Mill Street Brewery Part Deux - Ottawa

With the great weather we are having, we felt like visiting one of our favourite micro-breweries and enjoy the patio with some good friends.  This time, we had more to eat than drink, which suits this blog a little more.

Since I have already reviewed Mill Street already, I will not go into detail about the facilities part.  The beers are still tasty and this time, I was able to take a picture of the pulled pork nachos.  So tasty!  The service was once again great, and we were checked in with a few times to make sure the food was good and the beers were full.

For meals, around the table, we had the chicken club, the turkey cobb salad, fish and chips and I had the tortiere. The cobb salad was very tasty.  The chicken club was huge!  The boss only ate half of it, which meant I got the other half for lunch!  Yum!  I felt that it was a good combination of all the toppings, and extra bit of roasted garlic added that extra touch.  The fish and chips was battered perfectly, with a good balance of batter and fish and with plenty of flavour.  Lastly the tourtiere was spiced very well.  I know it is a dish best eaten over the winter, but I had a craving for some baked meat pie.  The tourtiere was served with green peas, which sadly was over cooked.  The fries that everyone else had were very fresh and tasty. 

Overall, the beers and the food was great.  We still will be going back :)

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * *
Value: * * * *
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price (dinner): $8 - $26
Website: http://ottawa.millstreetbrewpub.ca/frontpage

Commerce Gate Dynasty Cuisine - Toronto

Finally, our last stop in Toronto or to be more specific, Richmond Hill, is to have some good dim sum.  Mom usually goes here on her way home as she loves the quality of food they serve here.  On top of that, if you come early, before the big dim sum rush, all items on the menu are marked the same low price.

The place is a little hard to get to and find the parking lot.  We had to take a few turns around before dad was able to give me the correct directions.  It does not help that Hwy 7 is under construction.  The restaurant is located on the second floor on the corner of the building.  All along the side are big giant windows that look out on Hwy 7 and the surrounding area.  The view is actually quite nice and helps make the place much brighter and open.  The dim sum is ordered by marking them off on a paper and they bring out the food for us.  They had all the standard fare dim sum food.  Of note, the steamed ground beef balls were much better than in Ottawa.  Better flavour and texture.  The BBQ pork buns were also extra tasty.  Sadly, they did not have any egg tarts!  Very disappointed about that.  The service here was pretty good.  They did smile and we did get prompt service.  They do need to clean up their restrooms more. 

Overall, the mix of the open restaurant, decent service, good food and cheap prices, this place is a great place to visit for dim sum.  Make sure you do come early, or you will not get that discount.  We will be back!

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * *1/2

Value: * * * * 

Atmosphere: * * * 1/2

Service: * * * *
Price Range: $ 7- $12 (Dim sum)
Website: http://www.dynastycuisine.ca/index.html

LAIDOH Resturaunt - Toronto

One of the things I remember when I was growing up and visiting my grandparents in Hong Kong was what my mom called, "Hong Kong Breakfast".  This was not dim sum, but actually an interesting combination of breakfast cultures.  There would be congee, and fried noodles, but the main type of food was macaroni soup, or instant noodles served with ham and a fried egg.  This sounds very weird to most, I am sure, but for me, it brought back a flood of memories when my mom told me that you could now get this in Toronto.

The place is in the Splendid China mall across the street from the Pacific Mall.  It's a small place, but it opens early enough to have breakfast.  The place reminded me quite a bit like a Hong Kong Diner.  Mom and the "boss" had congee while dad and I had the noodles, meat and ham.  This all came with some buttered toast as well.  The service was good, since we were the only ones there bright and early, the place was clean and the food was what I expected.  The noodles are instant noodles, as they should be, and the congee was good as well.

The cost for food here was very cheap and cash only.  The food did its job at bringing back memories of Hong Kong.  For a cheap, Hong Kongs style breakfast, I will be back for sure!

