Mikey's Juke Joint & Eatery (Calgary, Canada)

MON-WED 11 am-12 am – THU-SAT 11 am-2 am SUN 9 am – CLOSE – 403.245.8833

A Juke Joint, After a Fashion A juke joint in the southern vernacular is an informal, often rough-hewn establishment that features blues music, dancing, alcoholic beverages, and maybe even food. The term juke is derived from “joog” in the Gullah tongue, the language spoken by African Americans in the low country region of South Carolina and Georgia. It implied something rowdy or disorderly, and the emphasis of such an establishment was more usually the music and dancing, not the food. While Mikey’s is not known for being rowdy or disorderly, the name does otherwise fit. In more modern parlance it might be called a honky tonk.

The Music Is Important Here Mikey’s Juke Joint is justifiably known for its music. It has special nights for jugs and blues, an open mic, and jams every Saturday. The energy level is high and the customers get off on the sounds. The list of performers grows longer and longer as time goes by. Such music men as Daren Johnson, Tim Williams, Steve Pineo, Tom Phillips, Ray Lemelin, and John Campbell are heard here, along with Mikey himself, playing the sax. It is not a swanky place, for, as the proprietor allows: “there’s enough fancy places in town”.

Food May Be Secondary, But It’s Still Pretty Darn Good The food at Mikey’s runs principally to the Cajun stylings. There is crayfish etouffee, a dish which has crawdads (crayfish to the uninitiated) cooked in cayenne pepper, garlic, onions, green peppers, and celery, all smothering a bed of rice. The jambalaya is a dish made of meat, sausage, vegetables, tomatoes, rice, and stock. Great crab cakes and a tasty gumbo are also on hand. So play some pool, socialize, and enjoy the music, but do not ignore the food.