Pig & Duke Neighbourhood Pub

First off, I’d like to begin this review with a bit of an apology.

I’m terribly sorry that we haven’t been serving up reviews or any content over the past three or so months. We’ve all been very busy causing our schedules to clash and thus not being able to go out as a group like we love to. Things have cooled down a bit for some of us, and I finally am getting back into my groove of writing more often. We’d also like to take this time to thank everybody who supports us, likes us, loves us, and is still following us even after our minor hibernation period.

Onto the review we go.

I had never heard a whisper of a word about the Pig & Duke Neighbourhood Pub before the moment we decided to go there. I heard the name, and thought it was going to be just your average pub with a standard menu. I waltzed in loving the look. I saw aged, broken down wood along all panels and walls broken up by a beautifully backlit bar that accompanied this modern, but rugged theme I felt here. There was an open floor environment with tables and chairs and benches, with a bit of a game room to the right. We chose to sit in a different area, which had log benches and tables. This was the area that we didn’t quite like the look of. Besides the unique benches, this area had a bit of ye’ old vibes just like the first, but didn’t contain the aesthetic to match. The colours of the carpet and the walls were kind of an off colour Dijon mustard, and it felt outdated to us. It didn’t match the much more enjoyable environment of the first, looking almost like a Tony Roma’s.

We we’re pretty pleased to see a pretty great list of beers to choose from. Keeping with their UK style, they have focused on brands from the UK that take up about 85% of their whole beer menu. I went with a nice velvety smooth Kilkenny, which has this nice caramel sweetness to it.

The food menu was great too. It contained a huge variety of UK inspired dishes and ingredients in those dishes. We all took to sharing The Hammer, Bomb, Fish Tacos, Steak Bites, and Parmesan Truffle, Tandoori, Stout Mustard Pig Knuckles.

The Pig Knuckles were wonderful. And don’t worry; these aren’t actual knuckles from a pig. I’m used to penny pork ribs from my local pub, and I thought those were pretty good. These Pig & Duke Pig Knuckles were amazing compared to what I had been having before. They were cooked so tender they split off the bone, no problem, but maintained juiciness within the rib.

The Tandoori flavour provided just enough spice to enjoy, but not enough to hinder the other flavours from coming in.

Stout mustard was my least favourite, over-powering even the rib meat.

The Parmesan Truffle was an odd, but good combination to go with ribs.

The Hammer contains a black truffle cheddar stuffed kielbasa sausage, wrapped in applewood-smoked bacon, Guinness mustard on a baguette loaf. A little thing I loved about the plating was the fries. They were placed in what looked like a miniature sized deep-frying cage. Fries tasted pretty regular, but the important part of this meal was the sausage. When you bite into it you hit the crunch of the bacon, which combines into the melted stuffed cheddar, which enters the sausage mixing it into a swirl of great flavour.

Bomb, is a breaded chicken breast with applewood-smoked bacon, Guinness cheddar, along with lettuce, onion, and a tomato. This comes with a massive chicken breast patty, which could probably make two sandwhiches. The breading of the chicken was seasoned great, and deep-fried enough to still hold juices within the chicken.

Steak bites were packed with flavour. The Guajillo pesto made it taste somewhat fruity or sweet, and the garlic marinade brought out the well-cooked beef tenderloin through that sweetness.

My personal favourite of our meal was the fish tacos. London Pride beer battered fish, accompanied by Poblano sour cream, cilantro, and red cabbage on a corn tortilla. The Poblano sour cream made the meal for me. It contained a bit of spice that mixed with each of the ingredients differently, causing each bite to have different stages of flavour when you ate it.

We barely breached the menu this time, and I feel like it will take a while to get a taste of everything. I’m more than positive we’ll be back here sooner or later. We certainly recommend trying this place out. If you’re craving beer or food inspired by the UK. They have so much to offer it would be hard to not find something to your liking. The Pig & Duke is Located at 1312 – 12th Avenue SW, their phone number is 403-245-8487 if you want have any questions for them.

Commonwealth

If you take a club, a lounge, and a restaurant and pack it into one building, I think you’d get Commonwealth. They go by the slogan, “An Uncommon Bar for Common People” and they certainly got that right with the setup they have going on. From what I’ve heard, the three-in-one bar plan works incredibly well. At first, I thought it was just a hot new club that all my friends, schoolmates, and workmates were going to. After they finished blabbing on about how sweet it is, I briefly brought up that they got a “Cafeteria”. Just like I expected, they were too drunk when they went there to even realize they had food to offer, and this is where the YYCFoodies come in.

Hoping to avoid any kind of crowd, as usual, we went on a mellow, and late Monday evening. Our wish for mellow was met, when we happened to be the only ones there. First thing a few of us did was grab some cash , which gave us an opportunity to peek about. It is definetely one of the coolest looking places I’ve been to in ages. Brick walls, leather sofas, and vintage looking wooden tables provide a cool lounge experience. Service was superfriendly, and prompt, but as you know we were the only ones there.

