Bizarrely, the best breakfast we had all week was at…Smitty’s. As in pancake house. The kind of place I groan at when it’s suggested. I’m just not a chain restaurant kind of person. Nor am I a fan of breakfast in general…eaten too early in the day, too heavy or sweet, often consists of non-disguised eggs…but there we were, on vacation in Osoyoos B.C. for Wine Festival and we didn’t have any groceries yet. I ordered the special, a peach waffle with bacon. Maybe I was just too hungry to find complaints, but the smaller size, the peachy-but-not-too-sweet topping, the contrasting smoke of the bacon…it was juuuust right. And they came around with coffee every 10 minutes. A perfect breakfast moment…at Smitty’s. Who knew.
However when I close my eyes and allow the most intense food memories arise from the trip, nothing comes close to the sensational lunch we had at Passa Tempo at Spirit Ridge Winery.
http://www.passatemporestaurant.com/ We both had to have the special: seared scallops on polenta frites with peach chutney and herb oil. By the time I remembered to take a picture, mine was a bomb crater from my enthusiastic onslaught...Hubby’s plate still looked pretty. And as a demonstration of truly exemplary love, he gave me a bite of his last scallop…a gift, I’m
afraid to say, I had already announced I was unwilling to reciprocate. We also had dessert – fresh fruit ice creams for him, classic crème brulee for me – but really, we could have had the scallops all over again. Orchards and vineyards were in full harvest. Stopping at a fruit stand, before heaps of Jonagolds, Galas and Honey Crisps Hubby just couldn’t resist – “how d’ya like them apples” slid out of him, sideways glance and amused smile intact, waiting for my impatient “gaaack”. This phrase was applied throughout the week to his laughter at my rolled eyes…our senses of humour do not always align. Or should I say, he enjoys my pained response to his ever-lame puns?
Stoneboat Winery http://www.ston
eboatvineyards.com/ was a random stop on one of the side roads outside Oliver, winding through hills densely planted with fruit trees and vines. The Okanagan valley is infested with wineries; you could get plastered visiting them on foot, they’re so thick. We were casually looking for that One Breathtaking Red, the same random way we’d found Grand Pre Winery’s Muscat in Nova Scotia last year, and had since scroogily doled out single bottles from the case only on the most exceptional of occasions. What took us by surprise was their Verglas Icewine – a dazzling, dizzying sip with intense flavours running amok on our suddenly moshing tastebuds. Despite the not unexpected but steep-for-us price, we brought home a bottle. I wonder what lottery for which we have not bought tickets we’ll have to win for us to uncork that beauty? And on the road home, a sudden swerve to the shoulder – the last day of the Rock Creek Farmer’s Market, and a
sign advertising goat cheese. Taurus Goatery makes tangy cheddar and a spreadable chevre with thyme and hyssop, sold by a beautiful woman with long, golden hair. When’s the last time you had hyssop sold by a dryad? Altogether, a great getaway.I like them apples just fine.
