Me taking a walk on the Peace Bridge.

With my BFF Dave. He makes me laugh so much.

Catching some rays on the patio. Hello summer!

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Happy Mother’s Day! Today we are going to Belgo for their Mother’s Day Brunch but I wanted to tell you about a new restaurant that my monthly lunch companion Roger and I just added to our rotation.

Inti Restaurant just opened in the Interpacific Business Park (the same strip mall that houses Clay Oven, another lunch favourite, among other eats) about a month ago. Owners Angela and Hans Puccinelli left The BottleHouse in Kensington to open what may possibly be Calgary’s only Peruvian restaurant. I have never had Peruvian food before, so had no idea what it would entail. “Don’t they eat guinea pig?” Fortunately, Roger did the Inca Trail trip last September so was able to guide me through some of the items on the menu.

Inti’s specialty is rotisserie chicken (as noted by their chicken logo). Roger decided to order the signature dish (well, he upped the quarter-chicken to a half-chicken… to prove his manliness) with a side of salad, garlic rice and spicy Ají Inti (again, manliness) for dipping. ($14.15)

Roger really liked this chicken. Proof: He didn’t offer me any, and he couldn’t stop raving about how moist and flavourful it was, adding that we can knock the other chicken restaurant on our lunch rotation off the list. The garlic rice, however, was nothing to write home about, and while the salad was hefty, with cucumbers, shredded carrot and slices of avocado, the lime dressing was a little too sweet for our liking.

I got the sandwich pictured above – Pan Con Chicharron, a pork belly sandwich with thin slices of sweet potato and a generous helping of salsa criolla (South American sliced onion “salsa”) between a crusty roll slathered with avocado mayo and Ají Inti with a side of yucca fritas. ($9.90)

This sandwich was AMAZING. The pork belly was well-seasoned and not too greasy. The salsa criolla was vinegary and fresh while the Ají Inti provided a mild curry flavour with just a hint of spice from the ají peppers. I was worried that the sweet potato would make the sandwich very heavy, but they were sliced so thin that you could barely notice they were there. The yucca fritas were crisp with just a teeny hint of sweetness… I was tempted to ask for ketchup but wasn’t sure if that was the “proper” way to eat them. They were still good (and very filling!) without.

The service at Inti was friendly. It was a little slow at the beginning (there was a big party that had arrived before us, and only one person working the room) but once we got our orders in, the food arrived pretty quickly. I would definitely be back so that I can try the chicken for myself, and also the Lomo Saltado, a stir-fried beef dish that is oddly on Appetite for China‘s 100 Chinese Foods to Try Before You Die list.

Inti Restaurant
208 – 3132 26 St NE
Calgary AB T1Y 6Z1
(587) 352-5599
Open Mon-Thu 11 AM-9 PM, Fri 11 AM-10 PM, Sat 12 PM-10 PM. Closed Sundays. Ample free parking available.

With the weather officially turning nice this weekend (and hopefully staying this way – knock on my fake wood coffee table), it’s a great time to get out and about on Calgary’s many pathways and bikeways. Calgarians are lucky to have the largest urban network of bikeways and pathways in North America. To find your way among these numerous routes, download The City’s Pathways and Bikeways mobile app to take with you on your runs and walks.  What’s your favorite path to take? Send us a tweet or post on our wall to let us know!

When I was a small child I remember Calgary being a very exciting place to live in 1988. It was the year of the Winter Olympic Games. Even though I was very young, I had a sense that Calgarians were unified in celebrating their city. Thousands of volunteers worked countless hours to show the world how awesome we are. Many thousands more were spectators to events that put us on the world map as a place to see and live in. We did this together and we were proud.

Twenty-four years later we are on the stage again as the cultural capital of Canada. It is not a self-appointed title and it has taken a great deal of work to achieve. Hundreds of individuals at hundreds of organizations have worked hard to win the bid. Thousands more will work together to showcase what makes Calgary an awesome place to live and visit. Over two hundred and fifty Cultural Ambassadors have volunteered to represent the many scenes in this city. Our culture runs deep into our communities from the downtown core to the city limits.

