Tango Bistro

Cross-posted from Calgary is Awesome.

I'm not the type of foodie who watches for restaurant openings and races to be the first at the door. There's certainly no reason to be - there are lots of great restaurants in Calgary that I have yet to try and with every new restaurant you always want to give them some time to get on their feet wet and get into the flow of things. However, I couldn't pass up an invitation from Amber, one of the managers at the newly opened Tango Bistro for a free meal in exchange for a review. So last week, I invited my cousin Kevin (of the Sherm's Ultimate Gripper challenge fame) to come out for dinner with me as thanks for providing me with the hookup.

Tango Bistro is the most recent offspring of Smuggler's Inn, carved out of a part of its large dining room. Gone is the rustic, wooden decor, and in its place, a shiny, well-lit space with tall windows looking out to busy Macleod Trail, hardwood floors and modern lines. Likely inspired by the recent tapas/mezze/anju/izakaya trend, Tango serves up "small plates" meant to be shared over a few glasses of wine. Their dishes draw from an array of global cuisines, so you can't pin them down to the simple "tapas" label.

Most of their dishes are between the $7.50 and $10 range, with fries and side salads available from $3 to $5 and charcuterie and cheese plates at $14. I'd made the mistake of eating a little too much before dinner, so you'll notice that we focused on ordering the lighter dishes on the menu (bacon or turducken here tonight!)

We started with the Barely Seared BC Albacore Tuna with Asian Vegetable Slaw and Szechuan Aioli ($9.50, picture on top). The tuna was meaty but light and the aioli had just a bit of a kick to it. I didn't like the slaw, however; it was a bit too sour for me.

    
The Lemongrass Chicken Salad Rolls ($8.50) were filled with crisp, fresh veggies and I loved the flavour of the lemongrass chicken with the Thai basil. The Cashew Ginger sauce was an interesting change from the usual fish sauce that you generally find at Vietnamese restaurants - all the sauces/condiments at Tango were very delicious - but the wrappers on our salad rolls were a little undercooked; they were thick and chewy.


Kevin, who is a unagi/eel fan raved about the Twisted Fish and Chips ($8.50), which comes with Tsingtao BBQ eel instead of the usual haddock or cod, sweet potato fries and chipotle aioli. Since I'm generally neutral when it comes to eel, I found it to be very greasy. I said so to Kevin as I was eating my second piece and added, "Well, maybe because it's not straight from the fryer," and he replied, "You also said it was greasy when you ate the first piece." So I guess it is what it is. The chipotle aioli was really good. I liked the sweet potato fries as well, but they weren't amazing - I still think the ones from Broken City are on the top of my list.


Kevin ordered the Mushroom and Truffle Gnocchi with Parmesan and Rosemary blanquette ($9), which he had had before and liked. At first I found the dish to be a little weird as I think there is some unexpected citrus in the sauce, and even Kevin said it wasn't as good as the first time around. But it grew on us. This dish is very rich (though the citrus does lighten it up a little bit), contrasted with the fresh, crisp asparagus.


The ceviche ($9.50) was probably the highlight of the night for me - the prawns and scallops were coated with a zippy lime and tomato-based marinade and were complemented well by the plantain chips. Funny, how the best dish happened to be Spanish ;)

I was about ready for dessert, which Amber had described to me as shot glasses filled with different sweet treats that I imagine must be similar to the ones served at O in Marda Loop. But then, Amber insisted that we had to try her favourite - Adobo Pork Empanadas with Roasted Pineapple Salsa ($7.50)


The actual dish comes with four empanadas - despite bursting at the seams, Kevin and I managed to dig right in before I remembered to take a photo.
I could tell why these were Amber's favourite - the pastry on the empanadas is very flaky, revealing some piping hot ground pork inside. I would say that I wished there was more flavour to the meat, but that would only compete with the sweet and spicy pineapple salsa.