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * *

Value: * * * * 

Atmosphere: * * * 

Service: * * * *
Price Range: $10 - $25

Hipot Hot Pot - Toronto

Next on the list on cultural experiences is hot pot.  Hotpot is usually a meal had over the winter, because of how the meal will also heat up your home.  The meal consists of having a big bowl of boiling broth, and you get served big platters of raw meats, and veggies.  Everyone then takes the food, and cooks it themselves in the broth, and then you can eat it, or dip it in some of the sauces they have at the table.  The more stuff you cook, the more flavour the broth becomes. I think this meal was the hardest for the "boss" due to cooking raw foods in with other foods in the broth.  For me, this was all the norm as I have had this since I was little, so I guess my stomach is able to handle whatever comes at me from this meal.

This type of meal is now becoming more and more popular in Canada with the growing population of Asians.  This is my first time having it at a restaurant.  The location was a little hard to get to with all the construction out front, but the place was clean.  There were many tables, all ranging from a few very big round tables of 10-12 to the smaller tables of 4.  We showed up late, around 7pm, and we had to wait about 10 mins.  Very popular place.  The location was bustling and noisy, as everyone in the place was having a good time.  The space to move around was a little cramped as beyond the main tables, there were a lot of smaller side tables to help hold all the raw foods (The main table has your bowls, chopsticks and the big pot of broth).  Service wise, the place was overly busy for the number of staff.  They were all running around trying to serve everyone with little luck.  Once we did get our order in, there was a decent number of broth refills when we did get low.

The food was very fresh and had a decent selection.  The main staples were beef, chicken, beef and shrimp balls, whole shrimp, a variety of veggies, oysters, lamb and I think mom ordered 4 lobsters.  Everything was very tasty and I was very full by the end of the night.  The food you order is all you can eat, so you end up paying a flat price and you get a selection from that bracket.  There are higher brackets, and that opens up more selection of meats, and seafood.  The down side is that there were still things that were extra, such as eggs, and if you wanted to start with a more spicy or flavoured broth.

Overall, this is a lot easier and cheaper than doing hotpot yourself at home.  The time it takes to slice everything, the clean-up and selection is a very good choice.  This is not for everyone, as the boss was a little more uncomfortable with the idea, but she still tried everything!  The service left something to be desired (it seems to be a common theme on the trip), and as clean as everything was, the place was cramped.  I was still go back here if I had a craving for hot pot but not go back regularly.  Sadly I do not have much to compare it with, but home cooking.

When we left, 2 hours later, there was still people waiting at the door for seats.

PS:  Quick warning, the menu is only in chinese.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 1/2

Value: * * *  

Atmosphere: * * 1/2

Service: **

Price Range: $25 - $35

Osechi Japanese - Toronto

For dinner we went out for some all you can eat sushi.  This gave us a good opportunity to compare the all you can eat sushi market in Markham and Ottawa.  Dad found a good deal here and it was well recommended.  We easily found this place and when walked in, the décor was very modern.  It has nice dark colors with some brighter pink and reds and glass beads separating some of the sections of the room.  At the far back, was the sushi making area and one more private room where instead of chairs, there were cushions on the floor.  Very nice addition, albeit, I am sure sitting there can be very uncomfortable!

We menu had a good selection of things that were raw and cooked.  The boss and I ordered more of the raw fish as my parents went the route of the cooked fish.  The food came very quickly and everything was very fresh.  The sashimi had our favourite, white tuna which came in generous portions.  Everything we did order came, which is always an added bonus when coming to an all you can eat sushi place.  The price was about 22$ per person, which is about just below the cost of what it is here in Ottawa.  One of the things on the menu that was not "standard fare" when it comes to all you can eat sushi was a white arctic roll that had some smoked flakes on the top.  The flaked were on a roll that had white tuna in it, which gave the already delicious fish some smokey flavour.  For desert, they had a decent selection of asian ice creams such as, red bean, and sesame flavoured.  It was a black coloured ice cream that did not have much flavour at first, and then you get a nice aroma of sesame after.  Delicious!  

