 Calabogie Highlands Resort:
Fiddler's Green Restaurant
By Kiel Christianson,
Senior Writer
Calabogie Highlands Resort - Fiddler's Green Restaurant occupies a major portion of the century-old one-time summer home of Senator, lumber and railway baron M.J. O'Brien, overlooking the scenic Calabogie Lake and part of the Calabogie Highlands Resort Villas and Golf Club. The restaurant has come under new management as of June, 2000, and now offers a world-class gourmet menu to compliment the scenic course and top-notch resort villas.
The new manager and Executive Chef of Fiddler's Green, David Keindel, has spent nearly two decades climbing the culinary ladder from first cook to Executive chef at first-class hotels across Canada, from St. John to Edmonton. He now brings his considerable talents "home" to Calabogie Highlands (he is originally from just across the Ottawa River in Western Quebec) with a plan to make the Highlands not just the premier golfing and vacationing destination in the Ottawa Valley, but a centre of fine dining as well.
David has always had a passion for local ingredients, which is evident throughout Fiddler's Green. The bar features two Ontario beers-Hart Amber Ale and Hart Valley Gold-and a wide selection of Ontario wines. The kitchen is a veritable cornucopia of local delicacies, ranging from local honey and maple syrup to an indescribably delicate speckled trout from Buttermilk Creek (he'll even humour you and leave the fish head in the kitchen if you just can't stand those eyes glaring up at you as you eat).
By the end of June, 2000, a full fine-dining menu will be offered, along with the more standard pub and golf club fare, of course. Those fortunate enough to have already sampled from the temporary menu can only wait in drooling anticipation for what is to come.
The best of the best include a warm Camembert appetizer scented with toasted almonds and drizzled with coulis (slightly thicker than a sauce) made from local, seasonal berries. (Personally, I have never tasted anything comparable outside of France.) For dessert, try a warm chocolate brownie sprinkled with bittersweet chocolate sauce and served with vanilla ice cream from Tracy's Dairy (another local treat).
In between appetizer and dessert, the aforementioned trout is fabulous. For a heartier (if not healthier) meal, the striploin steak with red wine jus, seasonal veggies and potato (topped with chives and bacon bits) will not be beaten by the purveyors of fine leather at those trendy, franchise steakhouses. If you do order the steak, however, don't ask for a steak knife. According to David's wife and gracious hostess of the restaurant, "David doesn't believe in steak knives. He says you shouldn't need a knife that sharp to cut a steak."
The atmosphere at Fiddler's Green is casual, as it should be in a golf clubhouse. There is also a wonderful family feel, thanks to David, his wife, and three children, any or all of whom often can be found helping out ("My son [who is eleven] was known by the wives in our old neighborhood for making the best cheesecake in town, and my oldest daughter [who is nine] is as handy in the kitchen as any adult," says David with obvious and justified pride).
Nevertheless, the dining menu stands up to anything offered at bigger, more famous, and more expensive resorts across Canada. And David should know-he's worked at many of them.
With the addition of David Keindel to Fiddler's Green Restaurant, Calabogie Highlands really does have it all: great golf, outstanding accommodations, and exquisite cuisine. Toss in the spectacular sunsets from the restaurant windows overlooking the lake and resort pool, and prices that you can't beat with a flat stick (CAN$3-6 for appetizers and desserts, most entrees under $20), and you may never want to leave.
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