Today I hit what I guess you could consider a sort of local food wall. Really cute after 3 days, no? But it wasn't a wall in the negative sense at all. The "wall" was the screeching revelation that continuing to live the life I want to live, as it is, using food as a social medium, is impossible in this city if I want to keep my diet clear of anything that didn't originate within 100 miles of my home.
Today, I had a lunch date set with a friend who (thankfully) is very understanding of this whole undertaking. So I tweeted a request for good Calgary restaurants that serve local ingredients. For the most part, I got the same 5 or 6 replies (I'll list them after...). One girl, though, simply posted in reply that finding a restaurant in Calgary that fits within the guidelines of the 100 mile challenge is impossible if for no other reason than the inevitable and problematic SALT. Having this pointed out to me made me start to really consider just how hard it would be to completely shut out all of the imported products that are available to us right now. Yes, we are entirely spoiled by all of the unsustainable products we have access to. They make food delicious! But we also have so many delicious things at our disposal closer to home.
So, I've thought it before but I will reiterate, maybe it isn't completely necessary to cut out all long food system products to have a diet that you consider local and moral. I think it is better yet to eat like you want to eat, be happy with your choices, and feel comfortable in your own morality. Sustainability will come slowly, and each time someone takes a step towards it by purchasing a local food product it goes a long way! So why not find a nice balance and ease our consciences until someday, by some miracle, Calgary's food systems become self-sustaining.
So, that all being said, I still had a great and local food day. Again, granola and yogurt for breakfast! Yum! And then a wonderful lunch with Quinn at Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters in Marda Loop. Who knew their food is all local!? I had the BEST grilled cheese with Sylvan Star Smoked Gouda and house-made ketchup, with delicious apple coleslaw. Yum. The bread the sandwich was on was from Manuel Latruwe Pastries and Bread, another Calgary business, and there was information about the bakery readily available, which I really appreciated. Very impressed, go eat lunch there!
For dinner I made pasta sauce with Silver Sage Beef, peppers from The Cucumber Man, spinach from Innisfail Growers and Alberta sourced and produced canned tomato sauce I recieved as a gift a few months ago. I used packages linguine from Sunterra, rather than making local pasta from scratch. But I do intend to buy some local flour and make my own pasta soon, just for kicks.
All in all, a delicious and eye-opening day!
Now then, try these places on for size!
Lacey, you are one of the coolest people I know and have inspired me to do something like this too!! Thanks for being a star. :)
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