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city palate CELEBRATI N G 2 0 D ELICIO U S YEARS 1 9 9 3 – 2 0 1 3
our th anniversary issue citypalate.ca
september october 2013
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
Thank You
for your support
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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We've had the honour of being “the flavour of calgary’s food scene” for twenty years. We've come a long way, right along with Calgary’s food culture. A big thank you to everyone who reads us and supports us.
Now, more than ever, we all need to support our butcher, baker, candlestick-maker... restaurant, wine shop, cheese monger, fish monger, coffee roaster, brewery, rancher, farmer, culinary shop, farmers’ market...
Many of our favourite businesses struggled through the effects of the great flood of 2013. Go see them, ask how they’re doing, Spend some money!
Please enjoy our special 20th anniversary issue!
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
T H E F L A V O U R O F C A L G A R Y ' S foo d S C E N E
city palate 1993 – 2013
C E L E B R A T I N G 2 0 D E L I C I O U S Y E A R S wit h 2 0 D E L I C I O U S e v ents City Palate turns 20 years old this year and we want to celebrate Calgary's amazing food culture with the people who support us and read us. And we want to give back to the community – proceeds from these events will go to Calgary charities. We hope you join us to celebrate this delicious milestone...
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Date: Monday, September 16th, 2013, 5-9 pm
The Really, Really Long Table Dinner
7 restaurants... 5 courses... 240 people... 1 really, really long table. Blink, Catch & The Oyster Bar, Charcut, Divino, Teatro, The Belvedere, The Cellar and Trib Steakhouse will each prepare a course for this remarkable dinner that takes place on a long, tented stretch of Stephen Avenue. Gather your friends, and make some new ones at this unique event that celebrates the culinary side of Calgary. Location: Stephen Avenue Mall Tickets: $150 + $25 for wine pairings = $175pp, reallylongtabledinner.eventbrite.ca
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PROCEEDS go to red cross flood relief
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Date: Saturday, October 5th, 2013
Culinary Treasure Hunt "On your mark… get set… go!" Anneke Scholten and Culinary Calgary present The 2nd Annual Culinary Treasure Hunt. Gather your team and start training now. With at least 40 treasures on the list, you will require endurance, speed and an appetite for adventure. This day of foodie fun wraps up with snacks and drinks, and the crowning of a champion. Sign up now, and may the odds be ever in your flavour!
Add a little Oom-Pa-Pa to your October! Alberta’s sausage producers – Old Country Sausage, Valbella Meats, and Olson's High Country Bison – are paired with local craft beer brewers – Village Brewery and Wildrose Brewery – to create the perfect beer and sausage party! Location: Glenmore Sailing Club, 8601 - 24th St. SW Tickets: $75 pp, gasthausontheglenmore.eventbrite.ca
Tickets: $45 pp, culinarytreasurehunt.eventbrite.ca
proceeds go to Alberta Arts Flood Rebuild
and co m ing in 2 0 1 4 . . . Date: January February 2014
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Date: January February 2014
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CP Culinary Travel Grant
Sharpen your pencils, pour yourself a glass of something tasty and get comfortable. City Palate presents a super-big, super-fun culinary crossword puzzle. When you finish, send it in for your chance to win a delicious prize.
Open to all “back-of-the-house” restaurant cooks – City Palate can help further your culinary education with a travel grant to learn more about the world’s cultures and food. Details will be published in our January February 2014 issue.
Location: January February 2014 issue of City Palate
Location: Submissions via citypalate.ca
Colossal Culinary Crossword
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Crowbar 2014
Illustrations by Pierre Lamielle
Gasthaus on the Glenmore
Location: Kick-off at Casel Marché, 2505 - 17th Ave. SW, 9:30 am sharp!
Date: Saturday, October 6th, 2013 Thanksgiving Turkey Tootle sold out!
Date: Saturday, February 8th, 2014
Date: Friday, October 25th, 2013, 6:30-9 pm
Pop-up party architect Wade Sirois, of Infuse Catering, presents an evening of hand-crafted cocktails and small plates food in a secret location. We could tell you more, but that wouldn’t be much fun, now would it? Location: Secret – announced 48 hours before Tickets : $90 pp, crowbar.eventbrite.ca
Date: March 2014 (TBD)
SAIT Kitchen Party
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We will team up with SAIT to create an interactive evening of wine, food and conviviality, tying in with their Culinary Class and Dinner for the Big Taste event in March 2014. Join us for a dinner party where attendees help prepare dinner, then enjoy it with wines supplied and poured by Township 7 Vineyards & Winery.
Date: Thursday, May 8th, 2014
Chefly Screen Shots
Date: Monday, November 18th, 2013 Top Chef Dinner sold out!
Date: Monday, January 27th, 2014
Bill to Tail: A Specialty Dinner Avec Noble Farms
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Ever wanted to enjoy eating duck 20 ways with wines to match? Now’s your chance! Darnell Japp, executive chef at Avec Bistro, pays homage to the noble duck and to Noble Duck Farms, by creating a menu of delectable duck dishes paired with a variety of wines from Okanagan Crush Pad. Location: Avec Bistro, #105, 550 - 11th Ave. SW Tickets: $100 pp, duckdinner.eventbrite.ca
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City Palate partners with Calgary Folk Music Festival and Calgary Underground Film Festival to present a series of short, silent, films featuring Calgary chefs. These films will be projected on a large screen while local musicians play live music, composed specifically for these moving pictures. After the screening, the crowd will enjoy appetizers that merrily reference the food prepared in the films. Food. Film. Music. Fun. Location: Festival Hall, 1215 - 10 Ave. SE, Tickets: $40, cheflyscreenshots.eventbrite.ca Date: Monday, June 9th, 2014, 6-10 pm
20 for 20 Wrap-up Party
Location: SAIT Downtown Campus, #226, 230 - 8th Ave. SW
City Palate wraps it all up with a sexy summer soirée. Ox & Angela will be transformed into a grand tapas bar, complete with 4 paella stations and a sherry tasting. This night of divine, Mediterranean revelry is the perfect finish to an exciting year.
Tickets: $150 pp, details to come...
Location: Ox & Angela, 528 - 17 Ave. SW, Tickets: $75 pp, citypalatewrapparty.eventbrite.ca
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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• • • •
No Pesticides No Herbicides Biological Bug Control Hydroponically Grown
CUCUMBERS TOMATOES PEPPERS LETTUCE BEANS
Blu Seafood Check out our great selection of Fresh Fish, Seafood, Crab Cakes, Salmon Burgers and lots more! GOOD THINGS COME OUT OF THE BLU
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
contents City Palate September October 2013
features
28 n Our Early Support System
These businesses had faith in us – they advertised with City Palate when we launched, and, like us, most are still going strong. Thank you! Shelley Boettcher
34 n 20 Years of City Palate Cover Art
36 n Where are They Now?
We tracked down some of the people who, like City Palate, helped launch Calgary’s food scene. Shelley Boettcher
The International Gourmet Retail Store Over 50 varieties of OnTap Oils and Vinegars, Tapas, Pastas, Spices and more
40 n Harvest Recipes from the Archives
Corporate Gifting
46 n City Palate Celebrates 15 Years of Foodie Tootles
Wedding Favours
We tootled back to the early days looking for good recipes that have stood the test of time. Some recipes cross timelines well, others do not. These, scooped from early issues of City Palate, are as good today as they were then.
Taking the city folk to meet the farm folk. Karen Anderson
50 n Adventures in Tea Pot Land
Our intrepid explorer – who can barely boil water – learns the finer points of making tortillas in rural Mexico. Holly Quan
52 n Managing Your Mexican Pantry
Private Tasting Parties
Oil & Vinegar
Kevin Brooker
54 n Surviving Service: The Good,
the Bad and the Ugly Karen Ralph
61 n Winners of the City Palate Photo Contest
Cover Design: Carol Slezak, City Palate designer, finally got to use her favourite iStock photo, which she had been saving for a special occasion.
Main Floor - The CORE 154-317 7th Ave SW Calgary, AB 403-699-9672
www.oilandvinegar.ca DISCOVER A WORLD OF TASTE CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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editor Kathy Richardier (kathy@citypalate.ca)
The 13th AnnuAl
Feast of Fields SundAy, SepTeMbeR 15th 1 - 4 pm In The gARden AT Rouge ReSTAuRAnT 1240 - 8th Ave Se, CAlgARy
November 9, 2013
Slow Food CAlgARy pReSenTS
city palate publisher Gail Norton (gail@citypalate.ca) magazine design Carol Slezak, Yellow Brick Studios (carol@citypalate.ca) contributing editor Kate Zimmerman contributing writers Matthew Altizer Karen Anderson Shelley Boettcher Kevin Brooker Richard Harvey Ellen Kelly Geoff Last Holly Quan Karen Ralph Allan Shewchuk Julie Van Rosendaal
Join us
for a delicious afternoon of grazing, sipping and conviviality in the beautiful, historic garden at Rouge restaurant. Come meet the local people who grow your food and the dynamic, creative chefs who prepare delectable delights with our wonderful Alberta harvest. Music with Tim Tamashiro.
contributing photographers Shelley Boettcher Carol Slezak for advertising enquiries, please contact advertising@citypalate.ca
Join us for a spectacular tasting
account executives Liz Tompkins (liz@citypalate.ca)
that features a dazzling array of whiskies
Janet Henderson (janet@citypalate.ca)
from around the world, cognacs,
Ellen Kelly (ellen@citypalate.ca)
and a gourmet dinner.
prepress/printing CentralWeb
For tickets, please call: 403-238-0446 ext. 460 or email: wsevents@calgarycoop.com Slow Food MeMbeR $70 noT-yeT MeMbeR $90 Slow Food FAMIly* $180 noT-yeT A Slow Food FAMIly* $240 *FAMIly IS 2 AdulTS And 2 ChIldRen AgeS 14 & undeR.
Lazy S at Stampede park To avoid disappointment, buy your tickets early. $100 for general admission
TICkeTS AvAIlAble onlIne @ FeASToFFIeldS.evenTbRITe.CA
6-9 pm
general admission
$150 for VIP admission which
includes a guided tasting with experts, exclusive products to sample and early entry.
4 -9 pm
VIP admission
distribution Gallant Distribution Systems Inc. The Globe and Mail website management Jane Pratico (jane@citypalate.ca) City Palate is published 6 times per year: January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August, September-October and November-December by City Palate Inc., 722 - 11 Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2R 0E4 Fax 403-262-3322 Subscriptions are available for $35 per year within Canada and $45 per year outside Canada. Editorial Enquiries: Please email kathy@citypalate.ca For questions or comments please contact us via our website:
citypalate.ca 10
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
contents City Palate September October 2013
departments
13 n word of mouth
Notable culinary happenings around town
Sp ons o
r of
in Amateu r Athletics s
6 00 2 ce
15 n eat this
What to eat in September and October Ellen Kelly
16 n drink this
The new Australian wine Richard Harvey
18 n get this
Must-have kitchen stuff Karen Anderson
20 n one ingredient
Garlic Julie Van Rosendaal
24 n well matched
Made-in-heaven food and wine pairings Matthew Altizer
26 n feeding people
Corn on the cob Matthew Altizer
58 n stockpot
Stirrings around Calgary
62 n 5 quick ways with...
Blueberries
64 n last meal
Keep it simple and seasonal Geoff Last
66 n back burner... shewchuk on simmer
Free wheelin’ Allan Shewchuk
read us online @ citypalate.ca follow us on facebook and win monthly prizes!
Sam Effah
National 100m Champion
diNE iN, tAkE-AwAy & CAtEriNG Breakfast Brunch Lunch Dinner
GourmEt Food to Go Bridgeland 903 General Ave NE 403 - 265 - 3474
Calgary Farmers’ Market 510 77th Ave SE 403 - 265 - 3474
www.tmdish.com CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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word of mouth Notable culinary happenings around town
pig & pinot winners... At City Palate’s third annual Pig and Pinot Festival in June, the creative chefs at Cibo – Glen Manzer, John Kennard and Sheldon Guindon – took the Divine Swine trophy for feeding us a luscious assortment of piggy goodness, including a ham ravioli served with fresh peas and porchetta with a radish salsa verde. Oh my goodness! There was an awful lot of good porky food, as always, and you can’t go wrong pairing it with pinot wines. We have to say that we really liked Top Chef Canada contestant, and last year’s Divine Swine winner, Nicole Gomes’s beaver balls. Such balls that woman has, hah! Last, but far from least, the event raised nearly $30,000 for Meals on Wheels!
here’s a good idea...
pizza at pulcinella?
Two Calgarians, Jeremy Bryant and Andrew Hall, have launched a non-profit organization called Mealshare that partners with local restaurants – Blue Star Diner and Dairy Lane Café, for example – and places their logo beside menu items. When one of the items is ordered, Mealshare provides a complete meal for someone in need. Mealshare is partnered with the Calgary Drop-In Centre to provide meals, and also works with Children’s Hunger Fund that provides meals to needy children in developing countries. It’s good to share a meal... support Mealshare. Visit mealshare.ca for details and to find out how to become a Mealshare restaurant.
We love to eat pizza at Pulcinella, but, lately, dinner has been the crisp and spicy calamari plus the arugula salad brightened with slices of cantaloupe with an abundance of crisp pancetta flung overtop, all drizzled with olive oil. Mmmmmmm, might have to do this way more often. Pizza is good, but sometimes a change is good too.
Monday, September 16, The Really, Really Long Table Dinner on Stephen Avenue Mall, 5 - 9 p.m. (see ad, page 14). Saturday, October 5, Culinary Treasure Hunt, kick-off at Casel Marché, 9:30 a.m. sharp! (see ad, page 64). Friday, October 25, Gasthaus on the Glenmore, Glenmore Sailing Club, 6:30 - 9 p.m. (see ad, page 48). You don’t want to miss any of these! Check the ads to find out how to get tickets. Proceeds from these events support local food charities or flood relief.
a new kind of wedding cake If you want something different for your wedding, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese will create a “wedding cake” made from wheels of cheese! Beaton made one for a recent wedding – you’ll be able to see what’s up in the cheese cakes department when the web site is launched in September.
The wilderness will wow you at remote Island Lake Lodge, located 10 KM from downtown Fernie, B.C. The forest surrounding the lodge is a combination of Douglas fir and old growth cedar. Endless trails begin outside the lodge, and the food is delicious and well prepared. Island Lake Lodge – celebrating its 25th anniversary – offers an incredible bed and breakfast deal until the end of September. For $159 you’ll get a room and a sumptuous breakfast for two. Give yourself a beautiful wilderness break and book a night or a weekend soon. Then... take a hike!
read these san marzano minis at lina’s
upcoming 20 for 20 events
wilderness WOW!
We’ve been finding these luscious San Marzano mini tomatoes at Lina’s Italian Market. They’re grown at Village Farms in Delta, B.C. and aren’t necessarily available 52 weeks of the year, but if ever they aren’t available, we know they’ll be back. Great name too – Heavenly Villagio Marzano Tomatoes. Oh, boy, do they roast nicely in the oven.
gotta hand it to the french They’re pretty good on the food and drink front. And NOW... relatively new to Alberta... G’Vine Gin from France, a glorious treat for gin lovers. G’Vine is the first gin made from grape spirit, crafted with 10 botanicals starring green grape flowers. G’Vine Nouaison captures the essence of the tiny grape berry that forms on the vine after the flower. G’Vine Floraison captures the essence of the flower that precedes the grape. Either way, this is a super-deluxe gin for your martinis... at a rather super-deluxe price. We’re not telling! The distributer, Global Wine Merchant, says get this rare find at Vine Arts and Willow Park Wines and Spirits.
An abundance of epic eats, Rebecca Klemke’s new coffee table cookbook, Decades of Decadence (RK Kitchen, $44.95, hard cover) offers more than 300 recipes that allow readers to choose their own food adventure, from cocktail parties to romantic dates, summer cooking, holiday spirits, extravagant feasts or just dinner with friends. For those without kitchen prowess, Klemke walks you through every chop, broil or whisk, garnishing the cookbook with simple cooking tips and tricks. Visit rkkitchen.com/buy-decades-of-decadence/ to find it in Calgary. Find good food in John Gilchrist’s 8th edition of My Favourite Restaurants: Calgary, Canmore and Beyond available mid-September in bookstores and specialty food shops for $19.95. From September 26 to 29, a Launch-a-Thon will introduce the book at the Calgary Farmers’ Market with food samples from some of our finest chefs plus a book signing. The book covers restaurants, bakeries, bistros, food markets, noodle shops, espresso bars, meals-to-go kitchens, wine bars, and more. You need one.
We deliver to your restaurant door...
NOW OPEN Exclusive distributor of MAPLE 3 Pure Organic Maple Water and FARCHIONI Olive Oils Follow us on twitter for exciting new product updates @foodstopyyc pre-orders encouraged! 403.690.5775 finefoodstop.com
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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city palate 1993 – 2013
CELEBRATING 20 DELICIOUS YEARS wITh 20 DELICIOUS EvENTS
Join us for the longest long table dinner Calgary has ever seen!
Date: Monday, September 16th, 5-9 pm
The Really, Really Long Table Dinner 7 restaurants... 5 courses... 240 people... 1 really, really long table. Blink, Catch & The Oyster Bar, Charcut, Divino, Teatro, The Belvedere, The Cellar and Trib Steakhouse will each prepare a course for this remarkable dinner that takes place on a long, tented stretch of Stephen Avenue. Gather your friends, and make some new ones at this unique event that celebrates the culinary side of Calgary. Location: Stephen Avenue Mall, downtown Calgary Tickets: $150 + $25 for wine pairings = $175pp, at reallylongtabledinner.eventbrite.ca pROCEEDS fROm ThIS EvENT wILL GO TO RED CROSS fLOOD RELIEf
Las V Viva 20TH e gas CHARITY WINE AUCTION SATU R
NOV DAY 7:0 . 9 0 PM
WIN
Thank you to our Vintage Donors
$10,000 Best dressed in‘Viva Las Vegas’ for charity of choice
• fresh pasta & meals to go • quebec cheese • daily lunches • 55 olive oils & balsamic vinegars to sample • Fresh Southern Hemisphere Oil Now in!
in support of
ALBERTA FLOOD RELIEF
Calgary’s First Olive Oil & Balsamic Tasting Bar
10801 Bonaventure Dr SE Calgary, AB
|
For info & tickets call 403.296.1640 or events@willowpark.net
www.willowparkwines.com
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
2116, 380 canyon meadows dr. sw. 403-278-2728 check out our new website, soffritto.ca
eat this
Ellen Kelly
What to eat in September and October
A summer fraught with storms and flooding has made the promise of a dry, golden autumn more anticipated than ever. Even though the days are shorter and winter is destined to follow, we can’t help celebrate the harvest. Crisp apples and luscious pears are the order of the day. The considerable brassica family presents us with kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips and rutabagas (to name just a few) and the culinary world’s new darling, kale. It’s time to cook up a little familiar comfort after an all-too-“busy” summer.
Illustrations by Pierre Lamielle
We’re never without the ubiquitous apple. It’s sent to us from across the globe. It’s stored and doled out to us throughout the year. In recent years we’ve been graced with a slightly better selection, but when you consider that there are thousands of varieties of apples, it’s a little disappointing that, year after year, we see the same few varieties in most markets and grocery stores. Jazz and Pink Lady are two relative newcomers lately piquing our taste buds. A resurgence in diversity is slowly bringing us a wider selection. Apples have tons of pectin, making them wonderfully easy to make into jelly. Simply cut up the whole fruit, cover with water and cook to a mush. Dump the lot into a cloth bag (an old cotton pillow case turned inside out will do), cheesecloth or a jelly bag and suspend over a bowl to drip overnight. Boil the juice with the same volume of sugar until the setting point is reached. To test for a set, put a spoonful of the hot jelly onto a saucer that’s been in the freezer. Run your finger through it and if it wrinkles and doesn’t run together, it’s set. For herb jellies, use a very tart variety, like Granny Smith or crabapples, and stir in lots of chopped mint, tarragon or thyme before filling and sealing the jars.
Kale is the peacock of the brassica family, flaunting a remarkable array of colours and shapes – blue-green, white, purple, dark green and yellow adorning leaves that are dimpled, ruffled, crinkled and feathered. Although kale has emerged as an interesting salad green, I love it best in soups. This hearty kale and potato soup likely originated in Portugal. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, sauté 1 large onion and 1-2 minced garlic cloves in olive oil until lightly caramelized. Peel 2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, coarsely grate and add to the onions. Pour 2 litres of hot chicken stock into the potato mixture and bring to a boil. Cut 1 lb. of mature washed kale into a chiffonade (remove stems, roll leaves into a large cigar shape and cut into fine ribbons), add to the pot and cook, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes more. At this point, crumble 1 lb. of cooked and drained pork sausage into the soup. Lower the heat and cook the soup for another 5 minutes or so until the potato is fully cooked; taste and season with salt and pepper.
