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| The scene of the crime, Bell 2 Lodge on the Stewart Cassiar Highway, 92km north of Meziadin Junction, CA |
I'm sure many of
you are snickering just reading the title of this post, I salivated
while remembering my experience at
Bell 2 Lodge's breakfast buffet
just brainstorming how I wanted to express myself in this post. You
see, I've started listening to an animated podcast about food, called
Sporkful. The announcer, Dan Pashman, advertises his podcast saying
“It's not for foodies, it's for eaters,” using the motto: Eat
More, Eat Better!” I have to admit, I have a love-hate
relationship with his podcast. I enjoy learning about food and
hearing his commentary, but at the same time I find myself whipping
way the drool rolling down my chin as he talks about things like
S'mores, the perfect bite composition, preparing burgers, and
Thanksgiving feasts. As a tour cyclists, I fall into the category of
an eater, who takes the motto, “Eat More, Eat Better” to a new
level! In fact one of my host's kids back in the Denver area was
very impressed “for my enthusiasm for eating,” as they put it!
Therefore, it might be rather shocking to know that I haven't visited
an all-you-can eat-buffet for about 10 or 15 years. Yes, I've stayed
at hotels with complimentary buffet breakfasts, but that doesn't
count. It is included in the price of your room. I do have to
admit, that the “stuff-yourself-to-the-brim” philosophy isn't an
eating experience that I seek out. I don't think it is particularly
healthy and the image that comes to my mind are obese people with
huge plates in front of them overflowing with heaps of processed,
low-quality food items, eating way more than they actually need or
want! Ever since moving to Europe, I'm all about quality over
quantity.
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| A deliciously entertaining podcast for serious eaters |
You might say I was
inspired by Dan and his podcast, or the fact that I hadn't been to
buffet for years, but to tell you the truth, when you hear about a
restaurant for 400 kilometer from cyclist after cyclist that you pass
on the road, by the time I arrived at the Bell 2 Lodge, there was no
way I was going to miss out on this food experience! upon my recent
visit to the Bell 2 Lodge on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. It was his
podcast and my visit to the Bell 2 Lodge Breakfast buffet that
inspired me to write this post, and to tell you the truth, I could
probably write a dozen posts about all my wonderful meal experiences
on the road! Food and eating consumes about a fourth of my day,
sleeping the other fourth, and pedaling the other half!
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| Eating in action: YUMM!!!!! |
My recent
experience at Bell 2 Lodge was my first “all-you-can-eat” buffet
experiences in probably 10 to 15 years! Hard to believe? The Ever
since waitressing at a typical diner in York, PA, and living in
Europe where quality resides above quantity, buffet eating never
crossed my mind as an appetizing experience! Most tour cyclists
don't turn down an offer to eat at a buffet because of the value of
the meal. Thinking of an all-you-can-eat buffet, I'm reminded of two
cyclists I met in rural Utah. They shared with me their experience
at the Pizza Hut buffet and I couldn't stop laughing. They had been
living off of tuna fish and peanut butter for weeks and all of a
sudden they pedaled upon a Pizza Hut and decided to stuff their faces
full of greasy pizza, wings, pasta, and tons of other processed
foods. Their body went into complete shock and it took them a good 5
hours to digest their meal on the grass in front of the Pizza Hut,
incapable of pedaling another mile. Yuk!
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| A pleasant atmosphere inside the Bell 2 Lodge |
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| A rustic elegant log cabin style interior |
However, the
breakfast buffet at Bell 2 Lodge, is in a totally different category
of restaurants, it's fine dining, not fast food, and my experience
there was absolutely delightful, nothing I regret, in fact, I'd cycle
back there tomorrow, if it were on the way, just to repeat it! As I
mentioned, cyclist after cyclist I passed, a dozen to be precise,
heading south from Alaska, raved about the breakfast at this lodge.
They had all camped at the tenting site at Bell 2, which has an RV
park as well as cabins and rooms, and visited the buffet the
following morning. I'm not one to follow the masses, but when the
masses are tour cyclists, pedaling passionately and love their food
as much as their cycling, I take their advice to heart!
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| The first customer is parked outside eagerly waiting for breakfast |
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| I rarely arrive places early, but this was a special occasion |
In order to make
the most of my buffet experience, I did some research prior to my
visit. It's important to know key information like what time the
buffet opens, prices, and must-try dishes. Bell 2 Lodge is about 150
km from Stewart, making for a long day of pedaling, but with the
incentive of a delicious breakfast the following morning, 250 km
would have been possible! I arrived at their lodge just shy of 10pm,
a long day indeed, but I was glad to be at a proper campground. I
had seen a lot of bears that evening alongside the road, so free
camping was out of the question. I wanted to eat breakfast, not be
eaten for breakfast!
