Primarily about food and wine but sometimes, flamenco.
Thank you for stopping by. This blog will be primarily about food and wine but, from time to time, will incorporate my other passion which is flamenco. I look forward to sharing thoughts about food and wine as well as restaurant reviews.
There are many blogs about food but we all bring our own experience and tastes to a blog so please join me on this adventure.
I will be spending New Year’s Eve on my own this year. It’s my choice. As the song goes, the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful . . . . As that was especially true this year I didn’t feel like venturing out myself or asking any of my friends to risk frozen cars, feet or fingers. I want you to know that you can have a celebratory dinner for just one and you can still have a fun New Year’s Eve. Aside from preparing the meal you just need to decide what you’d like to do. My tradition for many years (when not going out) was to watch Fred Astaire’s “Top Hat”. It used to be broadcast one channel or another but it seldom appears these days. In addition to watching that (as well as the usual New Year’s Eve countdowns) fondue was the celebratory feast. Of course, fondue in itself can be the evening’s entertainment.
This year, however, I have decided on a different kind of meal. The menu is grilled garlic shrimp (grilled on a griddle on the stovetop), seared filet mignon, asparagus grilled in the oven and roasted little potatoes. Chilled cava is the drink of choice.
The shrimp are simply marinated in olive oil, chopped garlic and a pinch of salt.
This is a super simple preparation. You don’t even need a recipe. For my six shrimp, I used about 1/3 cup of olive oil and two large chopped garlic cloves and a pinch of coarse sea salt and put them in the fridge for about two hours.
While waiting for the shrimp to marinate a little something to nibble is always good and since this is a festive meal with no strict timelines, enjoying the whole process is key. I put together a small plate of semisoft Spanish goat milk cheese (Cabra al Vino) known variously in English as Tipsy Goat or Drunken Goat. I added a bit of Membrillo (quince jelly), a few Picos de Pan (little Spanish breadsticks), and some Spanish almonds from Valencia. It’s delightful that Spanish products are starting to be more available in Canada and particularly in Western Canada. ¡Olé! I opened the Cava which was a new one to me – Segura Viudas Reserva. Reasonably priced at $19.89. Crisp, light and delicious.
When the shrimp had marinated about two hours, it was time for the main meal. I heated a cast iron griddle on medium until I could feel the heat rising when I held my hand over the griddle. Then I added the shrimp and let them cook on one side for around two minutes. I then turned them over and cooked them for another two minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on the griddle and your stovetop so keep a close watch on them. Shrimp are cooked when they turn pink and the flesh looks white and is no longer translucent. I prefer cooking them with the unpeeled but they can be peeled before cooking if you wish.
To plate the shrimp I added a bit of chopped fresh parsley for colour and the crisp taste.
Now for the rest of the meal. After washing and cutting the potatoes in half, I coated them in olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and a bit of salt. Again, a recipe is not necessary but for those of you that don’t feel comfortable with that I used roughly 1/4 cup of olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/2 a tablespoon of dried oregano crushed in my palm before being added and a pinch of course sea salt for six potatoes.
I put the potatoes on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven which had been preheated to 400 F. They take a good 20 minutes to cook so I then prepared the asparagus by trimming the woody part of the stems and rinsing them off. I also drizzled the steak with a bit of olive oil.
After the potatoes had been roasting for about 20 minutes I took them out of the oven flipped them over and then added the asparagus to the same sheet pan and drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled it with sea salt. Everything went back in the oven.
Using the cast iron griddle once again I heated it over medium-high heat until I could feel the heat rising when I held my hand over it. I put the steak on the griddle and set the timer for three minutes keeping a close watch on the steak. After three minutes had elapsed I flipped the steak for a further three minutes but I turned the heat down a bit as cast iron really retains the heat. Timing will vary depending on your griddle or grill, your stove top and how you like your steak. I wanted a medium rare steak – nicely pink on the inside but warm all the way through. As the timer was nearing the second three-minute mark I warmed the serving plate then pulled the potatoes and asparagus out of the oven. The six minutes cooking time for the steak was also perfect for the asparagus to be nicely grilled in the oven but still retain their crispness.
