Änkôr, in Canmore, fuses Quebec heritage with Japanese techniques
In Canmore, a town in the Canadian Rockies an hour from Calgary, Danny Beaulieu fuses Quebec heritage with Japanese techniques in his open kitchen.
Änkôr attracts foodies from all over to Canmore, a small town in the Canadian Rockies, just over an hour west of Calgary. The restaurant features a polished pine bar and a large "living wall" of potted plants, and its heart is the open kitchen, where you can watch Danny Beaulieu and his team at work.
Beaulieu's cuisine, served on custom-carved marble plates, fuses his Quebecois heritage with techniques honed during his culinary immersion in Sapporo and Hokkaido. Among his Japanese dishes is shime saba: fresh mackerel, salted, pickled, and cold-smoked, accompanied by complex textures of burdock and sesame.
Lambtastic Farms Alberta lamb appears in various preparations, from braised belly with morel ragu to shio koji-cured loin, sliced carpaccio-style.
Working alongside Beaulieu is the newly appointed sous-chef Michelle LeBlanc. For dessert, Jo-Annie Deschamps offers a lemon and cream sponge cake with elderflower pearls, white chocolate ganache, and redcurrant sorbet, topped with a biscuit.
According to Elizabeth Carson's review, "Gorgeous Canadian flavors, excellent presentation, comprehensive wine list, and discreet service."