Escoba

Escoba was excellent. I had the Linguini Fresca pasta along with Debbie and Joc (sans mushrooms). A nice fresh vegetarian pasta with a hint of heat that filled me up and left no room for dessert. Glad I came early for the wine tasting as I enjoyed the Ruffino Chianti (sangiovese) provided by Darren the sommelier (not sure if was actually a sommelier but he gave a nice run down on the wine and the region where grown). The service was good and our waitress was spunky and had a great personality.

The hand painted artwork was a nice touch, as were the antique architectural pieces hanging on the walls.

Allison was prepared bringing her over large calculator...but did it get used? Nope, not necessary, as the restaurant divided the bills up individually. My meal was very economical coming in at around $22.00 including 18% gratuity. Wine was free as we had a pre-arranged wine tasting before dinner. I would definitely come again and try more of the appies. I noticed the menu was not extensive (its all about the wine) and there were not a lot of dairy-free options. Even the pasta I choose, which I thought would be dairy-free as per the description, came topped with parmesan. I wish the server would have come around asking if you wanted parmesan on top and then freshly grate it for you, like they came around with the pepper, so I could have avoided the cheese.

Friday, August 21 @ 6:00 PM (Wine Tasting), 7:00 PM (Dinner)

Reminder that our next Dinner Club will be at Escoba Bistro on Friday, August 21. There will be a wine tasting at 6:00 PM with dinner to follow at 7:00 PM.

403 543 8911

624 8 Avenue SW

Calgary, AB

T2P 1G4

Mango Mouse? What was I thinking....

I’m giving the King & I 3 ½ shazams. Can I do that?? It’s better than a 3; not quite a 4. I loved the spicy Pad Kai Long Song and the banana spring rolls which Lisa and shared. The Chu Chu Seafood dish was also quite tasty. However the Mango mouse was a disaster! What was I thinking? I could’ve ordered a chocolate silk pie or the chocolate pate (damn yours looked good Nicole), but nnooooo I had to get all fancy and order the mouse, which was like an old leather jelly-like barf-fest, with mangos on the side. Yuck. The service was good, the prices were decent. I was sorely disappointed with my choice of dessert and I wish I would’ve known about the Tiger beer, Allison, that sounded good! 3 ½ shazams kids; You just can’t beat the ‘O’.

The King & I - 3 Shazam's

We went to the King & I this month for dinner club, I hadn't been there for many years. The restaurant was tastefully decorated but other than the coconut rice there was nothing that triggered any memories for me. I loved seeing the gong and would have enjoyed hearing it's hauntingly beautiful echo! Perhaps in the past, there are others like me, that took advantage of an opportunity when it presented itself, because the mallet was nowhere to be seen??? The service was great and the wine was pretty good. This one only gets 3 Shazam's for me, should maybe be 4 ish but...they lose 1 for not having the mallet for the gong!

Ok, on to the food! My favourite, of course, being a seafood lover, was the seafood dish that only 3 of us shared! Yum yum! Thanks to the other 4 for not liking seafood. I also really enjoyed the salad rolls, loved the cilantro in them and the sauce was much lighter than most salad roll sauces. The coconut rice was just as I remembered it from years gone by. There was only one dish that I found a bit too warm for my palate, but please don't ask me which it was, it was in mixed in with everything else that was heaped on my plate! It may have been the beef with spinach dish, but not sure and wouldn't want to condemn a good dish unnecessarily. Brandi & I shared desserts (as usual, thank god for sisters!) we had the banana spring roll with coconut ice cream, it was amazing! The ice cream was super good and had bits of coconut in it, very tasty! The other dessert we tried was a mango jello like thingy, which looked beautiful but didn't quite deliver on taste.

Many thanks to Nicole for the great pics and having the foresight to write down the names of the food we ate!

Dinner at The King & I

I rate dinner at The King & I 4 Shazams. Everything was very tasty and the "sharing" experience was fun. Seven of us each ordered an entree and each had a bowl of coconut rice (although there was plain and brown rice options) which seemed just the right amount of food, with only a bit left over. I recommend the salad rolls as well which were very fresh. I would stay away from them if you do not like cilantro. The first entree pictured was the Galanga Cashew Chicken, then Bernadette's stirfry, then my plate all loaded up with goodies. I was especially fond of the Chu Chi Seafood (tiger prawns and scallops are stif-fried with seasonal vegetables in our chili jam and basil coconut milk-infused sauce), Buddha's Delight (snowpeas, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, carrots & water chestnuts stir-fried with mushrooms sauce) and Pad Kai Long Song (tender chicken sautéed in spicy peanut sauce and served on a bed of spinach).

I have never seen the Dinner Club order so many desserts before. I only wish I had not eaten so much so I could have finished my Chocolate Pate with Raspberry Sauce. Yum! Ok, yes I was very organized about our order...haphazard can be a lot of fun too...so next time the Blackberry is only coming out for pictures. :)

Baby, I love your nuts!...in moderation

Where do I start?....It didn't blow me away...that's what he said! ZING! Maybe it was the "organized" (yes, Nicole, you) fashion of ordering we performed last night, or maybe it was that I was only offered one Tiger (roar) beer...You know I love my booze!

