Rossland's Seven Summits Café

I had a chance run-in with a former co-worker the other day, who happens to be the new operator of Seven Summits Café, which is attached to Rossland's only gas station, located across from the museum.

For some time now, the status of the café has been unknown. When I first moved here, it was an amazing burger joint selling gourmet burgers named after the local Seven Summits in addition to some excellent Mexican dishes. Then those people pulled out and a swankier Mexican restaurant called the Mazatlan went in, after the original Mazatlan in Nelson burned down. Then the Mazatlan moved from Rossland to Trail, and after that the restaurant space at the Seven Summits service station was a bit up in the air.

My former co-worker is now running the place and doing all the cooking & prep. When I told Shan & Jem about it, they were surprised to hear that something was actually going on in that space because they eat out a lot (the Mazatlan is a favourite with them) and hadn't heard boo about the new café. This is a small town, and news that there is a new eatery in town would normally become well-known quickly.

Well, last night, Jem, Shan, and I went to the Seven Summits Café for dinner to give it a try.

It's a small space, which is a huge drawback, though a lot of the previous businesses who called this place home thrived on take-out service. As for the menu, it was very small and very limited, and is quite typical fast food/truck stop fare: burgers (including a veggie burger, because this is Rossland, after all), hot dogs, smokies, fries, poutine, chili dogs, chili fries, and onion rings. Also on offer is the cook's homemade potato salad and maraconi salad at $4.50 per container. The prices are very reasonable and the entire menu is a la carte with combos available for larger groups & families.

I chose a burger with the works - bacon, cheese, grilled onions - and a side of onion rings, which I haven't had in ages. With a large fountain drink, my meal came to $10.50. Jem & Shan each had the same thing: burgers with the works and poutine. Their meals came to a similar amount.

The cook, W, makes her own burgers and cuts her own fries. The burgers were excellent, I must say - perfectly grilled and perfectly seasoned. We all enjoyed them! My onion rings (not homemade) hit the spot and were very good, and Jem & Shan both liked their poutine. My only real complaint was that my burger came fully dressed with mustard, relish, and ketchup, and I really hate mustard. Luckily, there wasn't much on there so it wasn't too obnoxious, but I'd have preferred to dress my burger myself.

It was a nice meal and spending quality time with my family is always a good and fun thing for me to be doing. I really hope the Seven Summits decides to advertise a bit, because there is a huge market for them out there just waiting to be tapped into. People just need to know it's open. (It's hours, by the way are daily from 12 - 8pm.).

I wish my former co-worker all the best with her new endeavour!