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FROM THE PRINT EDITION: Eggs with imagination at Chez Edgar and Art-is-in

Getting creative with a classic breakfast combo
By Shawna Wagman

Tiring of serving up ordinary bacon and eggs, local chefs are waking up to the possibilities of the most leisurely meal of the week. In fact, two of our most beloved sandwich shops are using weekends to revisit the basic brunch ingredients and show off their owners’ culinary chops. Here are two good reasons to get out of your jammies.

Breakfast Gnocchi. Photography by Photoluxstudio.com - Christian Lalonde.

Art-is-in Bakery’s Breakfast Gnocchi: $11.95
When we hear the names Kevin Mathieson or Art-is-in, we think one thing: bread. But visitors to the bakery’s industrial takeout shop-café are discovering that the mastermind behind the city’s celebrated sourdoughs and baguettes can really cook! Luxurious brunch dishes like breakfast gnocchi, straight from the Mathieson imagination, demonstrate a penchant for culinary decadence. A hot pan of sizzling butter gives a slightly crisp exterior to the homemade Yukon Gold gnocchi, which have the ultimate melt-in-your-mouth texture. These nuggets nestle in a quick sauté of fresh vegetables — whatever inspires the chef at the moment — brussels sprouts, chanterelle mushrooms, cauliflower, beans, with some crispy chopped bacon and fresh thyme. A three-minute perfectly poached egg rests on top, napped with classic buttery made-from-scratch hollandaise sauce, a pinch of smoked sea salt, and snipped chives. This, my friends, is what weekends are made for.
Brunch hours: Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Art-is-in Bakery, 250 City Centre Ave., Bay 112-114 (from Scott Rd.), 613-695-1226, www.artisinbakery.com.

Dutch Baby. Photography by Photoluxstudio.com - Christian Lalonde.

Edgar’s Dutch Baby: $10.75
Imagine a golden pancake that puffs up high like a soufflé but is crispy and golden around the edges like a traditional crepe and custardy inside like a flan. The bowl-shaped Baby is gently nudged out of a cast-iron pan that has been slicked with delicious duck fat (only bacon fat would make it crispier, says Edgar’s owner, Marysol Foucault, but her fried potatoes get all the bacon love). It is served hot from the oven, topped with a succulent slice of gooey caramelized slow-cooked pork belly, a crumble of five-year-old cheddar, chunky apple purée, and a glug of maple syrup. The sweet-savoury marvel is one of three brunch options served at the 11-seat Edgar. “We wanted to do something a bit out of the ordinary,” says Foucault, “something
extra yummy.”
Brunch hours: Saturday  10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Edgar, 60, rue Bégin, Hull (Gatineau sector), 819-205-1110.

Best Restaurants of 2011: #8 The Whalesbone Oyster House

Whalesbone’s popular “Chicken” and waffles: Cornflake-crusted albacore tuna with cornbread waffles, fresh whip, Jerry’s syrup, and blueberries. Photo by photoluxstudio.com/Christian Lalonde.

When I think of The Whalesbone, I think organic. But not in the sense of chemical-free certification that, say, government agencies or veggie buffet restaurants wish us to define it. It’s easy to forget that organic also refers to that gritty, primal, sometimes messy stuff that goes on below the surface of life. Somehow, dining at The Whalesbone connects me to that place: a delicious, raw, and vulnerable place.

I’m not talking just about the act of slurping fresh oysters out of their shells, though it’s an apt analogy for the letting-go attitude that permeates this place. Experimentation and a more-is-more ethos has always been the domain of the young artiste, and there is no doubt that the creative burn of youth is the source of the energy in this kitchen.

Chef Charlotte Langley, who led the crew until leaving for Café Belong in late November, is one of the most audacious young chefs in the city today. Her menu is Maritime chic, featuring imaginative items such as Arctic char bouillabaisse and mackerel lasagna. Who else would think to reinterpret the soul food classic chicken and waffles as chicken-fried tuna with fluffy herb-flecked cornbread waffles infused with boozy syrup and slathered with whipped butter? It will be intriguing to see how the menu develops goes in the wake of her departure.

Yes, we all know Whalesbone as the source for sustainable, ocean-friendly seafood options, but it is also one of the few places that pulses with genuine vitality. Love to see that its gregarious servers equally embody the hedonistic vibe.

