Absinthe

After the Music and Dinning experience and tasting Chef Garland's duck there, we ventured off to his restaurant down on Wellington Street.  The location has big windows in front to let in plenty of light, while the decor inside is a very nice green colour to match the colour of absinthe.  The place was not very busy, for the later seating which is a bit of a shame, but it is the middle of the summer and the middle of the week, so many people may have been on vacation.  We all went with the table d'hote.  The waiter came back with an amuse for us, which was a very light and delightful duck tartar.  This did an excellent job at setting the tone of the meal, and really exciting the taste buds.  We got served fresh baked bread with a butter infused with a bit of citrus.  It was a very good combination.

For appetizer, we ordered at the table, the charcuterie, the tuna ans scallops, and the escargot.  The escargot in the vermouth cream was amazing.  If it was not uncouth to drink that sauce out of the plate, I would have.  I did polish off the rest of the bread trying to soak up the rest of that sauce.  The tuna and scallops was also very tasty and cooked well.  The charcuterie was what the boss had and it was presented on a wooden cutting board with all the different styles of duck and a mini loaf of bread to help eat that spread.  Every bite made the boss ohh and ahh with the flavour.  Surprisingly, her favourite thing on that plate was the Duck confit pogo.  The presentation of both the tuna tartar and the charrcuterie was excellent.

For the mids, we had ordered both between the four of us.  Sadly, this was the most disappointing course.  The salad was nothing special, and the vinaigrette did not accentuate the salad.  The soup was decent, but I found the soup to be very one dimensional.  There was not any flavour pop, but I think it acted more like a pallet cleanser.

When the mains came back, it made up for the mids big time.  The boss had the farm duck duo, while I had the steak frites with a duck poutine.  The farm duck duo had the duck cooked to perfection,  The presentation was decent, I felt was a little bit messy, but I had seen worse, but the flavour and the taste made up for it.  The duck really melted in your mouth and the seared foie gras was what the boss called, "one of the best things I've tasted in a long time".  My steak frites was an excellent cut, cooked perfectly to medium rare.  I do have to say, I never thought I would say this about fries in fine dinning, but these fries were just that good.  Mix in an excellent gravy and some duck and wow, it was very good!


The service over the meal was excellent.  The staff was very knowledgeable, introduced all the wines, and the plates while not being intrusive.  When we did ask them any questions, they were very helpful, and polite.

For this level of food, I have the say that the price is very reasonable.  Excellent job to Chef Garland and his staff.    We do hope to be back again soon.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * *

Value: * * * * 1/2

Atmosphere: * * * *

Service: * * * * *

Price Range: $7 - $29 (+$30 for wine parings)

Website: http://absinthecafe.sitebenefits.com/

Music and Dining

"The Boss" found out about this event when she went to Capital Brass Works and saw an advertisement for this.  She pretty much came back and said to me, "Awesome food and classical music, how can you go wrong?".  Well, she was right!  The evening was memorable.

This event is a part of the Music and Beyond festival and was being hosted at Tabaret Hall at The University of Ottawa.  The location ended up being an excellent choice for acoustics while still having that intimate feeling with musicians.  The premise of this event was hosted by Julian Armour, who chose a list of classical pieces that he felt would fit food, and dining.  He then passed the list to Chef Richard Nigro, former Chef at Juniper, who then planned the menu with the help of Chef Patrick Garland of Absinthe Cafe and Chef Chris Tremblay.

For the evening, they would pair up the music with each course of a 6 course meal and wine parings.  The evening started off a little rocky as there was some organizational issues with delivery of the plates, which caused the event to start late.  As the doors did open up, it seemed a little crazy and people tried to get in and get the best seats possible.  There was an intimate 55-60 guest in the end, plus a table for the musicians.  The music and performances were top notch.  The mix of the atmosphere with the food really accentuated the paring of the music to the food.  Another extra notch for the food was that it was mostly bought from the local farmers markets, which highlighted how we can get some excellent quality ingredients locally and support our local farmer's.

