I like to feel boojee but I’m also on a budget.
So when I heard of a Happy Hour, inside Saks 5th Avenue, at Calgary’s newest bar & restaurant BUFFO, I grabbed my magnifying glass and head on over to do some Angela Lansbury style detective work.
Presented by the Oliver Bochinin group, Buffo is its very first ‘Italian’ venture into the market.
Hearing that I expected a played up version with a decor ladened with checkered table clothes and melted candles… but this was O.B and inside a Saks, so what I was welcomed into was a very colourful and modern, velvet and brass adorned Italian dreamland.
And Buffo is huge.
Multiple rooms for dinning all separated by draping curtains, the space is seemingly endless.
But greeting you at its entry is a well stocked bar with a creative drink menu… and where I decide to start my investigation.
From Monday to Friday 2pm-6pm, Buffo offers and amazing cocktail Happy Hour which will leave you with plenty of leftover dough for shopping.
All priced at $4, you can choose from a peach or raspberry Bellini, local brewery Trolley 5’s ‘Derailed’ Pale Ale and a choice between a red and a white wine.
But what’s a drink without some nibbles!
And although their are no reduced prices on food, the arancini is fully worth its cost.
Surprisingly not overly ricey, Buffo hand makes their arancini everyday and stuffs them full of cheese making it a hot and crispy hybrid that falls somewhere between the classic ball and a deep fried mozzarella stick.
I could have eaten a hundred.
Then, with the taste of food… I turned from detective to competitive eater and ordered;
The Salad $33
The lasagna $33
The chicken parm $33
Followed by all the desserts!
The chocolate $4
The conollis $8
And the dessert I’ve been dream of since,
The donuts $3
Stuffed Nutella flowing like lava
My work here was done. I had solved the mystery and won the competition!
Buffo; guilty of an amazing happy hour and some unforgettable eats!
Manga
Mr. Fab
