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Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company is awarded: Best Ontario Tourism Experience!

With little more than days left until the 2011 Vankleek Hill Oktoberfest  begins, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company has received word that their annual event is a finalist for a 2011 Ontario Tourism Award, in the category of “Best Ontario Tourism Experience.”

The news comes along with announcements from Beau’s that ALL Saturday tickets for this year’s Oktoberfest are SOLD OUT, and more than half the tickets for the three day-festival are now sold. Just after the Oktoberfest dust settles the Ontario Tourism Awards will be handed out, on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at the Convention Centre in Hamilton, ON.
“‘Best Ontario Tourism Experience’ is a fantastic way to describe what the Vankleek Hill Oktoberfest offers,” says Steve Beauchesne, who co-founded Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company with his dad, Tim, in 2006. “For the nomination to come just now as we are putting the final touches on this year’s festivities is a perfect reward for all the hard work and planning that goes into making this such a fun event. It’s a real feather in our cap,” he concludes.

Vankleek Hill Oktoberfest is an annual Bavarian celebration hosted by Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company. This year’s event has expanded to three days of Bavarian celebration – Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 2 – held at the Vankleek Hill Fairgrounds at 92 Main St. W in Vankleek Hill. A charity fundraising event, this year the Oktoberfest is slated to raise $50,000 to benefit the Canadian Red Cross, Good Food Revolution, the Vankleek Hill Agricultural Society, and additional community-building non-profit organizations.

The festival features activities for adults and children, challenges of strength and endurance, Kinderfest (a non-licensed area for families), German music and dancers, evening concerts, a Beer Expert Speakers Series, and more. Beau’s All Natural will be pouring seven different brews on tap at the festival. In addition to these, more than 30 one-off cask ales from Ontario and Quebec craft breweries will be available. Bavarian and seasonally inspired food will be prominent and plentiful at this year’s event.

General admission tickets FOR FRIDAY AND SUNDAY ONLY are still available online at www.beaus.ca/Oktoberfest, in the brewery retail store located at 10 Terry Fox Dr. in Vankleek Hill, and at Bridgehead locations throughout Ottawa (see www.bridgehead.ca). One-day passes are $18 and tickets for children 18 and under are $5. More information is available at www.beaus.ca/oktoberfest, or by calling the brewery at 1-866-585-BEER (2337).

BEAU’S All Natural Brewing is a small, family-run company founded in 2006. BEAU’S brews interesting, tasty beers using the highest-quality all natural ingredients such as certified organic malts and hops, and local spring water. A member of the Ontario Craft Brewers, BEAU’S is a recipient of numerous international awards for brewing excellence, including a GOLD medal at Mondial de la Biere in Strasbourg, France, 2 GOLD medals at the Canadian Brewing Awards as well as “Best Craft Brewery in Ontario” and “Best Craft Beer in Ontario” at the 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 & 2007 Golden Tap Awards. BEAU’S was also selected by CAFE as the 2010 Canadian Family Enterprise of the Year. BEAU’S remains active in the community and local events, and is available at LCBO locations throughout Eastern Ontario, as well as Kingston, Toronto and Hamilton.  BEAU’s entire line of beer is certified organic by Pro-Cert Organic.

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Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event: Interview with Chef Michael Blackie

With the inaugural Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event just days away, Ottawa is in for a special treat as our beautiful snowy city plays host to eight celebrity chefs. With each celebrity chef paired with a renowned local chef, a day of cooking demonstrations will be followed by an evening food and wine reception at the National Arts Centre. The event promises to be unforgettable!

With each chef team paired with a local food blogger, Don and I found ourselves with Executive Chef Michael Blackie (NAC – Le Cafe), Canadian Food Network host, and organizer of this culinary extravaganza. Kicking back with coffee and drinks, Chef Blackie graciously sat down for an interview with us. The next hour would fly by as he shared with us his passion for cooking and stories about family and his rather worldly career.

