Good Eateries in Calgary

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hey, all you Calgary Dopers, do you have any recommendations for good eating places in town (or close to it)? I would absolutely love to find a good pizza and a good Chinese food place. I like a very tasty, almost skunky pizza sauce, and I haven’t found any places yet that have anything beyond the usual bland sauce. We also love any kind of ethnic food.

My own recommendations - Ricky’s has a surprisingly good cheap steak sandwich. I also like the East Indian food at the Bombay Sweet House and Restaurant waaaay out in Castleridge. Restaurant Indonesia on 14th St SW also has some of the best Asian food I’ve ever had.

2

I don’t presonally care for Indian food, but friends swear by the food at Rajdoot on 4th St.

3

Well, it’s only close in the Alberta sense of things, but there’s a restaurant in Banff that I just adore, called Coyote. Its modern pan-everything fusion, some seafood, some pasta, I don’t even know what to call it, except yum. Also you can sit at the bar and watch the chefs cook, which I always enjoy.

4

Okay, Rajdoot and Coyotes. Got it.

5

You might want to try asking in the forums on Egullet or Chowhound.

6

For Chinese: Pink Pearl in Banker’s Hall.

For Indian: we like Puspa’s near corner of John Laurie and 14th Street NW.

For Greek: we like The Broken Plate in Kensington. They’re opening another on Nose Hill across from Crowfoot Centre.

Pricier but for special occasions, worth considering breaking the bank: Muse (also in Kensington).

7

For Thai: Chili Club, on 11 Avenue (formerly Electric. I’m so old). Down near the end. Damned fine food. They used to have a lunch menu that had about 6 courses, and cost less than $10, but I haven’t been there for lunch in ages.

Chinese: Toi Shan on Bow up between 36 and 37 SW used to be fantastic, but I don’t know if it’s still there. That’s where all the police used to eat, and across the alley more-or-less from where I lived.

8

That’s close to where we live - I’ve ordered delivery food from them, and it was good, but it seems Indian food needs to be eaten hot to maximize enjoyment - especially the naan bread. We’ll have to try dining in.

Okay, making notes on all places mentioned. Thanks, guys.

9

:: busy making notes for his brief passing-through-Calgary in July ::
I’d regard myself as something of a seasoned Indian food eater :wink: so I might report back my findings…

10

I’ll have to check out some of the Indian places myself.

Any recommendations for good poutine? I’ve been craving lately but don’t know of the good ones here. Preferably downtown area if possible :wink:

11

Oh man, if we had found a good poutine here, we would tell you. Dunn’s in the Radisson hotel on 16th Avenue would have had them, if anyone, but they’re gone now anyway. Sigh.

Hey, GorillaMan, are you going to have time to go out for a beer on your whirlwind tour? We might be able to scrape up some Dopers for that.

12

Darnit.

I keep missing Nikki’s, okay it wasn’t Montreal poutine but it was way better than some of the crap people try to pass off as poutine in most other places.

13

Quite possibly - I’ll let you know my plans when I’ve made them :stuck_out_tongue:

14

Just to narrow it down a little further, it’s in a plaza at 40th Ave and Northmount Drive–the street address is 1051 40th Ave NW.

You should try dining in, featherlou. It’s small and the place won’t win any prizes for its decor, but Puspa’s food served straight from the kitchen is hot and good.

(And thanks to Doper trupa for letting me know about Puspa’s. My wife and I have been there a few times since he first introduced us to it, and it has become a favourite of ours.)

15

Is that the plaza where there is/was a Joey’s Only?

16

No, there’s no Joey’s Only in the plaza, and I doubt there ever was. It’s not a big plaza (Puspa’s is surprisingly small), parking is somewhat limited, and I don’t think a Joey’s would fit.

17

For Vietnamese I like Oriental Phoenix. There is one on 50th Ave SW and one on Barlow Tr. and 27th Ave NE. It’s a little more expensive than the typical hole in the wall Vietnamese noodle house but the decor is nicer. And the place Gingy mentioned on Bow Tr. is still there, and quite yummy.

18

Wicked Wedge on 17th has fantastic pizza. They make it with whole wheat crust and have the usual and not-so-usual toppings.

19

Yes, but most important, how’s the sauce? I don’t understand why so many pizza joints use such bland sauce on such a tasty food like pizza. All that cheese and meat and stuff can support a real in-your-face (no pun intended) sauce.

Okay, Oriental Phoenix on Barlow and 27th - that’s not too far away for us. We’ll have to try that next time we get a Chinese food craving.

20

For Indian food, Kasmur on 17th Ave & 4th St. S.W., it’s really, really good. Just went to The Blue House off Northmount N.W., supposed to have entertainment - but they didn’t show. We all raved and raved, I’m going back there again; also Mon - Thur is 2 for 1, makes it pretty cheap. For quesadilla, the smoked cheese/veggie from Chili’s is wonderful. Passions on 5th & 6 St has great vietnamese. Chaonti’s on 17th & 14St. S.W. is good for Italian. There are tons of good restaurants here. I’m thinking I’ll order a pizza from Demestris right about now, on Kensington. Great pizza, don’t know if the sauce is what you’re looking for but one piece and I’m pretty much done, they just pack the stuff on, especially good - the Greek with feta cheese. You can also get Greek food delivered from there, but I’ve never tried it.