Don’t let what I said about us being the only ones there say anything about their food. The menu consists of some incredible edibles. These aren’t full fledged meals to me, but more like a slightly bigger appetizer. We pretty much ordered the whole menu. We had their Sliders, Shrimp Rolls, Fries, Dumplings, and one dollar Meatballs. The only items we missed were their taquitos, greens, and skewers. I never would have thought a place with so much going on inside, could still fire out tasty foods.

The Sliders consist of pulled pork adobo, pickles, and the star of the show for me: a steamed bun that reminds me of the filled steamed buns you’d get when eating Dim Sum. There’s an interesting texture battle between the bun and pork that remind you of Dim sum, while your taste buds adjust to those two wonderful flavours that could only come from Commonwealth.

Shrimp rolls consisted of poached shrimp, and togarashi mayo all placed between a dinner roll. These reminded me of chicken salad, but with shrimp. The shrimp was cooked to a great texture that I haven’t had a chance of eating before.

The fries were a great side to everything. The smoked paprika ketchup that was given to dip them in was very creative.

Inside the dumplings were shrimp and pork, and they were topped with scallion sauce. They were deep-fried, yet still maintained a lot of juiciness on the inside.

Star of the evening for all of us had to have been the meatballs. The Monday special, for those of you who don’t know, are one dollar meatballs. I believe we ordered a total of 30 meatballs. Quite the dive for a bunch of guys who have never eaten them before. Once we tried them though, we never looked back. Well cooked chicken meatballs, topped with salsa verda, and parmigiano. They were all so juicy, and the salsa verde gave it a slight vinegar kick that rounded out the flavour of each meatball.

Sometimes when I go to restaurants I just order appetizers, because they sound more delicious to me at the time, or I’m just not hungry enough for a meal. Sometimes I’ll even go to a restaurant with their appetizers in mind for my meal. If you’re in the same boat as me, then Commonwealth is the place to be. I know the food isn’t their main attraction, but it sure tastes like it would be. I felt pretty overwhelmed with the food, because I hadn’t seen these foods mixed with certain toppings, buns, and spices together in that kind of way. It could have been dissapointing, but I assure you it was the exact opposite.

You can check them out at 731 10th Ave SW, or contact them at info@commonwealthbar.ca and 403-247-4663. You can also follow them on twitter: @commonwealthyyc and @cafeteriayyc.

Burger Challenge #2

It is the second week of the burger challenge, and we’ve had a lot of recommendations on where to go, but we decided to pin The Dairy Lane burger from Blue Star Diner against the Loungeburger’s Signature. We were missing half the YYCFoodies crew, so this is probably a challenge we must come back to so the others can get their words in.

The Dairy Lane Burger –

You can tell already by the score we gave it, that this burger packs a flavourful punch. There’s no words that can describe what we tried, but I’ll try my best. Blue Star Diner’s Dairy Lane Burger looked pretty standard with a classic burger-on-the-left and fries-on-the-right plating presentation. It kept it real simple with the toppings, which are a tomato, butter leaf lettuce, pickled red onion, and Dairy Lane burger mayo. The real prize of this burger is meat, a patty made from Crystal Creek 28 day aged Angus beef. I have no clue what aging beef does or maybe it was a set of seasonings they used, but the differences I tasted in this patty crushed my previous burgasm levels. It rang in a new era of flavour in my mouth that will surely be a world record sized feat to beat. The patty is also locally and conscientiously raised, free-range, and chemical free. Oh, and if that isn’t enough, it is all placed onto an onion Kaiser bun with a side of home-cut fries. If you feel like adding things onto a nearly perfect burger, they give you the option to add smoked bacon, Sylvan Star aged cheddar, peppered gouda, gruyere, or sauteed mushrooms. I usually like burgers with cheese, but eating this burger made me forget that there wasn’t even any cheese on it, so choose whatever you want. I’m sure after eating the burger you’ll want to go back, so give the original way they make it a try. Truly, the most suprisingly, tasty, flavourful, burgasmic burger we’ve had the honour of inhaling. So far, anyway. We’re always finding places that top what we thought was perfect, but for now Calgary, we’ve found the best gladiator on the burger front, I dare you to challenge it.

