Category Archives: British Columbia

Bargain Breakfasts and Generous Strangers in Armstrong, B.C.

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Neil and Caroline cooking up a good time at their delightful Brown Derby Cafe in Armstrong, B.C.

Neil and Caroline cooking up a good time at their delightful Brown Derby Cafe in Armstrong, B.C.

The Brown Derby Cafe opens at 8:30 on a foggy, fall Saturday morning in the north Okanagan town of Armstrong, B.C. I roll up at 8:40. No problem, right?

Dead wrong. The converted old house is already packed. But as I prepare to wait, co-owner Caroline asks an older local couple (John and Gail?) if I can sit with them. “Sure, pull up a chair.”

Everybody in the place seems to be having the daily breakfast special: local eggs, bacon or beef sausage, grilled potatoes and toast. For $2.99. What? You’re kidding? Nope.

In fact, when she takes my order, Caroline doesn’t even ask if I want something else off the menu, say, Texas French toast (also $2.99; is this a charitable enterprise?). Instead, she just asks how I want my eggs (scrambled) and toast (Russian rye, wow!). “How about some apple juice? We just pressed it this morning.”

The place is packed just after opening. And why not. It's tasty, incredibly cheap fare.

The place is packed just after opening. And why not. It’s tasty, incredibly cheap fare.

I chew the fat with my new friends and watch co-owner Neil dart around the open kitchen cooking eggs while juking and singing to a classic rock soundtrack. When I ask to take a picture, he says, “I can’t stop moving.”

Despite the crowd, the breakfast is quick, hot and splendid. And did I mention, it only costs $2.99? Actually, it doesn’t cost me anything. My seatmates get up to pay before I do and as they’re leaving, turn to casually say, “We got your breakfast.”

When I mention this to Caroline, she replies: “Welcome to Armstrong.” And as I walk down the street to my car, two passing locals look me in the eye, smile and say, “Good morning.”

What is wrong with these people?

The Brown Derby Cafe
3425 Pleasant Valley Road, Armstrong, B.C.
Tuesday to Friday 6:30 am-mid afternoon, Saturday 8:30 am-mid afternoon. Closed Sunday and Monday
250-546-8221

Just down the street, Wild Oak Cafe is bringing a sophisticated take to the Armstrong coffee scene, witness pour-overs and warm morning muffins and croissants served at vintage wood tables. Heidi Jordan’s lunch menu is equally contemporary: a grilled Cascadia cheese sandwich with garlic aioli or a curried kale salad. But don’t worry. They’re Armstrong friendly, too.

A nice blend of contemporary and vintage at the Wild Oak Cafe in Armstrong, B.C.

A nice blend of contemporary and vintage at the Wild Oak Cafe in Armstrong, B.C.

Wild Oak Cafe
2539 Pleasant Valley Boulevard, Armstrong
Tuesday to Saturday 9 am-4 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday

Kicking Horse Coffee Kicks Ass With Hometown Cafe

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Fabulous, plant-surrounded patio at Kicking Horse Coffee Cafe in Invermere, B.C.

Fabulous, plant-surrounded patio at Kicking Horse Coffee Cafe in Invermere, B.C.

Kicking Horse Coffee is one of the biggest independent roasters in Canada, its signature black bags of organic, fair-trade beans found in major grocery outlets across the land. So you’d think if I was journeying to the café in their home base of Invermere, B.C., I’d be writing about the coffee.

Sorry. I mean my 12-ounce Americano  is certainly delicious, the dark, dense roast tickling my tastebuds. And certainly the beans from the nearby roasting facility are fresh as can be.

But what strikes me most is the café’s ambience. Inside, the long space is fashionably black, with nice lighting and long strips of wood fronting the counter. It’s a lovely refuge from the heat of a summer’s day in this lakeside resort town in the Columbia Valley.

