BUSINESS MIX

CALGARY GETS TO UNWIND WITH A TASTE OF SOJU AT ANJU

Calgary’s Anju gives locals a taste of Korea.

Stephen Stewart admits he’s ascending the same learning curve as many others when it comes to understanding Korean food and drink. “I’d been to Korean karaoke bars and tried [spirit] soju, but I hadn’t researched it at all,” he says. But he’s had to quickly learn since becoming bar manager of the reborn Calgary restaurant Anju. Reopened in a new, larger 17th Avenue SW location in August after a five-plus-year stint in the downtown west end, Anju is poised to exploit its position at the crossroads between two trends: a vogue for all things Korean, and a mania for small, shareable plates.

“It’s Korean drinking food,” Stewart says. “Anju translated means small plates, shared among friends, to be consumed with alcohol.” It can’t hurt that chef and owner Roy Oh’s crispy tofu with citrus aioli has already won plenty of fans, or that the menu sorts the dishes into appealing categories such as “deep fried, crispy goodness,” or that Korean bar cuisine’s killer app is fried chicken.

Stewart describes Anju as “casual yet professional,” and on the noisy side — to the point of not necessarily being suitable for meetings. “I would say it [leans] more on the side of unwinding with colleagues,” he says. That’s just as well given how much there is to explore on the drinks menu.

Stewart trained in the mixological arts at local classic cocktail den Milk Tiger Lounge. To suit the Korean dishes at Anju, he’s had to craft cocktails with a more delicate touch. He also recommends soju to go with plates of anju nibbles. “It’s clear, it’s light, it’s refreshing. I describe it as Korean vodka,” he says, but it’s lighter in alcohol at about 20%. “It’s meant to be a sharing thing for the table. You’re not going to be stumbling out of the restaurant.”

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