River Café

Prince's Island Park, Calgary, AB, XX - (403) 261-7670

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Posted By Michael Stern on November 2, 2002 3:48 AM

Calgary is Canada’s cow town. Home of the annual Stampede – Canada’s #1 Rodeo – it is a place where ten-gallon hats and belts with saucer-size trophy buckles are standard attire, and where Alberta beef commands respect no less than beef in Texas. One of the best places to eat that beef – as well as all sorts of other great food – is the River Café on Prince’s Island Park. The restaurant boasts that it offers regional woodfired Canadian cuisine, meaning it is regional, modern and delicious.

Its location in Prince's Island Park itself is a magical, accessible only by foot, bicycle or skates (no cars); and the restaurant, designed to look like a rustic fishing lodge, is a romantic destination with an open deck shaded by cottonwood trees. The menu is a broad one, serving an authoritative repertoire of Northwest cuisine, ranging from such exotica as stinging nettle soup and Alberta lamb paté to a beautiful platter of cedar-planked wild salmon.

What drew our attention as we walked towards the front door was the aroma of sizzling meat; in particular, we relished a strip loin steak that was firm, full-flavored and as satisfying as only grass-raised, grain-finished beef can be. To compare and contrast, we also sampled an Alberta buffalo rib-eye. It came with fetching horseradish emulsion; it was juicy and flavorful; but tasty as it was, we’ll return for beef every time. There’s a reason Alberta is famous for beef … not for buffalo.

Overall Rating

steak

salmon

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