I was texting my brother Jacuzzi about a series of unfortunate events. He must have noticed the melodramatic tone in my messages because he immediately ordered me to go out for dinner. I told L and he agreed with Jacuzzi. As always, they are correct. For this post, let’s listen to “Cherry Bomb” by Joan Jett.
L was in the mood for pizza. I suggested Richmond Pub because their pizza rivals Spiros, Hanni’s and Inglewood Pizza. On the night we went, a 12″ pizza and a 60 oz beer were on special for $30. For drinks, we picked Duke Lager, an easy-drinking American-style beer. For pizza, we went for the gut filling Rocky Balboa.
I also ordered hot wings ($14.50). Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the wings and beer because my photography was worse than usual. If a picture is worth a thousand words, my photos that night would be worth only a sentence fragment.
The menu states Richmond Pub only uses fresh wings. I thought the wings were great – the skin was crispy and the meat was white and plump. The hot sauce was pleasantly tangy and spicy.
The pizza is heavily layered with pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, red onion, and blanketed with a thick layer of gooey cheese. The tomato sauce was bright and zingy. The crust was crunchy and thick enough to stand up to the ratio of meat and cheese.
Thanks, L and Jacuzzi – it turns out all I needed was a night out. Hitting the Sauce gives Richmond Pub’s pizza two phat thumbs up.
It’s my birthday week! L picked me up from the airport and told me I had one hour to get ready for our dinner reservation. His colleague M emailed him an article about a pop-up restaurant – Nights & Weekends. What interested L was that co-chefs Bern Glatz and Nick Berenyi collectively worked at Ten Foot Henry,Anju, Mercato,Bar Von Der Fels, and Una Pizza + Wine. He figured since we like all those restaurants, we would enjoy Nights & Weekends. As always, L is correct. For this post, let’s listen to “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by The Beattles.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, Nights & Weekends takes over the space at Shiki Menya. The restaurant is dimly lit, with the exception of the glow of the pink neon sign. The tunes are rocking and the vibe is intimate.
Initially, I was skeptical when the bartender informed us they only sell four wines – bubbles, rosé, white and red ($12 glass, $48 bottle). After sampling three of the four wines, I realized you don’t need a large selection if each bottle is well chosen. Kudos to Katie, an employee from Vine Arts who selects all the wine for Nights & Weekends.
L ordered a pint of Asahi ($7) while I requested a glass of French bubbles ($12). I found the bubbles tight and clean tasting.
We ordered two servings of the Tamago ($4). The egg was cool and soft. As I slurped the egg back, it felt like I was eating an oyster. I enjoyed the restrained use of black sesame and chili oil. However, L’s portion received all the scallions. Luck of the draw.
The Waygu Beef Tartare ($14) is a winner. L appreciated how the focus of dish was the meat rather than competing flavour of secondary ingredients. The beef tasted supremely fresh. I didn’t even want to use the potato chip because it would take away from the flavour of the waygu. As I chewed, I savoured the texture of the beef. Oh so good.
The bartender recommended I try the Russine (2017) rosé with the wagyu tartare. He described this wine as a winter rosé. I was reluctant to try it because too often, I find rosé tart, sweet or fake tasting. He didn’t steer me wrong. The wine was heavy for a rosé and a little dry. I would order this again.
The Poached Tiger Prawn ($10) was the star of the night. This sandwich was off the hook. The kewpie sauce was light and just enough to bind and coat all the ingredients together. The pea shoots helped to cut into the mayo. The tobiko added a pop of the sea.
The prawns were plentiful and sweet. With each bite, proportionally, there was more shrimp than bun. We liked how the bun was squishy and mushable against the crunchy prawns.
The Handmade Pasta ($18) was unique. What I liked was the firmness and bite of the noodles. The combination of the cheese, guancialle (cured meat), dashi, gachujang (Korean red chili paste), mushrooms and nori reminded me a little of Kraft cheese, but in a good way.
