It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas. It's time for Big Taste YYC! This foodie festival brings together Calgary's best restaurants and challenges them to create affordable set menus. We started Big Taste with one of our all time favourites - Blink.
While settling in, we ordered some bread. Oddly, the bread was an extra $2 on top of the Big Taste menu, but came out warm and was just perfect to finish off the soup from the appetizer and sauce from the main course.
Even though we were there for the Big Taste experience, we couldn't help but get tempted by their regular menu. We ordered one of their "snacks" - Croquettas made with manchego cheese and prosciutto. The server warned us the cheese was boiling hot - good thing we spend 10 minutes taking photos before we can eat! They were delicious!!! The cheese was creamy, smooth and filled each croquetta evenly. The prosciutto added a bit of salty balance, a bit of crunchy texture and a whole lot of awesome. Great start to our meal!
The first course was Split Pea Soup with curry oil and cilantro cream. We loved the curry flavour in this soup - it had a nice spicy kick to it. The cilantro cream reminded us of a delicious chutney - you know, the one that goes with Pakoras. The soup was rich, warm, smooth and comforting. A+!
The main course was Pork Shoulder, with baked beans, collard greens and rhubarb BBQ sauce. Our server gave us excellent insight into how the dish was prepared. They make their own bacon, which is featured in the baked beans. The juices and fat from the bacon (mmmmm...) are then added to the pork shoulder and cooked sous vide for 24 hours. The fat is expertly rendered, the meat is perfectly tender and the outside is deliciously caramelized. The rhubarb BBQ sauce was sweet, smoky and sublime. The baked beans were silky, smooth and a great accompaniment to the pork. The collard greens, a bit hidden under the baked beans, brought some freshness and balance to the dish. Overall, we were very impressed with a highly elevated southern inspired dish.
Dessert was a Sticky Toffee Pudding with butterscotch sauce. We have had this dish at Blink before, and we talk about it frequently! It's not something you'll easily forget. You can tell they use high quality ingredients in their dishes. The butterscotch sauce was not too sweet, and had a delicious hint of bitter from caramel and molasses. Perfection! The pudding itself was moist, warm and packed full of flavour. This is, and has been for a while, one of our favourite desserts in Calgary!
V's Final Word: I love Blink! Blink is our #1 spot for celebrations. We even came here for dinner the day P proposed to me (of course we celebrated our engagement with food!). This place has a special place in our hearts.
P's Final Word: I loved their elevated take on Southern BBQ, the flavours were spot on. One of the things we've also always loved about Blink was their plating, but this meal just didn't lend itself to the beautiful dishes we've come to expect from Blink.
Price Range: $100 for two Big Taste dinners, Grizzly Paw Ginger Beers, and the Croquettas to start.
Website: http://www.blinkcalgary.ca/
Address: 111 8 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 1B4