Fourth Avenue Wine Bar

Fourth Avenue Wine Bar & Café, at 107 Fourth @ Bank

This is another one of those places in the Glebe that needs to be tried out… and so I did. I must say, I have not been to a wine bar, but suspect that the feel and intent is similar to a tapas bar in Spain. This one was interesting in that it was nicely laid out. It had a great selection of wines. Nice metallic euro-feel about the place, bar and all. Since it provided that kind of ambiance…. You know, drink wine and snack on something…even though we arrive at 7:30pm after a long work day and was ready for dinner, we decided to have a couple of glasses of vino and some apps.

We ended up trying a white, Righetti pinot grigio and a Spanish red, Juan Gil (both $8). I particularly liked the red. Then we tried a couple of reds, an Omrah Shiraz (Australian) ($10.50) and a Bogle merlot (Californian) ($10). Both good, but not as nice as the Spanish red and more expensive at that.

For snacks and food in general, the value and tastes were disappointing. We tried the Portobello calvados…OK and expensive at $9. Deep fried Brie…. great if you like cheese and sweet cheery sauce. And a prosciutto plate, which was just ham from the deli… Their appetizers were OK and definitely not at a tapas/dim sum standard. We also had a beef kebab dinner, the meat was nicely curried, but the mushrooms were dry. One shish each. The rice had dried fruits in it and was cold… if that’s your thing... great... I hated it. And the beans were green, but hard and waxy and way undercooked. And $2 for bread.

Service was fast and efficient….no problems there… wines… great…. just the food was pretty much below par.

Bill was $45 a person all in, but I was hungry and had to eat something else later. Disappointing as with all the restaurants in the Glebe.

2007 06 22.

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Foodies websites

An interesting website to visit is travelingfoodies.blogspot.com.....

LiveToEat

By the way, for those who want my comments on individual restaurants in Ottawa, plus other people's comments, visit www.OttawaFoodies.com. My alias is 'LiveToEat'.

Here I shall try to be more thoughtful and loquacious; and put more of a story behind the food, restaurants, evolution and culture behind the dishes. Everything in context, right?

And perhaps also include the reasons for my biases....

2007 06 18.

Jo Moon Ting, God forbid we talk chinese food...

Jo Moon Ting or that thing in Ottawa...... ;-)

Walked down to the Italian Ferrari drive-by & festival on Preston and had lunch at May’s Garden… hadn’t been there for a long time (2 years). Probably the only authentic northern style chinese place in Ottawa… Still full of chinese people. Finally walked past this Jo Moon Ting restaurant and realized that this was the place Ashley was talking about!

This is the old Pacific Village....which I considered the best Viet place in Ottawa. Ate there at least once a week for about ten to twelve years. Sometimes, up to five times a week! When they closed, they didn’t even let me know…. Don’t know about those viets….Before that it was a Caribbean restaurant. And since then it has been through many transformations. At one time (2004) it was the only place in Ottawa and also probably Toronto, where you could get chinese suckling pig!!! The chef/cook has since returned to Toronto. Don't know the full story, but I have found a place in Toronto where it can be eaten without being pre-ordered. (The Spanish also have suckling pig, cochinillo; one of Hemingway’s favourites…and the Portuguese have Leitau……geographically controlled to Coimbra, … so much for breaking racial barriers….). The last permutation was a Viet place that was not too bad, forget the name.

Must say I have not tried it, but if the wonton noodles is better than Cafe Orient.... I would be very surprised if they don’t get a hugh following. Cafe Orient is known to be the best place for wonton noodles in Ottawa... And aside for the price points, I think it's as good as anything anywhere else in the world. HongKong included....

The prices sound good though. Just to compare, I had wonton noodles in Toronto for $3.95.

Their specialty is Congee though… the Jo is congee… moon ting is a quiet corner…

2007 06 16.

The Mysteries of the Pho Bo Ga and the Pho Bo Ga La's

New Pho Bo Ga La with the blue sign and the brown wood Buddha is on the north side of Somerset…. is in fact the PBGLa than MingD is talking about. There is also one on the south side of the street further west of Bronson with a blue sign… this is the ‘old’ PBGLa…and it’s been around a long time and I have never been too impressed by it. It has also gone through many reincarnations thru the last 20 years and I found the food wanting.

