Eat Well: #abcsofyyc #mugshotz

ABC's of YYC (Week 13: M)

Mug Shotz
12, 2808 Ogden Rd SE

Similar to how we stumbled upon Longview Steakhouse, Mug Shotz Grill and Bar is rated best wings in Calgary and has been for multiple years.  So many flavours to choose from, so we picked some classics as well as the adventurous sounding flavours.

Mug Shotz Salt & Pepper

These reminded us of salt and pepper squid served at Chinese restaurants.  It had great flavour, super moist and the skin is oh so crispy.

Lemon Pepper

This one was unfortunately super salty, but the chicken was moist!

Louisiana Garlic Parmesan Suicide

The skin was quite soggy rather than the crunchy texture we were used to.  The flavour was still great, but the texture threw us off.

Suicide

Great level of heat where you can still enjoy the flavours in your mouth.  The topping of diced peppers was delicious!

Whiskey Maple Bacon

The sweet flavour of the maple was balanced out by the savoury bacon bits and also had a nice hint of whiskey.  There was so much bacon!  A unique wing flavour.

Honey Hot

Honey was definitely the star of the show, yet it was not overly sweet and was balanced by the chili.

Ginger

We all took a chance with this because the server suggested this flavour to us.  It reminded us of ginger beef and was surprisingly delightful.

Mug Shotz Salt & Pepper Suicide

The same deliciousness as before but with some heat added.  We found we liked these better then the regular salt and pepper wings.  This was unanimously the favourite flavour of the night,

Greek

So much flavour!  These were so good and thankfully not too salty like the lemon pepper.

Overall, all of the wings were juicy, plump and delicious.  There are a ton of flavours to try and we enjoyed the majority of them.  Mug Shotz definitely exceeded our expectations.  This place gets really busy, so we suggest you go early!  

Enjoy!

Eat Well: #abcsofyyc #maruju

ABC's of YYC (Week 13: M)

Maruju
919 Centre St N

M week!  We definitely had to go to one of our favourite sushi places, especially after a long morning at work.  We've heard good things about the ramen and we were really excited to try it.

Deluxe Assorted Sashimi- Chef's choice

MMMMM the shrimp was so good, just like the one we had at Japanese Noodle House.  Sadly, there was only one again *le sigh*.  The salmon was quite flavourful and tasty.  All of the pieces were full of flavour with great consistency.  Maruju is one of the few sushi restaurants where John can enjoy his sashimi without wasabi.

Tonkatsu Ramen- with chashu and egg

The broth was creamy yet light with a nice hint of heat from the chili powder John added.  The egg was at a nice soft boil and deliciously runny in the center.  The chashu had a great sear and tasted amazing due to the balance of fat vs lean meat.  John could always use some more fat though hehe.  The noodles had a wonderful consistency which complemented the simple and clean broth (Simple and Clean from Kingdom Hearts was playing in the background).  Overall, it was a bowl of ramen that was easy to eat served with delicious toppings.  

Hurricane Roll- avocado tempura topped with crawfish and salmon salad

The roll was presented in a simple yet elegant manner.  The toppings were quite tasty, but the creamy avocado blended with the rice which made the roll seem heavy and rich.  This roll had a very unique flavour profile that we have yet to experience.

Baked Oyster- John's favourite :)

Oh man!  Big juicy oysters.  These are the reason we love coming to this place.  The oysters are cooked and seasoned perfectly.  Tons of flavour from each bite.  There was a perfect balance of acidity from the Japanese mayonnaise. There was a light crunch from the toasty exterior.  It's also great that it was not overloaded with cheese like a lot of places considering John is lactose.

As per usual, loved the sashimi here and we became giddy children when we saw that they had their Baked Oyster!  Come get em while they're hot, because they're not always on the menu.  The ramen was delicious and we are glad that we gave it a try.

Enjoy!

Eat Well, Learn Well, Feel Well: #themapplechips

Apple Chips

An excess of apple and a mandoline calls for apple chips!  I got the recipe off of Nom Nom Paleo's cook book "Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans"

5 large Fuji Apples, cored and cut horizontally with a mandoline (approx 1/8 inch thick)

2 tsp Ground Cinnamon...or more... much more like I did

Preheat your oven to 225F (convection oven)

Ensure your racks in your oven are spaced evenly.

Place your slices on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  I had about two cookie sheets full.  Dust with cinnamon... violently....

Bake for 1.5 hours in a convection oven, if you do not have the convection option, about 2 hours.

Flip them halfway through.  Turn off the oven and leave the chips to fully dehydrate.

