Calgary, Oh Calgary, When Did You Get So Fabulous: Food Edition Friday January 13, 2012

A couple of years ago, when I departed to Washington, Calgary had a pretty decent and growing food culture. There were the obvious staples such as Tubby Dog, Crave Cupcakes, Peter’s Drive In, Muse, The Ship Burger and of course a few other well established places. But over the past two years, the city’s food culture has really… well… matured.

Alright, matured is an odd word, but it really is the best word I can think of. (I’m honestly not trying to be condescending)

And let me preface this post by saying, that I in no way consider myself a professional foodie. I also understand that Calgary still has a way to go to rival a Philadelphia (which I’m told is the foodie place on the eastern seaboard) or even elements of DC (albeit, I’ll take a Tubby Dog over the average dogs in DC). But since leaving my beloved hometown, I’ve had the opportunity to watch and marvel at the city’s food culture from a distance.

There’s a bunch of different factors that have probably ignited this change. Obviously, one of the most overstated initiatives was the Mayor’s move to get The Food Truck concept off the ground. But a dramatic change in demographics, with a younger population benefiting from above average levels of disposable income has to be one of the strongest reasons for this growth. But what I’ve noticed is that over the past few years the number of must see eating establishments in the city has tripled. Clearly a city as young and as vibrant as Calgary is ripe for an influx of innovative new restaurants. Something that hasn’t been lost on the city’s entrepreneurs.

Since coming back in mid-December, I’ve spent most of my time back in Calgary seeking out some of the new places that I’ve heard so much about. Which is in stark contrast to last year’s trip, which was more of a reunion tour than a exploration tour.

Since arriving back home, my wife and I have had the pleasure of devouring heaps of heaven at Diner Deluxe (which I understand is really only new to me) and gorging on delicious Gluten-Free wings at the newly renovated VooDoo Lounge. During my own work-related trips into the core, I’ve had the pleasure of sampling some of Calgary’s freshly minted Food Trucks with Charcut’s Alley Burger and Perogy Boyz Food Trucks. I’ve also spent far too much time sharing conversations with old friends and downing far too many cups of divine coffee at the various Phil & Sebastian locations. Not to mention spending far too much time salivating and stocking up at the racks of spices at the Silk Road.

And the worst part about this trip back, is that I haven’t even had the chance to check out some of the other places on my predetermined hit list. Such as the donuts at Jelly Modern, the Bavarian sausage platters at WURST, the thin crust pizza at UNA or even the gluten-free menu at Milk Tiger Lounge. And that of course doesn’t even cover some of the legendary staples like the A-Bomb at Tubby Dawg (Albeit, I did have the Yukon Cornelius with my niece), the buckets of maple bacon at The District, a chocolate-orange milk shake at Peter’s or the currys that I grew up on at The Radjoot. Hell, I could go on and on and on about all the places I love in this so-called redneck town.

As I said earlier, I’m definitely no foodie. I’m more of a what’s going to clog my arteries connoisseur. If you want a real foodie’s opinion of Calgary’s scene, check out Ugonnaeatthat.com or Avenue’s Food Blog. But what I do have is the pleasure of a) distance b) separation and c) a limited time.

There’s nothing in the world more motivating than a list of places you want to try and a tight time line. (Yes, I acknowledge a month seams long, but it really isn’t). Calgary’s food scene has grown leaps and bounds in the two years I’ve been away – this trip really confirmed it. There are dozens of places that are really intriguing in this city. But what this specific trip back to Calgary has taught me, is that rather than spending time just trying to relieve old memories, it’s better to take advantage of the growing food culture in the city. Sure there are mandatory staples, but there is some far more interesting place to eat popping up in this city. It really seams like each up and coming area of the city sprouts even more unique and enjoyable treasures.

For all of you living in this fair city, take some time to enjoy some of the places hidden in the different regions of the city. You’ll be surprised what’s lingering in your back yard.

Categories: The-Calgary-Vibe, The-Food,

Random Thoughts For The Mother of All Stampede Dogs Thursday July 14, 2011

And here you thought I was going to talk about the super dogs… Yeah, I know you did.

But alas, I’m talking about Tubby Dog and the infamous BUCK MCOY DOG.

Yes, kids this is all that is good, bad and awesome about the stampede, all rolled into one.

First – For all you budding iPhone Photogs out there, this list of must have photo apps for the iPhone. Please note that Instagram, my favourite love and hate app, is at the top of this list.

Second – You know, I really thought the corporations introduction of QR Codes in to Mike’s Bloggity Blog adverts was pretty cutting edge… Apparently I was wrong.

The Tescos Supermarket subsidiary in Korea, has incorporated augmented reality Grocery Shopping in a number of subway stations.

Bloody hell

(via. alfgoetz)

Third – Hey Calgary… The Food Trucks are a coming, the food trucks are a coming. And luckily for everyone they are kicking off with a bang, especially with two food trucks from Diner Deluxe and CHARCUT…. You are one lucky city, you sexy beast Calgary.

(P.S. In case you can’t wait, Fries N’ Dolls is already rolling around the city#.)

Fouth – Here, for your sportscastor obsession, is the unofficial soundboard of the Score’s legendary announcers… Tim McAllef and Sid Seixeiro.

Which happens to go really well with the old c.t.overdrive’s bush league Tim Mcallaf impersonation.

Fifth – I meant to post this about a month ago, but I just never got around to it. It is io9.com’s which Aliens movie are you survey? Which for me is easily, Aliens, with a giant dash of Fischer’s Alien 3.

