Thursday/Friday in the Okanagan

Two posts in one day?  An abundance of reflections and photos, indeed!

It wasn't too far before dinner when we got to our hotel on the Thursday.  Once settled into our rooms at Predator Ridge, we got ready for dinner

and headed up the hill to what I have to assume is a sister resort property:  Sparkling Hill Resort and Spa. 

No, no spa for us.  Alas.  That is so often welcome.  No, we were headed there to dinner at PeakFine.

PeakFine was, well, fine.  For a resort that wasn't inexpensive (I had explored that as an option for staying), it really banks on the view more than anything.  The service was alright - pleasant but young and not polished.  The drinks were fine.  The food was fine - my zucchini starter was more of a green salad than I had thought it would be,

but the burger was delicious (and sorry to Van and the others - burgers in Canada are well done, that's that). 

I thought the decor could have been a little less generic.  But the views over Okanagan Lake were wonderful,

and we did have a good time.  We grabbed shots of the surroundings before

and after dinner

as well as a few of the hotel itself

- I know that Conrad was really into some of what he saw.  It was a nice evening, though, truly. 

Once we came back down the hill, Robert, Conrad, and I headed to The Range and sat at a corner of the bar for a nightcap.  And then, finally, it was to bed.

Our plan for Friday?  Next to nothing.  I mean it.  We're past the age where we have to do do do and go go go while on vacation.  So my morning consisted of a walk

by myself,

then another when Robert joined me. 

I snapped some shots of the resort

and of the flora

(Saskatoon berries!!)

and enjoyed a moderate little bit of exercise before and after my morning decaf lattes.

Eventually everyone was up and at 'em, and I think I may have then napped, but the day was underway.  So we had Robert and Courtney come to our room where our balcony was more spacious, and among the five of us, we spent a few enjoyable hours from about 11ish onward drinking

the wines we had picked up from Monte Creek the day before,

enjoying what sort of "charcuterie" we could cobble together from the little resort store,

plus some local white chocolate. 

By mid-afternoon, it was naptime again.  We really made the most of the cloudiest day on the trip!

Dinner was a short drive away, down the hill to Lake Country for dinner at Block One, the restaurant at 50th Parallel Estate Winery. 

It was easily the best meal of our time in the Okanagan:  good cocktails, an interesting menu, good service, a cool setting, lovely views, tasty food.  I'd happily recommend it, and it was interesting that, by coincidence, one of Robert's colleagues back in Colorado had done so!

We took vineyard photos before heading to our table. 

A black Manhattan for me, their version,

and some bread

and olives

and a tomato/plum/burrata salad for us all to start with. 

Since the restaurant recommended family style, we took it to the extreme, ordering the ribeye on the bone for the five of us to share. 

It took a little while to come out, but it was a great choice - and a good value!  We may not have needed the carrot dish on the side, but it was far from unwelcome. 

I didn't get a clear shot of dessert, alas.  The dinner was wonderful, and the drive home on a dark country road with deer making appearances was only moderately harrowing.

That brought Friday to a close.  No nightcaps for anyone, that was it.  To bed, and a last full day in the Okanagan to come. 

spritz night!

It was the July online happy for us, and the theme was spritzes.  A fun summer drink, and lots of ways to modify it.  So I did!  Here's a stoplight:  cassis spritz, limoncello spritz, and a Hugo (elderflower spritz). 

I also tried making a Cynar spritz and an orange liqueur spritz, but no, alas, they were not as good.

Ultimately, the Hugo won out

(and an Aperol spritz for the second round).  And so we sat outside and sipped and got caught up before I pulled out a grazing board for dinner.

Fun times! 

dinner at Lorto

It's the last post from Italy, and as I am writing this days ahead of time, I hope that by the time it posts I am also blogging from Ireland.  We shall see!  But it feels a little sad to let go of the Italy vacation and consign it to fond memory.  Alas.  Ah well.

So then, let's go out with a bang.  Or, rather, a meal.  The most refined of all our meals in Italy, in this case, a tasting dinner at Lorto at our hotel, the Nordelaia.

I was so looking forward to this meal.  We had had a full day in between it and our big meal at Filario, so we were up for another big meal.  Happily, the portions made more sense for a tasting meal, and while we were full, we didn't have difficult nights of sleep from it all.  But we sure did eat well.  The most interesting thing I had in Italy was a dessert course.  The service was exceptionally polished.  The setting was gorgeous.  It was a serene experience, and if Conrad, Van, and I didn't chat as much as we might, it's because we truly were drinking it all in.

The three of us got into our pretty outfits for one last time in Italy,

paused to admire the Piedmont sunset,

and then strolled over to the restaurant building for a drink before dinner.  We each tried a different gin - their selection was remarkable - and I enjoyed a local choice

paired with some tonic. 

That started off the evening right for us before we headed upstairs to the dining room.

The menu offered three tasting menus:  vegetarian, seafood, and chef's choice.  We opted for that last one because it was vacation and why not?  And they did right by us, though it was a dinner heavy on seafood, leaving us wishing a tiny bit that they had swapped out one or two of the seafood options for the vegetarian for the sake of the variety.  Still, we soldiered on, if you can even say that.

That pristine kitchen

sent out one excellent thing after another:

An amuse of a delicious broth that I cannot remember more about.

Lightly sweet and savoury fried treats like doughnut holes.

An amuse of a piece of sashimi grade fish on a "crumpet" and carrot tartare.

A glorious tartare of San Marzano tomato with a pistachio gazpacho.  This was the first real course, and it was a winner.

Baby octopus.  So pretty.

Dry aged fish crudo with a hazelnut gazpacho.  Van, I should add, does not care for raw fish or for some other seafood, but he will try it.  And he liked this one.  I loved this dish.

Plin, a filled pasta whose sauce included sea urchin.

A risotto that was a bit too intensely flavoured for Conrad and Van.

Dry aged fish with two sauces that included a fish head caramel. 

Loved the sauce!  Even better - and I have never had this experience at a restaurant - they served it with little rolls and told us that the intention was to use the bread to mop up the sauces. 

I mean we all do that, so thank you for the blessing!

Melon sorbet with tomato water.  A palate cleanser that kind of blew my mind.  What a pairing!

A dessert of sea buckthorn gelato (or was it sorbet?) and samphire with that I swear they said was white chocolate. 

OK, this was so cool.  First off, damn beautiful to look at.  But the flavours were so interesting.  The sea buckthorn was tart and a bit bitter.  Other parts balanced that with sweetness and creaminess, but there was also a hint of salt and the sea in there.  The most intriguing dish I had in Italy.

And, of course, some sweet treats at the end.

We slowly went through a bottle of a 1998 Nebbiolo after a good read of the extensive wine list and some consultation.  I am pretty sure I had an amaro one more time as well.  I don't recall having coffee.  It doesn't matter.  This was such a beautiful meal to share with Conrad and Van and cap our last night in Piedmont with.  A delight, through and through.