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| Food warmers with savory treats inside, soon to be visited |
The Bell 2 Lodge
Restaurant, is like an oasis, in the middle of nowhere. It's a
beautiful log cabin style lodge that has been recently renovated with
additional Alp-like chalets on a wide open lot that backs up to one
of the many lakes in the area, and the Bell River (hence the name).
All the RV guests were shocked to see me roll in so late with my head
torch on, but they welcomed me and were excited to learn of my
travels and enthusiasm for the breakfast buffet. It was too late to
check in at the front desk, but luckily there was another cyclist
camped out, Cress, from Smithers, BC, who was just headed off to bed.
He let me share his site. I set up camp, took a warm shower, left
my food in the campground bathroom, and went to bed. I was too tired
to prepare dinner, and settled for dried fruit and yogurt, which I
had bought in Stewart that morning. I set my alarm for 6am, thinking
it would be plenty of time to pack-up and be the first at the door
for the buffet.
Wouldn't you know,
I was the first one at the door, in fact, I got to the lodge
restaurant 5 minutes before they opened. You see, I had been told
that they don't replenish the buffet once they run out of food, but
actually this isn't true either. Krysten, my young waitress from
Smithers, BC welcomed me and helped me find a strategic seat, close
to the buffet with an electrical plug to charge all my technology.
Like I said, I hadn't been to a buffet in years, so I was overwhelmed
upon my arrival. I decided to assess the situation first; I did a
“dry run” or so you could say, walking through the buffet to
assess my options. At the start of the long buffet table there was
yogurt, cereal, milk, and fruit. Following these cold items, there
were three large warmers. The first was filled with what looked to
be french toast, the second with potatoes, bacon, and sausages, and
the third with an egg breakfast sandwich. At the end of the buffet
table there was a variety of juices, followed by coffee and tea. I
should preface my buffet experience by admitting that I'm a Libra, a
sign known for being creative and indecisive, two traits that
strongly characterize my personality, both an asset and hindrance to
a buffet experience. Although I'm not obsessed with horoscopes and
such, I'm typically have a hard time making decisions when faced with
a million choices. Breakfast, however, is not so overwhelming,
because I know myself well and my eating preferences, even when I'm
ravenous! My rules are simple: I have to eat sweets before savory
items, cold items prior to warm ones, and along those same lines,
juice before coffee.
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| Plate, bowl, number one: Fruit, cottage cheese, granola and honey on top |
Hence, I started
with yogurt, cereal, and fruit, plate (bowl) number one! They had
yogurt and cottage cheese, both good choices to top fresh fruit.
Cottage cheese took precedence, it's become an obsession on my trip,
ever since I landed in North America. Cottage Cheese doesn't exist
in Spain and it is a delicious dairy product filled with protein that
can be prepared to satisfy a sweet tooth or a savory craving. I
first loaded my bowl with fruit, piled the cottage cheese of top,
sprinkled it with granola, and poured honey over it all! I
accompanied this with a glass of orange juice and prepared a cup of
coffee for when I finished off the juice. Had this been any other
day on my trip, my first trip through the Bell 2 buffet would have
been plenty a breakfast for myself, at least to hold me a few hours
pedaling. However, with all the gourmet items to choose from for
breakfast, this was just my appetizer.
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| My favorite dish by far, cinnamon roll French toast, a brilliant invention! |
My second trip
through was my favorite. I love French toast, especially when you
can top it with yogurt and fresh fruit. Bell 2 had all of the above,
but of noteworthy mention was their French toast, made from none
other than cinnamon rolls. What an invention, their chef is a
genius! I had a generous portion of French toast smothered in syrup,
vanilla yogurt, and fresh fruit. Yes, I have an intense sweet
tooth! By far this plate was my favorite of the five I ended up
eating; you just can't top cinnamon French toast! Trip three, stands
out as being my only entirely savory plate and therefore deserves an
honorable mention. It was a combo plate with a breakfast egg
sandwich on an English muffin, topped with cheese and a tomato, which
I then accompanied with flavorful sausage, home fries, and bacon. I
quickly opened the breakfast sandwich and placed the bacon on top, to
make a heartier sandwich, a brilliant decision!
