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Rhona-Mae A.'s Profile
DateCalgary, AB T2T 0A7
(403) 263-0302
Crêpes & Cravings
Categories:
Creperies,
Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
The atmosphere is very cheery, which is definitely needed when you dine in a basement location. When you walk in, a recording calls out "Irashaimase," or "welcome". When you leave, it says, "Arigato gozaimashita" (thank you).
On my first visit, it was a dreary, rainy Saturday. There weren't many people there, however, we came in just between lunch and supper. The waiter was fairly attentive and friendly. The restaurant was clean and sunny.
My companion and I opted to try a bunch of appetizers (the 20% discount was an incentive). The Avocado & Salmon Salad was absolutely delicious. The explosion of flavours danced in my mouth with each bite of Coconut Tempura Shrimp. The miso soup was flavourful, while the Philadelphia sushi roll was a delightful surprise (salmon, cream cheese and cucumbers). The tamago sushi was huge compared to other places (not too sweet, just right). The edamame croquettes were also tasty, very tender. The chicken karage was nice and crispy on the outside and juicy inside. It wasn't greasy.
The only dish we weren't crazy about was the calamari. At first, we thought they were ordinary squid rings but when we ordered it on the next visit, we learned that that's just Fuji Yama's version of calamari. There's something interesting about the batter but the calamari was a little rubbery.
My second visit was for lunch on a weekday. My companion and I felt badly for the waitress for she was the only one taking care of nine tables. Needless to say, service was slower the second time round..
I ordered the tonkatsu (breaded pork) and tempura lunch special, while my companion order the gyoza and tempura lunch special. The portion sizes were comparable to Sushi Ginza, Tokyo Garden and Banzai. My tonkatsu was quite dry, so much so that I needed to dip it in my tempura sauce. Everything else, however, was top notch.
This time, I had room for dessert. The waitress recommended the ice cream over the pie. The green tea ice cream had just the right amount of matcha. Very tasty!
Prices are pretty comparable to other Japanese restaurants. We definitely want to go back again to try other items on the menu (just not the calamari or tonkatsu).
Listed in: My Fave Japanese…
Like Thomas, I've been going to Banzai for at least four years. Clean environment, friendly service and prompt!
And the food? Oishi desu! I've tried nearly all of the bento box combinations and about half of the rice bowls listed on the menu. Every experience is delicious.
If you get a Banzai card, every sixth meal is free. Yes, you can get a bento box with that free meal
My family and friends are now also hooked on the food.
Listed in: My Fave Japanese…
Calgary, AB T2H 0A4
(403) 244-5555
Long & McQuade
Categories:
Musical Instruments & Teachers,
Electronics
The last three dealings with Long and McQuade have been much better.
They sponsored a Conservatory Canada workshop last summer. Excellent selection of books at the workshop and service.
Very friendly service when I was shopping for a microphone sock. Ditto for when I was in last month to buy one music book (and walked out with a bunch of two-piano works).
Ruth, one of the staffers, told me that L&M are moving to a bigger location. The print music area is going to triple (if memory serves correct). Curious to see what the new location will be like.
1 Previous Review:
-
10/11/2009
Long & McQuade has steadily been moving down in ratings in my book. This is just a handful of my gripes over L&M, spanning the past three years:
Their books are a little on the pricey side. Seriously, why pay $60 for a fake book when you can get it for $40 on Amazon? Or for $50 at Rideau Music where at least you get good service? Ditto for instrument cables.
I've heard a rumour that there's a teacher discount, but they just deny when I ask and they never check. Honestly, when someone is holding the Royal Conservatory Teacher's Handbook and other teaching aids, isn't that a good clue that a teacher is standing in front of you?
Their keyboard rental system is strange. If someone is wiling to pay you to reserve a keyboard for a certain date, wouldn't you honour that? I finally bought my own stage piano so I wouldn't have to deal with the uncertainty of whether I'd have a keyboard to play at a wedding, only to end up with one that was a POS.
When someone finally did help me with my quest for a drum machine, I was told that everything I need is in there. It's a good thing I checked in the car because I needed to get a power chord and the foot switches weren't in there. I think they gave me the power chord just because I was so miffed.