Once they've cooled, store them in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Totally want an apple corer... so the holes in the center were quite jaggedy from using a paring knife.

Love this contraption!

There was some fruit ninja going on in my kitchen.

Again, violently dusted my chips with cinnamon...

Ta Da!  Loveeee these!  I found that they were still a tad soggy, so I will definitely play around with the times more.  Nevertheless, they were still tasty!

Enjoy!

Love Well, Learn Well: #chubsxie

Chubs the Pug! 
@chubsxie on Instagram!

Week 1

This bundle of joy came into our home right after final exam season.  Just in time to de stress.  

 

This week has been full of joy, love and fun, and of course frustrations.  Lot's of carpet cleaner... and there was a lot of diarrhea.  We found that at first, he would find the most interesting places to sleep!

But he finally got the hang of it ;).

He also had his first vet appointment!  He's perfectly healthy.... a tad overweight. 

The love story of Chubs and Tobias the Bear <3. 

You poser.

The boys playing Clash of Clans -.-

Nom nom.

Zzzzzzzz

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The boys <3

Sweet dreams little one.

Eat Well: #abcsofyyc #sortof #longviewsteakhouse

ABC's of YYC (Week 12: L)... sort of

Longview Steakhouse
102 Morrison Rd, Longview, AB

John came across "The world's 15 best steak restaurants" a while back and found a contender from Alberta!  We have been wanting to come here for ages but never committed due to the fact that it's about an hours drive away.  What better excuse to come here then for "L Week" of our adventure as well as celebrating the fact that Kim has finished her exams for the semester! 

It felt like we walked into someone's home as we entered this lovely restaurant.  The place is filled with locals who seemed very passionate about the food.  The service is wonderful and they make sure you're well taken care of.  

Seafood Panache- seared scallop with shrimp in a bed of white wine sauce

The scallop had such a beautiful sear and was seasoned perfectly.  The shrimp was cooked perfectly as well and both were complimented by the light wine sauce.  The garnish of capers and onions provided some texture and expanded the flavour profile.  

Chausson d'Escargot- escargot wrapped in puff pastry 

It's been a while since we had escargot and we are sure glad that we did at Longview Steakhouse.  The escargot was cooked perfectly and served in a crisp puff pastry.  It was an interesting way of presenting the escargot which we have yet to experience.  The sauces were flavourful yet light, so very enjoyable.  They harmoniously came together enhancing the dish.  

Soup of the Day- chipotle potato soup (complimentary)

Mmmmmm soup!  The main dishes came with a choice of either salad or soup.  We were both drawn in by the description of the soup, which was delicious!  It felt heartwarming and the side of crackers made the experience nostalgic.  Some people crush their crackers super fine, but we like ours chunky.  The soup stimulated our appetites and made us even more excited for the beef!

One of the Specials of the Day- rib steak with prawn, jus and hollandaise; vegetables on the bottom

When the plate hit the table, John's mouth started watering due to the incredible aroma and just how beautiful the plate looked.  Wow, the beef was incredibly delicious!  The ribeye had a great amount of fat on it as any proper ribeye should.  The juices from the fat seeped throughout the meat and each bite tasted better than the last.  The fat also provided a pleasant smokiness.  The hollandaise and the jus paired perfectly with the meat.  The shrimp was delicious and the little bit of acidity from the hollandaise really enhanced its flavour.  Everything was just frickin amazing.  The portion was larger than usual, but John finished it all... it was too damn good to stop eating.  

Filet Mignon- AAA filet with demi glace/jus and bearnaise sauce served with vegetables

Kim's cut of choice.  The meat was delicious and the sauce was perfect with it. The cut was so  tender, thick and juicy.  The caramelization of the sear added even more flavour to the filet.  The vegetables on the bottom were at a pleasant softness.  The filet paired well with the wine and boy did this satisfy Kim's meat craving.

John got reallyyyyyyy excited.

Creme Brulee- warm custard with a thin layer of brulee on top

Always room for dessert... so all the desserts sounded great, but we had to settle with the creme brulee because it was one of the lighter choices.  Excuse what I said about settling, the creme brulee at Longview Steakhouse is amazing. There was a perfect level of sweetness with a light, warm and smooth custard that had a thin layer of bruleed sugar on top.

Yeah..... we both wish this steakhouse was in Calgary, or at least a bit closer.  The food was amazing and the service was superb.  We would literally come here all the time if we could.  A return trip is in the works due to their extensive menu that all sounded enticing.  We believe that this place is well deserving of being named one of the best steak restaurants in the world.  

Enjoy!