CALGARY: Blink, still good

I left my camera at home last time I went to Blink. I made sure to bring it this time for Gwendolyn’s birthday dinner.

Our party of 10 sat in the private dining room, which was a very comfortable, large square table so we could all talk to each other. The food and service were just fabulous again.

I had the roasted sea scallops ($14) again, with the crunch of soy bean nuts, but this time it came with what I think was a celery root puree, instead of an eggplant and olive oil emulsion like last time. I like that Blink changes little things up regularly.

My red-wined braised Alberta bison short ribs ($32) were just perfect, fork-tender, slightly sweet with a wonderful Jerusalem artichoke risotto.

The lemon and garlic roasted chicken looked superb again, but I resisted because the Israeli cous cous had been replaced with regular cous cous (oh, I am sooo picky) and I really wasn’t in the mood for the side parsnips.

Gwendolyn looved her beef tenderloin with a parmesan-potato cake, carrots, and a unique battered salsify. Sure beats broccoli.

The main courses silenced our whole group, and believe me, that’s not easy to do. The first several minutes after our entrees were served were punctuated with moans of contentment, and the scrape of cutlery.

The only hiccup was cold lattes at the end of the meal. They redid them and warmed up the cups too for good measure.

Blink has proven to be a consistent performer, in food and service, which is a tall order these days in Calgary, and for that, they’ve won my loyalty.

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