cities

Surrounded by the historic sandstone walls of the Thomson Bros. block in the heart of downtown Calgary, Hyatt hotel guests and local business folk meet and greet over eggs Benedict, waffles or selections from a long breakfast buffet. Tables are discreetly spaced for private meetings and the coffee flows freely from 6:30 a.m. every day. Calgary’s an early rising city.

The woody, chophouse tones of Buchanan’s draw a suit-and-tie crowd from local law firms, petro industries and from the southern office of the provincial legislature. Tuck into top-grade Alberta beef or great West Coast seafood and catch up on the goings-on. Retire to the outstanding Scotch bar and plan the next campaign over a dram of single malt.

It’s dark and discreet when you want it to be or splashed with sunlight under a skylight view of the Calgary Tower. This is the place for discussions and celebrations, or to enjoy the passing crowds. Historic sandstone and exposed brick can do that. So can the fine contemporary cuisine, its excellent service, and its stellar wine list.

Whether in the stylish, high-ceilinged, black-on-black Rush lounge or in the lushly decorated Rush dining room, diners return time and again for chef Justin Leboe’s locally sourced (Innisfail carrot broth, Fort Macleod pork), globally inspired (lobster-coconut bisque, calamari fricassee) cuisine. And to catch the tone of Calgary’s hottest new restaurant.

With a full makeover and a new modern seafood menu, Catch is back on top of its game. Chef Kyle Groves uses Ocean Wise yellowfin tuna, Digby scallops, rainbow trout and an ocean full of seafood to satisfy any fish fan’s palate. Stay on the main floor for a casual oyster bar lunch or head upstairs to the bright dining room for the full Catch experience.

With wine bars all the current rage, check out Vin Room on the busy 4th Street dining strip. Nestle into the main floor’s bright New World room or slip upstairs to the quieter Old World room. With over seventy wines available by the glass, you’ll find something to sip. Stay for dinner: Kai Salimaki’s wine bar menu pairs well with the wine.

On a sunny day you can sit by the pool but with winter in the offing it’s best to cozy-up inside with an apres-work cocktail. Situated in the boutique Hotel Arts, Raw Bar is smooth and stylish as silk with its starlight ceiling and wraparound banquettes. And don’t be afraid to stay for dinner. The Pacific Rim-influenced food’s not raw either.

Calgary’s first – and Canada’s third – restaurant to land on San Pellegrino’s top restaurants in the world list, Rouge is undoubtedly one of the best. Its historic, park-like setting, its Victorian-house dining rooms, and its elegant “cosmopolitan” cuisine by Paul Rogalski and Michael Dekker make it a winner. Try the chef’s tasting for creativity and freshness and watch as the chefs run out to the garden to pick your dinner.

It’s tiny, it’s cosy, it’s intimate, and chef Jeff Park is only a few steps away in the open kitchen. His seared scallops on a torchon of pork belly and his braised bison short ribs slide seductively over the palate, paired perfectly with wisely selected wines. And if one thing leads to another, book a room to go along with your table.

Stroll to the newly refurbished Central Memorial Park in the Beltline and the new Boxwood Café. Have a seat at the bar, along the park-facing window counter, or at the communal harvest table and enjoy rotisserie meats, hearty-grainy salads, wines by the glass, and satisfying desserts. Run by the River Café folks, Boxwood is committed to local and seasonal and maximum tastiness.

Firmly ensconced in the new Casel Marché development, Cassis Bistro features partners from Aix-en- Provence and Brittany, a chef from Paris and food as French as you’re likely to find this side of the Eiffel Tower. Skilful preparation of duck confit, moules marinières and steak frites fills the casual, lively (as in loud) 40-seat space daily.

Michael Noble, twice Canada’s representative at the Bocuse d’Or and the first Canadian to compete on Japanese tv’s Iron Chef, has come home to open his own place – NOtaBLE. Combining regional ingredients with global inspirations, Noble brings panang curry-sauced halibut, rotisserie meats, spinach salad with pickled strawberries, Sylvan Star gouda, and speck ham to a non-stop parade of happy fans.

The new kid on the block has all the right moves – sleek, dark tones and wraparound windows in the hyper-cool lobby lounge, goose down duvets, Frette linens, wireless internet and windows that open in the guest rooms. Quebec’s Groupe Germain has brought their sense of hospitality to the West in this sparkling, 143-room hotel in the heart of Calgary. In-house dining, including a delightful continental breakfast, is provided by the hot new Charcut restaurant. Staying for a while? Check out the top-floor loft-style apartment suites.

Step into the lively Piq Niq Bistro and head to the back – after a nice dinner of duck confit or moules et frites, of course. Then head downstairs to the surprisingly spacious confines of Beat Niq and the best live jazz in Calgary.

Anchoring 30,000 square feet of the sparkling new CORE shopping experience downtown, Harry Rosen’s Western Canada flagship store sprawls over two floors. Featuring six stores-within-stores, it carries everything from denim and cufflinks and an immense shoe selection (TD Square, Stephen Avenue and 2nd Street SW). And in the latest expansion of Chinook Centre, a great new Harry Rosen shop features all the lines of the downtown store for the stylish suburban shopper (Chinook Centre, 6455 Macleod Trail S).

+15 level Bankers Hall

People often choose their dry cleaners on the basis of convenience, but there is a hierarchy of quality in terms of the way garments are treated. A well-made garment that is cared for in a careful and professional way will last longer and feel and look better. We believe it is worth going a few extra blocks to find a dry cleaner that is better equipped to deal with top-quality garments.
We also recommend that you dry-clean your garments infrequently (usually once a season); spot-clean and press if dry-cleaning isn’t required. To better care for your clothes, hang them properly between wearings, using broad-winged hangers. Don’t wear a garment two days in a row: giving it a day off allows natural fibres to hang out properly, restoring shape. Ask for no starch when you launder your shirts, to prolong their life. A properly made dress shirt allows for slight shrinkage over a number of launderings. Usually an extra half inch is added to the neck and sleeve length of a shirt to allow for this shrinkage.
 
If you are a Canadian dry cleaner operating in this market and feel that you should be included in this list, please contact us and give us an opportunity to test you out.

Head to the Bow River and join the throng on the pathway through the city.