It might have been because the name is so fun to say, it might have been because I was thinking of the last time I visited, or it might have been because I was craving good food on a Friday night. Whatever the reason, we began walking towards the cozy restaurant, located just off Banff’s main street.

If you’ve never been to Tooloulou’s, it’s a small but comfortable space with some wild southern decorations. In the summer, they have a sidewalk patio, but it was far too cold for that. So we sat inside, tucked up at a table by the kitchen. Tooloulou’s proudly serves “a little Louisiana, a little Acadiana, a little Canadiana.” All of their food is made in house for an authentic, homestyle comfort-food feel. It’s delicious.

Looking at the menu, I immediately found my favourite order – Blackened Chicken with sweet potato fries. Apparently, I wasn’t allowed to order something I’d had before, so I sadly scrapped that idea. I settled on the Mile-High Stir-Fry. We began with alligator bites and calamari. I’d never had alligator before, and after all the jokes about it “tasting like chicken,” we solemnly decided it tasted like cod tongues instead. We may also have had a few drinks of wine by this point.

When the mains came, I could see mine was aptly named. Practically overflowing with fresh vegetables, the stir-fry was tall, tasty and filling. It was easily enough for two meals and I thoroughly enjoyed it both times.

As usual, the service was excellent. Overall, it was an amazing meal from start to finish and my in-laws were impressed with my ability to think of such a great place to eat on such short notice.

Thank you, Tooloulou’s. You always serve an amazing time!