Edible Ottawa

The Urban Pear

2007-11-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

Last week I ate at the Urban Pear. My friend had heard a lot about it and neither of us had the opportunity to try it out. The menu rotates a lot! On thursday I had the trout which was plated on top of a delicious sauce that was tangy and savory, served along side a mushroom crepe laying on Kale, baby parsnips, and baby fennel. It was delicious. The Trout (which I haven't had in years) was beautifully cooked and perfectly moist. God I love fish done properly.

For desert we split a creme brule which was topped with rasberries and pretty much made me feel as though I could die happy at that moment. Our mains were very generous in size, if there had been anymore food it would have certainly not made it into my tummy.

I can't recall the name of the winery.... but it was pretty standard Australian Cabernet-Sauv.

The service was perfectly polite and friendly. The gentleman checked on us regularly and even told us how the gorgeous sauce on our dishes were made.. too complicated for me to relay on here tho. we loved how quiet it was. The artwork on the walls are showcased.. we unfortunately did not get to see any good artwork haha... oh god it was bad. But Everything else was fine.

Trout with Mushroom Crepe- $24
Wine- (Australian Cabernet Sauv)- $9
Creme Brule - $7.50

Mythago Tonight!

2007-11-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while! But tonight we're trying out the new Greek place that opened up where Papa Gus use to be. It's called Mythago.. (odd name in my books) but lets hope it's great. I promise I'll make use of my camera tonight since they have no website to give visuals or menu.

THE BUZZ!!

2007-09-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday brunch is when we attempt to find new places. But lately we've been too impressed by The Buzz to go elsewhere. Not only are they open for brunch until 4PM but their menu is sooo impressive. The first time I went I had the Eggs Alfredo. Now I've never had Eggs Alfredo anywhere before, but let me tell you, I was perfectly impressed. Just like Eggs Benny but with Alfredo sauce! If I remember correctly, instead of HAM under the edds, was asperagus.

All the brunch items are under 12 bucks. Eggs Alfredo was around 9.50 I believe. The second time we went, I had the Heauvos Burrito! It was out-standing! Generous portions, I could eat the entire thing. It's a grilled wrap with green salsa, scrambled eggs, sharp cheese, and black beans.You can add either chicken or sausage as well! This meal was roughly 12 dollars with a coffee.

The dishes are all accompanied by cheff's fruit (which is generous and fresh) and rosetti potatoes which are mashed potatoes fried to a crispy outside with herbs. It's light and very ungreasy for something that is fried!

Il Piccolino Restaurante !

2007-09-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

Menu
449 Preston Street/Corso Italia
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S-4N5
Tel: 613/236-8158
Fax: 613/234-6857
ilpiccolino@rogers.com

The Last time I ate here I had a beautiful soup of the day which was an Italian take on French Onion Soup. It was the best onion soup I'd ever had. So flavourful. YOu could taste all the wonderfuly basil and oregano.

For a main I had : Liguria $14-

Farfalle, Chicken Breast, Sun dried tomato & Zucchini in a creamy pesto.
It was very comforting for a cold spring evening.

For a desert I had a blueberry tea. Service and food fantastic!

I can't wait to find out what the special is tomorrow!

Tonight! Suisha Garden!

2007-08-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

I'm Having This:

Miyuki Combination: For seafood lovers! Crispy vegetables & shrimp tempura served with tender Atlantic grilled salmon and scallops in a ginger sauce. Sushi is also included. $25.95 comes with rice, miso soup and ice cream!

Coriander Thai!

2007-06-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

-Amy Brander

282 Kent St.
(Centertown)

Yes Yes!! Oh my god yes! I just love this place. The sweet honey sauce that went with the spring rolls was awesome. I had veggies and chicken in a red curry peanut sauce. OH MY GOD! The portions were so large. I had an entire meal to take home with me! The service was quick and polite. It was a nice place to have a conversation. I also liked the decor. Although obviously a little old, it was very warm and inviting. I am deffinently going back!!

Curried chicken - $15
Spring Rolls - $4.75

Tonight We Dine India Style!

2007-05-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

East India Company
210 Summerset St. West
Website

So last night we went to the East India Company. So fantastic. It;s beautiful for one. The service was so polite and attentive. We ate on the patio since it was so beautiful out last night. The buffet had so much choice! I can completely understand why its a 17 dollar buffet. They had so many different chutneys and pickles. It made me sad that I couldn't fit more than 2 plates in me! Let's see if I can remember all the dishes I had. Well to start I has a spoonful each of the three cold spicy salads! They were delectable. I especially liked the black chick pea salad. I had a piece of lovely papadam infused with cumin seeds. The coconut chutney of course which nearly made me die! It was white and creamy! I also tried the cucumber chutney, not to be confused with Raita.