The New PBGLa is the one I went to try Bun Bo below and is the one I was not too impressed with their rice dishes…… talk about too many viet places…..

Didn't know there was a 'new' PBGLa. (761-763 Somerset W?)

Must be a dynasty like the PBG1, 2 3 and Springroll House.

PBG1 had the greatest soup, but has deteriorated recently. Springroll has a great pork chop on rice, but the soup's ok. Seems they may have lost the PBG1 soup secret to someone else. Since I know the original owner, must ask what happened. Unless someone else knows?

The soup at 'original' PBGLa was ok, but restaurant & things seem to be saying that the soup is 'better' here.

After Pacific Village and then PBG1, I'd have to go backwards in memory and think that the Golden Turtle place has the best soup stock after this. I have been to quite a few viet soup places since then though.

2007 06 16.

Prime 360

Have to say that it had the best rib steak I have ever had in Ottawa, nicely marbled; or for that matter anywhere else, including Alberta, where I think they have the best T-bones in the world.

My friend had a nice sirloin as well, but she had dessert! Mistake, it translated to a muffin with cream sauce, thin sauce at that as well… I think I read somewhere, ‘don’t go for the dessert, but their steaks are great…’. I liked them better than Hy’s etc…. for value though, Nate’s had a decent rib steak and a whole lot cheaper….

As if they cared anyways, lots of clientele on a week night… mostly business suits.

Would I go back…if on a business expense and eating steak only... in fact only the rib steak…?

200 06 14.

EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Have been on OttawaFoodies.com and this is a site to check out. So is TorontoFoodies.com

Cambodian & Vietnamese

Vietnamese .... still trying.....

Was at the recommended Bun Bo Hue place on Somerset, Pho Bo Ga La to try out their Bun Bo ($10 for a bowl of medium, including tax/tip, for lunch). Somehow, I thought the write ups by MinhD were about a pork noodle soup, but this was beef. At least the ‘covering’ was beef tendons. The noodles were the best part…au dent. Great… (Au dent is in any language, the way to do noodles….) The soup was ok and the stuff on top is pretty well reproducible at home. (Family in Toronto have said that the viet soups, the secret, are better in Ottawa than Toronto. Must be project 2000….). Would I have it again there….no, but I tried it.

Are there any recommendations for beef stew with noodles? Forget the name in Vietnamese. I will try Pho Bo Ga La for that as well, but have not been able to find anything of the calibre of Pacific Village’s… now gone…mother retired; so have not been able to find it anywhere. Have tried a number of places on Somerset, but none really authentic… well I have never been to Vietnam, but from the viets I have spoken with, include the original owner of Mekong, Pacific Village’s was the best.

When Pac Village folded, I turned to New Mee Fong (at it’s new location, the old one on Somerset being too small….story there as well). Was a regular there for the longest time, enjoying their rice dishes, especially the one with steak. Until they raised the prices sometime late last year and early this year. Their noodle soup is average, but with the price increase…’next gen’ running it now, I think it’s overpriced. Mostly local civil servants going there for lunch... as with PhoBoGaLa… Always crowded and uneven service…. But then who eats viet food for service….? It’s like a Chinese greasy spoon…

Does anyone have a place that has really good Vietnamese rice dishes?

Cambodian.......

Phnom Penh

There are two of these, one in Mechanicsville (noodle house) and the other in Kanata...big difference...different owners as well...., the one in Kanata is suppose to suck big time……

I have never been to the one in Kanata; there is also one that closed on Carling near Woodroffe with the same name...

But I have been to the one downtown many times....Somerset in Mechanicsville. It was pretty good. I have never had Cambodian food before and the owners are chui chow chinese, but the dishes are quite different from the viets. I would say I found their stuff interesting, but don't go back regularly.

Very limited menu though.... family run, sisters and mother in the kitchen type of place.

I had warned them of the confusion when I was more regular, but they just shrugged...

2007 06 11.


EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Whalesbone Oyster House

I have not been since Vardy joined either, but have to agree with the Citizen food critic, Anne Desbrisay, on this place. They are way too expensive for the decor.

Did notice earlier this year that they were renovating the restaurant though. Still, it's an awfully small place. And if they put in plusher seats and bring in Vardy, does that mean that they are going to be even more expensive!? I think they would price themselves out of the market then.

And the service was no hell the last couple of times I have been there, back in 2005/6.

They were originally themed after the Rodney Oyster House in Toronto, which was significantly more impressive. The variety of oysters there was significant. I think I counted 60 the last time I went back in the late ‘90s. Whalebone should not call itself an oyster house at all. It’s more of a bistro restaurant that wants to sell oysters. Trying to compete with Big Daddy’s on Elgin, which was more interesting than Whalebone, for oysters.

I have always thought that the chef makes or breaks a restaurant, so it would be interesting, consider Vardy's nomadic nature, whether he really makes a difference.

I still haven’t been to Par-Fyum either…. Slipping…

2007 06 11.


EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

Bella's Bistro in Westboro

Went to West-fest this past weekend and decided to try Bella's. Besides being the name of an old girlfriend, I have always heard good things about it.

Because it was last minute they did not have room in the restaurant, but did on their tiny patio. So we opted to partake.

Their Patio Menu is quite limited and I presume different from their white linen-ed interior, but I did not expect quality of food to suffer.

We had BBQ shrimps with rice and veggies and seafood ravioli. I am not a big ravioli fan, expecting something quite extraordinary for the $20 pre-tax/tip price point....outdoors on a plastic chair. Because of lobster, crab and other things named in the menu for the ravioli, my expectations might have been high. It ended up being pretty much something I could have picked up at the Loblaw’s and cooked up myself at home. Couldn’t taste any lobster and the crab came out of a can. I would rate that as awful.... If I can do better at home, it's not the place to be for me.

The shrimps were nice enough, but only three and the veggies was a sprig of rosemary! What would one expect for $10 pre tax… maybe a little bit more veggies would be nice?

We have pics, and we shared!

A table next to ours had a pasta with mussels… and well, it didn’t look very good, but I didn’t ask them what they thought.

To top it, one of the waiters either was just slow or having a bad day; nasty, and even made a mistake on the bill. (Total bill including tax was $60 for two, so not cheap, but not very expensive... we had some wine, but no dessert or appetizers, just one entrée each…small at that. I left hungry.)

With the plethora of Italian places in Ottawa... and I can think of a few that are actually pretty good, how can a place like that survive? Looks like there were a lot of locals out for their Sat night dinner, mostly older... Island Park types....

2007 06 10.

Live to eat or eat to live...........?

Do you live to eat or eat to live…………..?

After surfing ottawafoodies.com and torontofoodies.com, I have come to realize that there are certainly some nice pictures in the websites of the food being served in various restaurants. The commentaries are also interesting in that everyone has their own tastes and idiosyncrasies; and that always works its way into the reviews.

It is nice to see that there are so many people interested in good food, like to eat and do it often enough that the cost benefits have to make sense.

In Ottawa, there is quite a variety of restaurants, what with the Foreign Service, embassies and consulates here. It is quite surprising to find though that there may be one or two decent places that spring up… and then the business is just not there, and the owners move to Toronto. A good example is Chinese suckling pig, which is only really available in Toronto. There are a set number of good chefs that move within the city, like the one from Beckta’s to Par-fuym, Westin to 4cuisine etc, and ones who retire, but there are also those who end up moving away. It is those who move away that really shows Ottawa as not being a real foodies city. The remainders seem to be able to command unreasonable prices for mediocre food.

So, despite the variety of restaurants, aboriginal food, veg Thai, etc and the interest in food and eating by Ottawans, this place is just not set up with decent places to eat. There is no real Buddhist vegetarian food for example, or Taiwanese, Shanghai-nese, Bengali, or Burmese food. The Szechwan food here sucks and even the Beijing dumplings places have closed off.

