Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A Christmas Lunch (What I Ate) to Remember!

Each year, David takes me out for a Christmas lunch date at the gracious Fairmont Palliser hotel in Calgary.

I have blogged about this before but thought I'd share a few quick photos of our much-anticipated holiday lunch!

This is my favorite event of the season, by far, as I get to spend it with David and it is such a charming atmosphere.  It is our gift to ourselves.

Here is the hotel, from a distance, next to the (once grand) Calgary Tower:
There is snow here already, but not much downtown

The hotel is always prettily decorated for Christmas:

The dining room is lovely (and awaits a company Christmas party to arrive):

The buffet is to die for. This is just the salad bar:
Excuse the wobbly and hurried iphone photos

Our table had pretty (if slightly crumpled) flowers:

For our first course.  At this lunch, I always start with the wonderful Caesar salad and I always have bread (a rare occasion when dining out, but there is nothing nicer than a good bun with butter):

For our main course.  I avoid the prime rib, fish, pork, and myriad vegetable dishes and stick with the classic Christmas fare.  I eat so many vegetables that I was happy to avoid them today:
With my apologies to vegans and chronic dieters.  I ate about half of this (and one of the Brussels sprouts), if you are concerned...

And for dessert, we had this dilemma to contend with:

I chose something chocolate (naturally) and the Stollen (one of my favorite Christmas things!) and a cup of decaf (caffeine is very bad for my headaches):

We had such a nice lunch and I was still completely stuffed, even though I didn't finish my plate on any course.

After lunch, David and I went for a walk (much needed) and did some Christmas shopping downtown!

Do you do anything special with your loved one at Christmas?

9 comments:

  1. One Brussels Sprout cancels half of that out so I think you're good.
    I remember your visit to this place last year. It's really pretty. That stolen looks pretty nice too. I love marzipan!

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  2. How fun! What a trip and what a lunch, de-licious. I love your new header. Lovely.
    Lisa
    Leeshideaway.blogspot.com

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  3. Concerned? Not in the least! I'm so glad that you celebrated and enjoyed the season and this event. (John keeps talking about dieting and I keep saying that it's Christmas...a time for feasting. You don't have to go wild to enjoy the treats of the holiday.)

    Thank you for taking the lovely photos, which are so good even if they are taken with a phone. How do you photographers do it?!

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  4. Oh my goodness Terri, my husband and I do the same thing at Christmas time, but usually dinner. It is our gift to ourselves too. Stollen is one of my favorite indulgences and that picture of it was divine. It's something I've always wanted to try to make and I promise myself I will do it next year when we are settled. Looks like a lovely day.

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  5. Anonymous6:04 pm

    Hi from Ontario! I am reliving some of my favourite spots in Calgary; we lived in Cowtown for over 10 years and as we had no family close-by, we treated ourselves to Christmas Day Dinner at the Palliser. Though we had a table for 2, we often saw other couples of all ages dining a deux but what really surprised us was the number of large families who dine out on Christmas. We continue a 'Fairmont' style of tradition and tomorrow we hop on the GO Train to the Royal York for lunch and enjoy the ambience of the this historic hotel & downtown lights! Another AB tradition was Afternoon Tea at the Banff Springs - have your tried? Thanks for the memories, NB

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  6. What a wonderful treat! Those old CN (or is it CP) hotels are so beautiful.

    My sister and I usually go to the Bengal Room at the Empress Hotel on Christmas Eve. But I got laid off today (corporate restructuring), so we won't be going this year. Nothing says Merry Christmas like a pink slip. Now THERE'S a tradition I hope not to repeat ever again.

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  7. NB - Thanks for sharing your Palliser story!! Yes, I have heard of families dining out at Christmas and think it is very civilized way to go (no mess at home and the food is great!) and a fine treat for a holiday. Oh I have always wanted to go to the Royal York for lunch. Hope it is wonderful - have fun! Yes, we have done afternoon tea at the Banff Springs and are going there for a company Christmas party soon!

    Squeak - so sorry to hear your news. How crummy. I was just saying to David how cruel companies are to lay people off before Christmas. What jerks. The Empress is lovely and will still be there when you are back in the swing of things.

    xo Terri

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  8. My husband and I go out for a special meal during Christmas, too. The past two years it's been on Christmas Eve since our children were with their in-laws. This year we'll be alone on Christmas Day and I'm thinking a stroll through Butchart Gardens and a meal there would be a fun way to spend the day.

    I love the lunch pictures. Christmas is a time to celebrate and enjoy, not diet.

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  9. Loved readding this thank you

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