Eating out is a lot like gambling: sometimes you win big, other times, not so much.
Just a few days after the completion of this year’s Calgary Stampede, we wandered down to the brand-spanking-new Stampede Casino, located on 12th Ave. S.E. There are three eateries located in the building: Bambu Noodle House, Grasslands Café and the subject of this review, the 1912 Bar and Grill. There is also food available at The Centre Bar, an aptly named lounge in the heart of the casino. If you join the casino’s free member rewards program, you can get a $2.99 players breakfast in the Grasslands Café. I’ll be checking that one out in the near future.
After being greeted by our waitress and grabbing our seats, we were presented with a menu that is simple, yet contains plenty of options.
For an appetizer, we shared the lemon pepper seared calamari, served with diced red onions, lemon and tzatziki sauce. While the pieces were cut thick and lightly breaded, they could have used a few more seconds in the deep fryer. The colour was not quite dark enough, but that’s not to imply they were undercooked in the least. A little less salt would have been nice, but overall, we enjoyed them, as there weren’t any left when the waitress came back a few minutes later.
For our main courses, my guest opted for the teriyaki salmon, served with jasmine rice, pickled ginger, scallions, toasted sesame seeds and seasonal vegetables, all on a crispy fried wonton wrapper. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the teriyaki sauce was quite nice. It was bright and tasty without being overtly sweet, as can often be the case.
I went with the 10-ounce New York sirloin of Alberta beef, topped with a pomegranate cippolini onion jus and served with seasonal vegetables. Within the vegetable mix were these amazing potato balls. Well-seasoned, slightly crunchy on the outside and nicely mushy on the inside, I thoroughly enjoyed the yummy balls of starchy goodness. My steak was cooked to order — medium-rare — and the onions were suitably caramelized. Sadly, I didn’t find much of a pomegranate flavour, although I did enjoy the dish.
For dessert, my guest picked the cappuccino mousse, which came in an edible miniature chocolate cup. My guest indicated that it could have had more coffee flavour.
I tried the lemon sorbet, served with fresh berries, and what an interesting dish it turned out to be. The sorbet came in a cone-shaped glass resting in a bowl filled with fragrant berries. While it was slightly awkward to lift the one bowl to get into the second, the novelty overcame this. The berries themselves were served in elderflower cordial and lavender syrup. While it was too aromatic for some, I enjoyed the balance of berries, flowers and lemons.
There are also pasta, burger, soup, salad and sandwich options on the restaurant’s all-day menu, and I’m told that a slightly more formal dinner menu will be launched in the near future.
While I can’t honestly say that I would seek out the 1912 Bar and Grill if I wasn’t already at the Stampede Casino, I would definitely incorporate it into my plans if I was heading down there for an evening of entertainment in the Big Sky Showroom, which brings in a good mix of live entertainment on a regular basis.
I’d say this time around, I went home a winner. Well, except for the $5 I lost in that slot machine, but that's a different story.
The 1912 Bar and Grill is located in the Stampede Casino, 421 12th Ave. S.E.; phone, 403-514-0900.
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