Sofra Authentic Turkish Cuisine

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Sofra Authentic Turkish Cuisine, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Now, I like to think that I truly appreciate ethnic foods, and love trying new tastes and spices. Mediterranean food is especially attractive to me, being known to be packed with flavor and rich in cultural influence.

For my dining experience, I had the lucky opportunity to sample Turkish cuisine with a friend of mine that is actually Turkish. It’s not every day that I get to appreciate a certain genre of food with someone that possesses so much personal knowledge of a specific style of cuisine, and that heightened the enjoyment.

Décor-wise, Sofra is definitely an interesting place-with a bit of an odd setup that serves to add to its overall charm. I was seated near the Trojan horse, which I thought was a neat piece of historical embellishment. The lighting give the place an intimate feel, what you would expect of a cozy kind of proper mood-setting date spot.

 To start, we each sampled a glass of Canadian Cave Spring Riesling, which was a pleasant sweeter white wine. I appreciated the fact that it wasn’t overly sweet, with a very mellow finish.

For our meal, we decided upon the Orduevi Appetizer Platter and the Sultan’s Sofrasi Assorted Sampler to share. Chef and owner, Yuksel Gultekin, prides himself on his daily fresh-made dishes that are prepared as a rule, from scratch. Most of the ingredients used, such as the olives and olive oil, are authentic and imported from Turkey. My only issue with the items on the menu was that the layout of the menu was a tad confusing the way it was organized, though I appreciated the fine selection offered.

The Orduevi Platter at $27, consisted of stuffed mushrooms, jumbo shrimp, ground beef flat bread, yaprak and pastirmi sarma. Everything was delightful, but I particularly loved the Yaprak and Pastirmi Sarma. Yaprak reminded me of cabbage rolls, but made with grape leaves wrapped around rice (and sometimes meat), and the pastirmi was a similar kind of roll, wrapped in a crispy meat. They were absolutely phenomenal with delicious flavours, and pleasing texture.

Finally, we received the Sultan’s Sofrasi Assorted Sampler, and I was blown away with the size of the platter. It was meant to be a full meal for two, consisting of yaprak sarma, humus, and a grilled meat collection of chicken, swordfish, meatballs and lamb. Baklava for dessert, is included in the price of $84. If we had only ordered that it would have been certainly enough for two people, but as it was we had plenty of leftovers. I appreciated the entire array of meat included, but especially adored the meatballs and lamb-as they were well-cooked with an exotic taste. The dips that came with the meal were a wonderful accompaniment, and I was highly impressed with everything. 

Lastly, the Baklava was probably the best I’ve ever tasted, it had a perfectly flakey exterior and sticky, sweet layers-topped with pistachios.

We finished off our filling meal with genuine Turkish Coffee, served in a traditional Turkish style tea set. I have tried Turkish coffee before, and find it to be very dense and espresso-like, with a somewhat nutty taste. As you near the bottom of the miniature cup it becomes grittier in texture, and there is a semiformal fortune-telling ritual that essentially consists of flipping the cup over onto the plate where it stays until it is cool and ready to be read.

All in all, I had a fantastic experience, and I felt everything was perfect from start to finish. The service was impeccable, our server was properly attentive without being overbearing, and I was also very pleased that we continuously had our water glasses refilled without any prompting. The food was high-quality, authentic and well-made, with generous portions for the prices. I had a lovely time, and would highly recommend anyone to try out Sofra!

Narayanni's Fusion Restaurant

I was pleasantly grateful to have the chance to try this exotic little Indian/South African fusion restaurant located just off of Whyte Ave. This family-owned restaurant enticed me to visit and savor their new lunch buffet that has been in effect for just the last couple months. They've been open for dinner successfully for the last 6 years, but have only recently begun offering a lunch option to the public for a very reasonable price of $12 per person. 

The fantastic key point of interest regarding this type of fusion is the blend of ethnic cuisine. The mixing of Indian spices and taste with South African flavours and European influence contrives a "cuisine that is delicate, flavourful and healthy, without the redundancy and heaviness of traditional Indian cooking." This peculiar restaurant prides themselves on their food being popular vegan, vegetarian, and celiac-friendly with "no MSG, no preservatives, no artificial flavouring or colouring, non-cream based sauces, as healthy as it is flavourful and delicious."
 

Right away, after I walked in, I was impressed with the immaculate cleanliness of the restaurant. While the exterior may not be much of a looker, the interior was spotless and the ambiance was suitable and pleasing. They were extremely accommodating and friendly, ensuring my companion and I felt warmly received.