So for those who eat to live…Ottawa will do fine, but for those of us who live to eat…. It’s time to move or complain loudly so that restauranteurs will hear. For those foodies in Ottawa, it’s time to stop eating at places that are mediocre and encourage the ones that merit our attention by telling them they are way too expensive compared to Tor or Mtl.

Sorry I don’t have any nice pics to show you guys. Am working on it.


2007 06 06.

All You Can Eat Sushi

Apparently there is another place for all u can eat (AYCE) Japanese, and the hot (non raw fish) stuff is pretty good. It's called Sakura on Merivale. Found it on www.ottawafoodies.com. Guess there are more than enough websites commenting on food.

Anyway, we should try it once…seems like they had uni, roe and other stuff that I liked that was not on the Sushi Kan place and the comparisons on the foodies site were that Sakura was better... better service, better food, built only slightly of course… I am not a fan of all you can eat places except for the price. At my age I just don't eat enough to make the price worthwhile.

The one in Toronto, Ten-ichi is relatively more expensive I think, but they had hot teppanyaki etc. That would certainly add to the price. They have all you can eat lunch Sat and Sun between noon and 3pm and the price is confusing, but think it 19.95. That's double of Sushi Kan’s.

All this to say that there are a lot of foodies writers out there.


2007 06 01

Dirge of decent restaurants in Ottawa

Dirge of decent restaurants in Ottawa.

Was going to wander into that debate about decent restaurants in Ottawa, but must report that I have to agree with the Montreal food critic that was in town almost a year ago now….., (must admit I have not be vigilant in my update of this blog, read mainly by friends in any event), that other than French haute cuisine and bistro food, there are no decent restaurants in Ottawa. This runs the gamut of Asian, European, African, American and Australian food, if there is such a thing as the last two.

I have been traveling the food.blog highways though and there are a number of blogs that are so professional and with so many pictures that I am starting to wonder whether there are too many food writers out there. One particular existing site based in Australia worth a look is grabyourfork.blogspot.com.

Back to eating and the food in Ottawa.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the ‘all you can eat’ sushi place here in Ottawa, Sushi Kan, on Merivale Road. With much trepidation, given the web write ups on this restaurant and how it did not deliver in terms of order promptness and accuracy, and after much soul searching, I did finally get around to going with my son and daughter who are, like dad, food fanatics. My son had already been there a couple of times and said it was ok. Now he loves sushi, can eat vast amounts of it and what better test than have someone like that to judge the place.

The trick here is, know what you want and order as soon as you arrive, having a first glance at the menu. Then wait and look at the menu in detail and order for a second round. There is a limit of 1.5 hours sitting time, so if you wait, you can only get one order in. They have no license so don’t worry about the sake. Drink tea or soft drinks, which is also all you can eat… The waitresses are knowledgeable, but I suspect there is a rule that they follow, whereby they are the actual ones judging what you should be eating. If he/she feels you know what you are ordering, there will be little or no mistakes.

Then there is a wait, because unlike a mass produced all you can eat place, they make the stuff individually. And it takes about 30 min to get stuff to the table…that’s why order as soon as you sit, then you’ll be able to order the next round after the first one comes. The servers know when to come around and check. We polished off the first round of about 30 to 40 pieces and my daughter was already figuring out what the next ones were.

They have little unagi rice bowls, which were actually quite good and also hand rolls and udon noodles and tempura. During the 2nd round, we had ordered some tempura and noodles, but it never came….suspect the waitress judged that we were getting full, which we were… But we did finish everything that was served to us on the second round and had green tea ice cream to boot. This was the third round of ordering… We did not leave hungry.

In any event, for $15 per person for lunch, all in, it beats hands down anything else you can get in the city or even close by. So it’s good value, but you have to know and order fast. It’s not a place for atmosphere and lingering, like other Japanese restaurants; but the food is not mass or pre-produced, so it is as good as (and you know what I think of the making of sushi…very over priced in Ottawa), the bites at any of the other fancier places in Ottawa.

