Source: Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett
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Source: Bill Corbett
Marathon Mouth the ebook: Great western road-trip routes and cheap eats
Bertha Moreno and daughter Jessica serve up fabulous fare at Morenita’s Mexican Restaurant in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Worthy of a road trip in itself down the I-15
With summer well underway, it’s time to launch a road trip. But not sure what routes to take or great places to stop for a meal or drink along the way?
Well, if your trip ventures into any part of the western U.S. or western Canada, I’ve got you covered. My new ebook, like the blog called Marathon Mouth, offers scores of driving routes, many of them meandering off the crowded interstates and through some fantastic landscapes: mountains, winding coastlines, rain forests and deserts. If you’re into self-propelled outdoor activities, like hiking or biking, I’ve got lots of suggested places for jaunts both short and long.
How about a drive through California’s Death Valley
All that exercise and driving, of course, works up an appetite. No problem. The meat of Marathon Mouth , so to speak, is a lively description of nearly 900 cafes, diners, coffee shops, bakeries, food trucks and brewpubs. These places are all independently owned, offering great, affordable food and libations. How do I know? I’ve eaten and sipped at the vast majority of them, often chatting with the folks who own and are so passionate about these colourful joints. The back of the book has full interactive listings for all these places, so you can easily check out their websites and coordinate your schedule with their hours.
Marathon Mouth , all 400-plus pages of it, costs about $9.99, less than you’d usually spend on a burger and fries. So steering you to the best places is well worth it, wouldn’t you say?
Marathon Mouth is available for immediate download at all the major online retailers like Amazon, (Amazon Canada), iTunes, Kobo and Chapters/Indigo. Even if you don’t have an e-reading device, you can download free apps (at places like Amazon and Adobe) for reading e-books on your computer.
Time to start pulling out the maps and packing the car, I’d say. Bon appetit!
Everything’s Coming Up Pink at Livingston, Montana Cafe
Chorizo tacos a delightful breakfast special at Pinky’s Cafe in Livingston, Montana
It’s a tough act replacing a dining institution, known as much for its colourful owner as the excellence of its food. Such is certainly the case with Pinky’s Cafe, a breakfast landmark in Livingston, Montana, a short drive north of Yellowstone National Park.
When I visited a few years ago, I was greeted and served by Pinky himself—a relaxed, gregarious guy with a white ponytail—while wife Terri ably tended the morning grill. When I returned this fall, the name was the same, but they were gone.
I was starting to get all nostalgic… that is, till my breakfast special arrived on the table. Chorizo breakfast tacos! Eggs, sausage, pico de gallo and a squirt of sauce, all loaded aboard a couple of little tacos. Great, imaginative stuff. I mean, if you can bring burritos to the breakfast table, why not tacos?
The tacos are the brainchild of newish owner Morgan Milton, a trained chef who spices up the morning menu with offerings like bacon-stuffed waffles, banana-walnut pancakes and bacon caprese omelettes. Apparently, his mother does the baking, so the family tradition continues.
You know it’s funky when even the bathroom carries on the pink theme
So does the relaxed, small-town atmosphere, with a mix of locals and tourists filling the tables in this colourful little place.
Yes, Pinky is gone. But long live Pinky’s!
Pinky’s Cafe
109 South Main Street, Livingston, Montana
Tuesday to Saturday 8 am-2 pm, Sunday 8 am-12:30 pm. Closed Monday
Invermere Restaurant Fuzes Truck and Sit-Down Fare
Fuze Food has moved from an Invermere, B.C. truck to an indoor location
As the charming movie Chef showed, there’s definitely an allure to owning a food truck. The costs of capital, maintenance and staffing can be considerably less than a bricks-and-mortar establishment, and the menu is usually substantially smaller. At the end of the day, you just drive away.
Of course, there are drawbacks, such as power outages and working in cramped quarters over a scorching grill. And if you’re located in a colder climate, there’s a good chance you’ll be closed in winter. Which isn’t a bad thing if you’re a ski or surf bum.