They were very lackadaisical about which auxiliary pedal I need for my digital pedal. I wound up going to St. John's Music where I could actually take the staff person's word that it would work.
Then, this past week, L&M were trying to sell me a foot switch for my drum machine that they "thought" should work. But, it's not in stock and it "might" be here in a few more weeks.
I wound up going to Axe Music instead.
Long & McQuade is the Wal-Mart or Zellers of the music industry. Unless you know what you need to buy, don't mind the cold atmosphere and the not-so-helpful staff, go to St. John's Music or Axe Music. Anywhere else.
Pet Planet's great,
I like to shop there lots.
There's organic treats and poopy tanks and
everything in between.
The people are friendly,
they're good with special requests.
They have cool things and info too,
so we learn as well as eat!
I love my Grandma Lucy cookies oh so very much,
the blueberry ones are the best -
I share them with one and all.
Pet Planet's great,
I like to shop there lots.
There's toys and vitamins, alligator chews and
everything in between.
Listed in: Maestro's Recommendations for…
Calgary, AB T2E 4Y7
(403) 254-0494
Allegro Music Inc
Category:
Musical Instruments & Teachers
They were extremely quick to bring in the Student Music Organizer that my students are using this year. The books came in within 1 or 2 weeks.
Charlie, the teacher/staff member I dealt with during my visit last month, was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He provided sound advice on my booklight and metronome queries after tracking down all the books ($300 worth) that I needed.
Further to Jacqeline Serpas' follow up on my initial review, she addressed several things:
1 - The staff member who slammed the other music conservatories and gave some of my students grief with special orders is no longer employed by Allegro Music. Ms. Serpas assures me that no one on her staff bears a negative attitude towards the other conservatories.
2 - Chad W's comment about Allegro's teaching was also addressed. Some teachers on Allegro Music's staff have their Masters or their Ph.D. in music. As for his comment about the teachers' "lack of enthusiasm", as teachers, Ms. Serpas and I both agreed that it does depend on the chemistry between the teacher and the student.
3 - Since my initial review, Allegro Music has been carrying an increasing amount of material for Conservatory Canada, CNCM's Northern Lights series and London College of Music (when possible as LCM has their own distributor).
Ms. Serpas explained that Allegro endeavours to carry a good selection of titles. However, with the state of the economy, they (like other music retailers) have had to scale back a bit on their inventory so that items items don't sit on the shelves for long periods of time. To this end, they have dedicated a great deal of energy towards developing their special orders. She has promised to speak to her staff to conduct update calls to clients if their special order is on back order.
In addition, several of my students have taken advantage of Allegro's digital sheet music selection and are quite happy with what they got. They really like the idea of just buying one song (and be able to get it transposed before printing) instead of buying a $30 book for just one song.
1 Previous Review:
-
10/12/2009
I have to agree with Chad W. on the inventory. Allegro doesn't have a lot in their store. They also need to start carrying more materials from the other music conservatories, such as Conservatory Canada, London College of Music or the Canadian National Conservatory of Music, instead of slamming these groups. Each conservatory has their strengths and slightly different focal points.
As a teacher, we need to choose which curricula are the best fit for our students and for our teaching style. As a retailer, Allegro needs to get with the program.
My students and I have had a tough time with special orders. Oh, the staff are quick to say they'll order something in for you, but then who knows whether they actually place the order. There have been several cases where special orders have disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle of Special Orders because nothing came in. Ever. This is after calling to follow up.
As for the instruction, I can't comment on the quality seeing as (1) - I have never taken music lessons at Allegro and (2) I am music teacher and it would be a conflict of interest to speak on this. All I can tell you fellow yelpers is that regardless of whether you plan to attend lessons at a music school or a private teacher, shop around to find a teacher who is qualified, has a teaching style that works with your learning style and is someone you "click" with.
One benefit of taking lessons at a studio with several teachers is that a family can sign up two or more of their kids for lessons in the same time, so Kid 1 can have a piano lesson at the same time as Kid 2's guitar lesson and Kid 3's singing lesson. Another is that they run summer programs and some group programs throughout the year.
