Ma Maison aims to carve out a high-end home with twists on classic French dishes
Anh Ta ticks all the current boxes when it comes to the new wave of restaurateurs: She’s young, bright, has both an interesting immigrant and restaurant backstory and a desire to bring her own style of top-notch food to the Calgary market. But her vision takes a left turn when she talks about her market. “It’s mature professionals over 40 who are looking for a restaurant with excellent food and service and a spacious, relaxing atmosphere for conversation and light jazz,” she says.
So her Ma Maison at 1111 7th St. S.W. (403-452-1819) is not aimed at the restaurant-hopping crowd that revels in the latest hot spot. Instead, she wants to build a solid clientele for her Asian-influenced, French cuisine.
Ta recently took over the historic George Stanley house (Stanley designed our Canadian Maple Leaf flag) after Laurier Lounge closed. The space, including the kitchen, was in good shape. So, following a fresh coat of paint, she now has a 45-seat second-floor dining room, a 30-seat main floor lounge, a 10-seat solarium and a 10-seat patio. (There are four dedicated parking spots, too.)
Ta has gone old school in her dining room with something we haven’t seen much of lately — tablecloths. There’s also a Ritmuller grand piano up there, indicating that this might just be a place for a little live entertainment, also something we haven’t seen much of lately. The tables are well spaced and the room has an elegance and airiness that is welcome.
Ta’s dinner menu features French classics such as salmon en croute, braised duck and foie gras mousse, but the dishes are given a contemporary or Asian spin. The salmon ($29) comes with a melange of mushrooms, a spring pea puree, mint asparagus and a kaffir lime sauce. The duck ($37) is braised in an aromatic stock and served with vegetable ribbons, Vietnamese turmeric crepe, sprouts, papaya and papaya sauce. And the foie gras ($18) is sided with a cranberry-andcitrus compote, pickled radishes, a rose hip reduction and buttered toast.
Early birds (4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.) have the opportunity to dine on a chef-selected, three-course meal for $38. And in a nod to the current tapas trend, Ta offers a list of $9 “small bowls” of udon noodles with brown butter caramelized shallots and brussels sprouts or Japanese eggplant tempura with sweet chili and greens.
Ma Maison’s lunch and brunch menus broaden out to include the likes of eggs Benedict, quiche Lorraine, a Wagyu burger and a seafood salad. The wine list is all-French and desserts include creme brulee and a flourless chocolate cake.
To achieve her particular blend of flavours, Ta has recruited chef Denise Carr, a Calgary native with a stellar culinary resume. Carr learned her trade in San Diego where she assisted California and USA teams at the Culinary Olympics and where she cooked for Julia Child and with Francois Payard. She’s won a long list of Caribbean culinary awards and has spent the past 12 years cooking in Anguilla, where she owned a couple restaurants and served as executive chef at the CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa. But after last September’s Hurricane Irma severely damaged Anguilla and trashed its tourism industry, she was forced to look elsewhere for work. So she returned to family in Calgary and answered Ta’s ad for a chef. Carr has helped add a tropical tone to Ta’s Asian-French concept.
Ta herself has a significant restaurant background too. Having come to Calgary from Vietnam with her parents as a four-yearold, she grew up in their restaurant — Pho Binh Minh — on 17th Avenue S.E. The Vietnamese restaurant has earned a reputation over the past twenty years as one of the best — and THE best in many minds — Vietnamese pho houses in the city. She hopes to bring some of that quality and commitment to her new Beltline location while supporting as many local suppliers as possible.
So, if you’re a mature professional who’s looking for a new dining option with creative classic cuisine, good service, crisp linens, a grand piano, candles, fresh flowers, a conversation-friendly noise level and a romantic setting, Ma Maison may fit the bill. And it may just satisfy some restaurant hoppers, too.
It’s mature professionals over 40 who are looking for a restaurant with excellent food and service and a spacious, relaxing atmosphere for conversation and light jazz.