Thirsty Tales – Block Kitchen & Bar

With only 48 hours in Banff for a Sales retreat, I had very limited time to explore what Banff had to offer.  I would have to save the tourist attractions for a future visit, but damn if I didn’t get to at least explore Banff’s nightlife.  On a recommendation from a friend, I decided to check out Block Kitchen & Bar on my last night in this town.

Block Kitchen & Bar

One of the newest tapas bars to open up in Banff, the Block Kitchen & Bar is located at the corner of Banff Avenue and Caribou Street right next to Wild Bill’s Legendary Saloon.  The first thing you will notice as you walk into Block is how small it is.  It’s so small that you could swear you were about to walk into a Man Cave than a trendy new bar.

Midnight Sun Stout - Yukon Brewing

After plopping myself up at the bar to watch some hockey playoffs on the television, I browsed through the beer menu in search of some interesting craft beers that I wouldn’t be able to get back home in Toronto.  The first one that piqued my interest was Midnight Sun Stout from Yukon Brewing.  I normally enjoy stouts, but this one fell flat big time for my tastes.  It was definitely the worst craft beer I have ever tasted, which is a shame as I had high expectations for a stout that was brewed from the Yukon Territory.

Aprikat - Alley Kat Brewing

My final beer for the night was Aprikat.  This Apricot wheat ale is brewed by Alley Kat Brewing, an Edmonton-based craft brewery.  While the thought of mixing apricot flavour with wheat ale seemed repulsive to me, I was astonished by how smooth tasting this wheat ale was.  Yes, the apricot flavour is over powering, but you hardly notice the alcohol content at all.  The Aprikat had definitely raised the bar for wheat ales in my book!

Full Moon over Banff on my final night

Since I had already eaten dinner at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, I was not interested in the food menu at all.  I stayed until last call before moving onto Wild Bill’s Legendary Saloon.  However, Block Kitchen & Bar will always be remembered as my first real bar experience in Banff.

Block Kitchen & Bar

201 Banff Avenue

Banff, AB T1L 1H8

Phone:  (403) 985-2887

Hours:  7 days/week from 11:30am - 2am

Tasty Travels – Dinner at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

It was either in my Grade 7 or Grade 8 History book when I first saw the iconic photo of the Banff Springs Hotel.  The picture was both enchanting, yet odd to me at the same time.  Why exactly was there this gorgeous turn-of-the-Century European chateau built in the middle of the Canadian Rocky Mountains?  As I learned through my history class, the Banff Springs Hotel opened in 1885 as part of the Canadian National Pacific Railway route that connects Eastern Canada with Western Canada.  It was one of several luxury hotels built along the Canadian National Railway to entice tourism and immigration towards Western Canada during the Expansion era of the late 19th/early 20th Centuries.

The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

A National Historic Site of Canada, the Banff Springs Hotel is now owned by the Fairmont hotel chain and priced for those seeking luxury in the Canadian Rockies.  Needless to say, the Banff Springs Hotel is far too rich for my budget.  But as chance would have it, my employer decided to treat our team to dinner on our last night in Banff.

The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

After our walk along the Bow River Trail, my appetite was a bit more worked up than I had anticipated.  For my appetizer, I chose some fresh Prince Edward Island oysters.  Yes, the menu said fresh Prince Edward Island oysters.  Although I finished them, I did question how “fresh” these oysters were given that Prince Edward Island is about a two-day drive East of Banff – or about a 5-hour flight out of Calgary.  Factor that in with the time it would also take to harvest oysters off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and package them for shipping across Canada, and you will start to understand my cynicism here.

View of the Rockies from the Banff Springs Hotel

My entrée was a lot more local as I went for the Alberta bison tenderloin paired with a Bloody Caesar.  My word did this dinner ever hit the spot!  So tender and juicy – just how I like it with medium rare steak.  The bison tenderloin also came with a side of seasonal vegetables.  While I am not a huge Brussels sprouts fan, I had no complaints here with the Banff Springs Hotel as they added some excellent flavour with the seasonal vegetables making the sprouts less bland.

The train lines that came to Banff in 1885

As for the Bloody Caesar, you couldn’t have asked for a spicier drink to pair nicely with the tenderloin.  The Bloody Caesar is Canada’s take on the Bloody Mary, but we substitute Mott’s Clamato for the tomato juice.  The Caesar was invented in Calgary back in the late 1960s, so I have not been disappointed with any of my Bloody Caesar drinks in Alberta thus far.

My "fresh" Prince Edward Island oysters

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner and appetizer, it was a shame that I had no room for dessert as I knew I would never personally eat here again.  My dinner alone was already worth more than $100 – the Alberta bison tenderloin was one of the “cheaper” entrées at around $65 CDN.  Ouch!  After 2 hours of dining and conversing, we headed back to our hotel.  It was a pleasure to have finally seen the Banff Springs Hotel in person, and it was an experience that I won’t soon forget.

Alberta Bison tenderloin with seasonal vegetables

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

405 Spray Avenue

Banff, AB (Canada)

T1L 1J4

Phone: (403) 762-2211

Fax: (403) 762-5755

Website:  http://www.fairmont.com/banff-springs/

Backpacking Banff – The Bow River Trail

My 48 hours in Banff were going to be jam packed with business meetings and dinners.  The opportunities to explore and visit Banff’s main attractions were going to be non-existent on this trip – at least the attractions that cost money.

