Calgary has plenty of places to satisfy your hunger while enjoying the warm days of summer!
\nFrom family-friendly patios, to picnic areas, and even drive-in joints, there are a ton of fun, local places to enjoy a family meal and ensure you soak up every bit of sunshine during our much-too-short summer season. Should you wish to partake in some of these dining experiences this summer, here are a few options.
\n \nMy Favorite Patio: The Park Kitchen & Bar
\n1200 - 163 Quarry Park Boulevard SE & 114 - 326 Aspen Glen Landing SW
\nWith locations in both Quarry Park and Aspen, The Park has a large variety of menu items for both adults and children. A couple of my favorites include the Fresno Burger (housemade patty topped with goat cheese, fresh bruschetta, arugula, pickles, tzatziki, and topped with balsamic cream), and the Trio of Dips (garlic hummus topped with balsamic crema, bruschetta and tzatziki – all housemade – and served with warm crostini). They’re fabulous! On weekends and holidays, they also serve brunch. Some of their great daily features include $6 tacos on Mondays and $8 kids’ meals after 2pm on Tuesdays. Best of all, their patios are spacious for when you don’t feel like cooking for the family on a warm, sunny day.
\nThe best idea? Bring the family to the patio on a Sunday for dinner. After 5pm, you can get a Family Feast Night for just $60, which includes any two pizzas, a family-size pasta, a family-size salad, and four sundaes. Now that is a relaxing and fulfilling sunny Sunday evening… without any clean-up!
\nMy Favorite Picnic Spot: Annie’s Cafe
\nSouth Fish Creek Park
\nLocated right beside Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant in Fish Creek Park, Annie’s is a little hidden gem that’s open seasonally. You can get coffee, ice cream, soups, sandwiches, chilli, and bakery items that can be eaten inside (in inclement weather) or enjoyed outside, in beautiful Fish Creek Park. There are picnic tables directly outside of Annie’s, and within the park there are plenty of designated picnic sites, as well as open green spaces to spread out a picnic blanket on, all within walking distance. Annie’s itself is an old farmhouse that was originally moved to its current location in 1905, and served as a home for the ranch foremen and their families, including Billy Bannister (whom nearby Bannister Road is named after) and his wife, Annie (hence, Annie’s Cafe). Their soups are amazing, and if their Thai Chicken Curry soup happens to be the soup of the day, you must try it! The cheesecake is exquisite as well. And, no picnic is complete without the ice cream!
\nMy Favorite Drive-In: Peter’s Drive-In
\n219 - 16 Avenue NE
\nPeter’s Drive-In has been a staple in Calgary since 1964. During the warm summer months, you can often see a long line-up of cars eager to fill up on their renowned burgers, fries, rings, and milkshakes. In fact, rain or shine, Peter’s is always a hopping place. Their burgers are known for their extra half patty (a single is never a single at Peter’s), and their famous sauce and relish. Their fries and onion rings (the onion rings are some of my favorites!) are cooked in premium, cholesterol and trans-fat free, 100% pure canola oil; and their milkshakes and sundaes are made with real ice cream and fruit. They have 30 flavors of milkshakes, and you can mix up to three different flavors per shake. That makes over 4,500 combinations of milkshake flavors, which will keep you coming back to Peter’s for a lifetime if you want to try them all. There are plenty of picnic tables in their parking lot to enjoy your grub, and a ton of parking spots in case of inclement weather. Or, even better, drive your picnic right on over to Rotary Park (located at 617 - 1 Street NE), which is only a seven-minute drive from Peter’s. Rotary Park has picnic tables, a spray park, and playground areas. Is there a better way to spend a hot summer afternoon?
\nMy Favorite Cost Saver: Hot Dog and Marshmallow Roasts
\nAre you looking to dine outside with the family, away from home, but don’t want to spend money on dining out? There are a ton of park options in Calgary with barbecue pits so you can plan your very own family hot dog and marshmallow roast right in the City. Fish Creek Park, Bowness Park, and Shouldice Park are just a few of these options, and they have plenty of inexpensive and free activities for the family as well. Bowness Park has a wading pool and, for a small fee, the University of Calgary provides pedal boats, canoes, and kayak rentals on the lagoon there, as well as a mini train ride!
\nThere are so many delicious ways to enjoy the heat with the family this summer, so go outdoors and indulge. And besides, food tastes better when we consume it outside. Why is that? Apparently it’s because our senses are heightened when we’re outside. Fresh air makes our sense of smell more acute and opens our taste buds. The sights and sounds of nature relax us, and that makes us more mindful eaters. And of course, everything's better when we’re spending time with the ones we love.
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Jennifer is a local foodie with a passion for food writing. Find more of her food writing on her Facebook page: For The Love of Food YYC.
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