This is the centennial year for the Calgary Stampede. This past March, over nine thousand Calgarians flooded Olympic Plaza to share in the 100-day kickoff event. They came together even though the Calgary Stampede did not advertise. They rang thousands of cow bells, cheered, applauded, and danced. Attendees feasted on pancakes, a tradition that was begun in 1923.

Calgarians love to listen to great music together. Calgary Folk Fest, Sled Island and X-Fest continue to grow. In April, a Garth Brooks concert sold out in fifty-eight seconds. Thousands will pack the field in front of the Coca-Cola Stage in July to be entertained.

Our city will continue to grow. Culture will continue to expand. Great events will thrive. Calgary is awesome because we experience what this city has to offer together.

Lonnie Taylor is a Calgary Stampede volunteer and a Calgary 2012 Culture Ambassador.

In Your Words, YYC is a regular CIA feature that allows awesome Calgarians to share their awesome views on our great city.

For Part I of this mammoth tasting write-up, click here.

After the first half-dozen wines of Bin 905′s Chateau de Beaucastel vertical tasting, spanning six vastly different bottles from 1989 to 1999, we took a 15 minute break to chew on some cheese and cleanse our palates.  After the first 1700 words of my tasting review covering those six bottles, I took a 7 day break to get mentally prepared to delve into another topsy-turvy whirlwind of a decade of Beaucastels.  The second half of the tasting covered six wines from the 2000s and included one of my least favourite wines of the tasting…but also my wine of the night.  First up, tasked with trying to make me forget about the likely-corked 1999, was the Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-de-Pape from 2000.

2000

Every vintage of Beaucastel from 2000 to 2007 other than the 2005 was represented in this tasting (there was also no 2002, but ’02 was such a washout of a vintage that Chateau de Beaucastel didn’t even produce a CNDP that year, instead declassifying its grapes to lower quality level bottlings).  The 2000 immediately announced that we were getting into a younger, more forward flight of wines; it was thicker, deeper and darker than its predecessors from the ’90s, mostly opaque in the glass, with bright, lush fruit aromas leaping out unbidden even before any swirling.  Blackcurrant and blackberry (and even, bizarrely rare for wines, grape) flavours melded with smoke and hickory notes in this big, powerful red, which was still so structured and so wound together that I would never have guessed it was a dozen years old.  It sailed into a huge, lengthy finish and definitely kicked things off with a bang.  Absolutely delicious.

94-96 points

2001

Two faulty wines in the last three?  While I was quite confident that something was wrong with the 1999 Beaucastel that we tasted, I was slightly less sure about this one, and other tasters present were emphatic that the wine was fine, but I dunno…something was clearly going on.  Both 2000 and 2001 were very strong vintages in Chateauneuf-de-Pape, and they were more or less equivalent to each other in terms of the quality and longevity of the wines produced, but the ’01 Beaucastel we had was about half as deep and half as intense in colour as the 2000, and in the place of lush dark fruit on the nose was the dank, almost mouldy odour last seen in the ’99.  A couple of people at the tasting suggested that this over-damp aroma was just another display of the barnyard aroma common to CNDP in general and Beaucastel in particular, but I disagree:  this was an unclean basement shower smell, not a farm/manure smell.  The flat, nondescript, raisiny fruit on the palate further enhanced my suspicion, but opinion was sufficiently split at the tasting table that I won’t definitively pronounce this wine corked.  I almost hope it was, because if not, it was just awful.

82-84 points (but likely flawed)

2003

The 2003 vintage in Chateauneuf-de-Pape was a good rebound year after the disaster of 2002, and the ’03 Beaucastel bears the interesting hallmark of being one of the only vintages of Beaucastel ever produced that didn’t use any Syrah at all in its blend.  As a Syrah lover, I tried not to be too offended, and I feel confident that I retained my objectivity throughout the tasting process, but I still emerged thinking this was the only wine of the 12 I would simply classify as “meh”.  It wasn’t horrible, but it also wasn’t memorable in any way; it just filled space on my placemat and served as a lead-in to the better wines that followed.  The ’03 was a deep ruby translucent colour and featured a rather muted nose of tart red fruit and baked earth, the latter note a characteristic of the hot, dry weather of the vintage.  It was the only Beaucastel whose alcohol seemed a little over-prominent on the palate, overwhelming even the fairly substantial tannin structure of the wine and powering through its baked fruit and leather flavours.  Not bad, but not great.  Meh.

