And it was slightly inconsistent. The steak was tender and perfectly done, with great beef flavor, but it lacked an ingredient I consider crucial to well prepared meat: salt. There was none, not a hint of salt on the steak, nor in the herb butter. This is so odd, that I’m chalking it up to a mistake on the kitchen’s part, perhaps, rather than a deliberate omission. The potatoes however, were divine. Perfectly roasted, seasoned, creamy on the inside, they were an awesome dish.

My girlfriend ordered the winner of the bunch, the Alberta Bison Meatloaf wrapped in smoked bacon with mashed potatoes and mushroom pan jus. It was an awesome meatloaf, flavorful and moist, with the bacon a perfect foil. The mashed potatoes were about as good as they come, and it was a hearty comforting meal.

The restaurant ran out of smoked and barbecue glazed pork ribs with mini mac and cheese and coleslaw, so they subbed bison ribs in the dish, which was a mixed success. The bison ribs were simply too lean, and remained way too chewy despite the long smoking time. The reason pork ribs work so well is due to the high fat content which is slowly cooked out of the meat leaving it moist and succulent. The bison didn’t have that luxury. The flavor was outstanding though, with a decent pink smoke ring and a tasty glaze, and the portion was huge owing to the size of bison ribs. The mac and cheese was also awesome, with the crispy top that to me is the best part. The coleslaw was fresh and quite decent.

For dessert we managed to practice uncommon restraint, and only got one dish to share – the panna cotta. Soft and creamy it was not overly sweet, and the berry sauce added a great fresh touch. The oatmeal cookies were quite dense and crumbly, more like granola cookies, if you like that sort of thing.

The restaurant was slowly wrapping up for the night as we finished our coffees, so grabbing the camera we explored the house while we could.

Of the original structure the living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a verandah remain, with the other few rooms being added on by subsequent owners. Wandering the house I was struck anew by how much more space we now think we require. Our modern oversized houses could easily fit two smallish ones of a century ago, and yet those small ones housed more people. Everything’s expanded in the process, the bedrooms are larger, the closets huge in comparison with the cupboards of years past, the common rooms the size of modern dens. The only exceptions I typically see are the kitchens, which were often large in comparison, with the amount of effort and materials it took to cook making it a necessity. Which makes sense given that much of the food was grown, produced, canned and saved right at home.

Here’s a photo tour of the house:

The living room

Wall shelf

Little table

Kitchen

The original stove!

Old buffet in the kitchen

Buffet detail

Scarred but solid door

Doorknob

Ever since I heard of The Mackay Place I wanted to go there. I was sold on the entire idea of a renovated farm house re-purposed as a restaurant, plus the house ketchup and steak they served at the Millarville Market were absolutely delicious. All summer long I drove around with their brochure in the car, and when a girlfriend suggested a Saturday night supper I and another friend jumped at the chance.

The farm house was built by a Scottish homesteader J.A. Turner 123 years ago, which for this neck of the woods is a very long time ago indeed.  He raised a family and imported Clydesdale horses from Scotland, got a valley named after him, and shortly after oil was found on the land, he sold the property. In 1916 the Mackay family bought the homestead and held it until 1988. Since then the property has underwent a couple of incarnations, becoming a tea house, a pub, a bed and breakfast, and most recently a restaurant, dubbed simply The Mackay Place.

Old buildings and places have a certain fascination for me that is at times hard to explain. There is a palpable mystery to inhabiting the same space as the people that came before us. Perhaps it is because so much of history is lost to us, the people that built those things and walked those same floors are unknowable in a way that their modern descendants will never be. Our lives are documented with tapes, movies, books and blogs in unprecedented ways. We record too much and those before us not nearly enough. So we imagine what life must have been like back then, how it would feel to actually use those museum-looking pieces of furniture, wear different clothing, feel a different rhythm to life. Or perhaps we react to the energy of the place, getting shivers in an abandoned asylum or dungeon, and walking straighter in a cathedral or theater.  Suffice it to say, that visiting a restored homestead was incredibly appealing to me.

The property is nestled behind tall trees just off highway 549, and contains the main house, a small cabin and some neat decorative touches with a country motif.

A wheelbarrow of flowers:

A rooster in a rim:

And a cabin, which if I’m not mistaken dates back to the original settler’s time:

The restaurant itself is a well maintained farmhouse, where it looks like as little as possible was done, which kept many details alive. The original layout of the rooms was preserved, with the original kitchen, living room, master bedroom, and what was apparently Jenny’s bedroom – one of the four Mackay children’s room, where we dined.

The menu is very much in keeping with the ranching theme befitting the area, ranging from a lamb burger to bison meatloaf, with a couple of choices of fish, wild salmon and halibut. All the meats are local and the farm or place of origin is specified, which is great since very few restaurants in the Calgary area make the effort. We each ordered an appetizer and an entrée so we got to sample a decent selection of the menu.  

I started with a loaded spinach salad that’s served with house smoked pork-belly bacon, herbed goat’s cheese, marinated portabella’s and crunchy fried onions, which is the only way to eat spinach in my opinion. It was fabulous. The bacon was absolutely outstanding, with a depth of flavor that store bacon will never have, golden crunchy, savory onions and (travesty) almost too much goat cheese. But it was a salty flavorful work of art and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

My friend ordered the house-smoked steelhead trout antipasto with pickled asparagus and caper aioli, which for some reason I only got a crappy picture of, likely because I was drooling over my salad… It was an absolutely generous portion of tender trout, tangy greens and a dollop of sour cream.

