The Latest Beer Innovation: The Tasting Room

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Beer doesn't just come in bottles or pints anymore

Beer doesn’t just come in bottles or pints anymore

In the beer-drinking world, many of us sophisticated types long ago evolved from the 24-packs of thin, flavourless piss to craft beers of all persuasions. Though sometimes things get a little carried away with the addition of fruits, chocolate and hot peppers. And don’t get me started on IPAs.

The chocolaty "breakfast" beer and the geek

The chocolaty “breakfast” beer and the geek

The latest trend is the beer-tasting room, where you can stand, or sit at little tables, and savour small glasses (say, five or eight ounces) of beer, usually produced by an attached brewery. Perhaps the only food offered is from independent food trucks at the curb. Want some beer to take home? You’ll probably have to buy a refillable growler.

Vancouver, for instance, features two new tasting rooms. Brassneck Brewery (2148 Main Street) opened this fall with some eight beers to sample, while 33 Acres Brewing (15 West 8 Avenue) has two on tap. I recently visited the latter, which is a nice, bright place to sip a glass of 33 Acres of Life while chatting with friends. It felt more like a modern coffee shop (minus the laptops) than a prototypical pub. It’s all part of a craft beer renaissance in Vancouver, aided by the updating of antiquated liquor laws that allows the licencing of city tasting lounges.

Smaller glasses of onsite-produced beer at 33 Acres' tasting roomSmaller glasses of onsite-produced beer at 33 Acres’ tasting room

Whether tasting rooms are your cup of beer is a matter of preference. Methinks that in big cities, it’s a trend that’s just getting started.

Road Food For Thought: What ever happened to those beer bottle openers in motel bathrooms? Don’t they know all these craft beers don’t have screw tops?

Why do most bottles of Canadian craft beers contain only 331 or 341 millilitres (11 or a little more ounces) of golden liquid, compared with 12 ounces for their American counterparts? The funny thing is, put the same Canadian beer in a can and you suddenly get 12 ounces (355 ml), often for less money. Go figure.

Blow the foam off the Canadian craft beer (right), and it's an ounce short of its American cousin

Blow the foam off the Canadian craft beer (right), and it’s an ounce short of its American cousin

Obviously, American beer has always been cheaper than Canadian suds. But the production and marketing of specialty brews down south has raised the price of some 22-ounce bottles to between $4 and $9 apiece. Guess they’re taking their cue from the specialty coffeehouses.

Four Things I’ve Learned About Using Expedia or Hotwire to Book a Room

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Expedia and its subsidiary, Hotwire, offer road trippers easy access to last-minute motel bookings

Expedia and its subsidiary, Hotwire, offer road trippers easy online access to last-minute motel bookings

I’ve discovered online travel sites like Expedia and Hotwire can be a great way to spontaneously book motel/hotel rooms on road trips. Just find a place and price you like, type in your credit card number and, boom, you’re soon tuning in to HBO and recharging every electronic device you’ve dragged along with you.

Hotwire is actually a subsidiary of Expedia and differs from the former in just offering last-minute discounts, though I haven’t usually noticed a huge price difference between the two. But I have used both sites enough to help you, dear reader, avoid some of the pits I’ve fallen into.

Lesson 1: Once you hit “accept”, you’re on the hook
In other words, look carefully at what you’re getting before accepting. This rule especially applies to Hotwire, though you can often buy cancellation insurance when you book. Cancellation, a day or two ahead, is generally available through Expedia, depending on the specific motel’s policy. But I prefer last-minute booking, which gives me flexibility and avoids having to seek a refund if my plans change or an emergency arises. Note: Lesson 1 is the big one and applies to the next three.

Lesson 2: Double check where you’re actually staying
I thought I’d booked a room in Santa Barbara, California only to discover, too late, that my motel was in the “Santa Barbara area”. Which turned out to be an hour’s drive, each way, to less-than-lovely Lompoc, though it was nice to tick it off my bucket list. It was my own damn fault, as Expedia allows you to see the name and address of the place before accepting; I just mistakenly assumed Lompoc was a Santa Barbara suburb. With Hotwire, you don’t know the name and address till you hit “accept”, though their little maps give you a rough idea of what neighbourhood you’ll be in.

Lesson 3: Read the fine print about being “pet friendly”
Pet friendly is great if you’re packing critters. Not so much if you’re deathly allergic to cats or dogs. As I was walking to my $40 room in Portland, nearly every window curtain I passed had a pink nose poking through it. Good thing the red eyes and wheezing from my mild cat allergy never kicked in.

