My last date with Shefali

Depending on how you feel about getting your picture taken, you might think I'm a really good friend or really bad friend for not taking any pictures of my friend Shefali on our last date together before she moved to Toronto and its bigger, greener pastures.

I met Shefali this summer through work, and we became close after we drove up to Red Deer together for a company meeting. Even after I quit my job to finish my internship, we've still managed to stay in touch. Usually Shefali and I eat out at some franchised restaurant in north Calgary, we've done Earl's, Milestones (Ridiculously GIGANTIC portions), Applebee's and Ricky's, just to name a few. Recently we've moved on to a couple dessert dates at The Chocolate Bar on 17th, but this time, I was helping her drive some stuff down to the Greyhound station, so our original plan was to continue south into Inglewood and treat ourselves to Nectar instead.

Well, what ended up actually happening was that by the time we'd finally gotten her six bags on the way to Toronto, we were starved for some real food. So after finally finding some free parking in Inglewood (why are there ParkPlus signs, but not ParkPlus machines?), we made our way over to Spolumbo's - after all, it's a "Calgary institution", and we'd both never been.


I got the 9th Ave Sub, even though I still have no idea what's in it - two different types of salami with provolone, I think. Shefali got a panini of some sort (This would be about the time where it's ok to call me a bad friend, but you should keep in mind that this happened two weeks ago.)

I was definitely surprised at how unsalty the sandwich tasted, despite all the cured meats. There was also a hint of sweetness, that I think might've been from the mustard (or the bread? or the mayo?) Although I'm not usually a fan of pickles, I forced myself to eat them because that's what I do with foods that I don't like, and they weren't that bad (though I wouldn't be surprised if they're just the kind that comes in the bag that they have at fast food restaurants) and went well with the sandwich. In fact, when Shefali and I both had half a sandwich leftover, I asked them to wrap up my pickles too. (I didn't finish the pickles that I had left after finishing the sandwich though.)

After Spolumbo's, we both still had some time before I had to go to kickboxing, so we decided to check out Choklat, the new chocolate shop that just opened in Inglewood. It's a tiny, unassuming shop, but it holds the only chocolatier in western Canada that makes their chocolate from cocoa beans that they source, as opposed to buying chocolate in bulk and melting it down to create their own concoctions. And although you're not greeted with rows and rows of chocolate on display when you walk in (their website explains why), you will certainly be hit by the strong, tantalizing aroma of chocolate.

Cheryl of Backseat Gourmet took her daughters there this weekend (and her blog post is why I'm blogging right now, really) and was able to take full advantage of its entire gamut of services, which includes chocolaty baked goods, top-quality chocolate bars, and custom-made truffles - you choose the centre, the chocolate and the coating (guess what my mom's getting for Mothers' Day because I was too cheap to buy her a $14.95 pack of almond bark for no reason?)

When Shefali and I arrived, it looked like they were just about ready to close up shop, as the lone lady behind the counter (who had a cute Australian accent, btw) told us right when we walked in that she'd cleaned up all her truffle-making materials for the day. Still, the baked goods were ripe for the picking, so Shefali and I both grabbed a brownie. She also grabbed some caramel squares for her soon-to-be ex-roommates; one dark and one milk for each.


I actually didn't get to my brownie until after supper, what with not wanting to be *too* full before kickboxing. I was a little worried about how light the colour was - would it be too milky? Too sweet? Boy, was I wrong; the brownie was so rich and chocolaty that it's the only brownie I've ever had where I actually had to grab a glass of milk to wash it down. It was really good, and it makes me excited to try their truffles, which is their specialty.

Choklat also offers a weekly chocolate-tasting and wine-pairing workshop called Choklat Snobbery 101 and a truffle making workshop every once in a while. I might ask Tiffany to come with me to one of these, even if it means missing kickboxing for a night!

Spolumbo's Fine Foods & Deli
1308 9 Ave SE
Calgary AB
(403) 264-6452


Choklat
1327A 9 Ave SE
Calgary AB
(403) 457-1419