What is your food philosophy and how would you describe your cooking style?
Three components make up his food philosophy and cooking style. “It’s spur of the moment, trips, and relationships with family and friends. I like to put a personal spin on dishes”, said Chef Blackie.

Citing his trips and relationships, he described some of the more unusual culinary dishes he has come across such as pork shoulder braised in Coca-Cola (Acapulco, Mexico). It is from dishes like this that Chef Blackie comes up with items at Le cafe like his take on poutine, which is on the lunch and “munch” menus ($13).

The poutine is made with Thomas Keller fries and topped with crumbled Clarmell on the Rideau feta (formerly Fifth town)

Why did you set up the Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event? What do you hope it will accomplish?
Prior to being interviewed as Executive Chef at the NAC, Chef Blackie was already working on plans to set up a national culinary event. Using the Madrid Fusion 2007 event as a model, he is determined to give Canada proper representation and recognition on the international hospitality scene.

He is hopeful the Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event will inspire his fellow chefs to do something similar in their communities. Even “going out to a campground somewhere and cook for 250 people.”

How did you come up with the chef pairings? Why did you pair yourself with Chef Michael Lyon?
With regard to the pairings, Chef Blackie explained it was about logical connections. Examining what each chef had in common with the other, some were paired together because they came from the same city or region. Others, because of their cooking styles or their having met at other culinary events.

Chef Blackie described pairing 2010 Gold Medal Plates [Canadian Culinary Championship] winner Chef Mathieu Cloutier of Kitchen Galerie and local chef Marc Lepine of Atelier (540 Rochester Street) as putting together cutting edge chefs “who [do] some really fun stuff.”

Said Chef Blackie about Michael Moffatt of Beckta Dining and Wine (226 Nepean Street) and Anthony Walsh of O&B Canoe, “Both are at the top of their game!” One works in Ottawa. The other, Toronto.

As for his own pairing? Not only are both Chefs Blackie and Lyon graduates of the culinary program at George Brown College in Toronto, they are also co-stars on the Food Network Canada show, CheF*OFF! At times he described himself and Chef Lyon as “The Odd Couple.” Others, like peanut butter and jam.

“I am completely opposite to Lyon,” Chef Blackie said with a chuckle and immediately launched into some hilarious stories about when they were on set, filming their show.

“We are very different characters, but we get along very well.”

For their dish, neither wanted it to be too complicated. It took two drafts before finalizing their menu item of sweet grass cold smoked Charlevoix veal, crisp potato girdle, Clarmell on the Rideau feta & sage infused retention, firecracker spotted prawn crisp, and Cloud Horse mead-lychee sting.

How did you and Chef Lyon meet?
Prior to co-starring on CheF*OFF, each knew of one another largely through their being published in the book, Chapeau Canada Les Grands Chefs, but had yet to meet. Shortly after winning the Gold Medal Plates event in their respective cities, they found themselves competing at the 2007 Canadian Culinary Championships in Whistler, BC. It was there they met and a friendship was formed.

What would be your perfect Sunday?
His perfect Sunday would start with dim sum at either Palais Imperial on Dalhouise St. or at Chu Sing Restaurant in Chinatown. Dim Sum would then be proceeded by a walk to Bubblicity Tea Shop. “My kids are addicted to bubble tea,” said Blackie. “My son has his watermelon bubble tea and my daughter has her strawberry.” Afterwards, “I would go home and sit in my pjs. I’m very non-committal. When I need down time from this place, it’s as extreme as it is here. So I’ve got my my John Deere pj pants on and I’m just watching movies and doing pretty much nothing. And have a nap.”

What was the first dish you made as a kid?
“A grilled cheese sandwich,” Chef Blackie answered wistfully. At the tender age of seven, he learned to make grilled cheese sandwiches at French immersion summer school, complete with photos of him in a toque hat.

What was the first dish you made in a professional kitchen?
As a 16 year old, Chef Blackie worked as a dishwasher and prep cook at Shelley’s Restaurant, a seafood eatery in Oakville, Ontario. His first dish? A shrimp cocktail.

