First visit but certainly not the last. Great pre- or post-dinner spot, or if like us, a great location for a girls night out where good conversation over drinks and light apps was the priority. Very interesting wine and cocktail list ( the Old Fashioned and Brazzo where a hit), and the small plates were enjoyable (we shared the grilled cheese and Artisanal Board).

The fun at The Moonroom comes in ordering the pinxtos (tapas), served on crostinis over small glasses of beer. The bartender did become slightly overwhelmed after we had ordered 3 rounds (like in Spain, every rounds means a different tapas), but care and thought was put into each one.

Can't wait to go back and try some other fun offerings, like Dill-icious Popcorn or Roasted Olives!

The Moonroom is located on Preston Street in Ottawa.

On a beautiful Thursday evening, Table 40 did their second "special" pairing dinner of the year by hosting a 5-course meal paired with a variety of tasty Beau's All Natural Brewing Company beers (the first was a 5-course meal paired with Norman Hardie wines which *sniff* I could not attend).  

If you're not familiar with Table 40's Monday night family-style meals, shame on you! (and check out my review here). And if you're not familiar with Beau's beers, or their hugely successful Oktoberfest celebration, you should be drawn and quartered.  

As you can see from the menu above, every dish was was amazing and delicious, and portion sizes for both food and beer servings, were extremely generous (as is the case on any visit to Table 40).   We left that evening with full bellies and a lovely Beau's beer opener/key chain.  

I could go on and on about the food, the beer, how each pairing was bang on, how wonderful it was to have 2 of the brewmasters talk about each pairing, but I'll just leave you with pictures from each course and leave you with yet another cry to PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF SHOES AND WINE, make your way to Table 40 / Fraser Cafe.  You will never, be disappointed.  

Oh, and thank you to my lovely lady date who enjoyed this feast with me.   It's the first of many I'm sure and I'm happy to have a new beer and foodie friend to share adventures with!

Wife, brother and friend Michael went to Supply and Demand for oysters and a light meal on June 29th. We were stoked to eat oysters that day as it was also the day of the Ottawa Oysterfest... well it was hot out, and I just didn't have it in me to stand outside and line-up for oysters. So I convinced my companions that it would be a great idea to try Supply and Demand for our fix.

I'm very glad we did, 3 dozen oysters (a dozen of each on the menu that day), a couple of small plates and some magnificent drinks later and we were all perfectly satiated. Nothing terribly exciting to talk about the oysters, they were delicious and as usual Beausoleil's made me very happy. The small plates were delicious, Melanie and I shared a pasta dish made with a wild garlic noodle, mushrooms, pork cheeks and a coddled egg... Jay had a mushroom dish and Michael enjoyed the tuna.

Great experience. We'll be back. Try the Caesar and their wonderful local beers on tap. You won't regret a visit.

Hello fellow foodies - I wanted to share with you a recent discovery I made!  Actually, a discovery via my subscription to Bon Appetit magazine.  I came across a recipe for Pan-Roasted Chicken with Harissa Chickpeas in a recent issue (alright, it was months ago), and I finally remembered to look for the key ingredient while grocery shopping this past weekend.

Harissa is a North African hot chili paste, with a very distinct flavor.  It's not garlicky like an Asian chili sauce, nor does it resemble any curry or Southeastern Asian-type pastes.  Some of the more distinct ingredients of this paste are tomato, chili, red pepper, cumin, aniseed and coriander.  

The recipe above was very easy to execute, didn't require too many ingredients and incorporates two of G's favorites: chicken and chickpeas.  It turned out almost exactly as the picture provided online with the recipe, although I did make a few tweaks:

1. The recipe called for 1/4 cup of Harissa.  The jar I purchased on the weekend is as big as a small jar of baby food and cost $4.29.  I was not using the bulk of it in one recipe, so after doing a finger taste of the paste, I only added 2 tablespoons.  I could have likely increased that to 3, but we were both happy with the end result.

