As I traversed the final stretch of narrow road on my descent into Horseshoe Bay one recent weeknight, I felt the unmistakable flutter of butterflies in my stomach. My pulse quickened.
What, I wondered, could possibly account for this sudden exhilaration? Turning onto Bay Street in search of parking, I spotted a B.C. Ferries vessel, its massive ramp lowered like a whale's jaw, ready to swallow a school of cars.
Then it hit me: visits to Horseshoe Bay usually involve passage to an island, marking a long weekend sojourn or summertime camping expedition. That feeling in my gut was the instinctive rush of escape, the manifest reality of holidays brought on by simply approaching the ferry terminal.
I took a moment to enjoy the euphoria, standing by the water in the setting sun, filling my lungs with crisp April air before crossing the road to Troller Ale House, my intended destination.
The Troller name carries weight in Horseshoe Bay, as it has identified a business there for nearly four decades. Last autumn, the storied Troller Pub relocated and underwent a radical contemporization, finding renewed purpose in a brighter space with an enviable patio facing the bay.
In this age of ubiquitous craft beer service, it would be easy to mistake the revamped Troller Ale House, with its multiple taps of regional brews, as just another entry in a long line of late adopters of the trend. History proves otherwise. The original Troller Pub poured Bay Ale, a small batch brew produced by the now defunct Horseshoe Bay Brewery, way back in 1982. Few spots in Canada can lay claim to such early support of craft beer.
Troller Ale House preserves some of its heritage by pouring a thoughtful selection of beers from small nearby breweries, including Persephone from Gibsons, Howe Sound Brewing from Squamish, and Townsite from Powell River.
Troller's new menu, however, is a departure from its earlier incarnation, featuring established pub fare reinvigorated by decidedly Vancouver influences. Catering to a mix of Horseshore Bay residents and ferry passengers, diversity and efficiency are priorities for Troller's new kitchen.
"The old pub wasn't designed for high volume food service," says Chris Greenfield, co-owner of the new restaurant. "They did a good job, but the menu was limited and when it got busy, people waited for ages."
Now, in its fully re-outfitted space, Troller's is bracing itself for the busy season ahead.
On the evening of my visit, a few rugged souls were braving the patio in the spring breeze, but the bulk of patrons were seated inside, a dynamic that is sure to be reversed come summer when outdoor seating will be a competitive commodity. Given its location, I had assumed that Troller's menu would be seafood focused, but discovered instead that less than one third of the dinner options hailed from the sea.
Determined to celebrate my oceanside foray with something plucked from the local waters, I began my meal with an appetizer of Dragon Boat Seared Tuna, comprised of thin strips of rare, sesame-crusted Saku tuna served on squares of fried wonton, topped with wasabi mayo and citrus ponzu.
The tuna was deftly prepared in tataki style (seared on the exterior, leaving the interior sashimi-rare) and the wontons were suitably light and crispy, but for my taste, the wasabi mayo was applied too heavily, serving as both a non-slip adhesive underneath the wontons and as a decorative garnish atop the fish. Rare tuna is such a delicate thing it seems counterintuitive to burden it with heavy sauce.
Mulling the dish over for a moment, however, I forced a shift in my perspective, looking at it less as a failed riff on sashimi and more as a West Coast spin on nachos. From this latter vantage point, the dish was a greater success.
Next up was a six-ounce flatiron steak served with seasonal vegetables. I'm a sucker for steak frites and so substituted the standard mashed potato accompaniment for fries and indulged in an add-on of five prawns.
The kitchen clearly has a good handle on meat temperatures as my medium-rare beef was spot on, its pink juices co-mingling with red wine reduction over my fries. The inclusion of tender slivers of leek among the vegetables was a creative and welcome enhancement.
In addition to its commitment to craft beer, Troller's should be commended for adopting a wine-on-tap program, which allows the restaurant to pour good quality B.C. wines by the glass, fresh every single time, from pressurized kegs.
As a longtime wine aficionado, I would love to see more venues adopting this infrastructure; it would make local wines much more accessible. A glass of Road 13 Seventy Four K paired exceptionally well with my steak, the predominantly merlot and syrah blend offering concentrated notes of stone fruit and solid tannins.
Troller Ale House is located at 6342 Bay St., Horseshoe Bay. 604-921-7616
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
