FOOD & DRINK

On the Right Track

By Jannik Eikenaar

Aboard a train snaking through the Rockies, our travel journalist discovers that (luckily) his eyes are as big as his stomach.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is the surprising culinary find – like the perfect deli sandwich on a side street near Vatican City or a delectable mini chocolate croissant at a vender’s stand in the Fukuoka airport. At least, that’s what I was thinking aboard the Rocky Mountaineer Winter Vacation Train, rolling toward the peaks that divide British Columbia and Alberta.
 
I had expected certain things of the two-day, one-night tour from Vancouver to Banff, Alberta: views of glacier-capped mountains and ice-edged rivers, bighorn sheep meandering along steep canyon walls and endless snow-heavy evergreens leaning toward the tracks. After all, the train climbs through the Coast Mountains, runs along the valleys of British Columbia’s agricultural interior and winds through the towering Rockies to reach its resort-town destination. So peaks and rivers were, so to speak, on the menu. What I hadn’t expected was the menu itself.

Our trip kicked off with mimosas as we left the station, followed by a gourmet breakfast. (I opted for the scrambled eggs wrapped in smoked salmon, topped with a dill crème fraîche and a touch of caviar.) As we approached the Coast Mountains, things got rolling with sightings of bald and golden eagles soaring above Harrison Lake. After watching the birds for a few minutes through the dining-car windows, I decided to take my second cup of coffee upstairs. There, the windows of the domed roof afforded a near 360-degree view of the eagles wheeling over the lakeshore and coming to rest on slender pine trees.

For several hours, I relaxed and drank up the scenery, the snow-bordered rivers almost close enough to touch but (thankfully) a thermal-world away. And yet despite the panoramic surroundings, I was only too happy to head back downstairs for lunch.

Over Alberta beef strip loin with a juniper-shallot jus, sautéed mushrooms and crisp vegetables, I compared digital shots of wildlife, churning rapids and ravine-spanning bridges with my tablemates. We had been climbing steadily away from Vancouver for only a few hours, but already there was no shortage of photos. Fortified by a platter of chocolate tidbits, we stepped out on the viewing platform between train cars and leaned over the railing to snap more pictures. Then we hurried back inside to the warmth and comfort of our reclining leather seats.

After another tasty lunch on the second day of the trip – oven-roasted Fraser Valley turkey breast with wild-mushroom stuffing and balsamic-glazed root veggies – I stretched out on a banquette in the lounge car. Sipping from a mug of spiced, mulled Sumac Ridge Merlot, I gazed at the trees stretching from the tracks to the glacier-capped peaks. An occasional frozen waterfall, a sliver of aquamarine, marked the subalpine expanse. The train entered a tunnel, briefly interrupting the view, and I stirred my remaining wine with a stick of cinnamon, happy that this journey wasn’t only a feast for my eyes.

Where to stay

The downtown Fairmont Hotel Vancouver offers easy access to the Rocky Mountaineer platform; the short taxi ride is a blessing, given the train’s early departure. The Fairmont’s Gold Floor includes luxuriously appointed rooms, its own concierge and complimentary hors d’oeuvres in the evening.

ALL PHOTOS: ROCKY MOUNTAINEER VACATIONS™