Culinary Canmore

I had the wrong idea about Canmore. Since Canada 1 brings you to this growing town after 90 minutes of driving, with Banff still 20-30 minutes away, I had it in my mind that Canmore was in the foothills. So while planning for our 2pm arrival (and especially our 5am CST departure), I arranged for our first night at Lady MacDonald Inn and then had us moving on to Banff, Jasper and other places. Canmore was convenient to our dogsledding rendevous, and would do for an overnight.

But even under the thick clouds that Sunday afternoon, we could tell that we’d reached the mountains a lot sooner than expected. Canmore doesn’t lie within the large expanse of Banff National Park (the entrance is about 10 minutes away), but that doesn’t mean that your peak-viewing opportunities are limited. Banff may have Mount Rundle and Cascade Mountains, but Canmore can claim the Three Sisters and a host of other equally impressive mountains that in 360 degrees of Alpine Surround Sound. The town lies in the Bow Valley, along the river’s north shore, bounded on either side by beautiful chunks of the Rockies.

Canmore’s location outside the national park means that the town’s growth is not controlled, while Banff’s growth (and residents) are directly monitored by the park service. Canmore has exploded in recent years (at least relatively), and is the principal site for condo and golf course development, featuring the world-class Silvertip course on the northside of town (no tee times were available in December).

Nonetheless, we found it a very pleasant place to stay. When weather curtailed our plans to head to Jasper, we readily made reservations at the Lady MacDonald for our final three nights. Canmore has a growing number of restaurants, a modest downtown with stores and services, and access to all of the area’s highlights. It’s a short drive into Banff or beyond, and we preferred its slower pace, lower prices, and more down home atmosphere.

From Canmore, it’s easier to head south into Kananaskis Country, the largely overlooked ‘playground’ used by locals for all of their outdoor options: skiing, hiking, fishing, etc. It’s the same mountain range as in Banff, just less populated.

And when you’re back in town, there are plenty of good options for dining, from the simple and basic to some excellent restaurants. Our favorite was Crazyweed Grille, but we also enjoyed the fresh pasta at Luna Blue, tasty bagel sandwiches at Rocky Mountain Bagel Co., and good pub food (and beer!) at the Grizzly Paw Brewing Co.

But the highlight of our time in Canmore was our stay at the Lady MacDonald Inn. Our hosts Peter and Tammy made us comfortable, kept us well fed with delicious breakfasts and evening snacks, and gave us countless tips on how to enjoy the beautiful country around us. We’re anxious to come back and see how Canmore looks in the summertime, and I know where we’ll stay.

Our stay here reduced winter to an abstraction (at least while we were indoors). Despite the subzero temperatures, there were no drafts, no cool pockets, nothing but comfort, giving us a chance to enjoy this wonderful place run by tremendously friendly and gracious hosts. This small, 12-room inn is housed in a building that’s roughly 12 years old, constructed on the site of an old farm whose cattle grazed to the east where Canada 1 now runs. Nicely decorated for Christmas, we enjoyed our one-night stay so much that we cancelled our reservations at a perfectly decent spot in Banff to return here for three more nights.

Tammy and Peter have run the Lady MacDonald for the better part of a decade. They previously owned a ‘soft adventures’ outfit, taking guests through the marvelous surrounding country, but gave up guiding to concentrate on the hotel. We constantly drew on Peter’s suggestions for local hiking and activities; Tammy, a culinary graduate, is responsible for the excellent breakfasts.

There are tons of special touches that make this a wonderful place to stay. Each night, something tasty is set out on the coffee table in front of the two-way fireplace: homemade chocolate popcorn, a plate of meats and cheeses, or perhaps a tray of chocolates, always accompanied by nuts and other goodies. Beers and wines (in generous servings, at modest prices) are also available, each one a personal favorite of the hosts.