So in the end, there was no room for dessert, but I would definitely go back for it. Yes, I wasn't wowed by the food, but it was decent and I can't wait to try some of their heavier dishes when my appetite is up for it. The atmosphere is cozy and it's certainly a classy place for happy hour or some after-dinner drinks and snacks; I probably wouldn't go for dinner, especially with a large group, because if everyone's ordering three dishes just to fill up, it could get quite cumbersome. I welcome Tango to the Smuggler's family, and think it's a great addition to Calgary's lounge and "small plates" scene.

Tango Bistro
6920 Macleod Tr S
Calgary AB T2H 0L3
(403) 252-4365
Open Mon-Thu 11 AM-Midnight. Fri-Sat 11 AM-1 AM. Sun 4:30 PM-Midnight. Online reservations available via Open Table.

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Peppino

Cross-Posted from Calgary is Awesome.

After a day of checking out art galleries as part of Exposure 2010 last weekend, B. and I decided to grab a bite to eat before swinging over to our last stop - Market Collective. Among Kensington's many eateries, we decided on Peppino, since both of us had been recommended to try the place by multiple friends.

Peppino touts itself as "Calgary's littlest Italy" and somehow the tiny, family-run shop manages to be a deli/cafe, catering company, Italian grocer and community centre (there's a whole wall of flyers advertising Kensington events and activities) all at once.

As first-timers, the giant menu was a little daunting, but the guy behind the counter with the impressive handlebar mustache (Joe?) helped us navigate the menu, recommending the meaty Joe's Special ($8.75). I scanned the vegetarian side of the menu board and decided on the Roasted Combo ($9.00), which combines Peppino's roasted eggplant and roasted red pepper into one yummy sandwich.

There was a bit of a wait for the sandwiches, but that gave us time to really browse the shelves and fridges/freezer that take up most of the space in the shop - there were imported pastas, tomato products, olive oil and biscotti, but I was more intrigued by the food made in-store. One freezer held packs of gnocchi, ravioli and tortellini, giant pans of lasagna and tiramisu, and tubs of sauces, soups and stews. A smaller freezer was home to containers of house-made gelato and sorbetto, with flavours as traditional as vanilla bean and pistachio and as exotic as ginger and Coca-Cola.

But back to the sandwich -


Both vegetables were marinated in a spiced olive oil, so the sandwich was a little greasy, but I loved the distinctive lemony and peppery taste of the olive oil mixed with the sweetness of the roasted red pepper and the meatiness of the eggplant. Texture-wise, the crisp lettuce and tomato contrasted well with the soft, roasted vegetables. This was a really good sandwich. My only quibble? A little on the salty side.


I wasn't as impressed with Joe's Special as I was with the Roasted Combo. Despite featuring three types of meat - mortadella, capicolla and calabrese salami - the meats didn't really distinguish themselves from each other, save the slightly spicy salami. In retrospect, although I'm sure one sandwich would've fed the two of us, I'm glad we got two so we could try a little more of the menu... though we've barely scratched the surface!

Being a family-run restaurant, the staff were very friendly, checking in to see how we liked their recommendations when B. went up to the counter again to pick up a few things for his freezer. All of them wished us a good weekend as we left as well.

While I don't think I'll be having Joe's Special again, I'll definitely be heading back to Peppino to work through more of their sub menu, or to pick up some of their handmade treats for some authentic Italian at home. Guinness gelato, anyone?

Peppino
101-1240 Kensington Rd NW
Calgary AB T2N 3P7
(403) 283-5350
Closed Sundays.

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Artisan Bistro

Cross-Posted from Calgary is Awesome.

I was thrilled when B. offered to take me out for brunch yesterday as he lives near the strip on Edmonton Trail that is home to a cluster of delicious breakfast places - Diner Deluxe, Big Fish, AKA Winebar and Over Easy Breakfast, to name a few. But there were a few minor problems: 1) Unlike my friend Tiffany, who always makes sure that we get there at around 10 AM to avoid the brunch rush, B. likes to sleep in a little more and surely by the time we got out the door we would have to stand in line with our stomachs grumbling. 2) Although I wouldn't mind going to some of the aforementioned places again, B. wanted us to both try something new. So we headed down the hill to a quiet little place called Artisan Bistro.

