Ottawa-Gatineau Restaurant News

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Norman Bates

I ate a Jaeger Schnitzel Platter yesterday at Schnitzelworks on Cyrville Road.

Best German I've had since Lindenhof.

Problem is the last seating at Schnitzelworks is 3:30 Monday to Friday and 2:30 on Saturday. No evening or Sunday openings.

Was that because of my recent recommendation by chance? I eat there all the time. The Jaeger is my fav, but the greek and italian are amazing as well!

[bartlebooth]

Supply and Demand on Wellington Street W. was selected as the 4th best new restaurant in Canada for 2013 by enRoute Magazine (Air Canada). I have not had the chance to eat there yet but I have heard good things. Has anyone here had a chance to try it? I think the last time an Ottawa restaurant placed in the top ten was 2009 when both Atelier (4th) and Murray Street (5th) placed. Is this a sign of an improving food scene in the city? Any opinions?

http://enroute.aircanada.com/canadas...ly-and-demand/

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by bartlebooth

Supply and Demand on Wellington Street W. was selected as the 4th best new restaurant in Canada for 2013 by enRoute Magazine (Air Canada). I have not had the chance to eat there yet but I have heard good things. Has anyone here had a chance to try it? I think the last time an Ottawa restaurant placed in the top ten was 2009 when both Atelier (4th) and Murray Street (5th) placed. Is this a sign of an improving food scene in the city? Any opinions?

http://enroute.aircanada.com/canadas...ly-and-demand/

I had a lobster and creme fraiche tarte there once, it was very good.

[harls]

Ekko at Chateau Cartier is supposed to be good, if you love MEAT.

If you love French cuisine.. go to L'Orée du bois in Chelsea. Those people treat you right.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by harls

Ekko at Chateau Cartier is supposed to be good, if you love MEAT.

If you love French cuisine.. go to L'Orée du bois in Chelsea. Those people treat you right.

Ekko do Brasil now has a second location on Gréber in the old Vieux Duluth. You can bring your own wine there.

Agree about L'Orée du Bois - it never disappoints.

[waterloowarrior]

El Camino is good... very busy! Also enjoying Hooch - the Horse on Brioche is great (my family has a European background so I didn't get all the fuss when they opened ). My wallet is not enjoying all the $10-15 drinks at these places, but they are tasty.

[teej1984]

New restaurant alert by the same guys who do Grounded... Backdrop.

They don't seem to have a website yet but it's @ Metcalfe/Gloucester and looks pretty hip (minus their outdoor sign which I think looks kinda tacky).

https://twitter.com/BackdropOttawa

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/250/1803...d-Drink-Ottawa

[S-Man]

Ekko at Chateau Cartier is supposed to be good, if you love MEAT.

Oh, baby, do I EVER!

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by teej1984

New restaurant alert by the same guys who do Grounded... Backdrop.

They don't seem to have a website yet but it's @ Metcalfe/Gloucester and looks pretty hip (minus their outdoor sign which I think looks kinda tacky).

https://twitter.com/BackdropOttawa

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/250/1803...d-Drink-Ottawa

I went there last night, as luck would have it. It was ... interesting. They've got some growing pains yet, such as the harsh lighting from the kitchen affected the feel in the dining room, there was a to do list written on the back of my menu (including the item "Finalize Menu")

[McC]

Originally Posted by gjhall

there was a to do list written on the back of my menu (including the item "Finalize Menu")

shut UP! that's too much...

[teej1984]

Originally Posted by gjhall

I went there last night, as luck would have it. It was ... interesting. They've got some growing pains yet, such as the harsh lighting from the kitchen affected the feel in the dining room, there was a to do list written on the back of my menu (including the item "Finalize Menu")

Ya, I noticed the harsh kitchen lighting from outside... no doubt they'll fix that in the next little while.

What did you think of the décor? I couldn't really tell from the outside, but it looked kinda interesting.

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by teej1984

Ya, I noticed the harsh kitchen lighting from outside... no doubt they'll fix that in the next little while.

What did you think of the décor? I couldn't really tell from the outside, but it looked kinda interesting.

It's kind of like an indie band's CD art exploded into a restaurant. I don't think they did a very good job, to be honest. The flow is weird and the elements don't really tie in together. Menu is a bit weird too (Pasta is "Market Price" for instance.)

Just sort of awkward for now, hopefully they're taking some time to consider it all.

[Acajack]

http://www.lapresse.ca/vins/actualit...n-nom-soif.php

Not sure if this has been mentioned on here but Véronique Rivest, who is the second-best sommelier in the world, will be opening her own wine bar probably sometime in April.

It will be at 88 Montcalm in the former location of burger joint Le Twist. On Montcalm, this is about halfway between the hotel at Terrasses de la Chaudière, and the Brasseurs du Temps/Eiffel Tower Bridge.

