By GRAHAM HICKS
It’s been a tough winter, especially when the bank account has no room for a sun/beach holiday.
Non-stop cold, treacherous ice and eternal darkness plays havoc on the emotions. When your spouse curls up tighter than a fetus for days on end …
So here’s Plan B.
Jasper!
It’s still winter … but winter in the mountains can be a tonic.
You don’t have to ski, snowshoe, or take teeth-chattering hikes.
You can do nothing but eat!!!
Supported by out-of-province tourists in the summer, by skiers from Edmonton in winter, and year-round by local residents, Jasper’s culinary scene is alive and kicking.
I pried Maria out of her fetal position, set the Toyota’s controls for Jasper. Off we went for a two-night, three-day self-guided-with-advice Jasper Culinary Tour.
The idea was to discover/rediscover some Jasper dining gems – especially the ones the locals consider their own.
Prices, incidentally, mirror what similar restaurants charge in Edmonton.
We start late Thursday afternoon with a soft-pretzel snack and a ‘Jasper The Bear’ pint (a honey ale) at the Jasper Brewing Company.
It’s basic pub fare – a pretzel is a pretzel. The attraction is the in-house brewed beer. Parent company Bear Hill Brewing opened its first brew pub in Jasper and has since expanded across Alberta. It will soon open in Edmonton as Campio Brewing in the former Characters Restaurant space on 105 Street.
Go where the locals go. In Jasper, that’s The Inn Grill at the Jasper Inn. Executive Chef Chris Profit sticks to the tried-and-true – poutine, meatloaf, ribs, salmon, pizzas. But each dish has a chef’s signature, something a little different.
On Thursday, the restaurant is alive with skiers and locals taking advantage of two-dollar meat/fish taco night. The fish arrives as two yummy deep-fried fish balls, atop soft tacos with a tasty tangy sauce. Five tacos make for a filling, $10, dinner!
The jerky-like salmon on the salmon treats’ appetizer plate is smoked on site. The roast potatoes have a hint of fragrant curry.
It’s the Inn Grills’ wild-game meatloaf that deserves fame.
Chef Profit combines ground elk and bison to coax the best out of both meats, then mixes in goat-cheese as an unexpected “marbling.” Each serving is cooked within a crisp smoked-bacon shell, doused at the last minute with a hot, rich, sparkling demi-glaze gravy.
With apologies to the elk foraging outside the restaurant’s windows as we dine, it’s a perfect winter dish.
Friday lunch is at the new counter-service Harvest Food and Drink on Patricia Street, the first independent venture by long-time mountain-country chef Sean Walker.
Again, it’s familiar food with unique style and a devotion to best-available ingredients. The chutneys and pickles are made in-house. A brown rice, green lentil and feta salad has my wife asking for the recipe.
Harvest’s ploughman lunch features imported European cheeses, cold cuts from Eastern Canadian suppliers and those sweet in-house pickles. Chef Walker brings in real Montreal smoked meat, i.e. from Montreal, for his killer smoked-meat sandwich. Harvest’s brioche bread is imported from France.
Long-time Jasper restaurateur Patrice Fortin purchased the classic, mountain-cozy, upstairs Fiddle River Restaurant on Connaught Drive a few years ago and has since ever-so-gently tweaked the Canadiana menu featuring wild game and Canadian-caught fish and shellfish.
The dishes may sound stuffy – king crab, lamb rack, Vienna schnitzel – but executive chef Sushant Shanbhag is a sauce-maker extraordinaire.
Every Fiddle River dish is playful, with a little extra zing, a flavour surprise that few culinarians can touch. His elk stroganoff is bolstered with paprika and cognac. The arctic char is nestled in spinach and goat cheese, baked inside a filo pastry. How could the appetizer oysters, thousands of kilometres from sea water, be so fresh?
Saturday morning warrants a quick trip to a Jasper icon, the Bear’s Paw bakery. Yes, we are still full from the dinner 12 hours earlier at Fiddle River. But who can forego the Bear’s Paw’s fabled carrot cake and muffins?
Then the finale to our trip, lunch at a secret dining spot known only to skiers, the Marmot Basin ski resort’s Cariboo Bar & Grill. Once again, new twists keep showing up on familiar dishes.
It’s not just poutine, but sweet potato poutine, with confit chicken, shaved scallions and a hint of truffle oil mixed in with the cheese curds.
The Cariboo croque monsieur sandwich is coated in the dish’s usual melted cheese, but, inside, instead of sliced ham, is pulled pork! The Caesar salad comes not with croutons but with lightly battered and deep-fried bread. It works.
Our Thursday to Saturday culinary trip has barely scratched the surface of Jasper’s independent dining scene, not even crossing the Athabasca River to re-visit the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge’s haute-cuisine.
Pure mountain snow may not compare to a perfect Caribbean beach. You still have to drive to and fro, in sometimes slippery winter conditions. You will gain weight! … but a Jasper culinary tour is as good an econo-winter break as can be had.
