Sumptuous Pasta at La Terrazza in Banff, Alberta, Canada

Rosellini al Funghi

Recently on a summer vacation to Banff, Alberta, Canada, I had the chance to eat two stellar dinners at La Terrazza. The restaurant is located inside the Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel. I rarely give an almost perfect review but the service at La Terrazza really impressed me and the food was delectable.

Our server on both nights that we dined at La Terrazza, our first and last nights in Banff, was Ibon Quinoy. He was from the Basque region of Spain. Ibon was exceptional, which is not a small task with a family group of 9 individuals! He took wonderful care of us and we really enjoyed his sense of humor.

 

Ciabatta bread with herbed butter and tapenade was provided for the table. There is no need to order the garlic knots on the appetizer menu as the ciabatta that was provided was superior to them. We did not try any other appetizers.

 

The Rosellini al Funghi that I ordered for my dinner the first night was the best pasta dish I have ever eaten in my life (so far) but I have not traveled to Italy--yet

Bison Cannelloni

. The pasta was formed into the shape of a rose with wild mushrooms, ricotta, spinach, and mozzarella in a creamy pesto sauce. It was not garlic heavy which I appreciated. I absolutely loved it. Several people in the party ordered bison cannelloni and ate every last bite of it and said is was delicious. All the dishes we had the first evening were scrumptious!

 

One our second night dining there, I ordered the Risotto al Tartufo which had wild mushrooms, spinach, truffle oil and parmigiano-reggiano cheese. It was very good and I enjoyed it, but it was not to the stellar level of the pasta I had the first night. Everyone was very pleased again with their meals, with one exception. My sister found the eggplant parmigiana, served with spaghetti and seasonal vegetables, rather underwhelming. However, my brother-in-law enjoyed his steak and it was cooked perfectly. For dessert, several people had the tiramisu cheesecake boxed "to go" and enjoyed it later in their hotel room when they were not quite so stuffed from dinner. I only good reports about it.

The restaurant is rather small, so reservations are recommended. We had a large group but they were very accommodating. We dined on a Monday night at 8:30pm and again on a Thursday night at 6pm. Neither were the peak dining time between 7pm-8:30pm which probably helped the restaurant staff handle such a large party.

Salmon

 

La Terrazza's prices were not out of line with my expectations, particularly considering the quality of the food and the service in a tourist heavy town. Entrees ranged from $27-$54 (Canadian). The menu changes with the seasons. If you are ever in Banff, you should eat there.

La Terrazza (inside the Banff Park Lodge Hotel)
201 Lynx Street P.O. Box 2200
Banff, Alberta, Canada T1L 1K5

Hours: 5pm–10pm daily

Reservations 403-760-3271 our use OpenTable

For reservations of 6 or more, please email terracemanager@banffparklodge.com.


 

Vagabond Pizza--Wood-Fired Delight

Vagabond Pizza now has a brick and mortar location in downtown Abilene. No more tracking down their food truck for some pizza pies coming from the mobile wood-fired oven. My husband and I were lured in by a Facebook post featuring one of their pizzas with Hatch green chili.  It is chili season!

Caprese salad

The new location has a lot of history according to one of the the owners, Jessica Adams. Most recently it was a jewelry store, before that it was a movie theatre and in the late 1800s, it was Abilene's livery stable. The restaurant opened two months ago and has been doing a booming business. Hence why this write-up didn't occur earlier.

Bar area with features for the week on the board

The decor is exposed brick and wood with open ceilings and industrial style lighting. The oven is at the end of the bar. I imagine it will be quite a draw for people to sit on that side of the room when the winter months arrive. Plus, kids like to watch the fire. It is a medium-sized space for a restaurant and I surmise that there will be a wait during peak times but at 7:30pm on a Wednesday night we were seated at one of the two empty tables. Our server was attentive and very knowledgeable about the menu and the beverage options.

Wood-fired oven

The menu had four items for starters/salads. There was also a very extensive bottled wine list. There was a smaller selections of wines by the glass. My husband was happy that they had a local craft brewery's beer on draft, Pappy Slokum's Local Yella that week. The server said they have a tap dedicated to Pappy Slokum brews. There is also an eclectic selection of bottled soft drinks (no soda fountain) such as Hank's Root Beer ($3), Pellegrino bottled water, and Key City Coffee. The menu does change with the availability of seasonal ingredients and owner/chef's inspiration so there will always be new things to try.

We started with caprese salads ($7) of creamy fresh mozzarella, roasted grape tomatoes, fresh basil and a black garlic balsamic. I enjoyed it very much. The other options were bread and butter, a wedge salad and a green salad.

There were eight pizzas on the menu, including the traditional Margherita ($12), and one weekly special option up on the board above the bar. My husband ordered the Hatch chili pork pizza ($14) that also had pickled onions and a green chili salsa verde as the sauce. I had the "Rosalie" ($14) which was Italian sausage, roasted mushrooms, mozzarella and tomato sauce.

