Surprised in Medicine Hat

Tumbleweeds
925 7 Street SW
Medicine Hat, Alberta

The Diner
We were in Medicine Hat, Alberta on our way to the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. The day was very hot as we traveled in the south of the province. We decided to stay at the Best Western Hotel right off Highway 1. As we looked out the hotel room window we saw the sign “Tumbleweeds--We serve AAA Alberta beef and fine wine.” It looked air conditioned; it looked inviting; it had fine wine! The decision: go to supper now and explore the town after it cools down a bit.
We were greeted right away and asked if we had a reservation – Saturday night, y’ know. They didn’t have room for us in the dining room so we were seated in the lounge area at one of the booths and presented with the menus and wine list. The booth was comfortable – the décor wood and leather. The room was well lit and air conditioned! We could hear clearly the country music being piped in over the speaker system in the ceiling; ah…we are in the south—cattle country. The server came over right away and asked for our order. We said that the wine list looked very intriguing and we would need time. She came back patiently several times and we were still not ready. Finally, we decided on our meal for the evening.

The Dinner
We decided on a bottle of white wine called Evolution from Oregon. Not being familiar with the wine we decided to order the meal around what we thought would be an interesting wine based on the description in the wine list. Here is what the vintner says about it: “Every new bottling has its own subtle and fresh personality. The 9 grapes tie together perfectly, creating a smooth, layered white wine that can hold its own or stand up to just about any food pairing you dare to serve it with. It is extraordinarily food-friendly, from light salads to the hottest fusion-style cuisine.” http://sokolblosser.com. It lived up to the description. It was great on the nose, and had depth on the palate. Colette loves these.
When the bartender took out the wine glasses to bring to the table, she very carefully looked at them in the light and brushed them clean of spots with a towel set aside for just this purpose.
We ordered a mushroomitarian dinner--our first appetizer--Mushroom Bruschetta. It came on toasted Italian bread sliced diagonally and laid flat. The mushrooms were on the bottom, some with the bruschetta mix. The cheese was melted on top in the broiler. The first bite reminded us of escargots! The cheese was not too sharp or too mild. The wine complemented it beautifully. Delicious!
The second appetizer was Beef Tenderloin Salad. The tenderloin was grilled to tender perfection at medium rare. There were mushrooms under the beef that had a lovely pan fried taste and gave the beef and salad a delightful cooked mushroom flavour. This food brought out a delicious new nuance in the wine.
For the main course we decided to order Chicken Spaetzle. Spaetzle can mean many things to many people. It can be very small and soft or very large and fried tough. This was spaetzle that looked a bit like a short, wide egg noodles. They were mixed with tender, moist white chicken pieces, a herbed cream sauce and mushrooms. This mixture was coated with grated cheese and baked in the serving bowl. It was fabulous--another triumphant pairing with the Evolution.
We were looking to get out of the heat and enjoy a slow dinner until we could go outside to explore Medicine Hat. We were surprised by a versatile white wine from Oregon and a great feast that featured mushrooms. By the time we got outside it had definitely cooled down so we were off to visit the city.