Are there any other Japanese restaurants in Ottawa? The Japanese say only one…Suisha Gardens. I would have to agree. But only because there is really a dirge of good restaurant of any sorts in Ottawa. Just like the Chinese would say Yangtze and Chu Shing are the only two half decent Chinese restaurants in Ottawa. And we all know how overpriced these restaurants are. A meal at the Japanese restaurant would set you back $60 and the Chinese ones $40.

There are no three star status Michelin guide restaurants in Ottawa. Or even two star. I mean good cheap food is also of value, but there is a lack of that too.

On the flip side, there are some really poor restaurants in Ottawa, where even food poisoning is not unheard of. And these are places that are popular, but the food is so bad I would never go back. The worst of the bunch would be Johnny Farina on Elgin, the Fish Market in the market and Penang Wok & Siam Kitchen on Bank street south. Mandarin Court in the Merivale area and Caveau de Szechwan in the market are also amongst the worst. I mean I have been sick myself after eating at these places. The slightly less worse are those where the emphasis is on the rah rah, but the food sucks, or the food is so expensive that you need an expense account to get it and it isn’t haute cuisine. Some of these are any sports bar on the Ottawa side, Lone Stars, Baton Rouges, and Boston Pizzas.

A couple of interesting finds, and I say interesting, not great, but worth a go if you like good food is Sacred Garden at 1300 Bank St., and Four Cuisines Bistro at 268 Preston. But beware, both have idiosyncrasies. The sacred garden is an exotic vegetarian Thai places. It is interesting, but being a non-veg, I find that they’ve yet to pass mustard on creating veg dishes. And at that price, I wouldn’t go back….But veg food is expensive in Ottawa…like everything else….

The Four Cuisines Bistro chef owner Minh Trang is actually Chinese and lived in Australia before coming to Canada. He has worked a number of places including the Westin’s main restaurant kitchen as chef there, so his stuff is pretty good. Does it come close to anything like in Toronto, like Lee’s or Susur’s? Not a chance.

Oh and my fav perogies place, Katlinka’s is closed for lack of business… I am devastated.

So the good ones don’t last, the bad ones go on forever…..is there a dirge of good eating in Ottawa… you be the judge….


2007 05 31


EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com

More Korean Food

More than a year later and Korean food has only gotten worse in Ottawa. My favorite haunt, Arum’s, has gone through a number of changes in ownership again and generally I would say that it is at best not as good as it was before. And there have been no new discoveries. Guess it's time to give up on all you can eat Korean. Learn how to make your own kimchi and buy a BBQ!

2007 05 28.

Korean Restaurants in Ottawa

Korean Restaurants

Was recently in Toronto and wondering Korea-town down there. The latest craze, besides all you can eat Korean BBQ, which makes a lot of sense as you do the cooking yourself anyways …, is Pork Bone Soup (PBS) .... (is that why they call it Hog Town?)

Basically PBS is essentially a cut of Pork near the shoulder bone, including the bone, done up in a hot-pot with soup and the usual kimchi spicing. It’s very good and economical.

Of course when I got back to Ottawa, that was the first thing I went in search of. There are many Korean restaurants in Ottawa, some of them masquerading as Japanese .., essentially because the mark-up on raw fish is so high …. I mean how hard is it to make sushi!

There’s Korea Garden on Rideau … the grand-daddy of Korean food in Ottawa, where it is expensive and the service is so-so. Besides BBQ, iced noodle soup, kimchi in everything, there isn’t really a lot going for Korean food. But with such similar climates, I was always amazed that there weren’t more. Inflexibility in pricing is my main complaint.

The newest is Kwon’s Chicken House (Wilbrod). Run by a nice couple whose family in Korean owns a chain of such ‘chicken house’ restaurants. Their specialty is chicken and well, think kimchi chicken and you have it all … They have an extremely limited menu and have this interesting pork BBQ dish which was favored only by the embassy folks … so they stopped serving it!. Even with much pleading and bribing … you know how stoic/inflexible these guys can be, they still refused …. Reason given was that it was raw bacon, then BBQ’ed and was not popular with the non Asian clientele. (I know of many Chinese, European, Indian, etc dishes that especially use the bacon part of the pig because of its taste …. Latest Chinese thing is using the pork meat from the neck. It does taste much better, less fatty, but priced accordingly, but that’s another story on Chinese food …)

Seoul House on Somerset has been around a bit and thru a couple of owners. It’s next to the funeral home, so the name is a bit of a joke, but it was one of the first to mix Japanese and Korean food back in the ‘80s. Expensive for what you get.

