OTTAWA: Beauty and the couscous

There’s a specific reason I wanted to visit Ottawa this time and here she is. Little Bella Gracia — beauty and grace in the making — is the product of Shawna and Aires Inc. She’s pretty darn sharp, hilarious and super well-dressed. All that at only 14 months old. Watch out, world!

Every time I see Shawna, we go out for a nice dinner and catch up. We usually end up at the Black Cat Cafe, but this time decided to try something new.

I pried myself away from her much-too-adorable offspring and we headed to Wellington Street West, a revitalized area of Ottawa that used to boast pawn shops and dusty storefronts, and is now home to condos, restaurants and the Irving Greenburg Theatre Centre, the new base for the stelllar Great Canadian Theatre Company.

Among this new life blooms the Wellington Gastropub, which opened in the fall of 2006 following the British gastropub trend of high-quality food in a relaxed pub atmosphere.

I instantly loved the exposed brick walls, warm lighting, and cozy welcome as we emerged from the stairs to the second-floor dining area. The beers are primarily from microbreweries and there’s a well-chosen wine list. The menu changes daily.

I was having such a good time chatting, and looking over the menu, and chewing fresh bread from Art-Is-In Bakery, and picking wine that it’s only now I noticed I can’t really decipher what I scribbled down, so my apologies.

Shawna had an amazing potato swiss chard bacon soup with truffled sour cream and chives ($7), while I had the seared fish cake with spicy caper remoulade and pickled fennel ($10).

To me, fish cakes are either good or bad. And this one was definitely the former. But Shawna’s soup really kicked, and I started to worry I would covet her side of the table all night.

Well, I was right. For her main, Shawna ordered the scallops and Israeli couscous ($24). In a lesser kitchen, these would be rubbery and scarce on top of gummy, flavourless mush. Here, the scallops (six, count ‘em!) were meaty and perfectly seared.

But the couscous, oh my god, the couscous. Yes, the carnivore is raving about couscous. It was fluffy and light and moist and completely changed my thinking about the wee grains. Of course, I could tell you about the flavour if I could figure out what “bacon shiitake spinach s d tom basil sauce” means.

My crispy duck confit ($23) was nicely done, served with crushed potatoes with “botand,” yellow beans and “whiskey chay jus.” Damn notes.

This is one of those warm-up-your-belly dishes, and I like that they didn’t screw around with it, leaving it to its true salty tenderness.

Wellington Gastropub has an in-house pastry chef (Pascale Berthiaume) so we had to try some of her concoctions. I got the chocolate-orange fondant with fruit, but really, the only thing we should focus on is Pascale’s daily homemade ice cream.

In a bowl came three scoops of that day’s special: raspberry-passionfruit, milk chocolate-hazelnut, and banana caramel brownie. Regardless of your favourite flavours, this was some kickass, creamy, delicious ice cream.

The restaurant has plans to turn their front patio into an ice cream stand this summer. A capital idea, I say!

And what of the service? Co-owner chef Chris Deraiche came out to chat to us for a few minutes. And our server Nick and Shawna were sharing pictures of their kids by the end of the night.

Wellington Gastropub, 1325 Wellington St., Ottawa, (613) 729-1315.
Open for lunch Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., dinner Monday to Saturday 5:30-10 p.m. Closed Sundays. Website here.

 

OTTAWA: So many choices

Oh, to be going to university in Ottawa now where there is a gourmet burger chain called The Works (just three blocks from where I used to live!), as opposed to schlepping down to the McDonald’s for a sad little cheeseburger…

The location we went to was packed on a Friday night, but perusing the menu made the half-hour wait more than speed by.

When Shawna warned me it would take a long time to decide what I would want off the menu, she wasn’t kidding.

There are more than 60 burgers, and then you can choose a patty of ground beef, chicken breast, ground turkey, veggie burger or portobello mushroom cap, on either a whole wheat or white bun, with a side of fries, potato strings, spicy die-cut chips, mashed potatoes, salad or coleslaw.

We started with the Tower-O-Rings ($8.91) with our choice (of course) of their homemade dipping sauces. We got curry mayo, beechhouse and some red one I forget (Thai?). To put it simply: the onion rings rocked. Hot, crunchy, and so tasty.

