The plan for this week was to eat at Laroosh. Unfortunately, we picked the one day that they were closed. Once again, we were left driving around aimlessly in NE Calgary, looking for a place we hadn’t reviewed.(matt)
Why, oh why can't we just go out for a curry, and find one on our first try. Is it really that hard to pick a restaurant, drive to it, and get food. Evidently yes. Especially if you've systematically excluded 99% of the restaurants in town. This flowchart gives you an example of the thought process that we go through when picking a restaurant to review. Of course reading a flowchart is much faster than driving all over this sprawling mess of a city so you still may not feel our pain. (ren)
(Curry Selecter ....in honor of the british ska band, The Selecter)
Our first solution was to check out the Hindu Society of Calgary. However, when we located their “clubhouse”, it was obvious that respecting the religious freedom of expression of others was more important than satisfying our desire for curry. Plus, it didn’t really look like a food service operation. Unlike busting in on a group of cabbies at the airport and demanding curry, we would have just looked like jackasses in this situation.(matt)
Do we have any Hindi readers out there who know if this place actually serves food, and whether or not Matty and I can eat there? We found it via a Calgary Health Region restaurant inspection report, so they must have some type of kitchen facility.....but we don't know anything else about it. (ren)
Next on the list was a restaurant call Shaya, which despite the name turned out to be a rather generic soup, sandwich and catering business. Following this, we made our way back towards the Curry District towards the Emerald Palace, which we never found, but crossed it off our list when it was assumed to be a Chinese restaurant. (matt)
Drifting towards the curry district is always a safe plan when we're stumped. Even when we haven't heard of any new places up there, it seems like there always is at least one. This time I had a bit of an ace up my sleeve. I'd previously visited Lovely Restaurant and Sweets in the fall with a friend, and had been saving an official review until Matty could come along. (ren)
Frustrated, we took a timeout. Plus, I needed cash from the Castleridge TDCanadaTrust. While I used the ATM, which had the odd odour of hockey equipment, Ren perused our list of potential curry leads. Somewhere between me nearly passing out from the B.O. scented ATM and me walking back to the car, Ren remembered Lovely Restaurants and Sweets in the old Kohi Noor location. We decided to check it out.(matt)
 Kohi Noor had been one of my favourite places for takeout, however my satisfaction with that had never quite carried over to the dining-in experience. They had been a tiny "hole-in-the-wall" type place before switching over to the "new" location a few years ago. I don't think business ever quite picked up enough to make up the difference in rent between the old spot and the current home of Lovely Restaurant and Sweets. Hopefully the new owners could make this location work. There's a lot of competition in the neighbourhood, so the going is tough. Too bad they couldn't have spread out a bit more. How many times have I been asked "where's a good place to get Indian food" by some poor sucker who lives in the far northwest, or south end of Calgary? Six times. Actually....lots more than that. It's good in a way though. At least you have a pretty good idea that if you walk into any of the establishments in the "curry district" you're in for a treat. Competition breeds excellence. Think of any small town in Saskatchewan. They have exactly one chinese food restaurant. Do you think it's any good? (ren)
If you’re reading this and looking for a good curry experience, the first thing you should do is check out this restaurant’s website. If you’re looking for a place that is all about food and nothing about establishing an online presence, look no further than LRS. The generic “Your Photos Go Here” template is enough to give it my dodgy curry stamp of approval. Really, what great website doesn’t have stock photos of cold cuts, cheese or crème caramel?!? (matt)
 The best part about the website, is that it shows that the people who run it are even more behind and lazier than Matty and I. (Mostly me to be honest). We visited the restaurant 3 months ago, and are just posting the review now. But the website is still the same. Of course, they're expecting this website to help drive business and contribute to them making money. Matty and I don't get paid for this hobby of ours at all, and until we do, we'll do the damn reviews at our own damn pace, thank you very much. (ren)
After the website, the second thing you need to know about this restaurant is that it’s fully licensed. The third thing you need to know is that no one orders a Gin and Tonic or “Double Crown Royal on the Rocks” at a curry house. If you do, you’re a jackass. That being said, I strongly considered it for comedic value, but stuck with drinking from one of the large pitchers of water abundantly positioned throughout the empty restaurant.(matt)
Other things you could do at the restaurant to be a jackass include, but are not limited to.....
