When you’re in a place for a couple of months and the only thing you’ve cooked are a couple of chicken breasts for salads, and a pound of
old hamburger to make nachos…oh, and scrambled eggs twice, you’re bound to find yourself
in a place where a full meal—or one that you have to wait for—is not what
you’re looking for.
When this happens, it's time to head out for a quick
bite—other than ice cream, which is fine for a meal too. Especially if it comes
from Made
bv Marcus.
So even though I said I wasn’t going to chronicle the fast-ish food route, I did head out to a few independent eateries on the Red Mile during
this time. And they should get a little
shout out too, I think:
Tuk Tuk Thai, 636 17th Avenue, SW: Quick Thai
takeout (there are a few tables); drinks can be grabbed from a bisected
tuktuk. Containers are fun—shaped like
lotus blossoms, they open to form a perfect eating container. I had Massaman curry with rice (I learned
that dish from the visit to Khao San Thai Kitchen) and it was great. I also had some Tom Yum soup that was a
little thin; that said, I added the leftover coconut rice to it for lunch the
next day, and it was delicious.
Manie’s
Greek, 819 17th Avenue, SW: Ducked in to
Manie’s for a chicken souvlaki sandwich and Greek salad as Manie’s is the only independent Greek place on this stretch of 17th (there is a chain shop down the street, but I can get that at the food court at work). The chicken was tender and the meal
was good. A little pricey, but pleasant
chatting with the waitress on a quiet rainy evening while waiting for my
dinner.
Soby’s
Mediterranean Eatery, 1131 17th Avenue, SW. I knew about Soby's because my friend Shirley often uses them for catering when she has a party. They offer a range of middle Eastern specialties, from hummus and tabbouleh to shawarma and absolutely fantastic sweets. I had my standard donair--spiced beef in a pita with sweet garlic sauce..and instead of lettuce and tomato and onion, I just get a scoop of tabbouleh and I'm good to go. Really nice people, and excellent food--highly recommended!
King’s Chinese, 1050 17th Avenue, SW. For Calgarians, not to be confused with King’s Restaurant of Wor Won Ton fame, but an excellent place for a combo platter dinner (fried rice, ginger beef—for which they are apparently known, according to the sign on the window--and veggies). Fast, friendly service, reasonable price for lots of food.
Soby’s
Mediterranean Eatery, 1131 17th Avenue, SW. I knew about Soby's because my friend Shirley often uses them for catering when she has a party. They offer a range of middle Eastern specialties, from hummus and tabbouleh to shawarma and absolutely fantastic sweets. I had my standard donair--spiced beef in a pita with sweet garlic sauce..and instead of lettuce and tomato and onion, I just get a scoop of tabbouleh and I'm good to go. Really nice people, and excellent food--highly recommended!King’s Chinese, 1050 17th Avenue, SW. For Calgarians, not to be confused with King’s Restaurant of Wor Won Ton fame, but an excellent place for a combo platter dinner (fried rice, ginger beef—for which they are apparently known, according to the sign on the window--and veggies). Fast, friendly service, reasonable price for lots of food.
Kim Anh Vietnamese subs, 626 17th Avenue, SW:
Love this place! Had a beef satay sub,
which was tasty…and a coconut slushy milk with "bubbles" in it. If you don’t know what this is….don‘t ask
me—neither do I. What the hell are those
little chewy things in the drink, and why the hell are they BLACK? Strangely
good, but weird nonetheless. One of
those unanswered questions of the universe, I guess. Nice people and great service too!
Adana Shawarma and Grill, 1013 17th Avenue, SW. This was one of my first "quick bite" stops; I got back to the neighbourhood late, I was tired and hungry and just wanted something fast. Adana is just a couple of doors down from Marcus, just around the corner from the apartment. I had an overstuffed chicken shawarma--roasted chicken carved off the rotisserie--on a pita with garlic sauce, lettuce, tomatoes..and a tiny bit of hot peppers for a kick. Decent, and a nice guy behind the counter. Filled the hunger hole for sure.
Scrollio Rolled Ice Cream, 1107 17th Avenue, SW: Ok, another ice-cream-for-dinner-or-whenever place. This place is fabulous—great guys working the counter, they take you order and actually make the ice cream right before your eyes! Using a frozen griddle-type disk, they pour the ingredients for your order onto the griddle (I had coconut milk, pineapple and macadamia nut), and they chop at it and mix it until it starts to harden. Then they roll it into little scrolls and put it in a cup. Really, really good. Really.
Clive Burger, 736 17th Avenue, SW: One word for
this place: fabulous! Great service,
friendly staff, excellent burgers, and OMG good milk shakes made with a custard
base (I had cherry…sooooo good). The burgers are fresh and excellent, and I was
sad to leave a few fries, but I had to—the portions are that big (and that was after just a small shake and a single burger.
Will definitely make the trip down to 17th to come back for
Clive Burger. 5 stars for these guys!
So...it just goes to show you that you can go the sit-down route or you can take it out....there are no shortage of original eats on the Red Mile.
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