Artisan Bistro really plays up its European influences - a chalkboard announces the day's specials while large, purple French doors allow diners to sneak a peek into the kitchen. Each table is set with white tablecloth and a real (!) red rose to complete the classic bistro feel. The food itself is decidedly Spanish - items and ingredients like empanadas, chorizo, churros and dulce de leche (yes, I know that is more Argentinian/Latin American) feature prominently on the menu, which is a little more expensive than most brunch places in Calgary, with most dishes priced between $10-$17.

I had trouble deciding whether I wanted something sweet (crepes, waffles, even granola!) or savoury (a wide selection of omelettes and sandwiches, plus the aforementioned empanadas and the classic "two eggs any style"), let alone what I wanted to eat. In the end, I decided on the Tarteleta ($13), a roasted vegetable quiche.


The quiche had a flaky, buttery crust and was filled with a light egg-and-cheese mixture loaded with zucchini, mushroom and red pepper. The meal came with a choice of soup and salad; though the salad was a little boring - a pile of romaine with grated carrots on top and sliced tomato and cucumber on the side - I did enjoy the light (buttermilk?) dressing that it came with.


B. had the Athena sandwich ($16.95), which had roasted lamb, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper and a house-made herb aioli. The sandwich came with a choice of two sides - B. chose the salad and pan-roasted potatoes.


I had a bite of the sandwich, which was very rich as it was slathered with aioli and dripping with the sweet caramelized onion. B. shared more of his potatoes with me, which he couldn't stop raving about - he liked that they were soft and tender, with a touch of crispness on the outside. They were roasted with little bits of garlic that were also on the plate and sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper. B. swore he tasted a bit of herb in it, but I couldn't - a touch of parsley maybe? I tend to like my potatoes a little crispier and with a little more herbs, but although I didn't like the potatoes as much as B. did I ate a lot of them anyway.

The service was pleasant and professional, and our food arrived much quicker than expected, though it should be noted that we were one of two tables dining at the time. I probably won't be a regular because the food is a little pricey, but I would definitely go back to Artisan Bistro for a classier, quieter brunch.

Artisan Bistro
809 1 Ave NE
Calgary AB T2E 0C2
(403) 263-3727
Open for brunch Wed-Sun 9 AM-3 PM. Open for dinner Fri-Sat 6 PM-10 PM. Kitchen closes 30 minutes before close. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Reservations available (even for brunch!)

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The Healthiest "Ice Cream" EVER.

Two weekends ago, I had my top two wisdom teeth taken out. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a relatively painless experience during and after the fact, especially after B. had sent me an entire Chowhound forum of people relaying their negative post-wisdom tooth extraction experiences and my coworkers had regaled me with tales of how they were advised not to drive home after the "operation" or how they found out the hard way that they were allergic to the codeine in the Tylenol #3s they were prescribed.

Luckily for me, the top ones usually don't cause any complications, and mine were already erupted so I'd stopped bleeding soon after they were taken out. I wasn't even prescribed any painkillers and did fine on a few sample packs of Advil (two after the gauze came out and two before bed). Now let's hope that my bottom ones don't go anywhere because they are impacted and would surely lead to a painful, swollen experience!

Despite the fact that I was sure I'd be ok with solid foods, B. put me on a strict diet of soft foods as a precaution (though I think he enjoyed the "challenge" and taunting me with a tuna melt while I had scrambled eggs, really.)

I stocked up on yogurt, applesauce and cottage cheese for snacking and we made carrot dill soup and mashed sweet potatoes for supper. For dessert, we decided to try something that was featured in The Kitchn for about half a year now, and I'd only had it tucked in the back of my mind until now...

OK, so I'm very cautious when it comes to superlatives - my muffins are only *potentially* the healthiest muffins ever (still have to try making them with yogurt to up the protein), and I shied away from making the best casserole ever only to make a mediocre casserole. But I'm completely comfortable in telling you that this recipe makes the healthiest "ice cream" ever - not only is it lower in fat and sugar than anything you will find in the store, but there's also a bit of fibre (!), vitamins and minerals, it's all-natural, it's allergen-free and you won't even feel like you're compromising very much (if at all) on taste and texture. You don't even need an ice cream maker! All you need to make this yummy frozen dessert is a food processor or blender and one ingredient:


Banana(s).

