Olympus Donair

 

Finally got to try this place for Friday night takeout.  It was good.  It's hard to beat my lunchtime favorite donair location - Donair Station - but this is close to my house so it's good for something close to home.

Original Joe's

We live in the Terwillegar area but often go on weekend patio crawls to other areas in the city. On this crawl, we decided to start it in our neighbourhood that has some great patio offerings. We started at Original Joe's. We were thirsty after over an hour walk in Terwillegar Park so a nice cold glass of grapefruit beer was a perfect way to start our crawl. On their special summer menu they have mussels in a wine cream sauce that were just delicious. The patio was packed on a sunny afternoon. Service was good.

Sawmill - Terra Losa

We went for dinner and had an excellent meal. I had the rack of lamb which was just to die for. The mint demi glaze was amazing and it came with fully loaded garlic mashed potatoes on the side. It was absolutely delicious! Paired with a very nice Malbec at a very reasonable price. My husband had the prime rib which was excellent as well. It comes with Yorkshire pudding, broccoli au gratin and choice of potato. Very, very good.

 

The only thing I didn't care for was the escargot appetizer - just personal preference. The service was excellent though and we had a really nice evening with friends.

 

Chianti

Came here for a staff party and it was just terrible! Well, there were a few high points. The calamari appetizer was tasty. As well, the daily soup - potato, leek and bacon was superb, particularly with the fresh grated parmesan on top of it. It was the main dish that left MUCH to be desired. I ordered a special that consisted of a chicken breast with prawns in a pineapple curry sauce. I must say - the curry sauce was divine! Loved it. But the chicken was dry, dry, dry and the prawns had the texture of frozen prawns and with that the chewy yuckiness. It was gross! I refused to complain or send it back but that's just not acceptable. I won't be back to this location but I will give the Whyte Ave. location a try.

 

Von's

We ended our Whyte Ave pub crawl at Von's and it was the best of the day! Started off with Creamsicle Martini's - they were delicious! Shared the Crabshack Oysters, the Scallops and Bacon and the Mushrooms Neptune Bake. All were very good. Will go back for the Oysters (and the Martini's) for sure. The patio is very nice and enjoyed ourselves immensely on a sunny Saturday evening. Monday nights have 1/2 price bottles of wine!

 

Saratoga

We have lived in Edmonton for the last five years and always said we wanted to give Saratoga a try so today we finally did. We went in not expecting much - it's a truck stop diner after all - thought there would be good down home food for reasonable prices. I was fairly disappointed. My husband and I both ordered Eggs Benedict. I didn't like it at all. The hollandaise was not good which will either make or break a good Eggs Benny. The eggs were cooked soft as I like them though. My son had a burger which was good and the fries were really good. Service was fine and the restaurant was nicer and cleaner inside than I expected. For what it is, it was fine. It's a diner with diner food. I was surprised with the prices though. Thought it might be a little cheaper. $50 for three of us for breakfast and a burger. I've now been there and done that so probably won't return.

 

Calgary Trip - Rodney's Oyster House

Let me start my saying I LOVE THIS PLACE!  I love the concept, I love the vibe, I love fresh seafood in Alberta, I love the ambiance, I love everything!!

  The outside.

 The beautiful inside.

  I love the East Coast feeling of this place and the fact that everything centers around the center bar where the shucking happens!

This is Julius behind the bar. 

Lots of oysters.

  The seafood platter behind a Casear!

 

  Less hidden.

  This corn is AMAZING!

On the special Stampede Menu we had Jonas Crab stuffed Jalapeno Poppers, a Lobster and Shrimp Corn Dog and that great corn topped with chili lime and parmesan cheese.

 

And if that wasn't enough I also had to order their famous New England Clam Chowder.

The service at this restaurant is some of the best we've had in a long time.  Our server Jessie was awesome.  Efficient, friendly and engaging.  The Front of the House Manager Brad was excellent and made sure to came by the table to ensure that we were well taken care of.  Julius came out from behind the bar to talk to us and other guests as well.  In fact, many of the servers, even though not responsible for our table, came by to say hello and ensure we were enjoying everything.  Jessie recommended a raspberry beer that they had on tap that was just excellent.  Brad took Philly behind the bar so he could get these great pics.  We could not have had a better time (except if we would have ordered that great seafood platter instead of taking a pic with a 40 zoom lens of someone else's food).  Phil's not really a seafood guy and I doubt I'll ever get him to try fresh oysters but on the next visit we'll definitely have to try something a little more adventurous then the dishes we ordered.  With oysters, clams, mussels, lobster, crab, shrimp etc. etc. etc. to choose from I'll be in heaven.   I hadn't heard of this chain before that has other locations in Toronto and Vancouver but it is now a fave of mine.  We are already planning a return trip to Calgary just so that we can return to this great restaurant.