28/30

The Signature –

When a place has ‘burger’ fused into their name, we feel that there is some sort of bar that must be met in their burgers. They had a lot of options, but we decided to stick to their Signature burger. Before reading on to the burger, you must understand we had finished the Dairy Lane burger just 30 minutes before going to Loungeburger, and as you just read our tastebuds were satisfied to our absolute flavour threshold. We don’t believe it threw any of our tastebuds off, but we also think the Dairy Lane burger raised the bar to what we think a burger should taste like, so if you feel we should go back with a fresh mouth, let us know. On a brioche bun, you get a meat patty topped with pepper-herb bacon, caramelized red onions, and medium cheddar cheese. The presentation was nice and neat with our side orders and ketchup put neatly into a bowl. I can’t be as passionate about this burger because truthfully, this burger held no passion. It tasted good, but nothing I felt I haven’t experienced before. The brioche bun was the best part, with a hardened exterior to keep the burger shape with a certain soft, chewy interior texture that accompanied the burger quite well when eating it. Sadly, this burger fell into the category of classic restaurant burger that so many burgers seem to fall under these days. Following a standard set of rules to create a burger gets you nowhere and it seems like once a week we end up at a place that does that. Maybe our expectations were high, or maybe the Dairy Lane burger haunted our taste buds for even trying another burger, but really all we could do was just kick another mediocre burger to the curb.

19/30

The Palomino

If there is a place in the YYC that you want to appease that deep, and constant barbecue craving you’ve got to go to The Palomino. We left more satisfied than we ever thought we could. I always heard about The Palomino being a great place for barbecue goods, but I never acted upon that saucy gossip.

We walked in, got a table, and the atmosphere hit us hard. A sense and setting of ‘Boldness’ came with everything inside. Dim lights, old western art on the walls, open kitchen concept, and some unique tables and chairs straight from a cowboy tavern in the movies. We felt welcome just from the environment, and our server made sure that it stayed that way. They’re also supporters of local producers and surveyors, which we always support and love. Prompt service on drinks and food to go along with helpful recommendations to a new menu none of us have tried made our night smooth and debate free on what we should get.

We went on a Monday evening, which just happened to be all-you-can-eat Kansas City Pork Ribs night. The four of us shared an array of items like the night’s special, Kansas City Pork Ribs, along with the Two Meat Platter, and their Pulled Pork Poutine.

The ribs were definitely the highlight of the meal, cooked incredibly well through and through. It was packed with flavor from the inside out; giving us a succulent rib experience we’ve never feasted on before. There had to have been some magical marinade or seasoning to get my taste buds jumping around like that. The ribs also came with a side of beans and coleslaw. Beans tasted like there had been BBQ sauce infused into it, which was a nice surprise.

Our choices for the Two Meat Platter were the pulled pork and the Alberta beef brisket accompanied by garlic fries and bacon wrapped corn. The pulled pork was saucy, and full of flavour, the beef brisket juicy, tender, and of course, flavourful. The sides went well with the meat, especially the genius idea of wrapping corn with bacon.

The Quebec classic poutine mixed with their mouthwatering pulled pork was perfect. Cheese curds paired up with pulled pork were fantastic. Someone really needs to turn that duo into some sort of sandwich, and if it exists, someone please tell us.

If you’re an avid club go’er, your place to go for those western vibes is probably Ranchmans, but for the fellow foodies looking for that feeling minus the club, The Palomino is the spot. This place doesn’t need overly expensive décor, loud music, or a modern menu to strive. It is a barbecue haven with that bold cowboy look and feel, perfectly catering to a city nicknamed ‘Cowtown’ and the home to the Stampede.

Find out more about The Palomino at www.thepalomino.ca, or call them at 403-532-1911, or just visit them at their location, 109 7th Avenue SW.

Burger Challenge #1

Burger Inn – B.I.G. 16.5/30

One word describes the B.I.G. accurately, and that is lackluster. Ben told the story of what we’ll be doing with this YYCFoodie adventure to a Burger Inn regular, and he claimed it was the best burger in Calgary while motioning to the awards and articles on the walls. We held the burger in pretty high esteem with all this hype, so we went ahead and ordered our burgers. Literally only a few minutes later all of us got our burgers. Surprised at the quickness of receiving our burgers, we took them to the table to inspect further. Patties looked straight from the box, standard buns from Safeway, shredded lettuce, a tomato, and a few pickles. It looked like I could have made it at home, tasted like I could have made it at home, and it felt like I could have, you guessed it, made it at home. It tasted slightly better than it looked though, with each bite you get a little bit of spice opening up some flavours better than expected. The lettuce and tomato tasted really fresh though, and maybe intrigued us just as much as the patty did. These regular toppings and condiments for a burger will always work, but with no risk or surprise, it kind of left us bored.

You pay $4.25 and you get $4.25 worth of an alright burger.