Once again on our trip, the service was not good.  The staff looked like robots, who walked around delivering food and clearing plates.  Not ONCE did I see a server smile.  When they dropped off food, or cleared off some plates, we would say "thank you" which they would with an expressionless look just say, "ok".

The décor was nice, the food was good, but the service and the gloomy expressions on their faces really dampened the experience.  I am not asking for super happy with a fake smile, but a small smile once in a while would have been appreciated.  The menu was good but pretty much standard fare, and the price was ok, but when you add on the type of service, I would not revisit this place.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 1/2

Value: * * *  

Atmosphere: * * * 

Service: * 1/2

Price Range: $22 - $25

Keung's delight - Toronto

We took trip down to Toronto recently and we got the "boss" exposed to some more asian culture food than she is used to that is not "canadianized".  

The first place we went to was a small place in Markham called Keung's Delight.  This is traditionally a congee place with a mix of noodles,  rice dishes and veggies.  For those who do not know what congee is,  it is most easily describede as Asian rice porridge as the plain porridge.  After that, you can have many different varieties when you start adding different ingredients, such as chicken, beef or eggs.

We ordered a nice variety of things for our lunch.  I had a beef congee and my parents had one with some seafood in theirs.  The congee was actually really well done and had lots of flavor.  Sadly, since the boss is allergic to scallops,  this place uses dried scallops in their soup base so she ended up not having any at this place.  In addition to the congee, dad ordered a fried noodle dish, as well as a free ranged quarter chicken cooked on the bone.  The checks is cooked in almost a steamed or boiled style, so the meat was very tender.  For myself, one of my favorite things to order in a Chinese restaurant is the Asian breadstick wrapped in a rice noodle.  Lastly,  mom ordered a bowl of won tons.  These were surprisingly very large in size and with very good size shrimp within.  

The food was very good and a nice experience of a more traditional congee dining.  The location is very clean, open and with lots of light.  Plenty of parking too which for me, is a great bonus being in the middle of Markham.  The staff I found was slow and did not pay much attention to the diners.  They spent much time standing in the middle chatting which I was not very happy about.  When we asked out waitress recommendations,  they did try to help as best they could but in the end,  they were to very helpful.  Price wise,  this is where they shine.  The food is cheap.  For the quality of food,  this alone makes it worth visiting again.

Next time we are in the area and have a craving for congee,  we will be back for sure!!

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 

Value: * * * 1/2 

Atmosphere: * * * 

Service: * 1/2

Price Range: $12 - $20

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/

Sushi in Albany

In one of our trips down to visit some relatives in the US, we stopped over in Albany, NY over might to break up our drive. We had a craving for sushi or Japanese, so when we got to the hotel, we looked up for ideas. One of the places that came up close to the hotel was Koto. This was a habatchi and sushi place just off the highway.  It took us a little while to find it due to my lack of trusting my GPS, but we eventually made it there.  It was late, around 8pm, but it was still pretty busy there.  There was a nice Koi pond to greet you, with a very nice Japanese atmosphere.  We got seated at the back and the service was good.  It was what I would expect anywhere, but nothing special.  Looking at the menu, and it being so late, we ended up ordering a lot of sushi.

We wanted to try out things we did not have back home, so we ended up ordering rolls like the "fool's gold", "black out roll" which involved fish like Chilean sea bass, or combinations of crab, shrimp, avocado, tuna and black tobiko.  As you can see below the presentation was very well done.  I was a little sad not to see the wooden boat, but they did make an effort on this plate to make it look extra special.  As you can also see, there was a lot of food here.  We thought we would get 6 small pieces of sushi, but when it arrived, they were HUGE rolls.  The sushi was very fresh, and the combination of the "chef's special rolls" we ordered was very well put together.  Nothing really came out that we did not like.

We did not try out their habatchi section as we did have our craving for sushi, so I cannot speak of it at all.

