Chorney-Booth: Seasonality and Korean flavours bubble up at Sot

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Calgary is spoiled with an ever-growing selection of Korean restaurants – every quadrant of the city boasts its share of Korean barbecue, Korean fried chicken, or more traditional Korean fare. But even with all that choice, there’s still plenty of room for new eateries to further explore the depth and variety of Korean cuisine. The latest is Sot, an elegant and slightly higher-end spot that combines Korean flavours and techniques with premium local ingredients.

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Sot is the creation of chef Alex Sang-Ho Kwon, who has built a career in upscale contemporary dining, most recently working at Orchard. The 40-seat Sot, named after a Korean word translating to “kettle” or “pot,” sets the mood with its clean, minimalist decor. The layout of the location – an upstairs unit in Inglewood that previously housed a once-popular pizza place – is instantly recognizable, but Kwon worked hard to transform it into a calming oasis of light-hued, wood-panelled walls and comfortable sea-green banquettes, all awaiting guests as they make the journey up an impeccably renovated stairway. The kitchen at the back of the building is completely open to the dining room, but even on a busy night, it doesn’t emit the sense of chaos common to exposed workspaces.

That same sense of congeniality extends to the food. Like many talented chefs, Kwon has long dreamed of running his own restaurant. Once the time came, he decided to lend the skills he picked up in Western cuisine to a more upscale version of the type of food he grew up eating and remains closest to his heart.

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“My point of view is that everyone thinks of the Korean barbecue where you cook tableside, but Korean food can be anything,” Kwon says. “I wanted to showcase our signature dishes with fresh seasonal ingredients from Alberta and B.C.”

Lovers of Korean barbecue shouldn’t feel dismayed – there is still plenty of meat on Sot’s menu, it’s just cooked to perfection in the kitchen to make best use of those high-quality ingredients. The beef bulgogi – a Korean standard – is made with certified Angus beef (C.A.B.) chuck roll ($27), resulting in an ultra-tender and flavourful version of the classic dish. Sot also used C.A.B. for its beef short rib ($38), as well as local Berkshire pork from Broek for its marinated pork ($24), served with lettuce for wrapping ssam-style. While the meaty mains are impressive, Sot’s strength lies in its smaller, lesser-known dishes, with selections like pork hock terrine with salty shrimp sauce and mustard dressing ($15), Alberta tomato salad with kimchi dressing ($14), and summer squash with a tofu and prawn stuffing ($13). The other house specialty is the Sot rice ($12/$18), a profoundly flavourful pot of premium Asian rice cooked to order with the option of adding anything from perilla leaves or grilled corn and garlic scapes to a selection of luxurious seafood.

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Everything comes with house-made kimchi and other condiments and sides and Kwon warns that the menu will change quarterly to reflect what’s in season. The restaurant also reflects Kwon’s deep love of wine with a carefully curated list designed to pair with the food. Also, look for a nice selection of cocktails as well as soju and other Korean liquors.

Sot is located upstairs at 1216 9th Ave. S.E. Visit sotyyc.com for reservations and more information.

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For those looking to cook at home – or on the ranch, as the case may be – former Herald food writer Cinda Chavich has just released the second edition of her The Wild West Cookbook, originally published in 1998. A collection of cowboy comfort food with recipes for everything from prairie oysters to several kinds of chilli, this new edition features 90 recipes, each offering a taste of Wild West culture. Chavich includes a comprehensive run-down of the history of cowboy cuisine, both archival and new photos, and plenty of recipes to appeal to modern tastes alongside her retro classics. The book retails for $24.95 at most bookstores.

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And for a different kind of wild – or Wilde – the Dorian Hotel’s Wilde restaurant has a few fall events on the calendar. First up, the restaurant is introducing a Sunday Suppers program, inspired by traditional British weekend roast meals. These special menus featuring a nice hunk of protein and carefully paired sides, will be available on Sept. 22, Oct. 6 and 20 with seatings at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Reservations can be made through OpenTable.

Going even more opulent, The Wilde is bringing back its now annual A Wilde Affair soiree on Sept. 28. This one is an all-out extravaganza, with a party spanning three spaces throughout the hotel, all featuring food, drinks and live entertainment. Tickets for the party – with different price tiers available for those who wish to indulge in cocktails or those who would rather just focus on the food – are on sale now and are available through Showpass.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.

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