Early this morning, I came to the conclusion that pho, a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup that is eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, has gone pop-culture mainstream in North America. According to definr.com, mainstream is defined as follows:

the prevailing current of thought; "his thinking was in the American mainstream"

Source: definr.com

How else can you explain pho noodle houses taking the following names?

Pho'licious:

Pholicious
Found in Ottawa, Pho'licious actually serves a very decent bowl of pho. Here are foodiePrints' determinations.

What the Pho?:
Last night, What the Pho was Mentioned to me by a tweep who goes by the handle @machopper

MacHopper (Jul 30, 09:37 PM)
@Spoonsie @foodiePrints here we have franchise pho restaurants call "What The Pho?"

What the Pho
Source: Hersh Ajgaonkar's Point Bridge Blog

According to its website, What the Pho has three locations: 1317 228th Street SE (Bothell, WA) , 10680 NE 8th Street (Bellevue, WA), and 17250 Southcenter Parkway, Suite 132 (Tukwila, WA). Ajgaonkar's blog entry is dated March 25, 2006, so What the Pho's philosophy of offering a "clean eating environment, modern décor, fast, friendly service, savory food and a focus on the customer" must be working for them.

As further evidence, I present the "Got Pho" t-shirt.

Got Pho
Source: North Shore Shirts

Jenn and I saw a number of these and similar shirts being sold at the Richmond Night Market in Vancouver, years ago. Others read "Got Rice", "Got Pad Thai", and "Got Samosas."

Aside: I should note also that I had an odd bowl of Pho at the Asia River restaurant at 300 River Road yesterday. The lunch special, at a restaurant that advertises it serves "The Finest Asia Food", seemed to employ a sweet broth, not a savory one. Further, the beef, was not thinly shaved sheets. Instead, it was thickly cut, slightly tenderized, strips, more than likely doubling as beef for a Cantonese-style stir fry. Interestingly, its street-side sign advertised that the restaurant serves Chinese (Szechuan and Cantonese), Thai, and Vietnamese food.

Menu from Asia River and Particulars after the jump...

More after the jump...

In Ottawa, when you ask locals where to get a decent burger, you will likely be directed to one of two old favourites or a newcomer: The Works, Chez Lucien or Famous Frenchy's respectively.

The relative newcomer, Famous Frenchy's opened its doors several months ago and Ottawa Citizen's food editor Ron Eade pounced on it pretty quickly.

Ron Eade's Heart Attack Grill
In his writeup, he referred to Famous Frenchy's by the name of an American burger chain whose restaurants earned some notoriety for serving "excess", the Heart Attack Grill (HAG). The Heart Attack Grill's owner and operator, Jon Basso, would later call Eade on infringement on his trademark from Twitter.

@doublebypass (Jul 25, 11:38 AM)
@RonEade You are publishing trademarks which are registered in US and Canada. Contact me immediately jon@heartattackgrill.com Jon Basso

@DoubleBypass Doctor Jon (Jul 25, 12:04 PM)
Up at 7am to the charming news that yet another ... media concern is violating my trademarks, oh well back to court, it's getting old.

Clearly, foodiePrints' a "Palin" blog entry on the chain was mistaken when my then research turned up that the Heart Attack Grill had closed its doors.

Regarding Famous Frenchy's, friends of mine have visited it, telling me that the burgers are quite good, but you would best bring a defibrillator with you. They also tell me it is a great place to take a "guy" to on his birthday.

We at foodiePrints have visited Chez Lucien several times before, finding both the burgers and service are best at the beginning of evening service, just before the night time rush. Though, I have to admit there is no other eatery in the city with the same ambiance. It is a popular destination.

Regarding the Works, there is a chain of restaurants in Ottawa. My better half, her sister, and I thoroughly enjoyed our first off-the-menu burger experience at the Works' Bank Street location in the Glebe. We also enjoy Westfest burgers from the Works' Richmond Road Location in Westboro during the annual summer festival.

However, I later discovered that the various Works locations are independently run and do not all offer the same quality of food or service. Admittedly, it is difficult to replicate the qualities that gave the Works its reputation in all its location, but each should come close.

Such wasn't the case when I went to the Works' Manor Park location on the Friday evening before the Victoria Day weekend with friends. This would be their first visit and I advised them to try another location before dismissing chain entirely.

Firstly, the service was atrocious. While we understood that a 4 person table at the busy location was difficult to come by, sticking us outside in the makeshift terrace (2 tables on the sidewalk) during dusk in the summer-time only ensured that we got close encounters of the mosquito kind. Then, promising us an inside table when space permits, literally forgetting us outside, and then telling us that we have to be re-queued with other arriving parties just adds insult to injury. Had you no space, tell us so and we would have gone elsewhere.

Secondly, the food we were served had my friends questioning why I spoke so highly of the chain. Our plates of sweet potato fries were served mostly cold, lukewarm at best.

Soggy Sweet Potato Fries

The tower of greasy onion rings did not please the crowd.

