Okanagan Dining/Lodging

[Explorer]

We are planning a 3 day tour of the Okanagan Valley wineries, a la Napa Valley. Hoping to hit Mission Hill, Quail's Gate, Sumac Ridge and Burrowing Owl. Has anyone had worthy dining experiences at the restaurants at Sumac, Burrowing and Quail's?

Any recommendations for top 1) restaurants, 2) lodging in the Okanagan Valley? (anywhere from Kelowna to Ossoyous)

Thank you.

[Fat Guy]

Are you looking for luxury, or are you looking for offbeat?

[Explorer]

Thanks Steve, Actually looking for luxury level with and/or unique cachet. In the meantime, I found out about Fresco and Montreuil in Kelowna, but still researching....On the hotel front, all I can find is those hotel chains...

Looking for any tips based on experience.

[Coop]

Predator Ridge golf course has beautiful cabins for rent in a gorgeus golf course community. well worth the effort. That being said the food in the clubhouse is un interesting. The cabins have great kitchens though.

A co-worker of mine loved the food at Burrowing Owl, especially the Duck Confit. Fresco is owned by Rodney Butters I believe so the food should be okay. As for the wine in the area, my mother said if you have nothing positive to say don't say anything at all. So the one positive thing I can say is they have Red, White and Pink!

http://www.predatorridge.com/accomodations/index.html

[Fat Guy]

Well, certainly the most bizarre and funky hotel in the area -- and it's right up there on the worldwide register of funky places -- is the God's Mountain Crest Chalet. You need a sense of humor, but many people walk away calling it the experience of a lifetime. We spent a couple of nights there and it's . . . strange.

http://www.godsmountain.com/

The area simply isn't economically prosperous or well-touristed enough (at least not year-round) to support a lot of true luxury accommodations. So what you get at the so-called luxury level tends to be rather generic. I think if you're looking for really nice world-class full-service resort-type properties and serious fine-dining you've picked the wrong region for a vacation. The charm of the Okanagan is in the country inn and B&B-type places, and as for dining, well, all the vineyards are building restaurants but prepare to experience a lot of conformity in menus.

Be sure to add Blue Mountain to your vineyard list -- possibly the best producer in the area.

[col klink]

Now I've never stayed at a hotel in the area because my fiancee has family in Naramata. However, Naramata does have a very good hotel and it's probably one of the nicest in the area: http://www.naramatainn.com/

They're supposed to have a nice spa. At the end of the month I will no longer have a fiancee and we'll up there as man and wife. We're not staying at the Naramata Inn, but staying at a cheaper place and spending the extra dough on a spa treatment at the Inn. I have dined in the wine bar and it's quite serviceable. You can see for yourself the level of luxury from their website.

Just a little FYI, Naramata is not on 97, but is on the Eastern side of Lake Okanagan and is about 20 minutes North of Penticton. However, that side of the lake is closer to more wineries than God's Mountain. My favorite winery is Red Rooster, their whites are quite interesting with a broad range. Look for the Pinot Gris and the Chardonnay. They also have a blend of white grapes call Bantam that sells for $9/bottle CDN -- last year we left with a case.

A favorite of my fiancee's is Elephant Island who specialize in fruit wines. These are not your standard fruit flavored wines, these are dry and tart (depeding on the variety of course) and made completely of the juice of their fruit. Their apple wine tastes like a good dry British cider with a hint of effervescence. The pear wine is quite tasty but my favorate is the Black Currant wine; it's just not like anything else out there.

My favorite place to eat is Hillside Estates, just north of Pinticton. We just ate there two weeks ago and it was easily the best I've had in the area. We started out with a delightful beef carpaccio topped with a nice French mustard, capers, parmesan and drizzled with olive oil. I had the cioppino which had large, tasty scallops, mussels, large and small shrimp and salmon, very tasty and very fresh. My better half had the pasta special of oven roasted scallops, wild mushrooms in a tarragon cream sauce and she was quite happy with it. As for their wines, we took home the smokey Cab Franc, one of the VERY FEW good reds in the area, and the Muscat which surprisingly tasted like fresh basil. They also had a white that tasted exactly like biting into a green pepper.

South of Skaha Lake I recommend Hawthorne Mountain for their views and on the other side of the valley, Wild Goose and Stag's Hollow, all of which can easily be googled. For more in Naramata, try Poplar Grove (they also make their own cheese!) which is close to Hillside Estate, Lang and Lake Breeze, all of which have nice whites.