430 Bank St., 613-231-8569, www.thewhalesbone.com.

Best Restaurants of 2011: #7 Restaurant Ei8hteen

Restaurant E18hteen’s caramelized black cod with coconut-carrot purée. Photo by photoluxstudio.com/Christian Lalonde.

Matthew Carmichael has a way with his ingredients that makes it seem as if he has employed magic to will them into submission. I hope he never reveals his secret; that is so much of the pleasure of eating his food.

In his hands, fish behaves like tempered chocolate, melting on the tongue and blooming with hidden flavours. Braised crispy octopus with dark, drippy honey is a mesmerizing appetizer. Fork-tender chunks have a hit of spice and are a satisfying chew.

A fixture in the trendy ByWard Market, E18hteen remains unapologetically fashionable and expensive. Plates are not particularly balanced, but that’s not the goal. The seasonal vegetables appear like a farmers’ market stall in miniature: a few corn kernels, a few fresh green peas, a leaf or two of sautéed chard, a few tender turnips, and a pair of snap peas. Everything is lovely, of course, each one tasting of itself, but the plate seems to say, You are not here to eat your vegetables. Instead, it’s merely intermission before submitting to the big moment of satisfaction.

This is a meal that teases and tantalizes; it is sensual food — voluptuous, creamy, silky, and moist. It is served in a timeless, cultureless, placeless space — looking around, you could be anywhere. In that sense, eating at E18hteen is almost an out-of-body experience: the food and decor conspire to usher your senses inward rather than out.

11 York St., 613-244-1188, www.restaurant18.com.

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WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: Basking in the “two plates for $20″ lunch at Play

This lunchtime dish of trout is described simply as "terrific".

By Anne DesBrisay

Play is young and cheerful and fresh: precisely what lunch on a wintry day requires. Its prime mover, Stephen Beckta, is manning the coat check as we stomp through the York Street door, shaking flurries off parkas, handing over soggy mitts. He takes on our burdens with habitual grace, and then leads us to a sunny upstairs table by a big, old window where we bask in the competent ministrations of a perceptive staff.

We are here to taste Play’s any-two-plates-for-$20 lunch, and drink a glass of wine suggested by a menu that pairs every dish with a proposal for best match, in three and five ounce pours. The presentation on the plate of the ‘S2S’ chorizo is striking, and the sausage is very good. We don’t plan to eat it all, but hand goes from plate to mouth to plate again with embarrassing repetition, sometimes dunking the marbled, well-spiced sausage in the curls of dijon mustard, sometimes not.

Pretty and tasty. A pretty chorizo sausage platter disappears quickly — there are no leftovers when a dish is this good.

Next course, trout, yielding just right, in a sweet cider pool surrounding a silken squash purée. Layered above this, a few bitter disks of well peppered turnip (I love turnip), some soft ribbons of leek, and a toss of chewy proscuitto for a bit of meaty, salty yum.  A terrific dish. Feeling we’d had a deal of a meal, we splurged on dessert ($8): a stunner of a chocolate terrine, generous enough to pass around (and around).

Cost: $20 for two plates

Hours: Lunch from noon to 2 p.m. daily (open daily for dinner, too).

Play food + wine,  1 York Street, 613-667-9207. www.playfood.ca.

Best Restaurants of 2011: #6 Fraser Café

Sweet jerk-spiced pork chop with grilled peaches and marinated onions from Fraser Café. Photo by photoluxstudio.com/Christian Lalonde.

The Fraser brothers came along at precisely the right moment for Ottawa. We were craving something different, something that felt more personal and less fussy and made us excited about going out for dinner — or lunch or brunch. And we still do.

We want to feel part of something bigger, more cosmopolitan. We want flavours that are familiar, but not too familiar. We want to be surprised, but not too surprised. We want to be tested: what is that spice exactly? Did you say duck meatballs? And we want a restaurant with thoughtful, fresh, delicious food that doesn’t require an enormous splurge. Fraser Café is all that.

It takes us on a ride without taking us over the edge. And judging by all those satisfied regulars, it has truly hit the sweet spot. I watched a young couple in their late 20s introducing the young man’s parents to the concept of ordering the “chef’s choice” for a main course. The father opted for a sure thing — a messy platter piled high with fried chicken and barbecued ribs — while the mother considered letting the kitchen surprise her. Just one question for her server first: what would she do if it arrived and was something she disliked? Apparently that never happens. As she contemplated the menu further, she watched as two huge grins swept across the faces of a couple at a neighbouring table as their surprise meals arrived.

