New York Mama Calzone from Battista's Calzone

New York Mama calzone #yegfood

A photo posted by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Sep 10, 2016 at 4:19pm PDT

The annual Kaleido Festival brought me to 118 Avenue where I had supper at Battista's Calzone. I had the New York Mama, which I have always wanted to try. The balls of meatloaf had a slightly smoky, rich flavour and was smothered in cheese and marinara sauce. The crust is really a star here too - crispy and solid enough to hold up to the filling without disintegrating. It was an all-beef delight and extremely hearty. Comfort food at its finest - I am already fantasizing about my next trip to Battista's.

Small Plate Sampler at HALO

I was seeing a friend off at the Edmonton International Airport this week, and we decided to enjoy some pre-flight drinks and dinner at HALO Bar and Bistro, which is located in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel. I had a sampler platter, giving me a choice of three of the menu's small plates. The chicken pot stickers reminded me of a similar dish I get in another restaurant/bar I frequent - nothing really unique. The green onion chicken was two skewers of chicken breast deep fried in a crispy batter with green onion. The green onion flavour really did not come through - I expected more of a green onion cake sort of batter - and the flavour and texture was sort of a "fish and chips" kind of thing, making the aioli they were served upon go well with them. The star of the plate was the Alberta prime rib meatball slider, which was a dense, perfectly-cooked meatball in a fresh bun with slaw. I found that while the green onion chicken was hot, the other items had some temperature inconsistencies. Overall, for the price, I was not blown away by the food,e ven though I really liked the atmosphere of the place itself.