And then there’s Arum’s on Bank at the Queensway. Originally run by a couple from Montreal, he runs the car dealership next door; it is the name of their daughter …. They run the restaurant and the Korean food market that’s attached. It used to be a bike shop and ski shop of some ill repute, but it got transformed. Quantum Meruit, it is the best Korean restaurant in Ottawa. The owners sublet the restaurant part out to another couple and the service slipped a bit, and the food got a little bit too ‘canned’. But the originals have gotten the place back and it has returned to its former glory, or so to speak … Running a restaurant is a labour of love and it shows …. Especially to ‘old hands’ like me. Anyway, I have been trying to edge them into a new place with all you can eat BBQ … before the fad passes …. And they’ve always had pork bone soup on their menu … how about that! It was not as good and cheap as in Korea-town, but hell, it’s a lot closer …

There are many more that’s kinda Korean, but when you go back to first principles, there really isn’t a lot to Korean food … except the kimchi … and the kimchi at Kwon’s is less spicy and some may like this more, but Arum’s has the best kimchi in town, in my opinion. You can also buy a six pack on your way out if you really like the stuff. But you’ll be eating it everyday and kimchi does go bad … really …

2006 01 14.

Parties are not corrupt, people are!

With all this election activity going on and all the spin doctors going nuts, I just want to state that this thought came to me in a blinding light...... 'Parties are not corrupt, people are....'.

God help us if we repeat past failures like the Mulroney era ..., or is that error?.... and elect another 8 years of social conservatives/Republicans. Harper has got to figure out that he is not the next savior.... witness the Mercedes/booze scandal ….

2005 01 12.

VAT and Fried Chicken. Or there’s no such thing as a ‘good’ tax.

The other day I was in KFC for Tooney Tuesday. Do you realize that if you buy one tooney you don’t pay PST, but after two, you do? That’s an addition of $0.20, a tooney! I have been buying toonies since they started some 5 years ago and saw it go from $2.00 to $2.22, to $2.49 now. Maybe when your purchase five toonies, you should ask for separate bills?

Which leads me to suggest that this whole discussion about the GST and a 2% cut over three years is rubbish. It was Mulroney, a conservative, who put it in; and now Harper, a conservative, is suggesting we ‘reduce’ it! Talk about adding insult to injury.

No tax is a good tax. I’ve heard all the arguments. If they were to suggest an increase of the GST, a VAT, to 15%, but get rid of, and that reads ‘completely eliminate’, the personal income tax, I’d say that’s the person to vote for. But Chrétien ran on a platform to get rid of the GST, which was supposed to be temporary, and look at it now. And the income tax was also supposed to be temporary too, at one point in time!

So is the argument temporal?

I think the whole VAT (includes PST and GST) and income tax systems are screwed and what we need in the next leader is a visionary, who will take drastic measures to dump double taxation. Wasn’t that the principle on which the whole fairness of the tax systems was based? We need a leader who will say ‘Who says we can’t get rid of personal income taxes or the GST in its entirety? “Just watch me!”’

Look at the savings in Govt bureaucracy alone.

Target marketing is good for a temporary solution, but I plan to be around, in Canada, for at least another 50 years.

2005 12 14.

Il Primo and Tuscony

The Anne Desbrisay review in the Citizen this past Sunday (Dec 4^th ’05) suggested something to do with Tuscany and the restaurant Il Primo in Little Italy (Preston).

Maybe I'm stupid, but I saw no reference to Tuscany and food of that area. All I saw was 'lunch was good, dinner sucked!' So they could make mussels and not veal Milanese? Then what …..

And she got paid for three meals there!

Maybe I just dislike Anne DesB, but I find her reviews, if positive, a place to NOT try and negative, then maybe.

To say I disagree with DesB is an understatement. Anne has ‘the ability to taste food (i.e., differentiate between the ingredients), but one has to have ‘good taste’ to be able to judge a restaurant.

