Leftovers Archives - Patent & the Pantry

Leftovers III

December 5, 2012 2 Comments

One of the awesome things I got to do this summer was appear on Breakfast Television and judge some of the city’s food trucks. For three mornings (four, if you include the day when I announced the winner), I got up extra early and — before most people had their first coffee — chowed down on smoked meat sandwiches, burgers, donuts, French Fries and gelato.

Yes, sometimes my life is pretty amazing.
I mean, this is my kind of breakfast.

I had the pleasure of judging with John Gilchrist and Calgary Farmers’ Market’s Amanda Bonner. (The Best Of segment tied in with the Sundown Chowdown event at the market that weekend. I judged some of those dishes too. Oooof.)
Here we are preparing to try the Whole Truck Burgers and Poutines from Alley Burger.

This is The Special from Red Wagon Diner. Although not a huge smoked meat fan, I really loved this sandwich.

There were even ice cream sandwiches from Fiasco Gelato.

In the end, the winner was the Naaco Truck. But I have to give shout outs to Cheezy Bizness, which does fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches. I particularly loved The Big Cheese, which has a mix of cheddar and gruyere, pimento cheese, dill pickles and shaved red onion. And one of these days I am going to try a Mac Melt, which is grilled cheese with mac and cheese. Oh, yes! (I also love that owner Nicole is a huge proponent of local and runs her truck as close to waste-free as possible.) And another shout out to Los Compadres. They dished up some truly Mexican fare and the best mole sauce I’ve ever tried.

The folks from Teatro opened a new spot on Stephen Avenue this fall. Cucina is rustic and charming in decor, but the food is impeccably done.

Chef John Michael MacNeil has created a menu of bistro-style dishes with a Teatro influence. Rosemary roasted porchetta is tender and deeply flavoured. On the sandwich, the rich meat is contrasted with an apple-celery slaw.
Behold:

The Chicken Liver Parfait is also fantastic.

A couple of weeks after having lunch there, I was back having brunch. Loved that instead of hashbrowns, you can get servings of pan-fried gnocchi hash. I was glad to get back because I really wanted to try the BBT (Bacon Basil Tomato) sandwich, which isn’t on the lunch menu.

We may have had eyes bigger than our stomachs.

But it was worth it.

CRMR has added to its stable by opening Bar C on 17th Avenue. May I recommend the Sazerac? Because I do.

Leftovers, Restaurants

Leftovers Part II

November 26, 2012 No Comments

So much eating lately.

Oof.

And lots of eating while traveling, but I’m going to do separate posts for those. Soon. I promise.

Until then, here are some shots from the last couple of months.

Bon Appetit.

First up, I have to say that I highly recommend the burgers at National. No surprise considering they were created by Justin Leboe, who is the chef behind the ones at Clive Burger and the one at Model Milk. This chef knows his burgers.

Order this one with fries and then take this tip from my little sister, turn your plate so the delicious burger juices drip on to the fries. Oh yes, that’s good stuff.

Oh, and order a beer.

Don’t tell me this doesn’t look fantastic.

Drippings on fries. Mmmmmmm.

His fried chicken over at Model Milk is pretty damn good. Not the best photo, but it was a great night on the patio with the girls. The cup off to the right contains creamy grits and a fried egg.

And, speaking of Clive Burger. . . .
Love the decor.

And the burgers.

A burger from Clive was the first thing I ate after returning to Calgary from almost a month away in Italy, France and Morocco. It satisfied my burger craving in a big way.

In the summer I did a story about Village Ice Cream and am now absolutely addicted to their salted caramel. (Though cardamom is a close second.)
This is exactly how it should be eaten.

I finally made it to Las Tortillas (warning link goes to site with autoplay music) up in Marlborough. This little store/taqueria is located in a strip mall and is one of those great secrets that Karen Anderson of Calgary Food Tours shared with me. I went back later with another friend and we had some tacos, which were very tasty.

On a night out at Catch with an old friend from high school, chef Kyle Groves gave us a little sampling of white salmon. I had no idea such a thing existed. But I’m glad I do know. This was incredibly tasty, especially with the lightly cooked peas and mushrooms.

Over at Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, they’ve started offering pickles. They are spice and mouth puckeringly delicious. If you spy them when you stop by, I definitely recommend picking some up.

I did cook at home this summer, I swear.

My favourite cold remedy is homemade hot and sour soup. I like mine jammed with carrots, wood ear, shiitakes and green onions.

I have my friend Suzi to thank for teaching me a bastardized version of the Zuni Roast Chicken Bread Salad, which is now one of my favourite indulgences. Don’t think of it like a salad; it’s more like stuffing with a bit of vinegary dressing.
Salting the chicken pieces and leaving it to air dry for a day or two gives it a super crisp skin, but the meat stays incredibly tender. The roast chicken goes on top of toasted chunks of raggedly ripped bread, with some cranberries and pine nuts and a few greens.

One day I hope to post Suzi’s version. Future weekend project.
Until then, Smitten Kitchen has her own version.

Leftovers, Miscellaneous, Travel

Leftovers

February 8, 2012 3 Comments

In the last few months, I’ve shot photos for meals and food adventures here and there that haven’t made it in to any posts. Julie and I were joking that we should just do posts of these leftovers with no real preamble, just letting the photos speak for themselves.

So, yup, that’s what this is.

Enjoy!