Jack Of Hearts Bistro in the historical Lorraine Building is one of the best bistros in the city. Amazing food, great coffee, and always a fun conversation. Here is an interview I did with Jack, owner of Jack of Hearts Bistro.

What’s up with Jack of Hearts Bistro? What makes it different then other bistros in Calgary?
We found an opportunity to open our restaurant when space became available in the Lorraine Heritage building in the Belt Line district. We really liked the space and the chance to form Jack of Hearts Bistro Inc. Jack of Hearts was a business on 4th street southwest Calgary in the 80s! I felt it was time to do something I had always wanted to do… re-open “the Jack”! It is a family operation offering real food made as much as possible fresh on site. We strive to offer quality single estate organic coffee, soups, salads, paninis, and roasted dinners at fair prices.

Why should someone come get their coffee from you? What makes a good coffee?
Jack of Hearts Bistro works directly with local roasters and has agency and distribution rights to all the coffees we sell, lowering customer cost. Good coffee is a very personal thing for all of us! Many folks like cream and sugar! If your going to have a good cup it needs to start fresh. You need to find this years crop, freshly roasted, it should be ground as needed and served quickly. That said, for Jack of Hearts we also insist that coffee is high grown in mixed farming on the shady side of the mountain and the beans are Organic, Song-Bird and Frog friendly and always have been, and that the coffee is more than fairly traded with the growers.

You are very passionate about food, what is your favorite thing to make?
I have passion for making long multi-course dinner parties… a French Press of coffees, the drink, the starters and appetizers, good soups, roasted and BBQ dinners and the sweet finishers like golden peaked Bombe Glacee with white chocolate and raspberry sauce at one in the morning.

Say I want to make a meal for a hot date, what would you suggest as something simple, easy, but makes me look like I know how to cook well?
I suggest something light and refreshing that screams where is the wine for hot date scenarios. A little coffee from “the Jack” could only help! Pick your favorite pasta I suggest keeping it simple like linguine, cook it al dente, so it still has some tooth, rinse it under cold water and toss with oil save till cooking time. For the sauce I suggest picking every veggie you can find 12 or 15 of them and some fresh herb. It could be corn on the cob cut in two inch rounds, zucchini cut on an angle, portabella mushroom slices, pepper rings you get the idea. Choose what you know your date likes, season and cook it to just mark it on the BBQ or colour it in the pan and arrange on a platter, save till cooking time. Set the table let the wine breath or chill make a basket of your favorite garlic toast with cheese. At cooking time you need two sauce pans or pots add one and a half cups vegetable stock to a pot and reduce it or use your favorite tomato sauce. Lay your veggies in a little olive oil and heat! add your pasta to your sauce and heat through. Place pasta on plate garnish with veggies and top with your Herbs, cheese and fresh pepper. Serve the pasta, galic toasts and pour the wine. If you have no time I will build you a dinner kit just stop in and see me!

You have had some pretty interesting jobs in the past, what were some of the more notable ones?
Always liking to try new things I have done many interesting jobs in my life from my first paying job which was as an auto detailer to my last which was as a director of a satellite communications company. The Most interesting job was one where we rebuilt old rock bars in hotels and turned them into discotheques, DJing and teaching the “Bus Stop” and the “Hustle”!

~Jack

Jack of Hearts Bistro Suite 101, 620 12 Avenue SW.

www.jofhearts.com