The measuring cups for beverages I wasn’t so thrilled about, but then again, I also get weirded out drinking from Mason jars. At least the drinks come with straws.

I did enjoy the choice of milkshakes in three different sizes (8, 16, 32 oz.) and 16 flavours.

The burgers range from Ho Hum #1 (cheddar cheese) to Crappy Tire (pineapple ring, sweet and spicy sauce and brie) to Sum Yung Guy (cream cheese, caramelized onions, gouda and strip bacon).

There’s even the Triple Overtime ($36.50) : three of their “thunderbichin’” one-pound burgers with BBQ sauce and cheddar. If you can eat them in 20 minutes, you get them for free, plus a free dinner for two and a baseball cap on your next visit.

I think we could’ve had a legitimate shot if only for the fact I eat so damn slow and Shawna was in the mood for a portobello mushroom burger — which, in my and Aires’ books, isn’t a really burger. It’s a fungus.

Shawna and Aires get takeout every Saturday from The Works, so they already knew what they wanted.

Shawna salvaged her fungus choice by choosing the Blues Burger ($10.54) with blue cheese and double-smoked bacon.

Aires got his standby beef Stockyard ($10.75) with crushed peppercorn crust, swiss cheese and dijon-haze sauce — except “when you think there shouldn’t be this many peppercorns on it, add some more.”

I finally settled on a similar beef Peppercorn Broiler ($12.03) which comes a crunchy black peppercorn crust, gouda and crispy bacon, with a side of coleslaw.

The menu promises “no filler” and that cooks do not “push, prod, or pinch them” on the grill. That’s definitely what you get. The burgers are thick, juicy and quite delicious.

The Works’ coleslaw, made with jalapeno pepper juice and white pepper, is pretty good, but I should’ve got the fries.

The Works is decorated like a factory, and definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously (its chili is called the “Rear Ender”). The staff are great, which makes sense in light of this article that says they’re handpicked and encouraged to show their personality.

Needless to say, we left there stuffed and happy.

The Works, 580 Bank St., Ottawa, Ontario, (613) 235-0406. Four other locations in the Ottawa area.

 

Flying in a dream

Dear Mr. Porter,

I know you’re not a real person, but the raccoon mascot for Porter Airlines. Nonetheless, I thought you would like to know about how much I love your company.

Thank you for having a simple yet stylish website that doesn’t freeze up and offers reasonable domestic fares around Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and now New York, Halifax and Quebec City.

Thanks for offering to hang up my coat when I boarded the plane, even as an economy-fare passenger. The smiling attendant was just lovely in a sharp suit, her hair in a neat bun, and makeup from this decade, unlike some of my other air travels.

Kudos for designing a little cup holder on the back of the tray at my seat so I didn’t have to juggle a blazingly hot cup of coffee while trying to stash my (admittedly large) purse and laptop bag.

THANK YOU for the complimentary lunchbox with half a pastrami sandwich on marble rye with mayo, mustard, green leaf lettuce, and swiss cheese; a mini Babybel and crackers, and wetnap. Even the skinny model girl down the row ate her cheese. I’m glad you could provide her some protein.

And hey, thanks for serving my club soda in a real glass so I felt all classy, and not like I was at some six-year-old’s birthday party.

You have my gratitude for making air travel something I can enjoy rather than dread. I can’t wait until you expand your top-notch service and thoughtful air details to western Canada.

Please hurry.

Click here for more info on Porter Airlines.

 

OTTAWA: Glands for dinner

Sweetbread is neither sweet nor bread. It’s the thymus gland (in the throat) or pancreas (near the stomach) of young calves or lambs. The Oxford English Dictionary says “the reason for the name is not obvious.”

To some people, that might sound gross. To me, that’s intriguing. I’m always open to trying strange animal bits and what better place to do it than Black Cat Café, my friend Shawna’s favourite restaurant.

It’s an intimate spot where you can tell they enjoy serving people who love food. Black Cat seats about 30, so it feels like walking into someone’s beautifully underlit dining room. In the summer, there’s a nice patio for about a dozen more people.

