Charcut's prime rib is amazing. It is the best I have ever had. You order by the ounce. Perfect for sharing. Order the brussel sprouts and smashed potatoes as your sides. Everyone wins.

I recently purchased a jar of Newman's Own salsa at Co-op (West Springs location). I too have seen their salsa at Safeway (Aspen Landing).

Sunterra (West Springs) location carries Peanut Butter & Co. although I do not recall seeing the flavour you are requesting. Worth giving Sunterra a call before heading over there.

I have been a steady lurker over the past few years with the occasional post. I have definitely seen the quality and quantity of posts decrease over the last year. I still check this site out every day for new restaurant and random ingredient news. To all the regulars... keep posting... keep the conversation flowing... there are probably a lot more lurkers like me than posters.

Thanks MS... I popped it into the microwave for 20 seconds and it did the trick.

So I busted out the Pate au Chocolat this weekend. The plan was to spread it on crepes as an alternative to Nutella. Maybe it is my fault for thinking it would have the same spreadable consistency as Nutella but it was rock hard. Not sure if I bought a super old jar that hardened with age or it was actually supposed to be this way. When I took my knife to spread the product on the crepes it crumbled. Perhaps I should have popped it into the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up? If anyone is familiar with this product and can weigh in as to what it is supposed to be like?

Oh, as for the taste, it is delicious.

I had an Italian Beef from Portillo's every day while I was in Chicago last summer and I am very keen to find something like it in Calgary.

Actually JJ, you mentioning Cowtown Beef Shack has got me thinking. He already has the thin shaved beef, the crusty baguette, the sweet peppers and the au jus... I can't imagine it would be too difficult to add giadiniera to the "extras" menu. Although it wouldn't be the real thing, it is not a bad facsimile. Every time I have stopped there for lunch he has been super friendly. I will ask him the next time I am there.

Hey Jasz, sorry for the tardy reply. I went to Sunterra yesterday and I found the chocolate spread I was talking about but it is probably not what you are looking for. Upon closer inspection it was a jar of dark cherry Pate au Chocolat. I bought a jar to try out because I thought it would be great with crepes. Unfortuantely I may have bought the last jar...

I was at the southwest Sunterra (West Market Square) last week and I saw that they carried both a chocolate spread and a dulce de leche.

I found this while doing a quick Google search. Someone posted on Facebook looking to find Schneiders Oh Naturals products. A representative from Schneiders replied back with the following information. Hope that helps...

"Schneiders Hi Linda - We are sorry to hear that you are unable to locate the product. We invite you to contact us at 1-877-567-5326 and please provide the number 755654. Thanks"

I saw various Schneiders Country Naturals products at Calgary Co-op (West Springs) yesterday.

I stumbled across this place while looking for something to eat over lunch today. What a great find! This is a new spot that opened up a month ago in the old Cottage Chicken location (2929 Sunridge Way NE). www.pioperu.com

This is a fast casual style set up where you can dine in or take out. I opted to dine in and the owner (I assume) could not have been more helpful and informative. She explained the concept and made some suggestions. I opted for one of the two lunch specials, Pio con Quinoa. It is a 1/4 chicken with a light refreshing quinoa salad. Really flavourful chicken and the salad was delicious. The lunch special comes with a drink (I chose chicha morada... a lemonade-like drink made from purple corn) with the total for the meal being $12 (includes GST). The meal also comes with a side of their spicy (or mild) Pio sauce.

The meal was fantastic. I strongly recommend this place if you are looking to get your fill of rotissarie chicken. I was in and out of there in 20 minutes (although I did go a 1:30 for lunch) so it is a quick healthy alternative. I will be back.

I went to Clive a couple of weeks ago and from what I remember the Clive Sauce is something like a chipotle mayo. Very good without being too hot. Great on the burger and even better as a dip for their fries.

When I was in high school back in the late 80's I worked down on the grounds at a Bacon on a Bun stand. To the best of my knowledge the booth I worked at did not add any sauce to the sandwich. Just a couple of slabs of back bacon with lettuce and tomatoes. I think you could add mayo (and other condiments) on your own from those little packets.

You might want to check with Ship and Anchor as I seem to recall a co-worker heading there to watch some F1 race (during odd hours) a few years ago. They might be some conflict with Euro 2012 as I am sure the Ship will be airing most/all matches.

