Comery Block BBQ Restaurant
There’s a new BBQ kid in town! The Comery Block BBQ Restaurant has opened and just in time for this year’s Calgary Stampede! It’s a bar, it’s a restaurant, it’s a smokehouse, putting out some of the best smoke meats in the city!
Comery Block has taken over the space that Fiores Italian Restaurant occupied for a great many years. Here’s a little know fact; my wife and I had our first date at Fiores. They are right on the corner of 17th Avenue and 6th Street SW, located in the heart of the “Red Mile”!
Comery Block BBQ Restaurant is owned by the same group that opened the Hayden Block restaurant in Kensington a few years ago. The smoked meat is the star of the show in this place, but don’t let that fool you, they are not just a one trick pony!
This is the General Manager Ben Fellows, who always has a big smile and was serving up fantastic drinks like this Double Smoked Old Fashioned!
A Drink For Every Taste
They have 32 different varieties of draft beer on tap. Add that to a well stocked bar carrying 54 different Bourbons, 39 varieties of American whiskey, 7 types of Canadian whiskey and 11 different labels of Irish whiskeys. Plus 12 varieties of Japanese whiskeys and don’t forget the 21 different Scotch whiskeys behind the bar!
The Kissing Cousins cocktail pictured here was a real favorite of my wife, Tara. It is a combination of Makers Mark, Aperol, Dry Curacao, Grapefruit, Basil, Bitter and Orange Blossom.
Perfect for sipping on anytime of day, after all it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right!?
You might say that they have something for just about every taste, and you’d be right! The feel of the restaurant is friendly, with bench seating and long family-style tables. Minors are welcome everyday until 8:00 PM as long as they are accompanied by an adult. The beer comes to the table literally “Ice Cold”. My glass still had bits of frozen beer on the top as you can see here! Love that!
The windows open so that you can hear the activity on the street inside the restaurant. The hustle and bustle of noise and activity inside the restaurant also flows out into the street.
The fun atmosphere and the delicious smoky aroma call passersby on the street to stop in and see what is going on! They will be drawing the crowds in for Stampede and beyond!!
The Real Magic!
In the back is where the magic happens, they have two large 8 foot “Ole Hickory” smoking pits side by side. They only use hickory wood for smoking which they get shipped to the restaurant from Ontario. They smoke whole hog, ribs, beef brisket, turkey and chicken.
After the chicken is smoked they cover it in a spicy batter and deep fry to perfection. I haven’t seen that before, lots of love and care go into each dish to make it just right!!
This is a Tennessee style smoke house. This means they rub the ribs, whole hog, and beef brisket with a mix of herbs and spices before putting them in the smoker. They do not apply any BBQ sauce to the proteins before or during the smoking process. But they are all served with tomato-based BBQ sauces.
Delicious whole hogs are smoked to perfection for pulled pork and more!!
They also smoke whole chicken and brine the turkey breasts before they go into the smoker. This not only adds a ton of flavor but helps keep it super moist!
The menu is fairly straight forward. But it does give you a chance to mix and match your proteins and your sides. The also have some non-tradition smoke house items like nachos and salads if you prefer something lighter or vegetarian even. This super creamy potato salad was awesome, albeit maybe not too light!
A Little Bite of Everything!
During our visit we were lucky enough to get a tasting sample of just about all the items on the menu from pulled pork to brisket to their super creamy Mac and Cheese topped with real bacon. Everything was delicious!
They have large jars of sweet and spicy BBQ sauces as well as a mustard sauce on each table. This allows you to pick what you want to pair with your smoked meats.
And what visit to a Smokehouse joint would be complete without some cornbread?? The muffins are made fresh in house and are served up with honey butter. Needless to say they are wonderful! We even had to pick up a few to take home to our daughter as she is a huge cornbread fan!
Make sure you make plans to stop into the new Comery Block very soon! Just be ready for some real down-home Memphis style BBQ right here in Calgary! Happy hour is Monday to Friday from 3-6 PM. They have a different daily food special every day of the week. If you are a night owl, stop in after 10 PM when all the smoked meats are 1/2 off!
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