Culture schlock.

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There's nothing about Calgary at first glance that makes a Maritimer think things are any different from down East, other than their neatly laid out, grid-like street system. Their sometimes annoyingly right wing politics (37 straight years of Conservative rule "" can that be correct?) isn't immediately evident, and you can't see the tar sands (excuse me: oil sands) from here, you know, so the oil business isn't exactly in your face. In fact Calgary has quite a bit of green space, the Bow River running through it, and a great zoo.

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Perhaps people on the street don't look you in the eye and smile like we are wont to do down East. Maybe they aren't as desperate to be liked, or maybe they don't care if we like them at all.

We did our wine judging (that's why I was here) at the U of Calgary and it was pretty clear Calgary is cultivating a multicultural population, as are our Maritime cities.

I always have this mental impression of Calgary as being very American, but it's quickly shattered when you walk around, or go to a bar. It's Canadian all right; from the crappy mainstream Canuck brews on tap (they even have one from Molson I've never had before, called simply Pilsner, the best quality of which is its succinctness) to the goofy yet clearly not American fashion of its denizens. Walking down the street in the rich and fashionable Kensington feels no different from Spring Garden Rd. in Halifax. Neither Calgary nor Halifax (and certainly not New Brunswick's "big" cities) can compete with Montreal in that area.

All we need to do, of course, is to dress only in black and leather. But it's too hot for black in Calgary this week.

And no, you morons, there are no cowboy hats. But there will be, soon. The Stampede is coming, July 4-13. According to their website, over 450,000 stuffed toys are won during the event, while 16,000 pounds of coffee grounds are collected and composted, and more than 76,000 hamburgers are consumed. It seems Calgary wants to use these numbers to compare itself to Texas, where we all know everything is bigger. Forget it, Calgary. You're better than that. You're better than them.

I'll be getting out of town to my brother's place in the mountains and thus will miss the event, and none too soon because I see that a-hole Kid Rock is going to be in town, but in some respects I'd like to hang around and see all the hats, the faux cowboys and the real ones, the rodeo riders and the big country hair. It ain't all country music, though. Soul diva Jully Black is performing, as are a wide variety of musicians from various genres.

On another cultural front, Calgary's restaurant selection is as good as the wine and beer choice here (remember, they have private liquor sales), which makes Calgary very attractive to food lovers. My first lunch was at Wild Wood Grill and Brewing Co., at 2417 4th N.W., which doubles as a pub and fine dining locale with a large wine selection. The beer and the meal were both fantastic. I followed that up with a great brew at Wild Rose Brewery Taproom, located in an old aircraft hangar near the Calgary Farmer's Market, which seems to be in the middle of an industrial park. Wild Horse's IPA (Industrial Park Ale) is a big, bitter beauty.

I had the best Thai food in my life at Thai Sa-on, at 351-10 Avenue S.W., where host Sam Chanhao has an impressive wine collection on offer, reputedly amongst the best in the city, somewhat unusual for a Thai place.

The next night we enjoyed authentic certified Napoletana pizza at Pulcinella in Kensington. The wine selection is all Italian (around 70 wines on the main list), and impressive, even if it was all from the portfolio of one wine sales group.

Basically what I'm saying is that Calgary is a thriving, modern and even multicultural Canadian city, and I feel pretty comfortable here, even if I hate their politics.

Craig Pinhey noticed that the Stampede website quoted the coffee weight in pounds, so maybe they are too American. Visit Craig at www.frogspad.ca.