Aside from the basics, what is the one ingredient you can’t live without?
“Bacon. I love bacon. Bacon makes everything taste better.” In fact, the love of bacon runs in Chef Blackie’s family as he fondly talked about his young daughter coming down for breakfast and immediately searching for the bacon. “Just seeing that look on her little face…. It’s in the blood,” he said proudly.

You’ve had a very successful career. What keeps you going?
Without hesitation, Chef Blackie immediately responded, “My family. My wife, my children.”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
“Definitely not retired,” said Chef Blackie. “And not anymore happier than I am now.” He then added with a grin, “It would be nice to have a sports car.”

Looking to have fun, eat some scrumptious food, and drink some great Canadian wines? Click here to purchase your tickets.

Particulars:
2011 Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event
National Arts Centre (NAC)
53 Elgin Street

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Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event 2011

On Monday January 24, 2011, the first annual Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event will be held at the National Arts Centre (NAC) (53 Elgin Street). It will showcase some of the best culinary talent in Canada.

This dynamic event will consist of a full day of live cooking demonstrations, followed by a food and wine tasting reception in the evening. Top Celebrity Chefs from across Canada, many familiar names from the Food Network and renowned local chefs, will come together to share their culinary creativity.

Ottawa’s own Debbie Trenholm (@savvydebbie) of Savvy Debbie will pair the dishes with wine. Together, they will create an unforgettable gastronomic experience.

The Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event is also a fundraiser, supporting the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust. Celebrating a decade of investment in the future of the performing arts, the National Youth and Education Trust works to further artistic education, training, and mentorship of young Canadians.

Chefs have been partnered together, a national chef with an Ottawa one, and paired with an Ottawa food blogger:

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Taste of Winterlude: Ottawa/Gatineau

This past Monday, the National Capital Commission (NCC) held a press event to announce this year’s Taste of Winterlude, a festival I once  dubbed Ottawa’s response to Toronto’s Winterlicious.

We arrived late. The press event was wrapping up. The speakers, members of the NCC’s Media Relations team including Guy Laflamme, were a quarter way through their highlights of 2011′s Taste of Winterlude “Dining Experiences.” There was a video camera in the room and several reporters from the CBC on hand (each with handheld recording devices).

My companion Claire (@gadgetgirl_ca), a wine blogger, and I would find seats near fellow Ottawa food blogger and friend, Shari (@whisk_food_blog) of Whisk: A Food Blog. We would also sit with the founder of the food blog aggregator TheFood.ca, Marc-André Plouffe. I waved at Ottawa Citizen‘s food editor Ron Eade and former food columnist Gay Cook who were standing nearby.

The next day, Eade and the Food editor of the Ottawa Magazine, Shawna Wagman, would release blog posts, both highlighting the impending visit of Montreal’s vaunted chef/owner of Au Pied de Cochon. Chef Martin Picard will “recreate his famous gourmet sugar shack” during February 4, 2011′s “Dining Experience Event” at the Museum of Civilization. This event will mark the opening of Winterlude, the National Capital Region’s winter festival that runs for 3 weeks every February. Dinner will culminate in a fireworks display.

Chef Picard goes by “The Wild Chef” on Food Network Canada. He is often referred to as a culinary hedonist. For Anthony Bourdain fans, it was at Chef Picard’s restaurant the Travel channel’s No Reservations host was brought to his knees by savoury excess. An older episode, Chef Picard’s multi-course omakase-style meal showcased dishes he is now famous for: foie poutine, duck-in-a-can (canard en conserve), and an incredibly rich take on one of the fattiest dishes in French cuisine, cassoulet.

Eade and Wagman’s posts would develop some buzz around Chef Picard’s upcoming visit. Both also mentioned how the format of the Taste of Winterlude has changed. Instead of having prixe fixe menus that encourage Ottawans to try new restaurants during what is typically a slower period of the year, the NCC has organized a series of culinary events. The events, according to the media release, are “exclusive culinary happenings” that “celebrate the creativity and talent of some of Canada’s top chefs, sommeliers, and winemakers.”

