The Verve
(Familia il Ristorante)
Thank heavens it’s spring finally and NHL playoff hockey is again among us! Okay, so in reality it’s –10, has been snowing for a week and the NHL is long gone. Fear not however as the Hitmen are in and I’m here to tell you about another great Calgary restaurant! This month our travels take us to The Verve Restaurant where fine dining is the norm.
Located at 512 – 23rd Avenue SW in the Mission district, The Verve makes it’s home in an impeccably renovated old house full of soothing dark shades, intimate candle lit tables and high ceilings. It’s a great place for a night out with someone special yet still close enough to downtown to be accessible over the lunch hour or for an after work business dinner and drink. Parking at the back or covered across the street after 4:00 PM. is available at the Mission Center Parkade.
Once settled, we got down to the business at hand which was perusing the extensive wine list which has been voted the best in Calgary the past two years. We finally settled on a 2002 Casa Concha Merlot from Chile, at a very reasonable $45.00 per bottle. For a wine that received 90 points in the Wine Spectator, this is a deal. This proved to be a perfect accompaniment for the dinner that was to follow.
To start the evening off, we ordered the Boucanne Sea Scallops and The Verve Organic Mixed Spring Salad. The Scallops are three giant French-Style Scallops in the shell covered with a French Champagne white sauce featuring Shallots, Shrimp & Shitake Mushrooms. The Verve Salad comes with your entrée and is a mixture of Chick Peas, Pumpkin Seeds, Romano Beans, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Shredded Beets & Carrots…. topped with Feta Cheese. Almost a meal in itself!
For our main course we chose a 10oz. Rib Eye Steak served medium rare and a Stuffed Bison Tenderloin, also medium rare. The Rib Eye was served with an amazing Blue Cheese, Peppercorn & Wild Mushroom sauce along with Wild/Basmati Rice and Vegetables of the day. The Bison is a free range Tenderloin stuffed with Wild Mushrooms, Fre s h Spinach and Havarti Cheese, then covered with a Fresh Fig and Rose Hip Demi Glaze! A must try for any meat lover out there!
So at this point, what is left? Well, dessert of course! To finish off our evening, we sampled two Verve specials: Mango Crème Brule and Chocolate Caramel Pyramid. The Crème Brule is infused with fresh pureed Mangos while the Pyramid is a Bitter Chocolate Mousse with a molten Caramel center dusted with Cocoa powder. This you have to try!
Time for a quick coffee and another dinner is done. Now for those who wonder why I haven’t reviewed a NW restaurant yet, in the Verve I’ve come close as there is a sister restaurant in Kensington at 102 10th Street NW. As always I can be reached for comments or questions at sgourmet@telus.net. GO HITMEN!
The Verve
(Familia il Ristorante)
Food *****
Service ****
Price $17.00 – 36.00
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