High River Can’t Keep These Restaurants From Rolling On

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Evelyn's Memory Lane packs in the locals to this 1950s'-style diner in High River

Evelyn’s Memory Lane packs in the locals to this 1950s’-style diner in High River

High River has more historic character in its compact, brick-building downtown than most southern Alberta towns. Which only compounds the tragedy of all the residents and business owners who were hammered by the June 2013 floods from the raging Highwood River. Half a year later, several downtown restaurants and coffee houses still hadn’t reopened when I visited.

One place that has is Evelyn’s Memory Lane, a ‘50s-style diner that has long been a gathering lunch spot for locals and day-tripping Calgarians. In keeping with the historic theme, there’s old-fashioned sundaes, thick berry and cream pies and banana splits (when did you last see one of those?). The signature roast chicken sandwich is excellent, full of moist chunks of chicken and cranberry sauce. It’s almost Christmas dinner between two thick slices of house-made multigrain bread. Evelyn’s keeps serving up comfort food when High River really needs it.

Evelyn's classic roast chicken sandwich on house-made multigrain bread

Evelyn’s classic roast chicken sandwich on house-made multigrain bread

Evelyn’s Memory Lane
118 4 Avenue SW, High River, Alberta
Weekdays 9 am-5 pm, Saturday 11 am-5 pm. Closed Sunday
Evelyn's Memory Lane Cafe on Urbanspoon

Walking down the narrow hallway to the Whistle Stop Cafe‘s bathroom, I can’t help but anticipate the swaying of a moving train. That’s because the Whistlestop is in a historic railway dining car in High River. It’s the perfect place to look out the window at the sandstone Museum of the Highwood while enjoying a hearty all-day breakfast, a clubhouse sandwich or a chicken-mango quesadilla, while sipping loose-leaf tea from a French-press pot.

The Whistle Stop Cafe serves breakfast and lunch in this old rail car

The Whistle Stop Cafe serves breakfast and lunch in this old rail car

My daily soup is a flavourful bowl of chicken and black beans, accompanied by a thick slice of Donna’s sourdough multigrain bread. The Whistlestop was closed for three months after High River’s devastating June 2013 flood. But it’s nice to see it rolling once again.

Hearty chicken and black bean soup with sourdough bread

Hearty chicken and black bean soup with sourdough bread

Whistle Stop Cafe
406 1 Street SW, High River
Tuesday to Friday 11 am-4 pm, Saturday 10 am-4 pm Sunday 10 am-3 pm. Closed Monday
Whistlestop Cafe on Urbanspoon

Triple D: Dining, Dinosaurs and Drumheller

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Sublime Food and Wine is in the shadow of this enormous T-rex in downtown Drumheller, Alberta

Sublime Food and Wine is in the shadow of this enormous T-rex in downtown Drumheller, Alberta

Drumheller may be the finest Alberta destination outside the Rocky Mountain parks, best reached by the fine drive along Secondary 840 through Rosebud. There’s spectacular badlands, a rich coal-mining history, swinging bridges and ferry rides, a narrow, winding road to a ghost town and a tiny church built by prison inmates. I haven’t even mentioned the top draw, the Royal Tyrrell Museum, arguably the top dinosaur museum in the world. The dining options for day or overnight road trippers don’t yet match up, but things are definitely improving.

Bernie & the Boys Bistro certainly knows how to make a burger joint fun and funky. Hope you like primary colours, in this case bright yellow walls with red trim and vibrant tables painted by a local artist. The only subdued tones are the black shirt and pants worn by chef Bernie Germain, wife Carol and the rest of the friendly, family-based staff of this Drumheller institution.

You might need sunglasses at Bernie & the Boys Bistro in Drumheller

You might need sunglasses at Bernie & the Boys Bistro in Drumheller

The relaxed atmosphere extends to the menu, where the Blair Wing Project chicken wings are so hot diners “must be at least 18 years old to order and must sign our waiver.” The real action, though, is the roster of a dozen hearty, no-nonsense burgers.

I wisely go with just a single patty ($8.50) of the G’s Special Burger. When you add all the fixings—cheese, mushroom sauce, thick chunks of bacon, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and G’s special sauce—it’s gotta weigh well over a pound. This is one serious burger, sufficiently messy that I abandon my usual hands-on approach for a knife and fork. Thank God, I don’t opt for a double or triple patty or, the masochist’s special, the 24-ounce Mammoth.

