Chucking Myself with a Burger Lunch

Wanting to just spend a day during my Christmas break at my sister's apartment relaxing and memorizing my lines for upcoming shows, I opted for a lunch within a reasonable walking distance.  My sister suggested Holy Chuck Burgers as one of the possible locations.  At first I wasn't too thrilled about having to walk uphill both ways, but I was willing to grin and bear it as the fare wasn't worth a one-subway-station ride.  After lunch, though, I was very thankful I chose to walk!

Return to The Stockyards

On my first full day of my Christmas vacation in Ontario, my sister took me to The Stockyards for lunch.  I tried The Stockyards' fried chicken and ribs the previous Christmas holiday for take-out, and with my sister having talked about the small joint's brunches favourably several times, I had to try it for myself as well.

A Very Tasty Unburger for Me, for Me!

If you watched Disney's "Alice in Wonderland", you would recall how the Mad Hatter and his party wer boisterously celebrating their unbirthdays.  So if you saw a place called Unburger, what would be your first thought about it?  A bit of a mad-house?  An all-vegetarian counterpoint to the existing burger joints in town?  Something else out in left field... or Wonderland?

A Stella Lunch with the Parents

Close-up of Stella's Café's Provalone Roast Chicken Sandwich

I had the fortune of hosting my parents once more this year.  This has been the earliest in a year that I've been able to host them, as I managed to convince them to come see me perform in a community theatre production in late April; the comparatively late show times allowed them to avoid the usual winter season.  It had also been a couple of years since I last visited Winnipeg with my parents, so a full daytrip, including lunch in town, was in order when my parents visited me this past weekend.

Discovering Two Lunchable Joints in Winnipeg

The Winnipeg franchise of Smoke's Poutinerie, a small location in the Exchange District.

Looking back at my past blog entries of places I've tried in Winnipeg, along with having chats with my buddies who read my blog, I realized that I hadn't made as strong an effort to try places for lunch compared to dinner.  The main reason why I haven't tried lunch in Winnipeg as often is simply that I often haven't been waking early enough in order to have lunch in Winnipeg rather than a brunch back in Brandon.  With my recent and comparatively more frequent daytrips to Winnipeg, I managed to try a couple of noteworthy places for lunch.

Toronto Dishcrawl to End 2011

Part of the kitchen at Bannock.

(I've unfortunately had to take a pause writing about my Christmas break culinary adventures due to my involvement in a musical production that just finished this past weekend.  So, now we return to our regularly scheduled programming....)

Knowing that she would still be on holidays from work, before my holidays my sister suggested doing a dishcrawl throughout central Toronto.  For those not familiar with what a dishcrawl is, you may have heard of a pub crawl, where people hop from one drinking establishment to another to try a feature/unique drink from each establishment.  So, a dishcrawl is where people hop from one eatery to another to try a feature/unique food dish from each establishment.  Though she had a quite a few places to choose, we originally settled to try five places and eventually only tried four as, in spite of what our tastebuds would tell us, our stomachs could only take so much.

A Snowy Amble to Allium

(Special thanks to my sister at boneats.ca for allowing me to use her photos on this post. Though I did bring a camera to dinner, I was unable to take decent pictures with it under low lighting conditions.)

Dijon-herb butter served with the bread at our table. (Photo courtesy of www.boneats.ca.)

Though my sister and I were planning to take our parents to a restaurant in Toronto for their anniversary dinner, my parents still wanted to dine out on their actual anniversary date, so, at the suggestion of a fellow Ottawa foodie, we went to Allium Restaurant for dinner.  Located in the Hintonburg neighbourhood, and owned by chef Arup Jana, Allium featured Canadian cuisine in a short menu.  One thing I found amusing about the restaurant was that its menu featured a surprise appetizer and a surprise main course, but none of the staff revealed what those dishes were, not even hints.  Understandably, the menu cautioned persons with dislikes or allergies to not choose the surprise dishes.

Combining Three of My Favourite Food Items into One Dish

Some of my favourite food items include smoked salmon, pasta and mushrooms.  With all of them in my fridge and freezer, I decided to combine them into a one-dish dinner, Smoked Salmon Pasta in a Creamy Tomato Sauce.  The smoked salmon I used was sockeye prepared in what I call the "East Coast" or lox style, whose texture is closer to that of raw fish rather than fully cooked fish, a trait seen in the "West Coast" style, though the "West Coast" version could just as easily be used.  Sockeye is a particularly flavourful variety of salmon, and its flavour shone in this dish.  Atlantic smoked salmon can also be used, especially if one prefers a milder taste.

100-Mile Fine Dining

The bar and kitchen of Raincity Grill.

