Savour Selects

Lamb kebab dinner

Anatolia Turkish Food Crossroads Market and 237 8th Ave. S.E. 403.616.2238 anatoliaturkishfood.ca

A TWIST ON TURKISH CLASSICS

Before coming to Canada, Chef Mahmut Elbasi was a culinary student in his hometown of Kayseri, Turkey. While studying for his red seal designation, he worked as head chef at Elmacioglu Iskender. When an opportunity to work in Calgary arose, he took a leap of faith and moved to Canada, leaving his young family behind. Once reunited, the family opened Anatolia’s Turkish Cuisine in the Crossroads Market. Offering braised lamb shanks, kebabs, borek, pide, simit and other Turkish delicacies, the booth’s popularity soared and, on the request of many customers, they took another leap and opened their restaurant in the Burns Building across from Olympic Plaza five years ago. With his wife Selma Elbasi serving as head pastry chef (and indispensable business partner, he raves) Elbasi’s ingredients are local and fresh, and with spices coming from Turkey, he puts his own twist on Turkish classics. Some of our favourites include borek, baklava and anything eggplant. When not running his eateries, you’ll find Elbasi volunteering with newcomers and in the community working on bridging the gap between cultures. Both Anatolia's locations are open for take-out, catering and currently dine-in, although we recommend you check before going.

STOCK YOUR FREEZER

Shefs Fiery Kitchen butter chicken

Shef’s Fiery Kitchen 510 77th Ave. S.E. 403.975.2475 shefsfierykitchen.com Operated by sisters Shefali (Shef) and Sharon Somani, Shef’s Firey Kitchen has become a popular lunch spot in the Calgary Farmers’ Market. With roots dating back to the market at Currie Barracks, the eatery offers a variety of dishes from India, Thailand, Pakistan, Burma, and east Africa. They proudly source natural, antibiotic- and hormonefree beef and chicken, make the curries glutenfree and change the menu every three weeks. Shef and Sharon use a traditional tandoor oven to grill lamb, beef and chicken and the menu is full of fresh-made items and frozen, heat-and-serve curries large enough to feed two adults. As more customers are stocking their freezers in uncertain times, these products have gained popularity. The butter chicken is a hot seller, and we know why: it’s everything we dream about in a butter chicken. The team has created a line of basic Indian spices, pastes, and powdered blends for take-home. Pick up meals in the market and at a handful of retailers around town including Calgary Co-op, Bite Grocer and Eatery and Sunnyside Market in Kensington. At press time, restaurants and markets are open to limited capacity. Take-out and delivery are available.

PASSING THE REIGNS

Things are moving and shaking in Fresh & Local Market & Kitchens, as Takori Avenida has closed and The J Spot Culinary Kitchen has opened under the leadership of Chef Joel Harris. Many will know Harris from his days at Foreign Concept, and more recently as the head chef TJS photo at Takori in the market. He’s trained with several Calgary chefs, Arizona restaurateur Kevin Binkley, and chefs Sheldon Simeon and Jeff Sheer in Hawaii. When Duncan Ly announced Takori’s closure, he handed the reigns to Harris, who took over the equipment, rebranded the space, and kept inspiration from the Takori menu to develop something new. Harris regularly adds new menu The J Spot Chef Joel Harris and wife Chera Harris items like burgers, frozen meal kits, jarred sauces, and specials like Sunday’s beef bulgogi eggs benedict served with triple-cooked fries, or honey-butter chips that typically sell out by noon. He sources local ingredients from the market and TJS photo draws inspiration from his father, his grandmother's comfort food, his travels and chef mentors like Duncan Ly, Jinhee Lee and Darren MacLean. Harris exudes a contagious passion for his craft and a boundless enthusiasm for what the future holds. Soft tacos The J Spot Culinary Kitchen 12445 Lake Fraser Dr. S.E. 403.971.2508

La Boulangerie

Assorted nut tart

La Boulangerie 2435 4th St. S.W. 403.984.9294 la-boulangerie-calgary.com

BUTTER ME UP… WITH A FRESH CROISSANT

If the heavenly aroma of freshly baked bread isn’t enough, one look in the display cases at La Boulangerie Bakery Café in Mission and you know you’re in for a treat. Husband-and-wife team Navot Raz and Shosh Cohen say they’re living their dream by offering new and loyal customers a wonderful selection of freshly baked items. Everything is made in-house using only the finest and freshest ingredients. It has an air of a classic Paris café with indoor and outdoor seating available at small round tables in the quaint patio. It’s a popular spot, so get there early while the selection is at its best. The menu features a selection of savoury and sweet treats, all to have while sipping on a hot chocolate, latte or cappuccino. Stop in for daily soups, a selection of sweet and savoury crepes, sandwiches, breads, baguettes, French pastries, tarts, croissants, cookies, macarons and cakes. Our favourites include the mozzarella and sesame seed croissant, the assorted nut tart and Mediterranean cookie. Next time you’re out for a stroll along 4th Street, stop in and have yourself a treat.