I recently returned from a four-day trip to New Orleans and I wanted to share my experience with other 'Hounds who search out this board for recommendations. About a month prior to arriving in New Orleans I sought out various threads on this board to get an idea on where to eat. The challenge we had was we were with a group of 12 so that made things a little challenging when setting up reservations.

Day One - we arrived late afternoon and since I was the only one in our large group who had been to New Orleans, I thought hitting up Pat O'Briens would be a great start to the trip. Is it a foodie destination? Of course not. But sitting in that courtyard slamming back Hurricanes is a great way to start your vacation.

Day Two - A little groggy from the Bourbon Street festivities from the night before, we made our way to Johnny's for po boys. We waited in a 40 minute line before we were able to order but all that tells me is this place is the real deal. I got the surf and turf po boy and it was an absolute mess (in a good way). The roast beef (and debris) pretty much made the bun inedible but I was not complaining. For dinner we did not have any reservations so we wandered around Decatur after the French Market and came across Landry's. I probably would not seek that restaurant out but when you have a group of 12 without reservations on a Saturday night, you can't be too choosy. All in all it was a pretty decent meal but nothing that stood out.

Day Three - Lunch at Acme Oyster Co. Half the group we were with didn't feel like waiting in line but for those who did, it was worth it. Great spot, lively and the fresh oysters on the half shell were superb. For dinner, our tour guide from a Bayou airboat tour we took the day before recommended Mulate's for some good Cajun food. I wasn't too sure what to expect, the place seemed a bit touristy but afterall, we were tourists so go figure! Anyways, there was over an hour wait to seat our party of 12 so we went to lounge area, had a few pecan ales and waited. Once we were seated, the food came out fast and no one at our table complained about the food. I ordered the blackened fish of the day (red snapper) and it was sublime. Really, really good piece of fish. The jambalya that came with the fish was really good as well.

Day Four - Jazz brunch at Arnaud's. Wow. Such a fun room and the food was outstanding. Oysters on the half shell for an appetizer, soft shell crab for main and banana's foster for dessert. What a great start to our final day. For dinner, we made reservations at Commander's Palace. Our group had an 8:30 reservation so we left the Quarter early and wandered around the cemetary across the street from CP before heading into the restaurant. Without hyperbole, this was right up there for the best meal of my life. Most of our group opted for the chef's three course menu. I did the turtle soup for appetizer, shrimp and grits for main and the bread pudding souflee for the dessert. Every single person out of our large group left that restaurant beaming with happiness.

I just wanted to thank the regular posters to this board for keeping the threads updated with great suggestions. It certainly helped in making most of our dining decisions easy and contirubuted to a very memorable trip.

West Springs Co-op has some as of May 23rd.

Bumping this thread to give an update on Las Tortillas. I stopped in for my regular taco fix and the owner said they are opening a restaurant on Memorial Drive called Oro Azul (I think). It is across from the Walmart in Marlborough where the old Airline Ticket Centre was. Anyway, he said once the restaurant is open Las Tortillas will stop serving tacos and tamales and focus strictly on the groceries and tortilla production.

+1 for Burnbrae Farms at Safeway. They are the best I have seen from any of the large grocery chains.

Joycee's Caribbean Foods in Bridgeland carries the Grace brand of Ginger beer. I have also seen ginger beer at Co-op in the 'Ethnic" aisle (West Springs).

That is correct. It was explained to me the last time I was at Buchanan's that you can get your burger cooked to order because they grind their beef on site.

Palace of Eats changed their name a couple of years ago and is now known as Myhres Deli.

I get my smoked meat fix at Kickers (1215 1st Street SW). It stacks up (pun!) against Myhre's for the best in the YYC.

http://kickersdeli.ca/

Although it certainly has its detractors, if you order take-out from Wok Box it will come in those old school Chinese food cartons (depending on the size you order).