Between Claire and I, we saw some standout events.

• There is the “Introduction to Indian Cuisine” by the East India Company on February 1, 2011 (cost: $45/person for demo and wine-paired dinner).
• Fashionistas may be interested in the “Fare and Flare” event at the Arc: The Hotel on February 18, 2011(cost: $65/person).
• Chef Derek Benitz’s “East to West – A Culinary Journey Across Canada” at his eponymous bistro on February 10, 2011 caught my eye (cost: $65/person for 5 courses with wine pairings).
• Parents may be interested in “Chocolate Painting with Miss Chocolat” (a Gatineau-based chocolatier) on February 4, 2011 (cost: $22/child)
• We puzzled a bit about the “Let’s Get Loud: Motorhead Dinner” at Atelier, we knowing full well how creative Chef/owner Marc Lepine and his kitchen (looking at you Chef Sarah Allen!) can be (Cost $160/person for a 12 course blind tasting).
• We marveled at the “Dueling Sommeliers – A Food and Wine Pairing Showdown” at Play Food and Wine. It matches Steven Beckta against Grayson McDiarmid in a teacher vs. student style competition. Executive Chef Michael Moffat will prepare a complex four course menu for McDiarmid and Beckta to pair wines with. Attendees decide how well the sommeliers chose the wines (Cost: $100/person for 4 courses, paired with 10 wines).
• Our friends at C’est Bon Cooking will be offering tours of the ByWard Market every Saturday starting January 29, 2011 and ending February 19, 2011 (cost: $49/person). We suggest participants dress warmly!

While there is more of a range of events organized that include restaurants across Ottawa, in Chelsea and in Gatineau, I am left to wonder about the lack of prixe fixe menus. Many of the events cost more than $100/person, topping out in a $300/person package at the Cordon Bleu. Going the culinary event route will likely not attract the same attention as last year, especially from locals. It may even evoke some consternation as fellow Ottawa food blogger Jodi (@simplyfresh) of Simply Fresh Ottawa blogs. She raises some valid points. Are these events meant to attract culinary tourism? Well, some of us travel to Toronto to try new restaurants because of the prix-fixe menus offered during Winterlicious and Summerlicious.

I understand prixe-fixe menus stress kitchen staff because of the repetitive nature of the paired down and value-consious dishes served and the high intensity of increased table turnover, but did last year’s Taste of Winterlude not translate into exposure or new relationships with local patrons?

That said, and Chef Picard’s visit aside, the National Capital Region’s culinary scene has a lot to offer. The organized events demonstrate such. Many are well worth the ticket price.

Tickets/reservations went on sale to the general public yesterday. Click here for more information.

The press event, being held at the Cordon Bleu @ Signatures, tasked Chef Armando Biasis, a master carver, with carving a Santa statue during the press event from a new block of ice.

Light refreshments and coffee were served.

Particulars:
Le Cordon Bleu Bistro @ Signatures
453 Laurier Avenue East
(613) 236-2433

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Celebrating 30 Years at the Courtyard with a “Decadent” Dinner

Last summer, the venerable Courtyard Restaurant (@CourtyardResto) suffered a small set back. Fire gutted its kitchen, causing an estimated $250,000 worth of damage and closing the restaurant to a la carte diners. According to the Ottawa Citizen’s account, there were no injuries, save for one staff member suffering smoke inhalation. Patrons and staff were evacuated safely.

Afterward, the Courtyard team continued to honour wedding arrangements, grateful the event spaces in the restaurant went untouched by smoke or flame. Executive Chef Michael Hay (@michaelthehay), his chefs, and his cooks worked out of nearby kitchens, including the one at Foundation (18B York Street), which has recently been purchased by Peter Boole (owner of Social (537 Sussex Drive)). But, with no lunch, dinner, or Sunday brunch service, several cooks found work elsewhere. Many were welcomed by nearby restaurants. This week, the Courtyard re-opens.