When we're out there our day plan is pretty simple. Wake up to a simple breakfast then hit three or four wineries buying what we like. Head back for a lunch and hit the public beach in Naramata (the best in the area) with our toes in the sand and Coronas and lime in our hands. It also just happens that the fantastic beach is easily within walking distance of the Naramata Inn. Baste in the sun until dinner. Rinse and repeat.

If you do stay in Naramata, there's a very cool drive going to Kelowna over logging roads. Stop at Chute Lake at the top. It's a small lake and as such warmer than Okanagan. At the lake you can stop for a burger and fries (burger was greasy but decent and the fries are fresh spuds but not double fried so pretty soggy) but I'd just get a beer and check out the "museum" out back. There's all sorts of mountain nick-nacks but the '52 Chrysler Imperial is a sight to behold. From Chute Lake you can take the KVR down to Kelowna and the wineries down there. It's probably just a hair longer than going back through Pinticton but the views are spectactular.

Be aware that the wine country is really turning into a tourist destination and most of these wineries are really small operations which means that some of these wines (especially the Black Currant from Elephant Island) go very quickly.

[Fat Guy]

Another interesting property is Little Beaver Creek Ranch. This is the only Relais & Chateaux property in the region as far as I know. http://www.relaischateaux.com/site/us/Fich...de=littlebeaver

Or you could rent a houseboat on the Great Shuswap Lake . . .

[Lounge Lizard]

I have been a Chef in the South Okanagan for 7 years now and could not have said it better than you Fat guy. We are always being promoted as Napa Valley North but suffer from a lack of talent to pull it off. It is a shame because it really is one the most beautiful places I have ever seen and we have access to the finest locally grown foods.

I thinks that there has been some improved in dining in the Kelowna area) Fescos,Mission Hill Winery) but south I am sorry to say is decent at best and unoriginal.

So come for the beauty and the great weather..should top 30 deg. celsuis today. Visit the wineries and buy a few bottles. Go to some fruit stands on the highway and get some cherries, best season in decades. Go to the beach and enjoy.

[Fat Guy]

LL, hope we'll hear more from you.

Kelowna is certainly the most commercially prosperous area in the region -- you'll find some pretty nice larger hotels there like the Grand Okanagan Resort (I think that's the name).

The Thompson-Okanagan region is certainly one of the most beautiful places in the world, especially if you can time your visit to coincide with blossom season, or if you're into golf and don't want to pay a lot for it, or if you like REALLY NICE PEOPLE, or if you enjoy houseboating, or if you just like natural beauty -- there's more of it in that region than you can shake a stick at. But if you're looking for a Napa-type wine-and-food-tourism experience, forget about it. That's far in the future. For now, think more along the lines of the Catskills or Poconos, but transported out West. The part of Canada I'd go to for a Napa-lite experience is the Niagara wine region. The population density and prosperity of the region create a completely different dynamic in terms of the restaurants and accommodations, plus you're right next door to Toronto -- it's not like in the Okanagan where you have to hump it for half a day over some really long, bad highways to get to Vancouver.

[Lounge Lizard]

Now if its golf recomendations you need I can help you there. That we do well here.

[col klink]

Do tell! I've only hit that 9 hole course in the hills meant for "executives". Not that I'm going to have much time to golf on my honeymoon.

[Lounge Lizard]

Yah I cant see golfing on the honeymoon as being a good idea unless your spouse happens to play as well.

However if by chance you steal an hour and a half there is a nine hole course in town called Sage Mesa. Its big enough to play all your clubs and challenging.

Good luck getting away. My anniversay is on the same weekend as the Champ car race in Vancouver. I am a motorsports fan, have I ever gone to see it.....nope!

[Explorer]

Thanks to all again for your quick responses.

Actually, this trip is just a quick expedition out of Vancouver, for the purposes of discovering the Okanagan area. Although I agree that the Niagara region is more sophisticated, BC wine is superior by far. Niagara has become so touristic that certain reputable restaurants are not consistent anymore. (But that's another thread- I won't go there now).

LL- Where are you a Chef at? Can we dine at your place?

We booked God's Mountain- Steve: Thanks. It was intriguing enough, and I liked the concept. Just spoke to Ulric and it was a done deal. We will definitely visit Blue Mountain winery as per recommendation.

