Taken from My Favourite Restaurants in Calgary & Banff, 6th Edition
By John Gilchrist, CBC Radio Restaurant Critic
Escurial Incorporated
Page 42

Cafe Divine
Market-Fresh Cuisine

It takes a lot of moxie to name your restaurant Divine. But moxie is what Darren Nixon and Lareina Wayne have in spades. When they opened their Okotoks restaurant a few years back, they softened the name a bit by calling it cafe Divine. But they've since shortened it to Divine, and they splash the name in red ink on black business cards. No subtlety here.

Which is appropriate for the food at Divine. At first glance, the Victorian-style building appears to be a quaint tea house or light lunch cafe. But a look at the dinner menu reveals slow-braised lamb shank in a tomato, red-wine, and garlic ragout ($23.25) and a Portuguese half-chicken ($22.75). These are big plates with big flavours. So there's no subtlety in the food either. The flavours are forceful yet not over the top. But there is sophistication. Creations such as a roasted beet and sun-dried tomato and with a blue-cheese cream ginger soup are inspired. The bite of ginger leaves a distinct tingle on the tongue, a pleasant and lingering memory of the soup. (Caution: Don't wear anything white while eating this though.) For the more delicate diner, there is a fillet of halibut crusted in cornmeal and served with a tasty, organic black-bean salad ($23.25). Actually, in contrast with the many other big flavours on the menu, the crust on the halibut could use a little more depth of flavour.

Divine satisfies the Okotoks’ lunch crowd with a great lamb burger topped with chili-mint cucumbers and a spicy mango mayonnaise ($10.50), a free-range turkey salad with roasted hazelnuts and dried cranberries on a croissant ($10.25), salads, noodle bowls, and more. Desserts are likewise big on size and taste, with oven-warmed brownies topped with ice cream and fruit sauce and a sour cherry crème brulee topped with a perfect caramelized-sugar crust.

Divine showcases local products and growers not only in their dishes, but also on their shelves. You can do a little shopping while here-pick up a few hothouse tomatoes and squeeze-bottles of organic honey or go international with kosher salt and smoked Spanish paprika.

Decor at Divine is homespun, casual, and friendly, as are the staff. They’re an earnest bunch, bent on keeping the water glasses filled and ensuring the plates are delivered hot from the kitchen.

So Divine it is. I like the attitude. And l like the food.