I drank one more glass of wine because I was having so much fun and I didn’t want to leave. The Maggiorina Vino Rosso (2018) was interesting. The wine hit my tongue hard but then mellowed out.
In my opinion, this little pop-up restaurant competes with the best restaurants I’ve tried in this city and elsewhere. I love it so much, Nights & Weekends is making it on my list of favourite restaurants in Calgary. Hitting the Sauce gives Nights & Weekends two fat thumbs up.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” – William Congreve
When I applied to No Mans Dinner – a supper club in Calgary – I was informed that no female members are permitted. I pointed out that rule 5 stipulates no female guests, but there was no rule about female members. Despite my outstanding qualifications, I was still rejected. Being the private person I am, I had to post this devastating blow on my Instagram feed.
I joked to Loaf2go about having our own supper club – No Man’s Dinner. Loaf2go was also initially joking when she encouraged this, but after some back and forth and a coffee date, our new club was born. Loaf2go designed the logo and created the rules. Please note – despite our name, we are inclusive of all foodies, with one exception. No children.
We picked Greta Bar for the first meetup. Even though it was -27 weather, the adult arcade bar was packed with customers. You’ll either love or hate the music – a fun, nostalgic mix-up of 80’s and 90’s music. I enjoyed listening to Bon Jovi, Spice Girls, New Kids on the Block and Biggie Smalls. For this post, let’s listen to Bon Jovi’s ” Living’ On a Prayer”.
Loaf2go texted me saying she would be a little late. I was in the same boat. Traffic was awful. She and her husband T arrived 3 minutes late. L and I were literally seconds behind. Happyeatsyyc and Lizarooprai were already sitting at our table when we arrived.
L was surprised there were so many men in our party, considering our club is called No Man’s Dinner. There was Iatehere,Pak_to_Eating_yyc’s boyfriend, Lizarooprai’s plus one, and the spouses of the Founder and President. I finally met HangryinYYC, my go to expert for dim sum in Calgary. I already knew ShellyKirks from my travels to Japan. The last to arrive was Jeanie.Mark. I found out she was late because she saw a car accident and she had to stay as a witness.
For happy hour, house beers, wine and select cocktails were $5. Shop Fries, Greek Doughnuts, and Jamaican Patties were $5. The Greta Brown was tasty – with notes of espresso and chocolate. I preferred the brown over the Greta Blonde, the latter being a bit too yeasty for my taste.
I enjoyed the Greek doughnuts ($6.50, HH $5) more than I thought I would. Each piece was warm and puffy, tasting a bit like a deluxe Tim Horton’s crueller Timbit. I didn’t find the addition of honey too sweet. I’d order this again.
Loaf2go shared her Ginger Beef Baos ($13) with us. The sirloin beef is from Community Foods. I liked the squishiness of the homemade white buns. The beef was cut thin and lightly battered.
The table’s favourite dish was another one of Loaf2go’s picks – the Currywurst Pretzel ($13). She said she knew it would be good because the sausage is from Empire Provision. The house-made curried ketchup had a hot kick to it.
Shelly ordered the Jamaican Patties ($10, HH $5). The wagyu meat was also from Community Foods. I enjoyed the heat in the curry ground beef. Shelly liked the turmeric pastry because of its thin, crispy shell. I liked the ratio of filling to crust.
I ordered the Street Nuggets ($12) – buttermilk brine chicken with pickles and onions. I picked hot sauce, which was very hot. Loaf2go enjoyed the this dish more than I did. I prefer my nuggets with more a crunchy exterior.
I also ordered the East Coast chip shop fries ($5.50, HH $4:00). The potatoes were made from fresh-cut Hutterite red skin potatoes. Everyone thought the fries were a tad overcooked.
I tried some of Loaf2go’s Thai Mango Salad ($6.50). I could taste the fish sauce in the dressing. I wasn’t expecting to see a Thai salad that looked so authentic.
L and I were impressed that Greta was not afraid to use some heat. I thought it was cool that a bar that sells this range food of international dishes didn’t dumb down the spicy dishes. I wonder if the clientele appreciates the heat.
