Calgary Food, coffee, etc.

[ibz]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

Noticed that RedWater Grill in BVS is completely boarded up. Going to be rebranded as a new place but the name escapes me. Something to do with Beef and Barley.

Find this kind of strange as RedWater wasn't that old and it appeared to do pretty good business.

Two concepts. Red water is going to be something called Township41, the old Rise space Butcher and Baker. Based on the signage it's still vintage group.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by ibz

Two concepts. Red water is going to be something called Township41, the old Rise space Butcher and Baker. Based on the signage it's still vintage group.

I figured it was still the same group. Thanks for clarifying the name.

[Vascilli]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Bagelino's has croissants? I haven't been there in years but just remember elephantine underbaked NY style bagels like Canadian Bagel makes.

Good coffeehouses usually have good baked goods, so try any of the Caffe Artigiano locations, Cucina, Caffe Rosso, or DeVille. There's also a Taiwanese desert place in the Calgary Place apartments, 8 St and 6 Ave SW (8 St side) that has an interesting assortment of things- A Wish Bakery I think it's called. There are lots of bakeries in Chinatown but none with seating and this one is close to your Bagelino.

No, I was just expressing my desire for one. I can't really describe Bagelino's these days but the fact remains that they have fresh bagels and other places don't, so they win by default.

I'll have to check out that place in The Bow and give the Chinatown bakeries a looksie. Thanks guys.

[McMurph]

Originally Posted by Vascilli

No, I was just expressing my desire for one. I can't really describe Bagelino's these days but the fact remains that they have fresh bagels and other places don't, so they win by default.

I'll have to check out that place in The Bow and give the Chinatown bakeries a looksie. Thanks guys.

I don't think there is a bagel worth eating in Calgary other than those at Montreal Bagel on Elbow at Heritage. I spent years living beside St. Viateur in Montreal so come across my bagel snobbery honestly. I think the guy on Elbow might out do even those.

[mwalker_mw]

I've struggled to find edible bagels for years until giving Montreal Bagel a try a few months ago. My life is now complete...

No Best Before date BS. The bagels you get there are a few hours old at most - they bake throughout the day. They also freeze very well. And, as was said by someone on Urbanspoon: the flavor simply cannot be compared to the 'bun with a hole in it' that is passed off as a bagel by everyone else.

If you haven't been - go.

[Rusty van Reddick]

last batch I got from Montreal Bagels was completely raw on the inside. I've had excellent ones in the past.

But in general I don't like Montreal bagels (the style, not the store). I much, much prefer the style- it's not NY and not Montreal- you get at places in Toronto like Gryfe's and Harbord Bakery.

I'd say something about Red Heads Bagels on 11th Ave SW across from Heavens Fitness but I never bother with bagels there- since Kris sold to its Japanese owners, I only ever get their AMAZING curry rice and top it with a perfect pork katsu. Best Japanese curry rice I've had in Canada.

[mwalker_mw]

I suspect even the ones that are raw and have fallen on the floor - twice - would still be better than anything that can be bought at Co-op. It is a small operation and there certainly are some inconsistencies and surprises (don't try doing a big order late in the day). I'm sure there are other good bagels out there but coming from the standard grocery store fare this was a huge step up.

I do wonder if someone a bit more business minded started working with them... it seems something that could grow...

[Spring2008]

They're tearing down the entire exterior wall fronting 17th at the former Melrose site, looking forward to seeing the new facade.

[stophs]

It looked like they were tearing up the patio for both BP's on and the Vietnamese place next to it on 17th this morning.

[DizzyEdge]

Just got back from Vancouver, was amazed at the number of pubs with either $5 or $6 menus, ie everything on the menu was $5 or $6, and not tiny portions either. Not sure what the economics are, because the drinks were decent prices as well. Made my $15 appetizer last night seem like robbery

[sync]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Just got back from Vancouver, was amazed at the number of pubs with either $5 or $6 menus, ie everything on the menu was $5 or $6, and not tiny portions either. Not sure what the economics are, because the drinks were decent prices as well. Made my $15 appetizer last night seem like robbery

people here have a ton of money and the city doesn't have enough competition yet to drive prices down.

growing pains.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Ramen burger at Goro and 🞵🞵🞵 and the spicy pork bell with rice from Ogam Chicken at Taste of Calgary today and I was through. Two fantastic dishes. Lots of new vendors this year.

[stophs]

It looks there's a new vegetarian restaurant in the city. When I was driving around tonight I noticed the Avatamsaka Monastery on 10th street just across the Louise Bridge had a sign up that said "Vegetarian restaurant now open" or something like that. I didn't see a name or much other detail about hours or anything. I imagine they've done meals there and decided to turn it into a restaurant. I think it's great to have some retail continue on 10th on the other side of the river and hopefully it generates some pedestrian and bike flows, though I think parking may be a challenge. I look forward to checking it out.

