Grizzly House in Banff, Canada

Melting Pot... MOVE ASIDE! Welcome Grizzly House!  Yes... I actually found a fondue place that I enjoy more than the Melting Pot... exciting!!!

 

Ah hem... anyways, we had their 4 course-meal, which included a soup or salad, an appetizer, the main course, and dessert (what else were you expecting!?).  For the appetizer, we had a choice between the Neuchatel fondue or the Bagna Cauda (vegetable fondue).  The Neuchatel was basically cheese, wine, and Kirsch.  I remember gouda being one of the cheeses mixed in and I forget the rest.  Anyways... the Neuchatel was very tasty.  The bread that was served tasted like it was day-old-bread; however, when it was dipped in cheese... the bread could of had mold on it and it would have still tasted great. Yes, I thought it was just that good!  Just a caution tho, the cheese on the bottom will burn (see photo).  

For our main entree, we ordered their Original Fondue Dinner, which was beef and chicken.  They had 6 different types of combos to choose from: the Original, Beef and Lobster, Beef and Prawn, Beef and Scallop, Hunter Fondue (Buffalo, Wild Boar and Venison), and Exotic Fondue (Shark, Alligator, Rattlesnake, Ostrich, Buffalo, and Venison).  

 So we "played it safe" by ordering the Original.  What's awesome about this place is how our meats were cooked.  The server confused me when he placed a hot granite slab in the middle of our table.  Frankly, I was expecting a soup/fondue pot since we're at a fondue joint; however, the slab of granite was interesting.  It reminded me of Korean BBQ.  Anyways, the server told us that the granite was heated up to 500 degrees so it will safely cook the meat.  He also gave us two small containers of garlic butter to help us cook.  O.M.G. The garlic butter was amazing!  I basically used it all!  

Grizzly House provided us with five dipping sauces for our meats: teriyaki, baked potato, sun-dried tomato, garlic-herb, and thousand island.  Out of the 5 dipping sauce, the baked potato was the BEST!  It even had bacon bits mixed in it!  Yummm...  The runner up was the garlic-herb sauce.   The one sauce I didn't like was the teriyaki sauce. It didn't even taste like teriyaki!  I digress.  

So... for dessert... it was TOBLERONE CHOCOLATE FONDUE! O...M...G... I was in heaven :) This fabulous chocolate fondue was served in a copper pot.   It also came with fruits and hazelnut chocolate wafers.  It was soooooo good!  The only thing I was sad about was how small the fondue pot was!  Even then, we weren't able to finish all the chocolate.  After the fruits and wafers ran out... I was tempted to pour the rest of the chocolate in my mouth.  However, if I had done that... I think my boyfriend would have disowned me.

Overall, I have to say the 4-course meal was superb! The cost of it tho... one could say it wasn't really worth it because we didn't get a lot of meat (and that "one" was my boyfriend).  However, I thought the experience was fun and worth it.  

The table where we sat at had a view of outside, which was gorgeous!  Mountains and snow... What was also fun at our table was the phone.  During the middle of dinner, the phone rang right behind me.  So for fun, I answered.  It was a guest calling from either the waiting area or another table!  They asked about our meal and what we would recommend them to drink.  Before I hung up with the stranger, they thanked me for answering.  I assume other guests ignored their call so I was happy that I picked up that phone.  I actually wanted to call a random table, but there were no dials to push and I gave up trying to figure out how to dial out.  

Anyways, the decor of this place did not match the prices on their menu.  Grizzly House reminds me of a log cabin.  It looks like a place for you to escape the snow and warm up.  There were random lava lamps in the dining area and it just looked a bit random.  The server we had was a jerk.  That was also the first thing I wrote on my notes about this place so service also did not match their pricing.  

One last thing... with regards to finding the ladies room...  I was walking down what I thought was a hallway to the restrooms and I ended up interrupting this couple in a private table.  It looked like a table where you have to call ahead and book because it was completely separate from the rest of the dining area.  Needless to say, I apologized for interrupting and ran off to find the ladies room.  So... be careful when you venture off because you might awkwardly disturb a date.  

So if you're ever in Banff (and I do recommend going there to snowboard/ski... the town is beautiful), you must visit this spot!  Yes, it is pricy, but I think the overall experience I had here was worth it.  

Anju - Calgary, Canada

Recently, I traveled far, far away to... Calgary, Canada and found a Korean "tapas" restaurant called Anju.  Okay, fine... I didn't find it... my boyfriend did, but who's keeping score!  Anyways, we ventured over here because my boyfriend had heard good things about this place from his coworkers.  To be honest, I was somewhat skeptical because the food there (in Calgary) wasn't that great.  However, I have to admit that this was the first place I've eaten there that made me happy and satisfied. 


Since this place is a "tapas" place, we ordered a few items.  First off, we had the AAA Short Ribs with Sweet Soy Marinade and Potato.  This dish was DELISH!  The short ribs were marinaded in this heavenly sauce and it was very flavorful.  The potatoes that came with this dish was cooked perfectly as well. 


However, the potatoes that came with the short ribs were in no comparison to their Truffle Yam Fries with Gochugaru Sauce Aioli.  OMG!  The sauce was AMAZING! (and spicy).  The fried sweet potatoes were simply the best I'd ever had!  This place was not kidding when they say they have the best sweet potato fries!  ::sigh:: yes... I'm craving for them now....



We also ordered their Chicken Stone Bowl.  Basically this is a rice dish topped with diced chicken, red bell peppers, soy beans, zucchini, and a lightly poached egg.  The bowl was really made of stone and I believe the rice was cooked in it.  The stone bowl was crazy hot (so be careful!). I didn't like the fact that the server failed to mention how hot the dish was, so it was a joy when I tried to move the bowl.  The idea of this dish... you mix together all the toppings with the egg and the egg gets cooked while its being mixed.  It also comes with a side of chili paste.  We used more than half that container (the hot sauce is right next to the bowl in the picture) and the dish still wasn't spicy.  I'd have to say that this isn't a dish you'd want to try here  because it wasn't that great.  My boyfriend wasn't impressed with it (and he LOVES rice).  Honestly, I've had better rice stone bowls from the Korean market in Houston (and its way cheaper there as well- I'll blog about it soon, no worries!). 


We also ordered their Seasonal Vegetable, which was bok choy.  It was cooked with kimchi and fermented tofu paste (I know it doesn't sound good, but it was).  I'd have to say I enjoyed the veggie more than the rice bowl.


Now, when you go to Canada, you must try their Caesar!  It's basically a Bloody Mary but made with clamata juice instead of V8.  Now, I don't know what the deal was, but the drink is AMAZING.  The glass is also rimmed with salt and pepper and super SPICY!  For those of you who know how much I drink (please sense sarcasm)... I can down these baby faster than my boyfriend and can have at least 2 within an hour.  It was just THAT good!  Anyways... we tried Anju's Kimchi Caesar and it was pretty good.  I prefer a "regular" Caesar, but this wasn't bad either.  My boyfriend, on the other hand, hated it.  He didn't like the kimchi mixed with it (and you do get pieces of kimchi in the drink).


Overall, I liked this place.  The restaurant is located in a two story house.  You could walk right past it if you're not looking for it.  The place was also very small.  There weren't a lot of tables/seating.  The upstairs had a bar and what looks to be a lounge area.  This place is definitely worth trying out if you're ever in Calgary, Canada.