Angel's Drive In

Angel's Drive In is just the place that we envision would make an appearance on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives due to their unique decor and atmosphere so we were curious to see how the food fared.  The husband has been here before but it was a new experience for the wife.

It's sort of hard to miss in Bowness!

While we noticed that fish and chips, a fish burger, and Caesar salad were offered here, they didn't seem too prominent on the menu so we didn't think to mention the seafood allergy (although in the future, it would probably be prudent to do so...).  However, we both lived to blog about it so we are going on the assumption that the burgers didn't touch anything else.  Neither of us were too hungry so we each ordered a mozzarella burger filled with a mayonnaise-based sauce, onions, mozzarella, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

Pretty substantial burgers; we're glad we didn't get fries on top of this!

The burgers were filling and they tasted just like homemade burgers that perhaps Mom would make for us.  The patties had that familiar grilled taste and the toppings were fresh and generous.  They weren't gourmet burgers but at the same time, they were pretty much what we hoped for in a little drive in like this.

Seafood-free friendliness: There is seafood on the menu, particularly fish, so it's probably worth mentioning an allergy; however, it looks like people mostly come here for the beef burgers and the floats/milkshakes (based on our observations when we dined there).  Angel's seems to be a family-friendly place where you can get comfort food at a reasonable price so we'll likely return there this summer to try other things on the menu.

Smashburger

We know - everyone is doing a review on Smashburger and other burger joints in Calgary these days.  But, it's not surprising we'd jump on board considering that these places are more often seafood-free than not.  If you check out the American allergen information sheet, it appears that the only risks are in the salad dressings and sauces, and the beefy chili.  While we both enjoy salads, neither of us actually like chili so that didn't bother us at all.

When we went to Smashburger this past Saturday, the line-ups were long but the tables turned over quickly so we were able to enjoy our food in no time.  Since we both only ordered burgers and fries, we didn't even need to think about seafood allergies!  This was a relief because one of the biggest frustrations we've had is in hearing that we can't have restaurant fries since they are cooked in the same deep fryer as the seafood (will restaurants one day have two separate fryers for this purpose?).  This has resulted in the wife having to change her order to a salad while longingly eyeing her husband's fries (the wife admits she should eat more salads but that it's less fun when she doesn't have a choice in the matter).  This time, however, there were fries in abundance on our table, which we realized at the end of the meal when we needed a bag to take half of them home after consuming pretty large burgers.  The following are what we ordered and practically inhaled:

The wife's Spicy Baja burger and sweet potato Smashfries with chipotle dipping sauce.  The avocado and the jalapenos created the perfect tang while the rest of the burger was actually spicy (just like they advertise).

The husband's Calgary burger and sweet potato Smashfries with chipotle dipping sauce.  The bacon really stood out and the spice level was just right.  While on their website, we noticed that the ingredients in the Calgary burger are the same as in the Colorado burger....

Seafood-free friendliness: Extremely, as long as you stay away from the Caesar salad dressing that has fish in it.  It would also be best to avoid the dressings/sauces and chili that have been produced in the same facility/line that fish and shellfish have come into contact with.  Other than that, we're thrilled that we can eat the burgers and fries here without any thoughts of allergies.