- Burning tables
- Comparing anyone wearing a turban to a smurf
- Duct taping your server to the wall
- Ordering your meal while using a horrible fake Indian accent
- Ordering your meal while using a horrible fake "Native" accent
These are just an outline. There are many other missteps you could take. Be careful out there folks. (ren)
 Based on Ren’s previous experience in this building (ie. when it was Kohi Noor), we decided it would be wise to try the samosas. I don’t know why we thought this theory was valid. Really, for all we knew, it was under completely new ownership and the samosas would be horrible. But they weren’t. They were very good; being served covered in a warm Chole (chickpea) salsa. We concluded that Lovely Sweets and Restaurant is haunted by the “Samosa Ghost of Kohi Noor”. And also by Cold Cuts.(matt)
The old Kohi Noor samosas were monsters. Simply gigantic pastries full of potato or ground beef and spices. Generally a teensy bit greasy, but so so good. These maybe weren't quite as big, but they were still excellent. And the chole was a nice touch. Made it a bit messy to eat with your fingers, since the samosas were covered in sauce.....but definitely worth it. (ren)
As we waited for our mains to arrive, we bantered about sport, women and politics. Not necessarily in that order and not necessarily at the same time; although that did occasionally occur. For example, the debate about who would win a Jai alai match between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Margret Thatcher, was particularly intense. Eventually, politics won out and we reminisced about the good times we had with our former neighbor, Lindsay Blackett, now a Conservative MLA. It was concluded that he is probably just a figurehead for Ed Stelmach’s “Look everyone! I’m not a scary redneck from rural Alberta who hates Calgary or visible minorities” agenda. We further concluded that if Mr.Blackett ever tried running for the provincial leadership, the party would soon have him back in Calgary coaching Tuscany’s Novice Soccer team. (matt)
 I'm so out of touch with politics that I lived two doors down from the man for 5 years and had no idea that he was on any ballot.. Seemed like a nice enough guy though. Generally my rationalle for voting is that I immediately exclude any candidate that phones me at home or knocks on my door. This has resulted in me voting for the laziest, least deserving man in every election since I became a homeowner. Luckily most of the population has a slightly more rigorous screening technique so my vote is generally absorbed into the abyss. Democracy at work!!! (ren)
Our food arrived. I had ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala while Ren went with Fish curry. They do not skimp on portions when it comes to serving size. My dish was loaded with onions, peppers and massive pieces of Chicken Tikka; all piled into an oversized baked pasta dish, reminiscent of countless childhood experiences at the Sutherland Venice House in Saskatoon. The sauce was spot-on. Ren’s fish curry seemed pretty decent and the naan and rice were in good form.(matt)
 The fish curry was pretty decent. Like many a fish curry before it, it was possibly a bit runny, however still very enjoyable. If not for Matty's CTM (not canadian tire money) I would have been the happiest man in the restaurant. His dish was excellent. Even if he wussed out and didn't eat it all. (ren)
Half way through the meal, it became obvious that the curry was going to defeat me. With every bite of the chicken, my stomach became more and more full; until the moment came when, like a wounded soldier in the forests of Bastogne, I keeled over clutching my abdomen to prevent complete evisceration. Luckily, we were the only diners in the restaurant.(matt)
All in all, a pretty decent meal. Definitely an improvement over our dining-in experiences at Kohi Noor previously, and one that is deserving of your "Curry District" business.
We paid for our meals. As we were leaving, the staff running the sweets counter burst into laughter. I wondered whether they were sharing an inside joke or if I was the brunt of the joke because I had been dominated by the curry. Dominated or not, it was still very tasty and I’d probably order it again. As we left the Westwinds Industrial Park, we passed a couple pushing a baby stroller through the snow. I wondered if the child would be Alberta’s next heritage or finance minister.
Lovely Restaurant and Sweets scores a 9/10.
Not at the restaurant
- Kirk Kerkorian (Former owner of the MGM Grand)
- Rona Ambrose (Conservative MP)
- St. Mark the Evangelist (Namesake of Venice’s Main Piazza)
Rating:
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