Calgary Food, coffee, etc.

[McMurph]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

When did Bensonhurst close? was walking beside it and saw i was a new place.

Apparently it's not exactly a new place, just a rebranding / redirection of the space by the same ownership group. They're keeping the pizza ovens, and hopefully the good pizza, but seem to be aiming more overtly for the pub crowd. It explains the unbelievably fast turnaround after Bensonhurst "closed".

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by McMurph

Apparently it's not exactly a new place, just a rebranding / redirection of the space by the same ownership group. They're keeping the pizza ovens, and hopefully the good pizza, but seem to be aiming more overtly for the pub crowd. It explains the unbelievably fast turnaround after Bensonhurst "closed".

They even have the exact same facebook page- makes the maudlin posts about how sad they were to close seem bizarre and even a bit dishonest.

Their new menu looks decent- not earth-shattering but decent.

[Riise]

Originally Posted by McMurph

Apparently it's not exactly a new place, just a rebranding / redirection of the space by the same ownership group. They're keeping the pizza ovens, and hopefully the good pizza, but seem to be aiming more overtly for the pub crowd. It explains the unbelievably fast turnaround after Bensonhurst "closed".

It also explains why I felt their specials board was a bit helter skelter. It seems like they want to be the jack of all food trades and master of none.

[geotag277]

Originally Posted by Riise

It also explains why I felt their specials board was a bit helter skelter. It seems like they want to be the jack of all food trades and master of none.

Sadly an all too common phenomenon among restaurants that have no idea what they are doing culinary-wise. Given the number of establishments that go this route there must be some demand out there for a wide range of mediocre menu options.

[flipstah]

Originally Posted by geotag277

Sadly an all too common phenomenon among restaurants that have no idea what they are doing culinary-wise. Given the number of establishments that go this route there must be some demand out there for a wide range of mediocre menu options.

It's filler when you can't decide what cuisine to have that night,

"How about sushi?"

"We had sushi last week. Korean?"

"I don't want to smell from the smoke. Italian?"

"Eh, I don't feel like anything heavy. Greek?"

"Fuck it, let's go to Earl's."

[fusili]

Originally Posted by flipstah

It's filler when you can't decide what cuisine to have that night,

"How about sushi?"

"We had sushi last week. Korean?"

"I don't want to smell from the smoke. Italian?"

"Eh, I don't feel like anything heavy. Greek?"

"Fuck it, let's go to Earl's."

I worked at Earls for 5 years, and I can say this is spot on.

Earls unofficial motto (in my mind at least) "Earls, never really spectacular, but never bad either..... Earls, it's alright."

[Rusty van Reddick]

Watercress is transitioning to table service in mid-August. I am not happy about this. I had the sate pho yesterday and it's as spectacular as ever but word has gotten out, they're slammed sometimes and seem to be short staffed often and the people they've hired can't even pronounce "pho" correctly. I know table service at Viet places is the norm and is usually fast, like incredibly fast, but I liked counter service and I'll admit like not feeling obligated to tip (I do at counters, just not close to 18%).

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by flipstah

It's filler when you can't decide what cuisine to have that night,

"How about sushi?"

"We had sushi last week. Korean?"

"I don't want to smell from the smoke. Italian?"

"Eh, I don't feel like anything heavy. Greek?"

"Fuck it, let's go to Earl's."

Skip to 1:35. Is this the new Bensonhurst?

Video Link

[Rusty van Reddick]

Smile tea.

Freshii across from best buy off 17th is now open.

[flipstah]

Anyone gone to the Simmons Building and checked out their offerings yet?

[lineman]

The chorizo breakfast sandwich at sidewalk citizen is delicious. The espresso machines at P&S are neat. The guts are under the counter.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by lineman

The chorizo breakfast sandwich at sidewalk citizen is delicious. The espresso machines at P&S are neat. The guts are under the counter.

Espresso machine make is Modbar. Very cool and completely customizable. A shop can literally have 10 groups if they want. That's insane. Until these you'd be surprised to see a four-group espresso machine and famously a shop in Portland had a six-group marzocco linea. Now it's possible like I say to have as many groups as you have counter space since each group head is separate. It's brilliant and makes amazing espresso.

[Beans000]

Originally Posted by flipstah

Anyone gone to the Simmons Building and checked out their offerings yet?

Sidewalk Citizen's salads are amazing! This is my new not so guilty, guilty pleasure that I will go out of my way to grab for lunch or after work.

I had the Chorizo sausage breakfast sandwich too it was pretty good.

Kinda dissapointed that the sandwiches they are offering are not the same as the ones they send out to Cafe Beano or used to sell at Analog about a year ago. Random delicious concoctions of slow-cooked pork with delicious cheeses like goat or blue and pickled slaws, on a ciabatta. Oh so good warmed. Maybe I'm missing the specials board...

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by lineman

The chorizo breakfast sandwich at sidewalk citizen is delicious.

That sounds fantastic! I think I'll need to swing by there...

[Ramsayfarian]

According to the sign on the door, Black Betty's has closed for good. Love the space, but felt their food meh. I am hoping someone will bring back the Penguin.

[DizzyEdge]

I loved the look of BB, but the actual scene there didn't match their burlesquey decor.

[flipstah]

Black Betty sucked both as a nightclub and as a restaurant. Good riddance.

I miss The Bank (nightclub). The Bank and Baron lunch menu was decent.

[Electrical Storm]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Espresso machine make is Modbar. Very cool and completely customizable. A shop can literally have 10 groups if they want. That's insane. Until these you'd be surprised to see a four-group espresso machine and famously a shop in Portland had a six-group marzocco linea. Now it's possible like I say to have as many groups as you have counter space since each group head is separate. It's brilliant and makes amazing espresso.

Interesting. I was wondering who the manufacturer was. They look brilliant in the P&S in the Simmons building.

[hulkrogan]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

Freshii across from best buy off 17th is now open.

I don't think you're allowed in there unless you're a 20-40 year old female with a blond pony tail and full yoga or running gear.

[Rusty van Reddick]

So I've been sick with this horrible cold/flu that's going around (way, way worse than an average cold) and partner, who left me with this present, is in the UK for next 12 days so I've been ordering in a fair bit- decided on pizza on Sat night and tried a few places that didn't answer phones, managed to order from Michael's which I'd never tried before (they're on 10th Ave SW east of 1st St across from Bottlescrew Bill's). Good price and no delivery charge since I'm "downtown." Delivery took a solid hour but I was very pleasantly surprised: This is perfect Calgary-style bar pie. Thick buttery crispy crust, tons of cheese, tons of toppings, a thick sauce made with (I think) tomato paste, and perfectly amazing as leftover even cold. Now take this with a grain of salt as my sense of smell and taste are shot; I haven't been able to smell anything since Friday and I can only really taste salty and bitter but I could tell that this was a fantastic pizza. $22 for a large that could have fed three people.