2. As recommended by many reviewers online, I increased the chicken stock to 1 cup, which proved to be excellent advice as the sauce did reduce significantly while cooking in the oven.

3.  I used a dutch oven instead of a frying pan.  

4.  I used skinless chicken thighs.  I'm sure the skin would have added some delicious fatty flavors, but we be watching our fatty-food intake right now, so no skin.  It was still delicious.

I served it with some basmati rice and naan.  Look at me, mixing North African paste with Central Asia side dishes!  I know, rebel.

I would recommend this ingredient to anyone who enjoys food with a bit of kick, as well as fragrant and "exotic" spices.  I get very bored of eating chicken 2-3 times a week, so having this new recipe on rotation makes me enjoy our fine-feathered friends just a little bit more.

Have you tried Harissa paste?  Do you have any recipes to recommend using this ingredient?  

During the last weekend of November, my food-and-wine, partner-in-crime girlfriend and I headed down to Tdot for the weekend.  The road trip was originally all about seeing Pink! in concert but in turned into an even better weekend because we enjoyed some of the great things Toronto has to offer.

(Side bar:  Pink! is has to be one of the best female artist to see live in concert.  No joke.  The women is gorgeous, has a great set of pipes - she did a sexier version of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" than Chris Isaak - and had the crowd of mostly women up out of their seats the whole time.  Amazing.)

In preparation for our road trip, we researched where would we could grab some dinner before the concert.  We bounced around some ideas over email, but my girlfriend found a Spanish restaurant less than 10 minutes away by cab to the Air Canada Center.  Located on King Street West, Patria (http://www.patriatoronto.com/) had just recently been named #2 of the 10 best new restaurants in Toronto by The Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/what-was-the-best-new-restaurant-in-toronto-this-year/article15889206/) - and with good reason!

The atmosphere inside Patria is warm, inviting, cozy.  Dark wood, soft lights.  Two giant paintings hang on one of the side walls, and on the back wall hangs an enormous tapestry (please look for it on their website as it really is a beautiful and original piece or art).  We settled in at our table, excited for the meal and the concert, and slightly giddy after having already enjoyed a bottle of wine in our hotel room while getting ready for the night.  

We started off with cocktails.  My girlfriend ordered a Ceasar.  I was feeling indecisive and was ready to order a ho-hum Vodka & Soda, but the waiter easily up-sold me on a Negroni.  Yes please.

With dinner, my girlfriend very graciously allowed me to pick a bottle of wine for us to share with dinner.  I settled on a bottle of red from Ribero del Duero.  Since travelling to Spain back in 2012, I've found a love for their reds, and since spending some time in this area, it was an easy choice that we both enjoyed.  Smooth and fruity it was a great pairing with all the great tapas to come!

Like any food-obsessive fiend, I searched the restaurant's website before our trip to marvel at all the tasty goodness they had to offer.  When I saw the words "Jamon Iberico de Bellota", I gasped!  G and I had plate after plate of this most amazing shaved ham in Spain.  I told him the restaurant in Toronto had it on the menu.  He immediately said: "you have to have some, you must have SLK try it!"  And so we did.  Almost as good as when we had it in Spain, the fatty, nutty, meaty flavors melted in your mouth.  Delicioso!

The rest of the meal involved the following (see pictures below):
-Ham croquettes with aioli
-Butter lettuce salad with goat cheese, avocado, quince dressing and almonds
-Blistered peppers with sea salt (another fond memory of tapas in Spain)
-Paella with mussels
-Churros (although the waiter tried really hard to get us to order something more upscale, I was all over the deep fried dough sticks with chocolate!)
-and finally to cap it all off, yep.  Dos Spanish coffees por favor.

I'm ok with saying to you all (yes, you two people who have read this blog post) that it was the most expensive meal I've ever had without my husband.  And you know what, it was a delicious meal and a wonderful night.  I got my bestie to try the best piece of ham in the world, we made an older gentleman's night by commenting on his lovely cologne, we ate some really great food, and the meal was just the start of what proved to be a fun night out in Toronto.  