But not every culinary entrepreneur is enamoured with the food truck dream. Indeed, some use the experience as a stepping stone to opening a traditional restaurant.
Such is the case with Fuze Food, in Invermere, B.C. It started as a summer food truck, churning out spiced-up wraps, salads and smoothies, with an emphasis on local ingredients. A couple of years later, young co-owner Sarah Adamson moved into a strip mall right next to a Subway.
The menu hasn’t changed a whole lot, with lots of healthy, tasty options like a satay bowl or a donair wrap. I go for a Thai bowl—loaded with veggies and vermicelli noodles and doused with a house-made peanut sauce—and down it with an apple-avocado smoothie. It’s good, flavourful stuff, though at a bit of a resort-community premium.
Lots of tasty items like this bowl in a box
Now that it’s indoors, Fuze is open year round and offering a late-afternoon, evening pizza bar. Though of course that means less time for skiing.
Fuze Food
315 3 Avenue, Athalmere, B.C.
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am-9 pm (pizza bar opens at 4 pm). Closed Monday
Waitress Delivers Killer Breakfast
A friend was all fired up about breakfast at Armstrong Blue Hotel in Armstrong, B.C.
Who knew that little Armstrong, B.C. was such a fun-loving place?
After recently posting about the breakfast bargain and hijinks at The Brown Derby Cafe, I received an email from friend Jim, who because of the Derby’s Sunday closure went across the street to Armstrong Blue Hotel for breakfast.
The food was excellent, he reports, but the real highlight was the waitress, who was wearing a different costume every day of October.
“Sunday was Guerrilla Girl. Saturday was Just-got-up girl—fuzzy slippers, bathrobe and hair askew. Locals come back just to see what she is wearing.”
Armstrong Blue Hotel
2715 Pleasant Valley Road, Armstrong, B.C.
250-546-6642
Artisan Beer and Cheese Worthy of an Okanagan, B.C. Road Trip
Crannog Ales makes delightful Irish-style beer at its organic microbrewery in Sorrento, B.C.
How can I resist a beer with the name Back Hand of God? Though, technically speaking, this stout from Crannóg Ales is far more pleasure than punishment. It certainly is the nectar of the gods—a smooth, dry beer with lingering coffee and chocolate notes.
Located near the little community of Sorrento, on the south shore of Shuswap Lake in B.C.’s interior, Crannog is Canada’s first organic farmhouse microbrewery. Its 10-acre farm provides organic hops and spring-fed water to help co-owner Brian MacIsaac brew small batches of unfiltered, unpasteurized Irish-style beers including a potato ale and a seasonal cherry ale.
Crannóg is a draught-only brewery, which keeps the product ultra fresh. But it also means it’s a bit tricky to purchase, i.e. you won’t find bottles at your local beer outlet. You can pick up growlers and 8.5-litre “party pigs” at the brewery, where you can also sample the ales during booked, summer weekend tours.
The good news is you can order pints of Crannog ales at a growing list of B.C. pubs, extending all the way west to Vancouver Island (I sipped a Back Hand of God at Riverfront Pub & Grill in the north Okanagan hamlet of Grindrod.) The pigs are also available at a few regional liquor stores.
Back hand or not, these organic Irish ales are well worth seeking out.
Crannog Ales
706 Elson bella Road, Sorrento, B.C.
Beer pickups Thursday to Saturday 8:30 am-4:30 pm spring to fall (Friday and Saturday in winter), summer tours/tastings Friday and Saturday 1 pm-3:30 pm, by appointment only
250-675-6847
Speaking of niche organic products in the region, Bella Stella Cheese crafts some wonderful, organic cheeses in Lumby, a small town in the northeast Okanagan, near Vernon. Here, Igor and Irma Ruffa use their Swiss-Italian background to produce Alps’ cheeses like a brie-style Formaggella with a rich, complex flavour.
Bella Stella Cheese, please, in Lumby, B.C.
Bella Stella cheeses are currently only available in regional stores and farmers’ markets, which is where I stumbled upon them. Guess I’ll have to plan another Okanagan road trip.
Marathon Mouth 