 Before my trip to Vancouver I realized that my father's birthday would come during my trip.  Thankfully my sister was more in the know of the food scene in Vancouver as she had been there the previous year.  After poring over a few possibilities I ended choosing to treat him at Raincity Grill, a restaurant located at the south end of Denman St. in the English Bay neighbourhood.  Not only were the menu choices suitable for both his tastes and dietary concerns, and not only was this restaurant a reputable one, but it was unique in featuring a 100-Mile Menu.

Lunch in the Park - Part 2

The open part of the kitchen at Seasons in the Park.

Once again my grandparents wanted a big extended family lunch, and it was decided this time to try a restaurant closer to where they lived.  It's not often one can have a house with a front yard facing a major city park, but Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park, arguably second in significance only to Stanley Park, makes the surrounding area's real estate market, hot as it already is, possibly even hotter.  Though the distance to the restaurant was absolutely walkable, chauffeuring duties for the grandparents dictated otherwise on an overcast yet pleasant day

Lunch in the Park - Part 1

A meal with relatives was in order again, this time for brunch in Stanley Park.  Stanley Park actually has four restaurants within its expansive grounds, and my grandparents originally wanted to go to The Teahouse in Stanley Park, one of four restaurants of the notable Sequoia Company of Restaurants.  However, the same-day call to make a reservation and the popularity of the The Teahouse meant that we could only have a late brunch there.  We therefore opted to go for another notable restaurant in Stanley Park, The Fish House in Stanley Park.

Celebrating in the Courtyard

For their 30th wedding anniversary, my parents opted to dine out instead of eating in, even though my sister and I were willing to cook another meal for them.  My sister, being a more connected foodie than I am, knew another food blogger who lives in Ottawa and had plenty of local connections and knowledge of good places to go to eat.  One of the places he suggested was Courtyard Restaurant, which is perchance celebrating its 30th anniversary as well.  Tucked away with its actual entrance from Clarendon Lane, I've seen that place a few times in the summer months when the courtyard, surrounded by stone buildings, was packed with diners enjoying their meals al fresco.  Until recently I was concerned that, being located in the tourist-heavy By Ward Market area, it was one of many tourist trap eateries in the area, but a suggestion from a foodie allayed my concern, and my sister and I agreed to give that place a try.

A Memorable Lunch on Remembrance Day

I apologize to have neglected my food blog for a while, but unfortunately nothing new has occurred both in terms of cooking and in trying restaurants. Fortunately for my taste buds, I've been on a two-week vacation that will end soon. One benefit of being back with my parents is that I get to enjoy mom's cooking again, as well as home-cooked meals where it's not practical for me to have because I'm single and/or I'm now in a small city. Another benefit is that I get to have a stab at some finer dining establishments.

A friend of mine was nice enough to join me to go see the National Remembrance Day Ceremony at Ottawa's National War Memorial on November 11, and after that our stomachs were grumbling for food and we wanted to be in some warm place. With that we decided to go to Domus Café for lunch. I've previously been to Domus at least once for brunch with family a few years ago, and that was a nice experience. I was not disappointed by my revisit and was looking forward to my meal as I sipped on some cold apple cider and nibbled on freshly baked bread dipped in a mix of olive oil and apple cider vinegar.










For starters I ordered the soup of the day, which was a mushroom purée. I was enticed by the sight of the soup and the enoki heads garnishing it when I was hit by the most pleasant aroma; the garnish was ringed with white truffle oil. The soup was smooth on the palate yet I could feel itty-bitty pieces of mushrooms dancing on my tongue. Considering I'm a hobbit when it comes to mushrooms, it's no surprise that I quickly fell in love with this soup.








For my main course, I ordered the smoked whitefish. The sour cream (of course, with chives) naturally went well with the potato rosti, but it also surprisingly complemented the whitefish quite well. I was surprised by the presence of raw beets in the accompanying salad; until then I've only had cooked or pickled beets. Though it paired well with the shredded carrots, I must say I'd prefer cooked beets as the raw version doesn't seem to taste as sweet, not to mention that raw beets have a rougher texture. The pearl onion chutney was a pleasant surprise to the taste buds, its sourness sharper than the sour cream, but the sweetness of the onions balanced out that sourness.

Domus proudly uses as much local ingredients as possible to produce a refined version of Canadian cuisine. It also changes its menu every season to take advantage of the various ingredients and to have the flavours match the local climate. I was thankful that I could stop by this place for a meal on my vacation in Ottawa, and I hope the next time I return to this place it will remain just as good.

Oh yeah, and if you or whoever you dine with there like to live in your kitchens at home, Domus also has a kitchenware store next door with the same name. My friend was able to buy a few things there while we waited for our table, which comes to one last thing about this place; reservations are highly recommended as it's a small restaurant.