Not three weeks prior to the fire, the Courtyard celebrated its 30th birthday with a “Decadent” dinner that featured a blind 5 course tasting. It was wonderful. The dishes served were characteristic of the prevalent food trends during the decades the Courtyard has been open, several preceding its young chef himself. The dishes were paired with wine and live music, performed by accomplished guitarist Dave Milliken.

Ron Eade, food editor of the Ottawa Citizen (a local newspaper) would call it, “a dinner of whimsy.”

In an industry where a restaurant’s first birthday is celebrated with champagne because new starts rarely last the year, 30 years is unheard of. When Chef Hay introduced himself at the dinner’s opening, he rightly described the Courtyard as a dinosaur. However, as masterfully created dishes were served, the dinner would demonstrate the Courtyard is one that has evolved with the times. The meal Chef Hay and Sommelier Paul Samson put together, while good humoured, is one diners took pause to consider.

We considered the foods that defined a decade. We considered what would come.

According to the accompanying menu, the building at 21 George Street is not unfamiliar with fire. First constructed as a log tavern in 1837, it would have a long life in hospitality. First, it was the Ottawa Hotel. Then, Mcarther House hotel, McArther’s British Hotel, temporary lodging for the military during Confederation, Clarendon House Hotel, headquarters for the Geological Survey of Canada (not hospitality, but notable), and finally The Courtyard Restaurant. After renovations that began in 1978, a fire in an adjoining building caused the new restaurant to close for repairs. The Courtyard Restaurant celebrated 25 years in 2005.

Nouvelle Cuisine – 1980s
Just as the menu described Courtyard’s start, Chef Hay started with a nod to a master and a style of cuisine that broke fine food free of classic French tradition, “Nouvelle Cuisine.” Characteristic of this period were vinaigrettes and truffles. Served was a take on Chef Marco Pierre White‘s classic leek and lobster terrine.

This course was paired with Deinhard Dry Riesling (Germany), an old world-style wine meant to contrast the upcoming new world wines.

It is a dish that, shall we say, saw its time come and go.

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Schmoozefest 2010: 2 Tickets to AWARDED!

You’re invited to get your Schmooze on!

United Way Ottawa’s Next Generation Cabinet is proud to host Ottawa’s ultimate networking event — the 5th annual Schmoozefest.

Thursday, October 21 at 6:30 p.m.
LAGO Bar|Grill|View – Dow’s Lake Pavilion

This is an exclusive opportunity to build strong business relationships with leaders from local businesses, government and the community.

Why should you attend Schmoozefest?

• Get connected with young professionals like yourself
• A live auction hosted by Stuntman Stu
• A silent auction featuring donated items from local United Way supporters
• Complimentary sandwiches and drink ticket
• Unwind with DJ Illson (starting at 9 p.m.)

List of auction items
Check our website regularly for updates.

Who will you be Schmoozing with?

List of VIPs
Check our website regularly for updates.

Visit us on Twitter for a chance to win tickets!

Tickets: $40 in advance, $45 at the door or $300 for 10 tickets
Tickets are limited. Reserve NOW.

OTTAWA TONITE has chosen a WINNER! Congratulations and thanks for participating everyone!

 

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Capital CupcakeCamp 2.0

What is it about cupcakes that make them so loved? Children tear into them gleefully, giggling incoherently thereafter. Adults are no better, many visibly embarrassed by how much they enjoy their cupcakes.

Whatever it is, cupcakes made 2009′s inaugural Capital CupcakeCamp a successful fundraising event. It saw more than 600 cupcake enthusiasts attending, almost 3400 cupcakes donated, and over $2000 raised for Ottawa-based non-profit organization Woman Alive/Femme Active Program. As organizer Ian Capstick of Mediastyle described it, Capital CupcakeCamp was a “massive sugar rush” (Flickr pool).

