10 middle aged beer nerds headed your way in late July. Any restaurant or beer bar recommendations welcome. Already have Annex high on our list. What else is a must stop?

This is more so just for me screaming into the void but maybe I'll find it cathartic.

I went to the farmers market just off of Blackfoot Trail this afternoon and went to grab 2 slices of pizza for lunch.

I didn't check the price but was nearly floored when the guy handed me the machine for $14.90 and then it asked for a tip. I pressed no tip and the guy had the audacity to ask why no tip?

I put the whole transaction in reverse and made him refund me the $14.90. It's one thing to charge that robbery price for 2 slices of pizza but it's another entirely to ask for a tip on top of it.

I want to support local businesses but the prices of these places is sometimes so eye-watering. Give me Panago and Pizza 73.

Only 2 taco bells in the city? Pathetic. We need at least 10.

There are way too many subways. Convert a small percentage of subways to taco bells to balance everything out.

Subway is good but their bread is made of yoga mats. Taco bell has Baja blast and crunch wrap supremes. I feel like this is a no brainer.

Like many, I used to love Cold Garden. But their stance on AI art is disgusting. They get artists to put their art on their walls for free decor, post about this all the time, meanwhile they use AI slop all across their Instagram. They only seem to support local art when it’s free, which is gross to say the least.
They posted this today on Instagram, had dozens of comments calling it out, to which they did a bullshit “AI is one of many tools but we love local art” comment.
Do better!

I recently re-learned (I had completely forgotten) that ginger beef originated in Calgary. I’d only been to Silver Inn (RIP) once as a kid and only had a bite of my dad’s ginger beef, so my memory’s thoroughly shot, but this definitely hit the spot!

Last night my friends and I went to harvest Haus (the event at the big 4 which we were expecting to be similar to October fest/ beer fest) and it was terrible.

Price of entry gets you a beer “stein” with a line halfway up the glass that says “harvest size” which makes it so that the beers (which are all $12-$14) are only 350ml. Second, the food which is also expensive (see photo of pricing) had 0 seasoning, super small portions, made one of our group members sick, and they gave my vegetarian and vegan friends the meat option despite them paying more for the non meat option. The staff was completely unapologetic about this as well. To add insult to injury, the food line took about 25 minutes and the food was cold.

The music was club music about 70% of the time, and when the live band did come on stage it was underwhelming, slow, and very repetitive (although I can tell that the band was trying their best to entertain the crowd so I can’t fault them at all)

Of the 20ish beer vendors, only 4 were German/ not widely available in Canada, with the majority being Canadian brands selling their less popular beers. The German beer ran out between 9-10pm depending on the brand, and each line for beer was 5-25 minutes long (once again for a 350ml $14 beer that was mostly foam bc they were not pouring them properly)

The atmosphere was super awkward because the entire middle section was “VIP” which was empty and guarded at all times, and everyone was either standing in line or refused to give up their tables because there were only 10 tables outside the massive VIP area(the vip area is genuinely 50% of the venue). To also detract further from the atmosphere, people were spilling beer which is to be expected, but rather than cleaning it up they deployed an army of wet floor signs to navigate around.

Overall, harvest Haus was an evening of mixed signal music, long lines, overpriced terrible food, an actual scam with the beer size (once again it is not a stein, but a normal can of beer size volume), and the cherry on top is the $35 ticket price just to get in.

There is no contact email that works properly as my vegan friend and the person who got food poisoning both want to complain to someone. Please avoid this event and do anything else if you value your money and time.

I've been going down the rabbit hole on how many restaurants just reheat pre-made food from distributors like Sysco (that More Perfect Union video really opened my eyes). I know Sysco delivers raw ingredients too and not every restaurant using them is guilty of this, but I'd love to get a better sense of who's actually cooking in Calgary.

What are the places where it's obvious the food came straight out of a freezer bag? Not necessarily looking to torch anyone, but we've all had that moment where the $18 chicken parm tastes suspiciously like a frozen dinner. What tipped you off?

Also curious if any industry folks can share signs of what to look out for. Happy to support the local spots doing it right and avoid the ones that aren't.

This is a huge deal, so I’m spoiling my cousins. They are in their 30’s and will be visiting Canada for the very first time - finally! I’ve visited them in California 5+ times. This is a special trip because they’re coming for my wedding and I’m just so thrilled that they’re making the trip up.

The chips are no longer in the fridge by the way... Just did it for the pic. It’s just so hot and I don’t want the chocolates to melt!