Overall, even with the atmosphere, the good size of the rolls and the decent quality, nothing jumped out to wow us.  Why that matters is the price.  We felt that the price was very high for what we did end up getting. I do understand that getting fresh fish in Albany may not be the easiest, it still does have an effect the overall meal when you know what you're ordering is so expensive.  If you can get a deal, discount, or coupon to go here, it can be very worth it, but for us, we did not feel the price matched the food and we will probablly not be going back.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 1/2

Value: * * 1/2

Atmosphere: * * * 1/2

Service: * * * 1/2

Price Range: $8 - $25

Website: http://www.kotoalbany.com/

Breakfast in West Boylston

One of the things I look forward to when traveling to smaller towns is having local, home cooked food. We found a small place along one of the highways that was open for breakfast. When we walked in, it gave us a very warm feeling, like we were visiting a friends cottage. We were greeted right away with a loud warm greeting.  We felt right at home.  All along the walls were pictures of politicians and collection of artifacts related to them. Coffee was served right away and it was just a good old fashion coffee.

The food they served was a mix of traditional breakfast fare with some variations of home cooking. They had blueberry french toast, fluffy pancakes, well seasoned home fries, and even breakfast sandwiches on Texas toast.  The home fries was seasoned very well, and was not too salty or soggy.  The blueberry french toast light and flavourful.  My favourite of eggs and bacon was cooked just the way I like it.  There are some diners when you go to them, the cheap price is reflected on your plate.  Here, when my plate arrived, it was full, it did not look sparse, while still maintaining that cheaper price.

This place is a perfect example of where atmosphere of a warm place with the feeling of a home cooked meal can really heighten a meal. We were really glad to find a place like this. The price was also very reasonable for being in the middle of nowhere.  This place is small so there can be a wait, but we felt it was well worth it.  Bring cash, this is only what they accept here.

I know there may not be many people in this neck of the woods, but if you are, well worth the visit.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * *

Value: * * * * 1/2

Atmosphere: * * * * *

Service: * * * *

Price Range: $8 - $15

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Country-Kettle-Cafe/207780878158

Poco Pazzo: A Crazy Little Italian Eatery

One of the traditions that "the boss" and I have with our family is that we take both of our parents out to dinner for Mother's Day and Father's Day.  We are just too cheap to take them out on the day's of, so we arrange for a later date where both sets are available.  We first started with Sunday brunches but when we found Poco Pazzo, we realized that this place is an even better place to go!

Chef Emanuele is an Italian chef who trained in New York city and then move to Stittsville for love and opened Poco Pazzo.  The first time I went there was close to when I first moved into the area.  The decor is very modern, but intimate.  Over the summer, the Stittsville location has a patio.  He has been so successful at Stittsville, he opened a second location in Kanata.  The service staff is always excellent.  They are friendly, and very knowledgeable of the menu.  I good sign that the food is good, is when the staff eat there often enough to have their own favourites.  Most of the time we go, the place is always busy, so a reservation is recommended, but at times, it isn't needed.  They will try and fit you in if they can.

For the food, I have been there many times and tried out a few things (and yes, I do have my favourites).  For appetizers, their zucchini sticks are one of the better ones I have had.  They are not soggy, fresh, and not heavily battered.  We have also tried the calamari, eggplant, bruchetta, shrimp in garlic butter as well, all with great success.  They also bake their own bread, which always comes out fresh and hot with butter and olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  In the end, our favourite of all the appetizers is the mushroom bruschetta.  It's a different twist on bruschetta, where on the bread is a mound of mushrooms, and a bit of cheese, with a very light vinaigrette sauce drizzled over it.  This has pretty much now become our staple appetizer.