BUY: Although we can have an apple any time we want one, the first fruit of the season is always a special treat. Choose fruit with pleasing aromas that’s heavy in the hand, indicating juiciness. TIPS: Never discard an apple left too long in the fruit bowl; wizened apples add interest to chicken stock and soup. They add moisture and flavour grated into pancake or muffin batter. DID YOU KNOW? Apple cider, once more common than beer, is a refreshing tipple (especially the dry French and English ciders). Try using cider instead of wine when making sauces for pork and duck.
BUY: Look for crisp leaves with brilliant colour and no bruising or decay. Store kale in a plastic bag in the fridge for no more than 3 to 4 days. TIPS: Kale has better flavour after a period of cold weather. New young leaves are best quickly sautéed in butter and olive oil with a bit of minced garlic while the larger, thicker, mature leaves need long cooking with onions, garlic, apples, cream and lemon or balsamic vinegar. DID YOU KNOW? Kale is a beautiful and easily grown plant and can be used in landscaping as readily as in the edible garden. While good eating varieties are equally at home in a showy border as in the kitchen, not all ornamental varieties are good to eat.
Pears are pommes, closely related to apples. And like
apples, we see only a small number of the many varieties developed over the centuries. Jane Grigson, a favourite author, lauds a dish called Locket’s Savoury, which I have fiddled with somewhat. The recipe’s charm is belied by its simplicity; however, beginning with the perfectly ripe pear is paramount. Toast thin-ish slices of good sourdough bread and spread with unsalted butter. Top with very crisp baby arugula, slices of ripe Comice or Bartlett pear, and crumbled Stilton cheese. Bake the crostini on a sheet at 375°F for 5 minutes, or until the cheese begins to melt. Serve as an appetizer with a generous grinding of black pepper.
BUY: Ending up with the perfectly ripe pear can be a bit of a challenge. Purchase pears that are almost, but not quite, ripe and allow them to ripen at home. Vigilance is necessary to ascertain the exact moment each pear is ready to eat. TIPS: Pears will ripen slowly if kept cool, faster if at room temp. The difference between a perfectly ripe and an even slightly overripe pear is striking. DID YOU KNOW? Most of the fine quality dessert pears we enjoy today are the result of the work done by diligent French and Belgian fruit breeders of the late 18th century. However, in 1990, a schoolmaster named John Stairs grew one of the pre-eminent pears of any century in Berkshire, England – the Bartlett. Mr. Bartlett, though to be commended, was merely responsible for distributing the pear in the U.S.
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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congrats
CityonPalate ROCKIN 20 years for
the Foodie Scene
sharp knives rock
knifewear.com
drink this
Richard Harvey
The new Australian wine
A discussion about Australian wine might start in the timehonoured joke-telling tradition – “A French wine, an Italian wine and an Australian wine walk into a bar...” With the familiar clichés in place – the subtle French, the charming Italian and the boisterous, in-your-face Australian – the joke could move forward, one hopes, to a humorous, rather than insulting, punchline. We think we’ve got the gist of these wines. For many of us, the wine of Australia is bold, friendly, consistent in quality and more than a bit fun and creative. Ironically, the characteristics that strike some of us as positive can also be seen as negative: wines that are (too) bold in flavour and alcohol, or (too) friendly and consistent (indistinguishable from one another). We’re not all on board with silly marketing gimmickry focused on “critter” labels – has anyone seen a “Dipsomanic Platypus” or “Stumbling Wallaby” label yet? – and the other marketing ploys that aim to charm us, like camera-obsessed crocodile wrestlers. Luckily, much of the Aussie wine-producing community has dispensed with “Brand Australia’s” strategy of the 1990s – a somewhat simplistic “Buy Australian wine – it’s ALL GOOD!” The change is inspiring a fresh new look. A short list of the changes starts with the concept of regionality. In the “B.A.” (Brand Australia) days, it was simply “drink Aussie shiraz,” or riesling, or chardonnay. The implication was that no matter where in the country the wine was made, it would all taste much the same – good, but not regionally distinctive. Just suggest to a Tuscan or a Burgundian that the same grape grown in completely different locations can make wines that taste the same and witness their shocked disbelief. Such a reaction wouldn’t be confined to Europeans; ask a wine maker from the Napa Valley if his or her cabernet tastes different from cabernets produced elsewhere in California. Aussies are singing a new tune: regionality. A riesling from the Adelaide Hills will show distinct differences from the same grape cultivated in the Great Western district, or the Eden Valley. Barossa shiraz is not the same as that made in the Hunter Valley. As is the case in Europe, a discussion about wines produced in Australia is going to include a lot of talk about geography. Different regions, different wines? All in the same country? Damnbetcha! Change Number Two takes a giant step away from the “monster” Australian wines of the 1990s and early 21st century. Though climate change around the world played a hand here, Australian grape growers and especially wine makers kicked excess up a few notches. More oak, more fruit flavour, more intensity and much more alcohol became hallmarks of Aussie red and white wines alike. The “more is better” mantra ruled. Now, the 2011 vintage may prove to be a watershed vintage in marking this change in style. The difficult, cool weather conditions of that year in many Australian regions made for less punchy, more “digestible” wines than usual. While many wine makers are apologetic for the lack of “concentration” in their 2011 vintage, wine consumers in Australia and abroad are, literally, gobbling these wines up. They are deliciously drinkable, as opposed to the former slug-fest of hyper-concentrated wines, which were unfriendly to food. I believe the great wine writer, Hugh Johnson, once defined “elegance” in a wine as something that “makes you want another glass.” I’ll happily raise another glass to Hugh and the Aussies who make wines that don’t double as sleeping pills. A third development is the increased interest in heirloom grape varieties and a celebration of the rich legacy of varieties found there. All of Australia’s grapes are imports, but many were planted in the 19th century, and some are no longer found even in their European countries of origin.
bigrockbeer.com #bigrockbeer 16
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
To Australia’s famous shiraz, add grenache, mourvèdre, tempranillo, touriga, muscat and more. Look for intriguing examples of this multitude of new flavours and wine experiences. These old vine legacies complement an open-minded attitude of experimentation with hitherto unexplored grape varieties. Australians enthusiastically embrace the planting of new grape varieties. Whether or not it’s smart marketing, Aussie wine makers are finally playing the powerful card of diversity to dispel the impression of their country as a one-trick pony. And blends! Is there no end to the creativity of the Aussie wine makers? Sure, they may occasionally pull a page from a European playbook – like shiraz plus viognier à la Côte-Rôtie – but they show no resistance to the idea of blending varieties even if no
Liquor Depot presents
historical European predecessor exists. The Kangarilla Road “Terzetto,” for example, is a blend of nebbiolo, primitivo and sangiovese that would never occur in Italy, the original home of these grape varieties. Mistakes are sometimes made. Australian wine makers who enthusiastically planted what they believed to be the Spanish albariño variety woke up one day to discover that they had actually planted an obscure French variety known as savagnin. When life deals you lemons.... Now, interesting wines of the savagnin grape are coming out of Australia, proof of this country’s boundless, resilient imagination. What else is going on? Interest in organic and bio-dynamic grape growing, ongoing pioneering of new regions, a move to less technical wine making that enhances the diversity of regional expression, and many more creative currents. All this bodes well for creating a new image of Australia as a fascinating and complex wine-producing nation, no longer making a river of the same-old been there, done that.
Celebrate Alberta’s largest selection of fine wine, premium spirits, quality beer & gourmet food
2013 GRAND TASTING HALL
CALGARY October 18 - 19 Stampede Park BMO Centre
Check out the new Festival features this year including different session times, a brand new Saturday Afternoon Tasting Session, and a downloadable Mobile App! Please drink responsibly.
For tickets & festival details visit rockymountainwine.com
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Taste the new Australia in these wines... (L to R) Prices are approximate:
Ochota Barrels “Fugazi Vineyard” Grenache 2012 $55 The charming madman, Tara Ochota, retains a fondness for the Calgary Flames, due to a stay here in his youth. He also makes a most savoury and suave grenache that would charm the pants off even the most stalwart fan of French Rhône wine. Kooyong Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2008 $40 Here’s an example of both regionality and a restrained style of white wine. The cool and windy climate of the Mornington Peninsula is one of the best spots to grow chardonnay on this hot continent. The style is focused on clean, flavourful and fresh rather than the dreaded oak monster that scares people away from Aussie chardonnay. Kangarilla Road “Terzetto” 2010 $36 The alliance of sangiovese, primitivo and nebbiolo grapes is a virtual alliance of the farthest flung regions of Italy and an Aussie original. A lovely example of a “no blends barred” approach to wine making. Zonte’s Footstep Langhorne Creek “The Love Symbol” Savagnin 2011 $20 Creative wine maven Zar Brooks and Canadian ex-pat Brad Rey offer us a fresh little example of the albariño (oops...savagnin) grape. Pure refreshment with a little bit of tropical fruit flavour, this dry wine is delightfully un-influenced by oak. Paxton “AAA” Shiraz Grenache 2010 $22 Certified bio-dynamic, these ripe wines offer a less intense booze factor. Wine drinking is, after all, primarily a taste experience. (Shots of vodka are a much quicker and more efficient route to inebriation!)
the cookbook co. cooks and Whitecap books invite you to
A MAD HATTER’S TEA PARTY BRUNCH to celebrate a creative collaboration by pierre A. lamielle and Julie Van Rosendaal.
ALICE EATS
A WondeRlAnd cookbook A Very Special book launch party SundAy, octobeR 27th, 2-4:30
THE CookBook Co. CookS 722-11th Ave SW, 403-265-6066, ext 1 $45, includeS A copy of the book plus – a commemorative tea towel and of course - food, wine and fun! call now to reserve your seat at the table!
Richard Harvey is the owner of Metrovino.
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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Your new secret ingredient.
get this choc-full o’ coconut We think chocolate and coconut were made for each other. Calgary authors Erin Paulson and Dana Meroniuk must think so too because they cooked up this fantastically easy treat for their popular 2009 cookbook, 2 Clever Cooks – People Friendly Food. Melt 1-1/2 c. chocolate chips and 1 T. coconut oil in a double boiler, pour 1/4 of each into 2 wax paper lined loaf tins and refrigerate until set. Heat 1/2 c. brown rice syrup and mix in 2 c. Organic Traditions shredded coconut from Blush Lane Organic Market. Stir, divide in half and press to cover the chocolate in the loaf tins, then evenly spread the remaining chocolate over top. Chill until firm. Remove from the fridge about 15 minutes before cutting and serving. Use this bit of bliss as dessert to end a tropically themed meal or as fuel to begin a long fall hike.
(Look for Paulson and Meroniuk’s new cookbook, 2 Clever Cooks, More People Friendly Food, available now.) Organic Traditions shredded coconut, 6.29/8 oz, Blush Lane Organic Market
reduce your carbon fork print
Calgary’s freshest olive oil and premium balsamic vinegars.
The To-Go Ware’s eco-friendly reusable bamboo utensil set is a love at first bite product. The slender carrying case is made from recycled water bottles and the knife, fork, spoon and chopsticks (yes, chopsticks are included!) within are made from lightweight sustainable bamboo. You may have a portable coffee mug and lunch bag, so add these beautiful utensils to the tool kit that gets you through your day. You can “choose to re-use” and toss out your plastic habit. A handy built-in carabiner allows you to attach the unit to your children’s back–to-school pack, your own lunch bag or to just keep them in your hand bag for your next bit of food on the go. To-Go Ware Reusable Bamboo Utensil Set, $14.99, Community Natural Foods
dried and true
587-353-6888 bruce@bluedoorcalgary.com
8561 8a Avenue SW
bluedoorcalgary.com
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
Whether you’re a backpacker, a locavore or backpacking locavore, you can add to your repertoire of seasonal delicacies enjoyed year-round by preserving them with Lee Valley’s food dehydrator by Nesco. Many fruits, vegetables and meats dehydrate well, with raspberries, sliced strawberries, tomatoes and ground beef being favourites. Dry your own herbs at a low temperature or use the high temperature to make your own jerky. The machine comes with a recipe booklet and great ideas to give you dried and true yearlong enjoyment of Alberta’s bountiful harvest. Lee Valley’s food dehydrator by Nesco, $69, Lee ValleyTools
Karen Anderson
Must-have kitchen stuff
sift into gear Still using grandma’s old hand-me-down sifter? Shift to this sifter with its helpful one-handed operation and get your Christmas baking into high gear. Start with this five-ingredient Mexican Matrimony Cookie: beat 1 c. soft butter and 1 t. vanilla with 1/2 c. icing sugar ‘til fluffy. Add 2 c. flour and 1 c. finely chopped pecans ‘til well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets and use your new sifter to sift 1/2 c. icing sugar over them before placing them in pretty containers to give as gifts or to pop onto treat-filled platters. Sifter, $12, Crave Cookies and Cupcakes
Superfoods Superherbs Classes Events Chocolate Ferments Elixir Bar
beaker beauty kensingtonriversideinn.com 403.228.4442
The design of the Chemex coffee maker is chemistry lab beaker turned into a Bond beauty. Yes, it’s time to move over martini – even Bond, James Bond, occasionally needs a shot of caffeine and he uses a Chemex because, in his usual chic and precise fashion, he wants that coffee hand poured – not shaken or stirred. Pre-dating any Bond notoriety, the Chemex, invented in 1941 by chemist and coffee lover Dr. Peter Schlumbohm, has long been installed in the permanent collection of The Smithsonian. Schlumbohm thought that the best extraction of coffee came from a direct pour-over method and ultra filtration, yielding pure coffee with no sediment. The units are made of lab-grade heat-resistant glass and use filters that are 30% thicker than regular coffee filters. They need a pre-saturation of boiling water to facilitate absorption, but once that coffee saturates and hits the embrace of the waiting glass below, the result is an untainted beverage in a beaker of beauty. Chemex 6-cup Coffee Maker, $40, Fratello Analog Chemex filter papers, oxygen cleansed, prefolded, $13/100, Fratello Analog
yellowdoorbistro.ca 403.206.9585
the whole kettle and caboodle The Bonavita Gooseneck Variable Temperature Kettle makes the perfect companion to the Chemex pour-over method of brewing coffee. Chemex brewing is popular in the best third-wave coffee houses. Tim Hortons drip coffee brewing is a first wave example. Starbucks and espresso machine-driven coffee are second wave, and shops like Phil and Sebastian, Ladybug, Kawa, Caffe Rosso and Fratello Analog, and their barista hand-fashioned cups of coffee, are the third wave. You can brew those delicious third-wave results at home with this Bonavita kettle because the long spout allows for the slow and deliberate pour-over technique the Chemex method requires. The unique base of the kettle allows you to set one of six different temperatures which it will hold at that setting for up to an hour. If you are going to switch to Chemex coffee brewing you might as well go pro and get the whole kettle and caboodle. Bonavita Gooseneck Variable Temperature Kettle, $99, Phil and Sebastian
the Light Cellar 403 453 1343 thelightcellar.ca 6326 Bowness Rd NW Calgary
hotelarts.ca 403.206.9565
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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one ingredient
Julie Van Rosendaal
photos by Julie Van Rosendaal
Garlic
It’s not unusual for me to stop cooking before I even start if I realize I’m out of garlic. Like onions, garlic is a starting point – or driving force of flavour – in so many dishes in cuisines around the world. A few cloves of odiferous garlic have transformative powers – they’re all you need to turn a handful of dry pasta and a glug of good olive oil into a proper meal. In Alberta, most of the garlic you’ll find on grocery store shelves comes from China. Dry and mild, with stiff, husk-like skins, imported garlic pales in comparison to home grown, which is plump, sticky and intense. Like apples and pears, garlic comes in many varieties – heads can be long and tapered or broad and squat in shades of white and purple and varying levels of intensity. The most visibly different, palmsized elephant garlic is related to leeks, though it resembles an enormous head of common garlic and can be used in the same way.
More great lunches are just around the corner...
If you want to grow your own, hardy garlic fares well in our cold climate, and the timing is right – unlike other produce, it’s best planted in the fall. (Some say this should only be done under the first new moon in October.) Pick a few choice cloves and poke each an inch or two into the ground with the tip pointing up; cover them with mulch and leave them for the winter. In the spring, a little green shoot will sprout – much like a garlic clove does if it’s left too long in the pantry – and unfurl into a smooth, snakey garlic scape. This chive-like bonus tastes strongly of onions and garlic, and can be used accordingly in anything from soup to stir-fries to pesto. It will also lead the way to your plump underground head of garlic. All but one of these recipes are predicated on roasted garlic. Roasting it is so easy – simply slice 1/4 to 1/2 inch off the top of a whole head, place it on a square of foil and drizzle the cut side with oil. Wrap the garlic with the foil and place it on the oven rack at 350°F - 400°F for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool, then squeeze each soft, golden clove out of its skin onto fresh bread or into a recipe. If you don’t need it quite yet, it can be tossed in its foil package into the fridge for up to five days. It can be made ahead at your convenience while there’s something else cooking in the oven. Tuck a head or two in as dinner roasts.
Join new owners Markus & Harry as they unveil the newly renovated Big Rock gRill, reopening on September 16th! open for lunch Monday to Friday, 11am to 2:30pm closed weekends & holidays call to book your private function: Luncheons • evening or Weekend parties • Weddings • christMas parties • corporate events • Fundraisers dinner/appetizer Buffet or table service available for groups of 30 to 250 5555 76 ave se i bigrockgrill.com i 403-236-1606 info@bigrockgrill.com i facebook:bigrockgrill i twitter:@bigrockgrill
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
Garlic mellows and sweetens as it roasts, making it creamy and easy to add to pastas, vinaigrettes, grilled cheese sandwiches and mashed potatoes. Rub it onto a beef roast or under the skin of a chicken before roasting it, or stir it into mayo for garlicky aioli. Or eat it straight-up – set a roasted head or two of garlic on a cheese or charcuterie board for guests to serve themselves.
Balsamic Onion & Roasted Garlic Jam Dark, tangy and sticky-sweet, this jam is simple to make, and there’s no need to worry about whether it sets or not, as you must with fruit-based jam. Slather it inside panini or grilled cheese sandwiches, or serve with cheese and crackers. 2 large sweet onions 2 T. olive oil 2 T. butter 2-3 heads of garlic, roasted 1/4 c. packed brown sugar or honey 3 T. balsamic vinegar pinch freshly ground black pepper
Peel the onions, cut them into quarters or sixths, place them in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they’re roughly chopped. This gives you pieces of onion in a variety of sizes; alternatively, you can roughly chop them by hand. Place the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat; add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, until soft. Squeeze the garlic out of its casing into the onions and continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the excess moisture starts to cook off. Add the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and pepper and cook, stirring often, for another 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and deep golden. Cool and refrigerate until needed. Freeze any you’ll be storing for more than a week. Makes about 2 cups.
Roasted Garlic Biscuits If you’re a fan of garlic bread, this is a rich, crunchy, far less greasy version of it. The baking biscuits make the house smell divine. 1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
Bringing Wine to Life
2 t. baking powder 1/4 t. salt 1 c. whipping cream 1 head roasted garlic 1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese extra cream or milk, for brushing (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the cream, squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the mixture, and add the parmesan cheese, stirring just until the dough comes together. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough once or twice, then pat it into a circle about an inch thick. Cut the dough into six wedges with a sharp knife, and transfer them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you like, brush the tops with milk or cream. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm. Makes 6 biscuits.
722 -11th Avenue SW 403-205-3356 metrovino.com
continued on page 22 CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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California Dreamin’
one ingredient Garlic continued from page 21
Join us in Napa Valley for some exclusive wining and exceptional dining! October 27th to November 1st, 2013 Hosted by Geoff Last (Bin 905) and Gail Norton (The Cookbook Co. Cooks) You’ll get the chance to visit wineries that never open their doors to the public, enjoy winery tours and tastings, dine in the area’s best restaurants, and learn enough at Gail and Geoff’s cooking classes to wow your friends when you get home. Next time you visit Napa, you’ll be the insider. Until October, though, you’ll be California dreamin’. $2800 includes accommodation: a spectacular private guesthouse overlooking a vineyard complete with swimming pool, hot tub and other enticing amenities, all food and wine and transportation within the week. For more details on our newest Culinary Escape, please visit our website.
THE COOKBOOK CO. COOKS
722-11th Avenue SW PH 403-265-6066, ext. 1 cookbookcooks.com
Roasted Garlic Bisque with Parmesan Cheese This is garlic made sip-able, a delicious alternative to chicken soup for anyone with the sniffles. If you’re not a fan of peeling garlic cloves, you could roast them in their skins, then squeeze them out afterward. Adapted from Bon Appétit, February 1999. 3 heads of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
Avec Bistro @AvecBistro
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1-2 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 large sweet onions, chopped
Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with half the oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a heavy, rimmed baking sheet.
