Chances are a trip to Assiniboine Park is on your agenda this holiday season. And if it isn’t, adjust your plans.
The city’s largest and most attraction-studded park has so many events on this holiday season –– from the magic of Zoo Lights to the Bird Songs and Boughs exhibit and After Dark experiences at The Leaf. So, before you attend, be sure to make dinner reservations or include time for brunch or lunch with your visit, because all the park’s attractions are paired with excellent culinary offerings.
Gather for incredibly local ingredients at Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar
Located within The Leaf, featuring a stylish open kitchen dining room with views of the Tropical Biome, Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar boasts a new menu brimming with many ingredients that have traveled just steps into its kitchen. Throughout summer and autumn, plenty of ingredients (particularly when it comes to daily specials) come from the Kitchen Garden, which is located just outside The Leaf’s backdoor, while both the Mediterranean and Tropical Biome contribute to the dishes too.
On Gather’s Instagram head chef Mike de Groot regularly highlights the Kitchen Garden’s bounty, discussing how certain ingredients are preserved and processed to ensure they remain on the menu all winter. That celery salt on your Caesar rim? It was made using fresh celery leaves that they’ve dehydrated and ground, while the current roasted squash gnocchi features fermented squash-butter sauce, pickled butternut squash and tarragon oil that all came from the Garden.
The dessert menu can include Tropical Biome-grown marlberries and various tropical fruits as they arise in the balmy biome. The korma curry and certain soups and braising liquids will contain biome-grown Allspice leaves for flavour, and salsa matcha on Gather’s famed roasted carrots was made using peppers grown onsite. Even the smoked olives have been smoked using olive leaves grown in the Mediterranean biome.
Other Gather ingredients have been meticulously sourced too, from the Nunavut Arctic char that comes from Lake to Plate fisheries, to local Bothwell cheeses and Village Bay oysters from Bedec Bay in New Brunswick.
If you are looking for a few recommendations from the current menu, vegans will dig the chorizo-spiced tacos (the menu is full of vegetarian and gluten-free dishes); we love the cold smoked Arctic char on new potato salad with sauerkraut aioli; the burger –– featuring truffle bacon jam, confit garlic aioli and Bothwell black truffle Monterey cheese is one of the city’s best; and the braised pork collar terrine with truffle potato puree, sauce Robert and a choke berry (grown onsite) red wine glaze is a great new addition. And don’t skip out on a staff favourite, the roasted carrots.
For pairings, the extensive wine list is impressive, with many crowd-pleasers and some big reds on the reserve list, the craft cocktails take full advantage of biome-grown ingredients, and there are always many hot drinks too.
Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations for dinner and peak lunch hours is highly recommended, although they do always hold some tables for walk-ins. The Leaf itself is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (with final biome entry at 8 p.m.). The Leaf and Gather will be open on Christmas Eve from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed on Christmas Day.
Starting November 23 and running through the holiday season to January 12, the new exhibit in the Babs Asper Display House is Birdsong & Boughs: A Holiday Migration. Utilizing both the Tropical and Mediterranean Biomes, the exhibit will feature “imaginative miniature habitats” and plants that birds depend on to tell the story of migration.
Brunch with Santa
The Leaf will also host a special culinary event on Sunday, December 8 that is sure to sell out.
Brunch with Santa will take place in The Leaf’s Event Hall (located on the second floor, overlooking the biomes), and will feature a lavish buffet of classic brunch dishes running from savoury to sweet (oh yes, dessert will be served). We’re talking fresh croissants and pastries; bacon and sausages; French toast with whipped cream and cinnamon butter; spinach Florentine eggs benny; maple dijon glazed salmon; chicken supreme with demi-glace and cranberry relish; a chocolate fountain... okay, you get the picture. Of course, the big man in red will be there too ready for photos with your littles.
The first seating is at 9 a.m., with the final seating at 2:15 p.m.
Culinary delights at Zoo Lights
Zoo Lights (Nov 22 – Jan 5) will surely be the Park’s biggest draw this holiday season, offering an enchanting nightly stroll through the most gorgeous light displays you could imagine. Within this twinkling, family-oriented wonderland you’ll find new things like a light maze, an outdoor arcade, photos with Santa, and new interactive works. Of course, there will be food and drink too!
As with every event and every day at the zoo, all of Zoo Lights is licensed, so for starters adults can enjoy anything from a deluxe boozy coffee, to an ice-cold local beer or glass of wine as you enjoy the sights and sounds. With multiple bars found throughout the trail, wetting your whistle is made easy, plus you’ll find snacky items at kiosks throughout the grounds like mini-doughnuts, soft pretzels and, get this, s’mores hot chocolate! For dinner-replacing dishes, head to the Marquee Tent for mac and cheese, soup and mulled wine, or Tundra Grill for burgers, fries, hotdogs, eggnog lattes and more. There will also be a Beavertail trailer located just outside the light maze.
Park Cafe is always a best bet for brunch
Looking for a great spot for brunch that provides panoramic views of winter? Check out Park Cafe (open daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), the always busy breakfast-through-lunch restaurant in the Qualico Centre.
Overlooking both the Riley Family Duck Pond – one of the city’s premier skating spots once it freezes over –– and surrounded by forest and field, the Park Cafe has a little something for everyone. There’s a number of eggs Benedicts (we’re partial to the Manitoba steelhead trout version that’s cured and smoked in-house) all served with the crispiest home fries, plus fluffy pancakes, and many more classic breakfast dishes that are served all day. You'll also find a full selection of sandwiches and burgers (gluten-free buns and bread available, along with several vegetarian options), along with a tidy little menu for the littles.
For an après-skate, the new corned beef poutine is calling your name, and the Park Cafe is also licensed with a selection of local craft beers, and some mighty fine hot drinks too.
For a full listing of Assiniboine Park’s food and drink options and all the upcoming events, visit the official website.
