Best Whistler 2010

Gold: Araxi

Silver: Bearfoot Bistro
Bronze: Hy’s Steakhouse
Honourable Mention: Fifty Two 80 Bistro
Honourable Mention: Trattoria di Umberto

At Araxi, James Walt tucks just-plucked taters alongside superb Pemberton beef, transmuting local ingredients into Gold. Bearfoot Bistro (Silver) delivers steak as well as sizzle thanks to top toque Melissa Craig’s elegant, uncompromising cooking. The judges Bronzed Hy’s for persistence of vision: “After a day hurtling down Whistler-Blackcomb,” one wrote, “sometimes you just want meat.” Honourable Mentions: Scott Thomas Dolbee of the Fifty Two 80 Bistro has made the shift up from California seamlessly; Menghi redoubt Trattoria di Umberto hits all the Tuscan comfort notes.