It does take a touch of patience, but eventually with a bit of fussing with the food processor/blender and lots of scraping of the side of the bowl/carafe, a frozen, sliced banana goes from this...


To this...


It's been suggested that you can add peanut butter and/or honey (I'm thinking spices or Nutella too) to add a little more oomph and variety. Yes, it won't be the healthiest "ice cream" ever, but still healthier than the ice creams and "ice creams" that you can get at the store, I think.

Banana "Ice Cream"
Adapted from The Kitchn

• Ripe banana(s) (about 1-2 per person), peeled and sliced

1. Place sliced banana in freezer for at l-2 hours (preferably on a plate so that the pieces don't stick together - this will help cut down on the blending time).
   
2. Place frozen banana in food processor or blender and blend on "high" (or an "ice crush" setting if you have it). You will need to scrape down the bowl often as the bananas tend to stick. The bananas will look crumbly in the beginning, but don't be discouraged! With patience they will reach a smooth, soft-serve ice cream-like consistency.
   
3. Blend in any other add-ins you'd like (nut butter, honey, chocolate syrup/spread, etc.) and serve. For a harder, "regular" ice cream-like consistency you may want to put the finished product in the freezer in an airtight container for a bit before serving.

Nutrition Info (per banana*, which gives about ½-¾ cup): 105 calories, 0.4 g fat (0.1 g saturated), 27 g carbohydrate (2 g fibre, 14 g sugar), 1 g protein, 1 mg sodium. A good source of vitamin B₆, potassium and manganese.

*Why yes, I did just look up the nutrition info for a banana in the Canadian Nutrient File.

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Anju

Cross-Posted from Calgary is Awesome.

"Anju" is the Korean term for what we have come to know as "tapas", "mezze" or "Izakaya-style eating", depending on the cuisine you are most familiar with. Basically it is used to described small dishes meant to be shared among friends over a few drinks.

Anju is also the name of a tiny, two-storey house that has been converted into a restaurant (main floor) and lounge (second floor) that serves anju as well as a few more substantial dinner dishes with a bit of a fusion twist.

My friend Tiffany and I went last week before heading to the MBF concert. (amazing!) It had been a long day at work for both of us, so we both decided to start with one of the restaurant's quirky cocktails, many of which feature soju, a Korean rice-based liquor. Tiffany ordered Unconventional Ways ($8), Anju's take of a snowball, while I had the Rebel ($11), a mojito-like drink. Instead of the usual rum, the drink featured soju, as well as PAMA, a pomegranate liqueur, which I felt muted the usual mint and lime that I'd expect from a mojito, but it was yummy and refreshing anyway.

The easiest way to get a sampling of Anju's offers would probably be the Anju Platter ($20), which features three or four of the dishes as specials of the day - unfortunately the pickings on the platter didn't appeal to us that evening, so we were left to our own devices. Somehow, our decision-making skills were on fire that night and we quickly decided on grilled Japanese eggplant ($4), yam fries ($5), kimchi pancake ($5), oxtail soup ($15) and lettuce wraps ($15). The $15 items are considered entrees, so they both came with complimentary bowls of rice.


The Japanese eggplant was cooked well - not too greasy, not too raw - and were quite spicy. Tiffany almost finished her bowl of rice just to try to get rid of the spicy flavour! The only quibble I have about them is that for some reason the dish is served cold.


The yam fries were a little raw, but Tiffany and I polished almost all of them off anyway because a) they're yam fries and b) they came with a delicious spicy mayo dip.


The kimchi pancake was definitely one of the highlights of the night - usually I'm not a huge fan of kimchi by itself because I find it very overpowering. Here, the kimchi was very subtle so it gave it just the right touch of sour, spicy and savoury notes to the pancake. The crisp outer layer gave way to soft insides that had a bit of gummy quality to it - courtesy of rice flour, I think. It definitely helped that the pancake was served fresh from the pan and piping hot.