We've made a promise to plan similar weekends away once a year and I can't wait to experience our next Tasty-Travel together!

Tasty-Travel side note:  If you ever get the chance, please visit Toronto's Christmas Market. We spent an afternoon walking around Toronto's Distillery district where the Market takes place and it was wonderful.  Vendors set up booths both indoors and outdoors, selling Christmas and winter wares (I bought some great wool mittens cause it was damn cold!). Lots of German, Dutch and French influence in some of the booths, as well as tons of food and booze stalls.  We enjoyed a tasty cup of Mulled Wine and we can now both say that we love our wine hot and cold.  Mmmm warm, spiced wine!  Sadly the Market is now over for the season but please keep it in mind for next year.  
http://www.torontochristmasmarket.com/

It can be said that food is a way to a man's heart and I am no exception. Welcome to the "his" side of the blog post. Yeah, yeah, I know, I've been delinquent on getting anything up since the launch of this little slice of "us". My apologies for the delay and my condolences to all who were expecting the dulcet humour of my wonderful wife. You may find my writings a bit more, shall we say colourful and at times lewd. Food when done just right, as with Chef Picard, is after all just sex on a plate. So tuck in, if you're adventurous, and enjoy!

The Meet
We arrived following the 90 minute drive from Ottawa to Mirabel about 25 mins before the doors opened. We were the first seating of the first day of the Fall Season for the Cabanes à Sucre - Au pied de Cochon. It was all new for both the house and for us, and we were both hot with anticipation. Servers and cooks scurried about preparing for the first guests and M and I took a few minutes to gather ourselves for the opening of the doors by sitting in a couple of beautiful Adirondack chairs on the front porch of the restaurant. We weren't alone, no less than a dozen other adventurers waited alongside us, for the grand moment when apples, squash and pig - glorious pig would caress our bellies. The Cabane was true to its name, a rustic place with a whole lot of timber.  When the doors finally opened we were the first ones through, no surprise there, and a delightful young hostess strongly suggested a couple such as us would be much more comfortable sitting at the bar than at one of the large communal tables which lined the entire restaurant. This isn't a place for romance, no dainty little tables for two, no candles... lights on baby this is a place of orgiastic food lust. 

As we settled into our cow hide covered bar seats we were quickly met by our server for the evening. The brightly coloured (read - a lot of tattoos) young lady with ample cleavage (in my defense I didn't mean to look - I was reading her tattoos) in the standard uniform of red lumberjack top, khaki shorts and work boots welcomed us warmly. She made us feel right at home and was quick to serve up our first drink, a Blanc de Blanc which I didn't have the good sense to note beyond that. We were there, we were ready and the bubbly was quickly getting us in the mood. 

The Foreplay
This chef knows how to please and isn't shy about getting you well and truly ready for the main event. I mean, he had me at "Bonjour" but dang these were some very fine appetizers. Four in total, that left both M and I in a sweat craving a cigarette before the real action had even begun.

In truth, and as happens so often with appetizers, they were more interesting and adventurous than the main course.  M chose a wonderful French wine (2009 Domaine Meo-Camuzet Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits Clos Saint Philibert) to accompany our meal which paired well with most courses but mostly just kept us both perfectly lubricated for the meal to come. 

Salad - this one was a delight on the eyes. The greens were served still potted with a pair of scissors for us to snip away until our hearts content. The largely bitter greens were sprayed with a garlicy oil dressing by the server prior to being brought to the table and accompanied by butter poached apples and walnuts. Nothing overly fancy, but we were under way and we had already experienced a twist that both excited us and made us long for more.

Soup - vegetable they called it, yup, a simple vegetable soup, oh except it had four types of meat in it, pork, duck, chicken and sturgeon. The irony of calling it a vegetable soup wasn't lost on us. It was as though the chef decided that a few carrots met the mark. Truly a wonderful soup, it was meaty, rich and savory. Served with a zesty pesto which added depth and a little zing, this soup could have been a meal in itself. At this point M and I were starting to wonder whether we were in over our heads, but the smells and sights coming from the kitchen rallied us forward.