As for dining, our short list is now (we are sticking to South Okanagan locations):

Cobblestone dining room at Naramata Heritage Inn

Granny Bogner's

Magnums on the Lake at the Penticton Lakeside Resort

Zias Stonehouse (I can't find any reviews on it)

This list was helpful: Best Restaurants Okanagan Life 2003

As for wineries, I found out that most of them (except Burrowing Owl) are bistro style. The lunches being planned are:

Day 1: Quail's Gate

Day 2: Hillside (Barrel Room)

Day 3: Burrowing Owl

So, I will owe you all a report sometime in August, right here....

[col klink]

At Hillside, try to dine al fresco above the barrel room. Don't get me wrong, the barrel room is nice, but the open seating above has a much better view of the lake.

When we went a couple of weeks ago the barrel room was closed for a wedding that day and only seating on the roof was available. I don't know if the roof is always available, but at least look into it. The view was gorgeous and the umbrellas offer enough shade if you need it.

[Lounge Lizard]

I have not had a chance to visit Naramata inn yet and have not heard a great deal either way.

I have eaten at Granny Bogners several times over the last year or so and have always found it to be good. The Chef was trying to do some Pacific Rim stuff to no avail and went back to doing old school German food which he does quite well. He makes a mean Schnitzel!

Recently had a meal at Magnums and was please as well. Laurie Locke is the Host and a very good one. I belive he still runs a B&B as well. A couple of the service staff there used to work for me wayyyyy back.

Skip Zias all together!

You will find some decent meals here, just nothing original and if you paid the same $ in the city you would be able to find much better.

I agree there are some nice wines and just about all the the operations are worth visiting.

I used to work at Sumac Ridge and drank a hell of alot of Blush in the summer. Kool-Aid for grown ups.

I currently work in a Seniors Residence here in Penticton. Very nice place, some of the most fun I've had cooking. More like a hotel than an institution.

Please feel free to get in touch any time.

[merlin]

Explorer:

I highly endorse trying the wines from Blue Mountain as was suggested earlier.

However, if you are intending to visit/taste be certain to phone ahead. They do it by reservation only unless they have recently changed their policy.

If you are down that south you should also visit Tinhorn Creek if for nothing else to walk around their winery and grounds.

Merlin

[Fat Guy]

http://www.bluemountainwinery.com/

They do ask that you make an appointment, though when we were there last June we just drove up (we hadn't planned to go there, but we noticed it was right on our route to somewhere else) and the tasting room was staffed and we were able to taste six or seven wines. Then again, it's always smart to make an appointment when you visit any winery, and to leverage your credibility any way you can in order to get a VIP-level tour and tasting. Otherwise, wine tourism can get rather monotonous.

[Lounge Lizard]

Our weekend paper has Chef Rod Butters of Fresco in Kelowna recommending the Harvest Golf Club dining rooom

[calgarymarmitons]

LL,

Now that you mentioned the dining room at Mission Hill, we just lost one of our more talented Calgary-based chefs, Michael Allemeier, to Mission Hill as their exec. I think Mike has the character and "chutzpah" to make the winery rock! He's always been an affecianodo of fresh produce, so he'll be in his glory in the Okanagan! Do check him out.

John

[merlin]

CM:

What happened to his "gig" at Wrayton's Market? Or, have I got my Calgary chefs mixed up?

Merlin

[Lounge Lizard]

Are you thinking of David Forestell...he was going to do a new market whole foods thing in Penny Lane. Is that the one you are refering to?

[merlin]

No, thanks anyway Lounge Lizard ...had the right chef and the right market, Allemeier, formerly of Teatro.

I had heard he was running the bistro at Wrayton's which is in Calgary but I have not managed to get there on my recent trips.

The Mission Hill move was confirmed by others. Last month I understand.

Had not heard about David Forestell and Penny Lane. Has been a long time. The last time I had any of his food it was years ago at Hainle in the Okanagan.

Merlin

Edm.

[merlin]

By the way, when checking out Mission Hill's web-site I noticed that their Spring newsletter had an article on Rod Butters' Fresco in Kelowna.

Merlin

Edm

[calgarymarmitons]

Merlin,

Michael's always wanted to go back to his country food roots, so when the opportunity came up for Mission Hill and the Okanagan, he packed up his young family and departed Wrayton's. Their loss, I must say.

Means that I now have to pencil in Mission Hill as a stop on my BC Interior grand tour! Somebody's gotta do it!.

CM

[M'd]

Lounge Lizard,

Speaking of Okanagan chefs, I noticed you mentioned David Forestell.

Is he back in Canada?

He used to offer an incredible table d'hote at Hainle.

Is he considering the Okanagan again?

Cheers,

M'd