85-87 points

2004

Beaucastel got its groove back with the 2004.  This was another hot and dry year in the Rhone Valley, but not as extreme as 2003, and the resulting wine came across as better balanced and more complex than the one preceding it.  Unlike the deep, thick colours of most of the other offerings from the 2000s, this one marked a return to the more transparent ruby colour found in the 1996 and 1997 Beaucastels, although the ’04 was brighter and more vivid than its older siblings.  A gorgeous nose of black currant and cherry Kool-Aid with a strong hint of mint (the first time in 10 bottles that I came across that) forecast a rich, complex wine that exploded on the palate with blue and red fruit and that hinted at additional layers to be unfurled with time.  Still quite dense and chewy, this one definitely needs more time, but it’s a winner.

92-94 points

2006

My sadness at missing out on the 2005 vintage of Beaucastel (one of the best years in recent memory that spawned one of Wine Spectator’s top 10 wines of the year when released) was not alleviated by the 2006, which was insanely closed off and may have been going through a dumb phase, a period during the lifespan of long-aging wines where flavours shut down and the wine becomes tight and inexpressive.  While the ’06 showcased a thick, rich purple colour, it was so quiet on the nose that, despite sniffing for a good couple of minutes, I didn’t write down a single aroma description:  there was just nothing there.  A few people around the table suggested that this wine might be corked, but cork taint smells like SOMETHING, and this didn’t smell like anything; it was just shut down.  The palate exhibited huge structure, tight acid and monumental tannin, but again, not much flavour.  It’s hard to really give this bottle a rating, but I felt like it was on its way to becoming something powerful and was just caught in an unfortunate hibernation.  I’d love to have a bottle of this to open again in 2-3 years.

88-92 points

2007

Can you say “end with a bang”?  Not only was the 2007 vintage in Chateauneuf-de-Pape hailed as the vintage of the decade (even better in most people’s eyes than the dynamite 2005 — iconic critic Robert Parker called it the best vintage of CNDP of all time), but Beaucastel took full advantage of the ideal growing season and created a masterpiece.  Still in its infancy, the ’07 was massive in look and smell, blackish purple and emanating powerful notes of currant and raspberry liqueur.  From the second it touched my tongue I was hit with huge waves of energy and flavour held in check only by the wine’s immense structure; you could tell this was only the tip of the iceberg 5 years into the bottle’s life, but it was still gorgeous.  Blueberry, black cherry and anise are enrobed in a silkiness of texture that is hard to describe but entrancing to taste, and the finish just goes and goes.  Definitely my top wine of the evening, and destined to be a classic.  Wow.

95-97 points

Tasting a wine like that 2007 at the end of the night’s second flight of six bottles just makes you look around for the next half dozen offerings, but alas, all good things have to come to an end.  A huge thanks to Bin 905 for offering up a privileged look into the past 25 years of history of one of the Rhone Valley’s greatest producers, and an even bigger thanks to those tasting participants who brought a bottle from their own collection to supplement the vertical lineup — I am extremely grateful that you chose to share your passion for wine (and your extremely good purchasing tastes) with the rest of us.  This was a night I will remember for a long time.

Many foodie events in Calgary happen downtown. Since I work full-time way outside of downtown (and many of my evenings are spent at the gym), I miss a lot of the fun that’s going on. So, I was delighted to see that the first Canadian branch of Smashburger was opening just around the corner from my work.

The restaurant hosted a 2-hour preview for friends, family and of course, bloggers! Founder Tom Ryan flew up from Denver and was very gracious about explaining the concept and guiding us through the menu. I was late to the event and thus missed the kitchen tour, but a few other bloggers were able to partake in the opportunity!

Smashburger is so named because of the way the burgers are prepared – the burgers are made from 100% never-frozen Angus beef. When an order is placed, the cooks take a fresh meatball out and “smash” it on the grill under a metal plate, giving it an even sear and locking the juices in. Aside from beef burgers, they also do chicken and black bean veggie burgers. All of the burgers come with many different creative toppings, and there is also the option to create your own.