How intoxicating it is in this impersonal world to have a talented chef cook something Just. For. You. And so another one drank the Kool-Aid.

7 Springfield Rd., 613-749-1444, www.frasercafe.ca.

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Best Restaurants of 2011: #5 Canvas Resto-Bar-Etc.

From Canvas, wild boar with pineapple, pepper, and ginger salsa; date glaze; and cranberry-citrus chutney. Served with a goat cheese potato cake and honey-cilantro buttered corncob. Photo by photoluxstudio.com/Christian Lalonde.

How important is it that a restaurant has an auteur — a brand-name chef with a personal creative vision? That question pops to mind every time I enter this handsome west-end neighbourhood bistro with its low-key vibe and charming neighbourhood views.

Who is the chef at Canvas anyway? I have spotted owner Charles Beauregard sporting an apron, serving tables, and delivering a tray of double-smoked bacon. I’ve also seen him sitting at the bar enjoying a meal. In spite of his presence, Canvas feels rather anonymous.

I think that’s part of what keeps it flying under the radar, much as Absinthe and Allium did five years ago. As menus go, it’s not terribly inventive. I guess you could say it lacks edge. But I have come to appreciate the fact that Canvas knows its limits and doesn’t take itself too seriously. What’s refreshing is that Canvas isn’t afraid to cater to both your less adventurous father-in-law and your foie gras-obsessed foodie friend.

Pasta with grilled chicken may be shorthand for unambitious eating, but this is some of the best homemade pasta around. And the seared tuna that was served as part of a composed niçoise salad may not be the most original dish, but it turned out to be one of the most simply delicious things I ate last summer. I am still reeling at the bargain-basement price tag of $20 for a main course. I can’t figure out if Canvas is an underdog or an underachiever, but my hunch is it’s just a throwback: honest bistro-style cooking that pretends to be nothing but what it is.

65 Holland Ave., 613-729-1991, www.canvasrestobar.ca.

Best Restaurants of 2011: #4 Oz Kafe

Oz Kafe's roasted eggplant stuffed with duck ragout, yogourt, chilies, herbs, and fish sauce. Photo by photoluxstudio.com/Christian Lalonde.

A few days after I took my new-to-Ottawa friend to Oz Kafe, she emailed me with this message: “I can’t stop thinking about that corn. What was in the sauce?”

The answer is butter and chili. It’s pretty much what you’d find poured over a pile of Buffalo chicken wings. Not brain surgery, right? But on top of nutty-sweet, peak-of-summer cobs of corn finished on the grill, this dish became unforgettable. Simple, fresh, and unpretentious but also a little bit bad-ass and freakin’ delicious: it’s such an Oz dish.

These same chefs, Jamie Stunt and Simon Bell, offer a tight but eclectic comfort-food menu that includes a crowd-pleasing steak and caesar salad with smoked mashed potatoes and homemade barbecue sauce. They are also the only ones brave enough to serve local farm-raised Tibetan yak. The simple dish, Yak Tataki, pairs sweet, tender slices of barely seared meat with crunchy bacon-fat-fried breadcrumbs, yuzu, parsley, and horseradish mayo.

But the real magic of Oz is that its tiny closet of a kitchen has the best karma in town. It’s where cooks go to get unhooked, preparing prix fixe dinners for their own kind at monthly industry nights. In August, chefs, servers, and dishwashers piled in for a “spare parts” themed meal. The first course was called quadruple bypass — salmon, chicken, beef, and lamb hearts. Oz Kafe makes a party out of cooking and eating. And every other restaurant in town benefits from its existence.

361 Elgin St., 613-234-0907, www.ozkafe.com.

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: Savour a galette with oomph at Fleur de Sel et L’Argöat

The galette is a Brittany crepe made with the heartier buckwheat flour. It has a tangy, nutty sort of flavour, and the oomph to stand up to strong, savoury fillings

In 2008, the pescatarian restaurant Fleur de Sel teamed up with the crepe restaurant L’Argöat, the latter moving out of its upper floor space on rue Laval and into Fleur de Sel’s red brick a few doors away. The resulting merger then became known as (ta da!!) Fleur de Sel et L’Argöat, complete with a married menu as long-winded as its blended name.

