Finally, a Calgary Sushi Joint a Vancouver Girl Can Love

4 / 23 / 18

I am a sushi stickler. When you’re from Vancouver, that’s just how it is. However, with Calgary’s foodie revolution in full force, it was only a matter of time before I found a Japanese restaurant that met my standards. However, I didn’t expect the chef behind all this deliciousness to be a dude from Red Deer.Chef Darren MacLean knows how to bring the heat. After all, he used to be a topless server, slinging shooters at Cowboys! Luckily for us, being treated like a handsome hunk of meat never got in the way of Darren’s appreciation of a good piece of meat… especially if it’s Wagyu beef. Despite my headline, Shokunin specializes in yakitori. Chef Darren has been obsessed with Japanese food in general, ever since he tried Zen 8 in his Cowboys days. Now he gets to Japan six times a year to keep his craftsmanship up to par. Since Shokunin, loosely translated, means craftsman or artisan.

Darren’s down-to-earth personality drives the vibe at Shokunin. No bamboo and gently trickling waterfalls here. When you step in, it feels like a party. Chances are good some old school rap will be blaring on the sound system.To get your own party started, Shokunin has an extensive cocktail list of boozy, unexpected combos. The Clovers in Kyoto, pictured here, went down nice and easy.Then it’s time to get some tuna belly in your belly. Shokunin doesn’t offer many different types of fish — only the ones that Darren is sure are super-fresh. Note: this wasabi is too beautiful to dump into your soy sauce. It’s ground daily at Shokunin. Basically, every single item on every plate is bursting with flavor. It almost makes you want to hold off from drinking too much, so you can really appreciate everything.But then again, no Japanese dining experience is complete without some sake. Try the flight. Not only do they arrive in charmingly mis-matched cups…… but they are conveniently labeled, so you don’t forget what you’re drinking.Shokunin has tables, as well as a Chef’s table that’s cool for a large group, but we wanted to be where the action was. That glass wall protected us from the sizzle. Note — it’s warm and toasty by the grill, so it’s the perfect spot to wear your strappiest little black dress, or show off your muscles in a short-sleeved shirt, in the middle of winter. But, if you notice our scallops’ presentation, that sizzle sometimes continues beyond the kitchen.This scallop is ready for her closeup. Doesn’t this buxom beauty look like a she?At Shokunin, oysters alone aren’t aphrodisiacal enough. Caviar is added for good measure.If straight-up fish is not your thing, the diverse menu has delicious lightly battered options.Of course, once you go to this food zone, you need more drinks to go with it. Shokunin brews a lovely lager.Then, when the wagyu moment arrives, Shokunin also stocks some very nice red wine. And surprisingly sophisticated glasses. FYI, this was all part of the omakase — a multi-course menu using the best ingredients of the day.

Dessert! How many times have you had creme brulee at a Japanese joint? With miso in it, for good measure.Keep your eye on Chef Darren MacLean, because he’s about to blow up. I am sworn to secrecy, so I can’t give you the scoop, but something huge is about to happen to him this summer. This is on top of being named one Canada’s Top 50 restaurants. Visit Shokunin now, before you can’t get a reservation any more!

A Spring in Earls Step

4 / 15 / 154 / 15 / 15

It might have felt like winter last night in Calgary, with a snowstorm reminding us just exactly how far north we live, but inside Earls Tin Palace, it felt like spring. The restaurant is spiffing up their menu for the green season, starting with craft cocktails. The Paloma, which involved tequila, grapefruit and a whole lot of deliciousness, was my favorite. If you happen to be a quiet talker, you won’t be after one of these.The room was crammed with paparazzi, including Reid Fiest, Global National’s Alberta Correspondent and Buzz Bishop, midday host on XL103. In the background I managed to catch Tim Tamashiro with his eyes closed (sorry about that Tim!) but it made me wonder what brilliance is taking place in the blink of an eye. A new riff for his upcoming jazz album to be recorded in Vancouver? Another dazzling story for Tonic, his show on CBC Radio 2? I will tune in to find out.

The Tin Palace on 4th Street SW is the hippest Earls in Calgary, the beautiful outcome of a horrible experience: the Floods of 2013. It makes some of the other locations seem shabby in comparison. Earls, I understand you’re busy with your 7000 employees and 63 restaurants — with two more opening up in the US this fall — but when can you start a similar ambience upgrade in the burbs of Cowtown? I was going to vote for Westhills to be first, but I have now learned that they are a privately owned franchise. So I will just offer this direct missive to them: hint, hint.