This will be a big plus for the area. Rivest is the former sommelier of Les Fougères in Chelsea, and is one of the world's foremost wine experts.

The Twist location should be pretty cool, and has a gorgeous terrasse in behind that was a shame to see unused.

[McC]

not "sommelière"?

;-)

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by McC

not "sommelière"?

;-)

You're right. I was trying to respect English grammar where nouns are supposed to be neutral. Guess I goofed!

[bikegypsy]

Navarra's business up 30% thanks to the show; it's probably been full everyday for the past month.

"
Ottawa chef Rene Rodriguez wins Top Chef Canada

BY PETER HUM, OTTAWA CITIZEN MAY 13, 2014

Ottawa chef Rene Rodriguez wins Top Chef Canada

Chef Rene Rodriguez.
Photograph by: Brigitte Bouvier , Ottawa Citizen
Rene Rodriguez, chef and owner of Navarra on Murray Street, prevailed over two other finalists and took home the $100,000 prize for winning Top Chef Canada on Monday night.

“I’m very happy to have won this not just for me, but for the city,” the Ottawa-born Rodriguez, 42, said in an interview. “I think that Ottawa needs a good uplift to be one of the best cities in the country for food, so I’m very happy.”

Rodriguez, who has cooked in various high-end Ottawa restaurants since the early 2000s, bested 13 other competitors from across Canada on the fourth season of Food Network Canada’s top-rated show.

He said that he will use his winnings to save for his young son’s education, to buy a motorcycle that he will take on a cross-Canada trip and to open another restaurant in Ottawa — a small eatery of a dozen or so seats that will be dedicated to the authentic cuisine of Oaxaca, a southeastern state in Mexico.

While Rodriguez was born in Ottawa, he lived in Oaxaca from the ages of five to 19 after his parents returned to their homeland. Much of Rodriguez’s innovative and complex cooking at Navarra is grounded in his Mexican heritage, and on the TV show competition, Rodriguez frequently relied on Mexican dishes and ingredients.

“I was able to reconnect with my roots of who I am as a chef,” Rodriguez said. “It was one of those things where you can actually go back to your roots and cook with pride.”

Rodriguez’s multi-course meal that wowed a judge’s panel on Monday night’s program included versions of two dishes served at Navarra — a signature beef tartare appetizer; and a braised lamb shank in a traditional Mexican mole sauce with parsnip puree, topped with crispy mealworms.

Rodriguez has competed several times in Ottawa’s Gold Medal Plates competition over the years, but has never won that event’s top prize. The chef said that the comparison was “night and day” between Gold Medal Plates and Top Chef Canada.

“Top Chef Canada is way, way, way more demanding and challenging,” Rodriguez said. “Gold Medal Plates is just one day. You just have to cook for one day, you go there for two hours.

“Top Chef is incredibly hard. I’m not just saying this because of the outcome. I’m saying this because every day you have to get up at six in the morning and you go to bed at midnight. For seven weeks. You don’t see your family, you don’t see your friends. All of a sudden, you’re in a bubble, you have to be creative, you have to be excited about food every day. You’re tired, you’re exhausted. There’s no comparison.

“Any chef that really wants to prove themselves, they should do it.”

Rodriguez’s exposure on the TV show over the last few months has boosted business at his restaurant by about 30 per cent, the chef added. ” It’s crazy. It’s amazing. We’re almost turning people away on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, we’re so busy.”

Rodriguez added that he while he lived fairly anonymously in the past, since the new season of Top Chef Canada began March 10, he is now recognized and approached in public.

The newfound attention does not bother him, he said. “Absolutely not. I’m glad that you support me as a local chef. You want to come to me and say can I have an autograph, I really, really, really appreciate it. I’m a humble guy. To me, that’s awesome. That’s amazing. It’s very special.”

"As Top Chef Canada’s champion, Rodriguez won not only a $100,000 grand prize sponsored by SpongeTowels but also a $30,000 GE Monogram Kitchen, and a $25,000 Caesarstone Quartz Installation.

Two years ago, during the second season of Top Chef Canada, chef Jonathan Korecki of Sidedoor Contemporary Kitchen and Bar on York Street was one of the series’ three finalists.

phum@ottawacitizen.com

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen"


http://www.ottawacitizen.com/enterta...154/story.html

[YOWflier]

I tried Gezellig in Westboro last weekend. Beckta's done a fine job ... again ... with this one.

[rocketphish]

Apparently not popular enough...

ZenKitchen, Ottawa's fine-dining refuge for vegans, has suddenly closed

by Peter Hum
Published on: May 24, 2014 Last Updated: May 24, 2014 10:21 AM EDT

Friday night at 9:36 p.m, ZenKitchen’s owner Dave Loan succinctly posted on his personal Facebook page: “ZenKitchen, July 26, 2009 – May 23, 2014. I’ll always remember you.”