Using Hotwire, I got a heck of a deal at the swanky Hilton near the Los Angeles international airport

Using Hotwire, I got a heck of a deal at the swanky Hilton near the Los Angeles international airport. Never did lounge by the pool, mind you

Lesson 4: Read the other fine print about what is and isn’t include
I thought I’d landed a hell of an under-$100 Hotwire deal when I pulled up to the high-falutin Hilton near the Los Angeles international airport (LAX); I tried to cover the stains on my pants as I approached the tony front desk. That’s till I discovered that things free at a fleabag motel were not at the snooty Hilton. Like $5 for Internet access in my room. And $27 to drive down a five-floor, twisting concrete ramp to park my car in a tiny, scarcely-open-the-door-without-banging-the-Lexus-next-to-me parking space. Twenty-seven effin’ dollars for parking! Next time, I won’t bother booking the room. I’ll just pay for the parkade and sleep in the back of my car.

That is, till I saw how much the "extras" cost

That is, till I saw how much the “extras” cost

A Shout Out For Little Taco Trucks

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Chicas Tacos, near Walla Walla, Washington, is like many mom-and-pop taco trucks

Chicas Tacos, near Walla Walla, Washington, is like many mom-and-pop taco trucks

In my wandering travels, I’ve come across some great little taco trucks in the middle of nowhere. So at dusk, I’m zipping past one such tattered taqueria in a dusty parking lot (is there any other kind?) in the whistle-stop town of Touchet (Too-chee), on Highway 12, just west of Walla Walla in southern Washington. And I’m thinking and driving, thinking and driving. Until, at about the three-minute mark, I slam on the brakes and skid onto a little side road, the truck driver behind me blasting his horn as he swerves by.

Elena produces good, authentic Mexican fare at bargain prices

Elena produces good, authentic Mexican fare at bargain prices

I get back to Chicas Tacos just before it closes for the day and order a little adobada (marinated pork) taco, for all of $1.50. I want to see how it tastes and, just as importantly, to chat with the owners. As I’m piling radishes, onions and homemade salsa onto the double corn tortilla, Elena and her beekeeper husband tell me they’ve been open only a few months and soon will be closing for the winter. Business has been slow—mostly truckers from the secondary highway right in front of them—and they’re hoping to stay afloat.

A nice little adobada taco for just $1.50

A nice little adobada taco for just $1.50

I hope they do. They don’t have a website or Facebook page. “We’re dinosaurs,” the husband says. But Elena is putting out good, authentic Mexican fare at bargain prices and is willing to put in the hours over a hot grill to succeed. Isn’t this what the American dream (and spontaneous road-trip dining) is all about?

Update: I drove through Touchet in late September, 2014 and didn’t see any sign of the little taco truck in the gravel parking lot. Hope it was just away that day.

New Pok Pok Cookbook

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Fantastic, monster chicken wings with an Asian twist at Pok Pok

Fantastic, monster chicken wings with an Asian twist at Pok Pok

As a follow-up to my recent post on the legendary Portland restaurant Pok Pok, owner Andy Ricker has just published a book of the same name on his unique take on northern Thai cooking. After reading this recipe from the book on phat thai, though, you might agree with me that it’s easier just heading to the restaurant than making it yourself.

Country Cooking in Millarville, Alberta

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Quiche and hearty soup feed the country soul at Corner House Cafe in Millarville, Alberta

Quiche and hearty soup feed the country soul at The Corner House Cafe in Millarville, Alberta

Sitting in The Corner House Café feels like being in a farmhouse kitchen. It’s partly the location—in the rolling foothills southwest of Calgary near Millarville, home of Alberta’s original farmers’ market and its century-old horse racetrack. But it’s also about being in this cozy, old house at a table right next to the open kitchen. There, four women are peeling potatoes, manually grating carrots for soup and fixing breakfasts, while chatting amongst themselves and with the regulars.

The short menu features omelettes and Highway Crossing oatmeal at breakfast—chased by Fratello coffee or lattes—and chile, sandwiches and quesadillas at lunch. I’m not usually a quiche person but am intrigued by one with sweet potato crust, which indeed is sweet and crumbly soft. The airy quiche is easily matched by the accompanying bowl of spicy soup, chockfull of sausage and greens in a flavourful broth.

Sitting in the Corner House Cafe is like being in a farm kitchen

Sitting in The Corner House Cafe is like being in a farm kitchen

The building, at the junction of Highway 22 and the turnoff to the Millarville Farmers’ Market, has been owned by the Lee family since 1927. Lorraine Vernon and Tracey Rigon took over the restaurant two years ago and are doing a bang-up job of feeding folks and preserving that laid-back country feel.

