Bang for the buck, I’d say Briggs is at the top of my list of restaurants here in Calgary. Awesome food, awesome service, and very fair prices! We’ve been twice and we both enjoyed everything we ordered (except we thought our wings were too charcoaled the first time we went – see my review here: 1st Briggs Review). I have a friend who loves it too, and has tried way more on the menu than I have.
This time around I had purchased a coupon through TravelZoo for 1 shared appie, 2 entrees, 1 shared side, and 1 shared dessert – all for just $59 (promotional value $83). It was tough to decide on the shared dishes because there were so many that looked great, and so many have been recommended to me by my friend.
In the end we decided to get the Paella to share, I had the Steelhead Trout with Barley Risotto, Jay had the Beef Short Rib with Hashbrown, we shared the Red Beets & Pistachio with Feta Cheese & Mint, and for dessert we chose the Warm Chocolate Pot with Pecan Brittle.
Jay’d never had paella before (say, wha?!?) and he thought it was amazing. And it really was. Now I have to find a way to make it at home! But seriously, the rice was flavourful and fluffy, the seafood was tender, the peas were crispy and there was a little bit of crunch on the chorizo just for some texture. I think it was just like paella should be. When I told the manager I had ordered the trout he indicated it was his favourite dish on the menu – ‘it was well balanced’ he said. And, yes it was. I’d never had barley risotto before, and it was quite nice. But the best thing about the dish is that I got 2 large pieces of fish! It was a very large serving of very good food, for just $24! To get that dish at a fancy place in Calgary, expect to pay $35-$40. And it seriously was so good that any fancy place in Calgary would be happy to have it on their menu!
The beef short rib was very good – fall off the bone and tender. Jay thought it could have been a tad more moist, but he said he’d go back just to order the dish again, so that says a lot. The hashbrown potato patty was crispy and well flavoured – it definitely complemented the tender beef. The red beets were surprisingly delish. I never would have thought to combine beets with pistachios, feta and mint – but they worked well together. Jay scraped up the remaining beets because I was so full. I’d like to figure out how to make these at home too.
Perhaps the most memorable was the dessert, and not because I love chocolate desserts, but because it was surprisingly delightful. It was light and creamy – not rich and heavy like some chocolate pots can be. The hint of pecan throughout the dish was to die for. If you’re a dessert person, you must try this!
We can’t wait to go back and try everything else on the menu. One of the servers was so passionate about the chef at Brigg’s and the food here – being awesome food for a good price – he told us he followed the chef from the last place they worked together, over to Brigg’s. Being relatively new to Calgary and the food scene here, I’m not up on the chef’s and where they’ve worked… but I thought the story was pretty cool. It’s nice to have loyalty these days…
Until next time!
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