THE HEDONIST
An attractive woman of 22 walks into your restaurant, asks to sit at your table and insists you buy her a drink. When you ask this bold woman why you must procure her a cocktail, she tells you the most remarkable thing. She tells you she was conceived in your establishment. Just another day on the job for Peter Steiner, proprietor of Banff’s notorious Grizzly House.
Anyone who has ever visited this darkened den of “hedonists and lovers” may recall a telephone at their table. Over the years, rumours have pegged this spot as a swingers joint. Asked about the exploits of patrons within Banff’s 40-years-young fondue house, Peter “don’t call me sir” Steiner has a few things to say.
With ’70s music pumping and a glass of red in hand, the leather pant-clad raconteur puffs on his pipe and reflects on the origin and evolution of the Banff landmark. Starting out in ’67, the Grizzly House began as a rock ’n’ roll cabaret, “a place to party,” according to Steiner, that served food from a neighbouring Chinese-western restaurant.
Steiner was a wannabe-architect-cum-bookstore-owner looking to shake up Banff’s boring nightlife. The era of the skier was emerging, and it was clear “the village” needed something more to satisfy festive powder-seekers.
“We had live bands coming in for four years but it got too expensive. Our capacity was only 200 people,” Steiner says. So, he turned the bar into a discotheque. Motioning to the nearby salad station, Steiner remarks, “That used to be the DJ booth.” Pointing to a tiny disco ball on the ceiling, he says, “The snake ball is still up.”
Moving into the ’80s, Steiner speaks of a more familiar version of the restaurant. “The money (from the disco) was good, but there was too much pushing and shoving — you had to be a bouncer. We gave it up for lovers and hedonists.”
Installing the infamous phones, Steiner, a self-proclaimed hedonist (one who lives by the mantra that the purpose of life is pleasure, as long as you don’t hurt anybody) liked the idea of people mingling. “You have enough drinks, so why not? If she looks at you, you just have to pick up the phone.”
The swingers club myth began after Steiner and his wife were featured in an adult magazine covering a lifestyle convention they attended in Las Vegas. “Lifestyle is considered swinging, which is probably right,” Peter admits. “The magazine sold out in the village, that’s where the association came from.”
As a result, some locals were worried that the Grizzly House would become a sleazy sex club. “I have no idea how you would run a swingers restaurant — that doesn’t sound very profitable,” Steiner laughs. “It never happened.”
But the space (formerly a garage), isn’t without stories. “We had a plumber come in to fix leaking toilets in the ladies washroom,” Steiner recalls. “When I asked him why they were leaking, the plumber responded, ‘There’s too much rocking going on in your toilets.’” Steiner chuckles, “It’s like the mile high club.”
Steiner’s yarns make it clear why the Grizzly House introduced a private dining booth to the restaurant more than 25 years ago. Formerly a staff table with a poor vantage point, the sequestered booth uses a wood flag on a rope pulley to indicate to servers when the booth’s occupants would like service — ensuring total privacy... and much popularity.
THE LOVERS
Reserving the private booth well in advance, my guy and I had anticipated the visit for weeks. We were ready for hot fondue and sexy-fun-times.
Once seated, our host (general manager Francis Hopkins) offered us tips on wine pairings for various fondues. If we wanted to call another patron from the phone, he pointed out that our placemats featured a detailed map of the table numbers.
Our server, Scott, told us the booth simply has no rules. Dim the lights, take off your clothes, don Mexican wrestling masks and perform operas if you like. Don’t fret about getting caught — your server will knock before entering.
In regards to food, the menu offers a wide selection of complete dinners featuring regional options such as the hunter fondue dinner with buffalo, wild boar and venison ($50.95 per person) to the exotic fondue dinner of shark, alligator, rattlesnake, ostrich, frog’s legs, buffalo and venison ($61.95 per person).
Wimping out on the exotic, we went for the Alberta fondue featuring beef, buffalo, venison and elk ($50.95 per person) and the seafood fondue with lobster, scallops and prawns ($50.95 per person).
To start, we had a tasty French onion soup topped with Swiss cheese, followed by the Neuchâtel appetizer. Accompanied by baguette cubes, the melting pot of Emmental and Gruyère with white wine and kirsch (brandy) was placed on a rechaud (small burner). It was sinfully good. Topping it off, our server asked if we would like the crouton scraped from the pot. Notorious for scraping the side of any dish with baked cheese, I jumped at the opportunity. It was crispy cheese heaven.
Waiting for our next course to arrive, my lover and I took advantage of the privacy and made out. We laughed at how strange it was to have total privacy amongst the swirl of activity and noise just beyond the booth.
Prepping for our mains, our server brought us the fondue dips (bacon and onion, spicy tomato, sweet ’n’ sour, teriyaki, honey Dijon and honey garlic) in addition to a hot rock and oil pot, followed by two plates of raw meat and seafood.
Slapping a slab of beef on the heated rock, a blast of garlic-butter smoke filled the booth. Be forewarned, you will smell when you leave. We soon developed our own cooking style, preferring the meat on the rock and the seafood in oil.
We had the best of both worlds in the booth. We cooked together in privacy without having to run around or prep anything, while receiving friendly and professional service.
As we dipped wafers and fruit into our Toblerone dessert fondue, our server told us of a night when he served a couple dining in the nude. Waving him in without concern, the couple spent the night joking and having fun. That’s what the Grizzly House is all about, naked or clothed — it’s laughter and pleasure. Try it the next time you are in Banff. Who knows? You may discover your inner hedonist just waiting to come out.
The Grizzly House is located at 207 Banff Ave., Banff, AB; phone, 762-4055.
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