WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: Delivering on the promise of a real, big, messy burger at Beech St. Burger

The new Little Italy burger joint takes the Five Guys burger experience up a notch

Happy National Burger Month!

What — you didn’t mark your calendar?

Okay, technically it’s an American holiday, but I bet there are plenty of people in the National Capital Region who would be willing to join in the festivities. We do love a burger.

It’s no surprise to see new burger joints popping up like crazy, even as we gear up for the invasion of a new fleet of food trucks to help diversify the world of fast-food eating in this city. The burger trend is indeed mushrooming (mmmm, mushrooms are great on burgers) and shows no signs of burning out. Ottawa’s own burger chain, The Works, at 19 locations and counting, has apparently had about 600 franchise requests from across Canada. Holy cow!

I wish I could find some local statistics on our burger consumption habits, but I suspect we’re in line with the results of a recent foodservice consultancy survey of more than 2,250 online US and Canadian consumer: it revealed that 91% of people that responded said they eat a burger at least once a month, and 44% said they consume burgers at least once a week. The report claims: “burgers are one of the hottest trends on today’s dining scene.”

Again, no surprises there.

I had TWO burgers last week. Both of them were from the new Little Italy gem, Beech St. Burger.

Read the rest of this story »

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: The salad roll days of summer at Chez Bien

Lots of Vietnamese restaurants make their salad rolls ahead. At Chez Bien, they're made to order — and that makes all the difference.

By Anne DesBrisay

Chef Bien of Chez Bien used to cook in Italian restaurants on Preston Street. My first visit was lunch, but if you come back for dinner (recommended) you should give his Asian marinated lamb (lemongrass, ginger, garlic, star anise) served with Italian style roast potatoes (rosemary, garlic, olive oil) a try. Pretty successful fusion fare!

But on the first summer-like days of the year thoughts naturally turn to summer rolls. Goi Cuon, also called salad rolls, of softened rice paper circles wrapped around grilled meat, greens, vegetables, noodles and fresh herbs. Lots of Vietnamese restaurants make these, and make them ahead. At Chez Bien, they’re made to order and that makes all the difference.

The grilled pork is warm and fragrant, the vermicelli at room temperature, the vegetables fresh and crunchy in their sweet and sour marinade, while the chopped mint lends a burst of summery vigour to the package.

Read the rest of this story »

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: Mitla reinvents the sandwich with Mexican tortas and cactus quesadillas

Mexico's answer to the sandwich, tortas start with a crusty white roll stuffed with fresh goodies and it all gets grilled on a panini press.

By Shawna Wagman

For me, Mitla is a classroom. I go there to learn about the flavours of Oaxaca, Mexico, from someone who lived there and immersed herself in its food culture. I also go there for a damn fine lunch.

I immediately fell in love with agua de fruta ($3), cold refreshing “fruit water”— in this case, it was mango; the other option was passion fruit — beloved in Mexico for helping to beat the summer heat. I found the amount of sweetness, and the appealing consistency — thirst-quenching drinkable sorbet — just right. I polished it off before my lunch arrived.

Entering the festive red shop (blue from the street) nestled in the heart of residential Vanier, it feels like I am having lunch at the kitchen table in someone’s colourful little home. That someone is owner Ana Collins, who was flying solo in the Oaxacan-inspired kitchen on the afternoon I recently visited for lunch.

Looking up at the chalkboard menu, I quickly noted that many of the Spanish words were unfamiliar and details are few so I asked Collins for some direction. She recommended the torta ($5), a Mexican sandwich — chicken, chorizo or veggie — grilled into crusty-gooey submission on a panini press.

I also wanted to try something made with her homemade corn tortillas so I opted for a pair of quesadillas ($3), intrigued by the cactus and cheese option.

Read the rest of this story »

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: Anne DesBrisay takes a trip down memory lane with a visit to Cyranos in the city’s west end

The warm avocado salad included a quartet of grilled shrimp with a half ripe avocado, a pile of greens, and a warm stew of onion, tomato, and cilantro smothered on top

By Anne DesBrisay

I’ve been packing up my sons and putting them in boxes. Removed from shelves and walls, they’ve been protected with bubble wrap, labelled, and stored on a basement shelf. This is a process real estate agents call “depersonalizing” and apparently it’s necessary before you sell your house. De-clutter and get rid of the boys, they tell me. I’ve been quite enjoying it, I must say.

One of the framed photos I stashed away was of my youngest, in an infant seat at Cyranos. I knew it was Cyranos because behind him were the giant murals of fruits and vegetables that plastered the walls of this Bells Corners Mediterranean restaurant.

I’ve no idea who took the picture, or why, but there you go. Both kid and restaurant were pretty brand new.

Read the rest of this story »

1 Comment

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: Cross the river for real original thin-crust pizza and homemade ice cream. Fresh air is free.

Back in 2007, the original Cheezy Luigis transformed the main street in Wakefield, Quebec into a major pizza destination. That location has since been sold and remains a pie joint renamed Pizzeria Mama Gen. However Cheezy himself (a.k.a. Luigi Meliambro, also a partner in the new Bootleg Portchetta Co.) continues to hand-toss his excellent homemade pizzas in a charming bright yellow painted house on Chelsea’s main road.

It’s a perfectly pleasant 18-minute drive from the Byward Market and happens to represent an excellent afternoon excursion in the fine weather; a delicious urban diversion that offers with it a medicinal dose of fresh country air. I speak here from experience.

I love the charming homey ambiance of Luigi’s shop in Chelsea as well as the creative and fresh topping combinations on the pizzas — catering to preferences for thinner or thicker crusts (don’t we all prefer thinner?).

