Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5. FOOD: 5 / 5. VALUE: 4.5 / 5. AMBIANCE: 4 / 5
One of my biggest foodie friends, Chris, goes on and on about one thing at London’s famous Borough Market: raclette. As annoying as Chris can be, he is hardly ever wrong about anything food-related.
By definition, raclette can mean, a) a semi-firm cheese meant for melting, or, b) the brilliant Swiss and French invention of “roasted” cheese that is scraped atop some boiled potatoes or vegetables. Raclette comes from racler, the French word for to scrape.
Who knew crusty cheese was so divine?
The raclette at Kappacasein in Borough Market is made from Ogleshield, a non-pasteurised cheese made from the fatty milk of Jersey cows which is usually reserved for milk or cream. Ogleshield is the brainchild of Jamie Montgomery of cheddar fame, Randolph Hodgson of Neal’s Yard Dairy, and William Oglethorpe, Neal Yard’s affineur.
At Kappacasein, the queue is at least 20-deep. For £5, you get a small plate of boiled baby potatoes and tiny gherkins topped with melted Ogleshield cheese. Check out the video.
Raclette at Kappacasein, Borough Market
While the plate is small, it is surprisingly heavy. The melted cheese is simultaneously gooey and chewy from the burnt crust, pairing nicely with the soft potatoes. While the pickles are neither crunchy nor sour enough for my taste, they do a fine job of cutting into the fat.
That description doesn’t do justice to the orgasmic experience you’ll feel in your entire being. Kappacasein is a must-have, at least once. I’d recommend going for a jog or four after eating this raclette. Or if you’re a glutton like me, you’ll be going back at least once a week to have some scraped cheese. Nom nom.
This is where your cheese dream will come true.
Kappacasein, which also does a mean grilled cheese, has a stall at Borough Market.
Borough Market, 8 Southwark Street, London.
Thursday 11 am to 5 pm, Friday 12 pm to 6 pm and Saturday 8 am to 5 pm.
Closest tube station: London Bridge.
Life as a food writer means that I’m living most people’s dreams (including my own!): I get paid to eat. Since I live to eat, this works out well.
For its Fall issue, Where (Calgary) Magazine compiled a list of 75 Tastes of Calgary. You know, those unique dishes that define a city; the must-try foods you think about even when, or especially if, you are away from home. Now that I live in the UK, I’m craving EVERYTHING Calgary!
Shiraz's eggplant dip topped with whey made the top 75!
I — along with notable Calgary food critics John Gilchrist, Andree Lau, Karen Anderson, among others — contributed some favourite eats. Where editor Laura Pellerine and staff writers Dan Leahul and Alison Onyett filled in the rest. Dare I so flagrantly admit that we all have great taste?
You might recognize some of my previous posts on the rich DeVille latte (#8), the indulgent duck confit poutine at Laurier Lounge (#12), or the pitch-perfect kashk-e-Bademjam at Shiraz (#41). Can you guess my other picks? (Hint: They include #19, 33, 57, 61 and 69).
Please eat some extra portions on my behalf. And enjoy 
- Anh Chu
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5. FOOD: 5 / 5. VALUE: 4 / 5. AMBIANCE: 4.5 / 5
The food at Rouge is, in a word: stunning. The dishes lived up to my high expectations of the place bestowed by S. Pellegrino as one of the world’s best 100 restaurants in 2010. The setting: the historic Cross House in Inglewood just minutes from downtown.
This was my last Lunch Rush column for Metro Calgary before I moved to London, so I decided to splash out. Funnily enough, it was actually cheaper than lesser restaurants I’ve dined at. Why didn’t I eat here every week?
I started with the seasonal soup creation, a roasted cauliflower and yellow zucchini with scallion oil ($10). The soup was comforting and gourmet. At $10 bucks a pop, it’d better be good, and believe me (cheap-ass that I am), it was well worth the price.
Pureed soup at a nice restaurant is one of my favourite things in the world.
Jason had the couscous salad with almonds and cranberries, with a side salad of shaved fennel and orange vinaigrette ($10). The light citrus flavour lent a refreshing tone. I particularly enjoyed the crunchy toasted almonds and the fennel salad accompaniment. Read More
Overall rating: 4 out of 5. FOOD: 4 / 5. VALUE: 3.5 / 5. AMBIANCE: 4 / 5
At Juree’s Thai Place, the service is personal, the food is fragrant and the atmosphere is zen-like.
