Two cities could not be more different than Squamish, which we left mere days ago and Kamloops, where we find ourselves now. Squamish was a quiet, compact, college and outdoor sports town, Kamloops a sprawling spaghetti of onramps and railyards. Squamptons prefer their food and drink unfussy while Kamloopers relish the theatre of “a big night out”.
Crystal and I were also hankering for one of those big nights out so we squared some reservations at Brownstone in the heart of what we were told was downtown Kamloops. We stumbled in early for our reservation after scoring a cheap copy of Marquis Moon by Television over at Barnacle Records a few blocks down. It was one of the few businesses we found to be open.
I guess I should pause for a PSA right here in case I inspire someone to follow in our footsteps: The streets downtown belong to the unhoused in a way I haven’t experienced since Van’s East Hastings back in the early ‘aughts… It’s bad. That said, Brownstone is tucked right at the very end of the downtown core away from most of the really Robocop-esque stuff.
Brownstone looks exactly like the restaurant in the 2000 movie Dinner Rush: Built out of a 200+ year old bank and renovated to look like a 1970s gentleman’s club (dark wood accents and plush warm tones) mixed with a private art gallery. It was a bit dark inside for our tastes, but the vibe out on their massive patio was warm and positively celebratory so we opted al fresco.
The floor staff was fantastic and really leaned into that celebratory vibe, intimating that we had showed up at exactly the right time to sample the house-made Limoncello. Never ones to argue with a man carrying a seltzer bottle we started with two Limoncello-sage spritzes. The first of many little touches that made the evening memorable
Now, if you google Brownstone the associated tags that pop up are “Canadian” and “French” which I will partially argue with. Not the Canadian bit… This menu has Brome Lake Duck, Venison and Okanagan fruit, no it’s the French thing that doesn’t quite fit. You see the memorable moments, including the one mentioned above all had a very distinctly Italian feel to them.
Case in point was our appetizer: A simple Burrata surrounded by it’s dear friends roasted tomatoes and pesto. Simplicity itself, except that the tomatoes where wood smoked and seasoned with an earthy funk I couldn’t quite identify and the pesto sparkled beyond just basil. The presentation elevated this little plate of antipasti staples into something fresh and fun. Che bontà!
As she is often in a steak mood Crystal ordered the special which was a grilled fillet topped with chimichurri and served with veggies, wilted kale and mashed potatoes swimming in the anchovy-spiked house butter. All of it executed with classic chop house style and technique. Later on in our trip Crystal would look off into the middle distance and smile, reminiscing about those potatoes…
I went completely off the rails and ordered the BC pork chop with peach glaze, grilled corn and warm potato salad. It was perfectly grilled and was the juiciest pork chop I’ve had in recent memory. A really exceptional combination of flavours that brought to mind southern BBQ meets Italian trattoria. The accompanying Pinot Noir suggested by our server brought a warm, smokey note that further enhanced the plate.
Crystal snooped through the dessert menu before we had ordered our entrees so the plan was always in place to make room, but that is always so much easier said then done. The strawberry shortcake made the final cut and we ended up polishing it off easily chased with a dram of Bauchant, a bittersweet orange brandy made for closing out great meals.
We finished just as the sky darkened and the first few threats of rain started to fall. No backup plan or instant umbrellas for the patio folk, they’re at the mercy of the skies. Al fresco life is life on the edge!