Fabio Centini - Centini Restaurant and Lounge
Avenue Magazine, March 2003 Page: 41, By: Kim Vanderleer, Photographs by Beau Lark

Favourite Ingredients
Centini loves truffle oil and porcini, which he uses with meat and pasta.  "The flavour it adds to a dish is so unique, so flavourful," he says of truffle oil.  (A truffle is a fleshy, fruity fungus that grows underground and is a delicacy of the first order while porchini is an edible woodland mushroom with a smooth, meaty texture and pungent, woodsy flavour.)

Centini Restaurant Absolutely Fabio
Calgary Herald, Thursday, January 23, 2003, Page: E5, Section: Arts & Style, Byline: Kathy Richardier, Column: Dining Out


You will recall that chef Fabio Centini moved into the space that was, for one brief shining moment, Blonde.  

I think many of us wondered about the location of this rather magnificently be-kitchened restaurant, at the heel end of Stephen Avenue in the Telus Convention Centre.  

Well, wonder no more. Fabio seems to have hit the right note, made the space his, and is experiencing great success in the short time he's been there.  

For one thing, he rouged the pale walls with a warm terra-cotta red that my "date" Dave and I agreed friendly-fies the formerly standoffish space. It works better in our chilly climate.

Any food lover would die for a weekend devoted to dining out in Vancouver, New York or Montreal.  Now it's time to think about Calgary as a destination for fine food and culinary explorations, too.  Ranking as Canada's third most ethnically diverse city, Downtown Calgary is fast becoming a foodies' paradise, with its mix of fine dining establishments and authentic ethnic eateries. Whether it's take-out sushi or elegant Thai cuisine, real French baguette or a selection of fresh bivalves at the oyster bar, there is much to lure the budding gourmand to this dynamic destination. 

And to make dining downtown even more alluring, more than 50 of the city's top restaurants are offering special meals and deals during a Downtown Dining Week, March 7 through 16.  Participating restaurants will feature a two-course lunch for $15 or a three-course lunch for $20; and a two-course dinner for $25 or a three-course dinner for $30. 

Patrons can use the Calgary Downtown Association (CDA) web site (www.downtowncalgary.com) to locate participating restaurant menus and book a reservation directly. "Over the past few years, Downtown's dining scene has exploded," says Richard White, executive director of the CDA.  "Downtown Dining Week is a great opportunity to discover a new restaurant or introduce friends to your favourite dining spot." 

A stroll down the historic Stephen Avenue Walk will soon whet your appetite. This collection of newly refurbished sandstone buildings - the area was recently named a national historic district - has become dining central in Calgary. Beautiful old sandstone banks and 100-year-old hotels are home to the hottest young chefs and most creative restaurant concepts, from upscale Italian and West Coast cuisine, to sleek new steak houses, funky Irish pubs, sushi bars and bookish cafes. 

With over 200 restaurants and 50 clubs and pubs at last count, Downtown Calgary has become an exciting and eclectic place to wine and dine away a weekend.

CUTTING EDGE CUISINE

The city's current hot spot is Catch - named the best new restaurant in Canada in Enroute magazine's recent national survey. With star chef Michael Noble at the helm and a brigade of keen, young talent, Catch has it all - arguably the city's most impressive dining room fare, great wine and a casual oyster bar offering a daily menu of fresh bivalves to slurp. 

Up the street, you'll find Centini, a sleek new Italian spot and, the granddaddy of this high end restaurant strip, Teatro, which has long been a stylish spot to dine, with its creative take on northern Italian cuisine, open kitchen and wood-fired oven. Down the Walk, you'll find a block that's jam-packed with dining possibilities. Saltlik is the latest addition to the steak house scene, and there's Murrietta's Westcoast Bar & Grill, with its second-story dining room and jazz bar in a refurbished sandstone hotel, or Belvedere, haute cuisine in a stylish space that might be plucked right out of Manhattan. Sushi rolls by on conveyor belts at Daikichi and then there's The Good Earth Café that will get your motor running with healthy juice or gourmet coffee. A short hike down to the Bow River reveals another Calgary classic, The River Café, with its rustic woodsy décor and commitment to quality local and Canadian ingredients..