The cafe's cool, stylish interior

The cafe’s cool, stylish interior

 

The bathroom walls illustrate the various brands of Kicking Horse roasts

The bathroom walls illustrate the various brands of Kicking Horse roasts

Even more impressive is the landscaping surrounding the outside patio; tall, waving grasses interspersed with trembling aspen and drought-resistant perennials. I just sit in this oasis and savour the coffee, not even bothering to peruse a menu of cookies, fresh soups, sushi and artisan breads. Next time.

Lovely tall-grass landscaping

Lovely tall-grass landscaping

Kicking Horse Coffee Cafe
491 Arrow Road, Invermere, B.C.
Weekdays 7 am-5 pm, Saturday 8 am-5 pm, Sunday 9 am-4 pm
Click to add a blog post for Kicking Horse Café on Zomato

Slow-As-You-Can Food in B.C.’s Slocan Valley

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The salad fixings are grown right out front at Slocan B.C.'s charming Lemon Creek Lodge

The salad fixings are grown right out front at Slocan B.C.’s charming Lemon Creek Lodge

On most restaurant menus, “garden salad” is usually just a marketing slogan. But at Lemon Creek Lodge in B.C.’s laidback Slocan Valley (motto: Slow as you can), the lettuce, zucchini and other greenery come straight from the deer-proof raised bed boxes out front.

You can certainly taste the just-picked freshness of the beautifully arranged salad plates—with perhaps a roasted garlic dressing—that come as an opening act with most dinners. The theme continues with hand-made pasta forming the base of the evening’s seafood special and helping attract a local crowd to this decidedly out-of-the-way restaurant.

Co-owner Judy Derco getting breakfast ready for our group

Co-owner Judy Derco getting breakfast ready for our group

We’re staying overnight in this character lodge. Like the food, it’s hand built, with post-and-beam construction and a rustic theme. Breakfast is included, and co-owner Judy Derco is up early, fixing us bacon and eggs, waffles and a coffee cake featuring blueberries and, of course, garden zucchini. Sweet.

Waffles with strawberries and cream

Waffles with fresh fruit and whipped cream

Lemon Creek Lodge
Slocan, B.C.
Thursday to Sunday 5 pm-8 pm. Closed Monday to Wednesday

Some Schnitzel With That Butter Chicken?

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Goldie Sanghera runs the show at Paramjit's Kitchen in Revelstoke, B.C.

Goldie Sanghera runs the show at Paramjit’s Kitchen in Revelstoke, B.C.

Here’s something you don’t see every day: Indian and German food under one roof.

But when it’s Parmajit’s Kitchen, in Revelstoke, B.C., it makes sense to see schnitzel alongside beef vindaloo. That’s because owner/chef Goldie Sanghera combines an Indian heritage with classical training in the kitchens of Austria.

On this occasion, we’re going for a big feed of Indian takeout to satiate our hunger pangs after a tough, week-long backpack in nearby mountain wilderness. So we order cauliflower and potato curry, saag paneer, spicy beef keema and some chicken korma, along with a whack of naan and rice. It all goes down splendidly, and rather silently, with a few bottles of local Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. Tall Timber ale and Nasty Habit IPA.

A smorgasbord of Indian flavours

A smorgasbord of Indian flavours

Parmajit’s is known affectionately by loyal locals as Pam’s, in honour of Goldie’s mother, who still makes kitchen appearances. It’s a small downtown joint, with customers also hunched over plates of Thai classics like pad thai and coconut curry.

As we heft our takeout bags, a guy lifts his head long enough to declare: “Best schnitzel in the west.” Next time.

Paramjit’s Kitchen
116 1 Street West, Revelstoke, B.C.
Monday to Thursday 11 am-8 pm, Friday 11 am-9 pm, Saturday 4 pm-9 pm. Closed Sunday
Click to add a blog post for Paramjit's Kitchen on Zomato

Sorry, We’re Open – Northern B.C. Style

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Endless daylight hours on Atlin Lake... restaurant hours, not so much

Endless daylight hours on Atlin Lake… restaurant hours, not so much

You’d best do some planning if you’re hoping to get something to eat or drink in Atlin, a charming mountain community in northern B.C.