Risotto - Rich, creamy, cheesy goodness. This was decadent and took advantage of the fall specialties apples and squash. Apples dotted the top of the dish contrasting the sharp Parmesan and the rich butteriness of the squash. If this wasn't enough the Chef placed a few pieces of homemade dried cured sausage on top of it all. Wow, it was a party in the mouth, absolutely a show stopper of flavours and textures. It was our first climax, but not the last. 

It was official, though, we were getting full and the tower of take home had begun. 

The Pie - not sure what to say here, just writing about it still makes me hyper salivate. I mean savory apple pie, topped with aged cheddar, already amazing right? OK now throw on a giant piece of perfectly seared foie gras and you have a masterpiece. This thing is the shocker of appetizers, a true triple threat that had us absolutely reeling. We couldn't stop eating it and finished a full third of a pie with nary a thought of taking any home. It was the high point of the entire dinner and I for one cannot see myself ever eating apple pie again without thinking back to this experience. Damn you Martin Picard you've ruined me for apple pie forever. I hate/love you.

The Dirty Deed
Honestly it really was done dirt cheap, remember at the end of all of this, the entire table d'hôte was only $50/person. Alcohol extra, of course, but I digress. We had made it through the appetizers and it was now time for the main course. The course where pork, pig, swine, that magical animal capable of all things beautiful and good takes centre stage and begins to shake me to my soul, forcing me to re-evaluate my atheist ways. 

You've all eaten pork, I don't have to explain how good pork can be in the hands of a master, but I should share with you the veritable myriad of different hunks, links, slices and chunks of pork which were present on the massive platter. The platter itself was served German style with boiled potatoes and sauerkraut, the meats all prepared in-house including the sausages and cured meats. We dined on, and you'll please excuse the long sentence:  Mortadella, pigs foot sausage, pork fat and liver pancake (OMG amazing), pickled tongue, hot dog style sausage with foie gras and apple, pork belly, ham (done two ways, sliced thinly and thick smoked), a pepperette of sorts and pork loin on the bone pork chop.

The amount of meat coming out of the kitchen was obscene. We barely made a dent in our platter and here lies my first cirticism, what were they thinking putting all of that meat on a single platter. Were they trying to kill us with porky goodness? This was truly a dangerous amount of meat product... shhh... don't tell but I actually had a fear boner. (Tip of the hat to The League for the inspiration for that joke. You must check out that series.) 

As if the amount of pork wasn't enough just as we began to tuck into the mountain of meat we were met with an equally dangerous amount of cheese. Six different cheeses:  4 from Quebec and 2 from France: they were largely pungent and very runny cheeses, Chevre lait cru pasteurized with apple juice, Tentation de Laurier, Camembert, Brebichon, Hercule, and Bleu Ciel. We basically just brought it all home, cause we just couldn't eat it all. The cheeses were served with a generous hunk of in-house made French bread. These hunks of cheese were enormous.

Needless to say the tower of take-home continued to grow. At the end of the main course, we had three large containers already filled with risotto, bread, cheese and massive amounts of pork. 

I was done, M was done, we were weak in the knees, there was nothing left for us to give, and then they came at us again.

The Pillow Talk
One desert, of course not, that would be silly, Who needs only one desert after 4 appetizers, every pork product ever conceived, six cheeses, bread, drinks... bah!!! One desert is for the weak. 

We were weak and we knew it, BUT, we were smart and prepared to take home another container.

Desert one, the one that was consumed at the restaurant was a squash Mille Feuilles, it was reminiscent of pumpkin pie spices and was amazing. Light, crispy, rich custard filling with a perfect blend of spices. We loved it and while very full, M enjoyed a glass of desert wine with it that was wonderful.