I wouldn’t go to Il Primo anyways. I’ve been there before, was not impressed, and there are just too many good Italian restaurants to even suggest that they have some Tuscan ability!

I wonder where the chef/owner from that Tuscan/New Edinburgh restaurant went to …... can’t recall the name ….

As an aside, I heard Clair De Lune is closing! Copeland’s fav. rest. Maybe we can save it?

Maybe the Citizen should give me the job of reviewing restaurants?

05 12 06

More than food and drink, xmas presents

Best Buy has a Home Theater System DVD player, with 5.1 speakers. Think it has no remote, but I haven't opened the box yet. But for $89.99 that is a steal. Just bought three for x'mas presents.

Good today till Dec 8th I think, says the flyer (4 days). When I left the east end store with my three, they still had four more. Then there is the west end Best Buy that may have some.

Not refurbished, new in boxes.

Happy Holidays!

Rule of Thumb for cost of eating out

Here are some rules of thumb that I use. Everyone wants good food…., cheap…... And then there's the service… and atmosphere…. Everything costs…..!

My rot (rule of thumb, that is) is that whatever the price of the meal itself, double it if you drink alcohol (and we all drink sometime?!) and then add 30%, for tax and tips. Unless the govt gets rid of the GST, and that should be the aim!, (not some niddly picking 2% over three years!), there is 15% for taxes, gst/pst, and 15% for tips.

So, a meal of say $10, which is pretty cheap by today's standards, would be $20 with the booze and then $26……., to include what you owe the govt and for the service/atmosphere.

(As an aside, the fish and chips at Chelsea Bis/Pub ended up to be $30 a person for lunch! That’s $14 for the meal ((which was rich)), we all had fish and chips, and a couple of beers, ie, $28, and then with the taxes and tip ended up to be over $30 pp. I did most of the drinking and the others drank less, since I didn’t have to drive. But still $36 a person for lunch…., at a ‘relatively’ good fish and chips place, that is way out of the downtown area, is a little steep!!!) )

I don't normally tip 15% unless the atmosphere and service is great, more like 10% if everything is fine, but that's unfair when you think of the portion the govt takes!

<>(Again I have tipped less than 10%, but don’t want to piss the ‘working class’ off …..!)

So life sucks as a waiter. At least you don't have to declare income taxes on it?!. Again the Govt is the arse. (That’s Brit for bum, backside, ass, asshole, etc).

To live in a Govt town!!!! That is most of ‘your’ employers, I’m afraid! No wonder there are no decent restaurants in Ottawa/Gat and the United Way get so much money. In spite of what Harder is saying.

Anyway, the bottom line is, that say, a $100 per person dinner at a fancy restaurant, which again is not unusual, ends up costing $260.! Per Person!!!!!! That's a lot of mullah and it's about time some of the 'finer' establishments think about 'the cost of eating out' especially if they believe in the mantra of the ‘Consumer Being King’. No matter what you say, to run a restaurant is a labour of love for some, (who knows how to cook,) can manage a cost constraining business and still end up being happy.

Dec 3rd, 2005. Noon.

Lunchtime!

(Shall only date it in the future if it is not within the date of writing….)

Cumin & Goan

Cumin & Goan …. May be just Goin’ …….

Revisited Cumin & Goan a number of times and the latest report, well, I think Barb Gomes finally recognizes me …

This time, I tried the Lamb Shakruti, not a ‘real’ goan dish, but nevertheless it is shown as ‘toasted coconut & spices’ and I have had charuti/sharuti/xacuti before…..

I think in this dish it really shows that Barb does not know how to use the tamarind to bring out the sour. Vinegar just doesn’t do it.

I also tried the Kachumbar, another ‘ok’, as was the raita, which Desbrisay raved about … And the only other two pickles/chutneys were mixed veg/celandro, both of which were very good, but an accoutrement does not a meal make. (The Prawn/tomato was to die for …)

So if you want Goan, the Sorppatel is the only really decent dish. Pork vindaloo will be very good. Maybe try the Fish Curry, but if it’s anything like the sharuti, I’d pass….