For main courses, there has been a large variety of mains that we have sampled.  My mom always gets the spaghetti and meatballs.  She loves the meatball spices and the sauce.  Simple yet with lots of flavour.  Dad loves his fettuccine alfredo con pollo which I have also tried.  Very creamy and exactly what I could expect.  The boss is always in love with the same dish.  She gets the same one, every time, which is the gnocchi sorrentina.  The oven baked potatoe pasta reminds her a lot of her youth and was always a favourite of her grandmothers.  For myself, the chicken parmigina has always been one of my favourite picks.  You get a very large piece of chicken, served with a side of pasta.  The chicken parmigina sometimes comes in a variation as a special.  They add on shrimp on top with the pasta being upgraded to a fettuccine alfredo.  The upgrade is well worth it!!  Another special they serve is ground veal served in giant pasta shells in a gorgonzola sauce.  It is VERY good.  The gorgonzola is a little to heavy for my stomach, but I still order it because it is just that good.  With portion sizes at Poco Pazzo, you can expect to have leftovers most of the time.

For desert, assuming you have room or saved room, the tiramisu is very good.  We did find that the lady fingers were a little too over soaked, so they were too mushy, but not to the point where the flavour suffered.  The "senator pucks" desert, which is a lava cake was also very tasty but over cooked.  The lava cake did not ooze out the chocolate as it is supposed to.  A little disappointed on that end.  They do have a very good selection of wine and liqueurs, with a number of beers in bottles.

Overall, as you can tell by the number of things we have tried there, we do go back, and we do go back often.  We have even worked with the chef for a little bit of catering on the side, and he was nothing but friendly, professional and very easy to work with.  This is a place that I would recommend for anyone to try.

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * *
Value: * * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price Range: $12 - $30
Website: http://www.pocopazzo.com/

Big Rig Brew Part Deux

We recently went back to Big Rig with some friends who have not yet had the pleasure to try out the new west-end brewery.  I have already reviewed this place a few weeks ago, so I will not go into the details there, but I did want to update on the food and service from this time.

I had started with a cheddar and Ale soup which was presented very nicely and tasted very good.  It was rich, but not too rich, and made a nice start to the meal.  I had ordered the Chicken pot pie there, one of my favourite meals.  I felt disappointed with the pie because it lacked seasoning.  It may have had to do with the rich soup I had before, and that may have messed up my taste buds.  The contents of the pie itself had big chicken chunks and lots of veggies.  The pastry was flaky and for bonus points, even the bottom had pastry!

The "boss" had the spicy blue cheese burger.  The bun was toasted perfectly, the toppings were fresh and lots of flavour. The burger patty was not memorable.  It was not bad, but there was an expectation for a little more.  Our friends ordered the fish and chips and the Big Rig classic Pizza.  The fish and chips came out perfect.  There was a good balance between batter and fish, the fish was still juicy and the batter was crispy but not over cooked.  The pizza was actually very good.  I was sceptical about it when I saw it on the menu, but they did an excellent job on the quantity of pizza, the amount of cheese and toppings. My friend does like his pizzas to have extra sauce, but that was more of a personal preference.

Once again, we still ran into issue with the service and what seems like them being understaffed.  I still did not get offered ketchup.  When asked for an extra utensil, the server forgot it.  I still do not feel that it was the server's fault, as they looked overwhelmed.  More staff in this case may help give a better level of service in my opinion.

Overall, the food was still very good.  It was a little bit of a miss for me, but others still seemed to very much enjoy their meals.  The beer here is always great, and they need more help still in the service department.  They are still pretty new, but that excuse can only last so long.

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * *
Value: * * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * * * *
Service: * * * 1/2
Price Range (dinner): $15 - $35
Website: http://bigrigbrew.com/

Mill Street Brew Pub

I have always been a big fan of the Mill Street Micro Brew's.  In one of my trips to Toronto, we dropped in for a visit to the brewery there and it was packed, but we still had time for a quick beer.  When I heard they were opening one up here in Ottawa, it was a constant check to see when they would be opened.  I sure hope I did not over hype them up!