My other friend got the soup of the day, which happened to be a mushroom soup. It was a lovely creamy soup, although not the best version I’ve had. The mushroom flavor was mild, and the mushrooms themselves were pureed a bit too fine for me, I personally prefer a more assertive soup with some mushroom bits. This was pureed more than Campbells, which should tell you something about its texture.

With our appetizers we had a very decent Caesar and house wine, but since I know nothing about wine, all I can tell you is that it was a bit thin bodied but with a fine flavor. I know, I suck.

 Stay tuned for entrees and a tour of the house tomorrow…

One of the reasons I adore summer so much, is the brief but heady availability of small farmers markets that pop up around town. Yes, we have the big one at Currie Barracks, and I love the fact that it’s year round, but just like all variety loving people it’s nice to have options. And there is no shortage of options in the summer months. My absolute favorite place to go happens to be the closest to my house too, but believe me when I say I made the pilgrimage occasionally even when I lived across the entire city. My favorite farmers market is the one at Millarville.  It combines a mini road trip with food, an unbeatable combination. Held outdoors off the large racetrack, it’s a great mix of vendors, entertainment, and mini-donuts. And I go nuts for mini-donuts.

The layout is a rough almost – circle, with the crafts all along the far side of the market, with the entertainment area and picnic tables in the middle. I’ll be honest – I never go look at crafts. First off, many are cheesy or just not my style, but most importantly, every dollar I have is usually earmarked for food. Why shop for a permanent work of art when you can buy something to eat? And buy I do. Oh boy do I buy.

Approaching the entrance

Decorative grass

Over time I’ve worked out a strategy for shopping at the market. Since I often go alone, I have to work out a plan to carry the six hundred pounds of food I buy, so careful shopping strategy must be implemented in order to be able to reach the car at all. The strategy begins with a coffee and mini-donuts. For fortification of course.  The donuts are oh so smartly located on the right, right near the entrance. Piping hot, straight out of the fryer, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar they are my first taste of summer heaven. They are worth getting up early for, and I don’t say that lightly. At the picnic table sipping a coffee, people watching and enjoying the music is about the perfect way to start a weekend.

Many folk also go for the kettle corn. They’re always busy.

Kettle Korn Truck

Shopping always begins at the very back of the food section. That’s where all the produce is located, and there’s always the temptation to buy way too much. I try to resist, working hard to plan the meals in my head as I shop, lest I end up with way too much produce. It’s very hard though – there are always several greenhouses with jewel like tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. They are warm from the sun, perfectly ripe and smell like the sun warmed fruit that they are. There are always the colonists (Amish? Mennonites? Hutterites? Anyone?) with amazingly inexpensive roots – beets, potatoes, radishes, carrots, onions, garlic, chard and eggs.  There are the fruit trucks from BC which can be hit and miss – always try the beautiful looking peaches, apricots and cherries before you buy.  I don’t have photos of this section because due to the late season there were hardly any vendors there. I expect many more over the next two weeks.

After the staples of a healthy diet are taken care of, I walk leisurely along the awning covered section full of vendors of generally prepared foods. Here is a vast panorama of choices – everything from fresh baked bread, honey, ostrich soap, salsa and dips, jerky, cheese, teas, wines, olive oils and much much more. Most vendors let you try before you buy, and that’s a good thing because not everything is that great. I typically end up with a dip or two, an ethnic food (varies depending on who’s there – sometimes there’s Mexican, other times amazing Indian), smoked char, and a wine or something else I can’t resist.  

Candy bouquets

Organic coffee

So many dips

Organic wine

Tea

Locally made mustard

Towards the end of the market I have to point out one of my favorite vendors – More than Mangoes. I first went to visit them shortly after they opened, in a small space at some school or something. I fell in love with fresh, real, tropical fruit even though I really do try to eat local most of the time. I just miss the amazing fruitses of Cuba so much. RIGHT NOW as we speak they have amazing, juicy, fragrant organic mangoes and papayas. They are to die for.  They’re worth every penny. The owner is quite passionate and knowledgeable about his fruit, and the passion shows in every individually cradled offering.

More Than Mangoes stall

Then we come to the meat vendors at the very entrance to the market, which is very convenient as they’re the heaviest purchases for me, and the car is usually not far away. I load up on bacon, hot dogs, buffalo salami, and loads and loads of chicken from Bowden. I literally load up on chicken breasts, thighs, eggs, whole chickens and they are so much better than the supermarket as well as being reasonably priced. I usually get some frozen pies from Kaman which I generally prefer to Simple Simon or others. I would not recommend the shepherd’s pie as the meat is waaay too ground and adds odd texture to the already soft pie, but would definitely recommend their chicken and steak and mushroom pies. For an easy weeknight supper they’re great.

Millarville Market

Open Saturday mornings 8:30 – noon.

June 13 to Oct 3, 2009

Parking $2.00

See you there, I’ll be the one with the donuts.

Gorgeous planters