This is like the Zellers of music books for me. It's ok if you know exactly what you want to get and it's a popular item. Show owner comment »
My previous stylist moved away and I didn't rush into just getting anybody to work on my stubborn Asian hair. One day, a student came in with a stellar hair colouring job and cut. When I complimented her hair, she said, "Touch it! It's so soft!" And yes, it was silky soft, so I asked for her stylist. Her name is Brenda.
Well, Brenda is truly top notch. When I first saw her in January, she tsked tsked about my hair. My highlights had lost their fire and my roots weren't looking very well. She used three different shades of brown to colour my hair. "Brown?" I yelped. "But I have black hair?!?" She said it's a combo that works well on most ethnic hair. Sure enough, it was perfectly natural looking and silky soft. I asked for a style that said "I'm professional, snazzy and single" and she delivered.
Last month, she called to let me know her new Magma colour book came in. Magma is designed for thick, ethnic hair and does the bleaching and colouring in one step. No heat. Brenda is really big on NOT over processing hair.
Brenda deserves a standing ovation for what she had to go through on my hair. She followed the directions to the tee and yet only faint tinges of the red-brown sneak streaks remained.
Attempt #2 was a rousing success. Brenda squeezed me in on Saturday and told me to bring a book since she was going to duke it out with my hair. I brought some work with me so I didn't really mind how long it took. She even helped me come up with a great title for the article I was writing.
Brenda kept me wrapped in the foils for 105 minutes! That's probably 3X longer than the average person. We chanced about 10 - 15 minutes under heat. She checked my hair at regular intervals, so my hair was in good hands. The sneak streaks are a glorious red-brown and my hair is once again, so soft, silky and shiny.
She didn't charge me for the failed attempt (naturally), nor did she charge me for the second attempt, since she claimed she was experimenting. I had to give her something to treat herself with because she worked so hard to get my hair to cooperate. Brenda is even going to submit our experience as a case study to Wella (producers of Magma) so that other stylists and clients can benefit from what we learned.
If you have "stubborn, Asian hair" or "stubborn, [any ethnicity] hair" you have to see Brenda. She won't give up until she gets the perfect look for you (and becomes best friends with your hair). If you have normal hair, she'll do magic with your hair. If you are losing your hair, she will work with you to get the right hair pieces for you.
Brenda also volunteers her time with the Canadian Cancer Society Wig Bank and Look Good Feel Better Workshops.
Calgary, AB T2Y 3R5
(403) 251-3260
Calkhoven Piano Tuning
Category:
Music Venues
I've lost track of how many years Mark has tuned my piano. Over 15 years, I think. My whole family calls on Mark to tune their pianos. No complaints, whatsoever. He'll drive anywhere in the city as well as the surrounding area (e.g., Okotoks, High River, Strathmore).
A few years ago, Mark added piano repairs and refurbishing to his services. He came over quickly when I busted one of my strings when practicing a tricky part a little too viciously. Seriously though, he can handle a complete piano refurbishing, not just broken strings.
If you need a height-adjustable piano footstool, Mark's your man. Well-crafted and much more affordable than what you'd get at some music retailers.
If you're looking to buy a used piano, you can call Mark to inspect it (you know, like getting a mechanic to look over a used car).
Mark is a Registered Piano Tuner and has served on the Board for the Piano Technicians' Guild.
Praga Cafe is very quaint and clean. There are seven tables and a bar. Two dart boards and a small TV.
The decor is burgundy and gold, which reminded me of some of the concert halls in Europe. The windows are big so it feels airy. When I looked up, way up, I was delighted to see chandeliers - just like the concert halls in Europe! The walls are adorned with artwork featuring scenes of the Czech Republic.
Alas, they were playing playing a local radio station. With decor like that, it would have been nice to have some Czech folk music or at least some music by Smetana, Dvoràk or Janácek. Minor detail.
My friend got lost trying to find the place (hint: go to the strip mall with a purple Le Chateau outlet). Kudos to the server and the patron at the bar for giving her directions.
The menu has changed with the new management. I like how everything is listed in Czech first with English subtitles. They still offer a mix of traditional Czech dishes and standard café/deli fare.
We ordered the two most popular dishes. Shortly after placing our order, the plates came out. I'm sure it was less than a 10 minute wait.
My friend had the chicken schnitzel while I ordered the Kureci Kapsa, which is rolled chicken stuffed with asparagus, olives and Brie. The meat in both dishes was tender. We both chose shredded potato with basil and cream as our side dish. What a refreshing combination!
