Dilly Dallying in Delightful Dillon, Montana

The lovely, broad valley near Dillon, Montana

Dillon, Montana is one of my favourite western U.S. towns, a perfect stop after a day of driving south on the I-15 from the Canadian border. There’s the setting: a broad, verdant valley dotted with Angus cows, flanked by low mountains and bisected by the meandering, trout-rich Beaverhead River. There’s the fine historic buildings and the oddly named University of Montana Western, to complement the ranching/hunting side of things. And for outdoorspeople, there’s the enduring lure of the Patagonia outlet store (Bonus: no sales tax in Montana). The only problem with Dillon is getting back on the road to resume the journey.

On our latest visit, for example, there’s no exiting the Patagonia store in under an hour, especially with an inveterate shopper/bargain hunter or two in tow. Then it’s off to the Fiesta Mexicana bus (510 North Montana Street, daily 9 am-10 pm) for an excellent lunch of made-to-order, bountiful burritos, enchiladas and chiles rellenos, eaten along an inside bench sheltered from the raw spring wind.

Inside the magic Fiesta Mexicana bus in a Dillon parking lot

It’s great to see this family-run Mexican joint embraced by the local community and travellers alike. But the regulars aren’t very helpful when asked what to order: “Everything.”

There’s a monster burrito verde lurking beneath all that greenery at Fiesta Mexicana

To avoid falling into a mid-afternoon coma, we set out for Sweetwater Coffee (“Proudly serving kindness with a side of coffee”) for a fine java jolt, chased with a great chocolate icing cookie, in a cozy, artsy setting. The diverse food menu includes a most interesting choice: a breakfast French toast sandwich.

Sweetwater Coffee, with its artsy period furniture, is a great place to hang out with a java and snack

Sweetwater Coffee, with its artsy period furniture, is a great place to hang out with a java and cookie

Then it’s around the corner to the state liquor store where, to my dismay, they don’t carry beer (What the hell? In Utah, if you want anything stronger than the “three-two” beer, like the excellent line of Epic Brewing ales, you have to go to a state liquor store). The day is saved by a trip to a Town Pump gas station (633 North Montana Street), where the limited selection of microbrews includes my favourite Montana beer—the Scottish-style Cold Smoke ale from Kettle House Brewing.

It's hard to come by the great Cold Smoke ale outside Kettle House Brewing's Missoula hometown. When I saw it in a Dillon gas station, I grabbed a dozen 16-ounce cans

It’s hard to come by the great Cold Smoke ale outside Kettle House Brewing’s Missoula hometown. When I see it in a Dillon gas station, I grab a dozen 16-ounce cans

Only the threat of snow on the drive north through Montana finally snaps us out of our Dillon reverie. But there’s always next time through.

Moab Mayhem

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The Jeep Festival takes over Moab, Utah in late April

It pays to check the local events calendar before planning a trip to Moab, in southeast Utah. We’re arriving on the Easter weekend (prior to embarking on a canoe trip down the Green River) and are thus expecting heavier traffic. But we’re not quite prepared for the monster truck rally that doubles as the week-long Jeep Safari. Culturally interesting, perhaps, but non-stop traffic and noise, especially the midnight hammering of a dented axle in the RV campground, where tenters are definitely second-class citizens.

The Easter festivities mean restaurant lineups at dinner and reinforce the merits of solo road-trip dining. With six palates to please, it takes five minutes to decide if the group wants to eat at a particular establishment, during which time three or four tables are snapped up and a 20-minute-plus wait is guaranteed. At which point, one person flees to Subway and another heads to Moab Diner for liver and onions. While a little heavy on the starches and gravy, the latter offers reasonable fare (“You can’t go wrong ordering a clubhouse or BLT,” one participant observes) and the added spectacle of efficient servers whizzing past with loaded plates decorating their arms.

The staff certainly hustle at Moab Diner

The good news is meal prices are quite reasonable for a tourist town like Moab. If this were Banff, a beer and a burger would set you back about $23. But at the packed Moab Brewery, a burger and fries cost about $8 and a house pint $4. Our preferred burgers are a few bucks more at Peace Tree Juice Cafe, but they are half-pounders from Angus beef. It’s also the only place pouring our favourite Moab Brewery beer, the Scorpion Pale Ale.

A tilapia sandwich, fries and pint adds up to only $13 at the busy Moab Brewery

A tilapia sandwich, fries and pint add up to only $13 at the busy Moab Brewery

Being a minimalist road tripper, my best Moab meal is at the Quesadilla Mobilla truck, where we twice lunch on divine and inspired quesadillas in a downtown parking lot. When they’re not off climbing (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays), young owners Carrie and Steven have smartly focused on doing one unique thing extremely well. And most of our crowd, other than the semi-professional eater/blogger, have trouble finishing an $8.50 regular-sized quesadilla.