We’ve just come off two weeks of sea kayaking on B.C.’s largest natural lake, Atlin Lake, and are stoked to get some fresh-roasted java from Atlin Mountain Coffee‘s little roadside cart in this funky little town with its own music festival. Pulling up around lunchtime, we are stunned to discover they’re only open 9 am to noon weekdays. What the …?

Okay, we find a small grocery store that sells their beans, and make a lovely pot of cowboy coffee on a picnic table overlooking the marina. Thus caffeinated, we do a fabulous, short hike up Monarch Mountain, already festooned in wildflowers, with superb views over both Atlin Lake and the town of Atlin.

Monarch Mountain hike boasts a fabulous view over Atlin Lake and the town of Atlin, B.C.

Monarch Mountain hike boasts a fabulous view over Atlin Lake and the town of Atlin, B.C.

Coming down in late afternoon, we stop by the provincial liquor store to pick up some beer. Sorry, closed at 5 pm. Double WTF. Fortunately, the pub at lakeside Atlin Mountain Inn has just opened for the evening, and we savour some frosty Yukon Brewing beer on the deck. No kitchen, though, just a sleeve of Pringles chips to nosh on.

We squeeze in an evening wrap at Jenz.

We squeeze in an evening wrap at Jenz.

We manage to sneak into Jenz Cafe just before its 7 pm closing and scarf down some tasty wraps, mine featuring bison smokies. At about 10 pm, we get back to home base in Whitehorse (Yukon Territory), still rather peckish after days of backcountry cuisine. The first two takeout pizza joints we phone are closed for the night. Well, at least Boston Pizza is sticking to southern hours, and the beer from the fridge tastes mighty fine.

Closer to Whitehorse, we do a hike the next day on the Sam McGee Trail near Carcross. It’s a tremendous, scenic route, capped by a cappo and fresh-baked goodies at Caribou Crossing Coffee, featuring Bean North beans.

Caribou Crossing Coffee is in one of several Carcross buildings with a Tagish First Nation theme

Caribou Crossing Coffee is in one of several Carcross buildings with a Tagish First Nation theme

No problem figuring out the hours here. It’s open 9 am-6 pm everyday during the summer season. Hallelujah!

Heike Graf runs the first-rate Caribou Crossing Coffee

Heike Graf runs the first-rate Caribou Crossing Coffee

My Best Road-Trip Meals and Drinks of 2014

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This simple but superb BLT at Magpie Cafe in Sacramento, California was one of the best sandwiches I ate in 2014

This simple but superb BLT at Magpie Cafe in Sacramento, California was one of the best sandwiches I ate in 2014

Two themes dominated my 2014 road-trip eating adventures in western North America. One was the preponderance of top-end chefs setting up shop in food trucks and churning out imaginative, excellent and most affordable fare (maybe the release of the fun movie Chef is an instance of art imitating life).

The other theme is how geographically diverse these winners are. Yes, the ethnic cauldron of Los Angeles produced many of my top choices. But so did unheralded southern Washington; take a bow Walla Walla and Tri-Cities. So did a lot of places not considered culinary hotbeds. I’m thinking of you Logan, Utah, Idaho Falls and Salmon (both in Idaho), and Mayne Island, a tiny place in B.C.’s Gulf Islands.

Best Breakfasts

Restaurant breakfasts are often the least healthy meal of the day. The holy pairing of grease and carbs bring together eggs cooked in butter, fat-laced bacon, oily hash browns and yet more butter smeared on a whack of toast. Alternatively, you can toss a pound of gluey, syrup-drenched pancakes down the hatch.

Waffles are pretty traditional but certainly enticing looking

Waffles are pretty traditional, but this one is certainly enticing

So it’s nice to see more eateries throwing a healthier curve at the morning equation. Heck, when well done, it can even taste better than the old comfort fare, without the post-meal need to curl up in the fetal position.