The location in Ottawa is where the old Mill steakhouse used to be.  There is a great view there of the river and plenty of parking.  Inside, the restaurant has a very modern feel to it, wood and stainless steel, two floors, two patios, two bars, and a glass encasing of the brew tanks.  When we sat down, they have their food menu and their drink menu for all the beers they serve.  The Portage, Chaudiere and the Irish Red are the only three brewed in Ottawa, and are exclusive for this location.  They have an option for a sampler flight of 6oz or 8oz glasses to try out different beers.  This is an excellent way to sample everything at not much extra cost.

When it came to the food, we had tried regular nachos, and pulled pork nachos.  I was a little scared when I was first told about the pulled pork nachos, but it has become one of new favourites!  The combination of the sweet pulled pork sauce with the salty nachos make for a very tasty appetizer which came in a very good size.  Also had was the chicken poutine, which garnered some mixed reviews.  I enjoyed it very much, while some did not feel that the curds were fresh.  Also of contention was that the gravy was not the proper dark gravy, but with the chicken, I thought the light gravy went well.  It comes down to personal preference at that point.

I had the chicken pot pie for an entree, and I have to say, it lived up to my expectations for a chicken pot pie.  The crust was flaky and there was big chunks of chicken and lots of veggie goodies inside.  The "boss" tried the piggy delight flat bread.  It was a good size, had a good amount of toppings and was very enjoyable to eat.

I have to say that when I get a chance to come to Mill Street, it was always a treat.  I would come back for sure.  If you get a chance to go on the brewery tour, it is worth it, just to get a chance to chat with the brew master, and go into the depths of the brew tanks.  It is free and only takes 15 mins.  The place does fill up quickly and can be difficult to get a table at times, so if you can show up early, it can save yourselves a headache.  With the nice summer weather, there is quite a bit more seating with the patio's open, so it is not as much of a problem.



Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * *
Value: * * * *
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price (dinner): $8 - $26
Website: http://ottawa.millstreetbrewpub.ca/frontpage

Smoque shack

I have heard many people talk about Smoque Shack, and they all keep telling me that I need to go there.  How can I turn down the request to eat large quantities of smoked meat!

Smoque Shack was created by Chef Warren Sutherland who used to be the chef at Sweetgrass Bistro.  The restaurant is located in Byward Market off York Street.  When you walk in, you are greeted by a long bar area where you can see part of their philosophy at work right away.  On tap is a good selection of local breweries.  We had to wait about 5 mins for a table so we sat at the bar for a drink where by the time we got our beers, our table was ready.  I do like how the bartender told us he would push our beers over to our table, and not have to settle up with him.  I very much like not having the hassle of settling up with the bartender while waiting for your table.

The place was busy and bustling.  The dining area had wood paneling on the walls with a few flat screen TVs.  The main dining area was not big, but it fit a good number of people.  When it came to the food, there was a good selection of what they smoke.  The main three meats were there: beef, chicken and pork, all in different forms.  When the server arrived, he gave us all the information about the menu we needed, also highlighting the meat sampler and was very knowledgeable on questions we asked about sides and sauces.  I ordered the rib tips for an appetizer with  sweet chili sauce and we all got samplers.  I got the pork back ribs, the jerk chicken and the pulled pork while my "boss" also picked the brisket.  For sides, we had beans, southern style greens, sweet potato fries and onion rings.  The rib tips arrived first and we all dove in as the smell of the dining area was making us all salivating.  There was a good number of them, enough that 4 people could share.  The sweet chili sauce was a good recommendation by the server as we kept the sauce for later and had to fend off the other serving staff wanting to clear our empty pate.  As for my meat main, I picked to start with the pulled pork.  The meat just flaked off and the flavour was oozing out.  The jerk chicken had a very good kick to it.  If you are not a fan of some heat, do not have the jerk.  I did like it.  The ribs were good, but it played an easy third fiddle to the other two selections.  It actually played forth as when the "boss" let me have some of her brisket, all I could say was wow.  The brisket was my favourite of all of them.  The meat was cooked perfectly, lots of infused flavours, and just melted in my mouth.  The sides were good as well, but with all the meat and meat sweats we were all having, they did not get a full appreciation.  By the end of the meal, I had a good sweat on.  I am not sure if it was because the A/C  could not keep up with our heat, or that the jerk chicken was winning.