Quesadilla Mobilla co-owner Carrie combines a love of rock climbing with a commitment to killer quesadillas

My enchanted chicken quesadilla is a wonderful, gooey blend of house-made green chile chicken, cheese, sautéed onions and corn, roasted red peppers and refried beans

The New Mexican Identity Crisis quesadilla is a wonderful, gooey blend of house-made green chile chicken, melted cheese, sautéed artichoke hearts, spinach and black olives

Breakfasts are a tossup. For a quick, light meal, it’s hard to beat the efficiency and quality of Love Muffin Cafe, which pumps out a range of breakfast burritos and paninis (about $6) to fast-disappearing lines of customers. For $2 more, a friend loves the skinny omelette, a crepe-like delicacy containing spinach, red onion, mushrooms and feta cheese.

For heartier fare, there’s nothing like a mammoth plate of huevos rancheros at Eklecticafe. It’s undoubtedly Moab’s quirkiest diner, with a massive ceramic cup out front and tables containing collections of antique jewelry under glass. There’s a lovely garden patio, but on a chilly spring morning, it’s well worth crowding into the tiny dining room and enjoying the show, including a customer breaking a bookshelf she climbs onto to inspect a piece of art for sale.

The Eklecticafe certainly combines quirky charm and big plates of breakfast

My go-to coffee shop is Moab Coffee Roasters, which pulls excellent eight-ounce Americanos and pours fine dark brews from their organic beans. My only quibble is the lone barista running the entire place the first hour of business, when people are lining up for their java jolt.

Moab Coffee Roasters does a bustling business of java in the morning and gelato in the afternoon

Diner Delving in Pocatello Idaho, For Pete’s Sake

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Jumbo’s has been serving Pocatello regulars for decades

It starts with a search for Pocatello Pete’s, a great character diner our companion had visited years ago on a trip through southern Idaho. Or maybe it’s just a shard of memory from somewhere else, as our streetside queries draw only blank stares from longstanding residents. But our fruitless hunt leads us to Jim Johnston, a realtor, city councilor, former chaplain, fingers-in-all-the-local-pies guy, who can rattle off answers to any Pocatello question (population: 54,260, elevation: 4,450 feet, trails: 250, major industry: education). More importantly, he can tell us where the locals eat.

Thus at 7 the following morning, we roll into Jumbo’s Cafe to find half a dozen sturdy regulars already claiming the counter stools overlooking the kitchen. We grab a table, read the signs (“Complaint Department That Way 200 Miles) and peruse a menu featuring omelettes this family café has been serving for 40 years and something I’ve never seen or tasted: deep-fried scones. Of course, I perform my annual duty and order house-made biscuits and sausage gravy, accompanied by two perfectly cooked over-easy eggs.

As the name suggests, the portions are jumbo: plate-sized pancakes, a “senior’s” portion of French toast, bacon and eggs that would satisfy a teenager and a table-denting, three-egg omelette with hash browns and good homemade toast. And the prices for this quantity and quality of food are downright ridiculous, starting at $5.49 for three hotcakes that will do you for the day.

The servings are substantial at Jumbo’s Cafe, and I’m not even showing the accompanying toast

I say, let’s go on these wild-goose chases more often.

Jumbo’s Cafe (it also goes by Jeri’s Jumbo’s Café)
3122 Pole Line Road, Pocatello, Idaho
Weekdays 6 am-3 pm, weekends 6 am-2 pm

As I’ve said before, I don’t often order meals at a coffee shop. But it’s late in the afternoon, with the caffeine levels well topped up, when we enter Red Hot Roasters, primarily to catch up on email and Internet searching. So we switch gears and go for a lovely bowl of tomato bisque soup and a refreshing plate of potato salad with spring greens and a sesame dressing.

Red Hot Roasters offers fine salads to go with its fresh-roasted coffee

Red Hot Roasters
737 East Clark Street, Pocatello
Weekdays 7:30 am-7 pm, Saturday 8 am-7 pm. Closed Sunday

Noshing on Healthy Salads in Vernon, B.C.

Edmonton Eateries: Part 3

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Lining up for lunch at MRKT in downtown Edmonton

After spending 10 days in my birth city of Edmonton, I’m ready for a third instalment of good, affordable eateries, in this case lunch spots. While Edmonton’s roads aren’t getting any better, the food scene continues to improve, though it’s surprising how many downtown spots are only open Tuesday to Friday for lunch.

The chefs at *Cibo Bistro are noted for serving high-end dishes like seared duck breast, stuffed rabbit leg and house-made pasta with stinging nettles to a discerning dinner crowd. But four days a week, they turn their considerable talents to more affordable lunches at this lofty-ceiling, rustic Italian restaurant along central Edmonton’s busy 104 Avenue.

Fabulous meatball sandwich and golden beet soup at Cibo Bistro

Consider my $13 combo, delivered by a most engaging server, Chance. It starts with a luscious bowl of golden beet soup, the small chunks of grapes adding a touch of sweetness to a thick kale base. Then it’s on to Cibo’s first-rate signature meatball sandwich—hefty pork and veal meatballs atop a thin layer of prosciutto and smoked caciocavallo, and tomato basil jam smeared on a toasted baguette. It’s a fabulous, creative lunch and a bargain for the quality, size and execution.

