!

First up in this post, Pizza Bob's, located accross the river on Kensington road and Memorial.

I ordered a meaty boy pizza and a chicken and pineapple'ish girly pizza. Jimmy stopped in to pick it up on the way to my place for a night in. He really liked the vibe and the pizza wasn't too shabby either!! Nice thin crust, fresh toppings, cheesy; everything a pizza should be. I still think that Vogglio edged it out ever so slightly though. Vogglio's pizza crust was just that much thinner and slightly crispy and the vegetarian girly option was sooo yummy. Pizza Bob's veggie options didn't appeal to me quite as much.

The other pizza joint I want to share with you came through a recommendation from Mel! She was all amazed by their donair pizza.

To crank it back - donair pizza is incredibly popular in Nova Scotia (and I would venture to guess other Eastern provinces as well). I was first introduced to donair pizza in Antigonish, when Jimmy took me to see his home for the first time. The Wheel Pizza and Sub Shop is a local pizza shop that the majority of Jimmy and his friends love so much they will even have uncooked pizza's brought out by visitors. I will honestly attest that the donair sauce is second to none and the pizza is pretty darn yummy!

Soooo when I heard about donair pizza in Calgary, I knew we had to try it! It has been a while in the planning for various reasons: Jimmy wasn't too sure if it would be as good as the claim, they don't deliver to any of the areas of town that we frequent; there were other pizza joints much closer that we had yet to try. But finally the time was here. It was a bit of a gong show trying to order - was I asking for three sauces or a side of sweet sauce - you can see how that would be an easy mistake to make! Struggled through it and we were off.

The result: Seniores Pizza was quite a delightful surprise. Their donair pizza is the best Calgary has to offer (the Wheel is still better) and if you mix a dollop of the garlic sauce with one of the 4 sweet sauces (yes that is right - trying to correct the order to 1 sweet sauce I somehow ended up with 3 + 1 or 4 sweet sauces - and I don't think it had anything to do with how cute I am) you will have a pretty yummy dipping blend.

The unanimous verdict is that if we have a hankering for a little donair pizza, Seniores is certainly worth the trip, regardless of the adventure it takes to get there. And you can't go wrong with a little Jones cream soda for the journey . . .

Laugh out loud (REAL LOUD)

Vogglio

Once I realized that I had two food/dining out posts for this past week, I thought I better not post a third. But since I managed to post two in between, I thought I could slide this one in.

Finally tried a little pizza joint that is close to my apartment. From the outside, I didn't really know what to think. As a result I had been scared from trying it.

However from the delicious pizza I can tell you that others are right: Vogglio really does have some of the best pizza in town. The thin crust pizza was a definite hit!!! I would recommend the vegetarian margharita pizza if you love olives!

A little taste of heaven . . .

The five of us lovely ladies ventured over to International Avenue to check out Fassil's. I was the only one who had eaten at this delightful restaurant prior and I was quite anxious to share it with 4 of my great friends.

The menu can seem a little daunting but we did our best to narrow it down to the veggie sampler, a chicken dish and a beef dish. You also do not want to show up at this restaurant starving as their timing may not always be your timing for service. And on this particular night - the air was quite cool inside. However, if you can get past all of that, you quickly discover that this restaurant is worth the trek!

The friendly server was quick to inform us that we ordered a dish made with raw meat - whew dodged that disappointing outcome - so we pulled out our fall back pick and patiently waited for the meal to arrive. Okay maybe not quite so patiently when a couple of dishes were served around us and we the fabulous aroma of spices drifted our way!

Time seemed to go by quite quickly especially since it had been a while since we had all been together and there was a lot to discuss - dud ex boyfriends, trips to mexico, babies, houses and all sorts of topics flew around the table. It was great to all be on the same page again in each others lives.

And then it was our turn. A big platter of food was placed in the middle of the table with fresh injera to eat with. The smells rising up were amazing. Now for the big test - would all my promises of how fabulous the food is come true - or would I need to eat my words and confirm that this experience was no different than another Ethiopian restaurant we had tried!

After the first bite, the smiling faces around the tables confirmed that the dinner club choice was a success!!!

Thanks ladies for a delightful night as always!

Saffron

We picked up a little Indian TakeOut for dinner tonight from a yummy little spot in the NW. Saffron Fine Indian Take Out is in a little strip mall with no room to dine in. And for a Tuesday night, it is the perfect way to dine in at home. I had eaten it at friend's prior and so when Jimmy suggested it, I was quick to agree. The deal was golden when the lady assured me that it would be ready in 15 - 20 minutes.

We had the beef samosas, matter paneer and of course the butter chicken. Every dish was filled with fresh ingredients and a delightful mix of spices. The serving sizes were surprisingly healthy as well. There is even enough for lunch tomorrow - yeah!!!

Anyways, wanted to share the little secret in case you ever find yourself across from Northland mall hankering for something a little different.

And for tomorrow, we are headed to Fassil's for dinner club!! So excited.