The courses started with a creamy marinated Quebec brie cheese launched in a crispy phyllo boat, floating in a sea of strawberry rhubarb soup.  This combination was unusual but worked very well with the hot weather outside and the combination of the brie, with the sweet and sour taste worked really well.  A buttery rich duck Terrine with foie gras torchon melted in my mouth while the valley smoked trout rillette and Atlantic Salmon with gravlax Gooseberry vinaigrette left me wanting more. The last main, was a two part beef dish, a seared beef, blue butter herb and slow, braised beef  was cooked and tasted perfect.  Desert was a special Epicuria Cake which was at the perfect level of sweetness and bitterness, and was not too heavy.  Coffee was then served by Bridgehead and extra chocolate was provided by Stubbe.  The presentation of the food was very simple yet elegant.  Nothing was over done there.  I have included pictured of the courses at the end that I took with my old camera phone.

Overall, the excellent music, the atmosphere, and the food combined into a very memorable evening.  Tickets to this event cost about $150.  Value wise, a classical concert, 6 course meal with 6 glasses of wine, this is a very respectable price.  The evening was very fun and we will be going back to this special event again next year.  Great job to both Julian and the Chef's!!

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * * *
Value: * * * * *
Atmosphere: * * * * *
Service: * * * * *
Price (dinner): $150 (6 Course tasting with wine)
Website: http://musicandbeyond.ca/musicanddining/

Daniel

This place holds a special part in my life.  When I wanted to propose to my better half, I took her to one of her favourite cities in the world.  As a treat, I convinced her to go out for some fancy dining as part of my greater plan.  I looked up in the Michelin guide for three star restaurants and the one that jumped out at me was...of course Daniel.  This place is one of Chef Daniel Boulud's top restaurants.  Chef Daniel is one of the best chef's in NYC, and is very well known around the culinary world.

The location is just off central park, and the impressions when you walk in is elegance and beauty.  We went once again for a 6 course tasting with wine parings.  The service here was very professional and top notch.  Plates would arrive at the same time, and be served at the same time.  The staff was very friendly and knew when to be conversational and when not to be intrusive.

One of the things I always look for when I have a tasting menu is what the chef will do for an aperitif.  A nice cheese and duck pate came out which was divine.  It set the stage for a good meal to come.  When it came to the tasting, the boss and I differed on only the main course.  I took the lamb while she took on the black sea bass.  My lamb was cooked perfectly, with a very great balance of flavours and colours on the plate.  Everything went very well together.  The black sea bass was something that I will never forget.  This had to become THE course that has set the bar.  Afterwards, looking up Chef Daniel's info, we did find out that his dish is his specialty.  The bass just flaked, was juicy, while full of flavours.  This was the highlight of the dinner.  The selection of wines was pairs up very well.  Nothing to complain about, but nothing that jumped out as overly memorable.

I am bias now that of this place for the sea bass and the proposal that came after, but even without that, this was a very enjoyable and exquisite meal.  Well worth the visit here, even if it is just for that sea bass.  Well done!

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * * 1/2
Value: * * * *
Atmosphere: * * * * 1/2
Service: * * * * *
Price Range (dinner): $105-$350 (8 Course tasting with wine)
Website: http://www.danielnyc.com/daniel.html

Le Cordon Bleu Bistro @ Signatures

In an impromptu dinner, we decided to head over to finally try Signatures in Ottawa before heading to a wedding later that evening.  I have heard lots about this restaurant.  It is part of the Cordon Bleu cooking school and a while back, they used to have full table d'hote.  Recently they changed over to a more Bistro style theme.  The place is nestled in the heart of Sandy Hill, in a older looking mansion.  We were part of the late seating, so the place was not very busy for a Saturday night.

