Chorney-Booth: Ready for a good time with the new Central Taps and Food

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Calgary is a city that likes to go out without worrying about it. Inside the city, there are huge beer halls, tap rooms with lively patios, and many casual restaurants serving drinks as well as food. Are there too many rooms of these delights in Beltline and Victoria Park? Looking at the lineup outside of places like National and Trolley 5 over a long weekend, the answer is clearly “no”. We are still far from saturated. That’s why the new Central Taps and Food in the Beltline Development District is ready to become one of the city’s hottest patios this summer.

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PJ L’Heureux knows this market better than anyone. The man behind the craft beer market and many other restaurants (he is also the co-owner of Trolley 5 mentioned above), L’Heureux initially resisted the offer to take over the district’s central restaurant space. He was thinking of a small bar and restaurant concept that would fit in the unit, but it’s very tight as Craft is just a few blocks away and there are several other properties just around the corner of First Street. It seemed too much in the place. range. However, it is difficult to turn down such a prime space, so he proceeded with Central Taps, which officially opened earlier this month.

L’Heureux wants to make it clear that Central Taps is not a minicraft. Yes, it serves drinks on the tap and L’Heureux’s dependable chef Mike Pigot is in charge of the menu, but it has a very unique identity. The room is fairly small and more eclectic, adorned with vintage vending machines and stereo speakers, and a huge cutout portrait of Amy Winehouse above a row of comfortable booths. The idea is not only to avoid duplicates of Craft, but also to give opportunities to staff who can grow responsibly responsible for smaller ones, although they may not be ready to manage large beer halls. bottom.

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“We’ve been developing smaller concepts for some time,” says L’Heureux. “We focused more on cocktails and spirits than Craft and wanted to change our food program. Overall, our team deserves to have another restaurant where they can work and grow. I feel like. “

About those cocktails and spirits: The name may suggest that Central Tap is another beer hall, but the restaurant’s tap of the same name is certainly more likely to pour a batch cocktail than cold beer. is. The restaurant serves approximately 20 specialty cocktails (and non-alcoholic beverages), many of which are poured directly from the faucet. This not only speeds up service, but also guarantees consistency, L’Heureux says. Drinks are perfect for patios, with playful tasting classics such as “crushing” fruit splits, heavy drinker slashes, old-fashioned peanut butter and jam, and pink white nectarine Negroni. Beer is not completely forgotten. With several local craft beers, Central Taps subleases the back of the building to 33 acres of Vancouver-based breweries. ..

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When it comes to food, L’Heureux wanted a menu that would satisfy customers’ needs, whether they were looking for a plate of cheddar cheese ($ 13) or a spicy California roll ($ 13). The menu is a bit confusing at first glance (there are few kitchens that can bring out both decent pizza and decent ramen), but there’s a way to go crazy — L’Heureux challenges Pigot not to worry too much about the category. Did. Create a great version of everything one wants to drink and eat. Piggott, whose presence in this neighborhood surpasses even L’Heureux, proves he knows one or two burgers and uses a very satisfying spicy sauce ($ 21). The winner is a classic cheeseburger and pork carnitas with fresh cilantro. Tacos ($ 14), hot chicken sandwiches ($ 19), different types of pizza ($ 19 to $ 23).

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Central Taps is open daily from 11:00 am to 12:00 am. The restaurant is located at # 110 224 12th Ave. SW with access to 403-984-1698 or centraltaps.com.

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Quite differently, Teatro quietly replaced the chef a few months ago, with Daniel Pissarro leaving the building and David Leader coming in. Leaders may be well known in the Edmonton restaurant scene, but are highly welcomed by the Calgary chef community. The leader has an impressive resume and has worked for many years in some of Europe’s most famous restaurants, including the famous Danish Noma. All of this is absolutely visible in Teatro’s new menu. The leader has enhanced the restaurant’s homemade pasta game (Ravioli Solara’s brown butter sauce perfectly incorporates Italian classics), but looking at the chef’s tasting menu ($ 135 for 5 courses), what this chef is It’s worth seeing what you’re doing. For bookings, please visit teatro.ca.

ElizabethChorney-You can contact the booth at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter (@elizaboothy) or Instagram (@elizabooth)