... and maybe a well-hinged jaw to bite into this mere single-patty burger

… and maybe a well-hinged jaw to bite into this mere single-patty burger

If you need something to wash all this down with, check out the long, long list of milkshakes, including toasted marshmallow and toffee crunch. If you need something to keep you awake after this caloric overload, head to downtown’s Café Olé (Railway Avenue and Centre Street) for a stiff coffee, using Canmore’s Mountain Blends beans.

Bernie & the Boys Bistro
305 4 Street West, Drumheller
Tuesday to Saturday 11 am-8:30 pm, except till 9 pm Friday. Closed Sunday and Monday
Bernie & the Boys Bistro on Urbanspoon

It’s not often I get to eat in the shadow of a giant Tyrannosaurus rex. I mean giant, as in 26 metres tall. Sure, it’s just an oversized replica. But 70 million years ago, dinosaurs did indeed rule this area, and I would have been a mere sliver of protein in a T-rex’s teeth.

Today at Sublime Food and Wine, I’m a carnivore at the top of the food chain, gnashing my molars on the tender, slow-roasted prime rib melt. It’s a fine sandwich, with thin slices of meat topped with sautéed mushrooms, horseradish mayo, melted gouda and a sprinkling of pea shoots. My $12 melt is accompanied by yet more protein—a hearty turkey soup featuring pearl onions.

A fine prime-rib melt with turkey soup at Sublime Food and Wine

A fine prime-rib melt with turkey soup at Sublime Food and Wine

Sublime is a casual step up in Drumheller’s dining scene. Owned by young local couple Stasha and Dennis Standage (he’s a Red Seal-trained chef), it’s located in a cozy old downtown Drumheller house, right across the street from that dinosaur. You can climb up into the beast’s lofty jaws. But that might be tempting fate.

Sublime Food and Wine
109 Centre Street, Drumheller
Tuesday to Saturday 11 am-2 pm, 5 pm-9 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday
Sublime Food and Wine on Urbanspoon

Korean BBQ in Airdrie, Alberta

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Good luck finishing this "half" order of Korean-styled fried chicken at Yum Yum BBQ in Airdrie, Alberta

Good luck finishing this “half” order of Korean-styled fried chicken at Yum Yum BBQ in Airdrie, Alberta

Twenty years ago, Airdrie was a sleepy community of less than 10,000 souls in the northern shadow of Calgary. But thanks to the big city’s boom and the Highway 2 umbilical cord, Airdrie has exploded to a population of 50,000 (it’s also Canada’s second-highest city, at 1098 metres). Unfortunately, there hasn’t been the same boom in good, independent eateries.

So, it’s nice to see a little place devoted to Korean barbecued chicken, of all things. Specifically, Yum Yum BBQ specializes in crispy, double-battered fried chicken, ranging from spicy to sweet. You can order a burger, but really, what’s the point?

Located in a strip mall, Yum Yum has a slight fast-food look to it, with a corner TV playing a Korean version of American Idol. But when my server says my “half” meal ($10) of hot fried chicken will take 15 minutes, I know they’re cooking to order. It actually arrives in 10 minutes—a massive serving of six assorted pieces.

Under the thick, crispy skin, the chicken is delicious: smouldering hot, moist, sneaky spicy and a wee bit greasy; hey, it’s fried chicken. Of course, the spices are a secret blend, though one of them is ginger. My order comes with a little side dish of pickled daikon radish, providing a cool contrast to all that fried chicken. Actually, I only get halfway through my order and have a meal to take home.

Yum Yum BBQ
104, 3 Stonegate Drive NW, Airdrie, Alberta
Tuesday to Sunday 11:45 am-9:30 pm. Closed Monday
Yum Yum Chicken & BBQ Korean Cuisine on Urbanspoon

To finish an Airdrie visit off with something sweet, head to The Avenue Cakery & Bakeshoppe (6, 620 1 Avenue NW) for cupcakes, cinnamon buns or small but dense pumpkin loaves or Oreo pound cakes. Nearby, Anna’s Café Europa (224 Main Street North) serves light meals and coffee roasted next door by Bruck Roasterie.

