Necessity Breeds Innovation - Rocky Mountain Refresh Meals at Your Service

Rocky Mountain Refresh provides top quality, locally-sourced meal kits delivered to your door.

During this most unusual of times, some businesses have found ways to pivot, to modify their services so they are able to continue to operate and provide services while maintaining appropriate physical distance and exercising extra care when it comes to sanitary standards. 

Rocky Mountain Refresh Delivers to Bow Valley Residents

Karly Sovereign, owner of Rocky Mountain Refresh Meals usually provides baskets of tasty meals to Bow Valley visitors. Those who stay in Air BNBs or hotels with suites or kitchenettes can pre-order baskets filled with tasty, locally-made foods they then prepare themselves. The kits are a great idea - they contain everything you need to make a lovely meal without the stress of first having to go shopping. 

Of course, at the moment there are very few visitors in the Bow Valley and it doesn’t look like that trend is going to change any time soon. Karly’s infrastructure and supply chain are still intact, so she’s offering her delivery service to locals. Here’s your chance to support a small, local business and eat whole, locally-sourced food. 

Karly works with vendors like Kombucheers, Le Chocolatier, Grizzly Paw Brewery, Uprising, Valbella, Edible Life and Canmore Pasta Co. So, in fact, order one of Karly’s beautiful baskets and you wind up supporting several other local businesses as well. 

Delivery is either curb-side or to your door and Rocky Mountain Refresh will deliver free to Lac des Arcs, Dead Man’s Flats, Harvie Heights, and Exshaw as well as in Canmore and Banff. 

Each basket of food is themed and there are options for a cooked breakfast or a grab and go meal, dinners for meat-lovers and variations for gluten-free or dairy-free customers. Depending on how large your appetite is, the baskets will make a meal that will serve three. 

Taking a page from the slow food movement, this is not ‘dial now and get it delivered in 20 minutes’ take-out. The baskets take time to assemble - plan ahead and order early in the day for an evening delivery or the evening before for a breakfast drop-off. 

All the details are on the Rocky Mountain Refresh website. If you do order one of Karly’s fabulous baskets, snap a photo and tag both of us (@tastecanmore and @rockymountainrefresh) so we help spread the word and let others know about the service. 

Five Ways to Support Our Restaurants Even When You Can’t Eat Out

Spring is on its way and along with it, a new season of flavours to celebrate together. [Image by Jason Goh]

Lots of us love dining out, not just because we don’t have to do the dishes after we eat but because dining out is a wonderful way to socialize, stay tuned into our communities, and, yes, to be able to sample all those marvelous seasonal flavors chefs spend their lives putting together for our dining pleasure. 

So, what can we do to help support the restaurants and coffee shops we all love so much when so many are closing their doors, cutting back hours, or reducing capacity in the wake of COVID-19? Here are a few suggestions. Please leave a comment and share your ideas - we’d love to add to this list! 

1. Purchase Gift Certificates

   Always eat out on a Friday night? Consider purchasing gift certificates for about the same amount you’d usually spend each week. You’ll help smooth out the cash flow dip the current situation is creating throughout the industry. When things get back to normal, invite along an extra friend the next time you go out for dinner. Or, get a head start on gift shopping. Who wouldn’t love to receive a gift certificate as a birthday present? Or, for that matter, as a ‘just because’ surprise? 

2. Share on Social

   Repost messages from the establishments you follow. The situation out there is changing rapidly and it can be hard to keep up with all the latest adjustments to who is serving what, who is only doing takeout, or offering contactless delivery. See a post? Share it. That helps our restaurateurs stay in touch with their customers because the more a post is shared, the more it gets shown in everyone’s social media feeds. 

3. Look for Locally-made Frozen Meals
   Delis are my go-to destination when I’m lusting after landjaeger. Visit local delis and stock up on frozen or to-go meals but also on some lovely cheese to go with that bottle of red you’ve been saving.

4. Order takeout!
   Order takeout or take advantage of the many restaurants offering delivery services and when that tasty package of yumminess shows up at your place, take a minute to snap a photo or shoot a quick video. Post online and tag the restaurant to remind others they are open for business. And, tag us (@tastemag) so we can repost to our Stories. We’re doing our best to support local eateries by sharing whenever we can. 