Published:
Updated:
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By GRAHAM HICKS
It’s been a tough winter, especially when the bank account has no room for a sun/beach holiday.
Non-stop cold, treacherous ice and eternal darkness plays havoc on the emotions. When your spouse curls up tighter than a fetus for days on end …
So here’s Plan B.
Jasper!
It’s still winter … but winter in the mountains can be a tonic.
You don’t have to ski, snowshoe, or take teeth-chattering hikes.
You can do nothing but eat!!!
Supported by out-of-province tourists in the summer, by skiers from Edmonton in winter, and year-round by local residents, Jasper’s culinary scene is alive and kicking.
I pried Maria out of her fetal position, set the Toyota’s controls for Jasper. Off we went for a two-night, three-day self-guided-with-advice Jasper Culinary Tour.
The idea was to discover/rediscover some Jasper dining gems – especially the ones the locals consider their own.
Prices, incidentally, mirror what similar restaurants charge in Edmonton.
We start late Thursday afternoon with a soft-pretzel snack and a ‘Jasper The Bear’ pint (a honey ale) at the Jasper Brewing Company.
It’s basic pub fare – a pretzel is a pretzel. The attraction is the in-house brewed beer. Parent company Bear Hill Brewing opened its first brew pub in Jasper and has since expanded across Alberta. It will soon open in Edmonton as Campio Brewing in the former Characters Restaurant space on 105 Street.
Go where the locals go. In Jasper, that’s The Inn Grill at the Jasper Inn. Executive Chef Chris Profit sticks to the tried-and-true – poutine, meatloaf, ribs, salmon, pizzas. But each dish has a chef’s signature, something a little different.
On Thursday, the restaurant is alive with skiers and locals taking advantage of two-dollar meat/fish taco night. The fish arrives as two yummy deep-fried fish balls, atop soft tacos with a tasty tangy sauce. Five tacos make for a filling, $10, dinner!
The jerky-like salmon on the salmon treats’ appetizer plate is smoked on site. The roast potatoes have a hint of fragrant curry.
It’s the Inn Grills’ wild-game meatloaf that deserves fame.
Chef Profit combines ground elk and bison to coax the best out of both meats, then mixes in goat-cheese as an unexpected “marbling.” Each serving is cooked within a crisp smoked-bacon shell, doused at the last minute with a hot, rich, sparkling demi-glaze gravy.
With apologies to the elk foraging outside the restaurant’s windows as we dine, it’s a perfect winter dish.
Friday lunch is at the new counter-service Harvest Food and Drink on Patricia Street, the first independent venture by long-time mountain-country chef Sean Walker.
Again, it’s familiar food with unique style and a devotion to best-available ingredients. The chutneys and pickles are made in-house. A brown rice, green lentil and feta salad has my wife asking for the recipe.
Harvest’s ploughman lunch features imported European cheeses, cold cuts from Eastern Canadian suppliers and those sweet in-house pickles. Chef Walker brings in real Montreal smoked meat, i.e. from Montreal, for his killer smoked-meat sandwich. Harvest’s brioche bread is imported from France.
Long-time Jasper restaurateur Patrice Fortin purchased the classic, mountain-cozy, upstairs Fiddle River Restaurant on Connaught Drive a few years ago and has since ever-so-gently tweaked the Canadiana menu featuring wild game and Canadian-caught fish and shellfish.
The dishes may sound stuffy – king crab, lamb rack, Vienna schnitzel – but executive chef Sushant Shanbhag is a sauce-maker extraordinaire.
Every Fiddle River dish is playful, with a little extra zing, a flavour surprise that few culinarians can touch. His elk stroganoff is bolstered with paprika and cognac. The arctic char is nestled in spinach and goat cheese, baked inside a filo pastry. How could the appetizer oysters, thousands of kilometres from sea water, be so fresh?
Saturday morning warrants a quick trip to a Jasper icon, the Bear’s Paw bakery. Yes, we are still full from the dinner 12 hours earlier at Fiddle River. But who can forego the Bear’s Paw’s fabled carrot cake and muffins?
Then the finale to our trip, lunch at a secret dining spot known only to skiers, the Marmot Basin ski resort’s Cariboo Bar & Grill. Once again, new twists keep showing up on familiar dishes.
It’s not just poutine, but sweet potato poutine, with confit chicken, shaved scallions and a hint of truffle oil mixed in with the cheese curds.
The Cariboo croque monsieur sandwich is coated in the dish’s usual melted cheese, but, inside, instead of sliced ham, is pulled pork! The Caesar salad comes not with croutons but with lightly battered and deep-fried bread. It works.
Our Thursday to Saturday culinary trip has barely scratched the surface of Jasper’s independent dining scene, not even crossing the Athabasca River to re-visit the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge’s haute-cuisine.
Pure mountain snow may not compare to a perfect Caribbean beach. You still have to drive to and fro, in sometimes slippery winter conditions. You will gain weight! … but a Jasper culinary tour is as good an econo-winter break as can be had.