Lina's

Lina's is one of my favorite places in Calgary. It is a little Italian market that is stuffed full of tasty meats, delicious olives, fresh pastas, yummy little desserts, fresh produce, a wide array of olive oils and balsamic vinegars. As I wander up and down the aisles I am drawn to a new kind of biscuit, a tasty chocolate sauce or the aroma from the warm focaccia breads.

The majority of my dinner parties involve a stop at Lina's as I know that I will find something different whether it be a cookie to serve with my chocolate mousse, chocolate sauces to drizzle over whipping cream for the latte's, little chocolates from Europe to put at each person's place or maybe a little hostess gift in the household section.

However, my absolute favorite part of Lina's is the cheese section. So many varieties and flavors across three big coolers stocked full of cheese. By shopping at Lina's all these years I have developed various traditions. And Jimmy can certainly vouch for the fact that these traditions are as special to me as Lina's is. As you will soon find out, the majority of the traditions are around that cheese cooler.

Today I was bringing a cheese plate to Lincoln's little baby shower and so of course I needed to swing by Lina's. It was extra busy on such a beautiful Saturday but I lucked into a close parking spot. As I walked through the entrance into the store, my eyes automatically glanced to the left . . . YES!! . . . the new City Palate was out and it is the January/February Cheap Eats edition. As I am still on the condo plan, it's the perfect edition.

As I walked into the store and grabbed a basket every aisle looked jammed. My heart sank as I knew I was on a tight timeline. I weaved my way over to the breads. Elbowed through a couple people to get a bag and managed to find a fresh focaccia. By the time I grabbed a second bag, a whole new group of people had stopped in front of the breads. Curses . . . don't they realize that I need some time in the cheese section.

I made my way to the olives cooler and already had my choices made before the lady was ready to help me - a large mixed olives and a small sundried olives.

Next up, cheeses!!!

I patiently waited while the remaining customers were being served. I had to look at all the cheeses anyways so I knew which ones I wanted to try first. A nice young gentleman kindly asked if I had been helped yet. I felt my heart lift just a little from the anxious pit and smiled sweetly while responding, "No."

Sarah is a maple and berry lover so I decided that the maple cheddar was the perfect start. And this is where the tradition starts. You can't just buy a cheese there; it may not be what you are looking for. Regardless of how many times I have bought a cheese, it still needs to be tasted. So of course I had to ask for a quick taste. He found the maple cheddar, cut off a small bite and handed it to me. Yummy, just the right maple flavor.

Next I wanted to try a stilton . . . this week Lina's had quite the variety of stilton’s: apricot, cranberry, ginger mango and so I thought the ginger mango could be either quite tasty or the wrong mix of flavors. One bite and I knew that it was totally the wrong mix of flavors.

Nicole has declared her love for chevre fromage so of course I couldn't leave her without a lovely cheese. By the time I told him I was looking for a goat cheese, the gentleman had caught onto my game. He suggested a couple and gave me samples of each. They were both delicious but I quickly chose one.

Now onto another hard cheese, three samples were passed my way and after some thoughtful deliberation I made my choice. The anxiety I had felt as I drove to Lina's had completely melted away.

I needed a soft cheese and a blue cheese. For the soft I had spotted St. Andre which I have had a few times with Jimmy's cousins so I thought that would be a nice balance of flavors and my new found cheese friend was quickly unwrapping the blues for me to try. It didn't take long to choose a nice creamy blue with a rich sharpness to it.

As I put the last cheese in my basket I could hear a father beside me speaking to his son who was about 4 or 5. . . "Now that we are in the cheese area, we try a few cheeses before we make our choice. Shopping at Lina's isn't done until you have bought a cheese!" As the lady passed over a sample, the dad split it in two and handed half of it to his son.

The corners of my mouth turned up as a huge smile crossed my face. As I walked away I was so excited that someone else was passing Lina shopping traditions onto others.

The Best Way to Spend a Friday Night

Had a delightful evening with some fabulous friends trying out a new restaurant that I had read about on a local restaurant review blog i follow:

http://ugonnaeatthat.com/

Being that there was a hockey game on that night and the restaurant promised the flames game would be on it seemed like a great time to try it out.

Although the girl was somewhat concerned that they would not have an empty table right at 6:30 when I called for reservations, her demeanar was pleasant and the pretzel bun was sure to please. Apparently the hostesses are all somewhat scattered as the same 'concern' was present when we arrived. However without too much delay we were all seated and reviewing the menu.

Everyone but me got into the spirit of building their own burgers - we had kobe beef, elk, pretzel buns, crazy mustards, guacamole and various cheeses before long. They even have butter lettuc on the menu. I decided I wanted to sample a little bit of everything so I went with the slider trio that consisted of beef, bison and elk mini pretzel bun burgers. Apparently the kobe beef was second to none and the three of us with elk burgers all thoroughly enjoyed them. The variety of fries and dips were delightful as was the crab dip. It certainly isn't a low cost burger option but the quality was worth the price!

All in all for $5 heated underground parking on game day (it's right across the street from stampede station) and a delicious meal, this just might require a repeat performance.