One more photo to show you the inside of the steak.
This steak was about an inch thick and you can see there is nice caramelization but the inside is perfectly pink and juicy.
No need to deny yourself a festive dinner on any holiday if you find yourself on your own and if you are having guests, this meal can be easily expanded to the number of people you are serving.
After this scrumptious dinner, I indulged myself with a few episodes of Downton Abbey and toasted the New Year at midnight with the last of that delightful cava.
May this year bring you health, happiness and wonderful meals. Happy New Year!
I knew the menu was going to change and yesterday was the first day. I couldn’t get there though so today was MY first day with the new menu. Lots of changes. Good ones!! New breakfast choices, new bowls and it all looks great. Of course, I couldn’t try everything so I settled on the Magic Mushroom Bowl. It’s both gluten-free and vegan and consists of wild rice and quinoa, cherry tomato, cumin cucumber, snap peas, pickled ginger, mung bean sprouts, tamari glazed shiitake mushrooms, avocado, spicy miso aïoli and black sesame seeds. It was absolutely delicious! There was enough pickled ginger that you could mix it up with the rest and get a bit with every few mouthfuls. While I mourn the loss of the El Jefe Salad, the owners advise me that it may reappear next summer. Aside from that, one of my all-time favorites the Jamaican Me Crazy Bowl is still on the menu as is the Coconut Chicken Bowl and the Wright Vegan Bowl. Exciting new additions include the Yoga Fire Bowl and the Achilles Meal (very witty). My choice today, being the Magic Mushroom Bowl as I said, was an excellent one. It has really big flavor and with the warm wild rice and quinoa it was very satisfying on a cold and snowy day. Again Wise and Wright do not disappoint! If you haven’t been there for a while or if you haven’t been there, check it out. I’m sure you’ll find something to suit your taste. It’s still holding first place in my choices for lunch downtown.
I then spent quite some time going over the menu since the breakfast/brunch dishes are always appealing but fish and chips with the fish being mahi-mahi were calling to me. In the end, I decided to have eggs benedict with bacon and tomatoes.
I had promised to give someone a hand this morning so instead of my usual Saturday morning routine of exercise or a bike ride and then breakfast at home, when I was finished helping out I decided to take myself out for brunch. I chose Diner Deluxe in the Aspen Landing Shopping Centre as it is in the neighbourhood and I had been there twice before but hadn’t written about it.
I got there around 1:00 pm and it was busy. Of course, it could be the brunch crowd or the lunch crowd at that time. However, there was lots of room at the bar and since I was alone, I sat there. I was asked for a drink order promptly and chose to just have coffee although Mimosas were on special for $6.00 which I thought was a very reasonably priced. It just felt like a coffee day though. I was also interested in trying the coffee again as the two previous times I had been there I felt it had a sour taste. The coffee arrived and it tasted great.
I then spent quite some time going over the menu since the breakfast/brunch dishes are always appealing but fish and chips with the fish being mahi-mahi were calling to me. In the end, I decided to have eggs benedict with bacon and tomatoes.
Then I waited and I waited. The order was very long in arriving and although it was busy it wasn’t crazy busy and there were lots of servers so I can only think that the kitchen may have been short staffed (or disorganized).
