| Walking by the empty space that used to be The Green Mango on Stephen Avenue had piqued my curiosity over the past few months. "Ooh, a supper club!" I thought. "Something new!" Ignoring the fact that downtown Calgary has zero vibrancy past seven p.m., I was optimistic.
Blink Supper Club aims to join the ranks of the Divino’s and Mercury’s of our city. Taking on a similar decor and price list of its counterparts, Blink adds one new twist – on Friday and Saturday nights after 9:30 p.m. the dining room morphs into a dance club where a DJ spins house, jazz and top 40 remixes.
Supposedly, supper clubs are all the rage in metro cities like New York and Montreal, but I wasn’t interested in this theme on the quiet, frigid Tuesday night I visited. I was there with high hopes for great food.
The bubble burst as I perused the menu that consisted of your usual Calgary contemporary fare, meat and pasta dishes. Chilean sea bass, pork tenderloin, veal and of course, beef. Yawn. Where’s the innovation?
There were pretentious aspects of Blink that vexed me, too. Immediately after being seated, we were asked if we wanted "sparkling or still?" Our answer was "still" as there was no other choice offered. Out came the one-litre bottle of Evian that came to a whopping $11 on the bill. An up-sell? Classy. Had I known, I would have ordered another $10 cocktail.
So what of the food? Let me point out that it is fine, it just isn’t unique. There were no chef’s features that night, so we started with the crab and scallop Blink sea cakes made with an in-house pesto ($12). They were quite tasty and offered a pleasant spicy zip. For the main course, I chose the pork tenderloin wrapped in wild boar bacon with a grainy pear Dijon butter sauce ($28). The tenderloin was overcooked, dry on the inside and charred on the outside. The vegetables that accompanied it were also too charred for consumption. I expected much more out of the $30 dish, to say the least.
On the night we visited they were out of both their lasagna and eggplant wrap, so my colleague had the "Jewels of the Sea" dish that featured a medley of fresh mussels, prawns and scallops tossed in a lobster anise bisque served atop a bed of linguine ($28). Finally, a great dish – fresh and aromatic with a lovely and vibrant bisque.
Our server was friendly enough until the point we decided we didn’t want any dessert. No more add-ons to our $150 bill made for a curt end to the meal. Sadly, I’ve gotten used to rude service in this city. But I wonder – when did it become unacceptable to only spend $150 on a meal? No wonder this country has an obesity problem – it’s because we are made to feel bad for not ordering more at pseudo-hip restaurants.
Were my expectations set too high on the night I visited Blink? Maybe. Perhaps they weren’t having the best night. Then again, the experience has haunted me ever since, prompting me to ask if the bar is set too low for Calgary’s dining scene.
Blink is located at 111-8th Avenue S.W.; phone, 263-5330. |
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