Greasy Onion Rings

My friend's "Hail Mary" ($12.94) burger sported an over cooked beef pattie and an egg that was taller than it was wide. I actually had to stop and think about how the cook managed to produce a pimple of a fried egg. Inside, the yolk looked almost chalky.

Overcooked Fried Egg

My "Peppercorn Broiler" ($12.52) burger's pattie had a nice layer of charcoal on top of what resembled an already good sear. It had me wonder if it had been pre-cooked and then re-seared. Needless to say, it too was overcooked, its internal heat literally liquefying the lettuce in my burger.

My Burger

Lifeless Pattie

The buns also came cold. Every other time I have eaten burgers from the Works, the buns came toasted.

Cold Bun

Total: $32.16 (after taxes, before tip, and including an Iced Tea ($2.99))

In future, I'm sticking to what I feel should be the Works' flagship location, the Glebe establishment. There, my guests and I are treated well, and our burgers demonstrate how the Works earned its reputation.

Particulars:
The Works
363 St-Laurent Boulevard
(613)748-0406

More after the jump...

Sometime mid-May, I posted a blog entry entitled "Fortified Highly Sweetened Junk Food Oh My." It included my thoughts about processed food manufacturers, making unjustified claims on food products that ordinarily have little nutritional value. Today, processed food is again the subject of several media exposes and discussions on the blogosphere. Some include startling revelations.

According to the Globe and Mail newspaper, a survey published by the Canadian Journal of Public Health, has determined that pastas, breads, and cereals can contain anywhere from 90% to 377% of the folic acid claimed on product labels. While the federal government is responsible for implementing mandatory fortification of wheat flour, enriched pasta, and cornmeal in 1998 and the high levels of folic acid actually may not be harming consumers, the results of the survey demonstrate two things. Firstly, the amount of vitamins producers add vary widely. Secondly, fortification of these products does not seem monitored.

According to the Canadian Press, processed foods sold by the likes of Nestle, Burger King, Subway, McDonald's and Kellogg's vary in salt content from one country to another. The referenced study from the British World Action on Salt and Health (WASH) shows that where products sold in Canada were included in the survey, some had significantly higher salt concentrations. They follow:

Burger King Onion Rings
Canada - 1.703g of salt/100g
United Kingdom - 0.398g of salt/100g
Source: World Action On Salt

Kellogg's All Bran
Canada - 2.153g of salt/100g
United States - 0.645g of salt/100g
Source: World Action On Salt

Kellogg's Special K
Canada - 2.328g of salt/100g
Turkey - 1g of salt/100g
Source: World Action On Salt

Kentucky Fried Chicken Popcorn Chicken
Canada - 2.271g of salt/100g
Malaysia - 1.40g of salt/100g
Source: World Action On Salt

Kentucky Fried Chicken Twister or equivalent sandwich
Canada - 1.572g of salt/100g
New Zealand - 1.0313g of salt/100g (includes pepper mayo)
Source: World Action On Salt

A total of 260 food products were tested.

According to the Fooducate blog, Kellogg's has chosen to follow General Mills' example and market fortified brands of Rice Krispies in the United States as having significant health benefits. Apparently, eating fortified Rice Krispies "Now Helps Support Your Child's Immunity."

According to the Rice Krispies website, a new formulation of traditional Rice Krispies, Jumbo Krispies, and Cocoa Krispies carries A, B6, B12, C and E.

Immunity Rice Krispies
Source: ricekrispies.com

Furthermore, based on its ingredient list and nutritional panel, the Cocoa variety is made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (a trans fat). Sugar occurs three times in the list. And, a 3/4 cup serving carries 150mg of salt and 12g of sugar (39% of the product by mass).

In summary, processed foods are fortified to varying degrees somewhat contrary to what is advertised on their packaging. Processed foods are differently salted depending on what country you live in. And, in the United States, manufacturers are allowed to market a fortified product that is almost 40% sugar by mass as benefiting a child's immunity.

Update: In Canada, Cocoa Rice Krispies boxes on mega-mart shelves do not yet bare the "Now Helps Support Your Child's Immunity" lettering.

Cocoa Rice Krispies on a Canadian grocery store shelf
However, the nutritional panels on three varieties of Rice Krispies are rather telling.

Nutritional Panels

• One serving of traditional Rice Krispies (1cup, 28g) contains 3g sugar (10.5%) , 21g starch, and 230mg salt.
• One serving of Cocoa Rice Krispies (1cup, 34g) contains 10g sugar (29.4%), 20g starch, and 220mg salt.
• One serving of Multi-Grain Rice Krispies (1cup, 31g) contains 7g sugar (22.5%), 15g starch, and 190mg salt.

For those of you who work on the Ontario side, this upcoming weekend comes with Civic Holiday, marking the first Monday of August. Needless to say, three day weekends are an opportunity to plan special events.

