It has been about 7-8 years since Ginger and Nutmeg had been in Whistler and had a chance to partake in the Sunday Farmer’s Market.
Wow! What a transformation, the market has grown about 10-fold. Continue reading
Category Archives: Travel
Rimrock Cafe at Whistler
It has been years since Ginger and Nutmeg had last been to the Rimrock Cafe in Whistler. So all it took, was for some Vancouver friends to suggest that it was their favourite restaurant in the valley, for Nutmeg to make a reservation. The restaurant has been around since 1987, it specializes in fish and game. The inside is very cosy with two operational fireplaces in the winter months. Outside they have two patios, a garden patio in the back and a deck out front. Ginger and Nutmeg lucked out with a sunny evening, so chose to sit on the front deck.
The wine selection is broad and includes a very good base of BC wines (which you should try). The restaurant has been featured in the Wine Spectator for their selection. Many wines are offered by the glass and they even have a decent selection of half bottles. Ginger chose a lovely 2007 Laughing Stock blend called ‘Portfolio’ from the Okanagan – yummy!
The Rimrock Cafe has a great selection of appetizers, mains and a few daily specials. Ginger tried the gazpacho soup with lobster (daily special) – excellent. Nutmeg had the buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad – it was good although heavy on the ratio of cheese to tomatoes (they are in season right now so load them up)! The main courses were good and our waiter was excellent. The best part for Ginger was the side of spatzle (excellent) and the sticky toffee pudding with ice cream to finish.
If you are in Whistler or planning to go, add the Rimrock Cafe to your list of restaurants. It is off the beaten track, it is a bit more of a locals gem and it is no where near the craziness of the main village base. Good food, reasonable value, great service and Ginger would like to confirm excellent desert!
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A Cuppa Joe in Whistler
If your daily coffee cravings are satisfied by the retail chain with the green and white signage, you do not need Nutmeg’s help. For that, there is an app you can download on your phone, and several locations to choose from. If you want to support some local businesses, and experience a bit of the Whistler Village culture, while drinking your favourite cuppa joe then read on. Continue reading
Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver
Nutmeg almost did it…she almost Googled Markets in Vancouver, then she remembered…. Granville Island Public Market. Of course!!!
It is possibly the best market in Canada, and definitely the best in Western Canada. The Granville Island Market is of course, located on the spit of land by the same name. The public market is open daily from 9am to 7pm and features: a food court, specialty stands with fantastic breads, fresh bagels, seafood, cheeses, antipasto, prepared meals, unique spices, coffee bars and many permanent stands with really fresh fruit and vegetables.
On Thursdays, June through October they have a farmers market outside (unfortunately Nutmeg was there on a Tuesday). The list of farmers is updated weekly, as the season progresses.
The island of has many other great features; a focus on the arts (4 pages of artisans on the web site), the Emily Carr University, a focus on Maritime activities (sailing, whale watching, kayaking etc.), a brewery, a hotel, a music scene and restaurants.
Granville Island started “life” as two sandbars in False Creek, these were used for fishing by the native inhabitants. The sandbars were problematic for the new settlers as water was not deep enough for navigation, nor the land dry enough for building. So the area caused disputes and claims for many years. Eventually, in 1915 a reclamation project was approved for the 35-acre site and almost 1 million cubic yards of fill was removed from the location for the cost of $342,000. The island then fell into a pattern of industrial uses for the mining and forestry sectors. The years that followed, were far from a picture of economic or eco-sustainable health. The depression hit, a fire destroyed a number of factories and the False Creek was seriously contaminated – this time the price tag was $50 million to clean up the area and many millions more to create the vibrant scene and island life that exists today.
Whether you are a first time tourist, a regular traveller to Vancouver or a lucky native, GO and visit Granville Island, it is like arriving in another world. See the full photo gallery.
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The Vin Room in Calgary
Saffron was is Calgary last weekend and as you may have gathered she is always in the “know” when it comes to restaurants, wine and cool gathering spots. She was free for dinner on Saturday night and suggested a visit to the Vin Room. Ginger had not tried out this wine bar/restaurant either so Nutmeg was happy to oblige and made reservations. Continue reading
Calgary’s Bearspaw Farmers Market
Bearspaw Farmers Market is only open on Sundays (11am to 3pm – see note) from June to October. Cinnamon, Nutmeg and the Market Dog (Jade) went for a drive to check out this market on Sunday. Continue reading
Banff Summer Farmers Market
Market day in Banff is Wednesdays (8am to about 4pm). Ginger and Nutmeg decided to ride to Banff, from Canmore, on the path that is officially called the Banff Legacy Trail. Although, his Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex officially opened a completed section on July 24th, the rest of the trail is not technically opened as there are five bridge sections yet to be finished. If the current level of bike, roller-blade and foot traffic is any indication the trail will be very well utilized. The Banff Legacy Trail is a significantly safer option than riding on the shoulder of the TransCanada.