4 c. (1 L) low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
PH 587.352.0964 AvecBistro.com
1/4 c. canola or olive oil (not extra-virgin)
2 T. butter
2 thin-skinned potatoes, diced
105, 550-11th Ave. sW
2 lb. russet potatoes, cut lengthwise into even sticks
1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
15-20 garlic cloves, peeled (another 2 heads)
contemPorAry FrencH Bistro
How to improve on crisp oven-roasted fries? Add plenty of garlic and let it mellow during the final minutes of cooking.
canola or olive oil
1 t. chopped fresh thyme
! n e i b s è tr
Garlicky Parmesan Fries
1/2 c. heavy (whipping) cream salt and pepper to taste finely grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the garlic cloves in a small baking dish, drizzle them with oil and toss to coat. Cover tightly with foil and bake until the garlic is golden and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat; sauté the onions and thyme for about 5 minutes, until onions are soft. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out into the pot, and add the raw garlic cloves. Cook for a few more minutes. Add the potatoes and stock; cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the garlic is very tender. Remove the soup from the heat, add the cream, season with salt and pepper and purée the soup in the pot with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. Serve hot, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serves 4 to 6.
Roast the potatoes, turning occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until they’re pale golden and soft. Whisk the garlic into the remaining oil. Remove the fries from the oven, drizzle with the garlicky oil, sprinkle with parmesan and parsley and gently toss to coat. Turn the heat up to 450°F and bake for another 10 minutes, until golden and crisp. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.
ROLL WITH US
BEER, MUSIC & BOWLING. EIGHT LANES, INDEPENDENTLY BREWED, GREAT FOOD. FOR CORPORATE HOLIDAY PARTY BOOKINGS EMAIL BOWLING@NTNL.CA.
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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well matched
freekeh
coriander
carrots fennel kalegarlic onion cinnamon
lamb
Freekeh Soup with Tiny Meatballs and Braised Greens Freekeh is a type of wheat that is picked when it’s still young and green, then it’s cracked and lightly smoked. The chewy texture and subtle smokey flavour are completely addictive and worth seeking out. Freekeh is available at most Middle Eastern grocers like Basha International Foods. 3/4 lb. ground lamb or beef 2 small shallots, finely grated 2 T. chopped Italian parsley 1 t. allspice kosher salt and chile flakes to taste flour for dusting the meatballs 6 T. olive oil 1 large onion, finely diced 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely diced 1 small tin whole tomatoes 1 T. ras el hanout (optional), a Moroccan spice blend 1 T. ground coriander seeds 1 cinnamon stick 1 T. honey 3/4 c. cracked freekeh, or medium bulgur kosher salt and chile flakes to taste 1 L. chicken stock 1 large bunch kale, or any leafy green, roughly chopped
In a medium sized bowl, combine the lamb, shallot, parsley, allspice and a hearty pinch each of salt and chile flakes. Mix well and form the mixture into meatballs that can be as small as you like but shouldn’t be any bigger than a pingpong ball. Put the meatballs on a baking sheet and sprinkle them lightly with flour, shaking the pan to coat them. Preheat a soup pot over medium-high and cook the meatballs in 3 T. of the olive oil. You may need to cook them in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. When the meatballs are evenly browned, tip them out onto a plate and set aside. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and sauté the onion, garlic, carrot and fennel for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, crushing them into the pot with your hands, followed by the ras el hanout, coriander, cinnamon stick and honey. Add the freekeh and season well with salt and chile flakes, cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken stock, 3 cups of water and the meatballs. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, add the chopped kale and cook for 30-45 minutes. The freekeh should be tender but still slightly chewy, and the soup should be fairly thick, so reduce it down or add more stock as necessary. Serves 4 to 6.
Pair this dish with: Tantalus Rosé (Kelowna, BC) $31 This rosé is a beautiful blend of pinot noir and pinot meunier. The aromas offer fresh strawberry and cranberry notes while the palate is filled with raspberries and cherries. The finish is fruit driven and delicately crisp. Haywire Pinot Gris (Summerland, BC) $29 This wine offers pleasant stone fruit aromas with delicate hints of apples and pears. It is medium bodied with crisp mineral tones and the finish is fruit driven and pleasantly dry.
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
Matthew Altizer
Made-in-heaven food and wine pairings
lamb tomatoes olives
beer and soda
BREWED FRESH IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES parsley coriander
garlic mint cumin potatoes cilantro
paprika
ginger
smen
Mechoui Lamb with Crushed Potatoes and Tomatoes Smen is a type of butter used in North African countries. It’s cooked, generously seasoned and then fermented. This version is much less elaborate than traditional Moroccan recipes, but the flavour is delicious. Use the leftover smen as a rub for roast chicken. For the smen: 6 garlic cloves, peeled 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped 1 T. each ground ginger, cumin and coriander 2 t. chile flakes 2 t. smoked sweet paprika 1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, roughly chopped 1/2 c. butter, softened salt and pepper to taste
For the lamb: 1 bone-in leg of lamb 1 lb. baby potatoes 1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 c. black olives, pitted olive oil for drizzling 1 small bunch fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
To make the smen, place all of the ingredients in a food processor. Season generously with salt and pepper and blend to a fine paste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Preheat oven to 450°F. Score the lamb leg in a crisscross pattern, then rub the leg all over with the prepared smen. You may not need to use all of it. Place the lamb in a dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, then bring the lamb up to room temperature for 1 hour before you plan on cooking it. Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a saucepan filled with cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Parboil for 10 minutes, then drain and crush them roughly with a fork. Combine the potatoes with the tomatoes and olives, season to taste and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside.
BOOK A BREWERY TOUR TODAY!
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FRESH CRACKED BREAKFAST MENU
Place the lamb in a roasting dish and add about 1/4 c. water to the pan. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350°F. and roast for 3 hours, basting occasionally. The meat should be tender with a crispy layer of skin. Scatter the potatoes, tomatoes and olives around the lamb and roast for another 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest, covered, for 15 minutes before serving, sprinkled with chopped mint. Serves 4.
Pair this dish with: Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Spätlese (Germany) $35 This wine offers an abundance of white peach and nectar aromas. The body is slightly oily with a rich texture, the fruit is long lived with hints of mineral tones on the finish. Alvaro Palacios La Montesa Rioja (Spain) $30 This rioja offers wild and earthy red berry aromas. The fruits on the palate denote the astringency of cranberries and the lushness of plums. It is well balanced and quite fruit forward.
BREAKFAST | LUNCH | DINNER 7207 Fairmount Drive SE Calgary Ph: 403-252-2083 | www.cravingsmarketrestaurant.com Mon-Thu: 7am-9pm | Fri 7am-10pm | Sat: 8am-10pm /cravingsmarketrestaurant |
cravingsyyc
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
25
feeding people
Matthew Altizer
Corn on the cob
When I was a child, the waning summer was heralded with the arrival of sweet buttery cobs of corn that appeared on the dinner table in mid-August. I still have vivid memories of my family feverishly gobbling corn straight off the cob, bits of debris flying across the table – it was like a contest to see who could eat the most the fastest. We only ever ate corn on the cob when it was at its peak. As corn ages, the sugars turn to starch, so it’s important to make sure it’s as fresh as possible. When buying corn, look for husks that are bright green and fit snugly around the ear of corn. Pull back the outer husk and look at the corn, it should be plump and milky and in tight rows all the way to the tip of the cob. I like to barbecue cobs of corn because it keeps all of its sweetness and the grill gives it a delicious charred flavour. For perfect grilled corn, open the husks a bit to remove the silk, then fold back the husks to envelop the corn. Soak the corn in cold salted water for 10 minutes before you cook it. The extra moisture allows the corn to steam in its own husk before it starts to char on the outside. If you boil your corn, you don’t want to boil it too rapidly. I prefer to bring the corn to a gentle simmer, turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes to gently cook while retaining its sweetness.
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ROTATING TAPS OF NORTH AMERICAN CRAFT BEER.
Although there’s nothing wrong with straight-up butter and salt on your corn, softened butter is a perfect vehicle for any number of flavours. Try mixing a combination of fresh herbs, garlic, citrus or chiles with the butter before slathering it on. Here are a few recipes for compound butters as well as a few more-elaborate grilled corn-on-cob recipes to elevate your next backyard barbecue to the next level.
Smoky Vanilla Butter
Barbecue Butter
Smoked salt is wonderful to use. It has an intense smoky flavour that goes really well with vanilla. This butter is also perfect for sautéing prawns, or you can omit the smoked salt and use it on pastries or in baking instead of regular butter.
This butter has all the flavour of a classic barbecue sauce and is perfect on grilled corn.
1 vanilla bean
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 T. ancho chile powder
1/2 t. smoked salt
2 t. smoked sweet paprika
Slice the vanilla bean open and use a paring knife to scrape out all of the seeds into a small bowl. Add the butter and salt and mix well with a spatula. Transfer to a ramekin and refrigerate. To serve, allow the butter to come to room temperature. Makes 1/2 cup.
1/2 t. cayenne
Miso Butter White miso is the mildest miso available, it has a short fermentation time and is sweet, with a subtle savoury flavour. 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened 1/2 c. white miso
#223 - 8th Avenue SW • 403-265-3665 thelibertine.ca 26
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
Combine the butter and miso in a small bowl and mix with a spatula until completely combined. Transfer to a ramekin and refrigerate. To serve, allow the butter to come to room temperature. Makes 1 cup.
1 t. cumin seeds 2 T. olive oil 2 shallots, minced
2 t. molasses 3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 1 t. Worcestershire sauce kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Toast the cumin seeds in a medium sauté pan until fragrant, 3-5 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a small bowl. Add the oil to the sauté pan and cook the shallots over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ancho, paprika, cayenne and toasted cumin seeds. Add the molasses to the pan and remove the pan from the heat to cool. In a food processor, blend the butter with the Worcestershire sauce and spice mixture; season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the butter to a ramekin and refrigerate for at least half an hour. To serve, allow the butter to come to room temperature. Makes 1 cup.
Okonomiyaki Style Corn on the Cob
Bacon Wrapped Corn on the Cob with Maple Chipotle Glaze
Japanese mayonnaise is more flavourful than regular mayonnaise and is well worth looking for. The Kewpie brand is my favourite – it’s the one with a baby doll on the bottle. Yakisoba sauce is the Japanese equivalent of Worcestershire sauce and bonito flakes are made of smoked tuna that has been dried and grated into large flakes. All of these ingredients can be found in Asian markets and specialty stores.
Canned chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeños in a spicy adobo sauce; they can be found at Mexican grocery stores. The glaze can also be used on grilled chicken or fish.
4 ears of corn
4 t. finely chopped canned chipotle chiles
1/4 c. Japanese mayonnaise
1/4 t. salt
3 T. yakisoba sauce
4 ears of corn
1/4 c. bonito flakes
Preheat a grill over medium. Combine the first six ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down and simmer the glaze until it has reduced to 3/4 cup. Transfer the glaze to a small bowl and set aside.
2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 t. black sesame seeds
Shuck the corn and put it in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the corn and bring it to a boil over high heat. When the water comes to a boil, cover the pot with a lid and pull it off the heat. Let the corn sit for 10 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and shake each ear to remove extra water. Spread the mayonnaise evenly over each ear of corn. Drizzle the yakisoba sauce over the corn and sprinkle with the bonito flakes, green onions and sesame seeds. Serves 4.
Grilled Corn with Lime, Black Pepper and Pecorino
1/2 c. maple syrup 1/4 c. butter 1/2 c. whisky or bourbon 2 garlic cloves, minced
Simple Crab Boil
kosher salt to taste 4 T. mayonnaise
8 new potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 lime, zested and juiced
kosher salt to taste
1/2 c. grated pecorino cheese
3 T. Old Bay seasoning
2 T. finely chopped chives
4 large or 8 small live crabs
black pepper to taste
4 ears of corn, shucked and broken in half
4 lime wedges for serving
1 lb. andouille sausage
Preheat a grill over medium heat. Pull the outer husks away from each ear of corn and remove the silky threads inside. Fold the husks back into place and soak the corn in a large bowl of cold water, seasoned with a generous pinch of salt, for 10 minutes. Drain the corn and shake off any extra water.
1 c. butter
4 ears of corn
Place the corn on the grill and cook for 15-20 minutes, turning each ear every 5 minutes. The corn is cooked when the kernels can be easily pierced with a knife. While the corn is cooking, mix the mayonnaise with the lime zest and juice in a small bowl and set aside. When the corn is cooked, remove the husks. Slather each cob with the prepared mayonnaise and sprinkle with the pecorino, black pepper and chives. Serve with lime wedges on the side. Serves 4.
BRING THIS COUPON AND RECEIVE : TWO BRUNCH MEALS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE VALID ONLY ON SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS LIMIT ONE PER TABLE, PER VISIT, NOT TO BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER. ONLY VALID WITH BEVERAGE PURCHASE *EXPIRES JANUARY 31ST 2014
Shuck the corn and break each ear in half. Put the corn in a large pot and add enough water to cover, bring it to a boil over high heat. When the water comes to a boil, cover the pot with a lid and pull it off the heat. Let the corn sit for 5 minutes before draining. When the corn is cool enough to handle, wrap each half with a slice of bacon and secure it using a toothpick. Place the corn on the preheated grill and baste it with the prepared glaze. Cook the corn for 5-10 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy and the glaze has caramelized. Serves 4.
I can’t think of anything better than rolling up my sleeves and tucking into a massive pile of crab, sausages, corn on the cob and potatoes. Make sure to have lots of little forks or skewers and claw crackers if you have them – I just use little stones and wooden skewers. Andouille, a smoked pork sausage that originated in France but is popular in Cajun cooking, can be found at most butcher shops and specialty stores.
Based on a popular Mexican street food called elote, this is an excellent method for grilling corn. You can remove the husks after 15 minutes and grill the corn over direct heat for extra charred flavour.
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Put the potatoes in a large deep pot and cover with water by an inch. Add the Old Bay and a few generous pinches of salt. Add the crabs, corn and sausages to the pot and cover with a tight fitting lid. Heat the pot over high heat, and when it comes to a boil, turn the heat to medium and cook for 12-18 minutes, or until the crabs are cooked through. Melt the butter over medium heat and divide it among four small bowls. Hold the lid of the pot ajar and drain out the water. Upend the pot into a large bowl or straight onto a table that has been lined with lots of newspaper – the traditional way to serve crab boil – and serve immediately. Serves 4.
dizzybird.com CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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Our Early Support System These businesses had faith in us – they advertised with City Palate when we launched, and, like us, most are still going strong. Thank you! by Shelley Boettcher In the fall of 1993, as the first issue of City Palate was getting ready to be launched, a handful of local restaurateurs and shop owners bravely decided to advertise in the fledging magazine. We tracked down staff and owners from many of those early businesses, to see what was new, and what had changed over the past two decades. Here are some of their stories:
The Cookbook Co. Cooks 722 - 11th Ave. SW cookbookcooks.com Gail Norton and her mother Jean (right) started Calgary’s first cookbook store almost 30 years ago, in 1984. “The first cookbook we sold was the Betty Crocker Boys and Girls Cookbook,” Norton remembers. “I think it was $7.95.” Back then, the shop was “a teeny weeny space” upstairs in a building on 17th Avenue SW, and its name was simply The Cookbook Co. (They added “Cooks” to the end when the shop moved to its current location on 11th Avenue SW in 1996 and added specialty foods, kitchen wares, cooking classes and catering.) In the fall of 1993, Norton and Herald restaurant critic Kathy Richardier decided to launch a local food magazine because they could see that Calgary’s food culture was set to blossom and they wanted to be part of it and promote it. City Palate was born.
River Café Prince’s Island Park river-café.com River Café has seen major changes in the past two decades. Walls, for instance. In 1993, “we were open-air, summer only. All the seating was outside,” says proprietor Sal Howell (right). In 1995, the walls were completed, allowing for year-round service. The philosophy behind the restaurant has never changed, however. Howell and her team still focus on local, seasonally inspired meals. “Our commitment has only deepened.” On a warm summer afternoon, the patio is packed with people enjoying their meal among the flowers. “It’s a reverse snow globe in winter, and the park is so quiet. In the fall, the light is golden because of all the leaves changing,” says Howell. “It’s a window on the seasons at all times.”
Decadent Desserts 831 - 10th Ave. SW decadentdesserts.ca Two sisters, Bev and Jude Polsky, started Decadent Desserts in 1983. In 1997, Pam Fortier bought the business, and she’s been heading it up ever since. Just like clothing, desserts go in and out of fashion, and Fortier says she’s seen her share of changes. “We’ve gone through the low-fat, low-sugar, low-carb and now gluten-free trends. I get a lot of people coming in looking for dairy-free, too, but I’m not even going to try to come up with a substitute for that,” she says, with a laugh. Those of us who adore her chocolatey, buttery, creamy rich cakes are happy to hear it.
Tea Trader 1228A - 9th Ave. SE teatrader.com From his quiet, deliciously fragrant shop upstairs in Inglewood, Tea Trader owner Ted Jones (right) says advertising in the fledgling City Palate was an excellent decision 20 years ago. “We had a new business and we were trying new things,” he says. “We were diving in with our feet first.” In addition to its array of teas from India, China and beyond, Tea Trader was the first Calgary retailer to offer rooibos from South Africa. Rooibos is still popular, Jones says, but white teas, chai and pu-erh are also attracting more buyers. “We have definitely seen the evolution of the tea market in Canada,” he says.
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Caffè Beano 1613 - 9th St. SW caffebeano.ca Caffè Beano has seen a couple of ownership changes, expansions and renovations, but if you hadn’t been there for 20 years and stopped by today, you’d still recognize the place. “We don’t mess with success,” says owner Margie Gibb (left), laughing. She bought Beano, as it’s known by regulars, with Janice Beaton in 2007 from Rhondda Siebens, and then, in 2010, Gibb took it over completely. Over the years, the café grew to fill the former barbershop space on 9th St., and she’s updated the espresso machines, too. But for more than 20 years, the coffee of choice has been a special Beano blend from Fratello Coffee Roasters, and, yes, you’ll still find the hot chocolate ginger milk on the menu. “The café has grown over the years and changed and morphed,” Gibb says. “But it’s a community. We have people who have been coming here since Beano first opened.”
Kalamata Grocery 1421 - 11th St. SW The Kokos family started Kalamata Grocery 50 years ago, and for many years, they concentrated on selling Greek staples to the surrounding neighbourhood. These days, however, Gus Kokos (who runs the shop with his brother George) says they have adapted the store’s selections to fit the changing neighbourhood clientele. “Our customers are always changing. We see a lot of Ethiopians, Eritreans, people from other African countries, Albanians and Russians, too,” he says. “And we always try to cater to new customers by bringing in new products, such as injera and ambasha breads.” Of course, you’ll still find Greek favourites, including more than 25 kinds of olives and eight types of feta.
SAIT Polytechnic Main campus: 1301 - 16th Ave. NW sait.ca If you want to learn more about food, SAIT’s culinary programs are the place to be. The chocolate laboratory (it’s as fun as it sounds) opened in 2009, and Jackson’s Garden in 2010. “We planted 185 varieties of plants, vegetables and fruit trees,” says Tom Bornhorst, dean of SAIT’s school of hospitality and tourism. The Culinary Campus opened in September 2012 in Scotia Centre, and allows students in the professional cooking and baking arts programs to be downtown, in the heart of the city’s culinary action. SAIT’s Highwood Dining Room has operated for more than 40 years. It’s a “classroom” restaurant where students practice their skills cooking for and serving lunch and dinner customers just as they would in a regular restaurant. The program’s Market Place opened in 2009, giving students a chance to learn retail skills while selling their foodstuffs. Earlier this year, the charcuterie laboratory opened, too. “It’s a true representation of the industry,” says Bornhorst. “Everyone works together to get real-life experiences.” continued on page 30
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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Our Early Support System
J. Webb Wine Merchant
continued from page 29
1600 - 90th Ave. SW and 2507 - 17th Ave. SW (Casel Marché) jwebb.net
Purple Orchid
Janet Webb, owner and founder of J. Webb Wine Merchant, knows why she advertised in the first issue of City Palate. “Our philosophy was that wine and food should go together,” she says. “And we wanted to get that message out there.”
810A - 16th Ave. SW purpleorchidflowers.ca
What better way than to take a chance on the city’s new food magazine?
In 1993, Nancy Anderson was part of the staff at Purple Orchid, which, at that time, had its home in Mount Royal Village. Then, in 2007, she bought the flower shop, which is now a little further down the street from its original location. Business has stayed remarkably consistent: orchids are still popular, for instance, and she still buys from around the world.
Over the past 20 years, Webb says she has seen the wine industry change drastically. “Calgarians are becoming so much more knowledgeable, and they have the opportunity to visit so many good wine stores,” she says. “They’re drinking better-quality wines, too, and they’re thinking more about how to pair them with food.”