From the main dishes, I had the butter chicken (very balanced sauce), Spinach in Paneer (paneer dishes always end up being my favourite) I had the garlic vegetables, the vegetables in coconut milk and the lamb curie! after tasting a bit of each I was full. I also tried a curious desert, just one tiny pearly ball with syrup on it. It was quite lovely. I did notice that they had wonderful pistachio deserts in a fridge (those are my fav too!) but I couldn't fit them in me! Indian deserts are divine. I have to say that the green store on the corner of summerset and booth has the best selection of Indian deserts! I go there once in a while to taste some lovely pistachio deserts and cause they also make the best samosas in the city.

All in all it was a very enjoyable eating. I had a pint of creemore which I sadly couldn't finished cause I stuffed myself a bit too much for a heavy beer. So wonderful, I will totally go back!

Stoneface Dolly's on Preston.

2007-05-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

Stoneface Dolly's
416 Preston St
Online Menu

Who doesn't like Stoneface Dolly's? The old one is now gone so for Sunday brunch I went to the one on Preston St. I loved it! I had Eggs Catherine, as I remember it being called. It was basically eggs benny but with smoked salmon and wilted spinach. So good! The hollandaise sauce is actually a white sauce they call Diablo sauce. It's lightly spiced and really unique in my opinion. It doesn't taste like anything else I've ever had. The hashbrowns that accompany the dish are actually mashed potatoes with scallions and light spices mixed in and they are fried to have a nice crispy golden covering on top. The dish also comes with a little fruit bowl of grapes, honey dew, cantelope, fresh pineapple and strawberry. Yum! Of course the portions were huge! So I couldn't finish. But my god, did I ever try! So good. Trust me, go there!You won't be disapointed. Curteous and fast service.

Egg Catherine - $10.95
Blueberry,banana, orange juice- $4.00

Tonight the Kashbah Village!

2007-05-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Let's see, I really liked the decore. Everything was really colourful, including the plates. There were tapestries on the walls. The waitor was very nice and I suspected he was the owner. Our food came out quickly. I had a soup and I unfortunately cannot remember the name. This was my first time eating Morroccan food so I didn't know what any of it was. The soup was great. Very flavourful. Lamp chick peas and veggetable in a lovely thick and dark soup. Almost gravy coloured. It was spicey but not spicey-hot.

For the main course I had a chicken tagine, I think. I could be wrong. The chicken and couscus was lemon flavoured . There was a lovely picked something!? Maybe apple? I dunno what it was, but it was really good! Raisons, carrots, parsnip and gord. The portion was huge so I took half of it home.

The Morrocan wine was recommended by the waitor and it was wonderful. A complete palate clensor I would say. It had no after taste but was a full bodied red wine. Not dry really but not sweet either. Extremely pleasant and suited the food well.

Soup - $4.50
Chicken Tagine - $ 15.00
Glass of Wine - $ 6.75

Cafe Paradiso

2007-04-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

-Amy Brander

Cafe Paradiso
199 Bank St.
Online Menu

I had eaten here sometime ago with Tracy but I thought I would review the experience.

Let e first say that I will totally come back to this place because the food was great and so was the live jazz on a thrusday evening. They also had a decent wine selection. I had a glass of Wolf Blass 2005 Shiraz if I remember correctly.

For my main course I had a really wonderful piece of halibut with muscles and sweet potatoe gnochi. It had a beautifully light butter sauce on it and garnished is some light greens. We also split the cheese plate which was wonderful. I am a cheese fanatic.

I was very disapointed by the service. The waitor took one look at us two young looking gals (who by the way made reservations) and I guess he figured we would stiff him on his tip. He neglected us most of the evening. We waited so long for our bill that I had to go up and ask for it. We also noticed that he didn't seem to be neglecting other peoples drinks like he neglected ours. In the end we still tipped 20 % just to prove that we weren't broke kids, although he didn't deserve it. But if that ever happens to me again at this restaurant, I will make a formal complaint.

Main Course: $26
Cheese Plate: $17
Glass of Wine: $ 8.50

Saturday Night: Som Tum Thai!

2007-04-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

-Amy Brander

260 Napean St (corner of Kent & Napean)
Online Menu

Saturday evening my boyfriend took me to Som Tum Thai. It just opened up on the corner of Kent and Napean about 2 months ago. Apon entering we noticed that they have daily specials. When we got through the entry way, I was delighted by the modern decore. Beautiful tan leather seats and eligantly decorated tables. I think my favorite part of the tables were the heavy and oversized silver cutlery. The room was decorated with beautiful asian statues and artwork. It was very cozey even with the modern furniture and bar.