The Banff “market” is located at Bumpers as you first enter the town and that is the good news, as there is no need to drive down main street. Currently, the market is essentially one vendor, Glen and his tractor trailer from BC. Regardless of the limited choice in vendors, there is a wide variety of fresh Okanagan produce. When Ginger and Nutmeg arrived, in the mid-afternoon, there was a line up of people buying all the great offerings. So small is fine, in this town…the produce is fresh, relatively local and far better than Safeway down the street.
If you are in Banff on a Wednesday, in the Summer or early Fall, do make a trip to the market – with more support the vendor base may grow over time and if not you will certainly not go wrong with Glen’s selection. Maybe it will be a Whistler market one day.
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Calgary’s Holy Grill The Holy Grail of Hashbrowns
Most of you who know Nutmeg, already understand that french fries, chicken wings, chips, onion rings, Cheezies and Kraft dinner do not factor into her diet much if at all. The odd fry, one or two onion rings and that is definitely Nutmeg’s limit. Ginger on the other hand loves ALL of it!
The Holy Grill, is located right across from Mountain Equipment Coop on 10th Avenue in Calgary. It has been a restaurant for a while although the name has changed a few times. It is definitely not fancy and the drill is quite straightforward. There is no table service so you need to make a decision, place your order at the counter, find a seat and wait for your name to be called and then pick up your meal. They do breakfast and lunch only.
The breakfast menu includes the traditional (to your specifications – Nutmeg is particular and it was perfect), the Bennies (variations on eggs benedict) and a variety of breakfast sandwiches (paninis and “Mcmuffins”). The lunch menu is basically a selection of paninis and burgers, with enough choice to satisfy most palates. The food is good, fresh and made to order. The hash browns however are the “holy grail” they are the perfect balance of crisp, with a hint of grease and a the right salt balance. The best part is of course they are gluten free for those of you who have concerns. The coffee is mediocre and definitely not highly promoted.
Some of the other real positives with the Holy Grill are they have some patio space out back that on a sunny day, would be perfect (Ginger and Nutmeg were there on a rainy day). There is free parking in adjacent lot so you do not need to pay the Calgary Parking Authority a dime :-).
Bottom line? The Holy Grill is definitely the holy grail of hash browns – Nutmeg did not even share with Ginger!
Enjoy!
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Nutrition and Good Food at Nu Roots in Canmore
Nutmeg was very curious about Nu Roots and Tasty Life, these ladies were recently featured in an article in the Canmore Leader. Talk about complimentary businesses; Samantha Peris, Tori Prescott are combining holistic nutritional advice with Joanne Grimble’s really great raw food. The retail store is open limited hours for now, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In addition, there are cooking classes (Raw Chocolate Cooking) every second Wednesday night.
This store has a tiny efficient footprint. They sell the Tasty Life products like Herb Flat bread, Trailside Buckwheat Granola and the Cocoa Nut version and lots more. They also have some featured cookbooks and other healthy items. Nutmeg was really impressed by these ladies they have combined degrees in holistic nutrition, business and raw food cooking into a great package. Nutmeg has tried the “Nutella” like spread – really yummy, not too sweet but definitely chocolaty and it is made with avocado. This may be the ONLY time Nutmeg eats avocado – she can pick it out of sushi…
So thumbs up from Nutmeg, a great combination of nutrition and good food at Nu-Roots. Go and visit the store, check out their stand at the Canmore Farmer’s Market on Thursdays, at Wild Flour in Banff or order the really tasty and good for you products on line.
Not sure if Ginger is a convert yet – maybe he just needs to meet the lovely ladies.
Kingsland Farmers Market in Calgary
This market is very new on the Calgary scene, it opened on July 7th (note the spelling on the sign…shy a few letters). Nutmeg is very excited about the potential for this market, it is centrally located, particularly for those in folks who live in the Southwest. The Kingsland Farmers Market is located at 7711 Macleod Trail South in the old Shaw GMC location. The Kingsland Market is open 4 days a week: Wednesday through Friday from noon until 6:30pm and on Saturdays from 9-3pm. There is site is work in progress, as they are converting the old car showroom and auto body shop into a permanent indoor location for the vendor stands. So when the weather turns back to winter for good, the vendors will be inside, for now they are outside in the parking lot. There are about 20 vendors currently with a mix of produce, prepared meals and baking. Merchants include some that can be found at other markets around town and a couple unique ones:
- Twisted Basil – wholesome baking and some fresh veggies
- Lund Organic Farm – a variety of produce
- The Cucumber Man – he sells more than just cucumbers
- A Touch of India – prepared Indian sauces with gluten free options
- Dor Bel – packaged, flash frozen fish
- Coco Brooks – a large variety of frozen pizzas
- Pearson’s Berry Farm – yummy baking with lots of Saskatoon berries
- Rocky Mountain Kitchens – awesome granola bars with samples 🙂
The Kingsland Farmers Market is definitely worth a visit and several repeat visits as they build traffic and the number/variety of merchants. There is lots of free surface parking. The best part of all according to Nutmeg is the “recycled”, “re-purposed” use of the site from an abandoned car dealership to a local food market. Get out there and enjoy this one!
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