May 26, 2026
Welcome to Issue 126 of Elizabeth Chorney-Booth's local food and drink newsletter
I could easily turn this into a local burger newsletter. This one is from Class Clown
Hello and welcome to Issue 126 of Who’s Hungry, Calgary? a little newsletter written by your friendly neighbourhood food writer, Elizabeth Chorney-Booth. Every week I try to guide you through what’s exciting me in Calgary’s culinary landscape so you too can enjoy the fruits of our food culture.
I’m actually writing this from a cafe in Toronto, where I’m hanging out for a couple of days to enjoy Toronto (and area stuff). Last night I dined at Restaurant Pearl Morissette, currently the top ranked restaurant in Canada for very good reason. I’m still digesting that one (physically and mentally) but I’ll tell you all about it soon (cough, cough, might be a good reason to jump up to a paid subscription for only $5/month).
But my heart is always in Calgary. Let’s get to it, shall we?
New restaurants alert!
Perhaps you’ve already heard about the new Stable Palms Club. I was there the other night, less than a week after opening day and the place was packed within 15 minutes of opening, so word is getting around fast. This is the new place from the group behind the Block BBQ restaurants and their companion bars Prickett Richard and Blue Rock Swim Club, which are all such impeccable concepts. But this is, I do believe, their best one yet. It looks and feels like a bar, but has the menu and kitchen of a real deal restaurant, which is a winning combination.
It’s located in the old Free House space (which I’m still probably always going to call the old Molly Malone’s) in Kensington, but they have transformed it in a way I didn’t think possible. I’ll get into all of this in a future Herald column, but the building will eventually house three concepts: Stable Palms, a tiki bar/Hawaiian restaurant upstairs that will open in June/another bar downstairs (I know what it will be but have promised not to tell).
But let’s stick to Stable Palms for now. It’s good. Really really good. I had a dill pickle martini while I was there which could have been more pickle-y to suit my taste but is probably just about right for everyone else because I’m a weirdo. zi also tried the Fistful of Dollars, which is a tomato negroni kind of thing and was really good. The food though, is also a star. I had grilled pears with hazelnut and brown butter (!), a lamb and sausage pizzetta (a puffy snack-sized pizza) and, of course, the burger.
Let me talk to you about this burger: beef, bun, cheese, soubise onions, pickles… all very very good. But the magic happens in the form of a scant amount of jus (bordelais, I think?) poured on the plate, which a halved burger is placed upon, cut sides down. So, it’s kind of like a French dip and a burger in one. Absolute genius, totally shareable and very tasty to boot.
Speaking of bars and burgers, Quarters is another (albeit sorta, kinda) new spot. This is the room formerly known as La Hacienda, owned and operated by the same crew behind Penny Crown. Here’s what’s changed recently: the name (duh), it’s taken on a rum focus (lotsa daiquiris and other fun things, plus some old La Ha classics), there’s a new banquette in there (comfy!) and a tunnel going directly into Penny Crown, which means you can get food as well as John Fairholm’s excellent drinks.
No… you can not cheat and get Penny Crown food in here, but there is a small menu and yes, it is prepared in chef David Leeder’s kitchen, which means it’s all outlandishly delicious. I basically ate my way through the menu the other night, starting with the French onion dip with house-made potato chips. I think these are the best chips I’ve ever had: light, crispy, not greasy. There are two sandwiches: a fried chicken sandwich and a burger called the Quarters Pounder (har har). Both are excellent — the chicken is a sandwich version of the fried chicken you can get at Penny Crown and the burger is a smash version of Penny Crown’s now famous burg. The menu might change if it starts to interfere with the main restaurant, so go in and get these right now just in case.
Some news:
-This is the last time I’m going to tell you: the Dog Days Hot Dog Festival is on now. Go forth and get those glizzies! (My kids are probably mortified I said that, but I don’t care. I love hot dogs, no matter what you call them).
-This is also the last time I’m going to tell you: Terroir is this weekend. Symposium! Dinners! Reception! Workshops! Get your tix now!
-You know those 3-D dining experiences they offer at The Dorian hotel? There’s a new one, called The Magic Table, taking over from where the Petit Chef left off. This one seems a little more grown-up and interactive than the original (I had an emergency and had to skip the media launch so unfortunately can’t speak to it firsthand). If you’re looking for a special dinner for a kid’s birthday or just want to do something different, this is a good option.
-Maybe you’ve heard that there was a criminal act of violence at Shelter a little over a week ago where chef Rich McLaren was badly injured. Rich, who runs his Knotted Roots pop-up as the bar’s food service, is a terrific chef, a nice guy, and has been an important part of our food community for ages. Getting hurt while trying to protect your friends, co-workers, and guests from an outside attack is terrible in any circumstance, but as a small business owner, having to take time off to recover is devastating. How can you help? Shelter has suggested folks can etransfer Rich some financial support at rmclaren6016@gmail.com and go support Knotted Roots once he’s back at it. The food there is absolutely delicious and if you haven’t tried it you need to go check him out.
What is up with perogies these days?
Okay, so I did have multiple burgers last week (I refuse to participate in any kind of local burger rankings/burger wars, but I do have to monitor what’s what around town, of course), but inexplicably, I also ate perogies three times in three different restaurants. After my Quarters adventure I popped over to Penny Crown to try Leeders’ perogy dish, inspired by the Ukrainian women who make up his prep team. These were whisper thin in a bright and buttery sauce, and absolutely delicious.
The next day I went to Denny’s for the launch of their new regional Grand Slam breakfasts and the prairie version featured… perogies. Thick and pan-fried, these were decent, but a completely different style than Penny Crown’s (I mean, obviously).
Finally? In Toronto yesterday we were out for brunch and there were perogies on the menu. I resisted, but my husband could not, so I gave one of his a try. Delicious. Are perogies becoming the new… whatever the last trendy foodstuff was? If so, I’m certainly not complaining.
Burwood Distillery partners with Lougheed House
I love a local collaboration. Burwood Distillery is launching a new gin formulated for the folks at Lougheed House, paying homage to the historical home’s beautiful Beaulieu Gardens. The Beaulieu Botanicals gin takes Burwood’s already delicious base gin and adds in rose petals and rose hips for a delicately rosy flavour. I know rose-flavoured things can get soapy under a heavy hand, but distiller Jordan Ramey is both a man of science and a man of the still and he knows how to get a flavour right. This stuff definitely tastes (and probably, more so smells) like roses, but the balance is right — thing of it as a gentle whiff of rosewater in your gin and tonic.
This stuff will be available at Burwood’s locations, but Lougheed House is also having a party on May 29 from 5 pm to 8 pm. Get your ticket to try some gin, it’s all a benefit for the Lougheed House Conservation Society
And that, my friends, is it for this week. If you want more, read my full list of columns in the Calgary (the latest is about Terroir) or this story I wrote about the history of the Shaft cocktail for Avenue. Give me a follow on Instagram too!
Talk to you soon,
Elizabeth