But people purchase fewer flowers for entertaining these days, even for weddings. “Flowers are one of the areas they cut back on if they’re over budget.” Yet, buying pretty posies is often a family tradition, says Anderson, who’s starting to see the children of clients come in to shop. “They’ve grown up seeing how wonderful flowers can be,” she says. “And now they’re buying them for their own partners or parties or whatever.”
Barbecues Galore Two locations in Calgary and two in Ontario barbecuesgalore.ca Now, more than ever, people are looking for a good barbecue and gear that makes their back yard feel like an extension of their house, says Ross Mikkelsen, owner of Barbecues Galore. “We’re selling a lot more outdoor kitchen-y-type stuff, patio furniture, umbrellas, fire pits. People are spending more time and energy on their homes, and, in particular, their back yards.” That’s good news for Mikkelsen, who remembers exactly why he placed the ad in the original issue of City Palate. “It seemed like a good idea and it was,” he says. “We’re in the hardware business, but we’re also in the food business.” (Barbecues Galore photo)
Good Earth Coffeehouse and Bakery
Community Natural Foods
Many locations in Calgary and western Canada goodearthcafes.com
Four locations communitynaturalfoods.com
In early 1993, Good Earth had exactly one café – on 11th Street SW. The second – in the Eau Claire Market – opened that August. It was a big treat for local java hounds, who had little to choose from in those days.
Community Natural Foods started by selling organic products at farmers’ markets, and then bulk food at a spot above The Keg on 11th Avenue S.W. Earlier this year, the company opened a new retail location on Crowfoot Crescent NW. (It also occupies a booth at the Kingsland Farmers’ Market, of which Community Natural is part owner.)
“You could count the number of coffee shops in the city on one hand,” recalls co-founder Nan Eskenazi, who started (and still owns) the company with her partner Michael Going (above). Flash forward a couple of decades, and there are more than 40 locations across western Canada – even one in the Scotiabank Saddledome. Naturally Eskenazi is pleased. “It feels so fabulous to have started a business and do two things – to have evolved and grown, but at the same time, to have stayed true to our original mission statement and our values.”
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
Community offers popular gluten-free and raw food, as well as an expansive range of prepared foods. In response to overwhelming customer demand, the shops now sell fresh meats, too. According to marketing coordinator Nicole Boisvert, “There’s huge growth in the industry overall.” (Community Natural Foods photo)
The King and I Thai Cuisine 822 - 11th Ave. SW kingandi.ca Opening during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, The King and I Thai Cuisine still warms the hearts of its myriad fans, many of whom have been going to the restaurant ever since. Then and now, menu favourites include the Thai sticks (prawns surrounded by ground pork, deep-fried and served with a sweet chili sauce), red chicken curry and tiger prawn curry. Owner Mel Sanders still enjoys the dishes, too: “I’ve always had a love of Asian food – all the clean, crisp flavours.� He remembers fondly the days when he and his staff would put together a popular Stampede breakfast with the team at The Cookbook Co. “When the magazine started, we knew we had to support it.�
Sunterra Market Nine locations in Calgary and Edmonton sunterramarket.com Since Sunterra’s first store opened in 1993, president Glen Price says he and his team have seen non-stop growth. First, there was one store, then two; now Sunterra has nine, and the company is considering more locations. As for trends, Sunterra’s prepared foods were big 20 years ago, and they’re even more popular today. The demand for globally influenced cuisine also continues to skyrocket. “The new generation is different from my generation, and certainly much different from that of my parents,� says Price. “Young people have travelled more and eaten out more. With that comes a greater interest in food from all over the world.�
Divino Wine & Cheese Bistro
Primal Soup Company EST. 1995
113 - 8th Ave. SW crmr.com Twenty years ago, Divino was ensconced in a former “love� shop on First Street SW. For the past 11 years, however, it’s been at its current home – a former liquor store – on Stephen Avenue. “It was a huge gamble, us moving on to that street,� says Jamie Bryshun, Divino’s general manager. “Back then, we were taking a real chance, since there wasn’t much there.� Nowadays, of course, Divino is in the heart of the Stephen Avenue restaurant scene. Other than that, much remains the same. “We still have the same chef since Day One, the same wood-burning grill, the same wine director,� Bryshun notes. “It’s all positive.�
Scarpone’s / The Italian Store
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5140 Skyline Way NE scarpones.com Much has changed in the past 20 years at Scarpone’s and The Italian Store, says Sera Duros, who owns the businesses with her family. “There’s a lot more variety from Europe, for sure,� she says. “We’re getting better pastas – the ones that are more like homemade – better olive oils, coffees, the good beans.�
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Even the meats are different, she notes. “Before we could only bring in prosciutto, but now we can bring in more good quality deli meats from Europe, the pancetta and the hams. They’re wonderful tasting and the ingredients are better, too.� New products mean new customers. Duros says she’s seen an increase in the number of younger families – not just Italians – who shop at the store. “That’s a trend I like.�
Boyd’s Lobster Shop 1515D - 14th St. SW boydslobstershop.ca Paul Cormier, who co-owns Boyd’s with his brother Gerard, says one of the biggest shifts he’s seen in the last 20 years has been in prices. “For fishermen, costs are higher. We’ve seen continual rising costs for seafood,� he says. Another change is that producers are packaging frozen foods in smaller sizes, not just bigger bulk sizes. As for quality? Same as ever, he says. “That’s what we excel at.�
Pacey’s‌ real life clothes Britannia Plaza (Elbow Dr. and 49th Ave. SW) paceys.ca Katie Pearlman is the co-owner of Pacey’s, a women’s wear boutique that offers casual but sophisticated clothing for women aged about 35 and up. She says she advertised in the first issue of City Palate because she was working across from the old Cookbook Co. location in Mount Royal Village, and she knew Ellen Kelly. Kelly had hired on to work at the fledgling publication (and is still there as an account exec and regular columnist). “I thought it would be a good enterprise, and I was right,â€? Pearlman says. continued on page 32
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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Our Early Support System continued from page 31
Lakeview Bakery Lakeview Shopping Centre, 6449 Crowchild Tr. SW, and Lakeview Bakery Gluten Free, 2515 - 90th Ave. SW organicbaking.com Food scientist Brian Hinton bought Lakeview Bakery in 1990 with a plan to focus on British baking – “raisin tea cakes, scones, things of that nature,” he says.
Da Guido 2001 Centre St. N daguido.ca
He discovered a new, fast-growing market, baking for people with severe allergies, especially gluten-free products (brownies! cakes!) for celiacs. Now the bakery also wholesales those products to stores and people across the province.
One of the city’s first Italian restaurants, Da Guido is still headed up by Guido Panara, owner and chef, who opened it in 1984. (It’s been in its current location since 1990.) Little has changed since it opened; you’ll still find fancy Italian cuisine, white tablecloths, a lengthy wine list and black-leather-vested servers who see what they do as a career, not just a job. “It’s fine dining, and we’re famous for the food,” says Sam Mahfoudh, the restaurant’s manager. “Many places are modern these days, but we are still old-school. So far, so good.”
Hinton has retired, but he still keeps on top of baking trends as well as the company’s business, now operated by his son Daren.
Kilian International Design 1110 Kensington Rd. NW kilian.ca Frank Kilian and his brother Gunnar, (above) who own Kilian International Design, have seen more than a few changes in their industry since their decision to advertise in the first City Palate. “Everybody’s carrying kitchenware,” says Frank. “Everything has become a little bit more mainstream.” But people still search out their Kensington shop for its top European brands, and, once they find what they’re looking for, they often return again and again. “It could be a student from SAIT who wants a really nice knife, or somebody who’s just renovated their kitchen and wants something new,” he says. “Customers want quality products.”
Higher Ground Café 1126 Kensington Rd. NW highergroundcafe.ca Housed in a former Masonic temple on Kensington Road, Higher Ground was – and still is – one of the city’s most beloved coffee shops. But 20 years ago, it only seated about 15 or 20 people, recalls the café’s manager Sydney Hockey, whose father Dave owns the place. “When we first bought it, Kensington wasn’t as popular as it is now,” she says. “But the area has really taken off.” So has Calgary’s coffee culture; in response, the Hockey family has expanded its café a couple of times, and made room for many more java fans. One thing remains the same – Higher Ground’s commitment to serving organic, fair-trade coffee and tea. “That has always been important to us,” Sydney says. “That will never change.”
Buchanan’s Chop House and Whisky Bar 738 - 3rd Ave. SW buchanans.ca Carol and Michael Buchanan still man the helm at Buchanan’s, in the heart of downtown Calgary. Carol says they’ve seen plenty of changes – not all good – since starting their business 25 years ago. “Everything is a lot more expensive than when we started,” she says, laughing. On a positive note, the local food scene just gets better and better. “It’s grown huge, and it’s pretty interesting, all the trends that you see.” Take whisky, for instance. The Buchanans always knew they wanted a strong whisky program, but 20 years ago, that meant 30 whiskies on their list. “Now we have close to 300, and we have a huge following,” Carol says. “People want to know about whisky.”
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Kensington Wine Market 1257 Kensington Rd. N.W. kensingtonwinemarket.com Nancy Carten, founder and owner of Kensington Wine Market, says she often gets people who come into the store and wonder why they can’t find a wine that they’ve bought at a different store. “I explain to them, ‘Alberta’s privatized, and this industry is like dress shops. We don’t all carry the same dresses.’” Indeed, Carten and her staff have carved out a niche, specializing in craft beers, scotches and, of course, many fine and exclusive wines. Above all, however, her motto has always been to offer great customer service. “If you don’t have good customer service, no one will come into the store, no matter what you offer.”
The Auburn Saloon Closed For two decades, The Auburn was one of the city’s artistic hubs, a place for actors, playwrights, artists and writers to hang out, drink cocktails and talk until the wee hours. Calgarian Lawrence Romanosky opened the bar with Poul Bay in 1993, in the early days of acid jazz music and fruit-flavoured martinis. “It was a really exciting time,” Romanosky recalls. “It was nationally recognized as the best theatre bar in the country for its entire life. People would come in from across the country, and say, ‘This just doesn’t exist anywhere else.’” Alas, it no longer exists here. Romanosky sold the business to Jesse Glasnovic in 2000 and in early 2013, The Auburn closed its doors forever. Its original home was located in the space that is now Teatro’s Opera Room.
The first year of City Palate also had good support – and still has it – from: Teatro, The Italian Centre (now Mercato), The Calgary Tower Panorama Room (now Sky 360), The Compleat Cook and Priddis Greens. ✤ Shelley Boettcher is a Calgary-based food and wine writer with a penchant for fresh basil, pinot noir and Italian leather. She wrote the first two editions of Uncorked: The Definitive Guide to Alberta’s Best Wines $25 and Under. The third edition will be released this fall.
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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20 Years of City
Palate cover art... CP_JF2007_2
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summer in the city palate
great cheap eats
the entertaining issue
the travel issue citypalate.ca
MARCH APRIL 2012
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MAY JUNE 2012
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SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2012
citypalate.ca
the travel issue
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March april 2013
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summer in the city palate citypalate.ca
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Where are They Now? We tracked down some of the people who, like City Palate, helped launch Calgary’s food scene. by Shelley Boettcher
Chefs, designers, dreamers and doers dominated Calgary’s food scene two decades ago. They could see where the city was headed and, perhaps more importantly, they could see what the city’s food lovers wanted and needed. Where were they then? And where are they now? Here’s a look at a handful of the major players who helped shape Calgary’s food culture 20 or so years ago.
Bev Polsky, baker and restaurateur Then: In 1983, Polsky and her sister, Jude, started making fancy cakes and creations in Bev’s kitchen, and then shopping them around to local restaurants. The sisters called their business Decadent Desserts, and by 1988, it had grown so big, they had to move into a commercial kitchen space and shop on 16th Avenue N.W., but opened their wildly popular café on 17th Ave. SW. My Marvin’s, the Earls restaurants in Alberta and The King and I were early customers, snapping up rich gateaux like the Fantasy Fudge Cake and Chocolate Overdose, which featured two pounds of Callebaut chocolate. A highlight, Bev says, was being featured with one of their legendary chocolate creations on the cover of the third issue of City Palate, January February 1994, in honour of Valentine’s Day. Now: A few years ago, Bev developed an autoimmune disease and, two years ago, she had a liver transplant. Her other sister, Mara, was the living donor, while sister Jude was the “nurse.” “Life doesn’t often go the way you’ve planned,” says Bev, who is making art and recuperating from the effects of the illness and the surgery. “But I’m very grateful to be here, and to be doing what I’m doing these days.” As for Decadent Desserts, she sold the business in 1997 to Pam Fortier (who still owns it), but she stops in regularly to visit. “I still really miss the people, and I can still eat the cakes!”
Dee Hobsbawn-Smith, chef, teacher, caterer, poet Then: In 1992, Hobsbawn-Smith opened Foodsmith, one of the first restaurants in the city to focus on regionally grown foods. It was a success, but Hobsbawn-Smith – the mother of two then-young children – was juggling too much, and in 1994, she sold the restaurant. “I wouldn’t have missed it, but it wasn’t sustainable for me as a committed parent and inhabitant of a frail human body,” she says. “I know chefs who are parents, and who manage to do it, but I don’t know how.” After that, she wrote a weekly column for the Calgary Herald for many years, and, in 1996, she authored her first of many books, Skinny Feasts, taught cooking classes at The Cookbook Co. Cooks, wrote for City Palate, and founded our Foodie Tootle tradition. Now: Hobsbawn-Smith is living on the family farm near Saskatoon and working on her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. Her most recent book, Foodshed, won the prestigious Top Canadian English-language Food Literature book award in the 2013 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Next year, her first book of poetry, Wilderness Rushing In, will be published by Hagios Press, and her first short story collection will be published by Thistledown Press.
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
Dany Lamote, chef Then: Born in Belgium, Lamote grew up in the African Congo. He wowed Calgarians with his fresh, locally inspired creations at a slew of restaurants, including Divino, Cilantro, Mescalero, Phoenicia and The Ranche. In 1993, he was on the scene as chef for the opening of Teatro, where he worked for the restaurant’s first five years. Also in 1993, he was the first featured chef in City Palate’s annual “An Entertaining Menu” feature, highlighting recipes for the festive season. Now: Lamote is the executive chef at Hotel California’s La Coronela restaurant, in Todos Santos, Mexico (southern Baja Peninsula), where he and his family have lived since the hotel was reborn in 2001 under the guidance of another former Calgarian, Debbie Stewart, and her late husband John Stewart. Lamote also recently opened Santo Vino, a 30-seat wine bar and bistro in Todos Santos, but he still comes back to Calgary from time to time, as a guest chef for Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts.
Klaus Wockinger, chef Then: Wockinger was born and raised on a farm in Austria. He moved to Calgary to work at the Four Seasons Hotel, which closed its operation here in 1985. He then worked at several local restaurants, including La Chaumière, Dante’s, and Gobble’s (a short-lived all-turkey restaurant), and in 1992, he wrote a popular cookbook called Game: The Art of Preparation and Cooking. Most recently, he owned (and worked at) Big Rock Grill, attached to the Big Rock Brewery. He sold the restaurant earlier this year. Now: Wockinger is in the early stages of starting a small organic winery in the Okanagan Valley. Located just off Old Vernon Road near Kelowna, it isn’t yet named, but when it’s complete, it will feature a restaurant that overlooks the valley, two lakes and the Kelowna Airport. “I don’t believe in retirement,” he says with a laugh. “You can only play so much golf and drink so much coffee. I’d get bored pretty quickly.” continued on page 38
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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Where are They Now?
Bev Durvin, retailer Then: Bev and her husband Rick started Benkris in 1980. Back then, they sold gourmet coffee and tea at a local market, but within the next decade, they expanded to offer an extensive array of kitchenware and dinnerware, and they had shops in Kensington, Mount Royal Village and Southcentre Mall. In 1993, they opened a shop in the Eau Claire Market, but by 1997 the business had faltered and the stores closed. These days, kitchen gear is sold everywhere from Walmart to HomeSense, but back then, the array of brands, gadgets and gear offered at Benkris was new for many Calgarians.
continued from page 37
Durvin then went on to start Kitchen Stock, pop-up kiosks that sold a smaller but similar selection of culinary gadgets in malls at Christmas. Now: “I have retired to a lovely life and no longer have any contact or influence in Calgary’s food or business world.”
Victoria Allman, chef Then: Allman arrived in Calgary in 1995 to work at the now-defunct restaurant, Mescalero. She then became chef at Divino, where she helped start the Earth to Table movement in the city, introducing local farmers to local chefs. Next, she spent three years at River Café before heading out to explore the world. Now: Allman travels the world as a private chef on a yacht. She intends to be sailing by Barcelona this coming winter, and then the south of France. She writes travel and food stories for two publications, Marina Life and Coastal Yachting, and she’s also the author of Sea Fare: A Chef’s Journey Across the Ocean and SEAsoned: A Chef’s Journey with Her Captain, two books chronicling her around-the-world adventures. Find her at: victoriaallman.com. (Patrick Farrell photo)
John Bragg, food consultant Then: CBC Radio food columnist, instructor at SAIT and kitchen manager at 4th Street Rose (and an occasional City Palate writer, too). “In those days, I was doing a supermarket comparison on the radio. I would go buy six different brands of tomatoes, for instance, and then report on them. Or I’d look at 10 different brands of yogurt and report on the differences,” he says. “It was fun, and over time, it morphed into other things. Sometimes I’d take a very specific item and talk about it, like what to do with brown rice, or what to do around Mother’s Day or barbecue season.” In addition to radio, he managed the kitchen at 4th Street Rose until 1994. “There was never a dull moment,” he says. “I still have good friends that were co-workers from those days.” Now: Bragg is the Food Services Manager at Carewest Sarcee and Royal Park, overseeing the meals for 175 people at the two sites. “I help bring pleasure to long-term-care residents,” he says, noting that his job entails “dealing with everything from lumps in the cream of wheat to making sure there is enough quality food for everyone.”
Lori Goldman, entrepreneur, educator Then: “I had my little place. I had Lori’s Gourmet Delikatessen, spelled with a K. It was in the little loop by the Roasterie in Kensington. Peppers (her earlier restaurant) was long gone by then… I started to import ancho and chipotle peppers, and a few others. I was probably the only place doing that at the time. It was really trendy in North America but no one was bringing them into Calgary.” Goldman eventually sold the deli and went travelling around the world for two years – England, Nepal, Thailand, you name it. She spent six months opening a cappuccino bar in Indonesia, and then taught English in Taiwan for three-and-a-half years. Now: Goldman teaches English privately in Vancouver – but there’s a food twist to her classes. “I teach my students about ingredients, international cooking techniques, how to read nutrition labels, what to buy,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun. I haven’t stopped cooking or sharing my enthusiasm for food.” And, she notes, despite her many moves around the world, she still has her vintage copies of City Palate, from the magazine’s early days.
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
Barbara Beard, restaurateur
Happy 20th Bir thday City Palate!
Then: In 1981, Beard opened 4th Street Rose. It quickly became one of the city’s most popular restaurants. “We had such lineups,” Beard recalls. “People were desperate for a fun and lively place to go that wasn’t a bar.”
Pumpkin Cream Cheese T H E S W E E T E S T P U M P K I N I N T H E PAT C H BAKED FRESH THIS OCTOBER
The California-inspired restaurant also offered something that Calgarians had never seen before in their own city – a fun, casual, eclectic and globally influenced menu. “It really was mostly steaks and Chinese food in Calgary at that time,” says Beard. By 1994, however, Beard had sold the restaurant. “My heart just wasn’t in it as much anymore,” she says. “I had run out of steam.” Now: Beard is actively involved in her community of Inglewood working on building projects, renovating homes and commercial properties. A recent success is the building that houses the Inglewood Crossfit Studio on 9th Avenue S.E.
Michael and Silvia Baboushkin, designers Then: Married in 1981, the couple formed Baboushkin Design Group and started working together in 1991. Throughout the next few years, they designed more than 80 eateries, including Fernando’s, Escoba in Penny Lane, Emerald Lake Lodge, the Hard Rock Café (in Calgary and Banff), the Bow River Barley Mill, River Café, Mission Bridge Brewing Company, Limerick’s Traditional Public House, The Chocolate Bar, Cajun Charlie’s, Black Swan Ale House and the original Centini location on First Street S.W. “I think what struck people is that we could do anything,” says Mike with a laugh. “We could do Asian restaurants, themed restaurants, whatever. We really tried to make them feel authentic.” When they created the Barley Mill, for instance, the couple sourced wood from Alberta Distillers, so the pub smelled like whisky from Day One. Now: The owners of BDG (same company, just a shorter name), they’ve been focusing on residential design. “We’re doing some high-end custom homes, and we just designed an eight-unit townhouse project in Bridgeland,” says Mike. They also designed Therapy Vineyards in the Okanagan Valley, and Mike has been working as a realtor specializing in the sale and purchase of restaurants.