The breakfasts were fantastic. They’re served in the rooms on either side of the fireplace, each with a view south across the roadway to the mountains on Canmore’s southern border. The cold buffet includes fresh fruit, cereals, pastries, and homemade granola (which is not to be missed), augmented by a freshly cooked entry. During our four mornings, that included waffles made from scratch with a berry topping, a breakfast wrap, and French toast. Eggs Benedict were also in the mix, but we missed them. Each plate is tastefully decorated, often with tiny coquitos, (a small, coconut-like favorite of Tammy’s that became one of ours; when we missed them on our last morning, a small dish of them quickly appeared).

We stayed in two of the 12 rooms, spending our first night in the Three Sisters, the premier room on the second floor under the main turret in the southeast corner. Despite all the windows, it was warm and cozy, and had a terrific view of its mountainous namesakes out the turret windows. The large king bed, in a wrought iron frame, was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. A gas fireplace faced the bed, which was flanked on either side by end tables. The room was spacious, with a sitting area between the bed and the windows along the north side. The large bathroom held a Jacuzzi tub large enough for two.

On our second stay, we spent three nights in the Vermillion Room. This first floor room was on the north side of the inn along the Bow Valley Trail, and again was quiet and warm. It was here that we figured out that the building was heated by radiant elements in the floor. This queen bed was also really, really cozy. A pair of chairs flanked the chest of drawers along the north wall; the ample bathroom was at the south end. Both rooms held plenty of space for coats, suitcase, and clothes.

We loved this place, and would return in a minute. It’s only 20 minutes from Banff, and makes a great base for explorations all over this area. Combine its comfort, terrific food and very fair prices (our one night in the Three Sisters was $207 in high holiday season with AAA discount; the Vermillion was $130 post-holiday prices), and it’s easy to understand why they have a large number of returning guests. We hope to be among them.

On our first night in Canmore, we didn’t think to ask our host Peter at Lady MacDonald Inn for any dining recommendations. Having ‘lunched’ on some sandwiches we took on board the plane, we were interested in an early dinner, and looked through our room’s tourist guides after checking in. We the made the short drive along Railway Avenue to Eighth Street and the center of town, enjoyed wandering up and down the streets and looking in shops, and eventually started to think really seriously about eating.

Pasta sounded good and hearty, and the interior of Luna Blue looked pleasant, so we headed inside. We were soon glad we did. A fair number of people were dining despite the relatively early hour, including groups of young skiers and families with little kids.

Luna Blue features handmade pastas, but the pizzas heading in and out of the brick oven in the partially open kitchen looked pretty inviting. I knew there was another famous pizza place in town, and opted for the cannelloni. My wife selected the signature pasta dish of linguini with a touch of walnuts, and we then enjoyed a glass of chardonnay while we waited for our pastas to arrive. Since it wasn’t too busy, it was easy for our server to check back on us, and we enjoyed chatting with her in the meantime. She was a former employee, brought in for a week to fill a vacancy, taking some time off from her job as a heliskiing guide further up the Rockies.

Both dishes tasted great. The cannelloni was fresh from the oven, swimming in a delicious pool of near-molten cheese. I had to wait a while to ensure that I didn’t burn off my taste buds. The pasta was excellent; a reminder of just how much better fresh pasta is than dried.

As we finished our early dinner, the place started to fill up. It seemed a popular pick in Canmore, and the arriving crowd was as varied as our fellow diners had been. We nearly returned for another night, but figured there other dining options to explore. But if we’re back in Canmore, we’ll return. And we might try the pizza.

We headed here for a quick, casual lunch on our first day in Canmore. Arriving at noon, following a morning outdoors, we were ready for a respite, hot coffee, and a good sandwich. The place was packed, and must have been the busiest restaurant in Canmore that day. The seating was a dense jumble of high backed chairs, mismatched tables, stools, and booths, every one occupied by a crowd of all ages. Mounted above a long row of cases and counters was an equally long blackboard with the menu for drinks, desserts, and bagels, each available in nearly every imaginable variations. The breakfast bagels sounded tasty, but were no longer available at lunch time. I opted for a Mountaineer, a huge pile of thinly sliced ham and cheese that was hard to get my mouth around. The smell of coffee was in the air, too, and we finished off our cups with a good, thick chocolate chip cookie.

