Nice, Big, Meaty Dinner... But... (Calgary)
I need to take out some colleagues to thank them for a personal favour. I know they like big, meaty dinners. Bison? Caribou? Elephant? I would like to take them somewhere nice BUT wherever we go needs to have even just one vegetarian thing for me. I have recently been to Mercato and River Cafe, and I think that both places aren't "meaty" enough (although that's the price range I'd be looking at- certainly no cheaper). I would also really prefer if it was a place where main courses came with vegetables and starch, as I think they would be hesitant to order those seperately knowing that I'm paying. Help! The Coup and Buddha's Veggie won't cut it this time!
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Although, I've never been there I was going to suggest Gaucho resturant. Heared so many good things about the restaurant. Looks like someone below recommended it too. Just came across an audio interview with the owner on AMA's site of all places. Let me know how it is.
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re: HamiltonLake
maplesugar
Apr 25, 2009 08:13 PM
From page 4 of your link. "The pale-eyed woman lunges like a wild animal. A matron convulses and a young man trembles like a rumba dancer. " I couldn't get the audio to play the first time though so didn't know til I read the comments that I was in the right place. 2nd time through the audio worked thankfully.
I checked out Gaucho's site: http://www.brazilianbbq.ca/ and they don't list a single vegetarian main. The OP would have to make dinner out of salads, cassava fries and condiments.
ETA: Link to last year's Gaucho thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/504401
and the Bolero thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/402806 HTH :)
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maplesugar
Apr 25, 2009 02:14 PM
I don't know about the rest of the posters, but I'm wondering when this dinner is and where Jetgirly decided to go. Enquiring minds want to know =)
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sarah galvin
Apr 25, 2009 05:45 AM
Has anyone tried the Bear's Den? It would be great on meat but not sure about veggie.
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re: sarah galvin
http://www.bears-den.ca/images/upload...
The menu seems to only have carnivore selections for mains. -
re: sarah galvin
sharonanne
Apr 25, 2009 08:04 AM
My favorite place, which is why I put it out in the first post. We've been there for several special occasions. They do vegetarian meals to order. It says that on the menu cancowboy posted. I have never been to a place more willing to accomodate requests. It's an old school fine dining place in terms of good service not in terms of stuffy although I have to say one particular server is especially good and we've had her twice. The others are good too but, of course, we haven't been served by everyone.
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My personal favorite and very meaty is Mercato. We have only been once but it was by far the best restaurant experience we have had in Calgary. Everything was perfect. Its not just a great restaurant for Calgary; it would stand up to just about anything in New York, or Montreal or I think anywhere. It's hard to impress this very jaded diner but they did it. Can't wait to go back.
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re: HamiltonLake
sarah galvin
Apr 27, 2009 03:10 PM
They have a fabulous big chunk of beef, too. It is served like a grilled roast, if that makes sense, and will feed 2 or 3 people.
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re: Jasz
sarah galvin
Apr 27, 2009 03:11 PM
When they first opened I found their prices a bit high, but the market has caught up to them (considering the cost of eating at Earls, etc) and it is quality and value, IMHO
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re: Jasz
Jetgirly
Apr 27, 2009 07:04 PM
I would say only if you're a vegetarian. The times I've been there we've shared the appetizer platter (I've just taken the veggies and cheese) and then I've had pasta as a main, along with two or three sides of shared vegetables. I don't think that would come in under $25, even sans appetizers.
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re: Jasz
sarah galvin
Apr 27, 2009 07:13 PM
My favourite place for $25 is the tasting plate at JaroBlue. They offer 3 tapas for that price. Or you can have a sharing platter for $20/person or $30/person and feel nicely fed. It would be tight at Mercato, unless you share a few things.
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re: derfster
sarah galvin
May 11, 2009 08:12 PM
They have a wonderful grilled piece of beef roast that would be nice for sharing.
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re: sarah galvin
sarah galvin
May 23, 2009 09:58 PM
I had dinner at the Bear's Den this evening. It was very nice. Yes, the entrees are mainly meaty but very nice. We had the chateaubriand. It was a newer version of the old classic. Veggies were more modern with baby bok choy, white carrots, heirloom beets, white asparagus, seasoned riced potato and very nice beef. It has the old boys club ambience and very good service. Also, nice to be away from the busy-ness of the city. Our waiter gave us the grand tour including the kitchen and meeting the chef. Complimentary sauternes and 'amuse bouche' style dessert. They also have a 'bistro' section where you can drop in without reservation.
