The Power of Food: Indulge kicks off Whistler's Gourmet Summer
Posted by: Feet Banks
Fish Tacos on the Caribbean.
This is a story about Whistler but it starts on the white sand beaches of Mexico’s Riviera Maya so bear with me. My wife and I were in Tulum, a mellow, earthy little Caribbean beach zone just north of the Mexico-Belize border. It was our first real holiday alone together since our son was born so everything was pretty much perfect anyhow when we stopped for fish tacos at a little beachside joint and had the roofs blown completely off our minds. Fresh, tasty perfect and served with strong margaritas and white sand in our toes, those tacos changed my life. And eating them with my wife, on a much deserved holiday in a beautiful, peaceful and perfect locale is a much more cherished memory than anything else we did on that trip.
Such is the power of food— we eat it every day, multiple times a day, and yet one magnificent meal can stay with us for years, especially when it’s shared with someone important to us. Which brings us back to Whistler, the only white sand to be found is in the golf course bunkers but instead we have mountain vistas, secret lakeside spots, sunny patios and enought incredible food to last a lifetime.
LEFT: Yum. RIGHT: Double Yum!
And it doesn’t have to be a super high-end chef’s table event either, Indulge in Whistler is a month long celebration of those special meals and memorable moments, but with special set-menu discounts. Over 20 of Whistler’s top dining spots — from pubs to steakhouses to fine dining— are offering multi-course meals at special prices for the entire month of May 2015. From elk tartar at Alta Bistro to miso roasted Sablefish at the Rim Rock Café to Sushi Village’s epic Super-Hiro Roll there are hundreds of culinary combo dinners waiting to help you create some of those mouth-watering perfect memories of your own.
Add in some nifty deals on Whistler golf and some you-know-you-deserve-it spa packages and Indulge in Whistler is the perfect excuse for a mini-vacation taste of the good life. It’s also a nice kick-off to a full summer of Whistler culinary adventures. Check out some of these highlights:
LEFT: Araxi Longtable in Whistler. RIGHT: Big Sky Golf Country Club
Mountain Top BBQ Series – Weekends, June 27 – September 6, 2015. Whister Mountain
BBQ is always awesome but it gets better the higher you get. The Roundhouse on Whistler Mountain sits at just over 6000 feet above sea level — the air is thin, the views amazing and the food tastes incredible. These events run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night all summer long. Fridays feature slow roasted pork cooked on a spit, Saturdays serve up slow roasted prime rib, and Sundays are the Pacific Seafood Grill (this one is a great excuse to extend the weekend and miss work on Monday!). Dessert is an alpine sunset. Note: there are also a couple bonus BBQ series dinners on Saturday June 20th and Sunday September 13th, 2015. More info.
Bulliet Bourbon Canadian BBQ Championships July 31- August 1, 2015. Dusty’s in Whistler Creekside
Sticking with BBQ (and adding bourbon) this Whistler favourite finds grill masters from around North America converging on Dusty’s in Whistler Creekside on the August long weekend for festival of meat, smoke, tastebuds and new friends. Whistler has a few locals who always bring the heat in this one too. More info.
The stuff memories are made of.
Araxi Longtable Series Dates TBA, Pemberton Whistler
It’s kinda like your average picnic table except its sits a couple hundred people, has a crisp white table cloth and you get super delicious food from award-winning Whistler chef James Walt with wine pairings from 2013 Sommelier of the year Samantha Rahn. So acutally, nothing like your average picnic table. Araxi is hosting two dinners in their 2015 Longtable Series: one up at Pemberton’s North Arm Farm and another in Whistler’s Lost Lake Park. This is most likely the pinnacle of Canadian outdoor dining this summer so don’t miss out. More info.
Pemberton Slow Food Cycle Sunday Sunday August 16, 2015. Pemberton
Rather than fast food the farming community of Pemberton, just 25 minutes north of Whistler, gathers each summer to ride bikes from farm to farm and celebrate “slow food” also known as real food. It’s a pedal-powered buffet that allows participants to meet real farmers and sample their produce fresh from the field. More info.
Of course, this list is just an appetizer of what’s in store this summer. There’s also lots of tasty food to be had at the Whistler Farmer’s Market (Wednesdays and Sundays from June 21, 2015) and popular events like Feast in the Mountains or the Mountain Top Winemaker’s Dinner have not been announced yet. Neither has Dîner en Blanc but that is supposed to be a secret so forget i even mentioned it. Also, you don’t need a special event to have a special meal, check out Whistler’s regular dining options and here’s something from The Insider archives listing Whistler’s best places for a picnic not to mention the biggest party of the summer, the Whistler Village Beer Festival (beer is food right?)
LEFT: BBQ Championships at Dusty’s. CENTRE: Fresh and ready at the Whistler Farmer’s Market. RIGHT: Pemberton’s Slow Food Cycle.
It’s always a good summer in Whistler and no vacation is ever long enough, but just remember not to leave your tastebuds at home, they may be the most important part of it all. Check out Indulge in Whistler to get started and enter the Indulge photo contest by hashtagging your food photos on Instagram with #IndulgeinWhistler for a chance to win Whistler dining gift certificates for the entire month of May 2015.
Article source: http://www.whistler.com/blog/post/2015/04/28/whistler-indulge-culinary-summer.aspx