After about 20 minutes I was presented with a nice looking plate which included the cubed rosemary hashbrowns that Diner Deluxe features. Everything looked lovely and I was looking forward to the “basil hollandaise” as I’m all for variations on classics. Hollandaise is great as originally made with egg yolks and butter, a dash of salt and a little lemon juice but adding herbs or spices to change the flavour are fine with me (when I make hollandaise I almost always add garlic). Unfortunately, my first bite had a sharp taste of vinegar. Now, vinegar can be added to the water to help set poached eggs but when I taste it in the finished product, too much has been used and the eggs haven’t been drained enough. Also, everything was only medium warm so I suspect that it sat a bit too long without being brought up without even the benefit of a heat lamp. I didn’t say anything about the temperature of the good as it was edible – everything just could have been a hotter when it arrived. I tried again and this time didn’t get much vinegar taste but I can’t say the basil came through in the hollandaise which was, nevertheless, silky and tasty. The bacon was Canadian bacon which I think it better for layered dishes like eggs benedict than rashers. It did take me a while to find the tomato though. It turned out to be in between the two halves of the english muffin instead of a slice on each. The second egg also didn’t taste of vinegar so a little uneven on the handling of the eggs although they were cooked the way I had asked for them – very soft.
Time for more coffee. This cup had that sour taste again and it came from a different carafe than the first one. I had done some research on why coffee has a sour taste after a previous visit to Diner Deluxe and found that it’s usually because the coffee maker hasn’t been cleaned properly. However, since the first cup was good and the second not as good, I think it could be that the carafes need to be cleaned out better or that inconsistent amounts of coffee are put in the machine or both. I’m also surprised that places that make a point of telling you which coffee they feature are still using those Bunmaster coffee makers – they never made great coffee.
I enjoyed my time at Diner Deluxe since it’s nice and bright and although thevservice was slow I had a book with me and it was Saturday – if I had been in a rush to get someplace I would have tried to get things moving a bit.
On the previous occasions I had been there food was served more promptly but they were also weekdays and a bit earlier so there were fewer people there. But, as I said, it wasn’t crazy busy so it was a bit of a mystery.
The last time I was there I had the huevos rancheros which were great except I missed beans in the mixture although there are many ways to make huevos rancheros – I just happen to like them with beans. Aside from that, it was a very tasty dish and much to my liking.
The first I was there I had the smashed avocado toast which I was looking forward to so much, I neglected to take a photo but it was also very good.
I would say overall after three visits, my biggest problem is with the coffee. I thought initially maybe it was the roast but I think it’s the coffee machines and serving pots that need attention.
Since the service was good the first two times I was there I will give them another chance in that regard.
A pleasant place to have breakfast or lunch and they are open for dinner as well Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 9:00. Parking can be a bit of an issue if you want to park right in front but if you go further north in the Aspen Landing Shopping Centre there is a fairly large parking lot where you will find room. Kid friendly menu and reservations accepted at the Aspen Landing location.
If I go out to a show I like to make an evening of it. That does not mean wolfing down something quickly at 5:30 in order to get to a performance on time.
I heard something on the radio this afternoon that prompted me to write about a subject I have wanted to address for a while. I mentioned in a previous post that I was surprised that there aren’t more eating options for later in the evening as Calgary has become a big city. I was referring to the lack of eating choices for after a performance. It doesn’t matter what kind of performance – theatre, a concert, a dance performance, the opera – even a movie. If I go out to a show I like to make an evening of it. That does not mean wolfing down something quickly at 5:30 in order to get to a performance on time. I prefer to eat after. Being a person who really likes to cook, you might ask why I don’t prepare something in advance. Well, I could and I did try that a few weeks ago but in the end, one of the friends I ran into that evening suggested we go out for something after and so we ended up at a less than satisfactory place (which shall remain nameless) near SAIT because they cater to students coming in until late. My plan was foiled. Well, I had dinner prepared for the next evening. I also don’t like to have to be that organized. It is enough to be totally disciplined with my exercise routine and what I eat plus the myriad other things about which I need to be totally disciplined. It’s not a problem to have a little snack tray ready for after a show – fruit and cheese and a glass of wine or something along those lines. But, as I said, I like to make going to a performance a full evening event. And, why not?
Well, if there aren’t a lot places open to eat, then perhaps a few more performing groups could try what I heard this afternoon. The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is having a performance this coming Friday (September 15) called “Late Night Adams” which starts at 9:30 p.m. That allows for anyone wanting to eat before the show to do so and not risk indigestion by having to eat too quickly in order to get there. A brilliant idea! The program is shorter than a regular performance but that’s all right too and the ticket prices reflect that. The ESO isn’t changing the entire season – the following night there is a performance of the same piece of music with additional repertoire starting at the conventional time of 8:00 p.m.
