These local restaurants just launched the coziest winter menus
Inspired by fresh, local ingredients these new winter menus at Yellow Door Bistro, Raw Bar and Oxbow feature innovative takes on cozy favourites.
Yellow Door Bistro
Yellow Door Bistro is always looking to put their spin on classic bistro favourites like the new cassoulet. A recurring favourite, the cassoulet (a classic French dish, the casserole, with slow cooked meat and beans) has always been on the menu, but this winter, it’s a play on ham and pea soup. There are still the split peas, but in place of ham, Yellow Door offers brined duck legs in a smoked ham brine and cooked with the peas.
Striving to source locally, Yellow Door Bistro works with Calgary farmers, like Deepwater Farms, to source the freshest ingredients. Using aquaponics technology, Deepwater Farms grows fresh micro-greens year round. Yes, you heard that right…you can eat locally grown greens, picked fresh on a snowy December morning! Want to learn more? Check out this article on Deepwater Farms.
For your next visit, Chef de Cuisine, Scott Redekopp suggests these dishes from the new winter menu:
- Appetizer: Our Chicken Parmesan has been an instant favourite.
- Main: Lamb Osso Bucco with beans fiasco is very interactive and pairs great with our craft breweries on tap.
- Dessert: Pastry Chef Ely Salar draws inspiration from warm and cozy flavours, which is perfect for Calgary’s winter. Try the Pear Gâteau, a combination of spiced stout sponge cake and fresh pear cooked with honey and the refreshing pear granita.
Raw Bar
Raw Bar offers creative cocktails and Asian-inspired cuisine inside Calgary’s iconic Hotel Arts. Raw Bar is introducing a bold take on the cheese-burger, with a Viet-modern twist: stuffed steamed buns (bao) filled with hamburger meat, bacon and cheese.
Chef de Cuisine Peter Paiva recommends these must try dishes for your next visit. This menu is likely to provoke FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), so get a group of friends together and order these plates to share.
- Tofu and Mushroom
- Bacon Cheeseburger Steamed Buns
- Tuna Carpaccio
- Korean Short Ribs
- Chicken & Bacon Wonton Soup
Great drinks to accompany these are The Legend 7 Pilsner on tap, the Montes Twins red blend wine from Chile. If you are looking for a Cocktail, try ‘From Paris with Love” which is the Raw Bar’s take on a classic Sidecar but with an apple syrup and a hint of lavender.
And for dessert? Don’t miss Pastry Chef Ely Salar’s Purple Yam Cheesecake. It’s beautiful to look at but your tastebuds will appreciate devouring it.
“Purple yam and coconut is my personal favourite flavour combination. It reminds me so much of the Filipino desserts that I ate growing up.” – Chef Ely Salar
Oxbow
Our new Oxbow Chef de Cuisine Jose Battad bends the perception of traditional dishes and creates comfort food favourites with an unexpected twist. Try Oxbow’s take on the chicken wing: a duck wing with fermented chili sauce, or their take on fried chicken: vegetarian fried maitake mushrooms. With a hyper focus on local, Oxbow looks to Canada, Alberta and Calgary to source ingredients such as Alberta honey, locally grown root vegetables, west coast salmon, and Alberta beef.
Chef Battad recommends these must-tries from the new menu:
- Appetizer: Baked Potato Gnocchi, a simple take on baked potato and cheese. This dish will be your new “go to” comfort food.
- Main: Of course being Albertan, I love the Beef Tenderloin and with the short rib pave
- Dessert: Pastry Chef Ely Salar’s desserts have a balance of traditional ingredients and innovative presentation. The Honey Panna Cotta is a simple and smooth panna cotta with caramelized Alberta honey paired with citrus to cut the sweetness of the honey.
