Calgary NW options

[irishgirl]

Hi all,
I'm new to Calgary and can't wait to try all the great restaurants mentioned on the board. However most of them are downtown or in areas it's hard for me to get to at the moment, as I'm currently car-less. I'm living near Market Mall - can anyone recommend any good places to eat - restaurants, pubs, takeout, anything - that would be within walking distance? (Apart from the food court and Moxie's in the mall of course!)
Thanks

[cocosti]

Irishgirl,
try the stripmall on the corner of Northland Dr and 52nd Ave NW, there are a few places, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese. Try the Kensington area as someone mentioned, off the Sunnyside LRT stop. But this is Calgary, so keep your culinary expectations low.

[Hart50]

Hard to believe on Chowhound's Western Canada Board but I think we have our first troll.

[John Manzo]

Cocosti, don't you have to head back to Quebec to terrorise Muslim immigrants and stock up on vachon cakes? Amazing that you have time to post here.

It's hard to appreciate good food when your taste buds are destroyed by tobacco, mon ami.

[Susanbnyc]

And as someone mentioned above Planet Organic at the Shag. location has some yummy food to go.....

[irishgirl]

Came from Cork, food capital of Ireland! Looking forward to trying Canadian grub. Thanks for tip on Planet Organic, good to have an alternative to Safeway

[John Manzo]

yeah, this snow is pretty nonstop lately- it's hard to walk anywhere. Where did you move from, irishgirl?

[irishgirl]

That's the ultimate plan! First, we need to get over our fear of snow :-)

[John Manzo]

If you can take get all the way to the LRT from Market Mall (that is a LONG WALK!!!!) you can take it SOUTH and get into the CITY and eat some REAL FOOD.

[irishgirl]

Cheers, that's great. Is that stripmall on Shaganappi? I'm not dissing the food court! Just that we spent our first week in Calgary living in a motel and ate in food courts a lot - I've eaten in Opa 4 time in 2 weeks!

[alex8alot]

Are you guys talking about Peking Garden? Or is it Peking Dragon? Peking something? Beside Planet Organic? If it is, I think that place is pretty good too. Their salt and pepper squid is always crispy and tender.

[marcopolo]

I'll second the recommendation of the Chinese place in the stripmall, especially for dim sum. I've been a few times and have been very impressed with the food, although you're right: it is a very limited menu (especially if you don't read chinese. I'd bring some chinese friends, you're liable to get better options for food, though the service will be just as um, efficient). The place is well known for their spring onion dumplings, and a great two-course chicken, first the crispy roasted bird, and second a rice/porridge/soup thing with the bones and other meat.

[sharonanne]

Don't be dissing the food court. There's always Opa! there.

The Chinese place in the strip mall NE of the mall is pretty decent. They even have dim sum on the weekend although it's a limited menu and is a bit more expensive than Chinatown. Matador is a standard pizza and steak place. Not bad, not great.

Wow, we live near there and that's all I can honestly recommend within walking distance unless you want to walk to the LRT. Brentwood has Ginger Beef, a decent fish and chip place and Kilkenny Pub which my daughter likes.

Take the LRT to Northland and there are a bunch of restaurants just north of Churchill high school. Take it south and North Hill has Koryo in the food court. Further south and you are into Kensington where your options increase dramatically.