Does that mean you should not go to this place ? …. Not at all …. There are a lot of Northern style Indian restaurants (most tandoori places) and Southern style Indian restaurants (Ceylonta, Coconut Lagoon ), none of which are outstanding in Ottawa (go to Toronto), but if you want Western Indian food, Cumin & Goan is the place in Ottawa.

Now how about an ‘Eastern Indian Restaurant’, i.e., Bengali, Hyderabadi or Burmese….

Do we really want to figure in the multicultural culinary world that is Canada? I rank Vancouver, Toronto and Quebec City, even Montreal before Ottawa. Ottawa is way overpriced and truly provincial in terms of food and places to eat and value for money …… Chinese and Indian food are two very good examples. Either the restaurateurs think we don’t know how to eat, or they just figure there is no competition ….

Happy being happy, especially during these holidays ….

2005 12 29.

Hey Guys and Gals,

A lot of you are not into spicy foods. But then some of you are! For
those not interested in Goan food, I will not expect any interest in this piece.

But there has been an interest shown by some, in something spicy and interesting?. And
this place (Cumin & Goan) is run by a typical Goan woman, hoping to make it in
the East Asian/Indian cuisine world. Before they 'transmogrify' into an
Indian restaurant, I would expect that any of you truly interested in
trying Goan cuisine, to let me know and I will set something up. (There
is nothing in it for me, except your company!)

But it is so far, pretty good Goan stuff. As some of you already know,
Goan is a Portuguese colony, just south of Bombay, India. If you need
more, email me. But it's cuisine is spicy but sour, with vinegar and
tamarinds. And also Spanish / Portuguese sausages and spices.

Oct 19th, 2005

Well, how is that for 'killing two birds with one stone'..... Both

these restaurants (Cumin & Goan and Katlinka) are side by side. They are located at the old
Manfred's and Singapore restaurants respectively in a little 'non
descript' mall on the South West side of Carling, near Woodroffe. You
would have to shot past the place if you were going west on Carling and
do a 'u- turn'.

Anyway, Katlinka is the new mid european restaurant that you guys have
been so reluctant to go to. It is in place of the old Singapore and
well, I have not tried it, but you guys are the euros! Call me if you
want to go, anytime.

As for Cumin & Goan, it is located at the old Manfred's location. As
some of you may know, they (Manfred's) had the best' duck done in a lime
sauce' that I have ever had. And that was in the European tradition. I
hear Manfred still goes to Cumin and Goan.

The C&G restaurant specializes in Goan food and before it gets
transmogrified, I would suggest that we try it. It is similar to Indian
food and for those who know, Goa was a Portuguese colony. They use
tamarinds and vinegar a lot in their curries which brings out the mix of
blended spices that go to make a great curry. Therefore it is a little
more complex than your usual tandoori. Vindaloo is a goan dish. They
also have saurpatel and shakruti, a couple of other very typical
goan/south indian curries. As some of you may know, the south indians
were the indigenous aboriginals of India. The north west being conquered
by the Persians/Romans/Greeks and the east by the asians/moguls. The
real mystical/fatalistic of the indigenous indians moved south into the
peninsular. So the true curries of india must be the southern indians'.
The owner of C&G is from Bangalore, the garden city of south india and
'capital' of the region.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, it is worthwhile to try this place.
You can go on your own or with a group, but do so before Jan 2006 as the
owner is planning on introducing a buffet and we all know what that
means for the traditionalists.

Anyway, call me if you'd like to go. As I have always said, there are 4
indian restaurants in the Glebe alone and not one really special one!

Sep 13th, 2005.


Anne DesBrisay has just done a piece on the Restaurant (C&G) in the Sunday Citizen Nov 27th, 2005 and

1) I wonder if she tried it her usual three times,
2) Shows how much she knows about Indian food,
3) The raita is not 'to write home about', a little watery
4) you can get good tandoori in most Ottawa restaurants
5) vindaloo should always be pork
6) sorpatel to die for and the shrimp pickle is outstandingly Goan

When in Rome, one should eat Roman.....

Dec 3rd, 2005.