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But they haven’t forgotten their passion for restaurant design; they’re in the midst of designing the second Red’s Diner location, in Ramsay. “Inspiration often comes from the site we’re dealing with, and the people,” he says. “Every site and every client is so different.” (John Bilodeau photo) ✤
Shelley Boettcher is a Calgary-based food and wine writer with a penchant for fresh basil, pinot noir and Italian leather. She wrote the first two editions of Uncorked: The Definitive Guide to Alberta’s Best Wines $25 and Under. The third edition will be released this fall.
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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Harvestfrom Recipesthe
archives
We tootled back to the early days looking for good recipes that have stood the test of time. Some recipes cross timelines well, others do not. These, scooped from early issues of City Palate, are as good today as they were then.
From City Palate writer Ellen Kelly’s Season’s Eatings, “A Chutney by any Other Name.” 5 large green tomatoes, thinly sliced 2 T. kosher salt
From Michael Allemeier, at the time Teatro’s executive chef, now teaching at SAIT.
2 c. cider vinegar 2 c. white sugar
6 medium beets
1/2 t. each whole cloves and ground cinnamon
4 c. water
kernels from 3 large ears of corn (raw)
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1 red bell pepper, diced small
1/2 c. sugar
2 celery stalks, diced small
1 c. peeled and grated celery root (celeriac)
1 medium red onion, diced small
1 c. peeled, cored and grated apple 1/2 c. mayonnaise 1/2 lb. stemmed and washed spinach 1/4 c. toasted walnuts (garnish) creamy chèvre dressing (recipe follows)
Combine beets, water, vinegar and sugar in a large pot, bring to a boil and simmer until beets are tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and cool beets, rub the skins off under cold running water and slice. Reserve. Mix celery root, apple, mayonnaise and lemon juice in a bowl. Arrange spinach leaves like the spokes of a wheel on 6 plates. In the centre of the spinach leaves, overlap slices of beets and top with the apple and celery root salad. Drizzle the spinach with the chèvre dressing and garnish with toasted walnuts. Serves 6.
Creamy Chèvre Dressing 1 egg 1/2 t. Dijon mustard 1/2 c. Highwood Crossing Farms canola oil 1/3 c. walnut oil 2 oz. chèvre 1/3 c. half-and-half cream juice of 1/2 lemon 5 drops Tabasco sauce salt and pepper to taste
Whirl the egg and mustard in a food processor to mix. With the processor running, slowly add the canola and walnut oils to make a mayonnaise. Then, add the chèvre and pulse to mix well. Add the half-and-half cream in a steady stream and blend until smooth. Season with lemon juice, Tabasco and salt and pepper.
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
from September October 1998
juice of 1/2 lemon
Sprinkle tomato slices with salt and let sit overnight, covered, in the fridge. Remove excess moisture and set aside. Combine the vinegar, sugar, cloves and cinnamon in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the tomatoes and other vegetables, stirring well. Return to the stove and heat through. Pour into clean jars and seal according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or cover and refrigerate for several weeks. Makes about 6 cups.
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Sheep’s Feta Fritters From Dany Lamote, at the time chef at The Ranche, now exec chef at Hotel California. vine-ripened tomatoes in as many colours as you can find 1/2 lb. Shepherd Gourmet Dairy sheep feta 1 c. flour 1/2 bottle of beer freshly ground black pepper a blend of canola, flax, poppy and mustard seeds (or substitute toasted sesame seeds for canola, if you cannot find it) Highwood Crossing cold-pressed canola oil 1 lemon
Slice tomatoes and arrange colourfully on four plates. Cut feta into 1/2-inch thick slices. Whisk flour and beer together with black pepper to make a smooth batter. Dip feta into the batter, then coat with seed mixture. Allow to set for a couple of minutes, then shallow fry in canola oil until golden brown. Top each arrangement of tomatoes with one or two warm feta fritters and drizzle with canola oil. Squeeze lemon juice over all. Serves 4.
from September October 1999
Tender Spinach Leaves with a Beet, Celery Root and Apple Salad with a Creamy Chèvre Dressing
from September October 1995
Sweet Green Tomato and Corn Piccalilli
continued on page 42
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continued from page 40
Crisp Mustard Pickle
Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sage Butter
A recipe from Jean Norton, City Palate publisher Gail Norton’s mother, in “Mom’s Pickles.”
From David Forestell, who is a chef on a private yacht in Hong Kong.
4 c. small pickling onions, peeled
2 c. roasted and puréed butternut squash (about 1 large)
6 to 8 medium cucumbers, cut into small chunks
Crabapple Jelly-Glazed Roast Prairie Duckling with Grainy Mustard Sauce
1/2 c. water crabapple jelly
Sauce: 1/2 c. chicken stock 1 T. cornstarch mixed with a small amount of apple juice 3 T. grainy mustard 1 T. crabapple jelly salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash the duckling inside and out with cold water and dry with paper towels. Rub the bird inside and out with salt and pepper and place breast-side up in a roasting pan. Add water, and roast 30 minutes uncovered. Turn and roast 30 minutes on each side, for a total roasting time of 1 hour 30 minutes. Baste at each turn. Remove and place on an oven-proof platter, brush with crabapple jelly and return to the oven to crisp the skin.
1 c. coarse salt 4 c. sugar 4 c. white vinegar
Skim the fat from the duck roasting pan, then place the pan on the stove and bring roasting juices to a boil, scraping the tasty bits from the bottom of the pan. Mix cornstarch and apple juice and whisk slowly into the pan juices to thicken them. Stir in the mustard and crabapple jelly until smooth; adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Carve the duck; serve the duck with the sauce and a tasty rice mixture of 2/3 white rice and 1/3 wild rice, studded with fresh peas and diced carrots from the garden. Serves 4.
3/4 c. flour 1/4 c. dry mustard 1-1/2 t. turmeric 1 T. celery seed
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil, remove from heat, add the pickling onions and let them sit for 10 minutes. This scalding makes them much easier to peel. Layer the vegetables and salt in a glass, enameled or ceramic bowl. Cover with ice or ice water and let stand overnight. Drain and rinse with cold water. To make the sauce, combine the sugar and vinegar, heat to a boil then cool. Whisk together the flour, mustard, turmeric and celery seed. Whisk the cooled vinegar and sugar syrup into the flour mustard mixture, whisking well to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil. Add the drained vegetables and cook at a low boil for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Pack into hot sterilized jars and seal according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Process in a boiling water bath 15 minutes for pints. Yield 6 1/2 pints.
1 egg sea salt and cracked black pepper pinch of nutmeg sage butter (recipe follows)
Combine all ingredients and knead lightly on a floured surface until a soft dough is formed. Let the dough rest 15 minutes. Roll it into a fingerthick cord and cut into 3/4-inch-wide pieces. Poach in a large amount of boiling salted water; gnocchi are finished when they float to the top. Drain well and serve drizzled with sage butter. Serves 4 to 6. Sage butter: brown 2 T. butter per person in a saucepan with 1/2 t. chopped sage per person.
Grilled Eggplant Rolls From Vancouver chef Anne Milne’s “To Stuff or be Stuffed.” Milne says: “My favourite recipe for eggplant, these rolls make an excellent addition to an antipasto platter served cold, room temperature or hot. 1/4 c. sundried tomatoes (not in oil) 3 T. capers, minced
Carrot Flan
1 T. chopped fresh basil
From Victoria Allman who was River Café’s pastry chef. Victoria has since been cheffing on a luxury yacht travelling all over the world.
3 T. snipped fresh chives
1-1/2 lbs. sweet carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 c. vegetable stock 1 sprig fresh thyme 1 bay leaf 1 garlic clove 1 t. salt freshly ground pepper raw or wilted spinach for serving sprigs of thyme for garnish
Boil the carrots, stock, thyme, bay leaf and garlic until the carrots are tender. Strain and save the liquid, discard the herbs and garlic. In a food processor or blender, purée the carrots, egg whites and just enough liquid to make a smooth purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper and pour into a greased shallow casserole dish or tart mold. Bake in a preheated 375°F. oven until the centre is set, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on dish size. Serve on a bed of either raw or wilted spinach for contrasting colour and garnish with sprigs of thyme. Serves 4 to 6.
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
1 c. flour
1 c. ricotta cheese
3 egg whites
42
1 T. chopped sage
from September October 1999
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium head of cauliflower, broken into small florets
1 t. sea salt
from September October 1997
5 lb. fresh duckling (available at farmers’ markets)
4 c. steamed and riced yellow-flesh potatoes, like Yukon Gold (about 5 to 6 large)
3 sweet red peppers, coarsely chopped
from September October 1999
From the Prince of Game, Klaus Wockinger, who presided over the Big Rock Grill for years and is now building his own winery in the Okanagan. Wockinger says, “some fresh, sweet corn on the cob and a glass of apple cider would make this a memorable harvest meal.”
2 c. chopped onion
from September October 1997
from the archives
couple of grinds pepper 1/2 t. lemon juice 2 large, firm eggplants olive oil hot tomato sauce (optional)
Put the tomatoes in a bowl and add enough boiling water to cover. Set aside for about 10 minutes until softened. Drain, blot dry and coarsely chop. Set aside. Stir together the ricotta, capers, basil, chives, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes. Trim the ends from the eggplants and, with a very sharp knife, carefully slice the eggplants lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Lightly brush the strips with olive oil and grill about 2 minutes per side, or until soft enough to roll. Lay the slices on a work surface and spoon about 1 T. of the filling onto one end of each slice. Roll the slices up beginning with the end covered with the filling. Arrange the rolls on a pretty platter and serve room temp, chilled or warm. To serve warm, lay the rolls on an oiled baking sheet and heat in a 400°F. oven just until the cheese begins to melt. Serve on a pool of hot tomato sauce as an appetizer.
from September October 1996
Harvest Recipes
continued on page 44
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
43
continued from page 42
Simple Tomato and Basil Sauce Highlighted with Orange Zest
Harvest Tart From Judy Wood, chef and co-owner of Meez Fast Home Cuisine.
From publisher Gail Norton, in “Sauce it to me, Baby: extraordinary sauces to wake up your pasta-jaded palate.”
1 small eggplant 2 small zucchini
Braised Venison Roast
1 portobello mushroom 4 Roma tomatoes
5 T. olive oil
2 T. Dijon mustard
3 lb. pot roast from the leg or shoulder
1 T. each fresh thyme and chives
1 onion, coarsely chopped 2 carrots, coarsely chopped 1-1/2 T. tomato paste 2 T. flour 2 each bay leaves and cloves 1 cinnamon stick 5 juniper berries 15 black peppercorns 1/2 c. dry red wine 1 c. beef broth
Preheat oven to 360°F. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the meat with the salt, pepper and thyme. Brown on all sides, remove and set aside. Turn the heat down to medium and fry the onion, carrot and tomato paste. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veg become nicely tender. Sprinkle in the flour, add all the herbs and cook for a few minutes more, stirring. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping off the solids from the bottom, then pour in the broth. The sauce will appear thick, but will thin as the roast renders its juices. Return the meat to the pan, cover, and place in the oven. The roast should be tender in about 2 hours. Remove the meat from the pot, strain the sauce through a sieve, pressing the vegetables to get all their juices into the sauce, and stir. Adjust seasonings if needed. To serve, slice the roast against the grain and pour the sauce over. Serve with noodles and poached pears with cranberry jelly or with spätzle and carrots. Serves 6.
4 T. olive oil
(For variety, add 1 T. cranberry jelly and 1/2 c. whipping cream to the completed sauce.)
freshly ground pepper 1/2 c. grated Gruyère cheese 2 eggs 3/4 c. whipping cream 1 9-inch deep pie shell, partly baked
Prepare vegetables by slicing them lengthwise about 1/2-inch thick. Toss the slices in a large bowl with the olive oil; grill for about 7 minutes, turning once, then cool slightly and chop. Layer half the grilled vegetables into the tart shell; spread with half the mustard, half the herbs, ground pepper and half the cheese. Layer with the remainder of the vegetables and finish with mustard, fresh herbs and cheese. Whisk eggs and cream together and pour over the tart. Bake for 35 minutes in a preheated 375°F. oven. Serve with a spring mix salad dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette. Serves 6.
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped 5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped 1/4 c. chopped fresh dill 8 c. vegetable stock salt and pepper to taste maple crème fraîche (recipe follows) fresh dill sprigs to garnish
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté red onion and fennel for 2 to 3 minutes. Add carrots and sauté another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 1/4 c. fresh dill and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 to 12 minutes until carrots are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Purée the soup until very smooth. Add a little more stock if it’s too thick. Serve in warmed soup bowls garnished with maple crème fraîche and a sprig of fresh dill. Serves 4 to 6. Maple Crème Fraîche: Whisk together 1/3 c. sour cream, 1 T. whipping cream and 1 t. maple syrup in a bowl. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Cover bowl and let sit in a warm spot for 6 to 8 hours to thicken. Crème fraîche keeps in the fridge for several weeks.
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
3 T. olive oil 2 T. butter zest of 1/2 large orange, minced 15 Roma tomatoes, chopped 1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped 500 g. package of your favourite pasta, cooked
Cut the unskinned eggplants into chunks. Liberally salt and allow the chunks to stand in a colander for about 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan and sauté the eggplant, onion, garlic and orange zest until soft and fragrant. Add more orange zest to get a more pronounced orange flavour, if desired. Add the tomato and basil and heat through. Toss with the pasta and serve. Serves 4 to 6.
Pear Hazelnut Tart
1-1/4 c. flour 1/4 c. sugar
This soup, created by Mary-Ann Brown, a former chef at Brava Bistro, got rave reviews. 1 medium red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
Tart crust:
Carrot Fennel Soup with Maple Crème Fraîche 3 T. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
From Rosemary Harbrecht, once owner and chief baker of Brûlée Patisserie, now pastry chef at Hastings House Country House Hotel, Salt Spring Island, BC.
1/2 c. cold butter
from September October 1999
pinch of thyme
1 large red onion
from our first issue, October November 1993
salt and pepper to taste
2 small red peppers
2 eggplants
from September October 1999
From the Prince of Game, Klaus Wockinger, who presided over the Big Rock Grill for years and is now building his own winery in the Okanagan. If venison is not your thing, substitute other game or beef, lamb or pork.
from September October 1996
from the archives
1 egg, beaten dash lemon juice
Whisk flour and sugar together in a bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients until well blended; add the egg and lemon juice and blend with a fork just until dough comes together. (Or make the dough in a food processor.) Press dough into a 9-1/2- or 10-inch tart pan and prebake at 350°F. until golden around the edges, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. (For a nuttier flavour, replace 1/4 c. flour with 1/4 c. finely chopped hazelnuts.) Filling: 1/4 c. coarsely chopped hazelnuts 3 to 4 pears, peeled, cored and sliced 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks 6 T. sugar 3/4 c. heavy cream 6 T. sour cream 1/4 t. nutmeg dash of salt
Distribute nuts over crust. Arrange pears in a circular pattern over nuts. Whisk together egg and yolks, sugar, cream, sour cream, nutmeg and salt and pour custard gently over pears and nuts. Bake at 325°F. until custard is set, about 30 minutes. Serves 6.
from September October 1998
Harvest Recipes
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City Palate Celebrates 15 Years of Foodie Tootles City Palate has now orchestrated 15 years’ worth of Foodie Tootles – our day-long bus tours to explore Alberta’s farms. The tootles started because City Palate owners Kathy Richardier and Gail Norton wanted to support local farmers. They hoped a tour that took city folk to the farms would help create better consumer awareness of where their local food came from and, synergistically, help sustain the availability of great tasting local products to enhance Calgary’s culinary scene. by Karen Anderson Norton grew up in a family that had a tradition of weekly “Sunday tootles.” Gas was cheap, cars were big and she fondly remembers her Dad at the wheel as they toured the countryside. So Norton approached chef-turned-writer Dee Hobsbawn-Smith and asked if she might like to take the city folk to meet the farm folk in a Sunday tootling fashion. Hobsbawn-Smith was keen, thought three farms in a day would be feasible, and so Foodie Tootles were born in the summer of ‘99. Hobsbawn-Smith says “I wanted people to see that we could collect enough product from our Alberta foodshed to prepare a great tasting feast at the end of each tootle.” She did this for 10 years and mentored me for five of those years before she moved back to her family’s farm in Saskatchewan and turned to writing full time. Since 2010, I’ve guided the Tootles, but it was great to have a chef and friend to help me make the leap from the helper’s kettle into the leader’s fire. I do all the planning and shopping and my dream team of Tilly Sanchez and chef Matthew Altizer help with cooking and serving food for 40 to 50 people from the belly of a bus while leading visits to three farms in one day. Scouting and pre-visiting farms is fun for me. The few days before each 15-hour tour are filled with the hard physical labour of cooking, packing and hauling large amounts of food. But seeing guests “fertilize” Alberta farms with a few thousand dollars in purchases each tootle is a blue-ribbon in the reward department. The Foodie Tootles have become wildly popular and sell out quickly. They’re never pell-mell, but are all about progressing in a leisurely fashion. Patterns have emerged over time, including the fact that no matter how well planned the route is, or how many times I’ve driven it, we will always, at some point in the day, take a wrong turn. My team and I have come to view these unintentional detours as opportunities to see a little more of our beautiful province. We always have a ploughman’s lunch, which used to feature foreign cheeses and meats. Now we have 14 Alberta cheese makers to celebrate and wouldn’t go anywhere without charcuterie from Canmore’s Valbella Gourmet Meats or the Old-Country Sausage Shop. We stock up on Sidewalk Citizen rustic sourdough breads and Vital Greens butter. We use our own cooking creativity for chutneys and side salads. A tootle to Norwegiansettled Bergen even inspired a Scandinavian smørrebrød complete with trout gravlax that chef Altizer had cured three days beforehand. There are always a couple of bad jokes told on the rides between farms. Fortunately, we have a tradition of great “punch lines” in the form of tasty thirst-quenching drinks. We’ve had rooibos tea with orange syrup, Elna Edgar’s famous rhubarb cordial, icy cold Moscow Mules, Zora’s lemonade, raspberry Italian sodas and snazzy Aperol spritzers. Wild Rose Brewery sponsors a couple of party pigs (“pigs” of beer) for each tour and Sylvie Boustie of The Organic Wine Connection supplies wine pairings.
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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
continued on page 48
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City Palate Celebrates 15 Years of Foodie Tootles
city palate
continued from page 46
1993 – 2013
We drink well and we always feast at the end of the day on what we’ve collected during our tootle. Sometimes we have to divide and conquer to make this happen. CELEBRATING 20 DELICIOUS YEARS wITh 20 DELICIOUS EvENTS
Hold on to your lederhosen! Gasthaus on the Glenmore
Thankfully, Bert Vande Bruinhorst of Ewe-nique pulled out a box of clear plastic booties for our guests so the bus wouldn’t turn into a mud-wrestling pit. We always invite our farmers and their families to join us for our feast. It just so happened that these farmers had BIG families and that meant Sanchez and Altizer were cooking for 74 people. They did it with panache.
Add a little Oom-pa-pa to your October! Alberta’s sausage producers – Old Country Sausage, Valbella Meats, and Olson’s High Country Bison – are paired with local craft beer brewers – Village Brewery and Wildrose Brewery – to create the perfect beer and sausage party!
Another time, Altizer took our friend Kristoffer Benoit in my beaten up old minivan to Kayben Farms to cook a turkey dinner for 60 people while Sanchez and I led a pre-Thanksgiving turkey tootle to Poplar Bluff Farm, Winter’s Turkey Farm (where someone Tootle-tastic Recipes always cries upon witnessing Darrel Here are two recipes showcasing Winter’s devotion to his turkeys) and Alberta’s bounty that our tootlers often Highwood Crossing Farm. When Sanchez request. and I arrived with the group at Kayben, we set some wine out and went to help Flank Steak Barbecued in the kitchen. By the time dinner was Korean Style ready, there was no wine left – at all. The guests did seem very happy, though. 2-3 lbs. flank steak
Date: Friday, October 25th, 6:30-9 pm
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We now plan for Alberta’s notoriously wet springs with urban agriculture tours of Calgary that highlight “farm” activity in the city, such as Small Plot Intensive Farming (SPIN), where people make a living by growing food on plots of land in the borrowed back yards of land owners, urban bee keeping, community gardens and SAIT’s culinary garden. We miss the baby animals but not the muck. We’ve also stopped dividing and conquering for our Thanksgiving turkey tootle meal. It’s just too hard to take 44 people to three or four farms in a day and also cook a massive feast. We now hire a café located near our turkey tootle finish to help with preparing four birds with all the trimmings. Heartland Café in Okotoks and Crow’s Landing in Condor have done a magnificent job. This year, The Saskatoon Farm will do the honours. We’ll also abide by the liquid lesson we learned at Kayben Farms and pour our guests a measure of wine that will last through dinner. We like having enough wine to toast our café partners for their turkey dinner triumphs.
fine wine?