We shared 7 entrees between us ...except Bernie...thanks for not sharing ;) My favourite was, of course, the one I ordered - the Galanga Cashew Beef - I tell you, any meal with a cashew is worth its weight in gold! Maybe this is why I feel like I shouldn't share and just order for myself.

As per usual, Dawna and I split dessert(s): the deep fried banana spring rolls and the chocolate pecan pie. Loved the deep fried bananas but felt the pecan pie was okay. I never thought I'd say this but it had way too many nuts...that's what he said! ZING!

Overall, I'd still give it a 4 out of 5 shazams as I feel it's just as good as the Gypsy Bistro. It's tough for anything to beat an "o"...that's what she said! ZING!

Anyone for the Long Song?

All right stop, collaborate and listen, Ice is back with my brand new invention.....okay now before I break further into song, the "Long Song" I want to share with you, isn't my rendition of "Ice, Ice, Baby" but the Pad Kai Long Song at the King & I Thai Cuisine Restaurant! Can we say delicious?!?! With a hint of heat in the peanut sauce, the tender chicken was served on a bed of spinach and it was my favourite!

Our group opted to share a number of dishes in addition to the Pad Kai Long Song which included Galanga Cashew Chicken, Galanga Cashew Beef (okay, so we're fond of cashews), Nuea Nam Dang, Buddha's Delight and of course, the ever so flavourful coconut rice! Top that off with the Banana Spring Rolls, the Chocolate Silk Pie and the Chocolate Pate and you've got yourself a fantastic Thai meal! Oh, and don't forget the very tasty Malbec Red Wine that is so affordable that you can order a 1/2 liter for the price that most single glasses cost in a typical restaurant!

Not only is this restaurant easy to get to (right on 11th Avenue and 8th street) but parking was just out the door on the street and free after 6pm! The ambiance is modern and classy and the waiter was excellent. I will definitely be back again in the future!

I give this restaurant 4 out of 5 shazams!

July 28 Dinner Club - The King & I

Reminder to everyone that our next Dinner Club will be at 7:00 PM at The King & I on Tuesday, July 28th.



The King & I
822 11th Avenue S.W.
403) 264-7241

We had the Philo Brie 4-way

Well, what can I say? I was pleasantly surprised by the Gypsy. The ambiance was fantastic and the service was exceptional! Dwayne (?) spoke in a seductive voice which made all menu items sound delectable....but enough about that. I am married after all and I was drinking!

I had one fourth of the philo brie which was terrific and then I had the risotto accompanied by 2 beautiful glasses of wine (oh, really Allison? You drank? That's weird!). The flavours of the risotto were explosive! My only complaint would be that the risotto was luke-warm when it arrived and I prefer my food hot. I finished the meal with a chocolate ganache-like dessert which was so rich! I'm glad Dawna and I shared it (not really, oink!).

Good pick, Dawna! This is my second favourite that we've gone to. But, in all fairness it is tough to beat out a restaurant where I had an "O".

The Gypsy Bistro

I loved the decor of The Gypsy Bistro, done in deep reds with gold accents. The Bistro is very cozy with intimate tables of two and four and gold brocade padded wooden chairs. There is a long banquet that can hold up to 14. Paintings placed on the walls are indicative of the style of the cuisine...Mediterranean. A triptych of white Arabian horses was one of my favourites. Our server was Dwayne (who we finally determined was of German descent) and he did a very good job keeping our wine glasses filled. I had a couple glasses of a lovely, bold Malbec Reserve from Argentina (?? estate).

Ladies I have to apologize I was too quick on my delete key and accidentally removed all my pictures of the meals so mostly below are pictures of the desserts. Desserts were $9.00 each and were very tasty....with the Mango Cheesecake getting rave reviews.

I had the Risotto with asiago cheese, mushrooms and roasted vegetables. It was light and refreshing although I would have liked it to be a bit warmer than it was...I think it had been sitting out for a bit too long. I rate my meal here 4 Shazams.

June 19 Dinner Club - Gypsy Bistro-Wine Bar

The Gypsy Bistro-Wine Bar has been booked for Friday, June 19th at 7:00 PM.

817 1 Street SW

(403) 263-5869

There is a pay parking lot in behind the building. I'm looking forward to this one!

Bring on the Beef!

This was only my 2nd time at the Vintage Chophouse and being the non-seafood eater that I am, I went for the 12 oz. New York Striploin! What a huge piece of meat! While the steak was cooked exactly to my liking, I found the steak size to be much too big.... however, my dog Benson loved it when I brought him home a doggie bag! I searched the menu for a smaller striploin but they only had 12 oz. or 16 oz steaks. Once again, I had my potatoes mashed and shared a side of asparagus with my fellow dinner clubber Bernadette. I washed it all down with a glass of McWilliam's Hanwood Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

The food was good and the wine was tasty but I felt it was over priced. I'd rather go to the Keg and get the salad, bread, steak and veggies for less than the price of my piece of meat at Vintage. I'll give Vintage 3 out of 5 shazams!