Dinner with Everybody at Forage
A fabulous meal of Buffalo Horn Ranch bison au jus, scalloped potatoes, roasted beets and house-made goat cheese, cucumber salad, braised red cabbage and thickly buttered baguette (all passed around twice); then Saskatoon cobbler with vanilla ice cream, tea and coffee: $49.
Bottle of wine: $35.
Leftover biscuits on the way out: free.
Getting to sit down to dinner and laugh with so many of you: priceless.
Beating Russia was pretty sweet too.
I realize that ripping off a MasterCard commercial was extraordinarily cheesy, but it’s all I’ve got.
I’ve been lulled into submission by too much red meat and red wine and a double serving of carbohydrates for dessert, and all of that is being pummelled by a 4 year old who has already turned sideways and gone all starfish in my bed and is repeatedly kicking me in the side of the gut.
But it really was a great night – I loved meeting the seventeen of you who came – the Farm Table Dinners at Forage are a great happy medium between going to a restaurant and eating at home, family-style. (As K put it, it’s like a big family dinner – without the fighting. Or the dishes. And Grandma is a spectacularly good chef.)
A huge thanks to Wade, Sue and the crew for making it happen and feeding us so well. (But honestly. Why do I have to be such a dweeb? Could I possibly turn down the crazy I-want-to-kill-and-eat-you-in-your-sleep expression on my face? It is in no way indicative of how my dinner made me feel. Have a good sleep, now.)
February 25 2010 12:09 am | eating out
Laurie in Burnaby BC on 25 Feb 2010 at 1:43 am #
Oh, that looks like so much fun! Thank for the photos. And no, you do NOT look like a dweeb! That’s not a kill-and-eat-you expression, that’s a “I ate and laughed lots and don’t you wish you were here” expression.
bellini valli on 25 Feb 2010 at 5:08 am #
I love these types of farm to table dinners which are perfect for the foodie in us all.
Carol SB on 25 Feb 2010 at 7:13 am #
Oh, how lucky we were to meet some of the folks who leave comments here. Julie, you have a rare gift for bringing out the best in people: and bringing out the best people, too.
Manon from Ontario on 25 Feb 2010 at 7:15 am #
Did you know that you are crazy, I LOVE YOU JULIE, you always make me laugh, and I truly needed a good laugh this week. Monday night I had 20 firefighters, 5 fire trucks, 2 police cars and 4 policemen in my yard…I had a blocked chimney, and totally smoked my house…meeting with the insurance people today, fun I needed this right now as sugar shack season starts up!
Betty C on 25 Feb 2010 at 7:38 am #
Thanks Julie and everyone at Forage! It was a great evening – meeting new friends, enjoying time in a family style setting and great food…and skipping out before doing the dishes.
Can’t wait for the next one.
JulieVR on 25 Feb 2010 at 7:53 am #
Carol and Betty – it was SO GREAT having you there last night. I could have eaten and drank and chatted all night!
Manon! Good luck! the same thing happened to my sister a few years ago – except she had left a pot of soup on the stove and gone out with the kids for the day…
pauline on 25 Feb 2010 at 7:56 am #
That looks like so much fun. Again Julie thanks for sharing you always make me laugh with your sincere sense of humor. The food looks amazing. I can’t believe I still haven’t tasted Bison.
Lana in South Mountain (ON) on 25 Feb 2010 at 8:40 am #
Mouth is watering over that menu description…mmmmm…and okay, you kinda look like a dweeb, but a very happy, and well-satisfied dweeb!
ox
Donna on 25 Feb 2010 at 8:51 am #
Thanks for the company and the great idea to share wonderful food. I enjoyed meeting everyone.
JulieVR on 25 Feb 2010 at 8:54 am #
And Donna THANK YOU for the beautiful quillow! I’ll share that with everyone soon…
Cheryl Arkison on 25 Feb 2010 at 9:30 am #
It’s a good thing you don’t have access to my photos from the night! We had some laughs from our spot in the table.
Another great night courtesy of you, Wade, Sue, and everyone there. I highly recommend meeting you and the Farm table dinners to anyone.
Cathryn on 25 Feb 2010 at 9:43 am #
Thank you, Julie! What a fantastic way to spend an evening, meeting new friends and sharing delicious food. Come to think of it, this was the live version of your blog!
Katharine on 25 Feb 2010 at 10:42 am #
Sad I missed out on the fun times!! So glad you guys had such a great time! I’m in for the next one for sure!
LOL – I love that look you get sometimes!
Fiona on 25 Feb 2010 at 11:16 am #
That looks like so much fun! And so delicious. I”m sorry I missed it. But I, like Katharine, am in for the next one. No question.
Erica B. on 25 Feb 2010 at 11:41 am #
I’m still smiling about last night! (and apparently from the pix with my eyes shut – doh)
Betty C, it was great to see you again & I look forward to hearing about your new adventures! Donna that quillow is genius – I wish I was that crafty. Julie, Thank you for organizing this & Thank you Mike for putting up with the clackity-clack of the keyboard and coming out when there was a hockey game on
and of course Wade & co – Thank you for the great food & keep doing what you do!
Ok I’ll stop babbling now. *blush*
Theresa on 25 Feb 2010 at 11:49 am #
need saskatoon cobbler recipe…… must have………
Terri on 25 Feb 2010 at 12:48 pm #
What a lovely evening…wouldn’t change a thing!
Kayla on 25 Feb 2010 at 2:35 pm #
Looks delicious! The next one needs to be on a Saturday for us out-of-towners!
Denise on 25 Feb 2010 at 6:09 pm #
I so wish I could have been there. Sounds like so much fun and the food looks amazing! Ahh the joys of living on the other end of the country. You should come to dinner here.
ajdoula on 25 Feb 2010 at 6:18 pm #
I’m so bummed I had to miss last night – last minute baby issues had to take precedence. I hope my no-show doesn’t mean I can’t come to the next one…I hope there will be a next one! It sounded fabulous!
Lauren on 25 Feb 2010 at 6:29 pm #
Oh, it looks like such a blast! Julie, one day I would love to share a dinner/lunch/tea with you =D.
Margaret on 25 Feb 2010 at 6:30 pm #
Julie the cucumber salad looks great. What was the base….yogurt? I would love the recipe, if you can figure it out. thanks.
Pat from Ontario on 26 Feb 2010 at 5:06 am #
Now that all of my tests have been done and my health issue has been diagnosed, I definitely will be coming to Calgary in the near future. I will plan the trip around your next get together, as long as it’s after the snow has gone!
P.S. Jody turned 40 on Wednesday! I guess I can no longer tell people I’m 39!
Robyn in Mountain (Ontario that is) on 26 Feb 2010 at 4:43 pm #
Julie, can we trade jobs for one day? You really have the coolest gig in Canada!
And pass the Saskatoon cobbler, please.
Dana on 05 Mar 2010 at 2:12 pm #
Julie, I’ve been meaning to write and tell you that I had a really great time and really enjoyed the company and great food! I was a little apprehensive to go because I didn’t know anyone but I’m so glad I did as everyone was really friendly and interesting!
Take care and I will be in touch for planning the Bowness Harvest Fair in the fall!