The thing that irked me a little was the costs for sides.  No sides come with your meal, and getting a side was in my opinion a little over priced.  I did not expect coming here would be cheap, but it was a little more than I expected, and even after the meal, I didn't feel like the price matched what I got in food.  It was not off by much, but just enough for it to be noticeable.

Everything we had was delicious and the serving staff and atmosphere was very well suited for the smoque shack theme.  I am not sure if I would go back on my own volition, but at the same time, if someone came up to me and asked if I wanted to go, I probably would, just to eat that brisket again.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 1/2

Value: * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price (dinner): $6 - $24
Website: http://www.smoqueshack.com/index.html

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/

Five Guys

This place is nothing new, but has recently popped up in the Ottawa area in the past year.  I have heard tons about this burger joint from a friend who tells me a story about eating their burger in the US and how awesome it was.  So, when a joint finally opened up in my area, I had to check them out.

The premise of the burger joint is very simple.  Fresh burgers, made the way you like them.  It's simple yet it works!  The ordering is simple.  How many patties do you want in your burger, and do you want cheese and/or bacon on it.  Then from a long list, you get to pick what else you want to add on the burger.  The toppings include mushrooms, ketchup and hot peppers.  Fries are also an option and IMHO, should be a must order.  There is an option of regular fries and cajun spiced fries.  You get a number for your order, and you get sent to wait as they make your burger.  Since they make your burger fresh, it does take a few minutes to get your burger, but you do get to watch them make it while you wait.  Every order will end up in a brown paper bag (which of course, after about 2 mins, you will start to see the grease stains, the sign of a good burger joint).  Burger at the bottom, then if you ordered fries, they will put some fries in your container, then add it to the bag.  Here is the fun part.  They then take an extra scoop and just dump it in your brown paper bag to top off the fries!!!  The fries are very tasty and the quantity is always plentiful.  The burger would range somewhere between good and very good.  Comparing other places where you would get "fast food" burgers, it's better than McDonald's, but not as good as the works.  This is of course reflected in the price, as it is priced less than the works, but more than McDonald's.

The style inside the restaurant is almost diner/kitchen style, which suits the restaurant very well.  Every order is made for take out, but if you want to eat in, there are tables available.  There are also free peanuts for those who have more room to eat.

I would say that I was not disappointed by the burger and I have gone back.  The burger did not blow my mind, but I did not go in expecting that type of burger.  I think they have filled a good niche in the burger spectrum that was missing in Ottawa.

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * *
Value: * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * *
Service: * * * *
Price Range (dinner): $15-$30
Website: http://fiveguys.ca/

Big Rig Brew

A new micro-brew pub opened up recently in the west end by current Ottawa Senator Chris Phillips.  This peeked our interest as this fills a big gap in the west end for a micro-brew type location.  We went on a Sunday around 6 and it was still a 30 min wait.  To pass the time, we took a seat at the bar to have a drink and try out some of their brews.  It was $7.50 for a sampler of 4 types of beers, which I thought was very reasonable.  At the time, they were serving 5 types of beer:  the red, the gold, the brown, the stout, and a seasonal weiss beer.  None were disappointing but one of the beers came out ahead easily as the #1 consensus, which was the brown.  There was even a giant board reporting on what beers are available, and what beers are being conditioned and coming up soon.  Very nice added touch.

