Belgo Brasserie
French and Belgian influenced cuisine
It’s times like this that it becomes hard to believe that I have had the honor and pleasure of writing this for two years now. However as all good things must come to an end so must my tenure as the seismic gourmet. Due to a move off the continent it becomes difficult to write about places that most people can get to easily but hopefully there will be the odd guest column!
Anyway enough about me, what about the food! Belgo is one of the newest restaurants on the downtown Calgary scene and has been garnering some rave reviews and justifiably so! Located at 501-8th Avenue SW in what was formally the Big and Tall store, the people at Belgo have turned a retail store into an inviting and eye catching space full of rich wood, high ceilings and mulit-levels for dining or just hanging out with some friends. This restaurant is sure to become one of the must visits for taking clients to or for visitors from out of town.
But is the food any good? In a word, yes it’s fantastic! We started our evening with Sautéed Digby Scallops with roasted Corn & Langoustine Ravioli, Chervil Buerre Blanc plus the Belgo Trilogy of Duck. This consists of Sautéed Fois Gras with Spinach & Apples, Duck Confit Spring Roll with Shitake with 5 Spice Jalapeno Jelly and Duck Proscuitto with Mellon and Watercress. At this point I could have simply stopped a happy man but felt it my duty to continue with the meal!
With our main we ordered a bottle of Sirius Bordeaux, which can be found hiding on the “wines by the glass” list. Decanted this is a fine wine and is easily the steal of the list.
For our mains we chose the Butter Poached Venison Rack and the Dijon Roasted Lamb Sirloin Provencal. The former served with Sautéed Yams plus a Black Pepper and Currant Pan Jus while the latter is served with Yukon Gold Mashed Potato Dauphinoise with Tomato Tartar & Minted Jus. Now if this doesn’t appeal the menu is long and varied and sure to please. If not, then I guess I have been writing in vain for two years!
To round out the evening and our bellies we finished with the Caramel Cheesecake with Apple Rum Compote and Crème Brule Napoleon. Some coffee and another evening was complete. So if you find yourself wandering down the west end of 8th Avenue, be sure to drop into Belgo, you won’t be disappointed!
As this is the end of my tenure I would like to thank the recorder for the opportunity to write the article and hope that it has been an enjoyable read for most people. As always you can reach me at sgourmet@telus.net or alternatively at jim.ross@apachecorp.com. If you see a review from the southern hemisphere, you will know that I’m out there trying a new place!
Belgo
501 – 8th Avenue SW
Phone: 265-6555
Fax: 262-6166
www.belgo.ca
Food *****
Service ****
Price $28.00 – $42.00
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