Prefabricated communities like Aspen Woods, one of Calgary’s newest suburban developments, are not often associated with good restaurants or unique clubs. In suburbia, after spending the day in Walmart or the local outlet mall, families are likely to ‘dine’ in such soul-wrenching eateries as Boston Pizza, Montana’s, or Jack Astor’s. Though I often damn such neighborhoods for condemning families to a life of bad food and cheap, made in Taiwan products, Aspen Woods is getting lucky. Regardless of how much oil Calgary families have access to; they no longer have to waste gas money by exiting suburbia to dine – Concorde RestoLounge has arrived.

Though I would never categorize any part of Calgary as urban, this suburban restolounge is about as urban as Calgary gets. That said, the fact that Concorde – an upscale restaurant and club atmosphere all in one space – gauchely refers to itself as a restolounge (instead of as a supper club) belies any claims that it doesn’t have a hint of country in it. The trend-clinging spot – glowing blue Evian bottles, LCD screens, stocked bar et al – has a trying-too-hard kind of vibe. Even the menu – with items such as tiki braised short ribs, kung-pow vermicelli, and Chilean sea bass – seems faddish and a tad overplayed. Nonetheless the spot is definitely more worthwhile than any block restaurant under the sun and outshines that Calgary favorite, Earl’s, any day.

As for the bar, up to current trends the libation list is not. In fact the moonshine menu – which has items that include mixologist’s nightmare blue curacao, and artificially flavored coconut rum – seems as if it was compiled by someone who has had no connection to the bar world in years. To top things off, Concorde even has a (yikes) rye list. Do I really need to comment further? I think not. – E.H