Thursday, May 15, 2008

Finally, Calgary gets something unique....

....translation - not a chain restaurant.

Today a friend who has a business in the midst of the new suburbia of Calgary told a group of us about a new pub / restaurant that opened nearby that we should try. So we piled into some cars and drove to Harvest Hills Crossing to eat lunch at The Flight Deck International Bar & Grill. I had seen this building while it was under construction and Darlene was convinced it was some kind of private airline club. Nay nay. This enormous facility is one of the nicest looking, open concept, two-floor restaurants I've seen in a long while. The ceiling is high and curved. The second floor has an opening in the centre to allow for gazers to look down upon the massive first floor area. There's a sunken floor in the middle that could easily function as a dance floor. A raised area beside has seating now, but seems perfectly suited for use as a stage in the future if they desired. (message to the owners: if you ever need a live DJ to set the mood during the late Friday or Saturday meal rush, call me) I never got to see the second level - it was closed, but believe me when I say this place is massive. There is space for outdoor patio space on both levels it seems, so this place has a lot of potential. But enough about the structure.

The food is typical pub fare with a little more depth in the menu. I had the pizza, which I chose to build-my-own and it was decent. Around me, I saw folks chowing down on 1/2 pound burgers, salmon burgers, pastas, salads, oriental noodle bowls, stuffed Yorkshire puddings and more. The guys found the burgers to be a little over-cooked (something I wouldn't mind too much) and the staff replied to the complaints with free fruit desserts for the group. We numbered 18. The place prides itself on a good variety of beers on tap and good wines too.

I saw enough good food to motivate me to go back. But I was most impressed with the sheer size of the place, the patio potential. Oh - did I mention there were 125 TV sets in the joint? Many of them the big 52" ones. Banks of them. Whoever received this restaurant's TV order must have drooled at the quantity. I am told that this place is owned by West Jet pilots.

Sorry - I've got no pictures of the place yet.

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