I was listening to In Concert on CBC Radio 2 when I heard the ESO plan. Pietro Pietropaolo (the host) got it absolutely. I think a lot of people would get this idea and I would love to see the CPO and other performance groups give it awith try. Obviously it doesn’t work for every kind of show (the opera, for instance, or other shows long performance times) but it would be nice to have a bit of variety in starting times if restaurants aren’t going to stay open late.
Of course, there is the distinct possibility that restaurants aren’t staying open later because they don’t feel there is enough of a market but there are surely enough people in Calgary now who have come from other places or lived in cities where you do have that option. I remember being in New York at the ballet and it was running longer than we had anticipated but our host called the restaurant at intermission to change our reservation for later and it was no problem. Although New York is often referred to as “the city that doesn’t sleep”, that is not the case. Not every place is open all night, or even really late, but there are enough places (and good ones) to accommodate people who want to eat out at a later (sometimes very late) hour. There are enough Spaniards in Calgary to have a Spanish Cultural Club – they alone are used to later hours. There must also be a few folks who have lived in bigger cities are would welcome this.
When discussing how few places are open later in Calgary with a friend a few weeks ago, it just occurred to me why, years ago (I’m thinking about the 60s) my parents and their friends went to Linda Mae’s on Centre Street after church Sunday evenings. It was, of course, partly because they liked Chinese food but it was also because it was one of the few places that were open. Calgary is a much bigger city now so perhaps a few more restaurants in Calgary could try staying open a bit later to cater to the after theatre crowd on weekends and maybe a few performing groups could try starting shows later. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I haven’t been out for dinner for a few weeks as I am eating lunch out every day. As it’s been a crazy week for me, though, I decided it was time to start reviving an old tradition of Friday night dinner out. Another old tradition used to be Friday night dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. So, I started searching for a place.
A pleasant surprise was to find that Pho Kha Le is right in my part of town. I found a number of references to it as being a good place for Pho that’s not in the ‘hood, as the reviewers noted, so I decided to give it a try.
I like Pho but my favorite Vietnamese dish is any variation on vermicelli noodle bowls so a quick review of the menu online before I went told me there were lots of options.
Since Pho Kha Le closes at 9:00 pm on Fridays, I got there around 8:15 pm which is still a bit early for me for dinner but most places close fairly early in Calgary which, by the way, surprises me because Calgary has grown so much in the years I’ve been away I thought we might be keeping slightly later hours by now. It’s still really difficult to find a place to go after a performance or the theatre but I’ll get into that another time.
Pho Kha Le is in a strip mall on Sierra Morena Blvd. just west of the Westhills Shopping Centre. I walked into a lovely nice little space that probably holds about 50 if full. There was one other table of diners. The owner and host showed me to a table and quickly brought water and the menu. I didn’t have to look long as I had really made up my mind from the menu online before I went but I did have a quick look in case I had missed something. I’m not generally a beer drinker, but seeing Tsing Tao on the list, I decided to have one. I like the crispness and the slight bite it has and feel it’s a nice foil to the combination of tastes in noodle bowls with the slightly sweet sauce or chili sauce that’s always available to add. The Tsing Tao arrived beautifully cold with a well chilled glass. I haven’t had it for quite a while and the first sip was divine. Cold, crisp and refreshing – the perfect thing for today given that the temperature reached 28 C.
While waiting for my meal I took in the surroundings. Pho Kha Le is a very nice open, clean space with the an assortment of Vietnamese prints on the walls. A comfortable environment with lots of windows facing west so nice and bright still on a summer evening.
My bowl arrived quickly and it looked every bit as inviting as I had hoped so I added some sauce and began to combine the ingredients. I was only given chopsticks (which was fine with me) but I imagine anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable with them could get a fork. Honestly, I liked the fact I only got chopsticks.