Cibo Bistro
11244 104 Avenue, Edmonton
Lunch Tuesday to Friday 11:30 am-2 pm, dinner Tuesday to Saturday 5 pm-10 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday

Another good lunch bet is downtown’s popular MRKT, where a sandwich/salad and soup combo also goes for $13, washed down with a good pot of French press coffee. My braised, shredded beef sandwich is nicely complemented by caramelized onions, smoked gouda and a Spanish tomato sauce, served on a ciabatta bun. I choose the fish soup, featuring small pieces of scallop, shrimp and basa.

MRKT’s downtown Edmonton space is cool and casual

It’s all good stuff though not quite as flavourful as the ingredients might suggest. The space is certainly interesting—a subway-like tube wrapped in wood paneling, with mostly long and tall shared tables, which are increasingly de rigeur in fashionable, casual eateries.

Braised beef sandwich and fish soup at MRKT

MRKT
10542 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton
Lunch Tuesday to Friday 11 am-2 pm, wine bar Tuesday to Saturday 5 pm-late

The corner of Stony Plain Road and 142 Street, in Edmonton’s west end, has been a graveyard for restaurants. Indeed, the most recent resident, Blue Chicago Speakeasy, still maintains its peeling presence a good decade after closing. If and when a nearby apartment tower and western extension of the city’s light-rail transit get built, perhaps the upsurge in area traffic will increase the demand for good eateries.

In the meantime, here’s hoping Cafe Rista, a little place that’s somewhat hidden on a side street a block to the north, has better success than its neighbours. The family-run business has a lot going for it—good Italian espressos, breakfast bagels/sandwiches and a list of fresh paninis, wraps and salads at lunch. My flavourful Italian panini ($8.50) has a generous layering of spicy meats and melted mozza, and the large bowl of the day’s chicken noodle soup is almost big enough to swim in.

Cafe Rista’s not kidding about its “large” bowls of soup

Cafe Rista
14213 103 Avenue, Edmonton
Weekdays 7 am-5 pm, Saturday 9 am-2 pm. Closed Sunday

Had a stressful morning? Just head over to Padmanadi Vegetarian Restaurant, an oasis of calm on the northern edge of downtown Edmonton. It’s a lovely space, with light yellow walls, arrangements of long bamboo stalks, unique triangular chairs and, presiding over all, a beatific jade Buddha.

Padmanadi Vegetarian Restaurant is an oasis of calm in downtown Edmonton

Padmanadi carries on the curious custom of vegetarian restaurants naming dishes after the various meats they’re trying to replicate. In my case, it’s the savoury chicken curry, the tofu resembling and tasting very much like, you guessed it, chicken. It comes in a nice, mild sauce with chunks of potato, broccoli spears, a mound of jasmine rice and a couple of crispy spring rolls filling the plate. This $12 meal includes a little bowl of hot and sour soup and chrysanthemum tea, both beautifully presented.

The elegantly presented hot and sour soup is part of the full-meal lunch at Padmanadi

In sum, forget the arguments about faux meat. This is good food, with friendly, relaxed service in a place that allows you unwind for an hour.

Padmanadi Vegetarian Restaurant
10740 101 Street, Edmonton
Tuesday-Friday 11 am-2 pm

In the bedroom city of St. Albert, just north of Edmonton, is The Enjoy Centre. How can’t you love a name like that, especially when it’s dedicated to plants and a food emporium under several acres of glorious glass? The centre is a legacy of the Hole family, whose famed St. Albert greenhouse business lives on here and is hopefully beyond the financial troubles that plagued the centre’s early years.

The Enjoy Centre in St. Albert is a light-infused mix of plant and food

The Enjoy Centre in St. Albert is a light-infused mix of plants and food

Upon entering the building, you walk through a ground floor devoted to the Amaranth Whole Foods Market, a bakery and a deli. Take the long, slow escalator to the light-filled second floor to shop for perennials and enjoy a fine coffee, panini or fabulous, arranged salad at the aptly-named Glasshouse Bistro & Cafe, with views over Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park. It’s one of those places you just want to linger and, well, enjoy.

A fine roasted veggie and quinoa salad at the Glasshouse Bistro & Cafe in The Enjoy Centre

Glasshouse Bistro & Cafe (in The Enjoy Centre)
101 Riel Drive, St. Albert
Daily, coffee bar opens at 10 am, the dining room and counter-service lunch bar at 11 am

Lebanon Lunches North: In Edmonton, Alberta

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Marathon Mouth

Great road trip eats in western U.S. and Canada

Dilly Dallying in Delightful Dillon, Montana

Moab Mayhem

Diner Delving in Pocatello Idaho, For Pete’s Sake

Noshing on Healthy Salads in Vernon, B.C.

Edmonton Eateries: Part 3

Lebanon Lunches North: In Edmonton, Alberta

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