By Wai Chan

Today’s adventure takes us out of the Cariboo region and into the neighbouring Chilcotin.  Mr O and I traveled westwards to Bella Coola and decided to stop some three hours later in Tatla Lake for food.  To the left of the highway was a cute blue building, topped with a red roof, sitting next to the water.  It was the Graham Inn and it looked as good as any place to try out.  The exterior looks cozy and comforting, and as we walked up onto the porch a great fat cat was there to greet us. 

The interior matched the outside with its cornflower blue trim and country cottage motif.  A great fireplace sits in the back of the room and the shelves on either side of it were full of books, magazines, copperware, and various ornaments.  It was like being in someone’s living room, if they happen to have several tables and matching dark chairs just lying about.

They serve breakfast until 11am and a fairly simple menu was offered to us.  Mr O ordered the Belgian waffles with a side order of eggs, and I had the standard two egg breakfast plate, which included a choice of bacon, sausage or ham.  The staff was friendly and mellow, and the service was set at Chilcotin speed.  Definitely a different pace from urban life!  So to kill time while we waited for our food, we decided to snoop around on the other side of the room.  Since we were the only ones in the place we didn’t think twice to leave our personal belongings unattended at the table.

A basket full of baked goodies at the counter, snacks, munchies and cold pop were available for purchase.  In the middle of this was a revolving display which held numerous books for sale, most of which were written about the area we were currently in.  And to our surprise there was a rather impressive selection of wine and beer at the very back of the room that was also for sale.

Breakfast arrives just as we were seated again.  Mr O’s waffles were delicious: light and fluffy on the inside and just a bit crispy on the outside.  They were pretty much devoured despite the early breakfast we had three hours ago prior to leaving home.  I ate my own meal in a more polite manner, thank you very much.  Two eggs, done over-medium, two slices of brown toast, home-style potatoes, and three slices of bacon composed my breakfast. 

My eggs were really runny and looked an awful lot like Mr O’s eggs which came over-easy, and the toast reminded me of brown Wonder bread, Texas style.  But the bacon was crispy just the way I like it, and the potatoes were amazing!  They were pan-fried and had a light crunchy coating on them, with just the barest hint of herbs, letting you taste the potato flavour in all its naked glory.  The spuds were tender without falling apart on your fork and absolutely no ketchup was needed!

Overall, we enjoyed our meal and left feeling full and satisfied.  However, I find it hard to judge a restaurant by its breakfast and would really love for the opportunity to come back here one day for lunch or dinner.  But if the waffles and potatoes were anything to go by, then I’m sure I would enjoy their later menus.

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