Now I ordered two spring roles for an apetizer. I should have asked if they were deep fried or rice paper, but I forgot. So I ended up with rice paper rolls. I don't mind rice paper but I was counting on the deep fried, especially because the description said mushroom and vermecelli rolls. They were good anyway. The dipping sauce was an excellent sweet sauce with a squirt of peanut sauce. I especially liked the little carrot flower presentation. My boyfriend got two marinated beef scewers with peanut sauce. I enjoyed the peanut cause cause I could tell it was made from scratch, unlike a lot of peanut sauce I've had thats mostly just hoisin sauce based.

Our main course were the eggplant and tofu stir fry, which was really good. I liked how the tofu was actually deep fried first. The eggplant was in nice big chunchs with a light soy and oyster sauce. I would order this again.

I chose the green curry with shrimp and veggies in coconut milk. I should state right now that I'm a big curry snob. Ever since I started learning about curries from all over the world and making them for myself, I've found that I've become very hard on restuarants. I was a little dispointed with this dish. I found the curry a little overloaded with cracked black pepper and not so much chili. I also thought the bamboo tasted a little odd. I've always been a fan of bamboo but this had a strange unpleasant taste even though the texture was right. I can't describe it really, but the taste sank into the sauce as well. I didn't find the ingredients complimented eachother. Eggplant, bamboo, shrimp, red peppers,peas, large chunks of kaffir lime leaves which I found cumbersome.

They didn't have a wine selection. All that was written on the menu was cabernet sauve and merlot for red. I never drink white wine so I can't recall what it was. All three of the selected wines were Chilean. The whinery wasn't mentioned sadly. They did have some imported beer which is always nice to see. My boyfriend got King Fisher which is a beer from India that we often get at Ceylonta. It's a very refreshing beer. Refreshing in the sense that it's light in colour and taste. Completely a pale ale.

Beef Scewers with Peanut Sauce - $4.95
Mushroom and Vermecelli Spring Rolls - $ 5.95

Eggplant, Tofu Stirfry - $ 10.95
Green Shrimp & Vegetable Curry in Coconut Milk- $ 12.95
wine - $ 4.75
beer - $ 5.75

The Manx Pub for Supper

2007-04-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

-Amy Brander

The Manx Pub
370 Elgin St, Downstairs

No Online Menu Available

Last night we attending the all-time favorite location, The Manx Pub. The Manx Pub has an excellent reputation for food but people often complain about the service. It should be stated that the staff are amazing people! It just so happens they work in a small area that is very very busy. Getting a seat can sometimes take up to 40 minutes and believe me, I have waited. But once you get your table its worth it. The food is reasonably priced and excellent.

We both ended up getting the Crab Cakes for fear they would be switching the menu soon, which changes seasonally. Crab Cakes disapear in the summertime. The Crab Cakes are rich (not all potatoe or bread like most places) and lay on a bed of corn and potatoes in a thick cream sauce that I know contains some wonderful cheese I can't identify. That in turn is on top of wilted purple kale. Oh god, the kale is so good with that sauce! The Crab Cakes are topped with a dill dip. At least if I remember correctly, it was a dill dip.

The best thing about the Manx is that, everything down to their bread is made in the restaurant. Even their morning juices are freshly made.

The atmosphere, although can be noisey like last night, is warm and the artwork on the wall changes every few weeks to highlight and display another local artist. Artwork is normally for sale as well. Last night we saw the lovely Jennifer Far's Beeswax paintings.

It must be said that the Manx has a great selection of whiskey and Scotch. However, I didn't have any last night. I had a pint of Creemoure to start, and then a bottle of Heinikin.

Crab Cakes-$15

Tonight Savanna Cafe!

2007-04-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

-Amy Brander

Savanna Cafe
431 Gilmor St.-Centertown

No Online Menu Available

This would be my very first time at Savanna Cafe. Very festive decor. It's an old Victorian home converted into a restaurant which is apparently celebrating it's 20th birthday this year, that is according to the sign outside.

I had a nice African Pinot Noir. I unfortunately didn't get the full name of the wine. I didn't want the house wine and it just so happened she had this wine open.

For starters I had the Kalaloo Soup, which was highly recommended by Tracy. It came with cute little cornmeal scones that were in little squares. The soup was amazing and was a puree of okra, spinach, carrot, in coconut milk with traditional green Thai curry spices. It was one of the best fusion soups I've ever had.

For the main course I had the Red Currie Bowl which was large. I got the tofu and vegetables. The vegetables were carrot, zucchini, eggplant, bean sprouts, and red pepper topped with cilantro. The red curry was a wonderful Thai sauce made in coconut milk and there seemed to be the perfect amount to cover everything, including the jasmine rice. Delicious. I would certainly order this again.

The service was excellent, everyone was very nice and checked on us regularly. Not a single complaint in that department. Actually not a single complaint all around, except maybe next I'll mention wanting to sit away from doorways and in a lesser traffic zone.

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wine (glass)-$9
Kalaloo Soup-$5
Red Currie Bowl (Tofu)-$15