I had the fortuitous opportunity to try the specialty chai tea made from a secret concoction of homemade spices and healthy ingredients. It was both delightfully rich in flavour and yet pleasantly soothing, and I enjoyed it immensely, though it is an additional cost. However, I highly recommend it as it is well worth the try, and upon my next visit I will definitely try the pistachio flavoured chai which sounded surprisingly intriguing.

Another additional option is the roti. I adore roti, and though I always will order roti canai as an appetizer at any restaurant that offers it, this roti did not disappoint. It had the perfect blend of firm pancake texture combined with a pleasing outer flakiness, and I was very much in approval. 

Now I readily admit I'm not at all an expert in vegetarian friendly restaurants, but I always attempt to be open-minded and genuinely love trying new interesting foodie spots. So I wasn't too sure what exactly to expect from the main courses, but the choices available certainly appeared appetizing once I perused the buffet.
  

There was a number of options available, and I ended up selecting to try the Braised Kale with Cabbage, Dhal with Zucchini, Chicken Curry and Basmati rice. Not surprisingly, the Chicken curry was undoubtedly delicious; I love curry, and this dish did not disappoint. The chicken was not dry at all, as sometimes it can be, and the curry taste was zesty with a distinctive spicy kick. As for the Dhal with Zucchini, it was cooked to an appropriate tenderness, very saucy; I enjoyed the rich sauce on the Basmati rice. The Kale and Cabbage I found to be surprisingly extremely tasty, subtly well-seasoned with an appealing crunchy texture. As far as vegetarian dishes go, I was pleasantly surprised to find them genuinely likable. 

Dessert offered that day was a rice pudding, and I had enough room to try a bowl. I have to say, it was phenomenal. It was perhaps the most savory rice pudding I've ever sampled, and the spices used were flavourful and aromatic-similar to the chai tea. The texture of the rice in it was cooked to perfection, and it was a heavenly finish to a well-balanced meal. 

The lunch was a favorable set of well-prepared options that balanced each other out very nicely. I was admiringly appreciative of the options, and each dish was individually delectable. The only thing I would wish for would be to have a few more options, such as a greater selection of dishes containing meat, but understandably a lunch selection would not be as varied as dinner, I would imagine. Also the food options change regularly, depending on the day in question the menu ranges a fair a bit. I would certainly return and partake in the dinner buffet without a doubt in future.

All you can eat: Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse

I've been to Pampa probably half a dozen times, if not more, and I gotta say-I love that place! It's a fantastic spot to go for lunch: it's downtown, it's convenient, and it's all you can eat so you'll be full for hours afterwards-thanks to that amount of protein. For lunchtime it's $24.95 per person and you get the unlimited option of 5 different types of meat and free reign at the salad bar. That's a pretty great deal, and well worth the money.

 

Dinnertime is good, but a bit more expensive-although you also get more meat. $49.95 per person gets you the option of 10 different types. Personally, I've always eaten at Pampa for lunch as I feel like it's a much better deal, and realistically 5 types of meat is still a lot. You can only eat so much, and 10 definitely seems mouth-watering, but also a bit excessive. 

It's downtown so being centrally located it is convenient, as I stated, but I'm not going to lie-parking is kind of a b****. If you work downtown like my usual "lunchtime Pampa" companion then it is a great place, and I always see plenty of business people that work in the area there on their lunch break.

When you arrive a server takes your drink order (and they always charge you for plain old water that anyone could get out of their tap-which kind of irritates me) but anyways then you grab your salad bar food and you're good to go! I believe you can also have the option of just eating from the salad bar, and no meat, for $16.95 if you're a vegetarian. Though why you'd come here if you didn't eat meat I have no idea-but there you are.

So basically then you turn your little dot on the table over to green, and this signals the guys with the meat (haha) to come around and offer you a selection.

At lunchtime you get the choice of rump steak, top sirloin, pork loin, chicken legs, and pork sausage. 

  

Personally I really enjoy the rump steak, top sirloin and the pork loin. The sausage tastes a bit too strongly of cumin for my preference, and chicken simply isn't my favorite. Soon enough, they start bombarding you with food and then you need to turn it back over to red so they'll let you eat in peace, until you decide you're ready for more, of course.

 Afterwards, the server meanders around with a plate of desserts, trying to tempt you into feeling like even more of a fatty, but generally you're so full by this time you can actually half-heartedly refuse. Although the desserts are pretty good here too and almost as delicious as they look, admittedly.

All in all, it's a great experience. Fantastic place to go for a lunch date, or with some friends, or even a big party. Would recommend it to anyone that loves meat and can eat a lot!