Back to the matter at hand — the tasting of the spring menu. Head Chef Keith Kozlowski, who likes to keep his thermometer ready for instant action, had his kitchen crew so fine-tuned that he was available for a photo op. Do you tell a chef to say cheese?

We started with the Fattoush Salad, which tasted like spring on a plate. Chef Keith told me he ate it every day for a week when they first started making it — and he still isn’t tired of it. The Fattoush will now be my salad go-to. The accompanying Famille Perrin La Vielle Firme Rose wasn’t bad either.

We were told these were half portions, but they were plenty satisfying. Pictured with the most amazing Pinot ever (Belle Glos Meiomi) are plates of Moroccan Salmon. Delicious, fresh, with an unexpected tang.

The waiters at Earls normally offer the stir service, but foodie Lisa Nguyen of the Lemon Lime Lisa blog knew how to muscle her mix of Bibimbap, especially under the encouraging eye of journalist David Gray, who always has his eye out for a good story. After all, he’s the host of The Eyeopener on CBC.

Such a wonderful time was had by all that everyone even put their phones away — except for Goodwill Carlos of Kool 101.5. But he’s a proud new baby daddy, so we understand. Great to see you everyone! And thank you Earls for the spring fling, it was delicious!

Bocce Sneak Peek

5 / 22 / 145 / 23 / 14

Spring has finally sprung in Calgary. With the green shoots and fresh new leaves comes another new restaurant, with a green Italian mascot parked faithfully outside.Green is the theme on the inside as well, as far as the server’s hip baseball tees go. They’re a casual contrast to the stylish, airy decor of the shoebox-shaped room with a deluge of daylight. Bocce has managed to create a comfortable vibe inside the newly constructed building on the corner of Fourth Street and 22nd Avenue SW. The Tiffany blue accent wall (which I love, of course) reminds me of a similar wall at Black Pig Bistro. Which is a good thing. Calgary could never have enough Tiffany blue. However, the horde of hungry food bloggers was focused on a tastier topic: the food. With three restaurants within 3 blocks of each other, Dominic Caracciolo is the Don of Fourth Street. The man behind Mercato takes his Italian food verrrry seriously. After trying several Bocce pastas (the one with the mushrooms was my favorite) and some amazing calamari, I appreciate his fierce foodiness, even if it means he’s so intent on delivering a meal he can’t meander for a brief photo op. His determination has created a delectable situation — I even heard one food blogger say she thinks the pizza here is better than Double Zero. Uh oh — them’s fighting words! Still, don’t go typecasting Dom as all Italian, all the time. The third restaurant in his Mission triple savory slam is Wurst — a German beer hall.If the permit gods are with them, Bocce will open to the public next week, with their delivery service up and running (or maybe driving in that green Fiat) by the end of June.

The Parrot Is Back In Mission

2 / 26 / 142 / 26 / 14

With an icy nod to a species of the verge of extinction (Bus and Stan Fuller’s former decor mascot) Earl’s Tin Palace re-opened last night in Calgary, with an invitation-only VIP bash. With our weather right now, that sculpture should be good for weeks.

Normally I wouldn’t get overly excited about an Earls opening. The casual food and dining chain opens another restaurant every few months these days, both in Canada and the US. With their reliable, reasonably priced food and tasteful ambience (now that the parrots have flown the coop) it’s always a safe bet. But this particular Earls has a special place in my heart, because it’s in the heart of Mission, one of my favorite areas of Calgary.This is what Earls looked like after the June 2013 flood hit Fourth Street.This is the same corner (24th Ave and 4th St SW) from Fifth Street. I couldn’t get any closer because it was under several feet of water. Summer was ruined for the vibrant neighborhood. As work dragged on through the winter, I can’t tell you how many times people said to me, “Let’s meet at Earls Tin Palace.” But we couldn’t. It was still rebuilding after the flood.So last night, it was wonderful to walk in side and see this. A standing room only crowd having a fantastic time, while admiring the updates. The tired rows of Bombay Sapphire bottles above the bar are gone. Subtle bricks and wood accented by industrial style lighting give the room a fresh take.Calgary’s finest partiers included a Mongolian horseman, aka Jason Gogo.An army of Earls Girls kept up with the crowd hungry for sushi and sliders from their favorite haunt, now a Kitchen + Bar.The Earls re-opening ended up being a celebration of the big picture: Mission, back on its feet. Calgary, taking care of its own during the flood. My dear friend Cynthia Moore rocking blue leopard print after almost losing her life to flesh-eating disease one year ago this week. And me, with my nose intact after cancer surgery one year ago this month. Not to mention a few drinks in honor of the Best New Blog honor. Glad to see you back, Earls Tin Palace!