Lotus Cafe is a treasure in touristy Jackson, Wyoming. Where it really shines is its imaginative breakfast bowls, like a sprouted buckwheat granola or a raw acai with a ton of fruit and other healthy goodies. Even the oatmeal is unique, featuring nutmeg and cardamom and a topping of pecans, dates and figs.

A beautiful stamped-tin ceiling is just one of Lotus Cafe's many charms

A beautiful stamped-tin ceiling is just one of Lotus Cafe’s many charms

Lotus Cafe
145 North Glenwood Street, Jackson, Wyoming
Daily 8 am-9 pm (reduced winter hours)
The Lotus Cafe on Urbanspoon

Ironically, there’s not a lot of bacon on the menu at Bacon & Eggs in Walla Walla, Washington. And you can get tofu or egg-white omelettes. But what catches my attention, and taste buds, is the Texas eggs, served atop brown rice and black beans, with a heavenly slice of house-made cornbread.

A delicious, healthy bowl of Texas eggs

A delicious, healthy bowl of Texas eggs

Bacon & Eggs
503 East Main Street, Walla Walla, Washington
Thursday to Tuesday 8 am-2 pm. Closed Wednesday
Bacon & Eggs on Urbanspoon

Not often does a lowly breakfast sandwich make me swoon. But it certainly does at Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread & Cafe, in Logan, Utah. It’s the excellence of all the ingredients—from an ethereal ciabatta bun to lemon aioli—plus the painstaking execution that propels it into the stratosphere.

Breakfast sandwiches don't get any better than this

Breakfast sandwiches don’t get any better than this

Crumb Brothers Artisan Bakery
291 South 300 West, Logan, Utah
Weekdays 7 am-3 pm, Saturday 8 am-3 pm. Closed Sunday
Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread on Urbanspoon

Best Coffee

Yes, the fresh-roasted coffee is great at Iconoclast Koffie Huis in Edmonton, Alberta. As is the ultra-cool coffee bar, built from repurposed wood in this old warehouse. But it’s the half-hour conversations with co-owner Ryan Arcand and assorted regulars that make this a great coffeehouse in an era of heads glued to screens.

Iconoclast's roaster is in back of the coffee bar in this refurbished warehouse

Iconoclast’s roaster is in back of the coffee bar in this refurbished warehouse

Iconoclast Koffie Huis
11807 105 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta
Weekdays 9 am-5 pm, weekends 9 am-5 pm
Iconoclast Koffiehuis on Urbanspoon

Honourable Mentions: They both boast custom-built Slayer espresso machines and excellent coffee. Where they differ is in their decidedly unique locations: SnowDome Coffee Bar in a Jasper, Alberta Laundromat, and Strom Coffee, inside a refurbished Airstream trailer in Richland, Washington.

Best Bakery

purebread is based in the B.C. resort town of Whistler. But I encountered it at a Vancouver farmers’ market, where folks were lined up to buy its creative roster of breads—how about a sour cherry chocolate, a Disfunction Ale or an amazing fig loaf studded with hazelnut slices? The sign of a great bakery is when you can’t stop buying… or eating. Indeed, the crumbly slice of cornbread vanishes before we’ve walked a hundred feet.

Amazing fig loaf studded with hazelnut slices from pure bread

Amazing fig loaf studded with hazelnut slices from pure bread

purebread
1, 1104 Millar Creek Road (another location in Olympic Plaza), Whistler, B.C.
Daily 8:30 am-5 pm
Purebread on Urbanspoon

Best Sandwich

In a crowded list of contenders, tiny food truck The Goodwich, in downtown Las Vegas, stands out. Why? Because co-owner and high-end chef Josh Clark believes you can take almost any first-class ingredients and slap them between two slices of bread to create amazing, affordable sandwiches.