There are two locations in Canmore, one in each of the town's two main districts: on Bow Valley Trail, and on 8th Street (where we lunched). The 8th Street location has a nice outdoor patio, obviously unused in December, but would be a great place in the summertime.

This was the only dining disappointment we had, and nearly the only disappointment of the entire trip. And that includes driving into a snowbank, since getting out was such an affirming experience. Murrieta’s is located in central Canmore, along with nearly everything else, on 8th Street. It occupies the second floor of a building along the east side, above a typical set of downtown shops.

A shallow staircase is lined with vintage photos of Canmore and the railway, and deposits you in the center of an impressive and unexpected room. The room is entirely done in wood beams, but avoids the vintage feel of a park lodge. The high ceiling has an unusual vault to it, and emphasizes the long run of windows along the north side. If any daylight remained, it must give a fabulous view out at the mountains on the north end of Kananaskis Country. The bar runs along the east side of the building, and we were seated there, at a four-top alongside the open top of the stairwell. The long, attractive bar was to my left, and the table was hardly a compromise given its bar locale.

The server was professional, clearly the most experienced we had in the Rockies. He made several recommendations, knew the menu well, and was at ease pairing wines by the glass (from an impressive list that featured Okanagan Valley vintners) with our orders.

Unfortunately, the food didn’t keep pace with the rest of the experience. I had yet to order salmon, and with our trip nearing its end, felt obligated to pass on some tasty sounding pastas, a bouillabaisse, the prospect of a nicely grilled steak, or another flatbread. Three versions of ‘simple fish’ were available: a pan roasted sockeye salmon, seared ahi tuna or sablefish. All three were done with your choice of spicy maple ginger dressing, a pickled lemon ratatouille, or béarnaise sauce.

The maple-ginger seemed the best match for salmon; my wife went with a Mediterranean flatbread having missed all of her opportunities so far. The salmon came atop a starch that was so disappointing, I can’t even remember what it was (except that it was soggy where I expected something else). The fish was a modest size piece, and prepared well, but the maple-ginger glaze was so thin that it seemed barely attached to the salmon. My wife’s flatbread was better, pairing roasted lemon chicken with chickpeas and an artichoke puree. It was a healthy serving, and I got to finish the last two pieces. On the flip side, both wines were good (a Twin Islands Pinot from NZ, and a Canadian Chardonnay).

Maybe it was just a bad night. Our host at the Inn was enthusiastic about this place, and every other recommendation he’d given us was dead right. Based on that alone, I’d give it another shot when back in Canmore. (It has sister restaurants in Calgary and Edmonton, but they can’t match the view.)

This was the coldest night we had, and not venturing too far from our inn seemed like a good idea. So Banff was out, but that didn’t mean we were walking: strolling the mile into downtown Canmore didn’t seem too comfortable (or smart). It was New Year’s, however, and a lot of establishments were taking the night off. After the short cruise up and down Eighth Street, we saw the lights on at the Grizzly Paw Brewing Company and decided to stop there.

We knew they had good beer: I’d had a couple bottles of their Powder Hound Pilsner with dinner at Storm Mountain Lodge earlier in the week. That brew was my wife’s choice tonight, while I opted for a pint of the Rutting Elk Red. The menu was a wide ranging pub-style affair, with pastas, burgers, salads, sandwiches and some other choices. I went with a pizza, since we’d tried twice to eat at the highly recommended Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company without success. (Our first night in Canmore, the frantic server told us we couldn’t be seated for 90 minutes; they were the first place we tried on this night but were closed for New Year’s Day.)

The Brewing Company’s four pizzas were built on Rocky Mountain’s 100% organic flatbreads, but were more traditional offerings than found on their suppliers’ menu. I opted for a salad and the ‘Double Trouble’, a 9" pie that combined chorizo and Italian sausage and a few veggies. The other three included a Chicken Ranch, a pepperoni/pepperoncini/purple onion combination that sounded good but dangerous, and a veggie pizza. All were $13 or $14.

My wife opted for a bowl of the beer & cheese chowder, which was thick with cheddar, potatoes and bacon, as well as a dose of the Powder Hound Pilsner.

