Birchwood Restaurant

For those of you that have or are planing on visiting the small town of Invermere British Columbia the Birchwood Restaurant is a MUST STOP! Being one of the sole inspirations behind this blog! Those of you who may be coming to this area of BC for the surrounding attractions; Radium and Fairmount hot springs or Panorama mountain the Birchwood would be a stop well enjoyed. It is a very small restaurant that has a " seasonal, regional, inspirational" menu. The two of us decided that once a month we would go out for dinner to gather some inspiration for our plan, and since we have discovered the Birchwood we haven't been anywhere else. With daily homemade soups that are so creative and delicious and daily specials. We have never been to a restaurant where our PERFECTLY cooked meat actually melted away in our mouths (a cliche term we both dislike). The portion sizes allowed us to enjoy three courses and leave us very happy and satisfied. Every flavor was distinct while complimenting each other to perfection. After trying all the desserts on the menu they were all very enjoyable creative and unique but not what was keeping us coming back. Although the deserts had fun components, were good to share and visually appease the eye we found them a little pricey and perhaps an unnecessary addition to our otherwise exceptional meal (this could well be due to the fact that we aren't really "dessert people"). There is an extensive wine selection however, not a lot of wine can be purchased by the glass and the bottles were fairly expensive especially for a table of two. Our first impression was not so good as we waited at the door to be seated for quite some time before someone took care of us, but this opinion quickly changed after we received prompt efficient service for the rest of the evening with no real wait times on food or beverage and the server only came up to us when necessary.The menu has a  wide selection of meats including lamb, beef, pork, chicken and some seafood options, the two vegetarian were both  pastas, the menu seems quite small but some how it is still so difficult to make a decision between two or three dishes. Prices rang for starters 9 - 14 dollars and mains from 17 - 36 dollars which we felt is more than reasonable for the whole experience. All in all the restaurant has made us want to blog about it and try everything on the menu.  Some of our favorites from the winter menu  were,

Starters - fig ravioli - carmalized shallot, hazlenut browned butter, crushed amoretti $11 or stuffed seafood crepes which was one of the specials.
Entres - Grilled Alberta beef tenderloin - roasted tomato potato casserole, gorgonzola crust, rosemary red wine demi glace $36
Pan roasted sable fish - pumpkin seed crust, butternut squash puree, parsnip, balsamic cherry reduction, brown butter $31 ( two of the most expensive items but well worth the price!)

Please let us know if you have or are planning on visiting the Birchwood, how your experience was and if you agree with out post!

Thanks Jess and Tom!!!!!!
( if there are any restaurants ANYWHERE you suggest we check out for some ideas, inspirations or especially for the food let us know!)