From fish to beast to . . . human toe, one thing is certain:
Yukonners are meat connoisseurs. A recent trip north allowed me to
partake of the various delicacies that roam the land.
Nowhere is their meat expertise more evident
than Klondike Rib & Salmon BBQ. The
restaurant's historic metal-framed building, one of the oldest in
Whitehorse, is suffuse with a cozy, Northern
charm, and always bustling with meat-lovers. While the place is
named for what they no doubt do best, their menu offers wild game
of all kinds to choose from. I went with the caribou stew, which
came in a hearty sauce with root vegetables, peas and chives, and
tender, juicy morsels of meat rich with flavour. Portions are
monumentally sized with winter hibernation in mind -- I split the
stew with a friend and still couldn't finish it.
On the road from Whitehorse to Dawson, the
Yukon's next largest city, the Coalmine Campground in
Carmacks is the place to refuel your belly. Here, they
grill up succulent burgers for a classic road-trip meal. They're
simple, but delectable. And if you're looking to cool off from a
hot summer drive, they offer an assortment of ice creams, shakes,
slushies, floats and "iceburgs".
In Dawson City, where the Yukon River and the Klondike
River converge, it is essential to dine on the fruit of
the waters. Klondike Kate's has a terrific salmon
teriyaki burger, topped with a pineapple ring, sprinkled with
sesame seeds and served with a side of potato salad. For more
upscale dining, visit La Table on 5th, an elegant restaurant at the
Aurora Inn. The service is stellar, and the golden glowing ambiance
indicative of the riches they have to offer. I had the Pickerel
Fillet -- a light, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth fish, coated in a pine
nut crust, and accompanied by a fresh burst of tropical fruit
salsa, roasted jalapeno coulis and scallion mash potatoes.
Dawson doesn't just do fish; in the pubs and
taverns they serve up every kind of meat -- including a certain
human appendage. At the Downtown Hotel, patrons
line up to join the Sourtoe Cocktail Club -- the
initiation for which involves downing a shot of your choice with a
human toe in it. The tradition has gone on since 1973 and there is
many a tale to be told about the toe -- there have been several
toes over the years in fact, for now and again, one has
accidentally gone to its final resting place in the belly of an
overzealous new member. Over 33,000 people have gone
mouth-to-toe, and while I bragged to my friends back home that I
was going to be next on the list, the moment I laid eyes on the
thing I realized it would take a bit more than a shot -- like
perhaps a whole barrel of whiskey -- to get me to join the
club.
View
Dining in the Yukon in a larger map
Klondike Rib & Salmon Barbecue
2116 2nd Ave
Whitehorse, YT
867-667-7554
Klondike Kate's Cabins & Restaurant
3rd Ave
Dawson City, YT
867-993-6527
Downtown Hotel
1026 2nd Ave
Dawson City, YT
867-993-5346
Michelle Mayne is a Vancouver-based cookbook designer and
photographer. You can read about her food adventures at her blog,
Michelle Meals.
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Posted:
Mon, Aug 31 2009 by
Anonymous