And the company, as always, was a huge delight!!! They most certainly require a repeat performance. Sooner than later as we have a Garth Brooks/Race Vegas Trip to Plan for!! How exciting that will be.

http://www.loungeburger.com/

A 'touristy' night

Well last night was another dinner club evening. It was full of laughter, giggles and full blown guffaws!!!

The night of giggles started at the Marriott. We all came directly from work and met at the Marriott first since our reso's weren't until after 6. As such we were still dressed in our dress clothes from the office and bundled up in our winter gear including scarfs as it was not promising to be a balmy day and Brenda and I walk to and from work every day. We enjoyed some lessons on the animal kingdom from Sarah (apparently Lee is a wealth of knowledge in that area!) and soon found ourselves crossing the street to meet Nicole and Kari for dinner.

A large bus pulled up in front of the calgary tower and started to unload at the base of the tower as Sarah, Brenda and I arrived. Lucky for us we found ourselves in the middle of a group of people that were heading up to the observation deck for a private party. We weren't too sure what was going on but noticed a variety of accents around us and were assuming somebody was hosting a conference for members from around the world.

As we reached the entrance to the elevator lobby we were greeted by a lady who commented 'you are not with the delegation, are you'. Since it was a party, we responded with 'unfortunately no, but we could be.' The next words that came out of her mouth shocked us all: 'I knew you weren't, you all look touristy'.

What exactly does touristy look like. Of course, all three of us had the following mental image.

And not one of us had a camera around our neck, white socks and running shoes nor a fanny pack. So of course, for those who know me, you will know that there was no way I was going to be told we were 'touristy'!!!

'Touristy?' I queried indignantly. Between the three of us, we certainly let the girl know that we did not feel we looked touristy. In an attempt to recover she replied 'Well you are wearing scarfs'. Really? Scarfs? Since when are scarfs touristy???

First of all I would like to point out it is Canada in October and this is our weather for this week:





Yes - we see negative temperatures and might I add snow.


Secondly - since when are scarfs touristy. You will notice by the top photos from 2009 fall fashion week that scarfs are certainly in style:

So how does she conclude that scarfs are touristy?

She obviously noticed our stunned faces and embarassed laughs as we turned to each other commenting that we didn't realize that scarfs were touristy. So again she dug herself deeper as she tried to recover by saying that we didn't look 'businessy'.

What???

What is businessy? And how does dress shoes, dress pants, wool dress coats and eyes weary from staring at computer screens all day not look businessy.

By now I am totally offended. Not too sure why it bothered me other than the fact that she obviously had no clue what she was talking about and didn't know when to stop.

However what she did provide us with was some awesome material for the rest of the night. All the way up the elevator we discussed our 'businessy' outfits. And then the elevators opened up to an absolutely beautiful view of the city.

If you haven't been to the Calgary tower in the last couple of years, you really must plan a dinner there. It was absolutely fantastic!

And as mentioned earlier, it certainly wasn't like the laughs stopped there. Before long Kari and Nicole joined us at the table and quickly joined in. We learned important Calgary tidbits, like the fact that Calgary downtown buildings cannot cast a shadow on the river, that you can see my deck from the table, that it takes an hour to do a full rotation and of course that no fantastic dinner is complete without some dessert.

Petite

Last night was dinner club. I love dinner club. I really really love it. I love the ladies who are part of it, trying new restaurants, the conversations that fly around the table, and everything else that comes with the evening.

The restaurant of choice was Petite. It is a fairly new little restaurant across from the community health on 12th Ave. The decor is a delight, with an open kitchen, exposed brick and a delightful little patio. The food was scrumptious. The dessert menu was certainly tempting but we did our best to resist. And the walk back to my place was a perfect end to a beautifully warm fall day.

Cannot wait until the next dinner club. I wonder where Kari will take us . . .

Salad

So after a week and a half in nova scotia and then 2 busy weeks at home my body has been feeling some neglect in the nutrition department. Except for the fabulous meals Jimmys parents cooked I have had salad 3 or 4 times. Sad but true!!!

Tonight I spotted this fantastic deal on the menu at the little free house where we were dining. It included a burger with salad, tomato and onion, chips and your choice of beverage (pop, specialty coffee, wine, gin or any of their draft beers) all for £4.69. Honestly that is cheaper than the quarter pounder at McDs or a latte at Starbucks. Plus it had a salad!! Just what the body needed. 

In London, pubs are slightly different in that they don't wait on your table. So... I mosey on up to the bar to place my order. Beef burger, add cheese, no onion, and dressing on the side for my salad. 

The bar tender looked slightly confused regarding the salad dressing comment and indicated that there is no dressing on the salad. Perfect. I often don't use salad dressing anyway.

When my order arrived I noticed that I didn't have any salad on my plate. I realized I must have ordered it wrong as it only came to £3.99. Oops. Then I bit into the burger and saw that there was lettuce on the burger. And lettuce was not listed as an ingredient.  

No wonder the bar tender was so confused. Lol. Guess salad has a different conotation this side of the pond. Maybe tomorrow I will eat some greens!!!

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