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Where to dine in Airdrie

If you're coming to Airdrie and looking for somewhere to eat, here are our top eight recommendations. Pauls Pizza Steakhouse & Lounge—winner of Airdrie's Best Restaurant—makes their pizza dough, sauce and cheese from scratch.

Hungry visitors to Airdrie won’t find themselves lacking dining and drinking options. From pizza to barbecue to breweries, the city offers several delicious restaurants.

Pizza is always popular, and long-time favourite Pauls Pizza Steakhouse & Lounge makes their dough, sauce and cheese from scratch. Co-owner Farouk Elsaghir said the restaurant’s thick pizzas – with seven or eight layers of toppings – are customer favourites, and the "Pauls Special" is the most popular item.

"It has seven layers with five different kinds of meat and a couple of different veggies," he said.

Meanwhile, The Mash, which opened along Main Street this year, offers a unique twist on the pizza recipe with dough made from grain left over from brewing beer.

"There's no egg and no milk in our dough," said Lisa Phibodeau, pub manager at The Mash. "You will not have a taste like it anywhere else."

The Dill-Pickle and Bacon pizza is a customer favourite, Phibodeau said, adding that they’re currently offering what's called "The Craft Pack."

"It's two medium-sized pizzas and a six-pack, all for $42" she said.

Airdrie offers more than just pizza. Abe's Diner, located in Kingsview Market, is a locally owned and operated restaurant that offers made-from-scratch burgers and hand-cut fries.

"Everything is made from scratch here," said co-owner Luis Gonzalez. "All our sauces, all our mayos...we make them all by hand here."

According to Gonzalez, the Texas BBQ Burger is the restaurant’s most popular item, Gonzalez said. The burger includes their signature sauce, spicy mayo, cheddar cheese and an onion ring on a brioche bun.

Across town in Towerlane Centre, Texas-style smokehouse Mainstreet Beer & BBQ usually serves up its barbecue with line-dancing on Thursdays and a DJ dance floor on the weekend.

Manager Graham Deal said the restaurant is a great spot to try local beers and a "piece of Alberta," with the three Airdrie breweries on tap, as well as 22 breweries from across Alberta.

"We have daily specials every day during happy hour, and that turns all 36 beers on tap to five dollars," he said.

Anyone looking to skip the bar and head straight to the source for beer will want to check out Airdries breweries. A great place to start is Fitzsimmons Brewing Company– Airdrie's first microbrewery, which opened in 2017.

Located in the East Lake industrial area, visitors can enjoy the three-time award-winning beer, the East Lake Amber, on a "big fluffy couch" in a family-like atmosphere while playing Nintendo 64, said Mattea Walkey, administrative assistant at Fitzsimmons.

"With our space, in the warehouse, you can sit down and see the entire back, you can see everything going on with the brewings," Walkey said.

The Mad Queen Pineapple Sour beer is another of the brewery’s offerings that is often in high demand, Walkey said, with people from Calgary, Red Deer and Cochrane coming to try it.

In Cooperstown Promenade, the Balzac Craft Brewing Company offers a friendly and inviting atmosphere to its patrons.

"Our corporate motto is 'Fine Ales Make Friends,'" said co-owner Stew Ward. "It has become apparent that this is indeed the case."

 Ward and his wife, Nola, said the idea of opening the brewery came to them while enjoying a "good single malt" five years ago.

“We've travelled throughout Great Britain and always enjoyed local beer and the pub atmosphere, and thought a brewery would be a great second career," Ward said. "

The brewery’s popular Prairie Sunset Blonde ale and Range Road Red Irish ale can be enjoyed with the whole family – the place is both kid and dog friendly.

Finally, 948 Brewery shares a little bit of Airdrie's history and stories with their beer, according to Chief Operating Officer Kyle Wudrich.

Named for the original prefix of Airdrie's phone numbers, the brewery produces various small-batch beers 400 litres at a time. With eight taps available, Wudrich said they are "constantly rotating through all of their new and interesting beers."

The Patio Krusher (Kolsch) is one of 948’s most popular beers, while the Bab's Blackout blonde ale, which is purple, is an excellent drink to enjoy in the summer, Wudrich said.

 If you're looking for a cocktail, look no further than Sorso Lounge, Espresso and Wine Bar. Managing partner and award-winning bartender London Richard described Sorso as the type of place where you can get a classic, 1920's style cocktail.

According to Richard, Sorso offers an elaborate menu featuring, among other things, an award-winning old fashioned. The signature drink – along with other cocktails – is barrel-aged for up to a year.

While forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic, Richard said Sorso took the opportunity to create a more "elevated menu."

"We've expanded our beer line, and we have 12 local Alberta craft beers on tap now, and all the local tall cans as well," he said.

Kate F. Mackenzie, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @katefmack

 

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