Jaime is back in town! For her visit, I planned a dinner at a vegetarian-friendly restaurant – The Eden – as well as a visit to the Calgary Zoo to check out the ZOOLIGHTS. For this post, let’s listen to “Ride A White Horse” by Goldfrapp.
Eden offers a very merry happy hour: $5 house wine, $5 draft beer, 1/2 price small plates and $2.50 oysters. On weekdays, happy hour starts from 4-6:00 pm and 9:00 pm to close. Happy hour starts at 2:00 pm on weekends.
I tried a glass of the house red ($8, HH $5, Gamay) and white ($8, HH $5, Muscadet). Jaime sipped on a pleasantly unsweet rose wine ($8, HH $5). Both glasses of wine were nice. To start, we shared an order of Mixed Wild Mushrooms ($16, HH $8).
The mushroom appy is a winner. The crunchiness of the crostini was a rich contrast to the silky shiitake mushrooms, bathed in a light parmesan cream sauce. The portion of mushrooms was so generous we piled our crostini high and still had ample shrooms leftover.
I enjoyed my bountiful serving of Mussels and Frites ($26). I was pleasantly surprised how large the mussels are, considering our land-locked location. Each mussel was large, plump and soft, with a distinctively briny flavour.
The description on the menu described the sauce as spicy, but I didn’t detect any heat. Perhaps after my last meal at Kam Han, my delicate taste buds have been permanently scarred. The combination of the thick tomato sauce with the chunks of juicy chorizo was tasty. I’d recommend dunking the fries into the sauce, so that it absorbs the fatty goodness of the sausage and the tang from the tomatoes.
Jaime ordered a Veggie Burger with a salad ($19). The vegan patty is from Know Meat and made from green lentils, brown rice, yellow split peas and sweet potatoes. The patty’s exterior was crunchy while the interior was soft and creamy. I could detect some curry spice and ginger.
The patty is topped with avocado, lettuce, tomato, pickled peppers, vegan ranch sauce, in a vegan bun. The texture and flavour of the Know Meat patty is superior to A&W’s Beyond Burger. The Know Meat burger is tastier and I prefer the composition of the patty.
Jaime found her salad too peppery, but I liked it so much I demolished her bowl. I particularly enjoyed the herb vinaigrette because of the creamy, pungent flavour of Dijon mustard.
I’d like to return to try Eden’s grilled pork loin with house made ricotta gnocchi and another serving of the mushroom toast. Please note that my pictures do not do the food justice. The lighting was dark and my photography skills are the result of a lack of talent and laziness. Go check it out for yourself – the bistro is quaint, service is warm, and the food is delicious.
Hitting the Sauce 