I also appreciate the fact that there’s a “bambini” option so that the junior eater or afternoon snacker can have their very own wee-size pizza for 4-bucks rather than the $14 investment that other gourmet pizza places tend to charge for a one-size-only minimalist Margherita.

Read the rest of this story »

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: A visit to The Elmdale Oyster House & Tavern

A pound of beautiful mussels bathes in a rich and righteous coconut cream sauce. Paddling in there, onions, capers, cilantro, and chopped kale crisped up with lots of garlic

By Anne DesBrisay

The captain’s chairs have the gnarly look you want from a place that calls itself a tavern. So do the checkered linoleum floors and the beat-up table bases.

But where did the white linen napkins come from? The reclaimed wooden table tops? What about the luscious beurre noisette in the butter pot? That same noon hour at the Elmdale Oyster House & Tavern, sitting in front of me was a stainless steel bowl with a pound of the best mussels I’ve had all year. If this is the tavern for the modern age — with a kitchen and a bar that shucks oysters — I’m for it.

Read the rest of this story »

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: Banish the cold with fish ‘three ways’ at Thai Flame

Trout — tangy, sour, spicy, and sweet. The flesh remained soft within its crisp crust and the sauce was simply joyful

By Anne DesBrisay

I wouldn’t ever do this in my own kitchen. This is a dish you leave home for.

Pla Sam Rot: described on the Thai Flame menu as “Deep fillet crispy topped with sweet and sour sauce.” Translated literally, pla sam rot means “three flavour fish,” generally cooked whole and smothered in a bright and lively, colour-charged topping that simply banishes winter.

It was looking for the old Taste of Japan restaurant in a little strip mall on Robertson Road (its windows sadly papered over) that led me here. I had had a sense that Taste of Japan was gone, possibly long gone, but I couldn’t remember. Sure enough, there it was, lights out, but (now) not forgotten and now with a neighbour worth exploring.

Thai Flame is a newish Thai restaurant, two doors away from the old Japanese, run by a Laotian couple who once ran the That Luang restaurant on Wellington West.

Read the rest of this story »

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: A reinvented Negozio Nicastro introduces its new lunch menu and grand espresso bar-café to replace Caffe Ventuno

The Nicastros closed Caffé Ventuno and transformed the negozio into a gourmet food emporium and espresso bar with casual cafe seating.

Last summer, Mike Nicastro told us about his family’s plans to shut down the restaurant Caffe Ventuno after 7 years and then to expand the “negozio” part of the business — the Italian food emporium — to include a traditional espresso bar and café under one banner: Negozio Nicastro.

I like to think of it as mini Eataly.

The renovations have opened up the space to take advantage of the natural light pouring in (the dividing low wall has been removed) and a small seating area remains next to the window. Customers can also seat themselves at the handsome new zinc-top bar with a grand espresso machine as the focal point. Nicastro says he’s hoping the casual neighbourhood vibe makes the place feel “even more of a little slice of Italy right here on Wellington.”

So imagine the corner café, deli, grocery, pizzeria, and pastry shops in Italy — all rolled into one. Nicastro opens up early in the morning (say buongiornoto an expertly made cappuccino starting at 7 a.m.!) and the doors remain open all day for whatever snacks, meals, beverages, ingredient,s and take-out food you need.

Read the rest of this story »

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: New ownership, same delicious roasted cod at El Meson

Fine fish: The roasted cod wears a thick and bumpy blanket of toasted nuts, finely chopped and mixed into a chunky tomato and garlic sauce.

By Anne DesBrisay

In the 20-some years I’ve been walking into El Meson I’ve never not been greeted by José Alves. He’s been very much the man in charge of this rock steady Iberian restaurant for 25 years.

So it was something of a shocker to find myself face to face with a kid last week. Not much else was off. The place looks the same — there’s been no stripping tables down to the veneer, no hauling up of carpet, no reclaimed modernist overhaul. The lunch menu seems largely unchanged, and I certainly recognized my server from years past.

Looking around at the noontime clientele — a table of men in suits, a few of the New Edinburgh elegant elders — the crowd seemed ’bout right. But there is news at El Meson. Big news. José and Maria Alves retired last spring (and may I use this page to thank them and wish them all the very best).

Read the rest of this story »

WEEKLY LUNCH PICK: Swooning over Allium’s chicken fried snails and marvellous mushrooms on toast

Chicken fried snails were as strangely delicious as it sounds.

Sometimes you just want a proper lunch. Nothing too fussy or elegant, but something for one of those days when making it until noon without going back to bed is reason enough to treat yourself to something special. Something, preferably, that doesn’t come on a bun. Or with a side of french fries.

That’s why it was so nice to see fewer sandwiches on Allium’s lunch menu last week and more inspiring ideas for the midday meal. To add even more variety to our day, my friend and I decided to share three plates.

I was told on my way out the door that the lunch menu will be changing up for the month of March sometime this week, so these particular dishes might not be available.

I don’t encounter snails very often, so when I spotted crispy fried snails, I couldn’t not order them. Our server told us they were chicken fried — not sure if that means fried in chicken fat or just treated like fried chicken. Either way, these melt-in-the-mouth baby beignets were divine (banish any thoughts of rubbery or briny specimens) — especially when used to mop up the sticky honey-garlic sauce at the bottom of the bowl reminiscent of the sweet dip for springrolls. Together with the swath of Sriracha mayo painted around the wide rim of the bowl and confetti of baby cilantro leaves, there was a cleverly unexpected Thai twist to the dish.

Read the rest of this story »

« Older articles
Food + Wine
Shopping
Homes + Gardens
Society