newelty

One of my 2010 travel goals is to make it up to Whistler. I’ve even got my own brand new shiny “trusted traveler” NEXUS card to allow me to slip across the U.S.-Canadian border, leaving all those other cars in my dust. (I hate lines enough to pay $50 for five years worth of line-skipping.)

I’ve wanted to see Whistler for five years, at least. The Times’ coverage of “36 hours in Whistler” just served to remind me that I need to make it there soon, hopefully post-Olympics, when all the facilities will still be new, shiny, and on sale.

Something always seems to get in my way, though. Vancouver.

Take, for example, this write-up of where to spend noon of your 36 hours:

5) BELGIAN WAFFLES AND BBQ

Come lunchtime, the huge lodges can feel like rush hour. Instead, seek out the lesser-known on-mountain restaurants. On Blackcomb, the Crystal Hut is a small log cabin near the top of the Crystal Chair that serves Belgian waffles all day and lunch specialties from a wood oven. On Whistler, the Chic Pea near the top of the Garbanzo Express lift serves toasted sandwiches, pizza and barbecued items on its outdoor deck.

I am an absolute sucker for waffles. But Crystal Hut causes little alarm bells to ring in my brain. Hut, really? I hate to discriminate, but I can see the ferns from here, can’t you? And the light jazz that will be playing as the Hut employees deliver the cold, tired waffles?

I’m being unfair, of course. This particular hut got rave reviews on Yelp, which is always my go-to benchmark.But maybe some of the skiers have been enjoying the famous B.C. bud, and upping the ratings of the Hut’s waffles? Just a theory. I’ll report back if I find out for myself.

All this waffle talk leads me back to Vancouver. Because if I’m on a waffle quest, my journey will end there.

Vancouver has one of my favorite restaurants, possibly in the world: Medina. I’ve been to Belgium enough to know my way around a liege waffle, and these are the real deal.

Let’s take a minute to stare at all their goodness from a photo provided by their web site:

Yes, they really do look like this.

Mmmm. What was I saying?