The hot food was welcome, since the Grizzly Paw seemed to be the lone establishment in Alberta with only one door between the main seating area and the outdoors. Every time the door opened—and that was frequently—we knew it, even though we were a good ten yards away. Those to our right at the bar, or to the left in the center of the dining room, didn’t seem as bothered. We were; it was cold.

That didn’t stop us from finishing our beers, but it probably did keep us from ordering a second after the first glass (and the warm food) were gone. That left the nut brown ale, the honey wheat, and the raspberry ale unsampled. We could have taken home six packs of the honey wheat (or the red or the pilsner), or shopped for logoed merchandise during more normal hours. For those of any age with a sweet tooth, they also brew root beer, cream soda, cherry cola, orange cream soda, and ginger beer on the premises. Whether you opt for alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage options, this is a good place to refuel.

This was our final dinner in Canada, another recommendation from Peter, our encyclopedic host at Lady MacDonald Inn. Almost a week earlier, we’d chatted with fellow guests after they returned from dinner here. All five of them raved about the food, and we decided to take everyone’s advice and head there.

The restaurant must have moved recently: some sources give it an address on Main Street in central Canmore, but it’s now in an unexpected location on the edge of the industrial part of town: on Railway Avenue, well north of downtown. Peter warned us that it wouldn’t look like a restaurant from the outside and that there wouldn’t be a sign, and he was right. Despite the lack of any obvious indications that we were headed for a great meal, we followed our instructions, and finally found a parking spot in the packed lot (behind a Hertz Truck Rental location, I think).

It was hard to tell if the rather modern building had been designed by the current occupants, or adapted to their needs. Either way, it worked. It featured floor-to-ceiling windows along the south and west sides, where the tables were located. The kitchen was completely open, which was neat and not as large a distraction (or source of noise) as it might be.

They strike a sassy pose ("ask not what you can do for your country. ask what’s for lunch"), and an anti-restaurant, pro-food attitude, and they pull it off. Their website has a tabloid/graffiti look to it, and a unique orientation that does a pretty good job of reflecting the whole place.

That’s not to say that the staff copped an attitude. The host and the server were friendly, efficient and acted like they were glad we’d chosen their restaurant. Frankly, I’m tired of places that act like they’re doing you a favor by deigning to sell you a meal. We spent some time poring over the e e cummings style menu, eventually settling on forgoing the mains (not for any fault of theirs) and going with four small plates. There were just too many things that seemed worth exploring.

The server highly recommended the jewel box salad, a combination of several fruits (orange, bartlett pear, and pomegranate) accompanied by goat cheese over greens, and topped with a lemon vinaigrette. It was fabulous. I would gladly have eaten two.

We also picked the rösti potatoes, which were paired with smoked salmon and thus made irresistible in our eyes. With our greens and starch covered, we went for some protein: my wife had immediately identified the Vietnamese pork meatballs as a must-do, and our server concurred. They came with a delicious chile-lime sauce designed for dipping after wrapping in lettuce.

Our final selection was the potato samosas, a favorite of mine. (And a second starch was insurance against going hungry if the small plate option was, indeed, small. It wasn’t.) They were good on their own, but I really enjoyed the mango chutney that accompanied it. And since my dining companion is not a big ‘fruit in dinner’ fan, I gratefully finished it my self.

All these plates were $10-$14. The wine list was extensive, with a large set of by-the-glass offerings, available in 150, 250, and 750 ml pours (a variety I wish more places would offer). Our small-plate approach made me feel more entitled to add dessert, and wife agreed (but only after it arrived). Bernard Callebaut is evidently Calgary’s leading chocolatier, and we saw his name in any number of places. I liked it best on the small, intense cake that came with carmellized bananas and small scoop of caramel gelato.

The restaurant was full and lively throughout our stay, but not too noisy. The tables weren’t piled on top of each other, giving a nice separation from the parties nearby. Sometime between our entrance and exit, a sleek circular fireplace had been set up on the outdoor steps, and we stood by it for a while and enjoyed the clear night. Across Railway Avenue, the Big Dipper hung nearly vertically over the mountains, and after a couple tries, I captured it before we headed back to the Inn.