The massive sugar rush returns Sunday, September 26, 2010. This time, with a larger venue, more cupcakes, and more people.

For those of you who did not attend last year’s Capital CupcakeCamp, it is an opportunity for the community to come together and share their enthusiasm for cupcakes.

It is modeled after other “unconferences” like DemoCamp, ChangeCamp, and TeamCamp. Originating in San Francisco, CupcakeCamps have been held in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, New York City, Edmonton, Sydney, Ireland, UK, India, and New Zealand.

This year, proceeds will be shared between Woman Alive/Femme Active Program and the Youth Services Bureau.

Event-wise, bakers bring 24 cupcakes of any one flavour to Ottawa City Hall (110 Laurier Avenue W.) at 11:30 am. There, they will be put on display for tasters who will arrive at 1:00 pm. Tasters will roam around the City Atrium and trade in tickets for cupcakes. Bakers will have the opportunity to address the crowd. Competitive bakers can enter cupcakes in a contest that will be judged by celebrity Ottawa judges.

For the contest, there is a PRO Category. If you make money from your food creations (cupcakes or otherwise), organizers ask you register as a PRO. PRO winners have the right to use the “2010 Winner” logo.

Contest Categories:

• Most Amazingly Decorated
• Best Filling in a Cupcake
• Best Vegan
• Tastiest Twist on a Traditional
• Best Savoury Cupcake

PRO Contest Categories:

• Best Overall
• Best Decorated
• Most Original

This year’s judges:

• Executive Chef Michael Blackie of the NAC’s Le Cafe (53 Elgin Street) and Host of Food Network Canada‘s Chef Off!
• Junior Pastry Chef Lynne Frappier of The Whalesbone Oyster House (430 Bank Street) and local food blogger
• Alan Neal of CBC Radio 1′s All in a Day
• Kady O’Malley of CBC Inside Politics

The event will be hosted by China Doll of Shanghai Restaurant (651 Somerset Street W.).

Registration has already opened for bakers and tasters, via eventbrite.

Amateur baker tickets are $5/each and come with 4 complementary tasting tickets. PRO baker tickets are $20/each and also come with 4 complementary tasting tickets. Tasting tickets are $10.

Tasters will exchange their eventbrite ticket for 4 cupcake tickets, which entitles them to a minimum of 4 cupcakes. That is, with one caveat. Should you prefer not to gorge yourself with cupcakes in one sitting, bring a box or Tupperware that fits 4 cupcakes for takeaway.

Milk and coffee will be served. Milk was graciously donated by Cochrane’s Dairy and the Flour Shoppe (617 Bank Street). Coffee was graciously donated by Ten Thousand Villages.

It is already shaping up to be a great event. Hope to see you at Capital CupcakeCamp!

Particulars:

• To register as a baker or a taster, click here for the eventbrite site.
• For the media release, click here.
• To get the latest on Capital CupcakeCamp follow @capitalcupcake on Twitter or join the Capital CupcakeCamp Facebook Group.

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Recount of this Past Weekend’s Give to Live Poutine Crawl

How do you turn poutine into $1266 to fight cancer?

You find a great cause. In this case, Isabelle Rivard’s (@spoonsie) Give to Live challenge (isaonabike.com) to cycle from Vancouver, BC to Austin, TX (a 4300 km trek) and raise $10,000 to fight cancer.

Proceeds go to The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Craig’s Cause for Pancreatic Cancer, and The Canadian Cancer Society.

You find seven generous restaurants who make specialized takes on the dish that normally tops crispy fries with squeaky cheddar cheese curds and veloute-style gravy.

You contact culinary tour guide Paola St. George (@cestboncooking) who is also the marketing manager behind C’est Bon Cooking.

You sign up 35 poutine enthusiasts to join you in a tour of Ottawa’s ByWard Market, including Mark Warburton (founder of Ottawa Foodies), Kaitlin (Ottawa food blogger behind Heartful Mouthful), and Jodi (Ottawa food blogger behind Simply Fresh).