I was impressed by the fact that despite being a franchise, Smashburger made sure to include some “local” touches on the menu, including a “Calgary” burger with grilled onions, pepper jack cheese, applewood smoked bacon and dijon mayo, two types of poutine and a saskatoon berry milkshake. They have also tried to get some local suppliers, like Mackay’s Ice Cream for their milkshakes, malts and floats, and Big Rock Beer. (Yes, they’re licensed!)

I decided to try the aforementioned Calgary Burger ($6.99) and the Sweet Potato Smashfries ($2.99)

The Calgary Burger is like a classic bacon cheeseburger. The patty itself was very well-seasoned, and I think the smashing and searing does give it a nice texture, and it was very juicy and messy! I loved the combination of sweet, caramelized onions, salty bacon and fresh vegetables. So good!

I got a generous portion of Sweet Potato Smashfries, so called because they are tossed in a special blend of rosemary, onion and garlic. The shoestring fries were crisp, full of flavour and not at all greasy.

I was dying to try their milkshakes ($4.99) but didn’t think I’d be able to drink a full one and still be able to carry on with the rest of my workday. Fortunately they were bringing around samplers for everyone to try.

I’m not usually a strawberry person, but I did enjoy this little sample – not too sweet and the texture was not too thick and not too runny. For those who enjoy a thicker texture, I think the malts will probably be the ticket.

All in all, I had a great experience at Smashburger and will definitely add it to my “rotation” for the rare occasion (OK, about once a month) that I go out for lunch! Would love to try building my own burger and perhaps one of their hefty looking salads!

Smashburger
4 – 2770 32 Ave NE
Calgary AB T1Y 5S5
(403) 250-3156
Open daily 10 AM-10 PM. Free parking available.

You may not know who i.m. ruzz is, but you probably have seen his amazing photos on his blog, The Living Breathing Street. His photos depict all walks of life in Calgary and shows our city in many different lights. We chat with ruzz to find out more about the man behind the photos.

Q: Tell us about yourself and where your story begins.

A: I was born and raised in Calgary and have lived here all my life. I’ve been doing freelance development for over a decade and before that I was doing tech support in the oil & gas industry. It’s been a slow progression from the high pay and stability of that world to being able to work on my own terms on projects I care about.

Q: i.m. ruzz is a moniker you have used for a long time. Where did it come from?

The name “ruzz” started back in the late ‘90s when I was looking for a nickname for online work. It started out as “ruzzman”, and then evolved to “i.m. ruzz” because a website registration wouldn’t let me use nicknames. My online presence since has been as ruzz.  Most people in my life call me ruzz to the point when someone says my real name I have to think about it before I respond.

Q: How long have you been taking photos?

I never had much interest in photography until the late ‘90s. I was running a billiards magazine and borrowed a film SLR from a friend to take a few pictures. It got me hooked. I tried weddings, event photography and most everything in between before arriving at street as the main focus. The first couple of times out were harrowing and very uncomfortable, but despite that, something clicked for me. It felt alive and engaged.  It really called on all my skills at once to make a good picture. Street photography seems to bring all the parts of photography I love together in one place.

Your website, The Living Breathing Street, takes a look at Calgary
from a very stark and human perspective. What is it about the streetscape that inspires you?

Street unlocked something for me I didn’t realize needed unlocking as I discovered my relationship to the city. Getting out in the street you discover that life is way too complex to fit any generic description. Street started challenging my assumptions about people. It showed me a world I’d never seen expressed in the modern media whether movies, television, books, or the news. I was eager to see all of it and try to figure out for myself what the city was.

How do people receive your photos?

People tell me that they see the city in a way they never have before and that it’s changed how they see the city they live in. That was profound for me because I am just out recording to best of my ability then sharing it on my website. I’m just the go-between. It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the city itself. The biggest compliment I’ve had was that I helped someone who hated Calgary start to love it.

What makes Calgary awesome?