How about a massive cinnamon bun at The Avenue Cakery & Bakeshoppe

How about a massive cinnamon bun at The Avenue Cakery & Bakeshoppe?

Ethnic Dining in Cochrane, Alberta

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Cochrane Ranche Provincial Historic Site pays tribute to the area's ranching history

Cochrane Ranche Provincial Historic Site pays tribute to the area’s ranching history

Cochrane has gone from a history of tending cattle to one of raising families in a commuter community on Calgary’s northwest doorstep. It’s still a steak, pizza and fast-food kind of place, but some good ethnic eateries and coffee shops are adding to the increasingly cosmopolitan mix.

On the infrequent road-trip occasions when I dine at an Indian restaurant, I invariably go for a lamb curry or butter chicken. But  Mehtab East Indian Cuisine has such a long, diverse list of vegetarian dishes—okra or roasted eggplant pulp, anyone?—that I quickly shift gears. I mean, how can I resist this description of Daal Makhani: “Black lentils with kidney beans, simmered on a slow fire overnight and tempered with ginger, garlic and tomatoes, seasoned with butter and fresh cream.” All that slow cooking, with Indian spices, brings out the complexities of this first-rate, not-too-rich meal. I also get a requisite order of garlic naan that is light, flavourful and not swimming in butter. The prices are reasonable for Indian fare of this quality—about $12 for the filling, vegetarian meals and a couple of bucks more for those with meat. Of course, you can always sample a wider range of dishes on the ever-changing lunch buffet, for a bargain $12 or so.

A delectable daal dish and garlic naan at Mehtab East Indian Cuisine

A delectable daal dish and garlic naan at Mehtab East Indian Cuisine

Mehtab East Indian Cuisine
120 5 Avenue West, Cochrane
Lunch buffet Sunday to Friday 11:30 am-4 pm, dinner daily 4:30 pm-9 pm
Mehtab East Indian Cuisine on Urbanspoon

“This will warm you up,” my server Tim cheerfully says, on a winter’s day, as he starts assembling my chicken donair at hole-in-the-wall Donair on the Run in downtown Cochrane. It will certainly fill me up, I’m thinking, as I watch the “regular-sized” pita being mounded with slow-roasted, shaved chicken breast and my choice of lettuce, olives, tomatoes, pickles, radishes and parsley. Add some typical Middle Eastern sauces—tahini and tzatziki—along with Mama’s pungent, house-made garlic sauce and, after a minute or two in the panini press, I’ve got a substantial lunch for under $7. What really makes this beauty sing is the final topping: crunchy chunks of pungent, pickled turnip. “Here, have a piece of our baklava,” owner Camille Elain says as I skip out the door, ready to tackle the coming deep freeze.

Owner Camille Elain is making great, filling donairs and falafels at Donair on the Run

Owner Camille Elain is making great, filling donairs and falafels at Donair on the Run

Donair on the Run
407 1 Street West, Cochrane
Monday to Saturday 11 am-8 pm, except till 6 pm on Saturday. Closed Sunday
Donair on the Run on Urbanspoon

When it Comes to Paying for Parking, I’m No Dummy

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They certainly like to make street parking in Seattle complicated

They certainly like to make street parking in Seattle complicated

My general rule for road-trip dining is to pay for parking only when absolutely necessary. But cities, particularly their downtown areas, conspire against this. Which forces me to carry a bunch of coins or figure out how to use their credit card machines or attach receipts to windows (see photo above).

So all this plugging of downtown parking meters—constantly checking my watch and devouring my meal to make sure I won’t get ticketed or towed—has got me thinking. You know how parking patrollers will rarely bother you if you’re sitting in your car? They must think you’re either about to get out of your car, and plug the meter, or about to leave.

So why not just plunk a dummy in the driver’s seat while you’re dining nearby? You know, like those uniformed policemen dummies you see in old patrol cars, to get you to slow down in small towns. Wouldn’t that work?

