During our stay at Jasper Park Lodge, GayCalgary had a chance to try some new dishes at ORSO Trattoria. They are one of the restaurants located on the lower level of Jasper Park Lodge. ORSO is making Italian inspired, but locally infused, dishes. The restaurant had just recently received a high-end pasta maker so they can make a variety of pasta noodles from scratch. We were there for the new ORSO Dinner Menu. ORSO is also where you have the famous Fairmont Breakfast Buffet.

For the start of our tasting, we had the ORSO Antipasti, which is a tray of artisan meats, cheeses, olives, artichoke hearts and anchovies. Items are both imported and locally sourced. We ate these items with the in-house baked artisan breads. This dish is perfect for sharing, which we did with other media that were in attendance.

Next were standard portions of starters. Since Rob and Justin were with me, it made it easy for each of us to order a different starter and main. I had the Caesar Salad, which was made with baby gem romaine, house-made pancetta, padano, anchovy fritter, and olive crouton. The anchovy fritter was something I had never tried before. It is battered, deep fried anchovy – so it added a salty taste to the dish. Rob got the Truffle Cauliflower Soup, which had nutmeg, and a giant portion of Italian parsley. He found it to be very creamy. Justin got the Beet Carpaccio Greenhouse salad, which had goat’s cheese, aged balsamic, and extra virgin olive oil, which had lots of flavor.

For mains, I had the Butternut Squash Ravioli: brown butter, sage, and spiced bread crumbs. I really enjoyed this dish. I was worried that I should have switched with Rob or Justin for a meat dish, but the ravioli with the spiced bread crumbs was extremely tasty. Rob got the Braised Veal with osso bucco saffron risotto, gremolata, and braising juices. The meat was tender and juicy, and sat on top of the risotto. Justin had the Salmon acqua pazza with cherry tomato, fingerling potatoes, and fennel crumble. The salmon was fresh and there was a bit of liquid at the bottom of the plate to dip some of the bread into.

For deserts, we shared three. We had the Tiramisu with Kahlua anglaise, chocolate sauce, and summer berries; the Vanilla Panna Cotta with fruit compote; and the Italian Hazelnut Chocolate Cake with gianduja ice cream and vanilla sauce. The Hazelnut Chocolate Cake went the fastest; when you look at the photos, pieces are already missing from the dish. The Vanilla Panna Cotta was light and refreshing and a nice way to end a heavy dinner. The tiramisu was chocolaty with lots of moist layers.

Prices vary for starters between $15 to $17. Mains from $25 to $45 and desserts are $13 each. It was noted that some of the dishes were seasonal or were still being perfected – worth it to stop in and check what they have to offer during your visit to Jasper.

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Contributor Steve Polyak |

Locale Jasper |

Topic Accommodation and Lodging | Food | Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (JPL) | ORSO Trattoria | Travel |

Photo Gallery Jasper |Travel |