River's Edge Grill, it is the fast food concession restaurant inside the Rabbit Hill Ski Resort. I…read moredon't normally write anything about concession restaurant, or eat there for that matter. This time, it is different, my companion specifically dragged me, kicking and screaming, to Rabbit Hill for two things: 1) to restart my snowboarding career; 2) to try the poutine at River's Edge Grill; she claimed that their poutines are the best in the Edmonton area.
I am not going to talk about the ski hill as I am not a ski expert but I am going to talk about the food. First impression is good, the youngsters who worked the line were great, smiles all over, fast and efficient. The two of us shared the $7 large poutine and $4 corn chowder.
An Important thing to remember, the restaurant is CASH ONLY so remember to bring cash.
The star of the meal is definitely the poutine which I have heard a lot about. The fries were fresh, hot and crispy; really good by themselves. The gravy is a light brown gravy, quite tasty, lack the soul of homemade gravies but as far as fast food gravies go, it is up there; almost as good as New York Fries and better than KFC - that is a pretty high rating from me. The unique thing about this poutine is the finely diced cheese curds. The curds have been diced into tiny uniform cubes, quite unusual; that allowed them to melt nicely over the fries. Is it the best poutine I have ever had? NO! but... it is dang good, better than most fast food joints, in fact, the only fast food place with better poutine is... geez, I can't think of one right now. Why? The only place with reasonable good poutines is NYF but my pet peeve with NYF is always their hunks of so-call curds, they don't melt and they don't taste right. The portion was good, a large poutine can easily be shared by two easily.
The chowder was also quite good, tasty, a little on the salty side but huge chunks of chicken, corn and peppers can be found in the soup; definitely not from dehydrated powders or cans.
The eating area was loud and busy, we were very lucky to find a seat at lunch time. Hungry skiers were downing huge double cheese burgers and buckets of fries/poutines. Carrying on a quiet conversation is definitely out; noise cancellation headset is highly recommended if you are going to spend any amount of time in there, lol.
The clean-up staffs were amazing, as soon as we finished our meal, the lady was there within 30 seconds to pick up the trays and wipe the table down; a pleasant, "how were the poutines", was added for that bonus Canadian touch.
Overall, for $11 including tax, a satisfying lunch to go with my day of falling on my rear end. As far as fast food goes, the restaurant has good service, clean eating areas and friendly staffs. Will I have lunch there again when I go skiing, absolutely. Will I get on a snowboard again, most likely but only after my rear end is not sore anymore.