But on Sunday, we got lucky and there was some sunshine and plenty of "not raining" to go around. We hiked about 15 km at Lake Minnewanka (or Lake Willy Wonka if you're eating chocolate, which I was). Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich, an orange, and some chocolate along the trail. I took some pictures of the scenery, so here's one since I didn't take pictures of restaurant food:
Okay, so I saw some pretty mountains and worked up a monster appetite for dinner. As a result, I was the only member of my family to complete three courses.
We went to a really nice local restaurant called Quarry Bistro. It features local and organic ingredients much like the pizza place, except more formal and upscale. Of course, it never gets too formal in the mountains. Anyways, they say they specialize in French and Italian cooking, which I'd agree with.
To start with, we all shared PEI Mussels and Frites. The mussels were huge and tasty in their white wine, butter and capers. The frites were cut thin and featured some sweet potato fries, which I thought was a nice touch. I've never really discussed my love of sweet potatoes, but I really like them. The fries were topped with aioli, I'm pretty sure. That was rich and tasty and perfect for my very hungry stomach. My sister started with the soup of the day, which I think was tomato and bread. She loved the tomatoes and thought the bread was good. She also claimed the soup filled her up so she could barely eat her pasta entree. The soup did appear very thick to me.
After the mussels, we were brought some foccacia bread. I only ate a little, wanting to save room for other things, but it was really tasty with plenty of olive oil and salt on top. Anyways, they have good bread, which really I would expect.
Next up were the entrees. Before they arrived, I noticed the spectacular red Mohawk of one of the cooks through the pass. It was pretty sweet. My mom had the special which was lobster, duck confit, and (white?) beans. She ate it all I think, so it must have been good. My father and sister had Penne all'Amatriciana. It was penne with a spicy tomato sauce and bacon. My sister once again loved the tomatoes. I tried a piece of pasta and a bit of bacon and it was indeed quite tasty. Neither of them could finish the pasta, I would have expected more from my dad.
My entree gets its own paragraph, because I'm important, kidding. I had the Sooke Hills Rainbow Trout served with almond risotto and green beans. I was trying to branch out and I believe it was my first risotto and my first trout. The green beans were lightly cooked so they were still crisp and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. The vinegar was a nice touch and I would have been sorely disappointed if the beans were overcooked. The trout, was served with the skin and was seasoned with plenty of pepper and some butter. It was really tender and tasty. I wouldn't hesitate to have rainbow trout again. The best part of my entree was the risotto. It was really soft and creamy. . . I thought it was supposed to have a bit, but like I said I've never had it before. Anyways, it was really delicious and creamy and had plenty of delicious almonds mixed in. It will not be my last risotto.
I had a glass of Italian red wine that my parents ordered with my food. It was drinkable and good and apparently from grapes grown of vineyards sloping towards the sea in Abruzzo. Anyways, as a result I was slightly drunk by the end of the meal, lightweight that I am.
So, after devouring my entire entree, I wanted a sweet treat. I knew that there was a single scoop of homemade semifreddo (ice cream) available. So I ordered that in chocolate, for a little something. This is the course I was alone in eating. Anyways, texture-wise it wasn't too spectacular. It was good but nothing like the smooth creaminess of gelato. Where it really shone was in the flavour, which was given a twist with some cinnamon. Of course I ate the whole scoop, loving it all. They're really smart to have such a small dessert on offer. I wouldn't have gone for anything larger.
Anyways, the Quarry Bistro has good food and a nice atmosphere right on Main Street in Canmore. Incidentally, I found this video on You Tube of Chef David Wyse from Quarry telling Kelly Hrudey how to make carbonara. It's kind of fun, maybe you should watch it.