5. Be Kind to Yourself
   Don’t forget to support yourself, too. Celebrate seasonal flavours twice - once in your kitchen and again, virtually. Even though this can feel like an overwhelming time, spring is coming. I’d love to see your posts of the first greens you pluck from your garden, the earliest garlic scapes, or the first tender asparagus spears (sauteed ever so gently in butter) as they grace your plates. We may need to get creative, but we will - we must - find ways to stay positive and celebrate those marvellous flavours together.

Hang in there… spring is coming and so are the fresh strawberries!! [Image by croisy]

Post a Pic - Save a Restaurant!

Some restaurants - like Banff’s Carlito’s Pizzaria - are offering contactless delivery. We owe them our thanks - and, some social media love! @carlitospizzariabanff

Looking for an easy way to help out your local restaurateurs? We can all get pretty wrapped up in what’s going on out there and the last thing we may be thinking of is going out to eat even if your local favourite eatery is only using every other table and scrubbing everything with potent disinfectants… 

This new (temporary) reality did make me think that we can all help out the restaurants who are still providing take-out and delivery options by snapping photos of the tasty meals we are ordering in. There’s something kind of exciting about taking that bag of Chinese food or the pizza box or, these days, pretty much anything you could imagine ordering in a restaurant, and unpacking it at the kitchen table. That first scent of deliciousness wafting out of the bag never fails to make my tummy rumble in anticipation! 

No, the little sushi train won’t chug right up to your door to deliver your California rolls, but it has a better chance of still being at Banff Sushi House when things return to normal if you try to find ways to support your local restaurants during this period of social distancing.

Here’s Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept

So, here’s a challenge for you. When you order in, snap a photo of your food arriving, or maybe a picture of everything dished out on the table. Do a ‘plating’ video (kind of like an unboxing video) and post that. Maybe get all arty and take your best food photo ever. The most important part of this exercise, though, is not just to distract yourself and show off to your friends that you are still eating… but rather to TAG the restaurant to remind others that our small businesses are still open, still trying to provide us with services, and still in need of our support. 

Then, tag us (@tastebanff). We are doing what we can to let the community know who is open, who is delivering, who is serving what… We are active on Instagram and Facebook, so use your platform of choice and help us get the word out and support our neighbours. If you tag us, we’ll repost your posts to our stories and feeds and we’ll be sure we tag the restaurant as well. 

We love our local restaurants, coffee shops, and pubs and want them to be around when the dust settles and life begins to return to normal - this is an easy way for us all to help out. 

Thanks for reading! And, now more than ever before, thanks for sharing!

Let's See Your Take-Out Meals! Save a Restaurant Today!

“From soup to sushi - let’s see photos of your takeout meals! Share widely on social media so we don’t forget that local restaurants are still providing food for our communities. ”

I wasn’t at all sure what to post today - you don’t need another reminder to wash your hands, cough into your elbow, or stay home if you aren’t feeling well. This is a blog that talks a lot about the joys of hanging out in restaurants, but that’s obviously not a suitable subject given most of our local restaurants are scaling way back, offering take-out or delivery or closing altogether. I’m keeping an eye on who is doing what, but things change by the hour, so there’s no point in even attempting a ‘who is open today’ type of post. 

What’s Your Favourite Take-out Food?

This new (temporary) reality did make me think that we can all help out the restaurants who are still providing take-out and delivery options by snapping photos of the tasty meals we are ordering in. There’s something kind of exciting about taking that bag of Chinese food or the pizza box (or, these days, pretty much anything you could imagine ordering in a restaurant) and unpacking it at the kitchen table. That first scent of deliciousness wafting out of the bag never fails to make my tummy rumble in anticipation! 

Whip Out Your Phone and Snap a Photo - Then, Enjoy Your Meal!