Name: Domus Café
Address: 87 Murray St., Ottawa, ON
Cuisine: Canadian Regional
Price Range: Lunch $25-$40; Dinner $50-$75
Accessible: Yes

Dining in Canada's Icewine Country - Part 2

Having grown up a bit more since we last went to the Niagara area as a family, our tastes changed over time, especially since when my sis and I were kids. That could not have been more true when it comes to dining out in the Niagara Peninsula. Just to put things into perspective... when I was younger I remembered Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls having quite a few tourist attractions, but at the time I thought they were novel and colourful as I passed them up (or down) the street. When we drove along Clifton Hill this time around, not only have the attractions intensified considerably along the same stretch, but the whole drag seemed so chintzy. It goes without saying then that dining in touristy Niagara Falls, with perhaps the possible exception of the casinos, as they aren't so family-oriented in nature, was not on our list this time around.

Having grown up now, since we were in the midst of the Niagara wine region, why not try dining amongst the vines? Some of the wineries in Niagara, especially the big-name players on the field (pardon the pun), not only are large enough to have private tasting rooms for busloads of tourists, they may also be large enough to have their own restaurants. Since wine traditionally is drunk while dining, what better way to showcase your own products than by feasting those whom, from a marketing perspective, you're trying to turn into customers of your vintages?

Like with finding "Inn on the Twenty", once again my sister deserves credit for finding the winery in which we tried its restaurant the following evening, Hillebrand Estates. Unlike the "Inn", Hillebrand's restaurant felt more open and relaxed with its higher ceilings and its several rooms which can accommodate a mix of small-table diners (like ourselves) or group functions, with one of the rooms a few steps higher than the rest of the dining area and its exterior facing us resembling a facade of perhaps a villa. The tables were especially wider than average, definitely ensuring bumping elbows would not be an issue. Most of the tables in the restaurant are able to look past the outdoor patio and view the wide tract of land in which the winery has staked its rows upon rows of lush green vines.


















For starters I had the Wellington County Rib Eye Carpaccio with white asparagus, allegretto cheese and Cabernet jelly. The jelly was delightful and blended the flavours of the other ingredients well, ensuring the cheese struck a chord with the beef. With all the ingredients being soft to the touch, the asparagus adds a nice light crunch to each mouthful. The carpaccio was wonderfully thin, easy to the bite and definitely helping make a visually colourful dish.


















The second course I opted to have was an oyster dish, the second such treat in as many nights; this time it was done in the style of a lobster BLT. I really liked the "Inn's" amuse-bouche version from the previous night as it was simple and light, but this version of oysters was just as delicious, and the richness in flavour was still at a very pleasant level. The bacon was fried extra crispy (my favourite way of doing bacon); not only does it give the bacon that satisfying crunch, it also helps to ensure as much fat has been fried out of the bacon itself as possible. The bacon was also mild on the saltiness, ensuring the oyster could still shine on the taste buds. The chopped loster mixture countered the bacon with its creamy texture, and in spite of all the rich flavours, the fresh tomato's natural sweetness and sourness kept everything in check and brought a degree of lightness to this dish.


















Duck breast and confit arrived as my main course, and it too did not disappoint. The saskatoon berry jus was a nice reminder of the area where I now live, and the flavour of the berry went well with the duck. I've personally not been a fan of raisins for ages now, but thankfully the diced ham-raisin concoction beneath the confit was very tolerable, with the right amount of raisins tossed in the mix to keep it from being too sweet for me to comfortably associate with a savoury dish.

It was at this time that the waitress made a gaffe and brought the wrong main course for my sister. My sister didn't mind so much as the dish still tasted very good, and she said that she would have gone for the halibut anyway if not the rabbit (though I don't know if it really was "sour grapes" [sorry, another pun] on her part... but to be fair, she is one of those who still hesitates on the idea of eating rabbit). In any case, it ended being a blessing in disguise for us; with my dessert taking longest to prepare (~20 minutes, and can't be done in advance), the waitress made up by offering each of us complementary glasses of the estate's 2006 Vidal icewine. Oh, I'll take a dish swap for a few sips of liquid golden sweetness any day!


















And this is my dessert that kept all of us waiting, the Michel Cluizel Dark Chocolate Souffle. Souffles are a finicky form of baked substance; they puff up in the oven, but after only a few minutes they'll fall flat again, mainly due to one of the ingredients being beaten egg whites. It is for this reason that souffles must be served piping hot out of the oven, and this one definitely was. As if there wasn't already enough chocolate for me (and who has ever heard that one can have too much chocolate? *grin*), between the souffle and the white chocolate ice cream was a dark chocolate truffle and a milk chocolate ganache, both of which I mixed into the light and fluffy souffle. None of the components were too sweet, and this dish was absolute choco-heaven for me.

Hillebrand was another pleasant experience in the Niagara Region, and to be honest with you, as the "Inn's" cuisine had a different approach it's a toss-up between the two. Even if you're no wine drinker, the food here is definitely worth a visit, and the atmoshpere makes dining at this place a relaxing and satisfying experience.


Name: Hillebrand Estates
Address: 1249 Niagara Stone Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Cuisine: Canadian
Price Range: Dinner $60-$80
Accessible: Yes