But the union does mean that if you aren’t in the mood for a millet pie or smoked salmon mousse, you can have a crepe for lunch. Which is nice, because it’s rare. And you can have that crepe stuffed with meat, which is also rare in a vegetarian-with-fish-privileges restaurant.

These are galettes, actually, the Brittany crepes made with the heartier buckwheat flour. They have a tangy, nutty sort of flavour, and the oomph to stand up to strong, savoury fillings. Fleur de Sel’s are buttery and crispy edged. The galette I chose — after being told I couldn’t have the “La Bretonne” as they were out of lardons (quelle catastrophe!) — was filled with tender strips of rare venison along with sautéed mushrooms in a gamey, woodsy jus sweetened with long, slow- cooked onions. It came with a nice little salade composée with a few pickled vegetables and a tarragon vinaigrette, and made for a happy, filling lunch.

Cost: Galette L’Argöat, $17

Hours: Tuesday to Friday for lunch, Tuesday to Saturday for dinner

Fleur de Sel, 59, rue Laval, 819-772-8596, www.fleurdesel.ca.

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Best Restaurants of 2011: #3 Town

Town’s salted caramel ice cream piled high with whipped cream, peanuts, and caramel corn. Photo by photoluxstudio.com/Christian Lalonde.

If Town were a freshman, he would be that adorable, smart, funny kid who has endeared himself to absolutely everyone — the artsy types, the jocks, the nerds, the cool kids. Even the parents are smitten. They say his taste in music makes them feel young again.

This is eager-to-please food that reaches out and hugs you. You’ll find things here you never even knew you were craving. Like a stunning classic Italian summer salad of prosciutto and fresh melon with arugula and little goat cheese fritters, the plate drizzled with honey. I bet all the other chefs in town are kicking themselves that they didn’t think of that one.

The featured flatiron steak was pink perfection, cooked under vacuum (he’s a bit of a science geek too) and topped with watermelon salsa. So good, it’s hard to believe the sides stole the show — we’re talking silky-smooth puréed mascarpone potatoes and quickly sautéed kale, its lacy leaves tasting of smoked bacon and butter (okay, it’s not that hard to believe).

So let’s see now: soulful creative cooking, fresh ingredients, great music, great vibe, excellent service, not a trace of attitude, and sane prices. At least dessert was a dud, right? No, it was incredible: a magnificent mess of salted caramel ice cream piled high with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a tower of peanut and caramel corn. Town travels the line between frivolous fun and serious food and welcomes everyone to join the ride.

296 Elgin St., 613-695-8696, www.townlovesyou.ca.

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Best Restaurants of 2011: #2 Navarra by René Rodriguez

Navarra’s My Culinary Journey of the Aventine Hill in Rome: Bone marrow alla puttanesca, ricotta frittata, lucanica sausages, fried artichokes, and salt cod panzanella. Photo by photoluxstudio.com/Christian Lalonde.

“I don’t know what half of this stuff is,” said a woman as she walked away from the tapas menu on a Tuesday night.

It’s too bad this intimate Basque-inspired bistro gives off an intimidating vibe. Much of the warmth and charisma is reserved for the food. Navarra reflects its enigmatic chef-owner René Rodriguez, who rarely makes eye contact with patrons. I remember interviewing him before he opened the restaurant, and he struck me as one of the most guarded chefs I had ever met — never opening up or revealing where his passion for food came from.

Only the Food Network says chefs must be personable and engaging. But judging by the delicious food, Rodriguez seems content to cook, tinker with kitchen gadgets, and let us fill in the blanks about what makes him tick.

That night I fell under the spell of live flamenco music and the “bullfighter dinner,” a giant sweet and tangy beef rib, its fall-off-the-bone goodness infused with anise and apple, complemented by a chili-dipped hard-boiled egg and a plucky green sauce made with grainy dijon and cornichons. It didn’t replace a ticket to the Costa Brava, but it certainly made Ottawa feel a lot more interesting. Rome joined northern Spain as Rodriguez’ muse on a recent menu. I am hoping the black corn tamale signals a foray into the flavours of his childhood in Mexico.

93 Murray St., 613-241-5500, www.navarrarestaurant.com.

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