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If they like meat...please please please take them to Gaucho's....skip Bolero.
I have tried both at least two times each.›2 Replies -
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re: hungryungry
maplesugar
Apr 15, 2009 10:28 PM
their latest dinner menu indicates gnocchi is available (link above)
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Have you considered Redwater Grille, I take my employees there for Christmas dinner for 3 years in a row. I let them make the resto choice too and price is not an issue, but we all seem to like it from the mechanics to their wives. I have never finished one of their meals, I am not vegan but a few wives are and also seem to really like the place.
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maplesugar
Apr 14, 2009 10:06 PM
The difficulty I'm having is finding somewhere that meets both criteria: Vege(and not pesce) main - that frankly isn't an afterthought like sad green salad but REAL food. Calgary doesn't have a lot of places that do both well. That being said I'd suggest:
The Ranche at Fish Creek Park. I love the building, food is excellent, and they definitely do meat... although not "hungry man" style portions, so I'd go heavier on the apps - lots of good options - and I'd think your colleagues will be sated. It's a bit(ok a lot) of a drive but worth it imho, and their current menu has a vege friendly gnocchi http://www.crmr.com/theranche/pdf/The-Ranche-Dinner-Menu.pdf
or...
Thomsons at the Hyatt, yes naysayers, I know it's a hotel restaurant but it's a good one, and their dinner menu certainly offers meat-centric options, as well as two mains for our dear OP. http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/images/hot...
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Wellington's might be a good choice as well for a "meaty" dinner.. although I don't recall if they serve bison or caribou. They are a traditional steak house. I prefer them over Caesar's any day. The service is always impeccable. However, they are very old-school and the decor is very traditional as well. They offer items like table-side caesar salad, etc. The only other downside about Wellington's is that they are all the way down south by Willowpark.
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My first thought is that you may want to re-think Mercato. They have that meat platter and it is the meat-iest thing! Its very good.
My other suggestion would be to call Muse and do a tasting menu. The last time we were there, two of our dishes were chocolate braised bison and elk medallions.
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Went to Ruth's Chris this weekend. I felt a little disloyal because I was a visitor to Calgary and had perceived that if I went to RC (which is a chain, though a VERY high end one) that we wouldn't be eating Alberta beef. I was wrong.
This restaurant might suit you as it is meaty in the extreme and you have your choice between source of your meat. Our table did some taste-testing and I loved the Alberta beef. Service was super. Sides were good. They went way out of their way to get me the cocktail I ordered (which was a favourite of mine from a Ruth's Chris in another city.)
In fact, it looked to me as if RC might be reacting to the recession by being a little clever in offering a prix fixe menu that was really good value.
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sharonanne
Apr 14, 2009 10:24 AM
Wouldn't Bolero and Gaucho's be lower than the price range the OP specified? And what are the vegetarian options?
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re: sharonanne
ybnormal
Apr 14, 2009 10:35 AM
I agree with you. But it does cover the veggies/starch for the all-you-can-eat option.
Believe it or not, on the website, it does say they have vegetarian options.
As I reflect on this though, Jetgirly may want to check whether or not the rodizio is required for the entire table to order. So that may nix it...
Bear's Den, as you suggested, might be a better option. Vintage is where I usually go for meat on someone else's dime... Never been to Ruth Chris', so I can't say much for that
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ybnormal
Apr 14, 2009 10:04 AM
This is pretty subjective, but I prefer Gaucho's Brazilian BBQ (http://www.brazilianbbq.ca/) to Bolero's. Way smaller place, and not nearly as big of selection of salads/sides as Bolero's, but the meat is really good. Go on the weekends for the full selection (especially the lamb).
Check out the web site for the food gallery - that may tell you whether or not there are enough Veg. options for you.
I have a co-worker that is a gigantic meat-eater and this is where we go...
Not the easiest place to find though...
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When I am craving meat in Calgary - I go to Bolero. Its all you can eat of the best meat there is (waiters walk around with skewers of meat and carve it at your table), and it comes with a salad bar and a hot side buffet as well. You can get just the salad, or the salad and sides or all of the above. It is really, very good food, and a different experience. I'm sure your colleagues would be impressed.
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