 

Buchanan's

I always like to try new restaurants when I go out of town, and Calgary always has great little foodie places I've never seen or heard of before. I've always liked Calgary, I used to live here before when I was young, and I often go back. On my recent trip I found this family-owned restaurant that was in a nice area downtown, very close to the hotel I was staying at. 

This spot intrigued me, it had pretty good reviews and I generally enjoy dining at family-owned restaurants because I find them unique, and there's something comforting about home-cooked meals that appeals to me. I made reservations, but since it was later in the evening that was apparently unnecessary as it was pretty dead. However, the atmosphere was quaint and the service was phenomenal.
 

The wine was great, served generously and taste samples were offered easily, which impressed me.  I ordered white wine, and it was delicious- not too dry or too sweet. Granted, I'd already had a few drinks before arriving at Buchanan's, but I was very happy with the speed and efficiency of service here as opposed to the previous restaurant I'd come from.

The complimentary bread was like a biscuit that looked like a muffin and even though it wasn't warm-it was delicious. Probably the best biscuit I've ever tried. I didn't expect it to be so good, and it was a pleasant surprise that made me anticipate my meal favorably.

 
 

I ordered crab cakes to start with and they were a very tasty appetizer. They were very crab-meaty and the sauce was awesome. They weren't the most crispy perhaps, but overall were nicely made, if a bit on the pricey side at $16. 

For my main course I ordered the "Buchanan Special" off of their feature menu and it consisted of bacon-wrapped pork loin medallions, mashed potatoes, and roasted spring vegetables with pineapple salsa. It was fantastic, the bacon was extremely yummy, and I was informed it was cooked in real maple syrup. The plate was awesome, my only complaint being the potatoes were passable-but not up to par with the rest of the plate. They tasted like they were those fake, instant mashed potatoes you get when you eat mediocre catered food, and they probably were.

Otherwise, I had an awesome experience. The service was distinctive in its excellence and the food and drinks were all very enjoyable. Drinks, and appetizer, and a main course came to around $70 so it's definitely a bit of a fancier dinner spot, but I loved the atmosphere; it's a great place to go on a  dressed-up date or for a nice dinner party.

MEAT

 

On the weekend I went to MEAT for the second time, luckily was able to get a table right away, although not on the patio like I was originally hoping for. It was a gorgeous evening though, and the patio isn't especially large so that's to be expected in all fairness. Obviously, this is the kind of place vegetarians and vegans should stay far away from, as they specialize in the stereotypical manly man's type of meal- smokehouse barbecue meat, bourbon and beer.

 

 The restaurant is right off of Whyte Ave, in a trendy area, so parking always sucks, but it's definitely in a appealing location to walk around and explore. The sign outside on the side of the building many seem to find (me included) fairly amusing. 

 

The menus are very limited. There's few choices for drinks, and nearly all contain either Bourbon or Whiskey, so be prepared! I ordered a "Lynchburg Lemonade" which I was informed was one of sweetest, or most girly-ish drinks that they offered. I have quite the sweet tooth and so I found that drink to be quite strong, with Bourbon overtaking any potential sweetness in it. Don't come here expecting Cosmos and Martinis is all I can say for that!

 

 

 For the meal we ordered the Smoked Meat Feature, which was basically a little bit of all the meat so you could try a bit of everything. As for sides we decided on the Brussels Sprouts and Potato Salad. The food comes out on large group platters as it's intended to be communally shared by everyone at the table. 

 The portion was fair for the price. It was around $60 for the sample platter of meat, and that is definitely more than enough for two people. It was likely enough for three or four even, depending how hungry the people in a group are, of course. I did enjoy the brisket and the pulled pork, they were my favorite items of the meat selection, although I did find it overall to be somewhat dry and the flavours were decent but not outstanding. 

There are bottles of homemade sauces on the table that are offered to be added to the food, but my intention was to try the meat as is, before adding other sauces and flavorings. Whenever I may come back, eventually, I do plan to try the sauces, although I'm not a big BBQ sauce person overall, admittedly.

In my honest opinion the best part of the meal were the sides. The Brussels sprouts and Potato salad were phenomenal. They were fresh, well-made and very delicious. I enjoyed them much more than the main attractions, and I'm a big fan of meat-especially BBQ.

 

I'd say overall the experience was adequate. The prices are fair, but I wish there was more selection and the food is satisfactory but not stellar. For Edmonton, it is pretty good overall and definitely a different experience than most are used too so I'd recommend trying it. If you want top-of-the-line smokehouse and BBQ meat though-go to Texas. The best meat I've ever had from that type of genre was in Dallas, Texas-hands down. But if you just want a different, fun experience that's in the city-give MEAT a try!