The beautifully decorated restaurant on 16th Avenue fills the void of a former Burger King and gives diners the royal treatment. Read my Lunch Rush column in Metro Calgary or continue reading for the expanded version…
We shared a Tom Khaa Kai Soup ($8) with coconut milk, chicken and mushrooms. The tangy soup flavoured with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and galangal left a slightly pasty residue on the palate. Also, I found the small bits of lemongrass (which has a tough texture) difficult to manage. I’m particularly picky with this soup because I make a kick ass version of it that is bold yet complex. Here, it tasted predominantly of coconut milk and fish sauce.
The Tom Khaa Kai soup can be described as very "bitty."
We continued with the Matsaman Curry with beef ($14). The creamy curry with coconut milk, potato, onions and peanuts featured a nice, smooth consistency and a pleasant nuttiness. The earthy, complex flavours were spot on, complementing the fluffy coconut rice well (large, $6). The coconut rice actually tastes like coconut (big ups). Read More
Overall rating: 4 out of 5. FOOD: 4 / 5. VALUE: 3.5 / 5. AMBIANCE: 4 / 5
Cassis Bistro offers fare inspired by the South of France. Cassis is helmed by executive chef Dominique Moussou of L’epicerie (and formerly of Teatro). The decor (mostly white walls) is sparse but the rich food is anything but.
To start, lamb merguez (sausage) with grainy mustard and baguette ($5) whet our appetites.
The sausage was piping hot, balanced by an acidic, grainy mustard.
My friend ordered the quiche of the day which was goat cheese ($16). The quiche was rich but boasted a superbly light, airy and fluffy texture. Read my Lunch Rush column in Metro Calgary, or continue for the expanded version… Read More
Overall rating: 4 out of 5. FOOD: 4 / 5. VALUE: 3.5 / 5. AMBIANCE: 4 / 5
The recently opened Blue Star Diner in Bridgeland, from the owners of Dairy Lane Cafe, is working from a proven and popular concept of a solid lineup of breakfast and lunch dishes. While there are some Dairy Lane repeats like the standout DL burger, new offerings abound as well. Read my Lunch Rush column in Metro Calgary, or continue for the expanded version…
We ate a grilled cheese sandwich with slices of Granny Smith apple, sautéed onions and Sylvan Star Gruyere ($12.95) with skinny fries and baked beans. The thin apple slices served primarily to add texture rather than enhance flavour. Everything tasted fresh, but the neutral colour palette lacked “oomph” presentation-wise.
If not for the pickle and a few pokey apple slices, this plate would make the colour beige jealous.
Next was the gluten-free Huevos Rancheros ($12.95). The crispy corn tostadas, warm refried beans and two sunny-side up Sylvan Star eggs were complimented by some cool black bean cilantro salsa and avocado slices. The hash browns were peppery and soft on the inside but could have used a crunchier outside. Read More
Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5. FOOD: 3.5 / 5. VALUE: 3.5 / 5. AMBIANCE: 4 / 5
Nearly all of Gratitude Café’s dishes are vegan and gluten-free. Many are also raw. This is Calgary’s only raw food restaurant. Surprising for a city with a population of a million-plus people. Not so surprising considering the quality of Alberta beef. Read my Lunch Rush column in Metro Calgary, or continue for the expanded version…
It’s a quirky place, as every table features a deck of cards or small board game. The front of the restaurant features a massage chair, which I’m still confused about (are massages given by staff or is it a decorative accent?). Our server was almost so casual that I wasn’t sure if she worked there or if she had just wandered into the restaurant mid-jog.
Good thing the food looked promising. The menu is easy to read and organized into various levels of hungriness. And the dishes are named as affirmative statements. “I am thrilled” was our sushi appetizer with quinoa, basil pecans and avocado ($9). We liked the nuttiness, but the too-tightly packed rice made the dish dense.
The overcooked rice made this dish heavy. Sushi should never feel heavy.
