Milk Tiger Lounge, Calgary

Milk Tiger Lounge
Originally uploaded by Suzi Edwards

I've found a new favorite bar. It got off to a shaky start, but the meatballs with spaghetti on a stick brought me back.

I love anything on a stick. They even serve cheese wrapped in ham on a stick. What's not to like? I *heart* this place.

I love the 2oz pours and the "stick to the classics cocktail list." I love the fact that there's a tag rather than a sign outside. The eclectic music that makes me dance like Snoopy (or for Andree to do the running man). The doorman was reading "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" tonight. They know what I drink (a perfect Manhattan, in case you didn't know) and they serve the best freakin' waffles in the world.

Yeah. Waffles. With chocolate or vanilla ice cream, and maple syrup.

So tonight, we went for dinner at the Canadian Danish Club. And I happened to mention the waffles. And there was an unspoken moment of affinity across the table. We were going to eat the herring, and the salmon, and the shrimp tower, and drink the Riesling, and go and have waffles. It passed in a moment, like when you know you're going to kiss, or push that friend off a cliff in case they rat you out for the bacchanal you just had.

There's a prize if you name the novel I'm referencing. It will involve waffles and a Manhattan at Milk Tiger Lounge.

Milk Tiger Lounge is at 1410 4th Street SW, Calgary. Call (403) 261-5009. It's open until 2am, Tuesday through Sunday (edit: I didn't know the days of the week. Never blog when you've just got home from this place). It tends not to get busy until 10.30pm, so it's a great place for an early drink if you like to hear your date speak. But nothing beats a midnight waffle.

Sushi Man, Calgary

Sushi Man: Tempura Shrimp
Originally uploaded by Suzi Edwards

I'm still searching for truly sensational sushi in Calgary, but if my first visit is anything to go by, there might be some good stuff at Sushi Man.

I was in a noodle mood; feeling a bit peaky and not having been to the Farmer's Market for a while, I didn't have any stock at home, so couldn't make my own. I'd noticed this place a few times, and decided to give it a try.

The service was great; prompt and polite and the decor is much nicer than the outside suggests it's going to be. This looks like a real hole in the wall as you walk past, but actually it's quite fresh and Japanese modern inside.

The tempura shrimp (pictured) were light, not greasy at all, and if they didn't contain about a squillion calories, I'd eat them every time I visit. Even better was a steaming bowl of beef rib udon noodles, all slithery, slightly firm to the bite and with a savory, umami-rich broth. The beef ribs were a little tough, but the noodles and broth made up for it.

I wasn't really in a sushi mood, but tried a single scallop nigiri, which, while not the best I've ever had, was very fresh. The rice was especially good, slightly warm, moist and seasoned well. Possibly the best sushi rice I've had in Calgary.

It's on one of my many routes for the walk home, so early indications suggest that this could become a regular haunt.

Sushi Man is at Bromley Square, 1004 1 Street SW Calgary. Call 403 205-3232.

Punk Rock Bingo, Broken City, Calgary

Beer + Bingo + Wings = World Class Night Out
Originally uploaded by Suzi Edwards

If there's a better night out, and I don't just mean in Calgary, then I want to know about it. There's great salt and pepper wings, the rockingest DJs this side of your favourite scrut-bag nightclub and...bingo.

But as Steve, our host for the evening, says, this is not the kind of bingo you'd bring your grandma to.

With prize ranging from machetes to sex toys to tattooing at Bushido, it's enough to make your maiden aunt blush. From cries of "fuck yeah" as we get started (or whenever Steve feels like it) to a paddle to the ass for a erroneous call (a "bullshit bingo"), this is a decidedly R-rated night out.

But a belt for the RPS champion, great music and a general joy in perverting the usual bingo shenanigans, means that Punk Rock Bingo gets a thumbs up from me.

Improvements? I used to love the bingo calls when I went to the Mecca bingo with my nan. Clickety Click? Sixty Six. Dancing Queen? Seventeen. Let's punk rock them up a bit. Sham! 69. Two Fat Johnny Rottens? 22. Year Punk was born? 74.

As long as no-one start spitting, I'll keep going.

Punk Rock Bingo is at Broken City Calgary. 613 - 11th Ave. S.W. (403) 262-9976