THE WINE WEENIE'S WALK

Wine is a huge part of Calgary's dining culture. With a completely privatized retail liquor system, Alberta is the best place in Canada for fine wine and spirits, both for selection and price. A committed oenophile will find many pleasant surprises, from award winning wine lists, winemaker's dinners, technical tastings, and food and wine matching menus.

At Catch, you can dine in the temperature-controlled white wine room among the restaurant's many seafood-friendly selections. Or step into the two-story wine cooler that opens into the private dining room at Centini. The trained sommeliers at the River Café and Teatro will take you for a tour of their cellars and several other restaurants offer many wines by the glass. On the spirits side, Buchanan's, has a selection of more than 130 single malt scotch whiskies. 

Before heading home, stop in at one of the city's many private wine boutiques where some real experts can walk you through their own house specialties. The Cellar on Stephen Avenue is the newest purveyor of top wines and spirits, and you'll also find a selection of well-chosen beverages at the Wine Cottage and Eau Claire Wine Market. Wine lovers will want to visit the city March 5-16 for the first annual Savour Wine & Food Experience, a week of specialty wine dinners, public tastings and other events featuring visiting winemakers and local experts.

SERIOUS STEAK

Visitors come to Alberta as the beef and the steak house is alive and well in Calgary. Classic steak houses like Caesar's and Hy's - with their opulent décor and chefs on display, searing steaks in glass booths – are the same as they've been for years, serving AAA Alberta beef and all of the old -fashioned steakhouse accoutrements. 

Newer kids on the steakhouse block are spots like Quincy's on Seventh, the Chicago Chop House and the chic Saltlik on Stephen Avenue. Or hit the hotels for steak. The Owl's Nest at the Westin features fine continental cuisine and tableside service to match. The Palliser Hotel's Rimrock Room, with its tooled leather pillars and western art, has attracted the local cattle barons to dine for a century, and Thomson's restaurant offers an historic setting in the new Hyatt Regency Hotel. 

ETHNIC, ECLECTIC AND ENERGETIC

Ethnic is in and you can find authentic Vietnamese fare at the Oriental Phoenix and great Indian specialties at The Glory of India. Just down the block, you can go Hungarian at Jonas, a spot for old-country cabbage rolls and paprikash. Or slip into Juan's - a casual spot where you'll find Juan cooking homey Mexican food from scratch. 

Along the east end of Stephen Avenue you'll find a cluster of contemporary places to drink and dine run by prolific proprietor Paul Vickers, whether you're into the cozy Irish pub atmosphere at Ceili's, a steak at the Chicago Chop House, Zen 8 for Japanese, or the packed party dance scene at Cowboy's saloon or sipping designer martinis among the young sophisticates at The Drink. 

The coolest new spot on the grab-and-go list is the Sunterra Village Marche, a collection of food stalls that resemble a European village street, up on the plus-15 level of the new TransCanada.Tower, where you can sample some quality fast food, from fresh French crepes and gourmet pizzas to one of the best baguettes you'll find in any office tower. 

For books for cooks and gourmet groceries, The Cookbook Co. is foodie central, or visit McNally Robinson bookstore on Stephen Avenue for a cookbook and a nosh in their Prairie Ink Café.

IF YOU COME

Centini's Joins Boom Downtown
John Gilchrist - Off the Menu

About a year and a half ago, Blonde opened in the southeast corner of the Telus Convention Centre.  Hyped as the next great restaurant, it never achieved the high expectations and within a year, it was gone.

The Blonde location recently received a dye job and has been warmed up into Centini Restaurant & Lounge, a full-blooded Italian eatery at 160 Stephen Avenue Walk S.E. (269-1600).  Much of the Blonde backdrop and equipment are still there, but the Baboushkin Design Group has enlivened Centini with sultry earth tones and it now exudes a more personal energy.

That energy belongs to Fabio Centini and his wife Chevonne Miller.  They know what it's like to have a struggling restaurant.  They are among the many who have been bitten by the difficult location at 1st Street and 12th Avenue S.W.  The former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on that corner has seen more restaurants come and go than I can count, including the first rendition of Centini.

