Bear Street tavern has all sorts of tavern-y type food, not just pizzas :) We took our little one there for lunch not too long ago. It's quite a loud room, so a few more screaming kids won't make much difference.

Really though, banff is a pretty laid back town - depending on what you mean by kid friendly, just about every restaurant is kid friendly like Shazam said, save for the very high end.

I'd bet kalamata grocery sells those items too.

the last few times i've been to Divino, I've recognised staff there that had worked at Divino for years, so it's not always staffed by kids... or if it is, some of them have been there a while ;) Like the OP, i like divino but haven't ventured to Avec Bistro yet.

what city?

Josey124, we'll just have to agree to disagree about Notable. I find the main room large and impersonal, and imho the service is too casual given the price point. Re: Wurst, fwiw I'd originally written 'Wurst is OK', but then changed it to '...is decent'. It's not a must visit, in any case. District, as cellophane_star mentions, has been on a downhill slide.

I love Blink. Wurst is decent. I would skip District, and my experience with Notable wouldn't make it worth the drive for you.

I would add Cibo and Divino to your list. The latter is a old standby in the city, but it never loses its charm. The latter is a newcomer on the city scene, but boasts a funky interior and great pizzas and pastas at a reasonable pricepoint. Boxwood would be a great spot for a lunch on a sunny afternoon also.

yep, kind of a brain fart on my end -- i was thinking fried eggs, not poached.

re: your eggs - might be a kitchen issue but it sounds like a bad waiter - done white and runny yolk is not medium! if the yolk is runny, that's over easy. at medium, the yolk should be pretty much set, but the center should still mostly be yellow/not 'chalky'.

and yeah, undercooked bacon is not my thing either.

*sigh*

seriously. i was just in washington, and the taco truck i ate at had 2 tacos for $1.50. this city's prices/costs are crazy.

couldn't agree more with your assessment. lunched there a while back, and our foursome found our food was... competent at best, i'm afraid i don't remember too many details, but i expected more from my food given the menu description. what i do remember was that the hostess/owner type was overly folksy and really handsy. i think all of us were rubbed on the shoulder or arm for what seemed like too long. ewwww.

dealfind should refund you if you let them know the business has closed. it happened to me once as well (but i can't remember if it was dealfind specifically or groupon or something else...)

"I find Calgary expensive in general for restaraunts."

this x1000

Pretty much agree with what everyone else has said. I was rooting for Jonathan, even though i was pretty sure Trevor won because of his recent restaurant opening. Jonathan's earnestness and passion were really endearing to me, and I'll definitely have to check out his food one day. David's too, for that matter.

Carl was such an automaton. he's probably not as passionless and calculating as he comes across on tv, but still. It definitely seems like the winners (carl now, but dale last season too) are in the mold of Mark Mcewen, which is to say boring, stiff, and a little arrogant.

On the upside, I do like lisa ray as the new host.

thank you.

"I have read interviews with Tom C saying that on the US version they only look at how the person did that day"

This doesn't seem to be the case for TCC - I've often heard the judges bring up past performances at JT

I bought some BC ones at chongo's last weekend at the crossroads market.

yep, pretty much knew it was trista after seeing her crying in the preview and then with show kicking it off with her bio and that picture of her in cornrows...

Post Hotel bar/lounge wins this easily, hands down.

Glacier Saloon at the Chateau is OK also, if a tad pricey.

'Is it me, or are the judges more "complimentary" now?'

I thought this episode had the best judging of any episode of TCC yet. Marc seemed to be more at ease and relaxed and less of a stick in the mud - heck he even smiled a bit...

re David: I feel like the pressure is getting to him, and we're witnessing his slow downward spiral into a nervous breakdown

a few random thoughts -

Sad to see Curtis go, but I think it was the right choice. Very gracious in his exit speech. I'll definitely try and get to his restaurant at some point.

Nice to see Xavier figure things out after his slow start this season. He's kind of growing on me.

Speaking of growing on me, I swear Lisa Ray is getting prettier with each episode. Which is pretty amazing considering she's a knock-out to begin with. I agree with an earlier TCC thread comment praising her and her warmth on the show.

that guy's hair... wow...

lol at the commentary at 2:30 - 'you get this beef on steroids flavour' I don't think he meant what he said there...

TC (US) always seems to send out the line that the judges judge based on the dish in front of them at the moment.

TCC doesn't seem to follow that at all. This elimination, Shereen and Mark were making comments referencing past dishes from certain contestants, and I've noticed this in other episodes/seasons as well. I wonder what's up with that.

Blueicus, I'm really appreciating the behind the scenes commentary!

about the judges' comments re: tripe... They caught me off guard at first also, but when I re-listened I got the impression that what they were trying to say is that if someone is ordering a tripe dish, that they want to try it, ie; have it in all its glory - and that the dish should therefore feature it prominently. It shouldn't be hidden away in the corner of the plate.

This. also, the card and chef's audiences seem pretty well aligned, given what I'm led to believe it costs to eat at TFL.

we actually went to Muse for dessert a few weeks before the season started, and I have to say, the desserts were amazing.

I've eaten at muse a long time ago and I really enjoyed the meal, and it seems that the food quality has kept up, although I feel the room could use a bit of updating.

It'll be interesting to see if Muse sees the same uptick as Char|cut did b/c of TCC. I have my doubts. On TV, food quality notwithstanding (I actually prefer muse to charcut), Connie's story comes across as a bit more compelling.

Yup, Mike's not a big sushi fan. Is that a surprise? seriously chefs, know your audience - the guy was pretty upfront about being a meat and potatoes guy. and they've got 40 minutes for the quickfire (which i think is an eternity in top chef) and 3 chefs still choose a carpaccio/sushi/raw preperation? lazy. Well, maybe not lazy, but I expect more from top chef contestants, TC Canada or otherwise.

also, when everyone was trying out bandanas, did trista call herself a chickenhead in the moment? i think i'd regret that, lol.

Pretty impressed with the red and green teams' food. It was also pretty obvious kunal was going home. not much suspense in this episode. Still, worth it if only to oggle lisa ray on the construction site.

Banh Mi Thi Thi across from the harry hayes building in chinatown, as others have mentioned, is my standby as well. I've been going there for years, and though prices keep creeping up, i still keep going back. the owners are really sweet and I know what I'm going to get - and it's always good. They do spread pate on their subs, but only the club and assorted varieties. the sate subs don't get the pate IIRC.

Kim Anh Subs on 17th ave at 6th St SW used to get good write ups here. I haven't been there in a while.

just bad timing. I was there a week ago, and it was still going strong.