We grabbed two seats at the bar where owners Richard and Remy stopped periodically to chat. They’re extremely gracious.

We started off with an amuse of mascarpone fingerling potato salad with truffle oil, then shared an appetizer of pan-roasted cremini mushrooms with chimchurri butter, sherry flambé, shaved idiazabal cheese and baby coriander. Very comforting and yummy on a cold night.

My crispy veal sweetbread arrived with clove-infused butternut squash puree, sundried cherries, pickled shallots, fingerling potato, brown butter jus, and tatsoi leaves.

The sweetbread itself was kind of spongy and tasted surprisingly mild. I don’t think it’s something that can stand alone like a steak so I really enjoyed the sundried cherries and pickled shallots to provide a balance of texture and flavours.

Shawna had the crispy skin roasted duck breast with five garnishes: apple butter, glazed fennel, poached pears, coriander roasted endive, and espresso bean roasted parsnips.

She gave me a bite with the apple butter. It was excellent. I wanted more but you don’t take food from a pregnant lady.

She didn’t want any sweetbread.

Black Cat Café, 93 Murray St., Ottawa, Ontario, (613) 241-2999. Open for dinner Mon-Sat 5:30-9:45 pm. Reservations recommended.

 

OTTAWA: Portraits and giant baby heads

When you live somewhere long enough, it’s easy to overlook places you always mean to visit but never have the time to. Mine was the National Gallery of Canada, a beautiful glass and steel building on the Ottawa River.

I called Ottawa home for more than four years. The first time I ever stepped foot inside the gallery, I was covering some charity ball in the stunning grand hall. The second time was for the wedding of my good friends Shawna and Aires in the water court.

But I never had time to really explore until I found myself with a few free hours one morning. It was a perfect lazy day, gloriously sunny but bitterly windy. With the Parliament buildings in the distance, I watched gallery staff put the finishing touches on the gigantic Christmas tree in the grand hall. I love all the light that streams through there.

The current exhibition featured two Quebec artists. One specialized in landscapes which aren’t my thing, but the other was Edwin Holgate, the eighth member of the Group of Seven. Who knew?

I had never heard of Holgate before, but his portraits are utterly captivating. He’s supposed to be most famous for painting female nudes in Canadian landscapes, but I think Holgate’s amazing woodcuts are pretty kickass too.

The gallery is a relaxing place to roam. Off the interior garden is the fully reconstructed interior of a 19th-century chapel.

There is of course a huge Canadian collection but I found the contemporary art pretty fun and eclectic, like this creepy oversized Head of a Baby (2003) by Ron Mueck, made of silicone, fiberglass resin and mixed media.

National Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Dr., Ottawa, Ontario, 1-800-319-2787.
For hours and admission, click here.

 

Mr. Porter’s airline of choice

The mascot for Porter Airlines is a cheeky raccoon named Mr. Porter who looks like he’s got a secret. It’s a good one: you no longer have to suffer Air Canada or Pearson International Airport to fly between Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal.

Porter flies out of the Toronto City Centre Airport downtown. That means no more frustrating traffic jams getting to Pearson, long security lineups at the airport or getting elbowed by fanny-packed tourists.

From the sharp navy blue uniforms designed by Canadian fashion line Pink Tartan to onflight drinks served in real glasses, Porter re-creates an era when flying was a luxury and not a pain in the ass.

A cute ferry makes the 30-second trip from the heart of downtown Toronto to the island airport. I see mostly business travellers, which means the check-in line moves efficiently.

Porter’s swish lounge looks like the lobby of a boutique hotel. There’s a fridge of complimentary water - that raccoon’s looking at me from the label - juice and pop as well as an espresso machine. A few people are using the computer workstations and I take advantage of Porter’s free wireless Internet.

The Bombardier Q400 is pretty swish too with leather seats and a tad more legroom than economy flights. No TVs but the flight is less than an hour. Wine and beer are free. All staff are pleasant and professional. I feel pretty darn special.

I’d definitely fly Porter again. With me, a little service and attention to detail go a long way - unlike another airline I know.