Saffron was is Calgary last weekend and as you may have gathered she is always in the “know” when it comes to restaurants, wine and cool gathering spots. She was free for dinner on Saturday night and suggested a visit to the Vin Room. Ginger had not tried out this wine bar/restaurant either so Nutmeg was happy to oblige and made reservations. (more…)
Travel to The Vin Room in CalgaryRecipes & Travel:
Calgary Restaurants, Restaurant Reviews, Vin Room
Most of you who know Nutmeg, already understand that french fries, chicken wings, chips, onion rings, Cheezies and Kraft dinner do not factor into her diet much if at all. The odd fry, one or two onion rings and that is definitely Nutmeg’s limit. Ginger on the other hand loves ALL of it!
The Holy Grill, is located right across from Mountain Equipment Coop on 10th Avenue in Calgary. It has been a restaurant for a while although the name has changed a few times. It is definitely not fancy and the drill is quite straightforward. There is no table service so you need to make a decision, place your order at the counter, find a seat and wait for your name to be called and then pick up your meal. They do breakfast and lunch only.
The breakfast menu includes the traditional (to your specifications – Nutmeg is particular and it was perfect), the Bennies (variations on eggs benedict)…
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Calgary Restaurants, Coffee Shops in Calgary, Restaurant Reviews, The Holy Grill Restaurant Calgary
Canmore has lots of choice in restaurants, although not much ethnic variety beyond sushi and a few restaurants with Asian influences (please let Nutmeg know if anyone ever goes to the Chinese restaurant…she does not think so).
The Aroma Cafe is now located on Canmore’s Main Street (it used to be co-located with Zonas on 9th Street) and likely has to pay crazy Canmore retail rent as a result of their new location. They have a warm, casual interior with a combination of table seating, banquets and a small shaded patio. Ginger, Nutmeg, CardaMOM and Montreal Steak Spice ventured over for a Sunday morning breakfast. The drip coffee is decent and hot. The breakfast options include the usual fare along with Mexican influenced breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros, Mexican scrambled eggs and your choice omlettes – all dishes come with sides of very decent crispy potatoes, spicy green tomatillo sauce and black beans. The service is attentive yet not too overbearing…
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Aroma Cafe, Canadian Rockies, Canmore, Mexican, Restaurant Reviews, restaurants, Travel Alberta
Nutmeg and Ginger were treated to dinner at this very newly minted Canmore restaurant, it opened on June 18th. Habitat was reviewed in the Calgary Herald last week, whether that was the reason or the fact that they have done some heavy advertising, the restaurant was full. It is located in the Grand Rockies Resort on Mountain Street off the Bow Valley Trail in Canmore. When you arrive in the hotel lobby it is clearly not the standard Rocky Mountain look; there is heavy emphasis on metal, dark wood, gray-black tile, dark granite – no slate or rundle stone anywhere in sight. In fact, if you closed your eyes to the beautiful mountain view outside you could be in Toronto with the very urban design feel. There is a great looking kids pool, super-slide and fun splash pond located beyond the lobby – it is fantastically sound proofed and no hint of the awful chlorine smell.
The restaurant theme is…
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Alberta, Canadian Rockies, Canmore, Habitat, Restaurant Reviews, restaurants
As you might have gathered thus far, Nutmeg loves good coffee or to be more specific, espresso. Thankfully, Canmore has some good options in this regard.
Mountain Mercato is located on Main Street in Canmore. This storefront is a few things; deli, coffee shop, specialty food store and a place for a light meal. Recently, Mountain Mercato expanded their location and created a seating area inside as well as additional street-side patio seats. Nutmeg has pretty much avoided this place as it is quite pretentious for Canmore.
However, Nutmeg is also insanely curious when it comes to food, retail and of course coffee. So she decided to head over for a latte after yoga this morning. The inside expansion has been well done, the seating is very bistro style and well appointed, it looks like it belongs. The service bar has been expanded allowing for more barrista space. The outdoor patio seating is awkward as it is essentially two sections separated…
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Canmore Restaurants, Mountain Mercato, Restaurant Reviews, Travel Alberta
Nutmeg loves the Crazy Weed Kitchen in Canmore. The food is consistently good with a strong Asian influence. Signature starters include; Vietnamese pork meatballs and salt and pepper calamari. Nutmeg’s favorite main course is the red curry seafood bowl and Ginger loves the fettuccine with chorizo, big shrimp, grilled vegetables and creamy tomatillo and chipotle sauce.