You split the group in two and take everyone on a 2 km walking tour of downtown Ottawa.

The result: 7 very generous restaurants. 37 happy p0utine enthusiasts. 2 km of walking tour. $1266 raised to fight cancer!

Poutine crawls are not unheard of. Earlier this year, Toronto food bloggers organized one. Theirs was not a fundraiser, just poutine enthusiasts, trying the various takes on poutine their city has to offer. The dish that has been long derided, often referred as “fat lumber jack food”, has slowly colonized the city.

With the help of friends, the bloggers behind Endless Simmer organized a “Tour de Poutine” in New York City. In total, they visited 7 eateries and sampled 7 takes on poutine. As Rebecca Marx of the Village Voice blog wrote about the poutine crawl, it revealed Brooklyn to be an unlikely poutine paradise. The most interesting to me was the one that came from a lunch counter in the Essex Street Market, Shopsin’s. Dubbed the “Last Supper Poutine”, it was topped not with cheese curds, but three poached eggs.

Well, Ottawa neighbours Quebec, the province that gave poutine birth. This is a city that knows good poutine. Here’s what its ByWard Market produces.

The Courtyard Restaurant (21 George Street)

Jenn and I unfortunately did not get the opportunity to try Chef Hay’s poutine. Sous Chef Arleigh Martin assembled the poutine to order. According to one of Chef Hay’s earlier tweets, the sauce involved “French fry consomme.” The torchon looked like it was frozen with liquid nitrogen and “smashed.”

Zak’s (16 ByWard Market Square)

Home fries, cheese curds, hollandaise, and paprika.

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Taste of Wellington West 2010: Rain and Sandwiches

Judging from the flurry of blog posts and Flickr sets, locals can probably discern another Taste of Wellington West has come and passed. Last year, the Wellington West Business Improvement Association (WWBIA) experimented with holding the fund raising event in the fall. This year, the event that sees businesses along Ottawa’s Epicurean Row set up tables and field kitchens outside their establishments to serve the public in return for donations was moved back to its original spring (almost summer) date. This year’s cause, the Causeway Work Center. Causeway provides employment and educational programs to persons with mental health issues and/or disabilities and those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Interestingly, like the first year Jenn and I encountered the event, we are again overseeing renovations. With our having encountered an increasing number of delays, we were more than happy to take up the invitations of two of our fellow food bloggers to meet up and wander Wellington Street W. and its adjoining side streets together.

Alas, it rained. Jenn and I ducked into the Ottawa Bagel Shop (1321 Wellington Street W.) when the downpour started, hoping it would lighten. It poured. When we met up with Jodi (@simplyfresh) of the Simply Fresh and Kaitlin (@kaitli) of the Heartful Mouthful blogs, we were literally drenched. Happily, Chef/Owner Chris Deraiche of the Wellington Gastro-Pub (1325 Wellington Street W.) decided to pull his chafing dishes into his restaurant’s ground floor dining room, the “White Room.” Dressed in a t-shirt, advertising the soon-to-open (this Friday) Town Gastropub on Elgin Street (296), he greeted wet “tasters” warmly.

Wellington Gastro-Pub’s “taste”, pulled Elk Ranch sandwiches with corn relish.

Jenn and I found the elk a little tough and its sauce bordering on overly savoury. The in-house corn relish provided a bright counterpoint, some texture, and a little sweetness.

Afterward, we decided, rain or no rain, we would trek to our must visit eateries, Absinthe and Allium. Along the way, we stopped at the Ottawa Bagel Shop. Its taste, several of its specialty cream cheeses and smoked meat on Montreal-style bagel.

We stopped by Sushi Umi (1325 Wellington Street W.) to say hi to its chef/owner and nibble on some maki rolls and edamame. Then, we headed off to Thyme & Again (1325 Wellington Street W.). There, we were greeted by turkey and marshmallows, separately of course.