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I once dropped Sanchez and Altizer at the Champion, Alberta, community hall to cook all day (with supplies I’d travelled ahead to procure the day before) while I lead our guests through Noble Meadow’s goats, Ewe-nique Farm’s sheep and Noble Duck Farm’s Peking ducks, everyone knee-deep in muck. We felt threatened by Alberta’s spring deluge of thunder, lightning and raging rains, but were rewarded when we saw that same spring delivering life in the form of all the baby farm animals.
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1/2 c. soy sauce 1/2 c. sugar 2 T. toasted sesame oil 4 T. lime juice 7 garlic cloves, minced 1 T. Gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
Score the steak with a sharp knife and place it in a Ziploc bag. Whisk the remaining ingredients together and add them to the bag. Marinate the meat overnight or for at least 4 hours. Remove the meat, pat it dry and bring it to room temperature (about one hour) before grilling. Preheat the grill to medium high. Place the marinade in a saucepan and let it simmer until syrupy while you cook the steak. Grill the steaks 4 to 6 minutes per side. Remove them and rest them on a rack, tented in tinfoil for 5 minutes. Slice the steaks on the diagonal. Serves 8-10.
Bucking Bronco Coleslaw 1 green cabbage (or bok choy or Savoy cabbage), roughly chopped 1 red cabbage, roughly chopped 10 carrots, diced in food processor
After our long and ambitious days, the ride home is always quiet. Our guests enter a snooze-control level of contented bliss. They’ve had a taste of Alberta direct from the source. The belly of the bus is bulging with their truly farm-fresh purchases and their collective consciousness is processing freshly baked memories with a side of insight.
2 red peppers, julienned
If there were a light bulb for every epiphany about the importance of local food that we’ve witnessed over the last 15 years, the rays produced might rival the long sunlit days of our Alberta growing season. The Foodie Tootles are as authentic an Alberta culinary experience as you could ever find.
salt and pepper
2 bunches of green onions, sliced diagonally 2 English cucumbers – seeds removed and julienned 1 - 445 ml. jar Hellman’s Half-the-Fat mayo 1/2 c. Thai Kitchen sweet chili sauce 1/4 c. rice wine vinegar 1 - 2 jalapeños, finely diced
Place all the chopped vegetables in a large bowl. Mix the mayo, chili sauce, vinegar and jalapeños together and stir into the vegetables until thoroughly mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 8-10.
Karen Anderson owns Calgary Food Tours Inc. and hopes to “Keep Calm and Tootle On” for some time to come.
Adventures in Tea Pot Land Our intrepid explorer – who can barely boil water – learns the finer points of making tortillas in rural Mexico. story and photos by Holly Quan
Garcia learned her craft from her mother, grandmother and aunts. She has owned several restaurants, but with three young kids, she found the resto life too demanding. So the couple purchased this hillside property a number of years ago and they’ve turned it into an offbeat hotel-cumcooking-school. Garcia also demonstrates Mexican cooking on television and onboard luxury cruise ships. Her current venture has received rave reviews from the likes of Bon Appetit, Condé Nast Traveler and various other food mags. She’s personable, lively and humourous, inspiring one reviewer to dub her “the Rachael Ray of Mexico.” I don’t know if I’d go that far, but Garcia certainly knows her stuff. She even made a kitchen klutz like me feel comfortable with a knife in my hands.
Welcome! Have a cricket…. Last November, I was one of a quartet of Calgarians who decided to escape the snow and ice to join a small but diverse group of Americans (from Seattle, Chicago, and Minneapolis) for four easy-going days of shopping, instruction, cooking and casual al fresco dining. Anderson met us at the airport and whisked us to Tea Pot Land, where Garcia greeted us with fresh margaritas, guacamole and crispy fried crickets. The group got acquainted over dinner, which Garcia prepared. The balance of the week fell into an easy pattern. After lingering over breakfast, Garcia took the group to the local market to buy whatever was fresh and fun. The afternoon consisted of group cooking classes in the enormous open-air kitchen. Everyone participated, asked questions and learned. Our group then gathered around a huge glass-topped table on the spacious patio, with views of the town and valley, to enjoy the fruits of our labour. We learned that if you’re keen to learn something in particular – mole or tamales, for example – all you have to do is ask. As long as the required ingredients are in season and are available at the market, Garcia is happy to accommodate specific requests. Recipes are provided so participants can apply what they learn at home. Cooking school instructor Ana Garcia sorting through a box of poblano chiles at the daily market in Tepotzlán.
Author Quan and daughter Karin Wong making… something. Note the empty margarita glass in the background.
Author Quan flipping raw tortillas onto the comal for grilling. The trick is to flip your wrist as you deliver the sticky little round onto the hot surface, otherwise the tortilla doesn’t remain flat but curls up and sticks to itself. Note several unsuccessful attempts on the comal.
“Hey, I hear you’re going to Mexico.” “Yep. To Tea Pot Land.” “Where?” “Tea Pot Land” is about as close as I could get to pronouncing “Tepotzlán,” a small town about 90 minutes’ drive south of Mexico City. It’s an odd little place of steep, cobbled streets, seven or eight churches, a daily food market and a weekly arts and crafts market. Weekdays, it’s pretty sleepy. On weekends, well-heeled denizens of Mexico City zip over the mountains and down to this little town for a break from urban life, much like Calgarians day-trip to Canmore or Banff. The scenery is spectacularly rugged, with volcanic cliffs walling the broad valley where the town lies. The slopes are forested and bright tropical flowers are everywhere. There’s not a beach in sight. Generally speaking, tourists from Canada and the U.S. are scarce in Tepotzlán, except for one big draw: La Villa Bonita, home of culinary marvel Ana Garcia. Garcia and her husband, Rob Anderson, own and run La Villa Bonita, a culinary school. He takes care of logistics, such as picking up guests at the Mexico City airport and conducting tequila tastings on request. She’s the cook and teacher. Together they’ve created a sweet oasis in this unlikely location, offering hands-on culinary experiences in making rustic Mexican food that’s about as authentic as it gets.
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Among the dishes we made were chiles rellenos, featuring two kinds of chiles and three different fillings; savoury and sweet tamales made from scratch, which required us to soak the corn in lime-infused water and have the result ground into masa at a local back-alley mill; a piquant salsa made with, among other things, beetles; several kinds of soup, starting with our own home-made chicken or vegetable stock; and a variety of cakes and other desserts. The market was loaded with an amazing array of fresh produce, including the biggest cantaloupes I’ve ever seen, so every meal featured succulent fresh stuff. We even made tortillas from scratch: making the dough, forming it into little balls, mashing the balls into flat rounds with a tortilla press, flipping the rounds onto the comal (a large round griddle) for a short sizzle, then filling each tortilla with a selection of veg, such as nopales (cactus leaves) and crispy fried squash blossoms, meats and salsas. We discovered that making tortillas from scratch takes some skill – the trick is to flip your wrist just right as you deliver the sticky little round onto the hot surface, otherwise the tortilla doesn’t remain flat but curls up and sticks to itself. Hot off the grill, with warm sunshine and soft breezes wafting through the kitchen, a home-made tortilla can’t be beat. La Villa Bonita is a terrific escape to a little-known corner of Mexico. For more information, check out lavillabonita.com. La Villa Bonita fast facts... ■ There are five-day (Sunday through Friday) and full-week (Sunday to Sunday) options. ■ Accommodation is on-site. Rooms are spacious and each room has a private bath. ■ Breakfast is included every day. The group collectively prepares at least one large meal each day, which is also included. ■ There are a number of restaurants in Tepotzlán if you’re still hungry after preparing and enjoying the daily multi-course meal. ■ Other excursions and events (which cost extra) include a guided hike to nearby Mayan ruins and a tequila tasting. Holly Quan is a confident maker of toast but don’t ask her to do anything complicated like a grilled cheese sandwich. Nonetheless, she had a great time in Ana Garcia’s kitchen and even learned a thing or two – mostly about tequila. Managing Your Mexican Pantry, page 52
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Managing Your Mexican Pantry
Salsa: The Key... Most Mexican dishes are not fiery hot. They’re layered, continued from page 50
by Kevin Brooker
Who needs to schlep all the way to Mexico for good Mexican food? When it comes to Mexican cuisine – and, for that matter, the people’s chow found across our hemisphere – your voyage of discovery begins in your own kitchen. All you need is the right core ingredients. The good news is that, these days, they’re all readily available en el norte. This is not fancy stuff. Understand, first of all, that the Mexican granny who cooks for her family neither knows nor cares who Rick Bayless is, and she never wonders if her food is authentic enough. (Rick Bayless is chef/owner of Chicago’s Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, and he specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine.) So you, too, should think like a Mexican peasant. Lose the measuring cup and start mixing by hand and eye. These ingredients may seem foreign at first, so taste often as you go, and don’t be afraid to improvise or seek classic inspiration – fortunately, we have a vast Internet for that. Meanwhile, here’s a brief guide to assembling a Central and Latin American flavour palette.
Chiles... The heart of Mexican cooking is the chile, of which there are thousands of varieties, but only a handful of widely sold, classic dried chiles. Start with the ancho (1), the raisin-like dried version of a poblano. Along with the guajillo (2), a red, shiny-skinned and less meaty chile, these moderately hot peppers are central components of everyday Mexican dishes like Chile Colorado. To use them, break them open and remove the seeds and stems. Toast the anchos briefly in a pan, then reconstitute them with water by letting them simmer for 10 minutes and sit for another 15. Then purée the chiles and use them in sauces or stews. Other dried chiles worth experimenting with are: mulato (3), pasilla (4) and chile de arbol (5). Chipotle (6) chiles are merely smoked jalapeños that you can buy dried or canned in adobo sauce. You can also produce your own in a smoker or barbecue; throw them into a dehydrator after 24 hours of low-temperature smoking. As for fresh, jalapeño (7) chiles are versatile, but Mexicans generally choose the smaller serrano (8) for fresh salsas. Poblano (9) is the one that gets stuffed as a chile relleno, and looks like a dark green pepper, though it’s mildly picante. Along with the slender, light-green Anaheim (10) (roasted, seeded, peeled and chopped), poblanos add bite to the tomatillo and cubed pork stew known as chile verde.
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yes, often with rich chile flavour, but Mexican cooks save the picante for the condiment salsas. These rely on common ingredients: fruit – including tomatoes and tomatillos – raw, smoked, pickled or roasted peppers, lime juice, red or white onion, garlic, cilantro, salt and black pepper. Why do some salsas rock and others suck? The absence of any of the above ingredients, or such a light hand with any one of them that including the ingredient is pointless. Salsas are supposed to be full-flavoured. Salt and lime are especially important. Many potluck chefs, trying to cleave to a healthful protocol, use but a pinch of salt in a dish that otherwise contains prime ingredients. And they wonder why the version in the shabby Mexican restaurant is so much better. It’s salt. As for lime juice, insist on fresh (key limes are especially good); a squeezer tool gets all the juice out. Basically, salsas are fresh pickles – that is, vegetable matter brined for a short time. And time is of the essence. To make a standard fresh tomato salsa, or salsa fresca, start by putting diced peppers, garlic, onion and salt in a lime juice bath. Let that sit for a few hours if possible, then add the more delicate tomato and cilantro and let it rest for another hour before serving. Feel free to be more heavy-handed with the powerful flavours than you might think prudent. The sharp tang of garlic, onion and hot pepper mellows in a citric acid bath. Permutations are infinite: you can give the salsa treatment to mangoes, sweet onions, pineapples, peaches, pears or oven-roasted tomatoes. Try mint along with the cilantro, or fresh oregano. Poblano peppers, fresh or dried and then rehydrated and puréed, are good, as are birds-eye or Thai chiles. Shallots instead of red onions. Caramelized onions instead of fresh tomatoes. Beer or grapefruit juice to thin. Olive oil to finish. Your imagination will help guide you! Armed with these ingredients, wave good-bye to boring old Taco Night with the little yellow Old El Paso box.
Salsa Puerto Escondido
Salsa Verde
3 large very ripe tomatoes, diced small
12 tomatillos (use canned if necessary)
2-3 T. ground chipotle chiles
12 serrano chiles (one for every tomatillo)
1 medium red onion, diced small
1 large white onion, quartered
1 t. minced garlic
salt
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
lime
juice of 2 or 3 limes
generous handful of cilantro
liberal quantity salt and cracked black pepper to taste
water to thin (or light beer if you like) since it’s a very hot salsa
Mix all the ingredients together and let sit a bit to let the flavours become well acquainted.
Roast half the tomatillos and half the serrano peppers in a 450°F. oven, then run all the ingredients through a blender or food processor.
Spices, Grains and Beans... Cumin (11) is indispensable, as is Mexican
oregano (12), which is rather different from its European counterpart. Many Yucatecan recipes call for achiote (13), a spicy paste of annatto seeds known more for its bright red colour than its flavour. Jamaica (14) is hibiscus flower; when steeped, it makes the tangy beverage sometimes called Red Zinger Tea.
Where to buy the essential Mexican pantry in Calgary... (11)
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Mexicans prefer corn tortillas for making tacos and enchiladas. They’re cooked already, but require a second touch-up on a flat pan or even over a gas burner. A plastic tortilla warmer is useful. When you wind up with leftover tortillas, do what the Mexicans do – for breakfast, cut them into strips and fry them with onions, garlic, peppers, cheese and eggs in a dish called chilaquiles. La Tiendona sells thin tortillas that you can fry to make the best corn chips you’ll ever eat. Beans are ubiquitous in Latin American cuisine. At La Tiendona you’ll find sacks of black, red and pinto beans. Corn meal, or masa, has many uses, but the classic is in Mexico’s beloved tamales. Stuffed with stewed meat or queso fresco and wrapped in corn husks, then steamed, the tamale is the apogee of Mexican peasant food – and perfect for making in a family assembly line.
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• Unimarket, 2405 Edmonton Trail N.E., or 128 - 50 Ave SE Good selection of Latin foods, some fresh. Tortillas, dried peppers, chipotle. • La Tiendona Market Inc., 1836 - 36 St SE Great for sacks of dried beans, Mexican peppers and many other Latin products. • Basha Foods, 2717 Sunridge Way NE Mostly Middle Eastern, but many unsual varieties of produce including peppers and tomatillos. • Salsita, 777 Northmount Drive NW Mexican specialty products. ✤ Kevin Brooker is a Calgary-based freelance writer with an interest in regional peasant cuisine. If any product is grown, pickled, cooked, brewed or distilled according to time-honoured but modest tradition, he wants to try it.
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S u r v i v i n g
S e r v i c e :
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Karen Ralph illustration by Darcy Muenchrath
especially after I left the orders in my billfold instead of giving them to the kitchen. The hung-over cooks didn’t notice the lack of take-out orders until hungry, angry men started honking their air horns and yelling at us from the parking lot. On my second day I was expected to bartend, which was both illegal and dangerous. I was only 16 and we were within staggering distance of the Windsor and Dawson Hotels. Patrons who’d been kicked out of the hotel bars would come to us, drunkenly demanding rye and coke, which I free-poured. It didn’t take long for word to get out and by the time my parents came to pick me up, the bar was full of scary, drunken men and a few tough-looking women. Parental outrage ensured that there was no third shift. My next job was in a family-friendly fast-food chain restaurant. It was clean, we didn’t serve alcohol, and I wasn’t the youngest staff member by 30 years. I worked there part-time after school and we enjoyed duelling with frozen foot-long hotdogs, causing grease explosions from tossing ice cream into the deep fryer, and scooping spilled toppings back into their containers with dustpans. The owner was supposed to be religious, but we found his stack of porn over the cooler and suspected him of spying on us when we changed. It was time to quit. After I moved to the city, the first thing my friend and I did was get thrown in jail overnight for doing a “dine and dash” from a 24-hour restaurant. That affected my restaurant karma and I spent the next couple of years working in various dodgy late-night pizza places before I entered the “deli years.” Russian, Jewish, Greek, European – I was the girl behind the counter slicing cheese, dried meats and hard, fatty sausage logs. I made Montreal smoked meat sandwiches on rye bread slathered with Keen’s mustard, diced beets for borscht, and weighed and packaged pickles, herring, perogies and blintzes. I would marinate in the deli aromas all day and leave work stinking of cheese, pickled fish and smoky meat. I regularly came to work so hung over that it’s a miracle I still have all my fingers. The next decade was spent toiling in a variety of cafés, bistros and pubs, where I learned a lot from working with true professionals who take pride in their jobs no matter what. The best servers, like the best comedians, have great timing. Good communication skills, personal hygiene, etiquette and consistency are also helpful. Everyone probably works with a hangover from time to time, as I did, but I hate being served by someone who smells like a bottle depot. If a server is high, drunk, or smells like stale cigarettes and bourbon he should be sent home. A friend told me of a waiter who was sitting at the bar having a pre-shift meal. He looked handsome in his pale blue shirt. Half an hour later he was serving them in a dirty work shirt with a lemon seed stuck to its back.
If chefs are the kings of the kitchen, servers are the overlords of the dining room and the front of house is their turf. The best servers are like ninjas; their perfect timing and precise execution keep the kitchen and customers happy. Diners might think otherwise, but good waiters have the upper hand. We are at their mercy and it doesn’t bode well if they seem indifferent or confused about what’s needed to make the dining experience pleasurable. Serving is a noble profession, but unpredictable scheduling, low wages, abusive chefs or managers and high rates of substance abuse are a few of the factors that can make it a less than desirable vocation. The idea that waiting tables is somehow not a “real job” persists, despite the fact that restaurant servers are generally passionate about food and wine and have probably never been more rigorously trained. I know. I spent more than two decades working in the service industry, starting in a long-defunct restaurant on Alaska Ave. in Dawson Creek, BC. This place was famous for its “Longhorn Burger,” a foot-long concoction containing eight to 10 beef patties slathered in some sort of sauce, a pile of bacon and a handful of pickles. You could dine in or drive up and shout your order through the small, dirty take-out window, drive around the building, and park in the huge lot until one of the staff ran out with your order. I was the youngest person on staff and had no previous experience working in restaurants or even eating in them. My family rarely dined out, and when we did it was almost always at The Pagoda, a local Chinese restaurant. Instead of training me, the floor manager, who was only a couple of years older than I was, decided that I should work at the take-out window during the lunchtime rush. The drive-through customers were mostly regulars – highway workers and long-haul truckers travelling the Alaska Highway. They weren’t patient or polite,
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Friendly and efficient service that deteriorates halfway through the meal and turns into obnoxious table maintenance is annoyingly common. Recently, my boyfriend Ribsy and I went to a new restaurant in an old neighbourhood. It was a spontaneous stop and we didn’t have a reservation but the hostess said it was “no problem” and sat us. Our server was pleasant in a casual, no-sense-of-urgency way, brought our wine, and said “no problem” after we ordered some small dishes to share. When she brought our food, we asked for cutlery, water and chile flakes. Once again, it was “no problem” and she went to stand at the bar. The restaurant was described as “casual,” but the staff took it to the next level – “self serve” would have been more appropriate. We took cutlery from the table next to us and rationed the wine to the end of the meal. The restaurant slowly emptied until we were the only customers left. Our dirty, empty plates were an obvious clue that we had finished eating and we wanted the bill. By the time she brought it, the thrill of getting in was replaced with relief at getting out. Our next stop was to see a band at an old hotel. We got the “stink eye” from a woman sitting on the gum-studded steps when we walked through her cloud of smoke on the way in. She followed us, strapped on her apron and yelled, “Last call!” The bar was dark and haunted by the ghosts of overflowing plastic ashtrays, pickled eggs and spilled beer. We ordered gin and tonics, cringed as her nicotinewizened fingers squeezed the limes and hoped that the booze would kill any germs. We drank up and left before the lights came on. With elevated prices, there’s an expectation of upscale service, but when I went with friends for drinks at one of Calgary’s pricier bars, the bartender preferred a passive-aggressive form of surly, single-syllable grunts as he shoved drinks at us, causing sweet delicious alcohol to slop onto the bar. He was rude so we left and got a great table at a nearby restaurant, where I discovered that it’s possible to eat lunch at a place for years and have one experience of the service, only to find that in the evening, it’s not at all what you expected. Our waiter was friendly and efficient until a table directly behind us commanded his attention. continued on page 56
You’re invited to the
Fall Fare
Enjoy great taste in fashion, food & more! Join us from 10 am - 5 pm on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 for delicious samples, informative presentations and seasonal fun! North Parking Lot at 10 am: Gift Bags for the first 400 people with a nominal donation (monetary or non-perishable food item) to The Calgary Interfaith Food Bank Centre Court: 11 am - 4 pm, Live Entertainment by Rick Climans Jazz Group Join us at The Highwood on SAIT Polytechnic’s main campus for exceptional food and outstanding hospitality. With a team of renowned chefs and service instructors to guide them, our students can’t wait to show you what they’ve been cooking up this semester.
Visit our website for all the details from each of our participating merchants!
www.wpv.ca experience great shopping, experience Willow Park Village!