The Crazy Weed can only be described as eclectic. It is located on Railway Avenue in Canmore, after a move from Main Street a couple years ago. The building was purpose built for the restaurant, with high ceilings, a green roof that looks a bit shaggy, a design that creates essentially two main dining areas, great mountain vistas and a casual deck. The decor is simple with white walls and splashes of color in the seating. The atmosphere is busy and the appearance of unfinished “projects” (art that is still to be hung, herb planters that are still waiting to be finished) seems to…
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Canmore Alberta, Canmore Restaurants, Crazyweed Restaurant, Restaurant Reviews, Travel Alberta
It is not every day that Starbucks gets run out of town… OK not exactly out of town. Nutmeg is pretty certain that their lease on 3rd Street SW in Calgary was up and it may have been an under-performing location, so they have closed up shop and Subway is going in. Caffe Artigiano has certainly not missed the competition. On a recent Wednesday afternoon Nutmeg was a bit early for her meeting with Cilantro, so popped in for a latte. Their signature latte is the Spanish Latte with a touch of condensed milk – heaven in a cup! At 2:30pm there was barely a seat to be had in the place and a line up at least 20 deep. These guys have perfected the system, you order and pay as normal at the till and your order comes up on a print out (in order) at the barista end. Unlike Starbucks: no yelling, no call backs, no cups…
Travel to Coffee it’s an art at Caffe ArtigianoRecipes & Travel:
Caffe Artigiano, Calgary Restaurants, Coffee Shops in Calgary, Restaurant Reviews
Some of you may think that Nutmeg is quick to form an opinion and in many cases you might be on the mark. The truth is the case of Kaffa Coffee and Salsa House in Marda Loop (Calgary SW) she has tried to find the nugget in this place over several visits. It has certainly been around for a long time, the parking is good and free (you have to pay just down the block), they have a sunny patio and the coffee is hot. (more…)
Travel to Kaffa Coffee and Salsa House – It is QuirkyRecipes & Travel:
Calgary Restaurants, Coffee Shops in Calgary, Restaurant Reviews
Nutmeg has a beef with Calgary’s weather, in a nutshell it sucks. For many years now she has heard all the noise about “Chinooks”….” shorts weather in February”… “it never lasts”… “you can golf in all four seasons”!! Bottom line the weather is unpredictable and only “died in the wool” Calgarians like Ginger really embrace the constantly changing environment. The great thing about Calgary, is when the weather does cooperate and that rare, yet fantastic Summer night appears – a restaurant patio is a must! There are patios everywhere to try and take advancement of the rare moments. One of the Calgary gems is the well protected and well heated (over-head heaters and out-door fireplaces) patio at Bonterra Trattoria.
Earlier this week lucky Nutmeg was treated to dinner by CardaMOM and Montreal Steak Spice at Bonterra Trattoria. It was way too cold for the patio, at barely 8 degrees Celsius, so we huddled in the very warm and cosy wine…
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Bonterra Restaurant, Calgary Restaurants, Restaurant Reviews
Hot Sauce a Chili were recently in Estonia (Officially the Republic of Estonia). Estonia is divided into 15 counties and operates as a democratic parliamentary republic, if you are interested to find out more check out the Wikipedia related information. With a population of only 1.34 million, Estonia is one of the least-populous members of the European Union. The country is blessed with a temperate season climate. Estonia’s language is very close to Finnish. The capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a beautifully preserved old city. One of UNESCOs World Heritage Sites, is Bergen’s Old Quay. From Hot Sauce directly, “I have never seen so many church spires!”
Nutmeg was curious, what exactly is UNESCO and how many sites are there? UNESCO is the acronym for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This is a web site that you could spend days reviewing. There are currently 890 Properties world wide (689 Cultural, 176 Natural and 25 mixed). Canada…
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European Travel Tips, Restaurant Reviews, Road Trip Planner, UNESCO world heritage sites