The Corner House Café
549 Highway 22, Millarville, Alberta
Tuesday to Friday 7 am- 3pm, Saturday, 8 am-3 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday (and all of January 2014)
Corner House Cafe on Urbanspoon

Just down the road in Black Diamond, Jacquie Gabriel and daughter Jan Morgensen have recently opened JnJ Tea Infusion. It’s definitely worth checking out for a wide selection of loose teas—to buy or to enjoy in their Tea Shoppe—along with great muffins and pies baked by Angela Boznianin.

Jacquie Gabriel is serving up great tea and baked goods at JnJ Tea Infusion in Black Diamond

Jacquie Gabriel is serving up great tea and baked goods at JnJ Tea Infusion in Black Diamond

JnJ Tea Infusion
126 Centre Avenue West, Black Diamond
Tuesday to Thursday 9 am-5 pm, Friday 9 am-4 pm, Saturday 10 am-3 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday

Culinary Delights in Alberta’s Crowsnest Pass

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Coleman is an old coal-mining community in Alberta's historic Crowsnest Pass

Coleman is an old coal-mining community in Alberta’s historic Crowsnest Pass

It’s not just the wind that blows through Crowsnest Pass, in Alberta’s southwest corner. Most travellers, too, just breeze by, other than to briefly gawk at the immense boulder rubble from the Frank Slide, fill their gas tanks and maybe get a coffee and blueberry-lemon muffin at Cinnamon Bear Bakery & Café (8342 Highway 3). But there’s plenty of mountain scenery and rich coal-mining history to soak up here, plus a couple of first-rate, distinctive eateries to hit along a short stretch of Highway 3 in Coleman.

Good muffins and cinnamon buns at Cinnamon Bear Bakery & Cafe in Coleman

Good muffins and cinnamon buns at Cinnamon Bear Bakery & Cafe in Coleman

I’ve finally found an opportunity to use the old line: “Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup.” To do so, however, I’d have to buy and then drop a tied streamer into my chowder at *Crowsnest Cafe & Fly Shop, a unique combination of food and fly fishing. One half of the light-filled, wood-floored old house is devoted to flies, rods, reels and cleated boots, the other to dining tables.

Pick up some tied flies at lunch at Crowsnest Cafe & Fly Shop

Pick up some tied flies while dining at Crowsnest Cafe & Fly Shop

The meals are definitely no afterthought here, with owner Susan Douglas-Murray crafting scratch-made breakfasts and lunches in her small, open kitchen. My generous bowl of steaming, slightly spicy soup is chockfull of roasted root vegetables, while the accompanying wrap is pork tenderloin marinated in a black bean sauce, baked and then rolled inside a lightly toasted tortilla. It’s terrific stuff, especially if I need fuel for an afternoon’s fly fishing with her husband, guide Alan Brice (“trout psychologist”), on the storied Crowsnest River.

Excellent roasted root soup and pork tenderloin wrap at Crowsnest Cafe

Excellent roasted root soup and pork tenderloin wrap at Crowsnest Cafe & Fly Shop

Crowsnest Cafe & Fly Shop
8501 Highway 3, Coleman, Alberta
Winter hours Wednesday to Sunday 8 am-5 pm
Crowsnest Cafe and Fly Shop on Urbanspoon

I’m not sure what’s more unusual about *The Blackbird Restaurant—the authentic Mexican cuisine it’s serving in the tiny community or the high ceiling, 1905 church this new dining spot is located in. Is it further blasphemy when bearded co-owner Brock Jellison arrives at my lunch table and, without asking, starts pouring from a wine bottle into my glass? Actually, it’s just water (turning wine into water?).

Service is not just on Sundays at The Blackbird Restaurant

Service is not just on Sundays at The Blackbird Restaurant

This just sets me up for the next surprise: the excellent tacos that chef Alejandro Verdi is turning out from his small kitchen. There’s one with tender chunks of chicken and a piquant house-made green mole sauce and another with marinated flank steak that’s cooked a perfect medium rare. Sure, the $4 price tag for each is higher than at a streetside taqueria down south, but the size and quality of ingredients and preparation make this darn good value in the frozen north. Even if they have to deal with customers asking for forks.

How about some chicken and flank steak tacos?

How about some chicken and flank steak tacos?

The Blackbird Restaurant
7914 20 Avenue (Highway 3), Coleman, Alberta
Daily 11 am-9 pm, except closed Tuesday. Cash only
Blackbird Coffee House on Urbanspoon