And we're back ...
Short version: we drove 1000 miles for a mediocre meal and bad
music.
But the all-in experience was no doubt worth it.
We stopped at the usual midway place (it's the only one actually,
for gas or food, on the 445 mile road from Yellowknife to High
Level, Alberta), a truck stop called Big River Service Centre,
which is right on the shore of the Mackenzie river, for burgers,
chili and beer. The house specialty for hearty appetites is known as
the Big River Ultimate Burger, a totally loaded burger with two half
pound bison patties among other things. https://uphere.ca/articles/leaning-tower-meat
The tourists might assume the bison is local wild game but it is in
fact farmed meat from Alberta.
I sensibly settled for a single beef burger with mushrooms and Swiss
on the way down and a bowl of chili on the way back, while Roslind
had just soup and a bun going down and a mushroom Swiss burger,
subbing the fries and gravy with a side salad. As usual they were
generous portions, greasy in a good way, tasty and filling.
That's the whole point of burgers, greasy in a good way, and
part of the reason I shy away from game burgers, as they are too
lean - too little taste as opposed to too gamy.
The hall is out in the country in the middle of a 40 acre field,
which meant that a number of people came in RVs and stayed overnight
or even the whole weekend rather than book a hotel room in one of
the three surrounding towns. Not far away there was another reunion
going on and Fort Vermilion had a rodeo, both of which we passed
on even though the family holding the reunion on Sunday is vaguely
related to Roslind's as we saw most of them Saturday night anyway.
At the last minute Lexi and Charlee opted to stay in Yellowknife
and visit their father in Yellowknife rather than come with us. As
it turned out that was a good thing as nobody else brought kids.
There was nobody there under 30 and most of us were well over 60.
Six out of ten of the Minault family made it with their spouses but
none of the second let alone the third or fourth generations came.
And Roslind had a great time getting reacquainted with long lost
cousins and elementary and high school friends. There were about 150
people for the dinner and 100 more for the dance that followed.
The question is how to get the next generations to keep
the custom going.
The hall, not surprisingly, has no air conditioning and gets
overheated quickly. But it has a bar, a kitchen and a sound stage.
Naturally the bar was whisky and beer heavy, the kitchen staffed by
farm wives from some sort of service club and the band country and
western. The meal wasn't horrible, just plain and uninspired, except
for one dish I thought was kind of neat. There was a buffet with
Caesar, potato, and macaroni salads, cole slaw, buns, baked bannock
and "Indian" fry bread, and lots of really good homemade brownies and
other squares, cupcakes and apple strudel. The main dish was nicely
spiced, very well done, boned and shredded roast chicken (with the
texture of pulled pork) moistened with a little pan juice. I had
seconds of that.
Chicken can be good; just it usually isn't.
The bar had half a dozen domestic mega-swills, Corona, lots of ryes,
plus one each vodka, gin, and white and golden rum. As a concession
to the 21st century and the younger guests they also had some
coolers, tequila and two unnamed wines by the glass. (I didn't see a
single glass of wine poured all night.) Everything was a reasonable
$5 with complimentary pop and water. If you wanted a two part
highball, you bought a shot on the rocks at the bar and then went
over to the mix table to make your own.
Today in Mechelen, we went past the touristy Big Market, where
I had sort of been interested in the world-of-beer place run by
a woman beermaster and recommended by Michelin, and went south into
the modern town, where the local brasserie had one beer only on tap,
Pilsner Urquell. It was fine.
On the way back we picked up some liquor although prices in High
Level are much worse than Edmonton's and almost as high as here. But
we did spot some brands not carried here: Advocaat, Barcelo Gran
Anero Dominican rum (an Aura approved brand) and a first for me,
Zubrowka Buffalo Grass infused vodka, and also saved about 15% on a re-stocking of Fundador brandy, Gibson's Venerable rye and White Owl
whisky blanc.
I kind of like Zubrowka, which tastes sort of like vanilla but
not like vanilla. Barcelo is a worthy brand. Roslind should learn
to make her own advokaat.
Wedding Pudding Dutch Advokaat
categories: booze, Dutch, Canadian
Serves: 6
10 egg yolks
1/2 ts salt
1 1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 c brandy or gin
2 ts vanilla extract
1. In a mixer, beat the egg yolks, salt and sugar until
they thicken. Pour the brandy or gin in slowly and continue
beating.
2. Pour the mixture in a saucepan and warm it up over a low
heat. Whisk the mixture continuously to keep the consistency
smooth while it cooks and thickens. Do not let it boil as
the alcohol will evaporate.
3. It is ready when the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Take it off the heat and whisk the vanilla extract into it.
4. Allow to cool. Serve in cocktail glasses and garnish with
whipped cream. Traditional Dutch Advokaat is thick and eaten
with small dessert spoons.
5. Store in the refrigerator.
Tip: Brandy will make it a more golden yellow colour and
gin won't change the colour. Either way, the flavour
remains the same.
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