Sixth – It’s a really shame that Julien Smith has slowed down on blogging.

Frankly, his posts are easily some of the best ‘motivational’ posts on the net. In particular, because of their unique frankness and the combination of their ‘balls to the wall’ attitude. If you have a moment, you should really read his latest post on why no one cares if you succeed or fail: or why [he] walked 500 miles barefoot

… At first, this [walking 500 miles] is depressing. “I did this epic thing and no one really cares.” But it isn’t that they don’t care at all– it’s that there’s no way for them to understand the epicness of the experience. The experience is unique and spans a week, a month, a year, or whatever, and it can’t be distilled into one sentence. It’s like a joke. You had to be there.

Seventh – Yes, yes, yes… TheHoodInternet takes one of my all time favourite Lupe Fiasco songs and cuts it perfectly with the Handsome Furs … You can thank me later.

Eighth – If you’ve been following my blog posts and flickr photos, you’ll have noticed a glowing trend. I’ve kinda taken to MLS Soccer. It’s not that I was never interested before, but with a couple of good friends who cheer for their own home teams (Portland, Toronto & New York) and DC United a few metro stops away, it’s kinda been my summer distraction.

If you haven’t heard about the Portland Timbers and the atmosphere going on in the Rose City, you have to check this article out from The Grantland.

It’s absolutely fantastic.

Maybe they realized that you can wear scarves and sing songs and warn one another about not interacting with the opposition support, lest there be some kind of throw-down in front of Powell’s. But for football to become football in America what you really need, most of all, is more games like that, more players like Montero and Marcelin, and more 3-2 thrillers in which one set of fans get their hearts broken. Because when you see something like that, even if you’re a Timbers fan, your heart might hurt. But you can’t really say you lost.

Ninth – True confession, I’m obsessed with the News Corp/News of The World fiasco in Britain. I’m sure you’ve all heard of it and if not, well I just feel bad for you. But this article from Boing, Boing on how Fox (Faux) News is handling the scandal is choice.

In particular, this video is great example of how peculiar this whole scandal is quietly becoming. Give it a watch and we’ll discuss the funniest part a bit later on.

Did you watch it? (Or at least see the Boing, Boing article and figure out the punchline?)

But how did CNN on the fact that she said I’m not going to touch that with a Ten Foot TURBAN.

Like, was it really so hard to say pole? Like really, you had to say Turban.

Tenth – In honour of the final episode, of what is the single greatest TV show to appear on primetime (and not watched by millions of people), Grantland has an oral history of Friday Night Lights.

(via. Poploser)

Categories: The-Calgary-Vibe, The-Random, The Blogosphere, The Canada Vibe, The DC United, The Food, The Humourous, The Inane, The Music, The Political World, The Pop-Culture, The Social Media, The World

TEDxYYC 2011 Thursday March 31, 2011

Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this) is the 2011 rendition of TEDxYYC.

For those familiar with the ol’ctoverdrive, you’ll know that last year I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural TEDxYYC at Karo’s Design warehouse. And while I know there is some minor controversy with the 100 person limit and also the price of the event, I am a massive proponent of the TEDxYYC program.

Last year I saw some fantastic talks; featuring some of the best minds that Calgary has to offer. From talks on suburbanization from Chris Turner to Ben Chapman’s inspiration speech (which has been featured on the main TEDxYYC site a few times); it was an inspiring day of discussion, thought provoking innovation and some great networking. I don’t think anyone who attended last year’s event came away feeling empty handed. In fact, it almost feels as those who were able to attend where able to take the vibe of innovation and creativity with them into their own life. I know for me the TEDxYYC talk was impetus for the yycApps project and also my recent decision to volunteer with Junior Achievement DC. I know of a couple more people who took what they saw that day and became even more motivated to improve their lives and their community.

So with that, I’m actually a little disappointed that I won’t be able to attend this year. But I’ll have to opportunity of watching in the comfort of my tiny DC apartment via their online streaming channel. If you’ve got some time tomorrow, you should come along for the ride.

Categories: the-tedxyyc, The-Calgary-Vibe, The Blogosphere

Adios Calgary Tuesday January 18, 2011

What’s the saying… you can take the boy out of the prairies, but you can’t take the prairies out of the boy.

There couldn’t be much true words. So with that I bid adieu to Calgary for another X more months. Incredible trip home, but like always, if only there was more time in the days to really be home.

(P.S. Yes, and I do know that this spot was not special to calgary)

Categories: The-Calgary-Vibe, The-Personnal,

The 2010 Calgary Mayoral Election Sunday October 17, 2010

Monday October 18th is the big vote in Calgary.

And if you didn’t know this… well you’ve still got a little less than 24 hours to get informed. There are a lot of resources out there including CalgaryDemocracy.ca and “CalgaryPolitics.ca“http://www.calgarypolitics.ca.

But, if you were waiting for the Big Three Debate … Well unfortunately, that won’t be happening. cough, cough Thanks Barb cough, cough.

But, local video maven extraordinaire – Gordon McDowell – has spliced all of his Mayoral Forum footage into a 1-hour debate to help Calgarians form their own opinion.

(P.S. It was also featured on BoingBoing! – So big congrats out to Gordon on the great achievement)

So there you go, you no longer have any excuses not to vote…

What? Did you really just say the only way you’d vote is if a cheesy 1990’s Spiderman told you to vote? Oh well, fine here you go.

Categories: The-Calgary-Vibe, The-Urban,