Me enjoying my Philly Grilled Cheese and the Brown Beer.  YUM!  (Thanks to C. For the photo)

The food was very delicious and tasty.  We decided to start with the Big Rig Pulled Chicken Nachos.  The nachos were tasty but a little disappointing.  The chicken looked like diced chicken, not pulled chicken and was nothing special.  The Canadian Tortiere had lots of very good spices and flavour.  Good’a Chicken & Avocado was an excellent combination of flavours and Philly’s Grilled Cheese & Beef was plentiful and also an excellent choice. For it, it was true, I did need to eat the meal with a knife and fork.  The later two came with fresh cut fries that were seasoned just right and crispy, just the way I liked it.  The tortiere came with some mixed veggies that left a little more to be desired.  The deserts sounded delicious, but the food was good portioned that we had no room left for sweets.  The table next to us was celebrating a birthday and they brought out a giant fresh baked cookie for them.  It smelt wonderful and was a really nice added touch.  It did come out on a tin pie plate, and I know I am being picky, just doesn't seem to fit the rest of the atmosphere in the restaurant. 

When it came to the service, it seemed like the staff was overwhelmed.  It took 20 mins at the bar to settle up so we could take our seat at the table.  When ordering, the server forgot the addition of a side upgrade and did not get the right information from the kitchen on what the side veggies were.  There was also no ketchup offered for the fries.  Albeit they have only been open for just over 2 weeks, I would expect the staff to become more experienced over time and these small kinks work themselves out.

The restaurant itself looks very clean, spacious and modern looking.  There was plenty of TV's on showing the different sport channels.  It was noticed that one TV was on a good 2 second delay compared to one beside it showing the same channel.  This may not be good if you plan on going here to watch a live sports event. 

I very much enjoyed this place.  The food was tasty, the beer was very good and the prices were comparable to what I would expect coming to a micro-brew.  Great job so far CP12!

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * * 1/2
Value: * * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * * * *
Service: * * * 1/2
Price Range (dinner): $15 - $35
Website: http://bigrigbrew.com/

Ballygiblins

There's nothing that warms the heart more then a nice evening with your friends, sharing a nice meal and community theater. A few weeks ago, a bunch of us went to support our friend staring in a local musical in Carleton Place, ON. To fill our bellies, one of our friends recommended Ballygiblins. We had a little bit of difficulty finding the place right away, but once we got there, I was impressed. The decor was classy, but still light enough for a friendly atmosphere. I did not feel like this place was snobby, but it was welcoming with a touch of class. Being the holiday season, they did a good job at adding a small festive touch while not going overboard.

For my meal, I ordered the bacon and cheddar burger while the boss ordered the soup of the day(it was an apple cream soup) and quesadillas. Our friends all ordered a mix of burgers, sandwiches and the beef vindaloo. The server was very friendly and accommodating. He was quick with the drinks, smiled and had an opinion on the food when asked. With it being such a large table, our food took a little longer to come out, but that was expected. The place slowly filled up and I found it a bit noisy in our area, but our larger group may have had a part in that.

The food that came was presented very well. With my burger, the sauces came in separate tiny bowls for you to mix and apply to your burger. The patty was homemade and the seasoning was excellent. The only complaint about the burger was that they used what I believe was french bread, or a different type of bread (I'll edit this once I remember the name of the bread), instead of burger buns. This made presentation excellent, and innovative, but practicality was not as considered. My patty fell apart and it was a little bit more difficult to eat. Overall, the burger was tasty, moist and jumping with flavour. The soup the boss ordered was raved about at the table by those who got it. I had a small taste and would have to agree. The flavours really jumped out without being too overbearing. The quesadillas on the other hand was much more disappointing. After seeing how everyone else meals were, the quesadillas was...well...quesadillas. There was nothing special about them. The boss was really expecting something more, even if it were some mix of spices, or different types of sauces, cheese, or dips. This was the only unfortunate part of the meal. For those who did order desert, they were happy that their sweet tooth was satisfied. Once again the presentation was wonderful. Someone even ordered a desert after having a tasting of someone else.

The bills for the food came and the totals were very reasonable. Overall, we had a great experience. The food was good, (except for the quesadillas), the atmosphere was well done, and the service was perfect. This is a classy enough place for a date, but not too classy for a family gathering or a "I'm too lazy to cook" meal. I would go back.

Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * * 1/2
Value: * * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * * * *
Service: * * * * *
Price Range (dinner): $12 - $24
Website: http://ballygiblins.ca/