bolo ranchhouse

This is an attractive place. Canmore itself is a smallish town nestled in the Bow River valley in the Canadian Rockies, and bolo ranchhouse is nicely situated for a view of the surrounding mountains, especially out on the deck. I would have preferred to sit out there and admire the view, but it was turning a bit chill for Karen. Also, we'd had some previous experience with huge mosquitos (they seem to be active from about 5pm to 9pm) and we wanted to eat rather than be eaten. The restaurant is decorated like a log cabin, with frontier-type decorations hanging on the walls and a cast-iron stove in the fireplace. The stained-glass windows in the dining room seemed out of place with the decor, but they were certainly attractive. A window seat was open, but reserved, so we sat near the kitchen. This wasn't a bad seat really, but it would have been smarter for me to make a reservation so we could at least enjoy the view through a window. Service was prompt, efficient, and reasonably friendly but very busy: our waitress didn't have time to chat or banter. The sandwich was arranged tastefully in a wicker basket with a checkered paper liner, with my soup (asparagus and roasted garlic) in a china bowl (on a little doily!), a couple of packets of saltines, and a small limp pickle spear. They had cider on draft, so I had a pint. It was Strongbow, which seems to be popular in Canmore, but slightly dry for my tastes. I enjoyed it nonetheless: I don't often get draft cider in the US, and certainly not with a lunch Reuben, when I have to return to work. The soup was good, and I was glad I hadn't opted for the fries: Karen's tasted as if they had been sitting out for quite a while, and were pretty nasty. They were the cut kind with the skin still on, and probably would have been decent if fresh. The sandwich itself was decent, with a good amount of meat and kraut. I've never had a pastrami Reuben, but the meat didn't really taste much different to me. The bread was pretty flavorless, but toasted nicely. I couldn't really taste the cheese except in the corners, away from where the kraut and meat had been piled, but that's not unusual. The biggest surprise was the utter lack of dressing, neither Thousand Island nor Russian, not on the sandwich, not on the side. There wasn't even any mention of it on the menu. It was still a pretty good sandwich without it, but I did miss it somewhat. To sum up, the bolo ranchhouse Reuben isn't a good enough reason to come to the Canadian Rockies, but if you are already there (and you should go: it's beautiful), it might satisfy your Reuben craving.