We got the option of tap, bottled, or sparkling water which was a nice touch.  The boss ordered the Toasted old gouda and smoked duck breast sandwich,grilled octopus, tomato caramel lollipop with sesame crust with Seasoned artic char filet, shitake emulsion, swiss chard, maitake sabayon, Chioggia beets, pine nut crumble as the main course.  For myself, I started with the Crab and shrimp cannelloni, coriander gel, vanilla pear chutney, olive paper followed by Roasted duck breast, carrot cream flavoured with maple and coffee Figs,
kumquat, and olive oil confit porcini mushroom, blood orange reduction.  To hold us over until the plates arrived, we were served fresh baked bread with a bacon butter.  I have to say, this combination was a very tasty touch.  The appetizers arrived and things smelt very good.  The toasted gouda was light and flavourful, while I like the octopus more, the boss enjoyed the tomato caramel lollipop.  I felt the lollipop stuck to my teeth too much and I ended up spending too much time trying to pick it out.  The cannelloni was good, but was not mind blowing.  The plate had a decent balance, but it felt like it was missing something.  The artic char was cooked perfectly as was the duck.  They were juicy and flavourful.  The rest of the plate left something more to be desired.  Once again, it did not seem like what was on the plate went well with what was served.

The presentation of the food was a little surprising.   The octopus and the duck plate came out, and it looked like someone really enjoys smearing sauces.  It made the plate look messy and cluttered.  I felt like it was an attempt at trying too much at the presentation, while something simpler and cleaner would have really made things look more appetizing. 

The service was good.  We had the bread refilled and never did out waters reach the bottom of the glass.  We did have to specifically ask for wine parings to go with our mains.  I expected to have been asked by the server if we wanted a wine paring, but that was not a huge deal.

The decor of the restaurant is classy.  Not very modern looking but it was comfortable.  The use of electronic candles felt a little cheap to me, but I may just be getting a little too picky.  The music that was pipped into the room was inconsistent in volume and theme.  There was a mix of classical, easy blues, big bad, while some songs were louder than others.  I did not lend well to the atmosphere.

Overall, the food was good, but it was not wonderful.  I was not wowed, which I do expect at least a little wow factor for fine dining.  I do also understand that this location is a teaching school, so I do not expect everything to be perfect.  I would not go back here, as I did not feel the value of the food was worth it.  I could get a much better meal from Beckta or Fougeres for about the same cost.

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * 1/2
Value: * * *
Atmosphere: * * *
Service: * * * *
Price Range (dinner): $25-$35
Website: http://www.bistroatsignatures.com/

Beckta

Our love of food this night brought us to a small place called Beckta. Recommended by a friend and rated VERY high on the fine dinning lists, we decided to try them out. The restaurant is a small converted house, very well decorated. The atmosphere was done up with a bit of a modern flare with a small hint of rustic.  Unfortunately, it took me a while to actually write up this post, so many of the finer details have already escaped me.  I did want to make note of this place of what did stick in my mind.

We had a tasting menu made by Chef Michael Moffat and it was very good.  I remember being wowed from the presentation to the flavour and tastes.  The wine parings we had matched up perfect with the meals, which also ended with a wonderful cheese plate.

The service was top notch without being intrusive.  Each wine was described to us about location and flavour.  

I know this is a short and not super informative post, but I did want to give credit where credit was due.  This is a place that I do want to go back.  Chef Moffat has already opened up a second restaurant called Play which is on the list of places we will be checking out.

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * * 1/2
 Value: * * * *
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * * 1/2
Price Range (dinner): $30-$185 (8 course tasting with wine parings)
Website: http://www.beckta.com/

Hy's Steakhouse

For the bosses birthday, I took her out to Hy's Steakhouse in downtown Ottawa. I've heard that this place was where you'd go for the best steak in town. We went on a Sunday night and easily found street parking not too far from the local. The outside of the restaurant was unimpressive. As we walked into the place, it was night and day. The place was decorated in an older style decor, with dark woods, high ceilings, low lighting and painting from the 1800's. The place was very classy. We got seated and were handed our menus and a very thick wine menu. I ordered a very tasty beer and the boss had her martini. We also had a glass of house wine each for dinner. They had a very nice selection of wines to pick from. In the middle of the room, there was a big glass encasing with a huge grill in the middle. This was exciting for we would be able to watch our steaks being cooked. Our server was very friendly and professional. We ended up ordering the same thing, The "only" New York Strip with Hy's special sauce. We also ordered crab cakes, ahi tuna and a Cesar salad for an appetizer.

