Now, Nelson has a population of 10,000 and I’m sure they have more independent coffee shops and restaurants than most cities that size. There are some hidden gems to satisfy hunger and soul. We had breakfast at the Full Circle Café. I go for the healthy choice, granola with yogurt finished with mango puree. Shannon’s Nanny Benny’s looked awesome: two poached eggs on a multi grain English muffin with goat cheese, bacon, grilled tomato and homemade hollandaise. Jon had the Kick Hash, a casserole of scrambled eggs, peppers, onions, potatoes and finished with a spicy hollandaise. I feeling pretty self-righteous having had such a healthy choice…After breakfast we went next door to the Culinary Conspiracy, a specialty condiment food store and leaned that Chef Jamie from Fusion 301 in Nelson, is one of the finalists on Canada’s Top Chef. We now know where we’re going for dinner tonight.
Still trying to unwind we turn our backs on our hectic life and wander the town with abandon. Up one side of Baker Street and down the other, not shopping, just looking in the windows. Then we find the lakeside trail and weave our way to the end under BOB (the big orange bridge). Reinvigorated from an Almond Milk latte, we seek advice for a knitting problem and head back to Shannon`s condo for a rest before dinner.
Fusion 301 is a cozy, thirty-something seat restaurant, with the fully open kitchen just behind the bar. Service is friendly and knowledgeable. We order a cabernert/carmenere by the glass to go with our appetizers. The Vegetarian Oyster Mushroom Calamari is one dynamite dish. The Grilled Tiger Prawns stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in prosciutto are exceptional (4 upright prawns perfectly grilled). Onto entrees: chef Jamie only offers two tasting menus, one beef and one fish/seafood. We each order one. Entrees were overcooked and disappointing, but I would definitely recommend this restaurant for its tapas and wines.