[stophs]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Just got back from Vancouver, was amazed at the number of pubs with either $5 or $6 menus, ie everything on the menu was $5 or $6, and not tiny portions either. Not sure what the economics are, because the drinks were decent prices as well. Made my $15 appetizer last night seem like robbery

Those are really low prices, but when I was in Vancouver a few weeks back I noticed the prices seemed more reasonable generally speaking. I don't have the numbers, but just walking around the city you notice Vancouver has way more retail spaces which is likely to mean their rental rates are much more reasonable. Rent is a major determinant of pricing for a lot of businesses.

With the Times that was next to Good Earth on 11th street shut down about a month. The reason I was told was rent was too high. I know the owners of the now defunct restaurant Xocolat, they weren't generating enough business to cover the rent (and other costs of course). I think they were paying around $5-$6,000/month for a spot with limited pedestrian flows.

I'm convinced we need more retail spaces in the inner city or we're going to keep spending $15 on appetizers in average restaurants.

[Jimby]

A little coffee bar has opened in the Old Y now called the CommunityWise Resource Centre at 223 12 Ave SW.
They use Caffe Rosso beans.
Slacker opening hours of M-F 9 am to 3 pm.


http://www.kaffeeklatsch.ca

[DoubleK]

Had dinner at Catch on Saturday. Left a bit disappointed. Reso was for 7:30 and was surprised to learn they had ran out of the Walleye and Seabass dishes already. I could fully understand not having access to everything on the menu later on in the night, but 7:30 is pretty much prime time for a restaurant.

The wait staff was friendly and the food we ended up deciding on was very good. Would have been nice to get one of the two things on the menu I had my eye on.

A coworker went to Cleaver for a birthday gathering on Saturday. Was 13 of them total so they had the menu covered. The consensus was over priced and poorly executed, consistent with other reviews on urban spoon, etc. Space/decor was nice, but the food left lots to be desired.

I'm keen to go, but will probably wait a while until they get their legs under them.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by stophs

It looks there's a new vegetarian restaurant in the city. When I was driving around tonight I noticed the Avatamsaka Monastery on 10th street just across the Louise Bridge had a sign up that said "Vegetarian restaurant now open" or something like that. I didn't see a name or much other detail about hours or anything. I imagine they've done meals there and decided to turn it into a restaurant. I think it's great to have some retail continue on 10th on the other side of the river and hopefully it generates some pedestrian and bike flows, though I think parking may be a challenge. I look forward to checking it out.

Ambrosia Veggie House: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/15/1875103/restaurant/Downtown/Ambrosia-Veggie-House-Calgary

[Rusty van Reddick]

hey Stardust, I got to check out the inside of Cafe Blanca yesterday and the owner made me an espresso! Doserless grinder (this is a good thing- doserless grinders don't have chambers where the ground coffee can get stale; drinks have to be ground to order) on a La Marzocco Linea and along the counter is a siphon bar (these are huge in Asia so I think this was a great decision). Their roaster is Coffee Concepts which generally does restaurant clients- espresso was a custom blend, a nice roast level and they'll have their own brand on bags. The espresso was perfect. Really pleased with everything I saw there!

They're a good two weeks from opening still, lights were being installed, but it'll be a nice place.

Thanks for the headsup about Kaffeeklatsch Jimby! Hopefully those are just starter hours. Looks very cool. Great to see more coffee places opening after what seemed like a bit of a lull in the scene.

BTW saw the poster for Prairie Regionals at Analog- after being in Calgary each of its first five years, it was in Red Deer last fall and on Aug 22 they take place in Winnipeg! Nice to see this.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by stophs

Those are really low prices, but when I was in Vancouver a few weeks back I noticed the prices seemed more reasonable generally speaking. I don't have the numbers, but just walking around the city you notice Vancouver has way more retail spaces which is likely to mean their rental rates are much more reasonable. Rent is a major determinant of pricing for a lot of businesses.

With the Times that was next to Good Earth on 11th street shut down about a month. The reason I was told was rent was too high. I know the owners of the now defunct restaurant Xocolat, they weren't generating enough business to cover the rent (and other costs of course). I think they were paying around $5-$6,000/month for a spot with limited pedestrian flows.

I'm convinced we need more retail spaces in the inner city or we're going to keep spending $15 on appetizers in average restaurants.

No necessarily lower rents, it could be that volumes are just that much higher. Restaurants can succeed in high rent environments, they definitely cannot succeed in low volume environments. Overhead and waste (food goes bad if you don't sell it right away) are just too high.

Agreed that we need more retail space, but more importantly, we need more flexibility in terms of how we allow spaces to be used. So many spaces in this city can only be used for a few select uses, which restricts the ability of owners to attract tenants.

As for "With the Times" no offence, but running a newsstand is a difficult business in the age of the internet. Regular bookstores are having a tough time making a go, let alone a place that only sells magazines, etc. Interested to see what goes in.

[hulkrogan]

I noticed today there are permanent closure signs on the restaurants in the podium of Centennial. That didn't take very long.