February 17, 2026
Welcome to Issue 120 of Elizabeth Chorney-Booth's local food and drink newsletter
I was in Dublin this week, eating delicious things at restaurants like Library Street
Hello and welcome to issue 120 of Who’s Hungry, Calgary?, a little food and beverage newsletter written by me, Elizabeth Chorney-Booth. Every week I run down some delicious things I’ve come across over the last couple of weeks and do the occasional deep dive into whatever I may be craving.
This will be another short-ish edition. I spent the last week eating my way through Dublin in celebration of the UK/Ireland Michelin awards, which were announced there last Monday. You’ll be able to read all about it later, but for now, trust me, Irish food is much better than its reputation would suggest. I know Ireland is a popular destination for a lot of Canadians and going there was really a dream come true for me. I’m already plotting a return trip (especially once those seasonal direct flights start up again). And yes, I did eat plenty of potatoes and drink lots of Guinness but also had tons of beautifully prepared seafood and Irish cheese and other delicious things.
But all this means I haven’t been eating much in Calgary and with Valentine’s Day most of the restaurants have been too busy to launch much new news, but I’ve got a few things to share before next time.
New(ish) restaurant alert: Foxtrot
Foxtrot, the new restaurant at Spruce Meadows, opened way back in October, but with opening at such a busy venue with the holidays approaching and some changes to work out in the kitchen, they didn’t do much in the way of promotion until just recently. I knew Matthias Fong — known for his excellent tenures at Primary Colours and River Café — had taken over as chef, but he’d also asked for a little time before media came barging in.
Anyway, the restaurant is great. If I’m being honest, even though I knew everyone involved is a restaurant pro, I was expecting something more country club-y with good but not particularly interesting food. Well, I was wrong. The theme here is a lot of wood, fire, and smoke (it’s all the rage these days, you know) and Matthias and his team are using these methods in interesting ways to create beautiful and complex dishes.
I had the crudo, which is a bit of a fish of the day situation since they only serve what they can get in fresh and Matthias improvises on the preparation to match both the fish and what’s in season. You are never going to go wrong with whatever he does here. I also tried the burrata, which is prepared like a Scotch egg (i.e. encased in sausage) and is a really fun dish. For mains, I sampled both the dry-aged duck (with pear, endive, celery root, fig mustard, and macadamia) which was earthy and warming as well as the charcoal roasted sablefish.
The sablefish: I feel bad getting so jazzed up about this because sablefish prices fluctuate and it can get so expensive that restaurants have to take it off the menu. As it is, this one is $51. But if you are a sablefish lover, it’s worth every penny because this is one of the best dishes available in Calgary right now. They serve it with caramelized yogurt and celery root puree, kale and charred cabbage, grapefruit, and a hazelnut crumb and I know this sounds a little wacky, but the experience is like eating the best savoury ice cream sundae. The fish is rich and creamy, the yogurt/puree acts like a sauce that mingles with the nuttiness of the crumb while lending some real depth, and the grapefruit (perhaps the cherry on top?) adds both a fruitiness and a balancing bitterness. It is absolutely sublime, I almost cried, and ate the whole thing despite many other things on the table. Plates like this remind me why I do this in the first place. (Apologies for the over-effusive praise — I ate this thing two weeks ago and still can not stop thinking about it… and that’s even with having eaten at a two-star Michelin restaurant since).
Oh, and the room is cool and cozy and looks right out onto the horse jumping ring. I wish I lived closer.
Brioche by Avitus pop-up
The gang at Brioche by Avitus over on the outskirts of Marda Loop will be hosting the chef from Bèou Bistro in Avignon, France for a culinary residency that will stretch from February 18 to 28. Chef Marie will be bringing in a fresh taste of Provence to brighten up the rest of our February (and it looks like Calgary is being a terrible host by greeting her with some actual winter weather). Of course, the wine at Brioche is always great (and always French).
Chef Corbin hard at work at Ugly Duckling in Victoria
Deane House hosts Vancouver Island Collective
It is indeed collab season: Deane House is also bringing in some guests for a special dinner on March 4 that promises to be one for the books. This one will feature Deane Hose chef de cuisine Jessica Stapley and Kristen Livingston from sister restaurant River Café as well as guest chefs Warren Barr and Lily Verney-Downey from Pluvio in Ucluelet, Oliver Kienast (and sommelier Brooke Fader) from Wild Mountain in Sooke, Tracie Zahavich and Ross Bowles from Fox and Monocle in North Saanich, and Corbin Mathany from Ugly Duckling in Victoria.
Now… any dinner at Deane House is special, but if you recognize any of these restaurants you’ll know why this one is going to be a doozy. I haven’t eaten at Pluvio (I know, I know) but it’s generally regarded as one of the best restaurants on the west coast. Calgarians may also recognize Zahavich and Bowles from their time at some of Calgary’s best restaurants — Bowles is the former head chef at River Café, and Zahavich served as pastry chef at both River and Teatro. And I have actually eaten at Ugly Duckling in Victoria: Mathany’s food is incredible and this is a good chance to see what he does. And obviously, Stapley and Livingston are hometown heroes.
Tickets for this one are still available on the Deane House website and go for $210 pp for a multi-course dinner plus canapés. Wine or non-alcoholic pairings are optional.
Hot Chocolate Fest update
We’re well into this year’s YYC Hot Chocolate Fest, which is one of my favourite local events of the year. Not only does it raise money for Calgary Meals on Wheels (you can read a column I wrote about it in the Herald last year) but I love seeing people who really get into it, drinking a hot chocolate every day and posting about it all on social media. Plus, who doesn’t need a treat now and then this time of year.
Since I was away for almost a week I’ve only tried a few (and plan to catch up with as many as I can manage before the end of the month) but I’m going to throw my current endorsement behind Pie Junkie’s coconut cream pie hot chocolate, which not only had really good toppings (I love coconut, plus there was a full cookie on top of it) but the hot chocolate itself was really rich and luxurious. Keep an eye on my Instagram to see what others I try (and I’ll keep an eye on everyone else’s!)
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And that friends, is it for me. If you want more you can read my full list of columns in the Calgary Herald or give me a follow on Instagram. And please share this far and wide with your friends — Calgary is such a great food city and the more people write/talk/share about it, the stronger it gets.
Talk to you soon,
Elizabeth