When I was growing up I hated Calgary. It was too much of a “redneck” town with no culture. That’s changing and the kids coming up today don’t want to hate the city they
live in. They want to feel apart of the fabric of something special. I see a spot there for me to help. I see an opportunity to help Calgarians feel good about where they live.

Calgary is awesome because it’s a large city that grew rapidly and still is finding it’s identity. It’s coming into its own and defining itself on it’s own terms and merits rather than just as an oil town. What motivates me now is to do my best to come home with pictures that show how amazingly complex and varied our city is, to show it’s beauty, as well as it’s ugly underbelly.

Calgary’s fashion scene has grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years. I’ve been blessed to be part of the growth as I’ve covered the fashion beat for CIA. The industry has developed and matured into a great community of designers, buyers, owners, stylists, stores and more. The interest and involvement in fashion has been buoyed through initiatives like PARK’s networking events and monthly fashion shows such as Runway Monthly. It’s a great time to be part of Calgary’s burgeoning fashion landscape.
 
Next week, the Women of Influence series is coming to town with Jennifer Wong, the COO of Aritzia, one of Canada’s must successful fashion houses. Her career began on the sales floor of Aritzia as she worked her way up the ranks to the executive office. It should be a great way to hear from a great fashion leader as she shares her chic ambition and how to succeed in style. As Calgary’s fashion industry is still relatively young and growing, these opportunities to learn from our other Canadian peeps will prove to be invaluable.

Young Women of Influence Series
Wednesday, May 9^th
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Westin Calgary
Tickets are available online at the WoI website.

“I was waiting to cross the street one day at 8th Street and 11th Avenue when I noticed a lone woman standing across the street. She was perfectly lined up with this wild mid-day shadow. I shot four or five photos of the scene, eventually deciding on this one being the best of the bunch. It might sound trivial to some people, but I don’t think this photo would have worked if this woman didn’t have her right arm on her hip the way she did.”

Sean Doe, CIA Flickr pool member

Have an interesting or unique photo of Calgary? Share your photos on our Facebook page or Flickr account and you may see your photo In Focus.

Although I miss the Hardy Boy menus Milk Tiger Lounge had when it initially opened – the menus were encased in old book covers – it’s a relief to see that the food is as delicious as ever, and the atmosphere is excellent.

The unassuming lounge is easy to pass by – the only indication of its cozy 4th St. location is a small white tiger over the door. However, once you’re inside, you certainly won’t forget it. Nice lighting, cozy corner spots, great music, and greater cocktails.

For me, the standout part of Milk Tiger’s menu is that it’s entirely gluten free, and you’d never know it from the taste. They even offer a few gluten free beers.

We decided to start off the evening with a few cocktails. I had watched an episode of Mad Men earlier that evening, so I ordered an Old Fashioned – which was unfortunately a bit too sweet, not very Don Draper-esque at all. My dinner companion had a Suffering Bastard, which was delicious – I love ginger beer. Most of the drinks on the Milk Tiger menu are doubles, so we had a nice buzz by the time our first course came.

We started with the crisp romaine salad – which, although tasty, was fairly unremarkable. The lettuce leaves were topped with parmesan, mushrooms, cucumbers, red onion, and dried cranberries, with a sherry vinaigrette. It was a healthy contrast to our next dish – smoked salmon nachos.

The nachos were not only delicious, but a visual treat. Fried capers, green onion, dill sour cream, fresh mozzarella and aged cheddar cheese created a colourful plate, and the homemade salsa on the side went great with the tortilla chips, even if it was a little mild for my taste.

I was initially skeptical of the sour cream poured over the nachos, but the strong dill flavor went really well with the smoked salmon. The portion size was great as well – perfect for two, unlike the heaping plates served at some pubs.

Finally, we finished the evening with a root beer float. Dad’s Root Beer over vanilla ice-cream, served in a tall glass with two straws. The presentation was adorable, and we felt almost like we were in an old-fashioned soda shop or diner.

It was a delicious meal, and I’ll definitely return to try their much-hyped meatball sandwich sometime.

Milk Tiger Lounge
1410 4 St SW
Calgary AB T2R 0Y1
(403) 261-5009
Open Tues-Sun 4 PM-2 AM. (Kitchen closes at 11 PM) Closed Mondays.