Josh ... is putting high-end ingredients into most affordable sandwiches at The Goodwich, in Las Vegas

Josh Clark is putting high-end ingredients into most affordable sandwiches at The Goodwich, in Las Vegas

The Goodwich
1516 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Suite A, Las Vegas
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am-10 pm, except 4 pm closing Sunday. Closed Monday
The Goodwich on Urbanspoon

Honourable Mentions: Magpie Cafe, in Sacramento, California elevates the generic BLT to godly status with orange heirloom tomatoes, thick slices of bacon and caper aioli on a fresh baguette. Simply excellent. Yes, the oven-roasted turkey on sourdough is outstanding at grungy Junkyard Bistro in Salmon, Idaho. But what slams it out of the park is the fabulous side of chunky potato salad.

Best Burrito

This deserves its own category in 2014, since I spent some time in the global burrito hotbeds of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The best of the best was longstanding, family-run La Azteca Tortilleria, in East Los Angeles. The killer ingredients include a fresh-ground, toasted corn tortilla, good steak and, the kicker, a whole chile relleno dipped in egg and then fried. I hoover down this messy puppy in the front seat of my car in under five minutes.

Siblings Chris and Cynthia Villa at Los Angeles's La Azteca Tortilleria

Siblings Chris and Cynthia Villa at Los Angeles’s La Azteca Tortilleria

La Azteca Tortilleria
4538 East Cesar East Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles
Daily 6 am-3:30 pm except closed Monday
La Azteca Tortilleria on Urbanspoon

Best Food Truck

At El Fat Cat Grill, in Kennewick Washington, chef-owner Felix Sanchez is mixing Mexican and Asian influences to come up with tasty, affordable gems like crispy tortillas smothered in pork, chipotle mole sauce and jalapeno coleslaw.

Chef Felix Sanchez mixing Mexican and Asian influences at his El Fat Cat Grill truck Asian fare

Chef Felix Sanchez mixing Mexican and Asian influences at his El Fat Cat Grill truck
Asian fare

El Fat Cat Grill
539 North Edison (behind the Edison carwash), Kennewick, Washington
Weekdays 11 am-7 pm. Closed Saturday and Sunday
El Fat Cat Grill on Urbanspoon

Best Burger

Almost as good as the fresh-ground, perfectly cooked burger at The Bird, in Jackson, Wyoming, is the full page of the menu advising you how to order your meat. Let me summarize: Don’t dare ask for well done.

The "rules" at The Bird

The “rules” at The Bird

The Bird
4125 South Pub Place (South Highway 89), Jackson, Wyoming
Monday to Saturday the bar opens at 4 pm and the kitchen at 5 pm, Sunday opening is 10 am
The Bird on Urbanspoon

Best Pizza

Una Pizza + Wine’s Twitter feed lets you know how long the wait is at this exceedingly popular little joint in Calgary, Alberta. So best arrive early to order an outstanding, thin-crust pie—like roasted crimini mushrooms with smoked mozza and truffle oil—along with a mountainous kale Caesar salad topped with a boiled egg.

Una Pizza + Wine
618 17 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta
Daily 11:30 am-1 am
Una Pizza and Wine on Urbanspoon

Best Exotic Cuisine

Korean food is celebrated for its barbecue, plus all those interesting little dishes that come as appetizers. But at Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo, in Los Angeles’s Koreatown, the standout is a huge bowl of Manila clam kalguksu with a boatload of engorged, hand-cut noodles.

Clams and hand-cut noodles in this lovely bowl at Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo

Clams and hand-cut noodles in this lovely bowl at Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo

Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo
3470 West 6 Street, Suite 9, Los Angeles
Daily Monday to Saturday 10 am-10:30 pm, Sunday 10 am-10:30 pm
Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo on Urbanspoon

Best Fusion

Guerrilla Tacos owner-chef Wes Avila is storming the Los Angeles food world with a truck that’s spinning out stunning delights like a summer squash taco with runny chile and cashews.

