Ride, eat, repeat

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/10/2021 (1694 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GIMLI — There are many things I enjoy about travel: learning about different cultures, seeing historic sites, experiencing varieties of natural beauty and meeting people from around the world, to list just a few.

Then there’s food. In all honesty, I sometimes think all the other activities are just something I do to kill time between meals.

And apparently, I’m not the only one being led around by their palate. Culinary tourism has been on the rise over the last couple of decades and a recent World Food Travel Monitor survey found that nearly two-thirds of respondents stressed the importance of food and beverage experiences while travelling.

Nowadays, tourists search out activities like food tours, cooking classes, wine tasting and brewery tours. They feel that local food helps them understand the local culture. Personally, I never miss the opportunity to visit a grocery store when travelling, checking out what I’d be able to shop for if I lived in a place I’m visiting. Bringing local food or beverages back home as a souvenir/gift is one of my favourite things to do.

Before heading off on a trip, I will often have a look at the various restaurants and/or markets in the places I plan to visit and target one or two as itinerary items.

My favourite food item to explore on vacation is — yep, desserts.

Some of my most memorable tasty treats have been elmer kataifi on the Plaka in Athens, streusel in the Hamburg suburb of Altona, fresh stroopwafel in Amsterdam, pistachio baklava from a Turkish vendor at the Burough Market in London, knafeh in Aqaba, Jordan — and now, a Skors butter tart in Gimli.

That’s right, the lakeside village most of us know for its Icelandic festival and feasting on pickerel is also home to one of the best — no, actually THE best — butter tart I’ve ever tasted.

Tucked into the corner of the Lighthouse Mall on Centre Street, the Sugar Me Cookie Boutique — formerly best-known for its cinnamon buns and vinarterta — has a new proprietor, and she’s brought a special recipe with her.

Better known in the area as the Butter Tart Lady — after years of selling her goodies through social media, farmers markets and other people’s stores — Michelle Wierda took over the local bakery earlier this year and now has a home base for her burgeoning butter tart business.

(imageTagRIght)The Sandy Hook resident has gone from from tweaking her mother’s recipe and making a few dozen butter tarts to help raise funds for her daughter to do a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) trip to Ensenada, Mexico just eight years ago to now making 300-500 dozen a week.

Wierda recently received an e-commerce grant that is enabling her to launch a website and branding campaign and she’s anticipating a demand of 500-800 dozen a week leading into Christmas as she also makes plans to distribute her wares to grocery stores.

“It’s very exciting, like an out-of-body experience. I keep thinking ‘Is this really happening?’ ” Wierda tells me as we sit outside her bakery on a recent September morning.

Frankly, I had no idea they had ever become uncool, but Wierda says she is attempting to make butter tarts hip again to a younger generation by offering flavours like Skors, salted caramel, cookies and cream and Nutella.

“It’s comfort food. It’s part of who we are,” she says. “They can make anybody happy. It’s a happy place. You are in grandma’s kitchen and it brings back comforting memories.”

Wierda also owns the Real Changes Fitness Centre adjacent to the bakery. She had previously owned the Curves gym in town and when she bought the bakery, she thought she’d open a space next door for some of her longtime fitness clients.

For those of you who may think there’s an incongruence to the two businesses being side by side, she says: “Life is about balance. The idea that you will never have a sweet is unrealistic. You wanna feel like you can still live.”

Hear, hear. With a sweet tooth like mine, I can completely understand the need to stay active and burn off the calories: Gimli offers lots of opportunity for that.

Of course, there’s swimming and a variety of other watersports. There’s also plenty of places for a hike or a brisk walk. But, I came to the area looking to do some cycling and can report back there are plenty of terrific routes in the area.

My first ride, heading off into a rather stiff south wind that also brought balmy temperatures for the last day of August, was to pedal from Gimli to Chalet Beach Road, a gravel grinder’s paradise which is just south of Matlock, and back.

The first leg of the 60-kilometre route is Highway #9 from Gimli to Winnipeg Beach: the road has a nice and wide paved shoulder that makes for a safe and pleasurable trip. I suggest turning east off the highway at WB’s Tenth Avenue and then connecting to Prospect Street, which takes you right into town and the boardwalk. Stop for a breather, along with a great view of the lake and shoreline, at the Seventh Avenue public pier.

From Winnipeg Beach, continue along provincial road #232 that will take you past and through the quaint communities of Ponemah, Dunnotar, Whytewold and Matlock. Be sure to refresh yourself at least once at the artesian well at the end of Matlock Road.

On the return trip I stopped at The Boardwalk Restaurant and Patio in Winnipeg Beach for a delicious Bomber Dog, garnished as any hot dog should be with just mustard, relish and raw onions. I inquired why it was called it a Bomber Dog and was advised that it’s identical to the hot dogs served at Bomber games — a beef wiener from Winkler Meats tucked into a bun from City Bread.

Alas, my visit to The Boardwalk happened to be on the last day before retirement for owners Dawn and Doug, so if you want to sample a Bomber Dog — well, you’ll have to make it yourself or I guess go to IG Field for a Bombers game.

If there’s a north wind — I’ve learned the hard way that you want to head into the wind on the going out part of a ride — I recommend pedalling to Riverton and back: It’s about 90 km return and provides some spectacular open views of the lake.

Make your way to Hwy #222 and Distillery Road where you can connect to the Gimli Rail Trail, an 18-km path that runs along an old rail bed up to Boundary Road. Then continue up the highway until it veers east at Hnausa and from there it’s low-traffic gorgeous gravel all the way to Riverton.

If you’re looking for a couple of shorter rides or something to warmup for the longer trips, cycle from Gimli to the Pelican Beach lighthouse and back — about 8 kms — or perhaps ride out to Willow Island, about 17 kms return from the centre of town.

After all this exercise, you’ll need to refuel and there are plenty of great eating spots in town. I feasted at two local favourites, Europa and Brennevins Pizza Hus.

The former offers up your typical Greek fare with hearty portions. Twice I had the lamb-beef gyros that’s served on a nicely-warmed pita and accompanied by thick and tasty tzatziki. I’m told by one of the locals — a reliable source — that the pizzas are also delicious with adundant toppings.

Normally, I have been a staunch opponent to the whole idea of chicken on pizza, but I’d read on a couple of Facebook pages that the African pizza at Brennevins was a unique pie that must not be missed when visiting Gimli.

The reports were correct. The thin-crust pizza with bbq chicken, red onion and mandarin wedges, topped with both Montery Jack and cheddar cheeses, is delicious.

But listen folks, before you do any of these things in Gimli, I highly recommend getting an amazing start to your day by watching the sun come up over the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

I can sometimes find myself being more of a human doing than a human being when on vacation, so on one of my days in the area, I got up at the crack of dawn, brewed myself up cup of coffeee, grabbed a butter tart — with raisins — and spent 90 minutes or so watching the sun come up. Over the years, I’ve seen plenty of sunsets from the east side of the lake, but this was my first sunrise from the west side.

Like all of this unique village in this province of ours — it’s not to be missed.

steve.lyons@freepress.mb.ca