Salutes and Shout Outs

Congratulations to Chef Jinhee Lee - JinBar is the only Alberta spot on Air Canada's Best New Restaurants list 2021!

Congrats to Canela on relocating the vegan bakery to Inglewood, at 1319 9 Avenue SE. Pick up all your baked goods here, and also order online at canelayyc.ca. Closed Mondays.

Calgary’s one-stop vegan shop, For Goodness Bake, is open in Kingsland, at 7337 Macleod Trail SW, with food and drinks from 20+ Alberta producers - including Canela! You can also rent space in their vegan commercial kitchen, and sell your products in the store. Seven days, 8-8 pm. forgoodnessbake.ca.

Florida sandwich shop, Jon Smith Subs, has burst into Canada with a location in Calgary’s Legacy Village – and it’s busy! They’re supporting local breweries and local producers, with these loaded 6” and 12” subs and sandwiches, and they’re cooking your fries and poutine to order – it’s definitely worth the wait… and the weight! Gurbinder Singh and Amrinder Cheema, have family history in restaurants and know a good thing when they see it – we expect to see more locations soon. Edmonton, it’s coming your way too! Seven days, lunch and dinner.

Blowers & Grafton have opened their second Edmonton location, bringing their East Coast hospitality and Halifax street food, drink, and music to Windermere, at 6255 Currents Drive. Lunch to late, seven days.

1103 17th Avenue SW is now South Street Burger’s sixth Calgary location. Build your dream burger from a choice of 30+ toppings on antibiotic- and hormone-free Angus beef patties. Vegan, chicken, halal, and GF too, with Montreal’s La Diperie ice cream for frozen treats. 11-late, seven days.

Toronto Argonaut, Shane Richards, grew up in Calgary, and has opened a lunchtime wing spot, 4 Corners Wingstop, in Calgary’s Ampersand Building on 4 Avenue SW. Have your fast fill of 5, 10, or 15, big and juicy whole wings, 11 am-1 pm weekdays. 4cornerswingstop.com.

Welcome Pizza Project! Four classic 18” New York-style pies or a slice of 22” are yours from the back door of Meatball Project, 1130 Kensington Road NW. With dough fermented 48 hours in-house, they’re ooey gooey, and melty, with a crisp base, yet foldable and floppy too. Call 587-356-0792 to reserve your time, as slots fill up fast. Wednesday-Sunday 5-10pm or until sold out.

Calgary has a trio of extremely good Italian restaurants to add to your list of faves! Possibly the hottest ticket in town is D.O.P., in the ex-Von Der Fels location on 1 Street SW. Tony Migliarese, of Proof, Tavernetta and Pizza Face, has created a beautiful homage to his late restaurateur father, with family photos covering the walls of this friendly 30 seat spot, and a much-loved menu based half on his mother’s old Calabrese family recipes, and half Head Chef Sandro Chinea having fun developing his own. There’s rightly been a lot of social media on the white anchovy and the whipped ricotta antipasti, the plate-size egg-yolk raviolo in red wine butter sauce, and giant veal chop. Special menus feature seasonal produce (truffles last month!). Reservations essential, dopyyc.com. 4 pm-late, closed Sundays.

Mission’s ex-Towa Sushi location at 2116 4th Street SW is refurbished and now home to fine dining, Grande Amore, presenting Chef Marcel Bondea’s expertly executed, traditional Italian fare. Strong on seafood, everything is very fresh on this constantly changing small menu, with daily specials such as Osso Buco and Veal Marsala. Their risotto con frutti di mare, gamberi, bruschetta, and steaks are deservedly very popular! We’re excited for their plans for upstairs next year too. Tuesday-Saturday lunch 11-2 pm, dinner 5 pm-close. grandeamore.ca.

The newest Italian in town is the light and bright, Trullo Trattoria, in Oak Bay Plaza on 90 Avenue SW. From Purlieu Modern Bistro’s Jason Armstrong and Eric Mah, it’s a similar, but Italian, take on classic, yet modern, cuisine, with chef Chris Barton (Anew Table and Deane House) heading up the kitchen. Choose a couple of excellent antipasti or one of four burrata dishes, pastas, or a Romanstyle bread pizzette – it’s one of the best in the city! Wash it down with an Italian cocktail or Trullo’s own gin. Open 4 pm-close, with plans for lunch soon. Closed Sunday-Monday.