The bowl I had ordered was number 37 – pork with crispy spring rolls on vermicelli. It came with chopped lettuce, bean sprouts, julienne carrots, chopped peanuts and cilantro. I also got a bowl of vinegar dipping sauce for the spring rolls.
It was a sumptous feast – all the more so because I haven’t had a vermicelli bowl in some time. The pork was “melt in your mouth tender” and the vegetables were fresh, crisp and crunchy. The spring rolls were also crunchy and very tasty. Noodles were silky – no gelatinous mass of overcooked, sticky noodles here, Delicious!
When I finished I was berating myself a bit for not ordering Vietnamese coffee when I had ordered my meal as it does take a while since the coffee has to drip through a filter. I asked my host to confirm that he closed at 9:00 and he said “yes” but that I was welcome to hang around until 9:30 so I asked if there was time for Vietnamese coffee and he said “yes”. If you’ve never had it, you have to try it. It’s filtered coarse to medium grind (preferably) Vietnamese grown coffee which is combined with sweetened condensed milk and poured over ice. There are probably about 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk per serving. It sounds like it would be so sweet it would make your teeth hurt but as the coffee is very strong and the mixture is then poured over ice (which begins to melt immediately) it turns into a cool, sweet, richly coffee treat that is as much dessert as coffee. I was surprised many years ago to discover something similar in Spain called a “café bombon”. There it was made with espresso and sweetened condensed milk which was poured into it carefully to create two layers. I always asked for a glass of ice and made my own (almost) Vietnamese coffee. But, I digress. Just as I was stirring my coffee in the ice, a family of four came in and although our host gently chided them for arriving quite late, he seated them. Good business, yes – don’t turn away customers – but also gracious. Since I was clearly not going to be keeping the place open on my own, I took a little more time over my coffee than I would have had I been the last customer.
Waiting for the coffee to finish dripping through the filter.
Coffee, milk and ice all mixed and absolutely tasty!!
Finally, I asked for the bill. $22.35 for imported beer, a filling and tasty dinner and a coffee/dessert. Excellent value for money. I will be back and next time, I’ll try the Pho. Takeout is also available.
Pho Kha Le
2, 7337 Sierra Morena SW,
Calgary Alberta
T3H 3V4
(403) 454-2099
I recently visited The Regal Cat Café in Kensington. I had been down in Kensington not too long before it opened and saw the sign so had to make sure I got back there. As someone I mentioned it to asked (and you may as well), “so, are cats drinking coffee in Calgary now?” The answer is “no” but people are drinking coffee while hanging out with cats.
I knew about cat cafés for a few years now. I may spend way too much time wandering around on the internet, but I had run across them as a phenomenon in Japan where living quarters are very small and pets are often not allowed. In researching them further, I have since discovered the original one was in Taipei, Taiwan and it opened in 1998. It became a tourist attraction and people visited from all over the world including, of course, Japan and the Japanese caught on to the idea. Since then cat cafés have opened all over the world and now there’s one in Calgary too.
There has been some concern from various animal groups about cat cafés in general but they are nonetheless very popular. I don’t know about cat cafés in other cities, not having visited any, but I asked how the cats were vetted. Not all cats like to be that social with other cats or with people. The girl I talked with said they are screened to make sure they’ll be comfortable and they keep a close watch on them to make sure they aren’t being stressed or becoming anxious.
I have a cat myself so wasn’t particularly interested in hanging out with the cats at The Regal Cat Café and, in fact, didn’t want to come home smelling too much like other cats as mine might be upset. As a cat lover, though, I was curious to see what it was like to actually visit a cat café. From what I had seen online, I expected a café with cats wandering around all over. At The Regal, however, the cats are in a glassed off enclosure which keeps them from wandering off but also allows control of customers’ access to the cats.
Here’s how it works. You make a reservation picking a date and time. Time slots are 45 minutes and the cost is $10.00. No charge for children under 1-year-old.
