CALGARY: A very satisfying Blink

I’ve been in a rut. An eating, blogging rut, which explains for the lack of posts here. The last few Calgary restaurants we’ve been to have been quite underwhelming. Not terrible, but not remarkable enough to waste time typing about, or admit that yet again we paid $25-$30 for mediocre mains in this city.

It was so bad that I didn’t even bother bringing my camera to a weekday dinner out with Gwendolyn at Blink downtown. Too bad, because Blink shook me out of my funk.

Blink’s decor is modern streamlined without trying so darn hard: original exposed brick behind the bar, cream-coloured — and gasp! comfortable — chairs and unobtrusive lighting fixtures. A focal point is the bright, open kitchen at the end of the dining room — a confident sign that everyone’s here for the food and not any gimmicks.

(Photo courtesy of Raj Taneja; it was taken before they took down the curtain in front of the kitchen.)

The menu is refreshing, with plenty of options for vegetarians and seafood aficionados. Wow, we’re still in Calgary? Also, Gwendolyn points out the room is stacked with women, and not guys in suits like so many other places along Stephen Avenue.

Gwendolyn’s first-ever beef carpaccio ($13) was lovely, with shaved black summer truffle, truffle mayonnaise, aged pecorino, and croutons. The taste of the beef still comes through the truffle flavours. (On an unrelated note, is there such a thing as a truffle-hater?)

My roasted weathervane sea scallops ($14) gave my dozed-off tastebuds a wake-up call. Five pieces (I suspect two bigger ones were sliced lengthwise) of perfectly cooked scallop, against the crunch of a few soy bean nuts, were complimented by a delicious eggplant and olive oil emulsion, and a drizzle of herb and balsalmic-infused oil.

Strangely, we both gravitated towards the chicken on the menu, prefacing our discussion with, “I never order the chicken but…” and “This might sound weird, but the chicken sounds great.” And it was!

The lemon and garlic roasted chicken ($28) was soo moist, a boneless chicken breast even, packed with fragrance, and paired with Israeli couscous, chanterelle mushrooms and snap peas. I only had a bite, but this is enough to draw me back very soon so I can have my own plate.

My double duck ($32) had a leg confit on top of hash browns, and two slices of roasted breast on top of savoy cabbage. The confit was so-so in my books as the skin was a little too crispy and dried out a bit of the meat underneath. But the other three things on my plate were wonderful.

The roasted breast was so good, pink meat with a sliver of fat, and the shredded savoy cabbage soaked up the sauce. The “hash browns” came out more like a slice of potato pie with a delicious, crispy top and bottom.

Dessert ($9) was a new creation not yet listed on the menu, with shortbread stacked with baked apples, cardamon ice cream, with crème anglaise and little calvados jelly cubes. Divine!

I never considered Blink before because it was first unveiled as a “supperclub,” which somehow involved the dining room turning into a dance bar after a certain hour. Now that it’s a just a good, solid restaurant, it works just marvelously.

Blink, 111-8th Ave. SW, Calgary, (403) 263-5330. Closed Sundays.