If a dummy can get people to slow down, maybe it can be used to avoid paying for parking

If a dummy can get people to slow down, maybe it can be used to avoid paying for parking

My Best Road Trip Meals of 2013: Part 2

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Jen Castle and a photographer friend at her Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah

Jen Castle and a photographer friend at her Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah. It’s my “middle of nowhere” food pick for 2013

Best Food Trucks

As if there’s any surprise, both my choices are in the mecca of Portland, Oregon, which boasts some 700 food “carts”, meaning they’re stationary. My overall winner is Wolf & Bear’s, which transforms the often throat-catching falafel into a wrap of silky beauty with hummus, caramelized onion and grilled eggplant. (Guess this one could also make my vegetarian list).

Fantastic felafel at Wolf & Bear's food cart in Portland, Oregon

Fantastic felafel at Wolf & Bear’s food cart in Portland, Oregon

     Honourable Mention: In the “how the hell does this combination work?” category, The Egg Carton takes fried egg, strawberry jam, cheddar, bacon and spicy mustard and sandwiches it between two thick, custardy slices of French toast to create something that could easily make my Best Breakfast list.

French toast/egg sandwich at Egg Carton in Portland. You know you want one

French toast/egg sandwich at Egg Carton in Portland. You know you want one

Best Microbrewery

Again, many contenders, but how can you beat the story of a microbrewery whose products can pretty much only be found, at least locally, in liquor stores because of the higher alcohol content? I’m talking about that drinking hotspot of Utah, of course, where Epic Brewing is overcoming the odds and turning out a great line of rich, complex ales and lagers.

But you'll have to go to a state liquor store to get higher-test beers like the excellent Epic Brewing ales, produced in Salt Lake City

You’ll likely have to visit a Utah state liquor store to buy the excellent, higher-test beers produced by Epic Brewing of Salt Lake City

Best Happy Hours

Happy hour is the route to some great deals at often more upscale places. The big bowl of chunky guacamole and first-rate salty chips goes down nicely with a discount margarita at Phoenix’s elegant Gallo Blanco Cafe & Bar, which offers happy hours an unusual seven days a week.

Great happy hour guac and chips at Gallo Blanco Cafe & Bar in Phoenix

Great happy hour guac and chips at Gallo Blanco Cafe & Bar in Phoenix

If you’re thinking $2.75 is no Mexican street-food bargain for tacos, head to San Diego’s South Beach Bar & Grille, where my happy hour mahi mahi and wahoo fillings are nearly the size of filets.

The fish tacos at South Beach Bar & Grille, in San Diego, are nearly the size of filets

The fish tacos at South Beach Bar & Grille, in San Diego, are nearly the size of filets

Best Mexican

I spent a lot of time in 2013 in the southern U.S., so I ate my fair share of Mexican, authentic or not.

Tacos: Taqueria Pico de Gallo is a no-frills stucco taco shop in Tucson, Arizona that churns out excellent Mexican street food, like my fine fish and lengua (tongue) tacos, for a grand total of $3.75.

... like these fish and lengua (tongue) tacos

Fabulous  fish and lengua (tongue) tacos for a total $3.75 at Tucson’s Taqueria Pico de Gallo

Chilaquiles: I have trouble pronouncing it but no problem devouring the steaming dish of toasted tortilla strips, scrambled eggs, red and green chile sauce and melted cheese at MartAnne’s Cafe, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The ultimate chilaquiles breakfast at MartAnne's Cafe in Flagstaff, Arizona

The ultimate chilaquiles breakfast at MartAnne’s Cafe in Flagstaff, Arizona

Enchiladas: The chicken-and-cheese filled tortillas at Santa Fe’s The Shed are great, as is the posole topping, but what blows me away is the best red chile sauce I’ve had in a busy week of New Mexican dining.

I went for the stacked enchiladas at The Shed, but it was the red chile that blew me away

I went for the stacked enchiladas at The Shed, in Santa Fe, but it was the red chile that blew me away

Best Middle of Nowhere Dining

The drive on Highway 12 through outstanding sandstone country to Boulder, Utah is half the journey, but dining at world-class Hell’s Backbone Grill certainly completes the experience.

World-class cuisine at Hell's Backbone Grill in the middle-of-sandstone nowhere Boulder, Utah

World-class cuisine at Hell’s Backbone Grill in the middle-of-sandstone nowhere Boulder, Utah

Honourable Mention: Okay, it’s right beside the I-15 in southern Idaho, but you can’t tell me Malad City is in the middle of somewhere. Just take the turnoff and pull up to Spero’s House of Barbecue, where half a dozen barbecues are slow cooking ribs, pulled pork and chicken.