It is clearly a very popular concept. The Saturday afternoon I was there, which was exactly one month after the café opened, was very busy. In fact people were waiting to see if there might be “no-shows” or cancellations.
The Regal Cat Café is also a real café with coffees, teas, soft drinks and snacks. I had a latte and a gluten-free vegan chocolate cookie that was great. Gluten free and vegan are not important to me but I have to say it was a delicious cookie. Soft and chewy and very chocolate.
It took a little while but I was finally able to get a seat which just happened to be at the counter facing the cat enclosure. There are limits on the number of people allowed in with the cats at any one time (16 people and hence the reservations) and there is a person inside the enclosure to monitor everything. People were having a great time with the cats. I felt slightly voyeuristic but no one with the cats was paying any attention to me. There were people of all ages including some very young children and some very elderly folks. The kitties all seemed to be enjoying it including the ones that were sleeping – they just ignored everything. I don’t have pictures to post (other than the sign and “business card”) as it seemed invasive of people’s privacy to be taking pictures of them – I don’t think they would have liked it – I know I wouldn’t. But being respectful of other people, I overlooked taking a picture of the cookie I enjoyed.
Aside from people enjoying being with the cats, there is a benefit for the cats as well. They are all from the MEOW Foundation which a cat rescue foundation that cares for and adopts out stray and abandoned cats. So, all the kitties at The Regal Cat Café are available for adoption. I just checked the website and all cats currently there have been adopted and new ones are coming August 15.
If you are a cat lover, check it out. There are various cat themed gifts for sale and the coffee is also really good!
The Regal Cat Cafe
303-10th Street NW Calgary
9:00 to 9:00 daily
One of my favorite breakfasts is Huevos Rancheros and any variations on the theme. This is my version as made today after an excellent bike ride on a beautiful Sunday. I like Huevos Rancheros because it’s a tasty, healthy and easy to make dish.
I generally forego the tortillas because I’m watching carbs but feel free to add a warmed one under the eggs or on the side.
Ingredients
2 extra large eggs
1 tblsp olive oil
1 tblsp butter
1 slice of cheese – Oaxaca or similar
2 generous spoonfuls of black beans (I use a soup spoon as a size reference)
1 generous spoonful of salsa – my preference at the moment is Guy Fieri’s Chipotle Salsa
chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper
Turmeric (optional)*
Method
Heat oil in saute pan over medium low heat for approximately 7 minutes – until good and hot but not smoking. Pour out oil and add the butter. As soon as the butter stops sizzling, add the eggs. Season with salt and pepper and turmeric (if you use it). Cook the eggs the way you like them. I like set whites and runny yolks so I add a few drops of water to the pan and cover it so the whites cook without having to flip the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked to your taste, put the cheese on them and cover the pan. The cheese melt quickly so keep a close eye on them. As soon as the cheese melts put the eggs on a warmed plate on a warmed tortilla if you are having one. Add the beans, salsa and cilantro to the pan to warm it up. No cooking is necessary but cold beans are a bit unappealing. When the mixture is warmed through – about a minute – pour it over the eggs and cheese. Add additional cilantro as a garnish if you wish.
Breakfast is ready! Not the prettiest breakfast but full of wonderful flavour.
*As I mentioned in a previous post, I add turmeric to my eggs (a) for it’s taste, which is subtle, but primarily for its anti-inflammatory properties – particularly after a workout.
I have just started riding my bike after several years’ hiatus. Since I live very close to several bike paths it’s easy to get out to ride. The enjoyment of riding is always better knowing there is some great food to refuel at the end. Of course, I had eaten something before I went out but when the ride was over I was ready for more.
Today I decided on eggs baked in ham baskets. This is a variation of a recipe by Molly Baz from Epicurious, April 2016 (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/eggs-baked-in-crispy-prosciutto-baskets-recipe). Molly’s recipe used proscuitto and was to be made in a muffin tin so the yield was 12 eggs baked in proscuitto.