For lunch or dinner reservations: sait.ca/highwood | 403.284.8615, ext. 2.
NOW HIRING EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE • Cooks & Chefs • Dishwashers • Skilled Servers • Supervisors
WHAT
NOW OPEN FOR BIZZZZ-NESS!
WHO
To work in our very fun, busy & fabulous new restaurant!
• Grand Opening • Great Rustic Italian • Hot New Chefs • Beautiful Country Setting
FeAtuRing tRAnsCenD CoFFee, FiAsCo gelAto AnD CHeF insPiReD DAily CReAtions. 412 Pine Creek Rd, De Winton AB...at Heritage Pointe. 403 256-0618
HOW
(Bragg Creek is closer than you think)
• theitalianfarmhouse.ca • lisa.p@theitalianfarmhouse.ca • https://www.facebook.com/ItalianFarmhouse
Brought to you by the fine folks @ Creative Restaurants Inc (Bonterra & Cibo)
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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Fresh Produce
Antipasti
In-store Bakery
S u r v i v i n g
S e r v i c e :
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
continued from page 54
It was déjà vu. When he finally reappeared, he was rushed and asked if we “ladies” wanted more wine, which he brought, opened and emptied into our four glasses in one round to avoid the inconvenience of topping them up. It was an expensive bottle and we weren’t impressed. He tried to take our plates before we were finished and followed up the dessert descriptions with a diet joke. It might have been funny if we were 15-year-old boys, but we weren’t.
Specialty Foods Olive Oils Balsamics Catering
Undeterred, the next afternoon I stopped for a drink at another new restaurant. It was late afternoon and three or four waiters were standing at the bar talking amongst themselves. I stood in the door until they sat me in no-man’s land – the unlucky table that everyone thinks someone else is serving. After a 10-minute wait, I was about to phone the bartender and order a drink when a server approached. She looked crisp and fresh: black clothes and white aprons are classic, and the look matched the elegant old-world charm of the restaurant. I was looking forward to sitting in the sun sipping wine. She took my drink order and told me that the kitchen was closed until five. Then she went to stand at the bar with the rest of the penguins. I should have trusted my instincts and left, but instead I phoned Ribsy. When Ribsy arrived there was a noticeable improvement in the service; his manly presence must have promised a better tip. She told us about the dinner specials, recommended some menu items, and, after we ordered, praised him for his choice of beer.
Olives Deli Meats &Cheeses Gift Baskets
Hot &Cold Lunches
Cappuccino Dessert Bar
Visit Lina’s for the real ItaLIan experience.
2207 Centre St NE • 403.277.9166 • www.linasmarket.com
A few minutes later, a cook approached the table with bread fresh from the oven, followed by a different waiter with the appetizer. The cook’s presence had a galvanizing effect on the floor staff and suddenly we were inundated by hovering servers waiting to pounce on any plate, wine glass, or piece of cutlery that wasn’t in immediate use. Ribsy’s ninja-like reflexes saved the appetizer from being taken when he blocked the waiter’s reach with a piece of hot bread. My unfinished glass of wine was scooped off the table. I asked for it back, but as soon as it was returned another waiter tried to grab it. When our entrée arrived we managed a couple of bites before a busser sidled up, and in the spirit of obnoxious, over-zealous, intrusive table maintenance, took Ribsy’s plate that was obviously still being used. Ribsy asked for another plate, but when they brought it, they tried to take the bread. In the span of one meal we had gone from ignored and forgotten to stalked and harassed. It wasn’t an improvement. The waiters seemed oblivious to who was doing what. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered, we threw in the napkin and fled. Waiting tables requires timing, skill, stamina and diplomacy, and great servers do far more than simply bring your food – they are dining room diplomats. Unlike hair salons, where you pay more for experienced stylists and less for trainees, bars and restaurants don’t charge less for bad or inexperienced service. It’s frustrating when an establishment spends thousands of dollars on chefs and decor but the skill levels of its front line staff are wildly uneven. No matter how great the food, poor service will ruin the experience, and if the food is bad, a great server can save the situation. On the other side of the coin, just as there’s bad service, there are bad customers who are rude, mean, cheap, impossibly demanding and probably should never go out in public. Other customers shouldn’t have to hear your drunken domestic fight, or a screaming baby. Don’t bring a small child to an expensive, “special occasion” restaurant that probably doesn’t have diaper-changing tables, high chairs or booster seats. Don’t say “ew” or “gross” in the middle of the waiter’s description of the specials. Don’t use bogus allergies as a reason to modify a dish until it’s unrecognizable, and don’t start texting when the waiter is trying to take your order. If there’s a problem, try and talk to the server about it. If he or she can’t help you, maybe a manager can. Have realistic expectations and be polite. You might be the star on your own stage, but the waiter has several other tables on the go. In short, civility on both sides will go a long way to ensure that dining experiences are pleasurable and not painful. Years ago, when I was working in a late-night deli, after the doors were locked at 4 a.m. we used to blow off stress by drop-kicking stale cheesecakes to see if they would stick to the ceiling. We followed this by drinking ’til the sun came up. I like to think that now, with the focus on foodies, celebrity chefs, cooking, and the sheer amount of choice we have when it comes to food and drink, things are more professional, thanks to excellent service, food, and wine training programs.
Good food, good wine, good friends... that’s BoccaVIno! (right next door to Lina’s) ask about our divine weekly chef’s Specials! 2220 Centre St NE • 403.276.2030 • www.boccavino.com
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Meanwhile, in the dining room, I now do my best to be worthy of excellent ninja service and I expect servers to treat me accordingly. After all, if we customers can’t get a decent table and more than a little respect, we can always go out and find a food truck. ✤ Karen Ralph works at Metrovino and is Red Wine Tongue “pop-up” celebrations, redwinetongue@gmail.com.
Slo Down Sexual Chocolate 2011 When old vine Napa Zinfandel meets northern California Syrah and Petite Sirah, you get the magic of Sexual Chocolate. The ZINFANDEL presents a rich, warm feel, like biting into a chocolate covered cherry. The SYRAH adds a finish that lingers long after the party is over. And the PETITE SIRAH blends in the lush aromatics of magic and love.
PAIRS WELL WITH LATE NIGHTS, FRIENDS... AND A SECOND BOTTLE OF SEXUAL CHOCOLATE. Sexual Chocolate is brought to you exclusively by Kensington Wine Market, $34.99.
K
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WINE MARKET 1257 KENSINGTON ROAD NW, CALGARY • WWW.KENSINGTONWINEMARKET.COM • 403.283.8000 OR TOLL-FREE 1.888.283.9004
CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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stockpot Stirrings around Calgary
EASE[Y] SU NDAY NIG HT DINNER SHOULD BE THIS DELICIOUSLY SIMPLE
restaurant ramblings n The Highwood Dining Room at SAIT opens for lunch and dinner on September 5. Great, new menus have been created by instructors, Chef Jason Boyd and Chef Scott Pohorelic. Lunch Monday to Friday, dinner Monday to Thursday. The popular Thursday lunch buffet is served September 12, 19, 26 and October 3, 10, 24 and 31. All the tasty details and online booking at sait.ca/highwood or call 403-284-8615, ext. #2. Now available in the School of Hospitality and Tourism, a Convenience Card to Eat, Dine and Shop in the John Ware building! The 4-Nines Dining Center opens September 3, The Market Place opens September 9. The Culinary Campus Downtown opens September 4. n On September 26, River Café welcomes renowned Four Seasons Chef José Salas from Punta Mita, Mexico. This unique evening of culinary collaboration with host Chef Andrew Winfield explores a vibrant celebration of seasonal regional cuisines of the Americas, an authentic “taste of place” of two regions from the Mexican coastal Pacific to the prairies and mountains of western Canada. Details at river-cafe.com. n Postino Cafe & Lounge, a new café at 2502 Capitol Hill Cr. NW, serves locally roasted coffee from 15 Kilo, fresh-made pastries and sandwiches from Fraîche Desserts, along with Village brewery growlers. Check it out. (403-399-3091) n The East Village blossoms beautifully, especially the funky old Simmons building – “Beds, Mattresses, Springs, Pillows” – which will house a bunch of our fave food people. Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery and a new restaurant, CharBar, by CHARCUT owners/chefs, Connie DeSousa and John Jackson. A culinary centre of the best of the best – woooo-hoooo!
WOOD -FIRE ROA ST PORCHE T TA o nly o nc e e ac h week COME G ATHER ‘ROUND
4611 BOWNESS ROAD NW 403.288.4372
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n Enjoy Sunday Night Dinners at Vin Room – a three-course tapas dinner for $35 plus 20% off bubbles, excluding prosecco. Vin Room Mission, 403-457-5522, 2310 – 4th St. SW; Vin Room West, 587-353-8812, 8561 – 8A Ave. SW. n Three Crowns Pub carries a wide variety of import and craft beers, serving 20 oz. pints of the 12-tap draft selection. Enjoy CFL and NFL games on a 120-inch HD projector. Try the home-made daily soup and sandwich special and hand made pizza dough. n Creative Restaurant Group has added two new siblings to its family of Bonterra Trattoria and Cibo – POSTO Pizzeria and Bar, 1014 - 8th St. SW, and The Italian Farmhouse in Bragg Creek where Madrina’s used to be. POSTO features a small menu packed with flavouricious food accompanied by good wine. Posto means “place” or “venue”
in Italian. In Bragg Creek, at 20 Balsam Ave., The Italian Farmhouse offers rustic Italian fare. Two new places to try – yay! n Vagabond Brewery, up and running as a pub since May and contract brewing so that it has its own beer on tap, has received its first approval to put the brewery in and hopes to have it in by December 1. Vagabond will add a $100 burger to its menu – ground Kobe beef, foie gras, lobster tail, and black truffle. All we can say is – for 100 bucks, every element of this burger will have to be perfect! n State & Main Kitchen and Bar, a new restaurant operated by FranWorks Group of Companies (FranWorks owns Original Joe’s), has opened in Chinook Centre, offering classic comfort food with flavours both familiar and unexpected, late night dining, outdoor seating and an 18-tap draught line-up. stateandmain.ca. n At the Libertine: September 12, Cask Beer Night with Wild Rose Brewery, tapping the cask at 4 p.m. for a unique brew created for this event. October 31, Fernie Brewing Company Beer Dinner. Spend Halloween with good eats and delicious brews – 4 courses, $60, 6 p.m. Tickets at 403-265-3665 or thelibertine.ca.
wine & beer wanderings n Support your local wine purveyor and get free delivery. Bin 905, severely damaged in the flood, is reconstructing. Reopening is set for early fall with an exciting new store, but in the interim Bin 905’s entire selection is available on a brand new web site at bin905.com. Until the new store is opened, delivery is FREE anywhere within city limits. n Don’t’ miss the 16th Annual Calgary Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival, October 18 and 19, Stampede Park BMO Centre, Halls D & E. Look for worldclass wine, premium spirits, import and micro-brewed beer and tasty culinary creations in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Visit rockymountainwine.com for all the delicious details. n Metrovino tastings: Sept 12 & 13, Bacchus for Beginners (Wine Basics); Sept 16, Artist Series, Geoffrey Hunter; Sept 19, Gluggable Red Wines; Sept 25, Grand Cru Riesling; Sept 26, The Rich & Complex Life of CGSM; Oct 3, Buyers’ Tasting (Taste 30 Wines for $30); Oct 7, Artist Series, Em Media; Oct 9, The Charm of Rioja; Oct 10, Austria; Oct 16, Up-River in the Rhone; Oct 23, Uniquely Rare, B.C.; Oct 24, Evening Land Vineyards; Oct 30, Killer Wines; Nov 6, The Beautiful South, Metrovino Style; Nov 13, The Boreal Extreme; Nov 21, Aromatic Grape Varieties; Nov 28, Fizztival. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Register at 403-205-3356 or online at metrovino.com/class-registrations. n One of our fave wineries, Joie Farm on the Okanagan’s Naramata Bench, has won 70 medals in 2013 international
competitions! Joie was named Canadian Winery of the Year at the 2013 New York International WIne Competition and scooped all kinds of gold medals across its range of wines. Heidi Noble and Michael Dinn have done such a fabulous job – go find their wines and drink Joie. n 2011 Vintage Ports from Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca & Croft have arrived. Jancis Robinson, MW: “There is little doubt that 2011 produced stunning vintage ports, into which more effort and skill has gone than any other previous vintage in the Douro. Taylor Fladgate’s Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha may be the finest wine produced anywhere in the world in 2011.” Ask your fave wine retailer about these limited quantity vintage ports. For tasting notes, visit 2011vintageport.com. n The wineries of the Naramata Bench Wineries Association throw the Okanagan’s wine party of the season on September 7 in the heart of Naramata Village at Manitou Beach and Park. The theme of this year’s Tailgate Party is Fish ‘N’ Sips, A Naramata Picnic at the Beach. Tickets are $89. Details and tickets: naramatabench.com. n On Friday the 13th, 6 - 8 p.m., Britannia Wine Merchants hosts a scotch tasting that features the Calgary artists’ collective, Bee Kingdom, showing its hand-blown Royal Scotch glasses, 810 - 49 Ave. S.W. britanniawinemerchants.ca. n Look for Durbanville Hills wines of South Africa available here – the winery makes its own chocolate to pair with both the shiraz and the sauvignon blanc. A perfect pairing of wine and chocolate, but you can’t get the chocolate outside of the winery. Pair these with your fave chocolate, or visit the winery – we could all use a trip to South Africa, couldn’t we?
cooking classes n At Salsita Mexican Food Market: In September, chiles rellenos and tamales (for vegetarians and non-vegetarians). In October, pozole and roasted poblano pepper soups, green Mexican rice and vermicelli with chorizo. Details at salsita.ca. Join The Compleat Cook for small group cooking classes featuring Calgary’s great chefs. Under the Sea, Farm to Table, A Greek Feast, 7 Spices for Everyday, Flavours of India, Autumn Harvest Soups, Fiesta Mexicana Deliciosa, Friday Night Date Night, Comfort Food on Wheels and Thai One On. Details at compleatcook.ca or 403-253-4831. n Cuisine et Chateau Interactive Culinary Centre Hands-on Cooking from New Delhi with Love, August 2, 6:30 p.m. Hands-on and demonstration classes in Sept/Oct include cheese making workshops, Moroccan Flair, Turn on the Grill, Simply Italian, Made in France, Classic French Bistro, Herbs and Spices of the World, Curing and Smoking, Stocks and Sauces, Cakes, Everything Chocolate and more. Visit cuisineandchateau.com or phone 403-764-2665. n Autumn at the Light Cellar Superfood & Superherb Teaching Kitchen features
great classes – opportunities to upgrade, enrich and expand your expertise across a range of topics, including Raw Chocolate Making, Fermented Foods and Drinks, Wildcrafting, Medicinal Mushrooms, Raw Pies and Desserts and much more. For more information, to register online visit: 403-453-1343, thelightcellar.ca 6326 Bowness Road NW. n At The Cookbook Co. Cooks: Breadmaking, Hand-Made Stuffed Pasta, On the Bone – Braise, Roast and Grill, Girls’ Night Out – Cocktails and Hors d’Oeuvres, Gnocchi Workshop, Risotto Workshop, Thai Classics, Cupcake Couture, A Burgundy Food and Wine Experience, Off the Menu of Xavier Lacaze’s new restaurant Briggs, French Farmhouse Menu, Sushi-Making Workshop, Your Mexican Pantry, Making Bitters Workshop, Nose to Tail Butchering, Making Sausages and Pâtés and much more. Full calendar at cookbookcooks.com.
general stirrings n Don’t miss the 2nd Annual Sundown Chowdown at the Calgary Farmers’ Market, September 6, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Food trucks – lots and lots of your favourite food trucks – plus market vendors celebrating great local food and entertainment. Fun! A team of celeb foodie judges will decide which food trucks and market vendors serve up the best dishes. Don’t miss it! n ACE Bakery and Food Network’s Bob Blumer, launch Canada’s Best Sandwich Contest. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, ACE Bakery is tempting Canadians with a grand prize of $20,000! Sandwich lovers are encouraged to slice up their favourite ACE Bakery bread and put their unique sandwich recipes to the test. Send your best recipe to the ACE Bakery website – acebakery.com – through September 24. Scores are based on taste appeal, creativity, innovation and originality. We could all use an extra 20 grand. n At Heritage Park: Treaty 7 Pow Wow, September 15, cross-cultural celebrations with the Treaty 7 Nations; Shindig, September 21, a fundraiser party for Heritage Park; Railway Days, September 28/29 celebrating our rail history; Thanksgiving Weekend, October 12-14, Thanksgiving meal and free rides; Ghouls’ Night Out, October 24-27, a Halloween event for little ghouls; Ghosts and Gourmet, October 30/31, an evening with some of the park’s permanent residents. Details at heritagepark.ca. n The new market at Symons Valley Ranch has a 5-day retail store, a 3-day indoor farmers’ market and a 2-day outdoor farmers’ market. Vendors include Greens Eggs and Ham, Sunworks Farm, Spragg’s Meat Shop, Bowden Chicken, Phil & Sebastian Coffee, Rustic Sourdough Bakery, Sylvan Star Cheese, Sabores Mexican Food, Blue Door Oil & Vinegar, Kaffir Lime Indonesian, Buzz Honey, The Cucumber Man, Dessert Designs and Eden Essentials. n There’s sunshine in a bag in the Roasted Pepper/Artichoke Ravioli produced by Peppino Gourmet Foods. The Kensington deli-cafe, which also has a new retail store at 717 - 2 Ave. NE in
Bridgeland, has created several unique products to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. The newest ravioli envelops peppers and artichokes in a cheesy pocket that’s perfect with Peppino’s cream- or tomato-based sauces. n Mustafa Cetin sells delicious Turkish Nefiss Lezizz olives – including smoked sun-dried black olives and green olives stuffed with orange peel! – at the Crossroads Market. The good things these olives do for a martini! Now you can also find them at Sunterra Market stores. Sunterra has replaced their regular bulk olives with Nefiss Lezizz olives. n Anthony Wing, at one time Neptune Oyster supplier of oysters in Calgary and launcher of oyster programs in many Calgary restaurants, competed in the oyster-shucking nationals in Tyne Valley, PEI (with the support of Eric Giesbrecht, Calgary’s “oysterman,” Meta4 Foods) and placed 4th out of 28 contestants. He can be found on Tuesdays at National on 17th lending his shucking arm to the Buck a Shuck night. Eric Giesbrecht, Meta4 Foods and Calgary’s own “oystermeister,” has created a new identity for his oystering – OysterTribe. OysterTribe is the catering arm of Meta4 Foods, offering raw bar services – professional shucking and serving the country’s finest oysters and clams – including accoutrements. He also offers seafood towers and charcuterie, lobster boils, clambakes and more. Details from the oystermeister at 403-616-6164 or chefmystic@meta4foods.com.
continued on page 60
PREGO’S cucina italiana lunch • dinner • before theatre • after theatre
Taste the tradition Eau Claire Market On the 2nd level
403-233-7885 CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013
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EATIVE RECToR
Stockpot continued from page 59 n Kevin Kent, founder and chief knife knerd of Knifewear, has opened his 4th Knifewear store recently in Ottawa. He has also done a number of his infamous pop-up shops in Edmonton while looking for a permanent location there. Look for Knifewear in Inglewood and in Kelowna, too. The knife knerd is also working on a book about living with knives.
savour
fine foods & kitchenware
Quality. Style. Service.
n Top Chef Calgary contestant Chris Shaften has left Blonde’s Diner to strike out on his own and provide complete chef services. He will focus mainly on private parties, but other culinary roles will include liaison for special events, keynote speaking, teaching private and public classes and judging competitions. Find Shaften at tastefirst.ca. n The Calgary Home + Design Show that runs September 19 - 22 at the BMO Centre, Stampede Park, features a cooking stage with local food celebs, like Dan Clapson, plus lots of other home and design celebs. Don’t miss it! Details and tickets at calgaryhds.com. n Le Creuset adds refined rusticity to your kitchen cookware hues with Truffle, a sophisticated creamy brown colour that complements hearty root vegetable stews, sweet peach pies and comforting fall dishes. Le Creuset is the king of beautiful enameled cookware colours – truffle up your kitchen with this elegant heirloom colour that will pair happily with other Le Creuset colours.