Before arriving in Calgary, Centini was the executive chef at Montreal's Le Latini for 18 years, honing the skills he had picked up in his home town of Le Marche, Italy.

Centini Restaurant is divided into four - the dining room, the lounge, the private function room and the theatre kitchen.  It's in the theatre kitchen that Centini excels.  A natural performer, he cooks, he kibitzes, he tosses the food, entertains and serves up a tasty meal.  His style is classical, but he likes to put his own spin on the dishes.

We'll see if the dye job of Centini becomes a permanent on the Calgary dining scene.  Flanked by Teatro, Thomsons, and Catch, Centini Restaurant & Lounge has become part of the new downtown restaurant boom.

And Centini and Miller couldn't be happier.

John Gilchrist review restaurants and broadcasts a national food business column for CBC Radio One.  He can be reached at escurial@cadvision.com or 235-7532

Back from the Brink - "This is a breakout year for Stephen Avenue"
Calgary Sunday Sun, June 30, 2002

Merchants along Stephen Avenue say this summer is heating up to signify stellar times for the strip, a turning point on the road to a vibrant future.

They say this walk, which has seen Calgarians pound its pavement for more than a century, might well be paved with gold, or, at the very least, silver.

And at least four new kids on the block, restaurateurs with deep pockets, are backing the wager on the avenue's impending success by investing millions into its future.

"It has captured the attention and imagination of retail lenders.  It's got to succeed now," Richard White, Calgary Downtown executive director, says from his office in the heart of downtown.

"This is a breakout year for Stephen Avenue."

White says the end of major construction - the Telus Convention Centre, The Hyatt, and Bankers Hall - marks the first time in about five years when there will be no demolitions to disrupt the quaintness of the outdoor mall.

And people flock to this strip.

Sipping cocktails on rooftops, drinking coffee on patios, strolling with dogs, or simply window-shopping and checking out vendors and street buskers - up to 50,000 visit the pedway each day.

That's the reason new restaurants, such as Ben Venito, upscale steakhouse Saltlik, and Centini are banking on making it here.

Three days after opening, Centini was taking Christmas bookings and tasting its lucrative future.

"This is the time to be here," says chef/part-owner Fabio Centini. "Once people come down and see the street has livened up, they'll keep coming."

Centini defers to Teatro restaurant in the terra cotta Dominion Bank building - across the street and cozied up near Olympic Plaza - for bravely venturing onto the strip in 1994.

"Teatro's proved this area can be a happening place," he says.

Most share a vision for a bright future along this strip.

"It's like centre ice.  It says to me the city has some diversity to it," says Centini's partner, Chevonne Miller.

Avenue of Wine - Some of the best restaurant cellars in the city can be found along 8th Avenue
Calgary Sunday Sun, June 30, 2002

Fabio Centini, the exuberant owner of the new Centini restaurant, is standing on the top row of a ladder in his brand new, vertically-shaped, two-storey wine cellar.

He's filling his wine pouch with bottles of wine and smiling.

Mouton Rothschild, Marchesi di Barolo, Stag's Leap Fay Vineyard and Freemark Abbey Bosche Vineyard is what he culls from the top of his wooden racks.

"We're all over the map," he laughs.

"We're not just Italian or French, I like to be diversified."

In the little time that Centini's has been open, he's amassed a cellar with 1,600 bottles and 225 labels.  It's hard to get a feel for the focus of the wine list other than to use Centini's words:  "There's nice wines to discover."

One thing is clear - the prices are excellent, I'm looking at a bottle of Mouton Rothschild 1995 and Centini's got a price tag of $450 on it.  I saw it on a retailer's shelf two years ago for that price!

"I don't want to gouge the customer.  If you charge too much it discourages people from buying it," he says.

Centini has a little bit of everything from seven different countries including Canada.

He says you need some of the big name wines such as Sassicaia, Tignanello, first-growth Bordeaux and big domaine Burgundy but you also have to have "great little gems here and there that don't cost a lot."

Centini says he likes to research the wines he buys on the Internet to discover new upcoming wines for his customers.  The hot wines right now, he says, are coming from Australia and California.

Enjoy!

Calgary Revamps its Beef and Beer Reputation
Business in Calgary, August 2002