Wes Avila concocts a summer squash taco at his Guerrilla Tacos truck

Wes Avila concocts a summer squash taco at his Guerrilla Tacos truck

Guerilla Tacos
826 East 3 Street (other area locations), Los Angeles
Wednesday 10 am-2 pm, Thursday-Friday 9 am-2 pm, Saturday-Sunday 9 am-1 pm
Guerrilla Tacos on Urbanspoon

Best Sushi

I don’t often get sushi on a road trip: it’s expensive and, all too often, generic. But at Koi Sushi—in a food court, next to a Walmart in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico—chef-owner Angel Huerta Ramirez fashions amazingly creative plates of affordable fare, featuring local wahoo and other creatures of the sea.

This wahoo sashimi plate was to die for

This wahoo sashimi plate was to die for

Koi Sushi
Plaza San Lucas, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Daily noon-9 pm

Best Pie

I don’t eat dessert. But when I’m offered a taste of a wee blueberry-raspberry pie with a port reduction sauce, at The Street Grill truck in Richland, Washington, I ignore spiking blood-sugar levels and keep shovelling till there’s not a crumb left.

The Street Grill
300 Knight Street (John Dam Plaza), Richland, Washington
Monday to Saturday 11 am-5 pm. Closed Sunday

Cast your eyes on this blueberry-raspberry, port-reduction pie and jump in your car.

Cast your eyes on this blueberry-raspberry, port-reduction pie and jump in your car.

Best Beer

Among the many pints and 22-ounce bombers I sampled on the road, the standout was a complex, flavour-filled Widmer Brothers Brewing (Portland) ale aged in bourbon barrels.

Widmer Brothers Brewing
955 North Russell, Portland, Oregon
Sunday to Thursday 11 am-10:30 pm, Friday-Saturday 11 am-11 pm
Widmer Brothers Pub on Urbanspoon

Honourable Mention: The combination might seem odd, but Wild Rose Brewery’s (Calgary, Alberta) seasonal cherry porter was a knockout. I stocked up on the one-litre bottles while they lasted.

Best Experience

At Farm Gate Store, on B.C’s Mayne Island, the divine grilled sandwiches are just the exclamation point on a fabulous rural shop that features local produce, meat and killer flower arrangements.

Co-owner Shanti arranges her farm-cut flower bouquets, a bargain $11

Co-owner Shanti arranges her farm-cut flower bouquets, a bargain $11

Farm Gate Store
568 Fernhill Road, Mayne Island, B.C.
Monday to Saturday 10 am-6 pm, Sunday 10 am-5 pm

Best Meal(s) of 2015

Why would I drive 1,100 kilometres (620 miles) for a meal? When it’s the best Mexican food I’ve devoured all year and served by wonderful owners Bertha Moreno and daughter Jessica. I thus trek all the way from Calgary not once but twice in a three-month span, to Morenita’s Mexican Restaurant, in Idaho Falls of all places.

Bertha Moreno and daughter Jessica serve up fabulous fare at Morenita's Mexican Restaurant

Bertha Moreno and daughter Jessica serve up fabulous fare at Morenita’s Mexican Restaurant

Sure, I was headed on to other destinations. But nothing made me happier in 2014 than plunking myself down at a nondescript Morenita table and letting Jessica keep bringing me fantastic plates of inventive Mexican food. Like an unforgettable taco ranchero—an open, crispy corn tortilla piled with sauteed pork loin, salsa fresca and avocado, doused with house-made sauces, all for $2.50.

Traditional tacos and tostadas elevated to star status

Traditional tacos and tostadas elevated to star status

Things were going so well, I threw caution to the wind and ordered a sampler bowl of menudo, something I swore I’d never touch again after a rubber-band greasefest with my appalled sisters in some dusty Mexican village. Here, the broth is perfectly seasoned, the little hominy balls a delightful surprise and the, gulp, beef tripe sufficiently tender I might order it again. Just not for a year or two.

Morenita’s Mexican Restaurant
450 Whittier Street, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Monday to Thursday 10 am-9 pm, Friday-Saturday 9:30 am-9 pm, Sunday 9:30 am-8:30 pmMorenita's Restaurant on Urbanspoon