Backpacking Banff – Bow River Trail

On our way to dinner to the Banff Springs Hotel on our second night, we decided to walk along the Bow River Trail.  The walk between Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel to the Banff Springs Hotel would take us about 30 minutes at a leisurely pace.  And boy, was it worth it!

Walking along the Bow River Trail

At an elevation of 4,537 feet (or 1,383 metres), Banff is the highest town in Canada.  It is weird to think that Banff sits at that high of an elevation as the drive from Calgary is a gradual, two-hour uphill climb through the Rockies.  Walking along the Bow River Trail you can actually stop by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies to learn more about the history and culture of this part of Canada.

The view from Banff Pedestrian Bridge

Although, we did not have time to stop in at the Whyte Museum, here are some interesting facts about Banff:

·       Banff National Park was established in 1885 as Canada’s first National Park

·       Banff National Park covers 6,641 km² (2,564 miles)

·       The Town of Banff has a population of 7,500

·       Banff residents lease the land their homes sit on through Parks Canada

·       The tree line lies around 7,500 feet (2,300 metres) on average in the Canadian Rockies

·       Open all year round, Banff National Park’s peak season is July & August

Bow Falls

·         Banff National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984

·         Banff National Park is managed by Parks Canada & visitor permits are required

·         Banff receives 4 million visitors annually & skiing was introduced in 1909

·         Banff is named after Banffshire, Scotland – the birthplace of two of the original directors of the   Canadian Pacific Railway

·         Banff National Park is home to seven National Historic sites

My first glimpse of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

Once we passed Banff Avenue, we crossed over the Bow River using the Banff Pedestrian Bridge.  As we got closer to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, the trail became more isolated as it steered further away from the main road of Banff in a narrow, tree lined pathway.  The detour was worth it as we spent a few minutes admiring Bow Falls.  

Beautiful Banff & the Bow River

Shortly after the walk past Bow Falls, I caught my first glimpse of the legendary Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.  In only a few minutes, we would have dinner here in this National Historic Site of Canada.  But for now, I made sure to savour every moment that I could on the journey to the hotel.  It would be worth it to “work up an appetite” in this case.

Backpacking Banff – The Drive from Calgary

My first trip was at 18 months old when my parents took me out West to visit my Great-Grandparents in Saskatchewan.  Even though it was about 8 – 9 hours away, my Mom convinced my Dad to drive us to Banff for a brief visit as part of this trip.  Although I have no memories of this, I'm thankful my parents took a lot of photos of this amazing trip.  It would take me nearly 35 years before I would make my long awaited return to Banff due to a work trip.  When I told my parents about this, my Mom was all ecstatic and telling me how much I would love it.  For someone who has rarely shown interest in my previous travels, this said a lot about this tiny mountain village that I was about to visit.

Descending upon Calgary with a glimpse of the Rocky Mountains

Before heading to Banff, I was in Calgary for a couple of days for training and administrative errands for my new position.  I didn’t get to see much of Calgary, but it was far more than what I saw back in 2009 when I here during a 2-hour layover to Vancouver.  The two things that vividly stick out in my mind about Calgary is how beautiful the city is and how amazing the Bloody Caesars are.  I definitely look forward to my next visit to Cowtown.

Downtown Calgary skyline

After a couple of days in Calgary, we were ready to head off to Banff for our retreat.  Since our office was based near the Calgary International Airport, my co-workers decided to drive north along Deerfoot Trail (Highway 2) until we hit Stoney Trail NW (Highway 201).  From there, we headed Southwest until it merged onto the TransCanada Highway.  However, if you are based in downtown Calgary, the TransCanada Highway actually runs right through the middle of the city.  So, just follow the signs that will lead you onto the highway from there instead as it is the more direct route.

Approaching the Rocky Mountains in Morley, Alberta

As for the drive to Banff, it was an adventure in itself.  It’s usually a two-hour drive from Calgary, but we were stuck on the highway just outside of Morley for about a half hour due to a terrible rollover.  It appeared that speed was involved given that the car left our side of the highway, drove right through the grassy ridge separating both sides of the highway for about 100 meters, and ended up facing the opposite side of traffic.  It’s important to keep your eyes open here as moose are known to cross the TransCanada Highway.  I am sure that might have been the case here given the severity of this accident.

Driving towards Banff along the TransCanada Highway

Once you get to Morley, you start to see the majestic Canadian Rockies pop out at you from the horizon.  I was overcome with sheer adulation at this point for the natural beauty in front of me.  The last time I was that impressed by the scenery on a road trip would have to been my first visit to Death Valley.

Banff National Park

As we got closer to Banff, the more impressed I became.  You feel so small driving through the mountain range as the peaks hover nearly 10,000 feet above you.  The tree lines along the Rockies become more noticeable as you begin to pinpoint where the pine trees stop growing and where the glaciers begin.  Small lakes start to replace the flat lands that you pass just as you start to enter Banff National Park.

Welcome to Banff!

Once you enter the village of Banff, you start to see a different style of architecture similar to what you would see in European ski villages, particularly in Germany and Switzerland.  There was quite a bit of construction going on along the main street, so we took some back roads to get to our hotel.  This route allowed us to see more of the residential homes in Banff, as well as the local school.

View from my room at the Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel

By the time we arrived at the Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel, it was just past noon.  Our rooms were not ready yet, but it didn’t matter.  I already knew that Banff had something special to it, and I was looking forward to enjoying whatever I could in between our business meetings within the next 48 hours.