Mykonos Street Grill 12445 Lake Fraser Dr. S.E. 403.815.3218 mykonosstreetgrill.ca

GREEK EATERY REIMAGINED

Chef Aki Hatzistamatis was born into the restaurant business. From age 12, he worked in his father’s restaurant Mykonos Greek Restaurant on Centre Street North until it closed in 2011. Aki worked his way through various positions in the family-run restaurant, eventually ending up in the kitchen learning the family recipes. Business partner and wife Ebony Gooden is a Black deaf artist, filmmaker and activist, committed to making their eatery a space that is accessible to the deaf community, while educating other eateries on doing the same. Together, the pair opened Mykonos Street Grill last year in Fresh & Local Market & Kitchens, formerly Avenida Food Hall, with a limited menu testing out tried and true family favourites from former restaurant days. Aki does the prep, cooking and recipe development while Ebony runs the front counter, does the marketing and assists where needed. Opening during a pandemic is not for the faint of heart, and this dynamic duo manage to keep costs down by shopping smart for ingredients and keeping the menu small while focusing on day-to-day operations.

HAVING A BALL

When life handed Chef Masoud Mehrabi lemons, he and his wife Atieh didn’t care much for lemonade, so they made balls instead. The cheekily-named Delish Ballz are Mehrabi’s take on Persian/Latin fusion as he puts traditional Iranian ingredients and flavours into empanadastyle balls in an oh-soCanadian mash-up of multicultural deliciousness. A graduate of SAIT’s culinary program, Mehrabi was a victim of COVID-19 layoffs from both the Westin Hotel and Charbar where he learned from local luminaries Michael Batke, Connie deSouza, John Jackson, Jessica Pelland, and Chef/Instructor Michael Allemaeir. He took inspiration from each of them as well as tapping into their business acumen as mentors to guide him through the process of starting his own business. Thanks to Atieh’s marketing expertise, we found the company on Instagram and were intrigued. The website and ordering process are super simple, they offer delivery and the flavours and textures are exceptional. We very much enjoyed the mushrooms and truffle sea salt old cheddar and the spicy organic chicken kebab, marinated with amarillo saffron sauce – made extra special with a delicious sumac green chimichurri sauce.

Camie Leard

Delish Ballz delishballz.ca

Delish Ballz

BRAMBLE ON!

If you haven’t tried Bramble Cider’s rockin’ lineup of fresh, crisp and fruity blends, it’s high time you did. Named after Led Zepplin songs, the headlining flavours include Wild Child farmhouse style, Bramble On blackberry, blueberry and raspberry blend and Lotta Love MacIntosh apple, which re-ferments the base cider on California Zinfandel wine skins for a month. We love, love, love Bramble On for its fruity-but-dry, clean finish. Bramble On also uses contact fermentation with whole berries for two months after its original fermentation. Bramble Cider works with the folks over at SunnyCider to make their product and you can find it on tap in SunnyCider’s tap room along with the latter’s own exceptional lineup. Try the Saskatoon apple cider, it’s one of our favourites. Also grab a limited release Spanish-style perry while you’re at it before the pear-y goodness is gone for good!*

The rockin' Bramble Cider lineup

Bramble Cider/ SunnyCider 1 - 3300 14th Ave. N.E. 403.454.0638 bramblecider.ca sunnycider.ca

WHILE YOU’RE IN

LAMBDA MARKET,

ALSO CHECK OUT

KING’S FRESH

SEAFOOD AND FAT

KEE MEATS OR

SIMPLY EXPLORE

PRODUCTS AND

PRODUCE YOU MAY

NOT SEE EVERY

DAY AT YOUR USUAL

GROCERY STORE.