Pork, Hatch green chili, and pickled onions

The crust was tender but had a chew to it. I enjoyed the bit of char from the oven. If you are a person that prefers a crisp crust or a deep dish style crust this is neither. It is hand-made and a bit soft in the middle. I loved the flavor profile of the Italian sausage (fennel is my friend) and the mushrooms on my pizza. If I closed my eyes, Tuscany appeared. There were no "pizza bones" left on my plate.

Italian, sausage and roasted mushrooms

My husband enjoyed his Hatch Chili Pork but his palate likes very strong flavors so he added red pepper flakes, salt, and Parmesan to his pizza for an extra kick. He felt the pork did not have enough seasoning. I had a bite and thought the green chili and pickled onions were perfect together. I didn't get a piece of pork in my bite so I can't speak to the flavor but I certainly enjoyed the chili. The pizzas are about 13-14 inches and big enough to share for smaller appetites.

There were two options for dessert and the name "Saturday Morning Cartoons" ($4) for one of them just begged to be explored. The server described it as a panna cotta that tasted like the milk left over from a bowl of Fruity Pebbles or Fruit Loops. That description nailed it. My husband RAVED about about it. It was garnished with Fruity Pebbles. He devoured it. It may have been his favorite dessert ever.  The server also recommended their honey pie.

Saturday Morning Cartoons dessert

We enjoyed our evening but be forewarned that this is gourmet pizza and priced accordingly. The ingredients are exemplary and the menu is creative. As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for" and Vagabond is worth it. I'm going to follow them on Facebook so I can keep up with new offerings. Oven baked pasta someday, maybe?

I also love how downtown Abilene just keeps getting better and better!

1056 N 2nd St.
Abilene, TX
325-268-4321
 http://vagabondpizza.com/
 https://www.facebook.com/vagabondpizza/
Open Tues-Sat for lunch and dinner service

Trip to Cambridge, Mass.

I recently spent a week doing some professional development in Cambridge, Massachusetts, so I thought I would share my eating adventures with anyone who might be traveling there. Actually, I wasn't that brave as I tended to stick pretty close to my hotel (The Charles) since I was so pooped from class each day.


Legal Sea Food 

Dinner Saturday night and Tuesday night. I had high expectations since I was on the coast. The first dinner being Saturday night they were slammed so I just ate at the bar (full menu). Ordered clams strips and a cup of lobster bisque. The bisque was creamy, well-seasoned and the lobster meat was fresh. The fried clams were huge! It was an enjoyable meal and the bartender took good care of me but the price was steep ($40). A couple of nights later, I ate at the bar again though they were not as busy. I had the baked stuffed shrimp casserole and though it was tasty (how could something with that much butter not be?) it was also very expensive ($26). I would have liked more than 6 shrimp at that price. Service wasn't quite as attentive, though still okay. I guess I should have gone with some New England specialties like crab cakes or fresh lobster. As, it stands, I am just as happy with Pappadeaux seafood.

Henrietta's Table

Breakfast Sunday morning and lunch on Friday. They are known for serving very fresh and local ingredients. Breakfast was awesome, huge mushroom and cheese omelet with potatoes (with a seasoning I couldn't place but it reminded me of German potatoes) and an English muffin with real butter ($9 a bargain, no doubt).  It was the fluffiest omelet I have ever seen! Impeccable service. Lunch was a huge salad with smoked turkey, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, a small sprinkle of bleu cheese and greens ($15).  I also had some broccoli cheese soup ($6). There was a sweetness to the soup, maybe nutmeg? It was all delicious but the server was a grump.

Rialto
Dinner Sunday evening. Fancy hamburger with provolone and prosciutto, served with homemade fries ($15). A little undercooked. I ordered medium-well and they were out of their regular buns so it was served on brioche. I meant to go back another time for a dessert, the menu looked very tempting, but never made it.

The Taco Truck
Supper Monday evening. Fast food. Two carnitas pork tacos with green salsa, cilantro and onions and a Jarritos mandarin soda ($8). Pretty tasty, much better than expected. I was impressed.

The Shake Shack 
Evening snack, Monday.  Strawberry milkshake ($5). Not any better than any other strawberry milkshake I've ever had...too expensive even at tourist prices.

Toscano 
Supper Wednesday evening. I had house-made gnocchi with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and lots of garlic (around $17).  It was a little mushy and bland, except for the garlic. The bruschetta ($9), however, was very tasty. Complimentary bread and olive oil. Loved the open to the street seating and the service was superior. Very close to the theater so it was quite busy, reservations are recommended. No cream sauce options though. Guess I needed to go into Boston to get some really hearty Italian food.