Food & Fitness; the Calgary Edition
As anyone who knows me will tell you, two of my favourite activities in life are fitness and breakfast (or brunch). I love trying new recipes, restaurants and classes no matter the city I’m in, so I decided to keep a running document of my favourite finds by location in case you’re looking for fitness and/or food as a local or while travelling.
Food
I am currently working in Calgary four days a week, so I have had the chance to try a lot of restaurants (thank you lack of kitchen). I was not expecting Calgary to have a lot of good finds, but I have been continuously proven wrong. Since I am there for work, I’ve been to lots of take out places as well as sit-down restaurants so I have split my recommends into two categories.
Quick Bites
Dirt Belly - Dirt belly is a salad spot, also located on the +15 in Brookfield Place. It has lots of amazing pre-set salads on its menu, or you can create your own - and the portion sizes are very big. They also have great smoothies, baked goods (including vegan ones), and juices. The only caveat I would say about them is that they are rather pricey for salads.
Hula - A great poke bowl spot with lots of customization options. They also have great (one of my two favourites I’ve ever tried - and I’ve tried a lot) in-house kombucha and something they call a lava, which is coconut milk over coffee from Deville. They are located in Brookfield Place on the +15 and are strictly takeout - though there is lots of nice seating around them in Brookfield Place itself.
Jusu Bar - Jusu bar is a great little plant-based cafe/juice spot in the +15 of Brookfield Place (again). They have amazing fresh pressed juices, delicious baked goods and also offer lighter lunch fare, such as sandwiches, salads, soups, and bowls.
Wise and Wright - Wise and Wright is another great salad/bowl spot where where they have lots of great preset options. Their options are a little heavier than Dirt Belly as most of their options have grains in them and unlike my other three recommendations, it is not located in Brookfield Place and therefore has its own space with seating. It is very popular, and can get quite busy, but I find that you get more for your money than some other places.
Sit Down
Blanco Cantina - This is a a little tequila bar and “Tex-mex” spot (their own description). With a casual atmosphere, it is a great spot to grab a bite and a drink with friends. As a bonus for me, they serve taco bowls as well as tacos (a personal favourite) and make great guacamole on the table right in front of you.
Big Catch - This is one of two of my favourite places I have tried in Calgary. It is an upscale sushi spot that features a lot of very interesting (and delicious) rolls and amazing sashimi. This is by far the best seafood/sushi that I have found in Calgary. It is located less centrally than the rest of my suggestions, but is definitely worth a bit of a trek.
Hayden Block Smokehouse & Whiskey - If you’re looking for BBQ in Calgary (and you should be), this place for you. It also has a sister restaurant called Comery Block Barbeque, which has a very similar menu, but without the large whiskey menu.. They serve meat (brisket, turkey, pork ribs, and pulled pork) by the half pound or pieces of chicken or hot link. Being a pescatarian, I haven’t personally tried most of their food, but I have been multiple times with meat eater friends who all loved it. I can say from personal experience that their cocktails, whiskey, and homemade BBQ sauces (I dipped cornbread in them) are all quite excellent.
Monki Breakfast Club & Bistro - Monki is a breakfast and burger spot with two locations in Calgary. I have only tried their brunch, but it was quite good (a bowl with eggs and grains) and offers a huge selection of hot sauces.
Ten Foot Henry - Ten Foot Henry is my second of the two favourite restaurants I have tried in Calgary. It is a share plate type of place, but don’t mistake that for casualness. It is beautiful inside with great service and would be great for formal occasions as well as for someone in jeans. They have a great selection of vegetable dishes (plus some great seafood and meat ones too) plus brunch on the weekends. I have only tried dinner there, but it was amazing. My favourite dish was their Spaghetti Pomadoro - and I don’t usually even like pasta. As it is a wildly busy spot, I'd highly recommend making a reservation head of time or you risk not getting in.
Coffee Shops
Deville - Deville is a local Calgary chain, which has multiple locations. They have great coffee, chai and baked goods all in a lovely aesthetic setting.
Monogram - This awesome little spot was introduced to me by a friend and has great coffee as well as their own delicious nut milk (a cashew/almond blend). It also has some delicious bars and, though I have not tasted any yet, their baking looks delicious.
Fitness
Calgary’s fitness class scene is not so well developed as Toronto or Vancouver’s, but there are still more than enough places to try. I recently signed up for ClassPass, so I’ve just started branching out more. The following are ones I’ve tried and loved to date.
Barre Belle (Barre) - This was my second time trying barre, and I will admit that I was prepared to be disappointed. My first time trying barre it was easy and I didn’t feel like I had gotten any workout. This definitely cannot be said for Barre Belle and, after trying it through ClassPass, I bought their two week intro pass and ended up going to 5 classes in the 8 days I was in Calgary. This is a great workout, both for strength and cardio and I would highly recommend giving it a try.
Barry’s Bootcamp (HIIT) - I have done a lot of Barry’s in Toronto before and the Barry’s in Calgary is much the same. If you haven’t done Barry’s, it is a mix between sprinting on treadmills and weights on the floor. There are usually 3 or 4 rounds bouncing between the two, and it is a great workout. I went when this location first opened and I will say that the classes weren’t quite as hard, but as I continued to do classes, they progressively increased in difficulty to a point where I believe you will get a similar workout to other Barry’s locations.
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (Dance) - This spot is actually a dance studio that has drop in classes. I went to an Intermediate Jazz class and it was much more modern than I was expecting. It’s a nice spot if you have previous dance training to get in a class, but I wouldn’t go specifically for a workout.
Hot Shop (Hot Yoga) - This spot is very popular and therefore quite busy - and they really pack people into the classes. Its a great spot if you’re working for a legitimate workout, as their classes (that aren’t yin) are fast paced and very hot - even for hot yoga. The classes are great, but I would definitely recommend showing up early and trying to grab a spot around the edges so as not to be sardine packed between two people.
Peloton - Coming Thursday
Rhythm Ride (Spin) - This spot is decent for spin, but is definitely not the best I’ve been to. The bikes and shoes are good quality, but compares to something like Ride Cycle, the additional details of the class were very mild. The graphics were weird, the formation of the bikes was odd, the lighting tried to be dark but wasn’t, and the graphics used were so over the top as to be tacky. That being said, it was cheap on ClassPass and the music and workout were good, so I would definitely go back if I felt like spin - at least until I find something better.
UNDRCARD (Boxing) - I have only ever boxed once before and I have to say, this class was a lot more fun. For beginners, getting the sequences right isn’t always easy (pretty sure I made some of mine up), but one you do, hitting a bag is quite cathartic. The class opened with shadow boxing, where you boxing sans glove with the air. We then but on the gloves and progressed to punching the bag and did some sequences. In the middle of the class, we stopped and did some strength stuff, such as abs and pushups etc. and then it was back to boxing with the bag and you’re done. This was definitely not the most physically challenging class I’ve done recently, but there were also a lot of beginners in the class, so I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and will definitely be going back.