Dobson’s – Smokestack Burger 26.5/30

I remember seeing a sign in front of Dobson’s stating they had Calgary’s Best Burger, so we thought what better place to start than here. The Smokestack burger came in with some real interesting toppings for a burger like garlic aioli, crispy onions, and a BBQ short rib to go with butter leaf lettuce, a tomato, double smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, and a huge, freshly made meat patty. It looked a bit off with the contents twice the size of the buns, but it stays together unbelievably well. Maybe it was the BBQ short rib gluing the bun to the meat, or the crispy onions hooking themselves onto meat and bun, holding on for dear life. First bite was heaven. The flavours hit me in a strange way, having each part strike me at separate moments with each bite. The bun, lettuce and tomato came first mixed with the garlic aioli adding more flavour to the standard toppings. Crispy onions mixed into the BBQ short rib that was just falling apart from being cooked so well, creating a crunchy meat explosion. It already tasted so good, and that was just the first half of one bite. Next came the incredibly fresh meat patty topped with bacon crumbling into the melted cheddar cheese every time I chewed. Each bite tasted just as good as the last until it all came to an end. The Smokestack took the right risks to surprise us, and taste amazing.

You pay $18.00 and you get $18.00 worth of a meaty burgasm.

Beer Revolution - Craft Beer and Pizza Bar

We’ve probably never been more excited to visit a place to eat and drink than Beer Revolution. It could have been the hunger, it probably was the menu, but a little voice inside my head said it was the excitement of starting this YYCFoodie adventure. What started out as an idea between two friends, slowly cooked itself into a plan between four. Any place, big or small, that is creating quality food, expensive or not, we want to be there, and we want to let people know about it.

Now that the slight introductions are over, we can begin with the review.

Beer Revolution is a new pizza and beer joint in Calgary’s beltline area that opened November 2011. It has 24 beers on tap that change often, and even several times during the day. They serve really innovative pizzas that take risk and break conventional pizza law. We had a near flawless experience that we will be going back to in the very near in the future.

The service we received was on point, with us not having to wait at all to order drinks or food. Our server actually had to wait on us because we couldn’t stop talking about the place to take it all in.

First thing you’ll notice when you walk in or snag a table is the beer lists are all on TVs updating in real time with what sort of craft beers they have. Naturally, I went for a beer brewed by Beer Revolution called, Peach Fuzz Wheat Ale, as did two others. I wouldn’t consider myself a beer connoisseur yet, but this was the best fruit style beer I’ve had. The first sip was incredible, getting a strong, but not over-powering aroma of peach as the beer went down the hatch. Make sure you eat the peach they put in after; it’s like an after beer dessert.

On the other hand my next fruity escapade landed me in too sweet-ville. It was the Fruitesse by Liefman’s, tasting more like a cooler to me than a beer, and looking like a pretty glass of cranberry juice.

For me, I think the food really outshines everything, and it can all be put on the shoulders of their pizza. Using premium ingredients starting from the flour to the toppings, to cooking it in a brick oven, you can taste the effort and thought put into these pieces of work. For the main event of the evening we ordered the Blazing Saddle, Smoked Meatzza, and Hot Wing pizzas. Blazing Saddle had stood out as the best for me with the cajun remoulade and horseradish aioli being the powerhouse of this one.

Smoked Meatzza blended its three cheeses well creating an awesome base in every bite.

The Hot Wing pizza fell behind the others because of one simple reason, not enough risk. So many places out there make hot wing variation pizzas, which caused us to not be surprised by the taste. It still was a great tasting pizza, but we seemed underwhelmed with it when we expected it to taste like that anyway.

According to the Beer Revolution website, the image they are trying to promote is “Premium Beer, Addictive Pizza, and Rock n’ Roll.” They’ve got the first two down but the music had to have been my only complaint with this restaurant. We were getting a constant feed of Nickleback inspired “Rock n’ Roll”. Beer Revolution is beginning to define itself as a leader of food and drink, and we don’t want it to be known as a leader in terrible music. We understand that not everyone can be pleased, but we were expecting a little more variety in the soundtrack with the time we spent there. However, The Black Keys were playing at the tail end of our journey, which we are all fans of, so maybe it’s the order of music they should work on to keep that variety up, and everyone pleased.

Overall, Beer Revolution gave us a satisfying and enjoyable experience. They have a great 10th street location, optimal for lunch-ins and after work cool downs. Some sharp, new, and earthy upholstery mixed in with some old-school flooring giving it an edge to keep you coming back for more. They possess a huge selection in beer to satisfy all types of beer enthusiasts, and an impressive food menu that I personally can’t stop thinking about. We were overwhelmed with the look and feel of place, yet disappointed in the soundtrack variety for the most part. We’d recommend this place to anyone looking for a new beer to try, or some unique food to be eaten.

Ben’s final words: The arugula on the ‘Smoked Meatzza’, really brought the pizza together with the three cheeses.

Zak’s final words: The Blazing Saddle pizza and the sauces that came on it made my night.

Kyle’s final words: Delicious pizza, and a decent selection of beer to wash it down with.

Matt’s final words: Never tasted pizza like this, it’s so unique and delicious. These pizzas are something everyone needs to try.