We got the crab cakes and the tuna very soon, and it was VERY well done. the portions were not skimpy but not too much. The flavor from both were delicious. As we were eating there, the server came by and rolled out a cart by our table. At first, I thought it was just to help him serve. Soon he returned with some bowls and ingredients, and started to make our Cesar salad in front of us. You can't get any fresher then that. As we sat there, we watched him crack the egg, mix in the oils and anchovies, and then served us a excellent, hand made, and very fresh salad. The steaks soon arrived from our glass grilling box. The first cut was perfect. The steak was not dry, but very juicy and full of flavour. The seasoning was well proportioned and the Hy's sauce added a perfect amount of kick. The meat itself was cooked perfectly, but the cut wasn't perfect. By no means was it horrible, but I've had a better cut of steak, and this one had some tendons in it that I was not expecting to see in a higher quality steak. On the side, I ordered a twice baked potatoe. This means, after the first bake, they add the works to it, and bake it again. It was one of the best mix of baked potatoes I have had.

This was a special meal at a fancy place, and Hy's is by no means a cheap place to go. The average main course is about 30$ each. Appetizers range from 7$-15$. The service was perfect, and non-intrusive. The atmosphere would be perfect for a romantic dinner, or a fancy night out. Maybe because it was a Sunday night, or the bad economy, but the restaurant was virtually empty. There seemed like there was maybe 3 or 4 other tables on top of us.

I would go back, and I would recommend other to go here if they are looking for a nice fancy steakhouse. Order the Cesar salad, the novelty is pretty cool.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * * 1/2

Value: * * * *

Atmosphere: * * * * *

Service: * * * * *

Price range (dinner): $30-$80

Website: http://www.hyssteakhouse.com/

Restaurant Les Fougères

There has not been much chance for us to go out to eat recently, hence the lack of a post until now, but good thing I have a few still in my recent memory that I do want to share and recount back to you all!

We decided to splurge a little and go out for a super fancy dinner and just really enjoy the night. I would have to say that this was my first real taste into finer dining. I was not disappointed.

Les Fougeres is located near Chelsea Que, about 15 mins north of Ottawa. I made reservations and we both dressed up to help with the atmosphere. The restaurant looks like a small country side inn. The interior was very nicely decorated in a "quaint french Canadian" style, something you'd expect to see in a nice bed and breakfast, just on a larger scale. The greeting staff was very friendly, and the table decor was subtle and not overly intrusive.

Since this was going to be a splurge meal, we decided to both order the tasting menu, with wine parings. I think this is the best way to really get a taste of what the chef can do, of course at a price. The menu can be found here.

The meal started off with some rosemary rolls with some butter with rosemary in it. It was very fresh, and the aroma of the rosemary really made it something to remember...and this was just the rolls!

I'm not going to go over each and every plate, but the ones to remember was the first plate with the duck. I've never had duck melt with so much flavor before in my mouth. There was so much food, it was hard to finish my desert. The someliere did a wonderful job at the wine parings. It was my first real experience where the food was good, the wine was good, but when you had the food with the right wine, it just brought out this extra burst of flavours.

So, over all, the atmosphere was excellent. The staff was knowledgeable, friendly, and they came out and explained everything about the current course. They will remind you which plate you are eating and tell you a little bit about the wine that is paired with it. The food was one of the best I've ever had. Much compliments to the chef! Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * * *
Value: * * * * *
Atmosphere: * * * * *
Service: * * * * *
Price Range (dinner): $30 - $150
Website: http://www.fougeres.ca/