Almost retro (think 70′s-style Swedish meatballs), the turkey meatballs were flavourful and not-at-all dry or crumbly. They had four home cooks wondering how Thyme & Again’s kitchen pulled it off.

Marshmallows are gleefully messy to make, the melted sugar, egg white, and gelatin mixture sticking to just about any surface, even silicone spatulas. Making colour tinted marshmallows in both coconut (front) and watermelon (back) flavours takes skill. They were worlds different from the processed marshmallows in the supermarket. The only marshmallows I have encountered that compare were made by Chef Jason Laurin of Essence Catering (430 Parkdale Avenue) for an art show at CycleLogik in Hintonburg.

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“Pancho Villa con sus dos viejas a la orilla!”

It was Friday afternoon and I was dying of boredom in the cubical farm. I started daydreaming about my recent trip to Mexico and how much I enjoyed sitting in the sun all day and drinking Mojitos.  I started to crave Mexican food.  I jumped on a local foodies site and started calling out Mexican restaurant names out loud looking for a reaction from my Mexican cube farm colleague (and occasional Spanish teacher) Jose. I come to the restaurant called Pancho Villa and he shouts out: “Pancho Villa con sus dos viejas a la orilla” which apparently roughly translates to: “Pancho Villa, with his two women beside him”. Pancho Villa as it turns out is actually a sort of Mexican hero. I decided that this is where I was going to attempt to satisfy my craving for Mexican food.

It was fairly early when we arrived at the Pancho Villa. It was still light outside but the restaurant is located in a lower level unit with minimal natural light illuminating the space so it was fairly dark inside. The low light was actually quite nice. There was two main areas, one as you enter where the bar is situated and a larger dining area in the back. We choose to eat in the front area next to the bar. The room was decorated with typical earthy sort of colors and the odd splash of bright blue and yellows if I recall.

I actually haven’t eaten very much Mexican food so I asked the waiter to recommend something that would represent the sort of classic thing you would expect from the cuisine. He first pointed to a Mole sauced dish and I steered away from that cause I’m not a fan of that. He then recommended a combination plate. There was three main items on the dish: a burrito, an enchilada and a taco. There was a choice of meat for each. The waiter, who I believe may have been the manager, suggested that the “classic” choice would be chicken for the burrito, cheese for the enchilada and beef for the taco. I trusted his judgment and also got a lime margarita. Lime being the “classic” flavour for that as well.

They brought us free chips and salsa to start. Nothing really blew me away here. But they were free and tasted great with the margarita. Oh I forgot to mention that of course I got the mucho margarita (3oz of tequila). My dish arrived and I was pleased to see a huge portion because I was starving. From left to right it was: refried beans, burrito, enchilada (kind of under the salad), salad, taco, Spanish rice.  I’m usually a procrastinator in everything I do. I put off the things that I like least to do as long as possible. I’m sort of the opposite when I’m eating food. I always assume that I will eat everything on my plate so my technique is to eat what I like the least first and save the best for last.  With this dish, my guess was that I would probably like the stuff to the right the least and the stuff to the left the best. So I started with the rice and tacos. I usually get frustrated with tacos. How on earth do you eat these things without them breaking in half and having all the filling fall on the plate and juices sort of drip down your arm? Well I don’t know if this was a fabulous taco but I can say that this didn’t happen to me. I think it was because the shell was thin. It seemed to break only where your teeth broke through. Also, there wasn’t much liquid to begin with so there was no risk in having it ooze down my arm. The salad was simple. The dressing seemed more acidic than a typical dressing. I think that worked well because everything was so rich, I really wouldn’t want an oily salad. I think if I was to eat this again, I would keep the salad as a sort of palate cleanser between the three rich items. The enchilada was sort of under the salad. That was too bad because all I could taste when I ate it was the sour salad dressing. The last thing I dug into was the burrito. It was packed with yummy chicken strands. Whatever the seasonings were in this burrito made the chicken look and taste like pork. It kind of tasted like it was a pulled pork burrito.

Evidence of my satisfaction…

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