The oxtail soup was great for warming our bellies on that cold evening. The meat was simmered to the point where it was very tender and fell right off the bone - of course, it helped that it is a pretty fatty cut of meat as well! The broth was swimming with greens, seaweed and glass noodles, though it was a little on the salty side (as soups at restaurants tend to be).

  
The lettuce wraps are a dish that involves quite a bit of decision-making! They can come with your choice of Berkshire pork belly, chicken, short ribs and tofu. If you choose chicken, you then have another decision to make - spicy bbq, teriyaki, lemongrass, or seasoned? I ended up choosing the lemongrass chicken, which was a solid choice. The lettuce wraps also came with slices of raw garlic, jalapenos, and gochujang (a sweet and savoury fermented bean paste). My favourite add-on, however, was the Thai basil that was poked in as the same bowl that held the tall leaves of romaine lettuce (not very flexible - my "wraps" were quite open-faced), it gave the wraps a very different flavour profile from ones I've had elsewhere.

The service at Anju is friendly and our dishes came out quite quickly. I also liked the separation of lounge and restaurant on two separate floors so you can choose between the louder, more casual environment for a few after-work drinks, or the quieter restaurant area for a full meal. I would definitely go back again for either of those cases - I would love to try all the other anju on the menu, plus their neat-sounding desserts (which we didn't have room for this time).

Anju
507 10 St SW
Calgary AB T2P 2B8
(403) 532-9419

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Wishes & Goals 2010 Check-Up - February

I was tempted to start a brand new blog for tracking my progress on my New Year's resolutions (and over on Wordpress too - I'm jealous of their mobile edition plugin), but then figured no one will read it anyway, thereby decreasing my motivation because I'm not accountable to anyone. And I mean, since this is not-a-foodblog anyway ;), I'm sure you won't mind if I just branch off and check in with my resolutions once a month (and I hope it inspires you to reflect on your own goals and wishes too.)

So, pulling out the ol' list and the calendar...

My Goals for 2010
Get at least 7 hours of sleep for at least 3 weeknights per week by the end of January. Uh... yeah - it wasn't long before I realized that I have little control over when I actually fall asleep and even less over how often I wake up throughout the night (and it's more than I realized!) My tracking calendar quickly degraded to three colours - red for "I went to bed less than 7 hours before I had to get up", yellow for "I went to bed at least 7 hours before I had to get up, but clearly didn't sleep for 7 hours (because I didn't fall asleep right away, or because I woke up through the night)" and green for "I slept for at least 7 hours." On the last week of the month I had to add another colour, blue, for "I really want these to be green but I actually have no idea when I fell asleep." To top it off, I didn't even have three green nights for the whole month, let alone for a week! To make matters worse, I definitely did not "set controls to limit my computer access" - the hours I said I would shut off my computer access came and went, and that's where most of the red nights come from. But, even though I didn't achieve this goal all the way, I know I have been getting to bed earlier than before, so that's good. But for next month, something that's a little more in my control: Lights out between 10:30-10:45 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and between 11:30-11:45 on Sundays and Tuesdays for at least three of those nights per week by the end of February. Wish me luck.

Have scheduled snacks (particularly an afternoon snack on Mondays and Wednesdays) every weekday by the end of January. Success! Save for a few days here and there, I have maintained a habit of including a morning and afternoon snack every weekday. I did slack off and not "set appointments" on my calendar, causing me to take some snacks later than I should've towards the end of the month. The snacks have really made a difference in terms of my hunger and energy - about two weeks in, my kickboxing instructor actually complimented me on "randomly" getting better. This month I'm upping the ante - Each snack must contain a vegetable or a fruit by the end of February.