Published:
Updated:
Filed Under:
By GRAHAM HICKS
It’s been a tough winter, especially when the bank account has no room for a sun/beach holiday.
Non-stop cold, treacherous ice and eternal darkness plays havoc on the emotions. When your spouse curls up tighter than a fetus for days on end …
So here’s Plan B.
Jasper!
It’s still winter … but winter in the mountains can be a tonic.
You don’t have to ski, snowshoe, or take teeth-chattering hikes.
You can do nothing but eat!!!
Supported by out-of-province tourists in the summer, by skiers from Edmonton in winter, and year-round by local residents, Jasper’s culinary scene is alive and kicking.
I pried Maria out of her fetal position, set the Toyota’s controls for Jasper. Off we went for a two-night, three-day self-guided-with-advice Jasper Culinary Tour.
The idea was to discover/rediscover some Jasper dining gems – especially the ones the locals consider their own.
Prices, incidentally, mirror what similar restaurants charge in Edmonton.
We start late Thursday afternoon with a soft-pretzel snack and a ‘Jasper The Bear’ pint (a honey ale) at the Jasper Brewing Company.
It’s basic pub fare – a pretzel is a pretzel. The attraction is the in-house brewed beer. Parent company Bear Hill Brewing opened its first brew pub in Jasper and has since expanded across Alberta. It will soon open in Edmonton as Campio Brewing in the former Characters Restaurant space on 105 Street.
Go where the locals go. In Jasper, that’s The Inn Grill at the Jasper Inn. Executive Chef Chris Profit sticks to the tried-and-true – poutine, meatloaf, ribs, salmon, pizzas. But each dish has a chef’s signature, something a little different.
On Thursday, the restaurant is alive with skiers and locals taking advantage of two-dollar meat/fish taco night. The fish arrives as two yummy deep-fried fish balls, atop soft tacos with a tasty tangy sauce. Five tacos make for a filling, $10, dinner!
The jerky-like salmon on the salmon treats’ appetizer plate is smoked on site. The roast potatoes have a hint of fragrant curry.
It’s the Inn Grills’ wild-game meatloaf that deserves fame.
Chef Profit combines ground elk and bison to coax the best out of both meats, then mixes in goat-cheese as an unexpected “marbling.” Each serving is cooked within a crisp smoked-bacon shell, doused at the last minute with a hot, rich, sparkling demi-glaze gravy.
With apologies to the elk foraging outside the restaurant’s windows as we dine, it’s a perfect winter dish.
Friday lunch is at the new counter-service Harvest Food and Drink on Patricia Street, the first independent venture by long-time mountain-country chef Sean Walker.
Again, it’s familiar food with unique style and a devotion to best-available ingredients. The chutneys and pickles are made in-house. A brown rice, green lentil and feta salad has my wife asking for the recipe.
Harvest’s ploughman lunch features imported European cheeses, cold cuts from Eastern Canadian suppliers and those sweet in-house pickles. Chef Walker brings in real Montreal smoked meat, i.e. from Montreal, for his killer smoked-meat sandwich. Harvest’s brioche bread is imported from France.
Long-time Jasper restaurateur Patrice Fortin purchased the classic, mountain-cozy, upstairs Fiddle River Restaurant on Connaught Drive a few years ago and has since ever-so-gently tweaked the Canadiana menu featuring wild game and Canadian-caught fish and shellfish.
The dishes may sound stuffy – king crab, lamb rack, Vienna schnitzel – but executive chef Sushant Shanbhag is a sauce-maker extraordinaire.
Every Fiddle River dish is playful, with a little extra zing, a flavour surprise that few culinarians can touch. His elk stroganoff is bolstered with paprika and cognac. The arctic char is nestled in spinach and goat cheese, baked inside a filo pastry. How could the appetizer oysters, thousands of kilometres from sea water, be so fresh?
Saturday morning warrants a quick trip to a Jasper icon, the Bear’s Paw bakery. Yes, we are still full from the dinner 12 hours earlier at Fiddle River. But who can forego the Bear’s Paw’s fabled carrot cake and muffins?
Then the finale to our trip, lunch at a secret dining spot known only to skiers, the Marmot Basin ski resort’s Cariboo Bar & Grill. Once again, new twists keep showing up on familiar dishes.
It’s not just poutine, but sweet potato poutine, with confit chicken, shaved scallions and a hint of truffle oil mixed in with the cheese curds.
The Cariboo croque monsieur sandwich is coated in the dish’s usual melted cheese, but, inside, instead of sliced ham, is pulled pork! The Caesar salad comes not with croutons but with lightly battered and deep-fried bread. It works.
Our Thursday to Saturday culinary trip has barely scratched the surface of Jasper’s independent dining scene, not even crossing the Athabasca River to re-visit the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge’s haute-cuisine.
Pure mountain snow may not compare to a perfect Caribbean beach. You still have to drive to and fro, in sometimes slippery winter conditions. You will gain weight! … but a Jasper culinary tour is as good an econo-winter break as can be had.