| If executed well, the transformation of one restaurant into another should make it difficult to remember that any other business once resided there.
The interior designers of the new Bistro Twenty Two Ten did such a convincing job that the cult following of the former Mortal Coil would cry every time they looked through the windows during construction. No longer a moody, velveteen lounge with a purple, swirly wall, the new restaurant wears a contemporary look with a colour palette of espresso and cream.
There are tables of four, banquette seating upholstered in pinstriped grey, and a spot to be seen and to see everybody – a slightly raised, semi-private area with two tables of six. Suspended above it all are two wiry chandeliers with lights that resemble champagne flutes. There’s more air and natural light in the space now and the intimate 44-seat dining room feels like a hip Toronto bistro, which is a good thing.
The owner-chefs are Alexandra Chan and Jason Armstrong, who met each other at Teatro and then worked together at Buzzards and Bottlescrew Bill’s Restaurant. "It was an awesome experience," says Chan of her time at the cowboy cuisine eatery. "Every time you’re on TV, you’re a testicle connoisseur." Here, their menu showcases contemporary Canadian cuisine, which they make a point of sourcing from local suppliers whenever possible.
The pre-dinner items feature a roasted apple and curried parsnip soup ($6), seared East Coast scallops in a burnt orange reduction ($10) and three fantastic salads. The warm endive salad ($9) is a colourful, textured dish of sweet and crunchy candied walnuts, creamy St. Augur blue cheese and pieces of pear in a sherry gastrique. Equally delightful is the red and golden harvest beet salad with a goat cheese mousse drizzled in a light maple vinaigrette ($10).
The menu changes often and, the night we visited, the entrées covered all culinary bases, from a vegan risotto, to a potato-wrapped tuna, to seared duck breast in a maple-orange reduction. As well, three flatbreads feature such appealing toppings as roasted chicken, pine nut and fig jam; roasted pear, St. Augur blue cheese and caramelized onions; and Alberta buffalo, roasted portobello mushrooms and smoked mozzarella.
A highly lauded entrée at the new Tribune restaurant and at Vintage, where they serve a seafood version, risotto seems to be the dish of the moment in Calgary. Here, it derives its wonderful colours and flavours from the grilled portobello mushrooms, orange squash, arborio and lentils in a roasted red pepper coulis ($19). It’s a perfect soul-warming meal on a cold, dark winter’s night. The free-range Quebec Cornish game hen ($24) was cooked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection in a subtle fireweed honey glaze and accompanied by buttered new potatoes.
The food presentation was beautiful and didn’t sacrifice portion sizes for the sake of artistry. We finished our meals without feeling either overly full or the slightest bit peckish. Our waiter was knowledgeable of the menu and provided friendly, excellent service, although a couple of my friends mentioned they’d experienced slow service during their visits. I’m sure this four-week-old restaurant will be ironing out such wrinkles.
Embraced by the scent of rich espresso beans upon our arrival, we ended dinner with cappuccinos, dipping our cherry-filled biscotti into thick foam and relaxing to the soft sounds of jazz and world beats. Admittedly, it was a crime to pass on dessert – chocolate pâté with vanilla poached pear ($10), pumpkin tart with maple sour-cream mousse ($7) and the Janice Beaton cheese plate with frozen grapes ($14).
A hip, mature bistro with excellent food sans attitude, Bistro Twenty Two Ten is a fabulous addition to Calgary’s restaurant scene.
Bistro Twenty Two Ten is also open for lunch from Tuesday to Friday. It is located at – you guessed it – 2210 - 4 St. S.W. Phone: 228-4528. |
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