When I started traveling heavily after founding The Royal Tour, I made a promise to my nephews. (They are actually the children of my best friends, but have been family to me since they were born.) When they graduated high school, if they wanted to and if they were still nice to me – neither a guarantee for an 18 year old – I’d take each of them on a trip somewhere.
Well, this summer, the first graduated, and lived up to his end of the being nice bargain. (Yeah, dude, you’re pretty awesome, and I’m proud as heck to be your “uncle” even if you don’t use the term anymore.) So about a year ago, we began talking about where he might want to go. He gave me a bit to work with. He wanted to go hiking somewhere pretty, preferably international, and he wanted to eat good food.
So I searched for places that could pair those wishes, as well as the 4-5 day timeframe we had and my budgetary constraints having not yet won PowerBall. (It’s coming. For sure it’s coming.) Ultimately, I decided on Banff for the hiking component (click here to read about Banff) and two nights in Calgary for the food.
Why Calgary? Well, if you were to poll most people about Calgary, they would probably lead with one iconic thing about the city: the Calgary Stampede. This huge event, held every July, honors the region’s beef industry. Alberta beef is a thing, spoken of alongside some of the best in the world. And since my nephew enjoys a high-protein diet, I figured exposing him to some truly amazing steak would fulfill that second criterion I was given. And while we weren’t going to be in town for the stampede itself, we could still enjoy some of the best beef that a city made famous by it could provide.
Alberta produces about 40% of the beef in Canada, although a large percentage of that is exported. Herd size seems to be about 3 million, and, according to the Canadian Agriculture Ministry, is characterized as open-range grass fed, supplemented by barley. Does this have a drastic effect on taste? To be honest, I don’t know. But a shockingly large percentage of the 1.3 million tons of beef produced here annually is regarded as prime. And judging by the plethora of high-end steakhouses offering only local meat – even up to local wagyu – one can’t argue with that sort of labeling.
I, of course, was flying blindly when trying to pick two spots for us to try our Alberta beef. So I did what I hope most do: I supplemented my Google search with an email to Visit Calgary (I used their media team, but even without being a writer I’d always trust tourism associations on recommendations). I was looking for two different sorts of experiences, but both with top quality meat. Fortunately, both my research and their recommendations ended up with two clear front-runners: Modern Steak and Caesar’s.
Modern Steak is aptly named. It is modern, chic, minimalist. Every steak at the restaurant comes from their own herd, and that entire herd is bred by one bull. (They even have wagyu from, as they say, “a date he had with a Japanese girl.”)
Our meal began with a hand-written graduation card for my nephew and, since while he was 18 and legally able to drink he chose not to, a complimentary series of non-alcoholic drinks for him. (They were training a new bartender, so I don’t believe this was done totally for us. And they had no idea I was a writer.)
And then it was time for the beef. Steak tartare was something my nephew had never tried, so we got that. Then he had a ribeye and I had top sirloin.
It’s hard to describe just how amazing a good steak is. I’m not a huge meat eater, but even I smiled through every bite. And the grin on the kid’s face was something you just had to see.
(It’s also worth mentioning that Modern Steak had easily the best Brussels sprouts side I’ve ever had.)
Caesar’s, on the other hand, is a Calgary institution. If you want the epitome of an old-time classic elegant steakhouse, this is it. Red leather furniture, chandeliers, tuxedoed staff, and a glass-enclosed grill where you can watch your steak be prepared. (Servers took kids up to the glass on little tours, and it made me happy to see.)
This time, we began with escargots – kudos to my nephew for seeking out new foods he hasn’t tried before – before ordering our steaks. He decided on (with a bit of encouragement to splurge from me) the 20 ounce T-bone. I, on the other hand, chose to get my dinner with a show.
Caesar’s is that rare restaurant that still does tableside preparations of some dishes. My nephew wasn’t interested in the tableside Caesar salad, so I ordered steak Diane so he could have a different fun show at our table. Steak Diane is filet mignon sliced thinly, and flambéed with brandy, traditionally served with mushrooms. Our waiter pulled up a cart with a hot plate and the ingredients, and made it right there, complete with a whoosh of flame.
(My nephew loved it so much that we ordered cherries jubilee to have another flambé just for us for dessert.)
It is hard to compare these two meals, as experientially they were very different and we didn’t order the same cuts at each. Both were incredible, both featured wonderful service, and both were about $250 Canadian all in for the two of us. And I’d happily repeat either one. (It should be noted that my nephew decided afterward that he prefers lean steaks to those with more marbling, but that’s not a reflection on the restaurants, just something for him to remember for later in life.)
Alberta beef is some of the best in the world, and Calgary is the place to have it. Two amazing meals later, I know that I chose correctly, not only for these two restaurants, but for the trip as a whole. Steak is special, something I always associate with celebration. I can imagine no better way to honor a great kid on his way to becoming an even greater adult. Now knock ‘em dead at college!
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