Our next foodventure is going to be at Bar Modern, a new steakhouse on Stephen Ave for happy hour. If L is good, I might even splurge and buy him a steak dinner. Modern Steak serves beef from its prize-winning Black Angus Bull with Benchmark Angus. I’m pretty curious to see the difference between ranch specific Alberta beef and the sale stuff I buy from Safeway.
Want more recommendations on where to eat in Calgary? If you’re planning a night out, I keep a running list of the best restaurants in Calgary.
I picked Leopold’s Tavern for our work ‘West Wing’ event, located in Calgary’s Beltline / Victoria Park district. Horatio is a vegetarian and he voiced his displeasure about the lack of vegetarian options at my last work gathering. He pointed out that Leopold’s Tavern has cauliflower wings. I promised him that the next West Wing event would take place at a vegan friendly wing joint. For this post, let’s listen to “My Best Friend’s Girl” by The Cars.
Aycaramba, Lethbridge and I arrived at 3:00 p.m. to secure a big enough table. Leopold’s is a small pub and is busy on Taco Tuesday and Wings Wednesday. The server was accomodating about us taking over a section of the restaurant and saving seats. The Caesar I ordered was smoky, strong and so spicy it stung the back of my throat.
What’s the wing dealio here? You can get 1 lb of wings for only $3 between 3-4 p.m., $4 between 4-5 p.m., $5 between 5-6 p.m., and $5.99 between 6 p.m to close. You must purchase a drink for every order of wings/deep-fried cauliflower.
For my second drink, I ordered Tokyo Drift ($7). Sour Cherry from Banded Peak is also offered on tap. I liked that Leopold’s serves up craft beers from Calgary.
I ordered Yolo Nachos (small $17 + $4 guacamole). The tortilla chips came flaming hot, covered in a soft cheesy blanket of mixed peppers, pico de gallo, fresh jalapenos & kalamata olives with sides of salsa and sour cream. The guacamole was the real stuff, with big chunks of avocado. I don’t like getting liquefied guacamole, as I can’t tell if it’s fresh or from a powdered mix.
I tried Aycarumba sweet potato fries with chipotle mayo ($11). The exterior was crunchy while the interior was sweet and silky smooth. This is one of the better yam fries in the city.
Horatio ordered his precious Buffalo Cauliflower Wings ($12). The vegetarian wings were better than I thought it would be. The batter was crunchy and the sauce was tangy and a little sweet. If you’re a vegan, this is going to be as good as it gets for you.
I was mesmerized by the way Lethbridge’s boyfriend Library eat his wings. I noticed that he eats two at a time. Wings all-star pro.
Lethbridge ordered two plates of wings. I asked her why she wasted so much meat. She said it was because she was full after the first plate and didn’t like eating the cartilage. Lethbridge moaned about how stuffed she was but went back and re-ate her food because I shamed her. The chipotle lime seasoning has a good zing to it.
I ordered L a Classic Cheeseburger with fries ($16) as he was picking me up. Forty minutes later, the burger was still juicy. The patty was oversized and you could taste the flavour of beef. L liked his fries too, thin cut and with the skin on. Our server gave me ketchup without asking, which was much appreciated. We ran out of ketchup at home and L would have been out of luck.
How do these wings compare to other Wing Wednesday specials? The wings came out fresh out of fryer and there was suffice meat on dem bones. Some pubs give you the scrawny wings and serve them semi-warm. Service was friendly and efficient despite how busy the pub became.
If you haven’t been to Leopold’s Tavern yet, give them a go. Service was great and the pub has good energy. I plan to go back and try the mushroom burger, poutine and macaroni and cheese, all of which I hear is tasty pub grub.
The Waygu Beef Tartare ($14) is a winner. L appreciated how the focus of dish was the meat rather than competing flavour of secondary ingredients. The beef tasted supremely fresh. I didn’t even want to use the potato chip because it would take away from the flavour of the waygu. As I chewed, I savoured the texture of the beef. Oh so good.
