The prayer flags have been strung; reams of colourful bunting are waving to the hum of excitement and creative bustle at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. This can mean only one thing: the 49th annual Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is in full swing! Lucky for fellow adventurers who enjoy a spot of culinary exploration, Banff Centre’s Maclab Bistro is open for business and serving up some exciting features for the occasion. Hurrah!
Coinciding perfectly with the Banff-wide Taste for Adventure celebration, a two-week showcase of gastronomic prowess across Banff National Park, Maclab Bistro has a participating feature dish and sip. The Elk Maclab Burger is served on a bouncy brioche bun with caramelized onions, brie cheese, and horseradish aioli, plus your choice of side; a hearty meal to sustain you through a day of movie viewing. The feature drink, Rosemary Country Cocktail, showcases local Wild Life gin with zesty citrus, rosemary-infused simple syrup and aquafaba (a chickpea water vegan substitute for foamy egg white). Luckily for lovers of local libations, there is an ample offering of Wild Life cocktails for the festival, including the rich and flavour-deep Spruce it Up, which blends WLD Barrel Aged Gin with lemon, spruce-infused honey syrup, and WLD Blood Orange Bitters. YUM.
Ahead of a night of mixed mountain movies and a thought-provoking conversation with celebrated female superhero, Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, we hit the lively Maclab Bistro to get our chops around their feature dishes, plus a sizable sharing plate of halloumi cheese with shishito peppers with a harissa maple glaze, and a sprinkling of green onions. We also delighted in the brussels sprouts paired with lashings of tart and colourful haskap berry, a firm menu favourite along with the chicken shawarma with pomegranate sauce. If you’re looking for tasty food backdropped by EPIC mountain views and a buzzy atmosphere; Maclab Bistro truly comes alive during the festival season. “The vibe” is very much the culmination of creatives from across the globe gathering for interesting conversations over great drinks and casual fare.
Located a quick jaunt up Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain, Maclab Bistro serves as the social hub of the Banff Centre campus, often featuring performing artists (like Jim Cuddy and Jens Lindemann, for two examples coming up this fall and winter). Outside of the noble work of fueling the participants of its arts and leadership programs, performers, conference, and hotel guests, the restaurant is open for morning coffees, and (my favourite) post-show drinks, where revellers can dissect their day’s viewings over cocktails until 1 a.m. The best part is that Banff Centre is a mecca for interesting people; you never know who you might run into and where a conversation might take you (on a future madcap mountain adventure, one hopes!).
Cheers to nine epic days of festival feasting – the Banff Centre Mountain Film & Book Festival is on until Sunday, November 3!
Maclab Bistro is open year-round. Visit banffcentre.ca for hours and menu details. Call 403 762 6141 for reservations.
