Mediterranean Cuisine Archives - Small Barrels Magazine

We’ve walked by Balkan Restaurant many times over the years while strolling up and down Banff Avenue. It’s always looked inviting, and the menu seemed delicious, but for one reason or another, we’ve ended up elsewhere for a nosh (probably walking by a little too early or just too late for lunch). This time, we decided the climb the little flight of stairs and have a leisurely lunch here – and it was great!

First of all, you can’t go wrong with the appealing Greek fare on the menu (here’s a sliver):

The interior is a lot more spacious than it might seem from the ‘hole in the wall’ positioning from the street.

High ceilings and lots of natural light, too – much more room than I expected. With large tables for big families and groups, and distinct sections in the dining room, there’s a lot more space than you’d think. Decor was fresh and interesting, too.

Granted, the height of the tourist season had ended, so the place wasn’t exactly hopping (lots of space to breathe and spread out on a lazy Friday afternoon in early October). However, several large family groups were sitting near us,clearly residents of Banff with children enjoying a half day at school. This is obviously a favourite place for those who live around here — and with good cause.

As I mentioned above, the menu is very appealing, family friendly – and of course, ‘feta’ friendly ;). I mean, who doesn’t love big cubes of briny feta cheese? We both had a greek salad (Horiatiki) for $17 – a heaping mound of luscious tomatoes, red onions, olives, cucumbers, peppers, and of course feta cheese and a lovely drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. We had it all topped with juicy morsels of marinated chicken for another $8. The salad did not make for an inexpensive meal, but it was a generous one. Probably could have happily split one between us.

Greek Salad with Chicken at Balkan Restaurant in Banff — Horiatiki with Chicken at Balkan Restaurant in Banff

We would not hesitate to stop here again for lunch and you should, too. (I have my eye on the scrumptious looking Dolmathes…)

Visit Balkan Restaurant in Banff, Alberta at 120 Banff Avenue. For more information, visit the restaurant’s website at www.banffbalkcan.ca or call (403) 762 3454.

Daniel Boulud’s Boulud Sud (NYC) is a restaurant located in New York City’s Upper West Side. It’s an easy five minute stroll from Lincoln Center where we were attending the opera (Turandot) later that evening. The show began at 8:45 pm, so we booked a very early dinner (5:45) in order to linger and savor as much as we wanted, and still arrive early at the Met to do a bit of exploring. Immediately upon our arrival we were asked if we were heading to a show (as most people in the restaurant at that time likely were doing). Though we had ample time, we appreciated the consideration and the excellent servers paced everything wonderfully.

Champagne to start the evening – our first official full day and night in New York. As we sipped, we drank in the lively atmosphere of the busy dining room. The open kitchen added to the dynamic feeling, but overall the the room had a comfortable, relaxed, elegant character. Our server soon brought out warm homemade foccacia bread and crisp chickpea crackers with a fruity olive oil for dipping. The chickpea crackers were brought out to accommodate my nut allergy – but they were delicious and addictive in their own right. (Excellent attention was paid to my dietary needs for every course – our server had intimate knowledge of every dish. Because of this, she was also able to steer us toward delicious options).

Homemade Bread, Chickpea Cracker Appetizer

The menu was colourful, promising fresh, interesting ingredients. There were many intriguing choices, so we decided to go in different directions for every course in order to try as much as possible. To start, I had the Spring Onion and Potato Soup with Whipped Goat Cheese and Dill Oil. Ohhh….this was creamy and dreamy, fresh and delicious.

For him – Gambas Al Ajillo, shrimp with red chili and foccacia bread. The verdict here was that it was pleasant but nothing to blow us away – my soup was better. Our least favourite dish of the night.

Moving on to the main course – there were non-fish options to be sure, (Chicken tagine, wagyu beef dish) but the Sea Bass and Daurade caught our eye. Our server nudged us further in this direction. suggesting these were the best items on the menu. I absolutely loved the Seared Mediterranean Sea Bass. Not only was the fish itself perfect, the accompaniments were so bright and interesting – heirloom carrots, clementines, and a saffron fregola sarda (Sardinian semlonina pasta – like a large couscous). There was a lightness about the dish, too (every dish, really), leaving me full but not weighed down in any way.

The Daurade a la Plancha served with Mejadra (a lentils and rice dish), eggplant tahini and pomegranates was gorgeous to look at as well as tasty. I hope it’s obvious from the photos, but the presentation all around was quite lovely.

Now, I enjoy sweet things but I much prefer to spend my appetite on the more savory courses of a given meal, sometimes even skipping dessert entirely. I’m so glad I didn’t miss out this time! This dessert was truly one of the best I’ve ever had: Mango and Cardamom Vacherin with yogurt (almost ‘meringued’ into sticks with a pleasant bite to them). I can still taste this unexpected dish now: it was an awesome mix of creamy, sweet, spicy (the cardamom!) and juicy-fresh from the mango. I wasn’t sure how the vacherin was going to figure in to all this, but what it did was add a slightly savory, tangy yet rich tone – like the exquisite taste you get with a bite of a great cheesecake. I don’t know where or when I’m getting anything like that again. And it was a work of art on the plate!

Speaking of art, for him – the Grapefruit Givre with Sesame Halva, Rose Loukoum, Grapefruit Sorbet. This was apparently the restaurant’s signature dessert. Served in the grapefruit peel itself, it’s certainly impressive to look at (but I think I still scored with the Mango/Cardamom/Vacherin number.). Within the grapefruit is nestled Rose Loukoum -tender morsels of Turkish delight and a lovely sorbet. This is truly creative cuisine unlike anything we’ve tried so far…

I of course must mention the interesting wine we selected with the help of our server (appreciated!). Making a choice with all the unique flavours and ingredients we knew were on the way was not easy, and we were glad for the help. We ended up sharing a beautiful bottle of French Chardonnay (Michel Gahier, “Les Follasses” 2015) from the Jura region in the east of France. It looked and tasted somewhat like a cider with that same sort of dryness – very different in terms of the Chardonnays we know. But we found it paired well with every course which was characterized by such a variety of flavours and textures.

We would highly recommend Boulud Sud if you’re in New York. And after a wonderful dinner, we were off across the street to the Met in plenty of time to people-watch and settle in for an outstanding performance…

Entrance to the Met – for Turandot (March 31, 2018)

Boulud Sud is located at 20 West 46th Street in New York City’s Upper West Side. Visit the website to make reservations, or go to www.opentable.com.

Balkan Restaurant – Banff, Alberta

Boulud Sud, New York City