As I am cooking for one, I made a few changes to make a smaller quantity. The choice of breakfast was based on the ingredients I happened to have. I bought some lovely Italian ham yesterday at Sunterra Market. It was not proscuitto but it was Italian ham. I didn’t have gruyere as called for in the original recipe but as I love all things Spanish, I had some Mahon cheese which comes from Mahon on the island of Minorca in the Balearic Islands. It’s a little bit harder than gruyere and doesn’t have that slightly nutty taste of gruyere but I thought it would work well. Finally, I didn’t have heavy cream although it is traditionally used in baked eggs. What I did have was some half and half. I was very pleased with the result. If you have never made baked eggs, give them a try. It’s nice to have an egg repertoire as far as cooking techniques. Each technique whether poaching, scrambling, frying, boiling or baking results in a different texture which keeps things interesting.
Eggs Baked in Italian Ham Baskets for One
Ingredients
Olive oil for ramekins
2 slices Modena Italian cooked ham very thinly sliced
4 tablespoons Mahon cheese, grated
2 teaspoons half and half
Pinch of thyme
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Ground turmeric (optional)
Special Equipment
2 ramekins
Preparation
Preheat over to 375 F. Lightly oil the ramekins. Place 1 slice of ham in each ramekin being sure to fully cover bottom and sides leaving about 1/4″ at the top as there will be shrinkage. Cut the slices in half if necessary and overlap them placing one in one direction and crossing the other one over. Put 1 heaping tablespoon of grated cheese on top of the ham. Break one egg into each being careful not to break the yolk. To be on the safe side you can break the egg into another bowl or cup and the pour it in. Put 1 teaspoon of half and half over each egg and a pinch of salt if desired. I found the ham very salty so did not add any but it depends on the ham. Add freshly ground pepper to taste and several shakes of ground turmeric if using. Finally add a pinch of thyme on top.
Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet in case of spills and bake until the whites have just set – approximately 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and leave to cool 3 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the ham baskets and scoop them out. Serve immediately.
A note about turmeric – as this was a post workout breakfast, I added turmeric because of its anti-inflammatory properties. In order to get the most benefit from turmeric, it needs to be combined with pepper and a fat. Since pepper was added to the eggs and there was oil in the pan and a bit of fat in the ham and the half and half, the maximum benefit is obtained. The turmeric is also what gives the eggs their colour in the photo below. I also found that the flavour of the thyme (which pairs nicely with eggs) was not diminished by the addition of turmeric. I was very pleased with the dish. Tasty, slightly custardy eggs nestled in crispy ham baskets. I added a few leaves of cilantro as a garnish. I will be adding this to my rotation of breakfast egg dishes.
In my review of Wise and Wright as a downtown lunch spot, I had suggested I would try it for breakfast soon. I hadn’t expected it to be quite so soon but trying out a new bus and train combination to get work, I found myself downtown way too early. So, as I pass Wise and Wright on the way from the train to my office, I decided to stop in for breakfast.
There are a number of choices but as I mentioned in another review, I have various things that I test restaurants with if they are on the menu. One of those is avocado toast. It is the trendy thing these days but it reminds me of the tosta that I used to get in Spain. As Spaniards aren’t big breakfast eaters they often just have a magdalena (Spanish cupcake) or some cookies. At around 11:00 they got out for almuerzo or media mañana which is a snack and coffee or maybe orange juice. The snack could be a pastry or something savory and sometimes that is a tosta. A tosta could be something like chopped fresh tomato mixed with olive oil, a bit of garlic and some salt on a toasted piece of peasant bread. No sandwich loaves for this! Anyway, avocado toast reminds me of that kind of toast.
So, I had the Crushed Avocado Built Up Toast. I was presented with a lovely piece of toast slathered with white bean hummus and crushed avocado and then topped with Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, arugula and a drizzling of olive oil. The hummus was the touch that put this toast in my number 1 position to date. What a mouthful of flavour! The tomatoes taste of tomato unlike some of the pretty but insipid tomatoes I have been getting at the grocery store and the arugula was super fresh and crisp. Arugula is one of my favorite greens because it adds that spicy and slightly bitter depth of flavor to salads or toast or whatever you add it to. For $6.00 this was a great breakfast and combined with the great coffee at Wise and Wright, a very memorable breakfast.
