Restaurant Review: Roosevelt

A new trend has seemingly taken off recently. Amazing new diners focusing on sandwiches are starting to pop up in many different cities. No longer is the focus on just the mighty burger, but people are starting to crave a well made porchetta or smoked meat sandwich as well. Calgary is no different, enter Roosevelt a new restaurant that features just that, delicious sandwiches (well..they have burgers too).

Atmosphere: A new aged diner featuring a large open kitchen and dining area. A great place to hang out for lunch or even for a pre / post dinner drink.

Price Range: Mid $10s

Food & Drinks: When we first stepped in to Roosevelt, no word of a lie, my husband’s first words were, “have we been here before?” seeing as that was our first time there...No was the answer. However, the design of the interior just reminded him of Roosevelt’s sister restaurant 80th & Ivy, which can be found just further down 17th Ave. With the high bar tables and lighting fixtures, I too thought it reminded me of the bar area at 80th.

Aside from the interior however, the food menu is very different. Roosevelt’s focus is more on sandwiches and diner type fare. We started with the Down South Salad, which is probably the lightest tasting take on a taco salad that I’ve had for a while. Featuring fresh crisp greens with cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, feta, black beans, topped with blistered jalapeno vinaigrette, crisp tortillas and a side of avocado relish. It sure does sound like a lot but it all works well together. The tortillas providing the crunch that compliments the creamy avocado, if Roosevelt continues to churn out salads like this, then I can definitely see myself straying away from the sandwiches and ordering salads for lunch, which is extremely rare.

I was intrigued by the Mediterranean Cured Meat Sandwich, featuring Spanish ham, soppressata, marinated eggplant, rosted peppers and a creamy goat cheese spread. Since I’m not a huge fan of goat cheese (gasp, yes I know…I tried, but I just can’t do it) so instead they were extremely accommodating and offered a creamy mayo spread instead. The sandwich all comes on a fresh ciabatta bun along with a side of fries, soup or salad. There was a good amount of cured meat in the sandwich, which could have gotten a bit salty but I found the creamy mayo helped mellow it out without taking away the amazing flavours of the different types of meat. I decided to splurge that day and got an order of their fries, which came with house made ketchup. They were extremely crispy, just the way I like it, perfect pairing with a good sandwich.

The hubby ordered the Smoked Meat Sandwich, as the name suggest, is slices of smoked meat layered with caramelized onions, braised cabbage and topped with gruyere cheese and mustard all between slices of rye bread. We didn’t find that the meat had much smoke flavour, but it was still tasty due to the bit of fat that helped prevent the sandwich from becoming dry. We got a side of the cream of broccoli soup. It was tasty and not overly salty or heavy (often happens to cream based soups), it was a nice compliment to the plate.

For dessert it was hard not to succumb to the Coconut Cream Pie, featuring toasted coconut layered over top a creamy center and crispy crust, served with a vanilla whip cream on the side. Each bite was just as amazing as the first. Not overly sweet, but enough to satiate your dessert craving. The pie was full of coconut goodness and it was definitely a good sized portion of pie.

My Picks: Mediterranean Cured Meat Sandwich, Coconut Cream Pie

Overall: Long gone is the pub food that used to be Classic Jack’s (the lounge that use to occupy the same space), instead replaced by fresh salads and sandwiches for both the lunch crowd or those looking for a quick snack. With a nice selection of drinks and beverages that accompany their menu, I’m looking forward to going back and checking out the other items on the menu…oh and the brunch!

Roosevelt
933 17 Avenue SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 719-9330
Website: www.rooseveltcalgary.com