That’s terrible and even shocking news for Ottawa foodies and in particular, for vegans in the city and beyond.

During its five years, ZenKitchen had the unique mandate of serving vegan fine dining, and it was widely acclaimed. It blazed a trail in this regard under its first chef, Caroline Ishii. She and Loan were husband-and-wife as well as restaurateurs, and their initial exploits were documented in the reality TV show The Restaurant Adventures of Dave and Caroline. Ishii’s food was a revelation, and she gained prominence at Ottawa culinary events such as the Gold Medal Plates competition. Ishii left ZenKitchen in April 2013, and the couple’s marriage ended around the same time.

As carnivorous as I am, I always enjoyed the food at ZenKitchen. (Many other carnivores did too.) I spent a New Year’s Eve there some years ago — I can’t remember which. In the last few years, my evil twin who plays jazz piano performed there on occasion, usually during the restaurant’s Sunday night live jazz evenings. There was always a free meal thrown in with the payment, and I would invariably order the gnocchi.

In fact, I was there last Sunday. I had this gnocchi, with ramps, fiddleheads, almond pesto and sage.

I also had a little casserole of earthy morels, fiddleheads and asparagus.

Both were delicious, as was everything that I’d eaten from Ishii and her successor, chef Kyle Proulx.

I spoke to Proulx last Sunday. He was in good spirits and proud of his food. He made a point of talking up his most recent dessert creation, a vegan sundae with “ice cream” made from nuts, if I recall correctly, and a coconut-based component. It was a great meal-ender that put many a conventional dessert that I’ve recently to shame.

Last Sunday, (when, by the way, the place was packed and staff were turning walk-ins away) I had no reason to think from Proulx that ZenKitchen would suddenly close days later. I also saw Loan, but had even less contact with him, as he was sick and went home early.

I’ll try to reach Loan and/or Proulx later today. (But first, some breakfast.) If I’m able to get more details, I’ll post again.

Rest in peace, ZenKitchen. My condolences to Loan, Proulx, and the restaurant’s fine staff.

http://ottawacitizen.com/life/food/z...uddenly-closed

[rocketphish]

Follow-up...

Revenue agency “killed” ZenKitchen, restaurant owner says

Peter Hum More from Peter Hum
Published on: May 24, 2014Last Updated: May 24, 2014 6:26 PM EDT

The Canada Revenue Agency seized the bank account of the acclaimed Ottawa vegan restaurant ZenKitchen last week, forcing the restaurant, which owed on its HST remittances, to close, its owner said Saturday.

“It was quite a surprise to me,” Dave Loan said.

Soon after it opened on Somerset Street West in 2009, ZenKitchen became renowned for its high-end vegan fare. Its first chef, Caroline Ishii, competed in Ottawa’s Gold Medal Plates competition.

However, Loan says the restaurant had run afoul of the CRA, having fallen behind in its HST remittances. He declined to quantify his tax debt to the agency.

Matters worsened last fall when sales dropped 30 per cent at ZenKitchen. “That burnt through savings,” Loan said.

In March this year, Loan and the CRA reached a new deal, involving monthly payments. But that deal was made retroactive to January, and from a $3,000-a-month payment, Loan went to a $20,000 bill. “That was beyond my ability to pay,” he said.

Loan said he discreetly put his business up for sale, hoping to use the proceeds to pay the CRA and his suppliers. The CRA was informed, he said.

But last Thursday, the CRA, after obtaining a court order, seized the business’s bank account. It took the $4,000 there, leaving Loan with no money to pay staff. The restaurant was forced to close.

“That’s the stupid thing,” Loan said.

“We absolutely agreed we owed the money, we also negotiated a payment plan and made those payments without fail,” Loan said.

“Despite this, they simply killed us, they killed the business.”

A spokesman for the agency could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The sudden shuttering of the restaurant resulted in the laying off of 16 employees, Loan said.

As well, Ottawa-area farms that supplied the restaurant will not see money owed, nor have business from the restaurant through the summer, he added.

In the hours since word of the restaurant’s closure went out late Friday, Loan has received a “tremendous” outpouring of support, he said.

As well, he has been approached by people who expressed interest in taking over the restaurant as a new business, leaving current debts with Loan.

If such a deal could be struck, it would be up to any new owners as to whether ZenKitchen would live on in name or concept, he said.

“That’s all up in the air,” Loan said.

“Whether ZenKitchen will continue on in some form I don’t know, but as far as I’m concerned, the ZenKitchen that I knew and loved, that’s gone.”

http://ottawacitizen.com/life/food/r...ant-owner-says

[acottawa]

So the guy was taking money from his customers, telling them it was "HST" and then pocketing the money himself.

Headline should read "Local Fraudster Finally Shut Down"