Rarely do I just stumble across a restaurant. Because of what I do for a living, I generally know about them months before they open. My expectations are calibrated on account of this foreknowledge. But every so often I get hit by a surprise.
Such was the case when my wife and I stayed at Whistlers Nita Lake Lodge for two nights, bookending an outdoor Araxi dinner up at Pembertons stunning North Arm Farm. A supper at the Lodges restaurant, Aura, would be the second half of the double-header weekend. I thought that I had it pretty well pinned down, even though Id never been there before.
I didnt know the chef, Tim Cuff, though I knew his pedigree well enough to suspect that he wouldnt be serving regular hotel fare (I was aware that he was a Michael Allemeier alum from Mission Hills fine restaurant outside Kelowna). I had assumed Aura was somewhere off Whistlers frenetic main square, perhaps on the ground floor of one of those stoney fauxtels that dot the village surrounds. Id always imagined one of them to be Nita Lake Lodge. Alas, it wasnt even in the main village, but rather down in Creekside.
Turn left here, my navigator/wife had said. Hell no. There was no time for a bathroom break. Nita Lake is on the left here, she reiterated, pointing out the big purple circle showing the hotel clearly on the Google Map.
There are few worse feelings for a man than the florid exhibition of his ignorance, but its something Ive learned to shrug off by way of constant repetition. To wit, when I opened the door to our hotel room to find a huge, picturesque lake outside the window, I did another face palm. Honey, theres a lake here. I said. She nodded her head. Yes, dear. I think they may have named the hotel after it.
But enough about my inability to travel without revealing myself to be bad at it. Id come to test drive what many of my foodie friends and writer colleagues had been raving about, namely Mr. Cuffs food.
It was marvellous stuff, and seeing as Cuff and his number two, Owen Foster, quietly exhibit talents that easily eclipse Auras reputation, the prices are far from prohibitive (a five-course tasting menu sets you back just $70).
From their massive rooftop garden (which I toured in awe) come fresh lettuces, herbs and all manner of roots, tubers and edible flowers.
These make appearances in almost every dish, whether it be the greens and chopped veggies that glisten in a harmonious wash of Meyer lemon vinaigrette; the cabbage, white carrots, bok choy and black garlic that complement the seared scallops; or the sage accenting every pillow of perfect gnocchi in their delicious jam of field tomatoes.
They take wonderful turns in exoticism as well. Witness the bright green soup of coconut milk spiked with coriander and cashew surrounding curled islands of fried cuttlefish and the Citron-injected melon thins wrapping around beet-tinged belts of cured ivory spring salmon (both were outstanding).
Supping the stuff was a like watching two players you assumed were farm system fourth-liners play like the Sedins. Cuff and Foster cooked and plated with inspiration, playing the same high local game as the nearby, perennially duelling titans of Araxi and Bearfoot Bistro (Foster was sous at the latter). Were I to pit theirs against a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»eatery, only one would fairly compare: West on South Granville (where Cuff was sous for two years).
As for atmosphere, did I mention theres a great big lake outside? Aura has just about everything. Even the wine list is superb, and the cocktail card from bar manager Hailey Posemko is worthy of comparison to those penned in Vancouvers better bars.
For more perspective, it helps to remember that most restaurants that are umbilically attached to hotels are unadventurous yawners that cater to the amalgamated tastes of internationals who could give a damn about ingredient provenance, just so long as the dishes are a) stupendously expensive, b) presented in styles that died in the early 1990s, and c) incapably served by underzealous unionites in dull uniforms.
If you travel much, youre likely well aware that the décor in these types of places tends to suffer the same halting lack of imagination that has resulted in several Adam Sandler films. All this leaves keen diners to wonder why they allowed their uncles accountant friend from Topeka to choose the venue in the first place.
Aura is not that. Though the décor is a little staid, it doesnt make one want to scream in protest or have the dishwasher prepare the fugu fish. Its the food and drink that matter most, and here they excel at both without catering to the broad, madding crowd. Aura is by a sizable margin the best hotel restaurant in Whistler, and on a good day Id put it on par with Hawksworth in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and the two Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Island powerhouses of Sooke Harbour House and the Wickaninnish Inn.
Thats saying a lot, but Ill stand by that until these chefs serve me the ho-hum that I was half expecting of them.
Again, I love surprises, and to find such unbridled excellence off the beaten Whistler path was a very nice one indeed.
2131 Lake Placid Road, Whistler, BC | 1-888-755-6482 | NitaLakeLodge.com