Pull up to a half dozen outdoor grills at Spero's House of Barbecue in Malad City, Idaho

Pull up to a half dozen outdoor grills at Spero’s House of Barbecue in Malad City, Idaho

Miscellaneous

I created this category just so I could squeeze in elegant Seasons of Durango in Durango, Colorado, which serves me a fabulous lunch of fall-off-the-bone-tender Hoisin pork ribs.

Ribs and waffle fries add up to an outstanding, affordable lunch at Seasons of Durango in Durango, Colorado

Ribs and waffle fries add up to an outstanding, affordable lunch at Seasons of Durango in Durango, Colorado

Honourable Mention: The revelation at Crepes of Brittany, in Monterey, California, is the buckwheat galettes, slowly cooked till the crepe is a little crispy and the inner ingredients hot.

Thierry Crocquet starts cooking his authentic Brittany crepes

Crepes of Brittany co-owner Thierry Crocquet starts cooking my buckwheat galette

Best Food Experiences

The most memorable road-trip experiences combine great food and wonderful interactions with the people that own or run the places.

I can’t tell you the name or the hours, and the little old Mexican lady with a hairnet that runs out from a nearby house to serve me doesn’t speak English. I just pull off the I-15 at Hamer, Idaho, and find the taco stand that serves me three great tacos for just $5.

The smile says it all at this little taco stand in Hamer, Idaho

The smile says it all at this little taco stand in Hamer, Idaho

The Venezuelan fare is excellent at Viva Las Arepas, mercifully off the Las Vegas strip. But what puts things way over the top is owner Felix Arellano cooking me a couple of mesquite-fired arepas, then hauling me next door to his gelato shop and then up the street to his taco truck.

Viva Las Arepas owner Felix Arellano delivers arepas to my table

Viva Las Arepas owner Felix Arellano delivers arepas to my table

They’re not kidding when they say the crab is fresh at Kelly’s Brighton Marina near Rockaway Beach, Oregon. A woman in rubber boots pulls a live one from a water bucket and cleans, cooks and delivers it in a tin to my picnic table, where I excavate the butteriest, freshest crab I’ve ever eaten.

Will this crab suit, I'm asked at colourful Kelly's Brighton Marina near Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Will this crab suffice, I’m asked at colourful Kelly’s Brighton Marina near Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Kelly Brighton, Rockaway Oregon

…Time to dig in

The floors are concrete, the lighting dim, the overall ambience dingy. But the century-old Grand Central Market, in downtown Los Angeles, is dripping with character and a great place to people watch and sample just about any ethnic cuisine you can think of.

You can't create the kind of atmosphere that's built up over a century at Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles.

You can’t create the kind of atmosphere that’s built up over a century at Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles.

Best Meal of 2013

626 on Rood in Grand Junction, Colorado hits every detail of what makes a meal memorable. Décor? How about wine glasses turned into chandeliers, water served from repurposed wine bottles or a bathroom decked out with cloth towels and olive oil hand lotion. Complimentary appetizer? How about a fresh French baguette slathered in house-made herb butter? And the blow-me-away highlight—an apple-wood-smoked duck club sandwich, with pepper bacon, Napa cabbage and roasted garlic mayo, all squeezed between two delightful slices of challah bread. All for the ridiculously cheap lunch price of $12. Descriptive words fail me. Just look at the picture. Then get in your car.

This duck club, at 626 on Rood, may be the best sandwich I've ever had

This duck club, at 626 on Rood, may be the best sandwich I’ve ever had. Just look and weep

            Honourable Mention: My best experience combined with outstanding food is at San Diego’s Alforon, where co-owner Samia Salameh’s sits down at my table for a chat. And then the other-worldly, from-scratch Lebanese fare—chicken pita pies to falafel to Turkish coffee, much of it unordered—keeps arriving. This is what makes 25,000 kilometres of driving in 2013 worthwhile.

Wouldn't you drive all the way down the west coast to visit lovely Samia Salameh, co-owner of Alforon in San Diego?

Wouldn’t you drive all the way down the west coast to visit lovely Samia Salameh, co-owner of Alforon in San Diego?

... which is matched by a chicken tawook flatbread that's out of this world

… which is matched by a chicken tawook flatbread that’s out of this world