The second desert went straight into a take home container, two homemade apple jelly filled donuts which were enjoyed the next night. While they were excellent, a day old donut isn't as good as fresh.

The third dessert was a homemade soft-serve ice cream.  Pumpkin and stout ice cream, no less. Heavenly and delicious.  Who knew that pumpkin could serve so many dessert-purposes?!

If it weren't for a 90 minute drive home, I very well could have just gone straight to sleep. Satiated, spent, happy, with giant smiles we headed home with our FOUR large take home containers. 

We have vowed to get reservations for the Spring season. We're hooked and our lives will be forever changed. Thank you... you wonderful, sick, evil genius!

This past Saturday, we finally (finally!) visited Whalesbone Oyster House on Bank Street for the first time.  I know, what the hell took us so long.  Well, I'll tell you. See up until this past May, I didn't like oysters.  I hear your cries and gasps, I know...To be fair, my first taste of an oyster happened at the Ottawa Wine & Food show about 8 years ago or so, and let's just say I wasn't in the right frame of mind at the time.  I also didn't have the open and adventurous mind for food as I do now.  Anyhow, this past May, while vacationing in Austin (which will be featured at some point in our Tasty Travel section soon, cause OMG the food in Austin!), G nudged me in to giving mollusks another try. What an epiphany!  But I digress...

I'll start off by strongly recommending reservations at least a week in advance if you're looking for a specific date and time. I called on Tuesday to make a reservation for Saturday night, and with some sweet talking, managed to get a reso for 4 people at 6:30pm.  And if you're not a fan of seafood or fish (raw or cooked), this isn't the place for you.  You must enjoy eating many creatures of the sea if you're going to get the most of this restaurant.  The price is also a bit steep (cha-ching went my brain when G told me the price for our half of the bill), but you are getting top quality food here.  I would recommend this for a special occasion, even if that occasion simply becomes a once-a-year visit just because.  Whalesbone is a small spot and gets a bit loud when it's full, but it's a fun atmosphere to enjoy with friends. 

We sat at a shared table, which included our party of 4 on one end, and a couple at the other end.  This didn't bother us in the least.  We were also happy to see that a server we had the pleasure of meeting on several occasions was now working behind the bar at Whalesbone.  Good sign.  

We started off with a platter of 24 oysters.  A mix of 12 East and 12 West coast beauties. Memory serves, both G and I fancied the West coast ones most.  The 3 sauces provided included a red wine vinegar and shallots, a tomato-based spicier sauce, and a third which escapes me at the moment (likely due to the 2 bottles of wine shared during dinner).


We followed the same sharesy approach to the rest of our meal.  I gotta say, all the starters on the menu were really appealing, but we settled on 3: scallops, swordfish and tuna.  Each dish was distinct and included interesting combinations of ingredients that played well with the flavors of the fish (or mollusk in the case of the scallop).  I'm pretty sure I could have polished off all 3 by myself, but then that would have just been sheer gluttony (but, I would have been a-okay with that).  


We then decided on 1 entree per couple.  G and I shared the Lobster Risotto, and our pals ordered the Walleye.  I can't comment personally on the Walleye as I didn't try it, but there were only very positive Mmmmm sounds coming from their full mouths. To be honest, I was too focused on enjoying every morsel (and there were huge morsels) of lobster served over top the most wonderful risotto I've had in a long time.  Creamy and wonderfully seasoned.  As you can tell from the picture below, I immediately dug into the dish when it came out and only decided to snap a pic when a few bites of the risotto were left.  I could have easily used my fingers to swipe every last bit of goodness on that plate, but somehow I restrained myself (even after we had polished off a lovely bottle of French Chablis).  


For dessert, each couple ordered the Churros con Chocolate.  I can't tell you how excited I was that this was on the menu.  G and I tried this deep-fried goodness while travelling in Spain last Fall, and I didn't think we'd fine this in Ottawa.  Two huge tube-shaped, deep fried dough sticks served on a plate with a small tub of warm chocolate pudding for dipping.  Such a fun dessert to cap a great evening enjoyed with friends.  