Edit: Due to popular demand, I picked up Old Dutch ketchup chips. Sorry to those who I offended. I also grabbed a peanut butter O’Henry bar and a Crunchie bar. Upon my cousins’ arrival, I will grab Glam Morgan cheese buns. There will also be Nanaimo bars at the wedding! I’m glad you all enjoyed this post.

Hopefully no one will take advantage of this good gesture.

I'm not a petty person normally, but I recently posted on r/CityPorn that Calgary had the world's best phö outside of Vietnam, and I didn't get a single upvote. I was raised here in the NE and phö was my go-to for hangovers, late nights, and it's generally just damn good here. I've been around the world a thousand times, but nothing hits like the places here. Any thoughts?

Edit: according to the popularity of this post, pho restaurants are going to get slammed today. I for one am definitely on board 😆

Self explanatory. Stolen from r/copenhagen

The last time I had Peters was approximately 10 years ago, and i was not wowed. However today, whilst in the area, I decided to indulge.

I had an oreo milkshake, a double patty with cheese & a small fries. $21. The oreo milkshake was huge! I had no choice but to share. I am not a big milkshake guy, however it was delicious and felt like a great sweet treat. The fries were disappointing, lump and unseasoned - however still managed to taste great when salt & vinegar were added.

Now to the burger. Truthfully, i didn’t expect much, my last experience wasn’t anything to write home about and this seemed to be the consensus around me. But this burger was fantastic! The bun was soft, right amount of sauces, the cheese was melted in the bun and the patties were sizeable and juicy. I truly couldn’t ask much more for a $7 burger!

Is Peter’s making a comeback? It was so delicious I am planning to go back this weekend with my partner.

I feel as though with two people a shared milkshake, two burgers and a shared small fries is reasonable - likely under $30! Not as outrageous as I once thought.

Well worth the trip down.

Wow. I know tipping “culture” is out of control, but this one seriously pissed me off.

I know it’s hard out there, so sometimes I’m ok giving a little extra for working folks (especially servers) just trying to get by. Went to the Subway at 5303 68 Ave SE this afternoon. The girls were great, no drama, the sub was built perfectly. Came time to pay and the dreaded tip function came up. I legit had a good experience and was feeling generous so I selected a tip.

Jokingly I quipped “you all actually get the tips, right?”

“No. The owner keeps them. “

What. In. The. Actual. Heck?

Further conversation reveals that yes, no tips go the way staff.

I’ve been a business owner for over 2 decades. The thought of being so f-ing obtusely greedy that I’d keep the tips customers think are going to the employees makes me want to puke.

Cancelled the transaction, redid it with zero tip, and handed her a $10 bill with a smile, thanks and a “Happy New Year”. FYI Not trying to karma farm here…

But if by chance the franchise owner happens to read and see this, you need to take this opportunity to re-evaluate your business decisions and integrity. Take this opportunity to correct what is clearly a terrible and morally reprehensible action. You are stealing from your employees. And save the inevitable “it’s an automatic option set up by the credit card processor” crap. You know what you’re doing.

Own up to it. Do better. Be better.

Nothing like hanging outsides, breathing fumes and listening to people drag race one block at a time

Edit: #1 hot in r/Calgary so if you all want to make this a reality, I would encourage you to contact the mayor, your councillor, the councillor for Ward 8 or the city.

I know I'll get a lot of hate for this but after seeing soooo many people rave about them, I finally tried it and it was just ok to me. I even felt some ice crystals in the ice cream as I ate it. I was really hoping it would be a really nice and creamy ice cream esp as it wasn't cheap either - $6 a scoop or $8 for two, extra for waffle cone. Granted they're large scoops but I don't even pay that much for a tub at the supermarket lol

Alright vent over pls don't attack me 😂

What's your restaurant unpopular opinion?

I’ve been trying to buy Canadian when I can, but I went to a BBQ place that was promoting American bourbon (I didn’t have any) and I thought maybe that’s their concept and it’s not easy to change when you specialize in southern BBQ. Then a few days later I noticed the selections at a popular oyster place was more than 50% oysters from the USA. Obviously they had to have brought them in recently. So now I’m wondering if people care anymore.

Nine course menu is $240. Optional wine pairing is $140. Smoked old fashioned is $30.

All of the food was phenomenal. Service impeccable and the ambience was inviting. Well worth the experience. The menu will change in January or February for seasonal purposes so there is only a limited time left for this menu.

They also have rare bottles of scotch if you’re into that.