I was with a group of 8 on Saturday night celebrating a 40th birthday. The staff could not have been more accommodating. We called for a reservation a week before they opened and left our request on a general voicemail box. A couple of days later they called us back and told us they were unsure if they will have all their permits in place to open by Feb 18th. Two days later they called again and told us they were good to go and they were able to take our reservation. Since we were a party of 8 we had to pre-order our food with the menu being family style. They promptly sent me their menu to choose either a two course or three course menu. Once I made the food selections they got back to me right away by providing us a quote per person. When we arrived at the restaurant on Saturday night our experience with the food, service, management was top notch. For a restaurant that has been open for three days I expected some glitches but everything went perfectly. Everyone in our group had a great time, loved the food and walked away feeling like our group was treated a little special. I cannot think of one thing that we would have done differently. Well done!

When I used to live in Vancouver I worked across the street from Fujiya where I would pick up Onigri pretty much on a daily basis. I have not had these sushi-to-go style snacks in a couple of months and I am craving them something firece. After doing a quick Google search I found this local company http://www.theonigiricompany.com/ but it looks like they are currently not set up at a regular spot. Anyone know where I can purchase these? My first guess is T&T but last time I was there I didn't see them. Thanks.

I took a client to Petite for lunch today and I was blown away by how bad my meal was. I had heard great things about this place back when it was in its original location on 10th Ave. When I arrived the host pretty much let me pick where to sit telling me the main dining area was a little crowded. She steered me into the lounge part of the room where the bar and the open kitchen reside. My first impression was they need a better ventilation system. The odor of food and grease was pretty strong and I knew I would be needing a Febreeze shower when I was done with lunch. Anyways, our server dropped off menus and left without asking us what we liked to drink. I was cool with water but I found it odd they at least didn't bring by a wine menu or anything like that. As for the food I decided to try their burger. It was priced at $16 and was looking forward to it. I always view the sucess of a restaurant is based on how well they cook a burger. Sadly it was one of the worst burgers I have ever had. I was stunned at how bad it was. The beef patty itself fell apart and crumbled all over my plate. The bun was so heavily buttered then grilled on the flattop that it was pretty much inedible. The bacon was undercooked and rubbery. The fries that came as a side were limp and really greasy. Just a really, really underwealming burger, especially at that price. The only bright spot of my meal was the side salad. Mixed greens with green beans. A nice change of pace from the usual bland side salads offered. Our server was nice but I found it odd that we were sitting at a four top and half way through the meal she took away the wine glasses, plates and cutlery of the two spots we were not using. Just found the timing a little weird.
Anyways, I am not one to complain about the service or food while I am there. No need to make my client feel uncomfortable. If I had a real problem with my dinning experience I would have notified a manager or someone but since there is so much competition out there I will choose to try something different as opposed to hoping Petite works out the kinks they are obviously experiencing.

I was in Minneapolis this summer and went to a Smashburger after hearing some buzz about this chain. I really liked the burger. I thought the flavour of the beef was great and the toppings were a great compilment. The fried egg was cooked perfect with the yolk oozing out as I bit into it. I also added garlic mushrooms and fried pickles. These toppings were not free but a welcome addition and something that makes this chain stand apart from the competition. The burger was a "restuarant-style" burger in a fast food joint if that makes sense...With all of the add-ons my burger came to $10 so it can be a bit pricier than 5 Guys.

The interior was a little sleek and modern and it felt a bit "upscale" which is a good thing in my books. Another thing they do is create a specialized burger for each market they are in. I went a second time and had their Twin Cities burger which I don't think is available in other markets. Oh, they serve Haagen Dazs shakes!

Amazing list... some other suggestions...

76. Rocky's Burger Bus - Bacon Cheeseburger
77. UNA - Roasted Sausage and Leek pizza
78. Olive Chicken - Hot and Sweet Fried Chicken
79. Boogie's Burgers - Doug's 'Don't Fear the Reaper" Burger
80. Las Tortillas - Beef Tounge (Lengua) tacos
81. Globefish - Crunch & Munch Roll
82. Brava Bistro - Lobster Poutine

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Brava Bistro
723 17th Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2S 0B6, CA

Las Tortillas
4100 Marlborough Dr NE #2, Calgary, AB T2A 2Z5, CA

Rocky's Burgers
1120 46 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G2A6, CA

Thankfully the Avocado in Aspen Glen Landing has shut down. Dreadful food. Could not get over the fact they put romaine lettuce in their burritos. An Original Joes is taking its place.