Every year, there is one festival that I do not miss. It is the time where I can let my inner food junkie run free. This festival: the Taste of Calgary! Every August (this year it was Aug 15-18), the Eau Claire Market plaza is invaded by white tents bearing luring signs. After buying tickets ($1 each) from the festival booths, you essentially proceed to take yourself on a culinary exploration of Calgary. Amid clothing/jewellery vendors and promotional booths, restaurants prepare sample sizes of their premium dishes, and you can trade tickets (prices range from 2-5 tickets each) to taste their creations. Here’s a review of all the amazing things I tried (though some were better than others, it was all really good). Just as a note, I shared all these dishes, otherwise I would be unbelievably full and probably put on some weight.
Pineapple Beef Curry w/Rice from Delicious Thai
For five tickets, my expectations were high, and although they were by no means exceeded, they were definitely met. In general, I can’t stand anything spicy, and so that aspect of the dish lowered its appeal a bit, but that’s just for me. What stood out to me the most was how well the sweetness of the pineapple blended with it all. As well, the bed of rice at the bottom soaked up the juices and kept the flavours coming! For a festival-sampler, the portion size was spot on, and if you don’t mind some heat, give it a shot! 4/5
Shepard’s Pie from Jamesons Irish Pubs
This dish was only three tickets, and for that amount, the portion was definitely fair. Aesthetically it isn’t quite a show-stopper, but the flavours made up for it. There was just enough seasoning in the meat portion, and the potatoes actually had a flavour to them. In my opinion, the only flaw was that after you have eaten most of it, the flavours are kinda bland because they are just the same and become slightly uninteresting (but still good) after you’ve already savoured the taste. 3.5/5
Chicken Samosas from Delice Pastry Shop
At first glance, the two samosas didn’t quite seem to live up to a whole five tickets, but in the end they were actually more substantial than I expected. A crunchy exterior was paired with a fine ground up chicken interior, finished off with some vegetables. The flavours were foreign and yet not too eccentric, and overall the perfect balance of textures, flavours, and whatever else needs to be balanced. 4.5/5
Greek Slider from Kuzina
First of all, I should say that I am a sucker for Greek food. And I was not disappointed with my four ticket purchase! The typical Greek ingredients, very much like what you’d find in a Greek salad, accompanied chicken on a pita to create the Greek version of a classic slider. It was quite messy with the sauce and diced tomatoes, and difficult to share, but the flavours I had were all good. Again though, I like nearly all Greek food I’ve tried. 4.5/5
Loukoumades (dough puffs) from Kuzina
Two tickets got me six dough puffs, which I quickly decked out with the cinnamon and sugar provided. In comparison to the previous dish I enjoyed from Kuzina, these weren’t quite as amazing, but still they were quite a treat. It was kind of hit-and-miss, as a couple of them had a nice and sweet flavour, whereas others were bland. All in all I really just wanted to see what they would be, and that I did. 3/5
Salted Caramel Gelato from Crepes & Cravings
Two tickets got me a fairly small serving of gelato, especially since I was sharing it, but the flavour and richness was still sufficient. Gelato is one of those things that really can’t go wrong, and it definitely didn’t go wrong this time. Especially considering how hot it was out, the gelato was a worthwhile purchase. 4/5
Sweet Nutella Crepe from Crepes & Cravings
Creeeppppeeesss and Nuuutteeellllaaa….. how could this not be delicious? The crepe was a good size, especially for four tickets, and it was accompanied by just the right amount of Nutella within it’s doughy folds of glory. I’m not even going to rate this one, because crepes are one of my favourite foods, so it wouldn’t be fair.
