Gourmet Fine Dining in British Columbia: Hastings House Country House Hotel

This is one of the best restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. Hastings House prides itself on incorporating the finest regional ingredients into its pris fixe menu. Each day, Chef Marcel Kauer designs a new menu to reflect the freshest local products: herbs, greens and fruit from the kitchen garden and orchards, fresh seafood from nearby waters, and meat, poultry and game from Salt Spring Island farmers. These constantly-changing menus, an effortless balance of texture and taste, revolve around what is fresh and in season from the "Organic Gardening Capital of Canada" (aka Salt Spring Island.) Winner of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for its remarkable wine list, the restaurant is a culinary delight as much for its food as for its excellent service and spectacular views of Ganges Harbor. The four-course menu, with amuse bouche and palate cleansing sorbet, is priced at $95 (three courses is $85). Note: Now you can take a little piece of the kitchen home with you with the Hastings House Country Estate cookbook. The elegant 96-page hardcover blends colorful history with a passion for food. Great recipes are interspersed with fascinating anecdotes and stunning photography.