Hidden Gem

As much as I love making good food to share with family and friends, I really love it when someone else makes good food for me.  To find that good food, I read a lot of restaurant reviews in the newspaper, on blogs, and in magazines.  One of my favourite food magazines is City Palate, published out of Calgary.  City Palate helps me stay on top of local food trends and keeps me informed about new restaurants to check out.

City Palate made note of the Owl St. Kitchen in Banff awhile back.  I can't remember exactly what they said but it received rave reviews.  Then, I heard that Owl St. Kitchen was on John Gilchrist's top 12 list on CBC this past December and I knew that I've have to check it out.  I finally found a chance to go there for lunch yesterday with some friends and it lived up to the hype!

Owl St. Kitchen is in the Banff industrial park (in the old Cozy Cave bakery space on, wait for it, Owl St.).  It is a small three table cafe with decor that leaves a little to be desired. But, the menu is varied and reasonably priced.  There were 6 or 8 sandwich options plus daily lunch specials, including soup and salad.  Everything is made in-house using as many local ingredients as possible.

Lisa and I shared two sandwiches plus we each had our own soup.  We tried the porchetta sandwich on rosemary apple bread and the pulled chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread.  Both sandwiches were AMAZING but I think that the chicken sandwich may have been one of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten.  It was filled with spiced nuts, yummy bacon, and a creamy mayo.  While it was the tiniest bit too salty, it wasn't too mayonnaise heavy - a feature that is often overlooked in a chicken salad sandwich.  The soup was heavenly - some type of lentil, roasted apple, maple syrup, yam concoction.  I'd love to get my hands on that recipe! Carrie also had the pulled chicken sandwich with the soup and she was thrilled with her choice.  

The Owl St. Kitchen is a bit out of the way but it is well worth the drive.  I'd highly recommend that you check it out when you are next in Banff.