Be able to do 100 full, proper pushups without stopping by December 2010. My New Year's Resolution has turned into an Office Challenge! I told the kinesiologist that I was doing the hundred pushups challenge/program and asked if he could watch me do my initial test to make sure I had good form, then he got interested in doing it and started asking other people at work if they'd be interested too. Word got to my boss, who organized a pool and whoever has the greatest percentage improvement wins. I tried to do proper pushups at first but it was a bust - I didn't bring myself low enough, so I decided I'd try to finish the program with "modified" pushups (aka from the knees/girlie pushups/granny pushups) first before moving on to full ones. (The office pool is also split into "modified" and "full" divisions.) As you can see on the graph on top, I'm doing pretty good! I do "exhaustion tests" every two weeks and my next one is this Thursday.

Buy a house/condo within walking distance from my work by fall 2010. So I hadn't really done very much for this goal until my financial advisor called me about starting an RRSP. I then told her my goal and we decided that I could probably hold out on getting an RRSP for now and save up for a home instead. Unfortunately because of the timeframe in which I want to achieve this goal, I don't really have a lot of options in terms of investment. But I saved more than ⅓ of my paycheque this month, despite paying for a course that my company still hasn't reimbursed me for!

I'm adding a new one - my body often tells me that I don't drink enough water (and/or eat enough fibre, thus the changing of the snack goal.) But the idea that people need to drink 8 glasses of water a day is a myth! A simple way to calculate your water needs are 1 mL per calorie need; the average woman needs about 1800 calories a day, while the average man needs about 2100 - that's how they come up with 2000 calorie overall average. So yes, that does work out to about 8 cups of water, but your water needs aren't just pure water; they include all water that you get from your food and drink. Coffee, tea, milk, even the water that's inherent in the vegetables and fruit you eat count towards the total. So where does that leave me? I know I drink a cup of milk every morning with breakfast, a 12 oz tea most days at work and two bowls of a Chinese broth-based soup whenever we have dinner at home. The amount of water I drink during the day is variable, and virtually non-existent on weekends, which could be messing me up for the rest of the week. So to start, I will keep track of my water intake every day - including weekends! until the end of February, which will make me more conscious of how much I'm drinking and thus motivate me to drink more, and then we'll see where I should take it from there.

My Wishes for 2010 (could eventually be moved up to goals):
Do a thorough "room purge". I'd forgotten I'd done a semi-purge of my washroom in the fall, so when I told myself to just start with "one side" of the washroom, that basically completed the purge. I managed to get rid of a lot of ponytail holders and barrettes from my childhood. I also cleared out the drawer on my nightstand, but my nightstand itself still has stacks of books, boxes and knick-knacks lurking on it. I think it'd be easy to tackle that next... not looking forward to moving to the shelves :S

Recipes/Techniques I wanted to try this year: I didn't do anything on this list (and I probably added more... in my head.)

Blog Stuff
Continue upward trajectory of posts per year.
I have posted more in January than I have in any other January so far, so that's good.

Include nutrition information to recipes whenever possible.
I have been including nutrition info for new recipes, but haven't spent any time going back in the archives.

Reorganize blog tags (particular those that fit in the "other" category)
I added another "Seen Elsewhere" section as part of the "Other" category and there's really not much else I can think of doing... also I don't really like the "ingredient cloud". I'll say this is done for now, but it's more "on hold" until I decide what would be best.

Link up all restaurant reviews to Urbanspoon.
Haven't started this.

Rewards
I decided the fact that I've been really good about snacks this past month (plus the progress I've made on my other goals/wishes) is certainly worth rewarding. I know I mentioned some books that I wanted (and the list is growing), but toward the end of the month it came to my attention that I don't have a good shoulder bag - bigger than a purse but smaller than a backpack. Matt & Nat and its sister company Samsara had sales of up to 40% off on their Fall and Holiday collections so I went to take a look. I bought Rory. (Love the pink detailing on the zippers.) I also wanted the Ayaan but the red belt was out of stock.

Judging by my progress with the push-ups I think that will probably be the goal that I will have to work hardest for and will take me the longest. So I've decided that once I achieve that I'm buying myself a DSLR. And a sweet macro lens. Haven't decided what yet though, but I'm sure my favourite food bloggers will have a say...

And in between? I think my wallet (and intellect) will appreciate going back to the books, but we'll see :)

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