On a sunny Saturday afternoon, my boyfriend and I headed west to Canmore to fuel up at Crazyweed Kitchen before embarking on a mountain trek. I hadn’t yet visited its new space located at the tip of the town on Railway Avenue, and was looking forward to taking in its new look while sampling from the fantastic menu.
Arriving just after 1 p.m., we were whisked into a large, airy space featuring minimalist photography and an open kitchen. Seated next to a massive window, we noted that all areas of the new space have great scenic vantage points, from the sunny patio to an impressive and quiet view of the trains.
Having skipped breakfast, I was famished and dug into the menu with gusto. Crazyweed’s lunch menu is categorized by soups and salads, mains, paninis ($9), flatbreads ($15) and pizzas ($18). We started with two appetizers: the Malaysian hot wings ($14) and the grilled shrimp salad ($14).
The oven-roasted Malaysian wings, glazed with soy and ginger, were quite nice. They had a feisty habanero kick that delivered a tasty balance of spicy and sweet. Accompanied by the house greens in lemongrass vinaigrette with green apple, cucumber and avocado, the wings were a great start to the meal.
Jumping over to the grilled shrimp salad, I was astounded by how great it was. Set atop a lovely array of mixed greens, the perfectly coated leaves were flush with the fresh flavour of lime and mint. Tossed with vibrant diced mango and perfectly grilled hoisin-and-chipotle seasoned shrimp, I was in utopia.
It was the perfection of the salad that made up for the fact that all four of our dishes arrived at once. I had heard this complaint about dining at Crazyweed and hoped it was just a myth, but, alas, there was a traffic jam of dishes at our table — and nothing irks me more than staring at my entrée while starting an appetizer.
Shuffling plates, we moved onto the prosciutto panini ($9), an Italian-style sandwich made with organic tomatoes, Kalamata olives, basil, Brie and, of course, prosciutto. It was tasty, but nowhere near the calibre of the other dishes. My boyfriend and I both liked it, but felt that there was nothing extraordinary about the combination of flavours.
Our last dish from the mains portion of the menu was absolutely stellar. The Vietnamese pork meatball sandwich ($14), featuring spicy golden meatballs atop one of the tastiest house-made buns I’ve ever had, was dressed with greens, chile and lime. A standout dish: fresh and tangy with an innovative twist on a traditional favourite.
Crazyweed is a must-stop destination for anyone visiting Canmore — in fact, you should make a point of visiting regardless of proximity. With professional service and reasonably priced dishes, even if the timing goes wrong, you’re still making out like a bandit.
Crazyweed is located at 1600 Railway Avenue, Canmore; phone, 403-609-2530.
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