So, here’s a challenge for you. When you order in, snap a photo of your food arriving, or maybe a picture of everything dished out on the kitchen table. Or, do a ‘plating’ video (kind of like an unboxing video) and post that. Maybe get all arty and take your best food photo ever. The most important part of this exercise, though, is not just to distract yourself and show off to your friends that you are still eating… but rather to TAG the restaurant to remind others that our small businesses are still open, still trying to provide us with services, and still in need of our support. 

Then, tag us (@tastecanmore). We are doing what we can to let the community know who is open, who is delivering, who is serving what… We are active on Instagram and Facebook, so use your platform of choice and help us get the word out and support our neighbours. We’ll repost your posts to our stories and feeds and make sure the restaurant is tagged as well. 

We love our local restaurants, coffee shops, and pubs and want them to be around when the dust settles and life begins to return to normal - this is an easy way for us all to help out. 

Thanks for reading! And, now more than ever before, thanks for sharing!

[Images from left to right: Crazyweed Kitchen (Canmore), Pizza Hut (Canmore), Banff Sushi House (Banff), Chez Francois (Canmore)

Happy Eat Your Noodles Day!

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.

My very first memories of noodles date back to my early childhood in Australia when, as a treat, my parents took my brother and me out for dinner at an Italian restaurant. I remember the candles on the tables, the while linen tablecloths, and the spaghetti bolognese we always ordered. With parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, this meal also usually had us singing, ‘On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese…’

When we took a ship from Sydney to England when I was about five, I was shocked to discover green pasta on our plates in the ship’s dining room. The Italian waiters laughed at our response and explained that the pasta derived its colour from spinach. Though this sounded positively horrifying (spinach infused pasta??), it was delicious and we quickly moved past our initial reluctance and gobbled up our meals. [Curious about how we were taught to eat our spaghetti as kids? Read this article about whether or not to use a spoon to roll your spaghetti strands onto your fork.]

Ancient Noodles Unearthed in China

According to an article in National Geographic, a bowl of millet noodles discovered in an archeological dig in China is the oldest example of the dish ever found. The noodles, estimated to be 4,000 years old, suggest people have been making and enjoying some version of long, stringy dough for a very long time. 

What makes a noodle a noodle? The shape of a noodle (long) is one distinguishing feature. But from there, the variations are endless. Noodles may be flat or round and may be made from a number of ingredients. There are still areas in China where you’ll find millet noodles, but wheat-based noodles are more common in Italian pasta, udon noodles from Japan, Indonesian bakmi noodles, and several other varieties, too. 

Rice noodles are popular in a number of Vietnamese or south Indian dishes, while others are made from acorn meal (dotori guksu from Korea, for example) or mung beans or potato starch (cellophane noodles). 

Noodles and soup go together like… spaghetti and meatballs.

Boiled, Baked or Fried - Noodle Preparation

Preparation varies from place to place - noodles may be boiled, baked, chilled, or fried. Perhaps my favourite way to consume a noodle is in soup - chicken noodle soup is a comfort food I first grew to love in childhood. My German grandmother made a delicious version using delicate vermicelli broken into shorter pieces and finely chopped green onions. Much later, I discovered the delights of Udon noodles in broth. A good bowl of ramen is something I still enjoy today. 

How Do You Like Your Noodles?

What about you? What’s your favourite noodle dish? Let us know in the comments. That’s one easy way to earn menu hunter points and be eligible for some fun foodie prizes! 

Looking for some great dining options in Banff? Have a browse through our online menus by clicking on the big orange ‘EXPLORE’ button on the homepage of TasteMagazine.ca.

What's Your Favourite Childhood Food?

Could there be a taste more quintessentially Canadian than maple syrup?

The first time I ever had silver dollar pancakes was at Phil’s Pancake House in Banff when I was kid. That was also the first time I ever tasted maple syrup and the first time I’d ever experienced whipped butter. No wonder I have fond food memories of my childhood in Banff! 

These flapjack-based experiences were very different to food encounters I had in Australia where I began forming my earliest food memories. The one that jumps to mind from those very early days was the tangy taste of Marmite spread on a slice of white bread. 

What Are Your Earliest Food-Related Memories?