Also on offer are a breakfast bowl which is a variation on huevos rancheros that sounds great expecially with the “make it a burrito” option.
There are also three other Built Up Toasts – the West Coast Smoked Salmon featuring . . . what else? Smoked salmon but combined with turmeric cream cheese, fennel, capers, shallots and dill. This is lox and cream cheese taken to a new level. Looking forward to trying it. The “El Sabio” (which by the way means “the wise one”) features crushed avocado, quinoa, pomegranate, cumin spiced black beans & sweet corn, arugula, jalapeno aioli. Oh my goodness – I’ll have two!! The final one is whipped honey goat cheese, mango, pomegranate, basil, pumpkin seeds, balsamic glaze. With all these choices for breakfast, I might never get to work so I will have to take a different route from the train from time to time,
I had previously suggested you try Wise and Wright if you are coming downtown for other reasons but I now encourage you to make it a reason to come downtown if you aren’t already there on a regular basis.
163, 317 7th Ave, SW,
Calgary, AB, T2P 2Y9
Monday to Friday 7:30 am – 7:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Since I moved back to Calgary in the middle of April I have run across Phil & Sebastian coffee at various locations so I thought I’d try out a Phil & Sebastian cafe. As my quest is for lunch places downtown I chose the Stephen Avenue location.
Very nice location and it looked inviting. I had researched the menu online so I had a good idea of what would be available.
I didn’t get off to a very good start. I asked the server what kind of drip coffee they had and was told there was Columbian and Costa Rican and was immediately advised that if I took milk in my coffee the Columbian would curdle the milk. I had heard this recently in a coffee shop in another city and I frankly find it very hard to believe. I have been drinking coffee for more years than I am going to reveal and I have never had milk curdle in any coffee unless it was spoiled. I mentioned this to the server who didn’t seem to care for my observation. In any case, I chose the Costa Rican just to be on the safe side as I have been coming to conclusion lately that Columbian might not be my preferred coffee whether or not it has milk curdling properties. I also ordered the arugula and chicken salad and paid. As I was paying cash, which I seldom do, I didn’t pay much attention to the change I got back. Not a very good idea ever.
I picked up my coffee and was waiting for my salad when another employee came along and I asked if I should wait there or sit down. He told me to sit down and they would bring the salad. So I added some milk to my coffee and found a seat.
A very short while later the first fellow I had spoken with came over and not very politely said “you’re going to have to come and pay for your salad if you want salad”. I told him I had indeed ordered salad and thought I had paid for it. He said he thought I was just asking about the salad. I fail to see how “I will have the arugula and chicken salad” can be misconstrued as just asking about it. I went back to the till and paid for salad.
I had just barely sat down again when my bowl of salad was unceremoniously dumped beside me.
It looked pretty good and it tasted good. But as I proceeded to get a bit further into the bowl I realized (as I suspected because it came so quickly) that it had been prepared sometime earlier and just served out of a larger bowl. For the most part it wouldn’t matter except that arugula, as many greens, starts to get mushy when it’s mixed with dressing and sits around. Greens aren’t terribly appealing when they start to get mushy.
Not too bad but arugula is so much better when it is crisp. It detracted from the whole experience. Also, it doesn’t serve the purveyors of the salad well as I understand that the food at Phil & Sebastian cafes comes from Citizen Bakery.
Overall I have to give a low rating based on this experience but being fair minded and understanding that everyone and everyplace can have an off day I will try again.
As Phil & Sebastian seems to have become one of the preferred coffee providers in the city this review will, no doubt, make me somewhat unpopular but a food reviewer has to be honest and I will give this location another try. I look forward to being able to provide a better review. It wasn’t bad but it could certainly have been better.
La Cafeina Blog 