My friend and I shared “I am awesome” ($12), a raw, vegan and gluten-free sunflower Thai salad with shredded coconut and pumpkin seeds stuffed into a bell pepper. It was bold, spicy and memorable. Warning: lots of chewing involved. Read More
Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5. FOOD: 3 out of 5. VALUE: 4 out of 5. AMBIANCE: 4 out of 5
Ichi Rock is a Japanese Izakaya and Sushi restaurant in Calgary’s downtown west end. Izakaya refers to Japanese small plates (like tapas) traditionally eaten with sake.
Let me first note that I didn’t have any sushi here, opting instead to stick to the cooked dishes. Read my Lunch Rush column in Metro Calgary, or continue for the expanded version…
The lunch specials provide remarkable value for the downtown core. I went with the teriyaki beef special with rice and salad ($8.95).
The teriyaki beef usurps the tiny (by comparison) bowl of rice. Fine by me!
The rice was too soft; however, there was a surprising amount of beef. Soft rice is sacrilegious. I was reprimanded once for making soggy jasmine rice as a teenager (never again!). Sushi chefs in Japan can train for years, yes years, on how to cook rice properly and this dedication is apparent when you eat rice in Japan.
My friend ate the spicy chicken rice bowl with a fried egg on top ($6.50), including miso soup and salad . There is no photo because the brown-ness of the dish was not visually appealing. Again the rice was too soft, but for $6.50, can’t complain too much.
We shared some karai agedashi tofu ($8.95) from the izakaya menu. Read More
Overall rating: 4 out of 5. FOOD: 4 out of 5. VALUE: 5 out of 5. AMBIANCE: 3 out of 5
Do not come here on a hungry stomach or you’ll leave 10 pounds more buttery. As soon as you walk into Eclair de Lune, you experience strong wafts of butter along with memories of daily stops at the local Parisian bakery around the corner of your hostel when you were 23. Moving on…
Read my Lunch Rush column in Metro Calgary, or continue for the expanded version…
My companion and I were surprised to see a lunch combo for just $6.50, which includes your choice of a savoury pastry (turnovers, croissant, quiches), dessert (mini fruit tarts, cookies, meringues) and drink (ginger ale, water, tea, coffee). It’s a three-course meal for less than what you’d pay for one sub-par dessert at a restaurant.
My combo included two turnovers; one filled with spinach and feta cheese and the other with mushroom and cream cheese.
I would turn over for these turnovers. I don't even know what that means.
What they lacked in size was made up for in taste and excellent filling-to-pastry-ratio. I horked (see def #1) these down like little clouds of heaven. That said, I probably could have eaten about six of these and still had room for dessert. Dessert was a pitch-perfect mini lemon meringue tart.
My friend tried the combo with a salmon and asparagus quiche which featured a thin, flaky crust with big chunks of fish and veg. The volume of salmon and asparagus chunks caused plate envy on my part. Her dessert was a mini tart with whipped lemon topping. Yeah, I got dessert envy too! Read More
Overall rating: 4 out of 5. FOOD: 4 out of 5. VALUE: 5 out of 5. AMBIANCE: 2.5 out of 5
Just a few minutes off International Avenue (17th Ave. S.E.) is Song Huong, a tucked away restaurant serving specialties from central Vietnam, especially from former imperial city Hue, along with more familiar Vietnamese cuisine like beef noodle soup (pho). Read my Lunch Rush column in Metro Calgary, or continue on for the expanded version.
We started with steamed pork and shrimp tapioca dumplings ($6.25).
Pork and shrimp tapioca dumpings with nuoc mam dipping sauce.
The earthy minced pork and shrimp filling was nicely balanced by the gelatinous dough and infused with banana leaf. There are 9, count ‘em, 9 dumplings! For those who eat dim sum, the texture is reminiscent of the a mushier version of har gow, those clear shrimp dumplings you must eat with hot sauce.
We continued with bun bo hue ($6.95), a special noodle soup dish with rounded rice noodles and an orangey broth, typically made with beef bones, lemongrass and chili. The version here is topped with Vietnamese sausage, beef shank and cubes of pig blood jelly (mmm, blood-flavoured jello).
Bun bo hue. Noobs take note, "hue" sounds more like "way" than "Hugh."
Unlike pho, the bun bo hue comes with shredded iceberg lettuce and purple cabbage (or banana blossom). The sweet and complex broth had overtones that reminded me of lotus root and was mild spice-wise compared to other versions of bun bo hue that can get quite spicy. Read More