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| Multi-tasking galore: eating, blogging, chatting, and charging...... |
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| I snuck a bit more cottage cheese on plate #3 |
By the third plate,
needless to say, my hunger had dissipated. I also had company at my
table, distracting me for focusing all my energy on the food. Cress
joined me and my pace slowed, talking between bites, but his company
was welcomed. By the time I was ready for plate four, we also had 2
other cyclists join us. I didn't realize there were so many other
cyclists at the lodge when I rolled in the previous night, but like I
said, the Bell 2 Lodge is famous in the world of tour cyclists. When
there is delicious food en route, word travels fast, far, and
furiously! Mark was cycling with Allan, who was driving a SAG van
behind him. They had started in Anchorage and were making their way
south from to their hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming. They were they
shocked to hear that I had been through Cheyenne about 2 months ago,
starting my trip in Spain, originally. Mark, Allan, and Cress
visited the buffet twice. They must be weathered buffet
participants, with more self control. I went back for a fourth, and
what I thought was my final plate while sitting with them. As they
say, when in good company, eat good food, or at least that is what I
say!
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| Still smiling and still eating! |
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| The cyclists at Bell 2 Lodge for breakfast, fun company |
By this time,
Krysten, my waitress was laughing, but not at all shocked by my
fourth trip. She told me they get on average at least a dozen
cyclists a week during the biking season and is now not surprised by
our appetite! She was ready with the camera once again, to document
plate number 4, which was another combo plate: sweet and savory. I
forgot to mention that after savory, I also like a bit of sweet.
Plate four consisted of another piece of French toast, yogurt and
fruit, and potatoes topped with bacon, YUMMM!!!!! Was I really
hungry at this point? I don't remember.....which brings up the
subject of buffets and healthy eating. The “not-so-healthy”
component of participating in an all-you-can-eat buffet is that you
always end up eating more than you want or need. But is there really
such thing as eating too much when you are riding your bike 8 hours a
day, day after day, week after week? The long answer would require
visiting more buffets, but the short answer is NO! Which is why I
had no problem going back for plate number four. I must admit that
after this plate, I had reached the right amount of fullness, you
know where you are satisfied and content, but don't have to unbotton
your pants to be more comfortable. I could actually sip and enjoy
my coffee and catch up on emails after saying goodbye to my cycling
companions.
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| It's a pathetic plate, but it still counts, and I enjoyed it equally: Plate #5 |
I hung around
another hour or so, while several other clients came and went.
Krysten kept the buffet plenty stocked for all their guests up until
closing at 11am. Just before then, I couldn't resist just one more
plate, plate number 5. They had replaced the French toast with
pancakes, so of course I had to try them. It was a rather pathetic
plate in comparison to number 2 or 3, but I topped up on sweets with
a couple of pancakes, granola, and fruit! By then I was the last
guests, after being the first to arrive, living the buffet experience
to the fullest: 4 hours of fun filled with delicious food, enjoyable
company, and wonderful service! Krysten went about cleaning
everything up and let me chill out in the restaurant finishing up a
couple of things on my computer. The kitchen staff was still around,
so I introduced myself, told them their food had become renown among
tour cyclists.
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| In the kitchen with head chef James, at Bell 2 Lodge |
I started pedaling
around noon. By then the clouds had rolled in and it was starting to
drizzle, but I couldn't be bothered by a little rain, I had left Bell
2 content, with a full tummy, and plenty of nutrients to tide me over
the 120km to my next campsite. Wouldn't you know, Cress was there
waiting for me there and had left overs from the dinner he cooked a
few hours back. Hard to believe, but I was actually hungry by the
time I arrived! The next morning I came to another lodge north on
the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. I was disappointed to find out that
there was no breakfast buffet option, but I did manage to do a magic
trick, one of my favorites called “The Disappearing Jumbo Cinnamon
Bun” following the vanishing fried eggs, toast, and bacon trick!
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| Disappearing jumbo cinnamon bun: now you see it..... |
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| Now you don't! |
And so I concluded,
reminded of one of Dan's guests on Sporkful, the nation's third
ranked
competitive eater. He earns a living in a profession I never
knew existed and won his first competition eating 2 gallons of chili
in 6 minutes. Gee,......I might have just found my new profession,
“Hi, I'm Melissa, I'm a competitive eater riding my bike around the
world, nice to meet you!” Finding hosts for this trip might become
problematic!
A special thanks to
the Bell 2 Lodge for giving me a complimentary night's stay at their
lodge campsite. They also wanted to give me a discount on the
buffet, however, Mark and his cycling pal Allan, paid for me without
me realizing. What can I say....People around the world continue to
take good care of me! Thank you! If you are ever on the
Stewart-Cassiar Highway headed north or south, don't miss stopping at
The Bell 2 Lodge. I hear their dinner buffet is equally as delicious
featuring fresh fish and wild game from the area!
