A Taste of Calgary

The first time I attended A Taste of Calgary was about a decade ago. Back then the event was held at the same venue of Eau Claire market but was much smaller in scope -- the crowds were not that large and there were not that many restaurants on display. But things have certainly changed and the food festival has grown in the years since.


I had missed attending for the last two years, so I finally decided to head down there when the event was held last month. The full menu was available online so I was able to have a rough idea of what I wanted.

One of the places I had not heard about was Alaturka which is located at the Crossroads Farmers Market. I opted for their Chicken Souvlaki which was very nice.


The Pulled pork sandwich at Bookers BBQ Grill was quite in demand but since I had sampled that before, I got their Jambalaya instead. Next door to Bookers tent was Quality Hotel Airport & Conference Centre. Their chicken & Sausage Gumbo formed a decent pairing with the Jambalaya.

The Hammerhead Bison Burger from Brewsters Brewing Company was the best sampled item on the night.Simple but quite good.

The Blackened Basa with New Orleans Sauce from Ric's Grill was not that bad.

At Caribbean Choice, I actually wanted to have their Jerk Chicken with Roti but that option was not offered as their choices were instead Jerk Chicken with Rice & Curry Chicken with Roti. But having arrived near closing time, they had run out of curry chicken & rice, so I luckily got my desired choice -- Jerk Chicken with Roti. The line-up at Caribbean Choice was one of the longest along with that at Taj Mahal Restaurant but waiting in line was worth it as the jerk chicken was spicy and flavourful.


For dessert: Mini Melts Ice Cream along with the Frozen Mud Pie from SoHo Bar & Grill.


I had never heard of Mini Melts Ice Cream before and they were the discovery of the night. Tiny granules of ice cream which blissfully melted in the mouth. The ice cream acted as a palate cleanser and was a refreshing end to the night.