My friend passed on dessert, while I had the crèpe filled with fresh fruit and ice cream. You certainly get your money's worth with this! It was the plumpest crèpe I have ever seen, bursting with fresh apples, oranges and bananas. The vanilla ice cream was a nice complement. On the side was a healthy (or should I say unhealthy?) dollop of freshly made whipped cream.
One thing we learned from the new owners is that the Praga website is from the previous owner's time period. Unfortunately, the previous owners didn't give them the password to update the website, so the menu with the 10% coupon are outdated.
We went seeking something "fun" and "different" when we picked Praga Café. We couldn't have picked a better place!
Calgary, AB T2J 5N8
(403) 271-9642
Sushi Ginza Restaurant
Categories:
Sushi Bars,
Japanese
The place was bustling when my companions and I arrived. We understood that service would be a little slow until the supper rush cleared. However, service remained slow even after the first rush cleared out.
Two of my companions and I each ordered a Sushi Combo B while the fourth member in our party ordered a Tonkatsu Curry Rice Bowl.
It was mediocre. Actually, it reminded me of the sushi take-out you can get at Sobey's. Only I would have paid $9.99 instead of $14.95. The California Rolls were passable but not great. The Tako sushi made my tummy roll over while the Tuna sushi remained as mushy as the last time I ate a tuna sushi there.
As for the Tonkatsu Curry, my friend said that it wasn't exactly bland. "Flavorful but not spicy" enough for his liking.
We never did get our water.
There are definitely better sushi joints in town. As for Sushi Ginza, the days of long ago when the tonkatsu was plump, juicy and flavorful; the service attentive and the parking was stellar are just a fading memory.
Minus 1 star for mediocre food. Minus another for mediocre service, although I get the sense some of my companions might even deduct another 1/2 star.
2 Lists
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"Registered Music Teacher, Pianist, Writer"
- 24 Friends
- 47 Reviews
- 2 Review Updates
- 31 Firsts
- 4 Fans
- 25 Local Photos
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Review votes:
134 Useful, 40 Funny, and 28 Cool
Calgary, AB
Yelping SinceSeptember 2009
Find Me Inbetween rapidly changing time signatures.
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I'm tickling the ivories
Why You Should Read My ReviewsBecause my stylish and hip, bongo-drum-playing dog says you should.
My Second Favourite Website The Last Great Book I ReadHitching Rides with Buddha
My First ConcertCorey Hart
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I'm a closet samurai.
Most Recent DiscoveryThe Enter Tech Magic Sing ET-19KV...I want it!
My best friend learned about the 17th Avenue Crepes & Cravings location at this year's Lilac Festival. They were supposed to have their grand opening on June 11, but due to challenges with construction, they officially opened their doors today.
What a treat. What a find. We started with a savoury crêpe. My friend had the Chicken Caesar crêpe, while I ordered the Bistro Roast Beef crêpe. Preparing the crêpe is a fine art, which requires quite a bit of skill. It was fun watching how they are made. The ingredients are fresh and the size portions are excellent.
After walking off our meal, we returned for dessert. Sweet crêpe or gelato? That was the question. I opted for gelato, especially after hearing how everything is made on-site. Normally, I order "limone" gelato (lemon) whenever I try a new place. It's how I test how good a place is.
Their version of limone gelato is the Italian Lemon Wafer, which was made within the past 48 hours. Ooh, with the first spoonful, my senses were whisked back to Italy where I ate three gelato a day (mostly lemon). Folks, we have a winner. It had the same texture as the gelato in Italy - creamy but not too much so. The contrasting flavours of sweet versus tart were as finely balanced as the melodic lines in Vivaldi's "Four Seasons". Delcioso!
The big Grand Opening is slated to take place on Saturday, July 2. If tonight's any indication (food and state of busy-ness), this place is going to be THE place to go for savoury crêpes, dessert crêpes, ice cream and gelato.
Now, if only they'd offer crêpes for dogs, Maestro would be happy.
[July 10/11 update: Chocolate Banana Strawberry crêpe is pretty tasty! Chocolate sauce isn't too sweet. Whipped cream is very creamy.]