The next time you're craving some delicious seafood, you want to share a fun night with friends and you're willing to shell out a bit of do-re-mi, spend an evening at Whalesbone.  You will leave there feeling happy, full and wanting just one more oyster for the road.  

Website: http://www.thewhalesbone.com/oysterhouse/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Whalesbone-Oyster-House-Catering-and-Fish-Supply/173491829342848 

Last week (Friday), a colleague/friend and I decided to check out one of Ottawa's newest food trucks Ad Mare for a tasty seafood lunch. Unbelievably, it was the first one that I've had the chance to visit, but even so, I'm hooked (ha! get it?)

Ad Mare (http://admareseafood.com) is located at the corner of Slater and O'Connor in Downtown Ottawa.  We arrived promptly at 11:30 am however, there were already about 25-30 people in line to order. They have patrons line up on the sidewalk and a friendly gentleman takes everyone's orders and provides you with a number.  He also takes your cash (cash only) and then gives your order to the cooks inside the truck.  

Yes, you may wait about 30 minutes to get your food (which we did), but it was OH so worth it.  And, it was a nice day out so it gave us the chance to chat and catch up a bit.  The food is obviously made fresh to order, and they normally provide 2 to 3 different menu choices.  The day we went was the Friday before the long-weekend and there were only 2 choices:  crab sliders and fish and chips.  I ordered the crab and my friend the fish & chips.  
Each order comes with homemade "veggie chips" (thin slices or potatoes, sweet potatoes and beets that were deep-fried and salted...so good) as well as homemade red cabbage slaw. The slaw is oil-based and was delicious, light, slightly tangy and a perfect compliment to the mains.  

I loved the crab sliders and was completely full afterwards.  The crab cake was a slight touch dry, but the tasty sauce over top of each made up for it.  

My friend raved about the fish and chips as well as the tartar sauce that came with.  He wished for a 3rd piece of fish actually.  I had a bite and the batter was light and tasty, just as it should be but sadly rarely ever is at pubs in Ottawa.  

If you have some time on your hands (or if you can get out at 11:15 am to be one of the first in line) treat yourself to this great seafood truck.  I will be going back very soon to try their Shrimp Po' Boy to see if they can dazzle me even more.

Their menu changes daily and is normally posted day-of on Facebook
(https://www.facebook.com/AdMareSeafood) and Twitter.  

For my first post, I want to write about one of our favorite restaurants, and very happily, it is a neighborhood restaurant only minutes away from us.  Table 40.  Located on Springfield Avenue, the owner's first restaurant, Fraser Café, is also a gem in the neighborhood located right next door, but Table 40 is one of the first "family-style dining" establishments in Ottawa.  Opened for only a few years now, they serve dinner on Monday nights only, and their website normally posts their Monday night dinners up to 4 weeks in advance (note that the restaurant is available for private functions on most other nights).  

We've enjoyed likely nearly 10 different meals at Table 40 and not one has ever disappointed in any way.  Every Monday night dinner is comprised of 3 courses (although the plentiful portion sizes makes it feel like 4 or 5 courses) and the menus always include both a white and red wine pairing recommendation to compliment the set menu.  The wine pairings are selected with great care and knowledge and highly recommend that you give them a shot with your meal.  Some high points for us: the chef is a master with both duck and pork entrées (that said, the chicken and beef tried here were also wonderful), and the desserts...oh the desserts.  For about $40 per person (taxes and wine extra) it is one of the most delicious and well priced meals you will enjoy in Ottawa. The staff are friendly and fun and I love supporting a neighborhood joint.  

Below you'll find a slideshow of some of the delicious meals we've enjoyed at Table 40.  Do yourself a favor, take a night off from cooking on a Monday night and make a reservation. After your first meal, you'll have a really hard time resisting going back every week.  If money (and my waistline) weren't a factor, I would be here every Monday night for dinner!  http://frasercafe.ca/table40/