What do you look or hope for in food when you travel? What google or yelp searches do you lean to?
WELL, I can’t say as I’ve really “done” Whistler cuisine, but this weekend having only two or three small ‘snack’ meals available to me I had to stick w my usual google search – ‘Farm to Table Restaurants – Whistler’.
Admittedly, not a lot of specific options came up – apparently it’s not a popular search LOL for that area. Two that repeatedly looked good, though, were Bar Oso and Alta Bistro.
When trying a new restaurant I didn’t want to go with a wine selection. Most any decent restaurant now has a wide array, and what skill does it take to pour a glass from a bottle?! For my money and for a measuring stick from which to judge, I’ve decided on the one cocktail I love that can be made to impress – or not – … the Whiskey Sour.
While Bar Oso is a Spanish tapas theme, the food that myself and my immediate bar-neighbours-turned-friends had didn’t disappoint. Yes, I talked to just about everyone sitting at the bar… Including the Chef… LOL.
One lady was from Seattle nearby and when I asked her restaurant recommends for good local-ingredient-focused food she said keep driving to Portland… Well noted, and I DO love fooding in Portland, but sad to hear there aren’t enough good spots to bother with so nearby. Another from Australia said her crew was eating somewhere random and she wanted some better options so had gone off on her own – good choice – a Foodie’s gotta do what a Foodie’s gotta do!
My roasted beet salad was DELICIOUS! The crumble on it looked hard to eat, but it was actually soft and tasty, well paired with the creamy cheese and soft beets. The shishitos had an odd, acidic tinge to them but I still ate every last one – even the two spicy ones! I realized that I’d forgotten to ask for the bartenders “BEST or FINEST Whiskey Sour”, so I think I got a menu item one that was ok but not terribly memorable.
It was fun to watch the Chef in his TINY TINY kitchen area, and he was as lovely and chatty as my other bar-mates, so that was fun. All in all I would definitely go back and try more of the menu items.
Alta Bistro was on my hit-list, but not open for lunch I had to wait until 5:30pm and sneak away from the crew I was travelling with to grab a pre-dinner (somewhere the menu looked … not amazing …) appy and Cocktail. Alta entices with an ‘outstanding cocktail menu and local, sustainable ingredients’. My expectations are high…
The tricked me into excitement at the thought of a Pinor Noir soup – apparently this sign was tongue-in-cheek, but then I was craving it so I spent half my time at their bar googling “Pinot Noir Soup” recipes LOL! I didn’t find one… I may have to create one, because now it’s all I can think about.
I loved the vibe at Alta Bistro the moment I walked in – it was cute and cuddly, just what one might want apres-ski – and, of course, French! I sat at the bar for a quick appy and Whiskey Sour. The bartender wasn’t too friendly at first – I think she was just really busy, as she warmed up pretty quick.
I chose a helping of Rabbit and Pork Rillettes that was AMAZING. Freshly cooked bread, pickled cipollini onions and thin-sliced apple gave it those special touches. It was so good, I came back after our group dinner and bought another to go so I could make poached eggs with it in the am for our crew. They were pretty happy! I can’t wait to go back sometime for a proper dinner. Whiskey sour = good, but not memorable. Next time I’ll try asking for their FINEST haha!
I chatted w the guy beside me (oddly also from Seattle – do they seriously have NO good food there?!) who had just retired at 55, was about to follow the ski hills around the world for 3 months, then head onto a giant sailboat for a year or something like that. What a life! We sat for a second whiskey sour and listened to his grand upcoming adventures…
Another few honorable mentions to try next time were Basalt and Araxi. I’ll be sure to put them on my list for the next trip!
