A Truly Delicious Diversion
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It may have been observed over the months that I have frequented Steemit that I enjoy titling my posts with somewhat expansive, word filled headlines. Sometimes a thing is so amazing, so transcendentally awesome that just the name of the topic will do. ChaCha John's is king of that particular category.
What in the world is ChaCha John's you are probably wondering at this point? Well, a retro nightclub it is not, rather it is the home of the finest Indian cuisine that I have ever had the privilege of tasting.
My Pacific Northwest and Alaskan upbringing did not bless me with a very experienced palate. Honestly, most of my upbringing's menu revolved heavily around venison, elk, and potatoes. Salt, pepper, and ketchup were pretty much the star seasonings of that realm. I would try anything new though and ate all manner of things like herring roe and sea cucumber, but ethnic cuisine and I didn't get introduced until I was a senior in high school. Let's just say I have been making up for lost time ever since.
Our recent week in Canada was spent in the company of friends whose food adventurism spirit is somewhat limited in scope, and as we tend to try to be courteous when in the company of others, we spent most of the week eating what our friends were used too. By the time we left Banff last Thursday we were practically salivating with food-diversity desire. By the time we pulled off of the freeway and drove a couple of kilometers into Okotoks, Alberta for some fuel the need for some curry or dim sum was Mr. Hyde-like insistent.
While my husband filled up our little blue car, I brought up the list of local restaurants on my phone. ChaCha John's was at the top of a not too long of a list due to Okotoks being a pretty small town. When he got back in the car he queried as to why I looked so bemused. I replied:
"Any restaurant that serves Canadian and Indian fusion food needs to be experienced!"
A short drive later we pulled up in front of a large metal building that housed a movie theater, a couple other businesses, and the soon to be infamous ChaCha John's. I was super intrigued as the building sat on the edge of a big field. It was total farm country.
We all piled out of the car and stepped through the restaurant's entry door. Inside we were transported to a burgundy and black decorated, sophisticated-looking little eatery. A few things I noted immediately: 1. It was super clean. 2. Other people were there eating and they had contented looks on their faces. 3. The man walking towards us looked super friendly and welcoming.
Justin, our server, introduced himself and proceeded to place us in a booth close to the little bar that adorned the back center of the space. Justin was the owner's brother and basically became our brother over the course of the meal. He was that magical combination of attentive, friendly, and not too obtrusive. Like a restaurant server unicorn!
The menu was beyond interesting! Our daughter Squeaky proceeded to order the traditional burger and our son Bobo ordered the panko breaded chicken tenders. Justin explained that they ground the meat, baked the hamburger bun, and marinated the chicken overnight. Every single component on every plate in the restaurant was completely made from scratch.
Husband and I, although enraptured by the idea of a Naan taco, went with curry bowls, because I absolutely adore curry and pretty much anything hot and spicy. He had Palak Lamb and I had Chicken Tikka Masala. Both entrees came with homemade naan bread and jasmine rice.
Words cannot describe the ambrosia that arrived! Seriously people, if you are ever south of Calgary, or even near Calgary this place is so worth a visit! There were people from that metropolis in the restaurant when we were that drove down just to eat at CCJ's. The food is that good! My chicken melted into a spicy bit of gut rejoicing happiness as soon as it hit my mouth, and my husband emitted all sorts of Crusty Pineapple grunts of sheer bliss.
What was even better was Justin. He spent a whole bunch of time chatting with us. We got to know his story. He had been working at the restaurant for his brother for the last 18 months. He had spent the last 13 years working in a hotel in Dubai, and he really missed his wife and 8 year old daughter. His tale of trying to better he and his family's life through hard work and immigrating to another country was something to hear. By the end of the meal he and my husband took a selfie together, it was hilarious!
As we finished up our meal he stopped by the table and asked us:
"I have a traditional Indian dessert that I would love for you to try, will you?"
We were stuffed, but for Justin's sake we all agreed to share a plate of his carrot cake with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.
What arrived at our table blew my mind! To be honest, the "cake" looked a bit life pre-chewed carrot cake, artfully smeared like four flower petals in a bowl with a scoop of amazing smelling ice cream in the center. The raspberry coulis and caramel sauce that was flourished over all of the dish made it almost too pretty to eat.
The carrot cake had toasted almonds and honey but there was this one flavor that I had never experienced. It kind of reminded me of a decadent sort of ginger. It mingled with the vanilla bean ice cream in such a way that I think my eyes rolled back into the recesses of my skull.
Justin must have noticed my reaction because he asked,
"Do you taste the saffron?"
Saffron! I had never enjoyed the spice before, it's not exactly common in North Idaho. It was glorious! We all dove into that bowl of cake like a bunch of half starved pigs at a trough. I'm pretty sure the dessert portion of our meal was gone in about 3.6 seconds.
Meal finished, hands shaken, check paid (There was a YUGE tip added!), we made our way back out to our little blue car in post-enjoyed Indian cuisine elation. On our way out the door we assured Justin that we would return as Okotoks is only a six hour drive from our homestead. Seriously people, the food is that awesome!
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