Awesome Lunch & Artistic Coffees

On Saturday, my dad and I had a day out that started with some excellent wildlife photo ops at a location out on the Kootenay Pass where volunteers from two local wildlife associations feed a herd of big horn sheep. The purpose of the program and the feeding is to keep the sheep off the highway so there aren't any accidents that can kill or seriously harm both sheep and humans. The sheep were very placid and allowed me to take photos with no problem, and I also got a Telegraph article out of it, so if you want to read more about this unique opportunity, you can go here. I have a full Flickr set with all the big horn sheep photos here.

After that, Dad and I went to Nelson to do some grocery shopping, something we do very regularly, and we always have lunch! We had wanted to go to The Preserved Seed, but they are closed on the weekends, which we were very disappointed about. So, we opted instead to go to Max & Irma's (previously blogged about here) where we had a lovely lunch.

I had the Pollo Calzone, which had in it chicken, sauteed onions, artichoke hearts, and three cheeses. The crust was perfect and spectacular! I complimented the chef on my way out because it was so fabulous!

My dad had the Santa Fe melt, on multigrain bread. The bread was homemade. Not sure what was on the melt other than chicken, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Dad said it was excellent. Both meals came with a fresh house salad and Dad's came with a side of tortilla chips.

Max & Irma's always has really great homemade desserts, but we were both full, so we didn't have any. Great meal!

On Valentine's Day, my brother Jem came up to town and we went for coffee at a local shop called the Alpine Grind. I had to take a picture of these very lovely drinks they made with the decorative tops. Beautiful! The one on the bottom, the darker one, was my mocha, and the other one was a vanilla latté, which my brother claims is the best in town. It was a crummy day weather-wise up here on Monday, so a big hot drink was just perfect.

Lunch at The Alpine Grind

We have quite a few coffee shops in town, but since I don't drink coffee, I don't get out to them regularly. Most do light lunches however, and one day when our usual spot, the Sunshine Cafe was closed, my brother, SIL, and I went to The Alpine Grind, one of our local hot spots, for lunch. The Grind changed hands back in December, and I had been there for the odd mocha as it's the daytime watering hole of my employers at The Rossland Telegraph. Under the previous ownership, I'd only had lunch there once or twice, and it was good, but pricey. Under new ownership, things have changed somewhat. There is a micro-bakery there now and I had an awesome baguette from there a few months ago, bought spur of the moment during a staff meeting I was attending. There is a wider selection of goodies, and one of town's most famous bakers, Rebecca of Sweet Dreams Cakery, sells her creations there, including her wildly popular cupcakes. There are also bagels from Nelson and a new sandwich selection.

Here is what we had.

Shan had the smoked salmon panini, which she said was excellent. The side salad comes with a house dressing that was really good.

Jem had the salami panini; he enjoyed it very much.

I had the chicken, brie, and pear compote panini, and it was totally awesome.

Now, onto dessert. I wasn't going to have dessert because the sandwich ate up my small lunch budget, but...but...one of Rebecca's cakes was calling at me from the display case. I'd had one of her lime margarita cupcakes at the farmers' market during the summer, and I was instantly addicted to this woman's baking. The cake at The Grind looked like something from my version of heaven: chocolate cake, pumpkin cake, ganache, pumpkin cream...How do you possibly pass something like that up? You simply do not. I broke my budget. And it was so frakking worth it.
This was un-effing-believable. I mean...unspeakably un-effing-believable. I savoured every freaking bite! It was a positively spiritual experience. I simply do not know what else to say about it...

Yeah, it was a good lunch. But it was an even better dessert.

Rebecca of Sweet Dreams Cakery sells her famous cupcakes at The Alpine Grind on Thursdays, now that the farmers' market is closed for the season.

Kamloops Trip, Food Edition: Part 1

OK. I ate a lot last weekend while on my mini break. I was on holiday and I was in PMS mode, so I have good excuses. Here is day one of the road trip, which consisted of driving from Rossland to Kamloops. Map here. Run down of day on the road here.

Our first official stop was in Greenwood at the Copper Eagle Cappuccino & Bakery (no web site, unfortunately). This place is absolutely fabulous. I'd been once before on a trip to Vancouver just over a year ago, and at that time I had one of the best cinnamon buns I'd ever eaten. I also bought a selection of wonderful squares that were truly remarkable. This trip I was out of luck in the cinnamon bun category, but I did snag a couple of great squares: Crispy Crunch and Confetti with Butterscotch and Peanut Butter. My dad had the Swiss Oatmeal Cake. The squares were amazing, as I was anticipating, and my dad really enjoyed his slice of cake. Copper Eagle also does light lunches and has a nice selection of homemade breads, and my dad got a loaf of whole wheat & cheddar.

Our second food-related stop was one of my favourite places ever and the baking mecca of the Okanagan: the Rogers flour mill. I can't tell you how much I love this place. Not only can you get large quantities of freshly milled flour and grains of all sorts, it is bulk bin heaven! You name it, they have it in bulk. And their spices are so fresh and fabulous. I got 10kg freshly ground bread flour for $7.99, some local honey, and some Hungarian paprika and Cajun seasoning. The staff at the mill store are very helpful and knowledgeable and the store is clean, organized, and very well-maintained. I can never just go in for a minute to pick up a bag of flour; I have to look around at everything and I always wind up buying stuff other than what I intended to. But it's OK.

Next foodie stop: the Village Cheese Co. in Armstrong. My dad wanted to have lunch here at the small cafe attached to the cheese factory. Armstrong is rather famous for its cheese, and the Village Cheese is good cheese, but pricey. I bought a 140g package of Monterey with Mediterranean flavours for $3.50. They have every flavour of cheddar cheese you can possibly imagine, and it's all made right on site. The cafe is also part kitchen shop and it's filled with all kinds of gadgets. In addition to light lunches and snacks, they also serve ice cream. I'd eaten here before when I used to live in the area, and it was OK. My dad, however, had a great experience at the cafe once, and he was hell bent on having lunch there, even though nothing on the small menu really turned my crank. So, what I wound up with was this:
This a ham & cheese "sandwich" and "clam chowder." The sandwich, was well, half of a hot dog bun with a slice of ham on it and some cheese. The chowder was watery, didn't contain many clams or potatoes, wasn't very creamy, and was basically very pathetic. I hate it when I shell out money for a meal and I come away hungry! My dad had an ice cream for dessert, but I was ticked off and not in the mood. I would have been much happier finding a Quizno's in Vernon and having a Toasty Torpedo. So, if you ever stop by Armstrong, yes, visit the cheese factory, get some gourmet cheese, have a snack and browse around, but I don't recommend the lunches.

After 8 hours on the road, Dad and I arrived in Kamloops at the lovely home of my dear friend S and her husband M. They have a tradition of having spaghetti & meatballs on Friday night, and that's exactly what we had. They loved the cookies, BTW. In fact, S's mother-in-law, when presented one for dessert, said, "Are these THE cookies?" They have managed to impress a few people, I guess, and that tickled me.

All this blogging is exhausting me! I have many more foodie things to share, but you'll have to wait until I catch my breath!