1331 - 9th Ave SE Calgary, Alberta Tel: 403.532.8222 savourfinefoods.com
n Karen Allbright, daughter of Calgary Stampeder veteran Ron Allbright, has launched Calm Order Organizing and Concierge. Calm Order will make your life a whole lot easier with hot tips for back to school, getting organized, and personal shopping at our farmers’ markets and specialty stores. Allbright will help you menu plan, shop, cut your veggies and prepare for each week ahead. Visit CalmOrder.com or phone 403-607-2680.
eve ry t h i n g fo r
herbivores carnivores & pie-ivores
n CattleBoyZ Foods is on the move. CattleBoyZ, recently named Product of the Year for 2013 by industry experts and consumers, has signed up new retailers across Canada. New sauces include a wing and hot sauce and a Chipotle Maple Bacon BBQ Sauce. As a complimentary line to the sauces, CattleBoyZ has launched a barbecue smoker line in two sizes and a wood/charcoal grill. Visit cattleboyz.com.
farm store (butcher, baker, produce & meals to go) wed–fri 10am–7pm • sat & sun 10am–5pm market • fri 10am–7pm • sat & sun 10am–5pm
n Cuisine et Chateau presents an information session about its 2014 French Culinary Journey, an all-inclusive 7-day culinary experience that combines a stay in a historical mansion, in the heart of the French countryside, with gastronomic adventures, September 29, 227 - 10th St. NW. Register at cuisineandchateau.com or phone 403-764-2665.
fine food • market • gardens • farm store • special events
s u n w o r k s fa r m R u s t i c s o u R d o u g h b a k e Ry s p R a g g ’ s m e at s h o p r o a m i n g a l b e r ta m e at s bowden chicken p R a i R i e fa R m s the cucumber man buzz honey sabores mexican l at i n r o o t s
phil & sebastian coffee roasters greens eggs and ham blue door oil and vinegar p u r e r aw n at u r e glassware creations by laurie d e s s e rt d e s i g n s m o t h e r n at u r e ’ s o r g a n i c p r o d u c e eden essentials spicey jamakin bbq h e l a d o g e l at o
simple simon pies s y lva n s ta r c h e e s e fa r m h e r ba l h e a l i n g a l i t t l e ta s t e o f c o u n t ry tim's gouRmet pizza sichanis mediterranean ba u e R m e ats b e r i t h av r e d e s i g n s pa pa c h o c o lat c ry s ta ls o f at la n t i s
n Amaranth 4th Street Market, the newest in the Amaranth family, will open in Mission in late September. In addition to bringing organic produce, grocery, and wellness products to the inner city, Amy Buckman will be community relations coordinator for the Calgary stores. Amy, a member of Slow Food Calgary, is known for her love of making tasty, healthy food a daily affair. Amy writes for the Ama-
14555 symons valley road nw symonsvalleyranch.com
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ranth blog which can be found by going to amaranthfoods.ca. n Do you know what ruckles are? A Janice Beaton Fine Cheese exclusive from Salt Spring Island Cheese, ruckles are bite-sized taste sensations of fresh goat cheese marinated in garlic, herbs and oil. A great appetizer paired with bread, crackers, olives, fruit and nuts. Only available until November and only at JBFC. n Cococo Chocolatiers, owners of Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut and Fiasco Gelato have created Dark Habanero Sea Salt and Salted Caramel with Rosemary gelatos. Yum! Fiasco is now using Cococo’s exclusive cocoa in all of their chocolate varieties. n Seasoned Solutions Culinary Travel with Gail Hall: Vietnam, March 1 - 14; Piedmont and Burgundy, October, with a possible option of adding on Slow Food’s Terra Madre in Turin, October 23 - 27. Details at seasonedsolutions.ca or email gail@seasonedsolutions.ca. n Join Canada’s growing sustainable seafood movement as Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown comes to Calgary, November 18, 7 p.m., Hyatt Regency. Twelve of Calgary’s top chefs will compete to serve up this year’s winning chowder. Tickets, that support Ocean Wise seafood conservation efforts, at vanaqua.org/chowdown. n The REAP Business Association presents Food for Thought, September 22, 12:30 - 3:30 p.m., the annual harvest celebration connecting consumers, producers, retailers and chefs for samplings, live music, learning and conversation, at the Chinese Cultural Centre, 197 - 1st St. SW. Tickets $30, children $15, at foodforthought4.eventbrite.com. Be Local Dinner, September 27, 6 - 9 p.m., a fourcourse dinner to celebrate the best of the harvest, part of National Organic Week, The Cookbook Co. Cooks, 722 - 11th Ave. SW, $75 at eventbrite.com. We were sad to learn of the passing of Smuggler’s Inn’s Frank Krowicki, a key contributor to Calgary’s culinary scene and a supporter of City Palate. Frank pioneered the concept of casual steakhouse dining when he opened Bar X Steakhouse, which later became Smuggler’s, turning 40 this year. His passion for affordable dining inspired three more restaurants – Open Sesame, Bolero and Tango Bistro.
CLASSIFIED AD For Sale Successful southeast Calgary catering company with full commercial kitchen and retail storefront. All equipment is less than 5 years old. Great lease until March 2016. For further details please send inquiries to bizsale13@gmail.com
to the three lucky winners of city palate’s
for
photo contest
this year, in commemoration of our 20th Anniversary, we asked our readers to get creative in calgary, with bonus points given to the photo containing the oldest copy of city palate.
We Were
Our top choice just had to go to Shannon Senkow looking exactly like the cover of her January February 2000 issue of City Palate – by far the oldest issue.
really impreSSeD that peOple aCtually keep their COpieS OF City Palate. thaNkS FOr DOiNg that! AnD ThAnkS To ALL our reADerS Who SuBmITTeD TheIr greAT PhoToS.
We also liked Sonja Evans having morning coffee with the bees and her September October 2008 issue of City Palate. Couldn’t pass up Steven Martin “thinking about slow food at a fast pace” while reading his November December 2009 copy of City Palate.
A big thAnk-you to our sponsors...
We also thought that an honourable mention should go to Wanda Baker’s two kids “plane watching” with a copy of City Palate’s travel issue. We loved the expressions on their faces, as if they’re thinking, “Maaaaa... are we really doing this ???”
three fAbulous weekend resort pAckAges were AwArded to our winners
A 2 night “romance” package at Island Lake Lodge. Wine and cheese upon arrival. Spa treatment included.
2 nights accommodation at D’Angelo Winery’s Vineyard View Bed and Breakfast in the “Petite Verdot Suite”. Includes an in-suite continental breakfast.
A 2 night stay for 2 people at your choice of The Fairmont Banff Springs The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge The Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Includes breakfast and valet parking.
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Look customers are what our
cooking with!
Karen Anderson adores Brassica’s flavourful mustards. She often mixes it with fresh rosemary, sage and parsley, and a splash of olive oil, and slathers it on pork tenderloin before roasting. When drippings taste this good, they graduate to become an amazing sauce!
Bryan Childs demands the pure, fine texture and mellow flavour of Côte D’Azur’s True Cinnamon for his morning shakes – none of that inferior “fake cinnamon” for him!
5 quick ways with Blueberries
We love blueberries. It’s not just that they’re good for us – antioxidants and more – they taste great in their natural state and they cook up really well. Fresh blueberries are easily found into the beginning of October and are available frozen year-round. Blueberries are good food – here are good things to do with them. From the British Columbia Blueberry Council recipes. For lots of good blueberry recipes, go to bcblueberry.com.
1. Blueberry Bacon Chutney
Ruby Smith-Merovitz’s favourite kitchen implement is her Benriner slicer. Take a chunky, clunky carrot and make a delicate, wafer thin piece. When you sliver and slice, it is ever so nice and makes for fun times with all your vegetables!
In a medium pan, fry 1 c. diced thick-sliced bacon until light brown but not crisp. Strain the bacon and reserve 2 T. of the fat. In the same skillet, add the bacon fat, 1 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen, 3 T. finely diced shallot, 4 T. diced Granny Smith apple, 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar, 1/3 c. maple syrup, 1/2 t. ground black pepper and 1/4 t. ground cloves. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium-low heat for 45 - 60 minutes, until thick and reduced. Stir in the cooked bacon and 1 t. grated orange zest. Serve at room temperature with grilled meats and cheeses.
2. Blueberry Daiquiri Into a blender, place 1-1/2 T. fresh lime juice, 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries and 1-1/2 oz. light rum (we’d suggest 2 oz.). Add 1 c. crushed ice and blend until slushy. Garnish with blueberries skewered on toothpicks circled with a strip of lime peel. Makes 1 cup.
Margie Gibb always has Pacifica Culinaria Citrus Avocado Oils in her pantry. Drizzle it on fresh tomato slices for a luscious, flavourful treat. Margie also uses them to garnish roasted vegetables, pasta sauces, and as an integral part of her famous vinaigrettes.
3. Blueberry Shrimp Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette In a large salad bowl, toss 3/4 lb. medium shrimp, grilled or boiled, with 1 c. fresh blueberries, 1/2 c. toasted walnut pieces, 1/2 c. cooked edamame or green peas and 4 c. mixed salad greens. Evenly divide salad onto 6 plates and drizzle with a lemon vinaigrette made by whisking 1/4 c. olive oil, 2 T. lemon juice, 1/2 t. sugar or honey, and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with 1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese. Serves 6. Hans Wissner can’t get enough of the Il Casale line. He discovered all of their fantastic products after attending our Italian Culinary Food Tour last October. Toss the Chestnut Pasta with ricotta and fresh basil, or mix the Artichoke Pesto on your favourite pasta for delicious and super-fast dinners.
To find out more about these and hundreds of other amazing ingredients, sign up for a “Tour the Shelves With Us” tour of our store: September 17th, October 8th, November 25th.
THE COOKBOOK CO. COOKS
722-11th Avenue SW Phone 403-265-6066, ext. #1
cookbookcooks.com
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4. Blue Witches’ Brew In a blender, combine 1 pkg. frozen thawed blueberries or 1-1/2 c. fresh, 1-1/4 c. apple juice, 1 c. vanilla ice cream, 1/4 c. milk and 3/4 t. ground cinnamon. Blend until smooth and serve immediately. Makes about 4 cups.
5. Quick Blueberry Peach Crisp In a small, heavy saucepan, combine 2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries with 2 c. peeled, diced peaches or nectarines and 2 T. water. Cover and cook over mediumlow heat until the blueberries begin to burst, 3 to 5 minutes. In a cup, combine 2 t. cornstarch and 2 T. water; stir into the blueberry-peach mixture along with 2 T. firmly packed brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the blueberry peach mixture into dessert bowls and sprinkle with 1 c. granola without raisins. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
the Grape Escape
Wine, Spirits & Beer Festival An event for Co-op members and their guests.
Join us at the Grape Escape brought to you by Co-op Wine Spirits Beer. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to miss these informative and entertaining evenings featuring samples from producers of premium wine, spirits and beer. Tickets are available at all Co-op Wine Spirits Beer locations. $
65 per evening, plus gst. Calgary
November 15 and 16, 2013 5pm to 9pm BMO Centre Hall D & E, Stampede Park Visit coopwinespiritsbeer.com for more details.
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city palate
last meal
1993 – 2013
CELEBRATING 20 DELICIOUS YEARS wITh 20 DELICIOUS EvENTS
“On your mark… get set… go!” Date: Saturday, October 5th
Culinary Treasure Hunt Anneke Scholten and Culinary Calgary invite you to gather your team and start training. With at least 40 treasures on the list, you will require endurance, speed and an appetite for adventure. Each team of 2 meets up at Casel Marché for the official kick-off at 9:30 am. The teams then take to the streets searching for each treasure, taking photos of them for points. Photos are emailed in to the judges, who tally the points and determine a winning team. This day of foodie fun will come to a close later that night at the wrap-up party, with small bites and sips, and the crowning of the champions. Location: Kick-off at Casel Marché, 2505 - 17th Ave. SW, 9:30 am sharp! Tickets: $45 pp, culinarytreasurehunt.eventbrite.ca
Sign uP nOW, And MAy ThE OddS bE EvEr in yOur flAvOur!
your path to
rejuvenation
When the food cognoscenti speak of barbecued ribs, the conversation inevitably turns to the denizens of the American barbecue belt. Picture large men in greasy aprons, with hands like shovels, tending pits where whole pigs are slowly smoked over hardwood coals until the meat is so tender it melts in your mouth. Heady stuff to be sure, but let me tell you that I have found a rib recipe that is dead easy and delivers results that could give many a southern pig-house a run for the money. What this recipe lacks in smoky intensity it makes up for in tenderness and depth of flavour from a simple dry rub. The key is to make sure the foil pouches are sealed tight so that the steam from the juices tenderizes the meat. I always use back ribs for this recipe and recommend using either Spragg or Broek Pork Acres’ meat; it’s local, free-range meat and it tastes great. Finish these ribs quickly on the barbecue using a good quality sauce, such as Bone Suckin’ Sauce, or make your own. Remember that barbecue sauce contains sugar and other sweeteners that will burn over direct heat. For this reason, I use the top rack of the grill. If you don’t have a top rack, turn the heat down low (or use low coals) and turn the ribs frequently to avoid burning. We tend to think of dishes like this as summer fare but I find these even more comforting in the winter months. If you are too much of a wus to grill in the cold, you can use the broiler to finish them but the results won’t be as good as when finished on a grill.
Pork Ribs 2 T. kosher salt 1 T. dry mustard 1 t. smoked paprika 1 t. sweet paprika 1/2 t. cayenne 1/2 t. ground black pepper 4 large racks of pork back ribs 1-1/2 c. barbecue sauce
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine the salt and spices in a small bowl. Lay the ribs out on a large surface and distribute the dry rub evenly over the ribs on all sides, massaging the spice mixture gently into the meat. Wrap each rack in a double layer of foil, folding over the tops and sides to create a pouch that will seal in the moisture. Place the sealed pouches on a baking sheet and bake for 2 hours.
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Preheat the grill or prepare coals about 20 minutes before the ribs come out of the oven. Remove the ribs from the oven and unwrap one of the ends. There will be about 1/2 cup of meat juice and fat in each package. Drain the juices, then unwrap the ribs, allowing them to cool. (This can be done ahead of time. Once the ribs have cooled, they can be wrapped and stored in the fridge until ready to be finished. Allow them to come to room temperature before finishing). The leftover juices, which are mostly fat, can be degreased and added to your barbecue sauce. Lay the ribs on a baking sheet and brush them on all side with the barbecue sauce. Place them on the grill over low coals or indirect heat on a gas grill and cook for about 10 minutes, turning frequently and basting with more sauce to lacquer them. A little charring here and there is fine, but they should not be blackened. I typically serve these with coleslaw and the non-traditional addition of coconut rice. Serves 6.
Wine recommendation: Robert Weil 2011 Riesling Trocken ($29). The dry rub spice could be a challenge for a wine matching, but this recipe is fairly tame in terms of heat, so there are several options. If you insist on a red wine, then zinfandel would be my first choice, but I served this recently with a German riesling and it worked perfectly. Robert Weil is one of the world’s greatest riesling producers and this dry white wine offers a classic combination of stone fruits, lime leaf, zesty acidity and impeccable balance.
Geoff Last
Keep it simple and seasonal
Coleslaw
1/2 t. dry mustard
I’ve tried dozens of slaw recipes over the years. This one is a hybrid of sorts from some of my favourites and has become a standby.
pinch of cayenne
1/2 c. champagne vinegar (red wine vinegar is fine as well) 2 t. honey 1/2 small head green cabbage, julienned 1/2 small red cabbage, julienned 1 tart apple, sliced thinly and julienned 1 large carrot, peeled and grated salt and pepper to taste 1/4 c. sour cream
2 T. minced chives 1/4 c. flat-leaf parsley
Warm the vinegar in a small saucepan until hot, then remove it from the heat and add the honey, whisking to combine. Combine the cabbages, apple and carrot in a large bowl. Pour the honey vinegar over the cabbage mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Let the cabbage mixture rest for 15 minutes before finishing. In a small bowl mix the sour cream, mustard, cayenne and herbs, then toss with the cabbage mixture. Adjust seasoning and chill until ready to serve. Serves 6 to 8.
back ribs cayenne pepper
paprika mustard salt barbecue sauce Blueberry Buttermilk Tart Buttermilk has become one of my favourite ingredients for baking; I often substitute it for regular milk in everything from pancakes to Yorkshire pudding. It adds a zesty tang that just lifts things up a notch. This tart is obviously best when blueberries are in season but I enjoy it in the winter as well, perhaps because it reminds me of summer. Frozen blueberries work just fine, thaw them first and drain off the collected juices so they don’t make the crust soggy.
Tart shell: 1-1/3 c. unbleached white flour 1/4 c. sugar 1/4 t. cinnamon 1/4 t. salt 1/2 c. cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch chunks 1 egg yolk, beaten with 3 T. ice water pie weights (rice, dried beans or any other pie weights)
Filling: 1 c. buttermilk 3 large egg yolks 1/2 c sugar 1 T. grated lemon zest 1 T. lemon juice 1/4 c. unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted and cooled 1 t. vanilla extract 1/2 t. salt 2 T. unbleached white flour 2 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen, defrosted and drained 1 T. icing sugar for dusting
Make the shell: in a bowl stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt, then add the butter and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal (use a food processor, two knifes or a pastry blender). Add the yolk mixture and toss with the flour mixture until the liquid is incorporated. Form the dough into a ball. Dust the dough with flour and chill it, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 hour. Roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick on a floured surface, fit it into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim, and chill the shell for at least 30 minutes or, covered, overnight. Line the shell with foil, fill the foil with the pie weights and bake the shell in the middle of a preheated 350°F oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights carefully, bake the shell for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until it is pale golden, and let it cool in the pan on a rack. Make the filling: in a blender or food processor, blend together the buttermilk, yolks, granulated sugar, zest, lemon juice, butter, vanilla, salt and flour until the mixture is smooth. Spread the blueberries evenly over the bottom of the shell and pour the buttermilk mixture over them. Bake the tart in the middle of a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the filling is just set. Let the tart cool completely in the pan on a rack, sprinkle it with sifted icing sugar, and serve it at room temperature or chilled with vanilla ice cream or gelato.
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back burner
Allan Shewchuk
Sh e w c hu k o n s i m m e r
Free wheelin’
The other night, a group of us went out to a new restaurant. All was going swimmingly. Menus and water arrived. Wine was ordered and poured and we’d decided on our meals. Our server retreated to the back and then reappeared with the most amazingly beautiful small composed plates. “A treat from Chef!” she announced, as she placed the amuse bouche before us. As you probably know, an amuse bouche is a small surprise appetizer, which is presented as the gift of the restaurant. It’s meant to be like foreplay for your chosen meal. In this case, the amuse was a zucchini flan with black truffle and zucchini flower, which was a perfect combination of taste, textures and visual presentation. It was so divine that I started to go on about how happy I was to get this surprise. To my shock, everyone else at the table was also overjoyed, not because of the culinary wizardry of the chef, but rather, because of only one thing – it was free. The whole night was instantly determined to be a huge success because we’d gotten a morsel on the house. It almost didn’t matter what the rest of the meal was like. My mind boggled and I had to ask myself what psychology was at play when fairly well-heeled people become ecstatic over a couple of bucks’ worth of free grub. Are people that gullible that they can be totally won over by getting something gratis? Later, I realized that I hadn’t flipped my lid over the no-cost offering because of a lifetime of experience with crappy free stuff. Starting when I was a kid, “free” had always equated with “crushing disappointment.” There I would be, sitting in front of the TV, when a breakfast cereal ad would boast that each box contained a “free” toy. The commercial made this item look so exciting that I would then badger my mother 24/7 until she bought the product. As soon as the groceries arrived, I would tear open the cereal package and root around to find my prize, only to pull out a “Made in China” facsimile of what was advertised, which needed to be broken out of a mold that looked like it had been spot-welded. I would have to rock the plastic to remove the toy from the mold, which always resulted in the whole thing snapping in half. Then there would be tears and disillusionment that even a bowl of sugary cereal couldn’t assuage. As an adult, whenever some promotion offered a “free gift with purchase,” it always ended up being a fancy-looking pen that would immediately explode in your pocket once it got to body temperature, or a wristwatch where the springs would pop out when you tried to change the time. Free electronic devices would burst into flames, but only after they took down your entire operating system. I have been so beaten down by bad free swag that I cannot now get excited about the word “free,” and I can’t see how anyone else can, either. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that food is a whole different ballgame. I had to look no further than the ultimate example of how people turn into happy zombies when food is offered for free – like the Stampede pancake breakfast. Can there be any more hellish experience than getting up before dawn to line up for hours on hard concrete and inch toward a Styrofoam plate of Aunt Jemima’s? And, because you can only make so many pancakes from scratch at a time, only about eight people an hour get their plates filled. The waiting is excruciatingly like being in a doctor’s reception area, except out in the hot sun. And, yet, people show up in droves. My theory is that the lure of free food is just too much to resist. Free food is the catnip of the masses. I tip my hat to that clever chef who sent out a small free taste to our table. He probably could have served us Kraft Dinner to rave reviews after the free course, given the tittering reaction of my dining companions. You can bet that when I open my restaurant, there will be a free starter. And, given my research, I think the way to meteoric success is the most clever of dishes: the amuse bouche pancake. Y’all come in! Hope you don’t mind the lineup... Allan Shewchuk is a lawyer by day, and an Italian ”chef,” wine taster and food writer by night. Sometimes he tastes wine before nightfall.
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