HIDDEN GEM: MAXIMA BAKERY

If you’re already an aficionado of authentic Chinese cuisine, chances are you already know about Maxima Bakery. Hidden inside the Lambda Asian Grocery in Crescent Heights Village, Maxima is a sort of out-of-the-way space that you’d never know was there… unless you were already in the know. Fortunately, you’re a Savour Calgary reader and now you’re on to this hidden gem too. While Maxima has a broad variety of Chinese sweet treats like roll-up cakes and tarts, you’ll find us at the bun oven drooling over their savoury buns. We’re talking about the barbecue pork buns, of course, for which Maxima is well known. But you will also find curry beef and chicken rolls and our new favourite, the barbecue pork crisp, which is a marriage of delicious, sweet barbecued pork (just like the buns) but enveloped in a crispy, flakey pastry like a turnover. Let the staff help you get your treat out of the oven – they look self-serve, but they’re not. While you’re in Lambda Market, also check out King’s Fresh Seafood and Fat Kee Meats or simply explore products and produce you may not see every day at your grocery store. Maxima Bakery | 1423 Centre St. N.W. | 403.277.8988

Maxima barbecue pork bun and pork crisp

Fresh.

MADE BY HAND. LOCALLY OWNED.

KENSINGTON 1081 2ND AVENUE NW 403.287.8544

SPRUCE CLIFF / WILDWOOD 8 SPRUCE CENTRE SW 403.452.3960

MAHOGANY 2171 MAHOGANY BLVD SE 587.623.1144

Authentic Greek food made with love.

Alpine Sausage proudly provides locally sourced, quality meat and poultry products with a Danish influence and contemporary taste. We have been family owned and operated since 1981.

Forty years of baking for you. Still using basic ingredients you can name and that were used in your grandma’s kitchen. Fresh daily. Famous for our cheese buns but we bake many other items. All are shown on our website.

“We love cheese, the flavours, aromas, textures are a true delight. Slicing into a new wheel just to watch the paste ooze, that is what we live for. Some see for yourself in Kensington or Mission.”

Sweet, savoury and sublime pies. Now OPEN in Calgary Farmers’ Market. www.piecloud.ca 403.813.6747

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Order local craft beer, cider and hooch with Best of Calgary Foods. Villagebrewery.com

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www.bestofcalgaryfoods.com

Gull Valley Greenhouses is a family-owned-and-operated farm in central Alberta offering fresh, locally grown farm-to-plate produce for almost 30 years!

Lakeview Bakery has been providing Calgary with delicious and nutritious breads, buns and desserts for the past 30 years. We carry gluten-free, lowcarb, diabetic, organic, dairy-free, yeast-free and egg-free baked goods.

There’s something really satisfying about sitting down to a meal that you prepared with ingredients you produced yourself. We know what went into raising that delicious lamb and we can say it to a customer with confidence: you will taste the difference.

We think of Soffritto as a little store with a big heart. We’ve packed a lot of amazing products into our space, and we’re always there to help you find the hidden gems. We also make fresh pasta EVERY day.

Lovingly hand-crafted frozen artisan soups. Gluten free. Marketsourced ingredients. Serving Calgarians our soups for decades.

Ukrainian Fine Foods has been serving Albertans delicious Ukrainian food for over 30 years. We offer a wide selection of frozen products for you and your family to make at home. We use the best ingredients available and have no additives, no preservatives and no msg.

Torill’s Table is a Calgary-based manufacturer of wholesome and nutritious waffle and pancake mixes. It was founded by Torill Myre, originally from Norway and known for her waffles since childhood. Our mission is to be the best quality and taste is our category, whether you eat wheat or are gluten free.

Calgary Heritage Roasting Company was founded by Wildland Firefighters and is located in the Historic C.C Snowdon Building in Ramsay. CHRC serves up delicious coffee that is bold but never bitter, smooth, and easy drinking – Come Taste A Coffee As Wild As You Are!

We are all about making eating healthy easy & delicious!

Chinook Honey Company is a family-owned business founded in 2004 with the goal of supplying quality honey and honeymade products to Calgary and area. We also strive to educate about honey bees and the many benefits of hive products.

Take your palate on an adventure with Sweetsmith’s inclusive candies. Gluten free, vegan, soy free and keto options. There's something for everyone!

Eat Better. Eat Bison. Premium bison meat sustainably ranch-raised on Canadian grasslands. No hormones, no antibiotics – just pure powerhouse protein.

1991 – 2021 Thirty years of passion, experience and community Tres Marias

Fresh Tortillas, Salsas and Meals to go. Committed to providing authentic Mexican food, products and meals made from scratch with local organic and natural ingredients.. 3514 19 Street SW Marda Loop 403.243.5335

An importer and retailer of tea situated in Inglewood, the oldest community in our city. We have been been in business since the early 1990s, selling tea in our shop, as well as to mail-order customers throughout North America.