Food is a central component of our cultural identity. When you think of your childhood, what’s your earliest food-related memory? Chances are you can think of a food that takes you right back to your grandma’s kitchen (or a TV tray in the living room). Those tastes from our past are often comforting and familiar, the kinds of foods we turn to when we are upset or feeling out of sorts. 

The first and last time I’m ever likely to try a dirty martini.

What About Your Food-Disconnects?

I think the longer we wait, the harder it is to get used to completely new tastes. I’ve been travelling this week and along the way found myself at a Roaring ‘20s party (that’s the kind of thing they do at conventions in San Diego!) This was the first time I ever had the (dis)pleasure of tasting a dirty martini. Good grief! Who invented such a concoction? Olive juice, gin and vermouth, I believe. The olives were fine… but the rest of the drink? I handed it over to my party companion, the who suggested that a dirty martini might be a perfectly-themed drink to go along with my sparkly headband. She thought it tasted just fine.

Granted, not too many children develop a taste for dirty martinis (I hope), but the experience did make me think about how hard it can be to step outside our comfort zones and try something completely new. 

Food You Love? Food You Can’t Stand?

What about you? Share a story either about a food you grew up with or something you tried for the first time in adulthood that you can hardly believe falls into the edible (or drinkable) category. Post in the comments or post a photo on Instagram (tag us @tastebanff or #tastebanff). Food is all about sharing and we’d love to hear your stories. Bonus? Sharing is a great way for you to become a Menu Hunter and earn points to make you eligible for some great prizes! 

Slow Down and Smell the Pancakes

What’s your favourite topping for pancakes?

Pancakes are on my mind because yesterday was National Pancake Day and there are few things I love more than a good flapjack topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I’m also a fan of real maple syrup and bananas on top of my stack. 

My father prefers his pancakes on the thin side, heading in the direction of crepes. He then squeezes liberal amounts of fresh lemon juice on his pancake, adds sugar (preferably a fine, white sugar) to offset the tanginess of the lemon, and carefully rolls the pancake around the topping before slicing off pieces of perfectly balanced sweet and sour. 

My father never rushes through his pancakes. He enjoys the process of squeezing, sprinkling, rolling and then eating. 

In our family home, we were more likely to have pancakes for dinner than earlier in the day. We prepared the pancakes one by one in the small, copper-bottomed frying pan we dubbed ‘the pancake pan.’ We all sat at the table and took turns waiting for our next pancake. We weren’t allowed to leave the dining table until we had all had our fill. This meant the meal could sometimes stretch out for a while, but the wait was worth it. The pancakes were delicious and we had a chance to sit, chat, and catch up on whatever was going on in our lives as we waited for each pancake to cook.

You Can’t Rush a Pancake

Remembering this slow, thoughtful act of preparation (you can’t rush a pancake) and consumption led me to think about how we often rush through our meals, grabbing something on the go, not always taking the time to sit down and share a meal. While our lives are chaotic, it seems to me that’s exactly why we need to make sure to make time to sit down and eat together with others. 

It may not be practical to carve out several hours to prepare a big, complicated meal every night or to expect every member of our hockey-playing, French-horn studying, overtime shift-working family to be there for every meal, but a decision to commit to even one meal a week together should be within our reach. 

If the meal preparation part feels overwhelming, then choosing a restaurant that offers thoughtfully prepared meals can be a fabulous option. My mother, who ran a business and did not particularly enjoy cooking, delegated the cooking task to the rest of us. My dad and the four kids took turns making meals, and when it was my mom’s night to cook, we ate out. 

Here in the Bow Valley, we’re fortunate to have so many restaurants to choose from (have a browse through our online menus to see what’s available). We’re always eager to hear about your dining experiences - leave a comment and let us know where you love to go out and eat and why? What makes a really great meal? How do you make sure you find the time to share meals with those whose company you enjoy? 

Join Our Dinner Clubs

If you haven’t already done so, make sure you join our local dinner clubs - we have one in Banff and one in Canmore. Watch for updates here in this blog as well as in our Facebook groups. You never know where we may be dining next, but one thing you can count on - we won’t be rushing through our meals!