Friday, July 17, 2015

2015 Vacation Recap: Whistler British Columbia Food Part 2

(photo credit - www.yelp.ca)


And now for the main event! Dinner!

Friday night was the big celebration dinner as it was actually on my parent's 50th anniversary. We ate at the Edgewater Lodge. A cozy little place with a nice view of Green Lake. We also had lovely views of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains as well as Wedge Mountain and Armchair Glacier. The Edgewater Lodge often host events such as wedding receptions and birthdays, so this was a good spot for hosting a 50 year anniversary.

I forgot to make a note of what I had for a drink, but I believe I had a brandy that night. I'm almost positive. I'm a brandy girl as it turns out, but I also like scotch, vodka, and rum. Basically I like anything, and if I don't I usually like it mixed it with something. I don't drink a whole lot, mainly on vacation, but I like to try a variety of things when I can.

As a starter at the Edgewater I had the Seasonal Soup, which was the mushroom celery soup. It was very good, and I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms. I like them fine mixed in with things, but not on their own. For my main course I had the Line Caught Spring Salmon. It was served amongst asparagus and corn barley risotto, and tomato fondue. I'm also not a huge fan of asparagus, but I like to give it a try here and there. The risotto with the asparagus in it was very good. I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it was because the corn had the stronger flavor, but it was really nice.

And for desert my husband and I split the chocolate brownie with salted caramel ice cream. It came with three or four raspberries which were all mine since my husband doesn't like them. I love brownies and ice cream together. Can't go wrong with that combination.

You can check out the Edgewater Lodge and their menu by clicking on those links.

Saturday night was a fun night. We had a "progessive" dinner. I had heard of bar hopping, and this was similar to that. You have appetizers and drinks at one restaurant, dinner at another, and then dessert at a third location.

For our first stop, we went to 21 Steps. This was an interesting place. To get to the bar itself, you had to go up 21 steps, thus the name. The drink I had here was called The Surfer. This drink consisted of Malibu rum, banana liquer, and pineapple juice. It was delicious, but to be honest I had to wonder if they forgot the rum! It didn't seem to impact me at all. Which is very odd, seeing as it doesn't take much alcohol to get me giggly. I'm sure it was in there, and it was very good. We had random appetizers as well. If I can remember correctly (I didn't write them down), we had mixed marinated olives, fried goat cheese (I think?), tiny bacon wrapped filets, edamame, and baked mushroom caps.

I tried everything except the baked mushroom caps. I don't particularly like them as I said, and these were the main focus, so I skipped them. I don't know why, but they smell and taste like feet to me. Just saying. I didn't care much for the edamame either, but that was mainly because they were in their casings. I've heard that you can eat the casings, but they were just too stringy and tough. I tried an olive, also not one of my favorite things, and they were pretty good. I loved the cheese and the bacon wrapped filets. Those filet were fantastic. Check out 21 Steps' menu.

Our next stop on the tour was Alta Bistro. I ordered the Confit Locally Caught Salmon. It was served with Pemberton potatoes, horseradish sabayon, preserved lemon, watercress, and fried oats. It was very well done, Any chance I can order fish, I do. Fish is one of my favorite things to eat. I didn't finish the meal, there was some texture that I didn't care for and was hard to eat. The salmon is itself was wonderful, and the potatoes also, so it was probably the fried oats or horseradish that set me off. Great little place. I'd definitely go back and try another dish. Check out the menu for Alta Bistro.

Our last stop was back at The Fairmont. We went to the Mallard Lounge for drinks and the "chocolate bar". I ordered a hot liquid dessert called Paris is Burning which consisted of Remy Martin VSOP and Chambord (an infusion of red and black raspberries, Madagascar vanilla, and XO cognac). Fantastic drink! I would get this again in no time. Very warm and soothing. We also got a sampler plate of chocolate. What a way to end the night, chocolate and brandy! You can get a good look at all of the drinks om the Mallard Lounge drink menu.

Sunday night we ate at Beacon Pub and Eatery. Originally we planned to eat at the Old Spaghetti House, but it ended up being an hour wait to be seated. So we moved on from there. It ended up being a great decision. The Beacon Pub and Eatery was a fun place to eat. We got a table outside (it sprinkled for five or ten minutes on the awning), and enjoyed everything. I ordered the fish and chips and had a Rock Creek Pear Cider to drink. Awesome food for this little place. The fish and chips were crispy just the way I like them. The pear cider was really good. I need to get more cidery drinks from now on. They're alcoholic, yes, but not too much. Better option than beer, since I don't like beer. Check out the menu at Beacon Pub and Eatery.

After dinner we went back to the Mallard Lounge for drinks. I ordered the Mandarin Sting this time around. The Mandarin Sting consists of Absolut Mandrin vodka, Serrano chili, cranberry, orange, and lemon. Awesome drink! Very spicy but in a good way. I love fruity drinks like these.

Monday night was a treat. We went to a restaurant called Hy's Steakhouse. The whole table started off with  the Cheese Toast For Two. I love cheese toast. I also started with the Hy's Tossed Green Salad. The main dish I had was absolutely wonderful. I got the Baked Sea Bass which came with white beans and tomato concasse, and ancho-chili aioli. Fabulous. Creamy and tender deliciousness. Once again I had fish for dinner. How funny is that? I can't pass it up. My husband got the Gorgonzola Filet Mignon, and I had a bite of it. Best filet I've ever tasted. Tender, juicy, and the Gorgonzola complimented it very well. I would order that if I ever went back. They need a sampler plate to be honest. I'd love to try just about everything on their menu.

Dessert at Hy's was a treat for sure. My brother in-law ordered the Bananas Foster, and they made it table-side. Our server was very outgoing the entire time, and by the time dessert rolled around she was in full swing. She had my niece and two nephews captivated with how she was making the dessert. Once it came time to flame it all up, the kids were so entranced the flames startled all of them. I thought one of my nephews was going to run straight through the table he jumped so high. Hysterical. Everyone got a taste of the bananas foster, and they were really good. My mom and I shared the Key Lime Pie. If I see key lime pie on a menu, I have to get it. It's funny, as a kid, I never liked it that much. I think it was too sour. But now, it's one of my favorite desserts. It was really good too. We all were too tired to hit up the Mallard Lounge that night, so we skipped it.

Tuesday night we had a quick dinner at Brandi's, a sports bar. And by quick I mean quick. I ordered the Keg Sliders and Cheese Toast, but I don't think my order was written down. I think almost everyone ordered the same thing, and one got left off. Tuesday we were doing the dinner with the bears jeep tour, so we were a little pressed for time. Once my order was taken (again), I basically had five minutes to scarf them down and go. Granted they were good, but I didn't really get a change to enjoy them. As it turns out I did have time, because when we went to catch the shuttle to get to the bear tour meeting place, we had just missed the shuttle. We had to wait for the next one. Ah well. Life happens.

After the bear tour we met one last time in the Mallard Lounge. For my last drink of the trip I had the Midnight Cafe, which is made up of Patron XO Cafe, Grand Marnier, lemon, and raspberry syrup. Fantastic drink!


That wraps up the food portion of our vacation. I can say the best meal was probably Hy's Steakhouse. Great food, awesome server, and an all around good time. As for my favorite drink, I can't pick one. They were all good, and looking at the menu as I write up this post, I'd like to go back and try them all!

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