Author and culinary activist, Anita Stewart has a suggestion for the Saturday of the long weekend (August 1, 2009). She has spearheaded an initiative to celebrate regional foods by expanding "The World's Longest Barbecue" into "Food Day Canada." On her recently launched website for the event, Professor Stewart encourages Canadians to participate by grilling or barbecuing Canadian food. Her intention: to establish an authentic food holiday that celebrates Canada's agricultural bounty and allows us to shares our food stories

It doesn't matter where you live in Canada, you can participate by grilling or barbecuing up food from your home region. This includes serving up local wines or beer. Professor Stewart also extends an invitation to participate to all Canadians abroad.

To share your barbecue stories, go to the Food Day website and type in how you plan to celebrate Food Day Canada. Within the 2000 character space, you can include your barbecue menu, special ingredients, where you purchased them, special dishes, and regional specificity.

Me, I don't have Monday off, but here is the menu I plan on serving sometime this coming weekend:

• Grilled spatchcocked chicken, glazed with maple syrup
• Grill seared beef steak tomatoes
• Vegetable skewers w/peppers, onion, and zucchini
• Balsamic glazed mini-potatoes
• Roasted garlic crostini
• strawberry shortcake

Hopefully, this is sufficient to observe the occasion!

Join in on the fun!

Here is a guest post from a wonderful foodie who goes by @rabbittrick on Twitter. I have been following both she and her blog since I started tweeting. Her blog, Seven Rhapsodies, is an inspiration for food bloggers, myself included. Hers is a blog that demonstrates an enthusiasm and care that shows that great recipes can come with great food photography.

And without further ado...

Blogger was on the fritz recently, so while frowning and pouting my way through a rainy morning in the wee hours of 6 and 7am, I bumped into the lovely Don on twitter, who offered me a guest post spot on foodieprints.com!

And so here I am, actually, as you are. Although I already had a post prepared, Don's special invitation spurred me on to cook something altogether special. And what's more special than something concocted from The Complete Robuchon?

Meatballs, that's what.

If for a moment I caused that "half-gasp" expression, I apologise. Although before you start hurling potatoes and eggs, this recipe just might turn you right around.

Comfort foods are always my priority. I love me a mean balsamic glazed pan-seared foie gras, but at the end of the day, I'm a meatballs & spaghetti, beer in front of the telly kind of girl. And while I'm sure to one day share recipes from The Complete Robuchon, today's just not that kind of day.

I've selfishly held on to this recipe for quite some time. Although it's not that difficult to make, and it's no 100-year old recipe, but it's nothing to sniff at, either. It's a Swedish meatball, and from where I come from (not Sweden) it's got a cult following of its own.

IKEA sells its own Swedish meatballs frozen for people to take-away. It's something I've tried before years ago. Recently, however, I had the intense urge to make it from one of my cookbooks. I must say, although I'll never stop eating Swedish meatballs at IKEA, I won't say no to one of these home-made babies either. They're softer and juicier, and you can pair them with a tomato-based sauce or one right here.

Swedish Cocktail Meatballs
(modified slightly, but otherwise taken heart & soul from Soups & Starters, one of those off-the-mill cookbooks I discovered a while ago that is really a treasure trove of recipes)

• 50g butter
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 50g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 125ml double cream
• Salt & black pepper
• 350g fresh lean beef mince
• 125g fresh pork mince
• 3 ? 4 chopped dill
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 125ml beef stock
• Extras: chopped parsley, plenty of Italian herbs, dash paprika

Heat 1/2 the butter in large wok and sauté onions. Set aside to cool.

Mix breadcrumbs, egg, 1 ? 2 tbsp cream and onions. Season with salt & pepper and stir till nicely mixed. Add pork and beef mince. Add all the herbs and mix together till you get an even mixture. Shape mixture into meatballs.

Melt remaining butter in pan and add vegetable oil. Add the meatballs and stir fry till nicely brown and done.

Sauce:
Once all meatballs are done and set aside, pour the oil out from the pan. Pour the beef stock into the pan now and scrap up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining cream to thicken, stir until reduced. Add more herbs, salt & pepper.

Spoon sauce over meatballs to serve.

Suggestion: make a good batch of mashed potatoes to go with your meatballs and to soak up the sauce!

Jenn and I try to take in as many of Ottawa's open air festivals as possible during the summers. Ottawa has a number of festivals during the winter as well, but summer festivals don't require thick boots, doubled socks, thick scarves, skates, snow shoes, or skis. That said, we returned to the Turkish Festival today after missing it last year. We also plan to go to this year's Greek Festival, which is scheduled August 13-23.

Unlike our visit 2 years ago, the Ottawa Turkish Festival now spans three days, starting Friday and ending Sunday (July 24-26) and has attracted many more sponsors including CTVOttawa, Direct Energy, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and WelcomInns. After yesterday evening's torrential rains, we hoped the weather hadn't damaged spirits or the grounds at Ottawa's Confederation Park where the festival is being held.

While the grounds were muddy, the festival opened to clearing skies, warm weather, and crowds of people.

Signage on the Mackenzie King Bridge

Happy Revelers
Tables were packed and spirits were high. We mingled with the crowds, watched a "Whirling Dervish" show and, of course, we ate.

First, we walked by a tent setup by Toronto's Turkish Burak Supermarket.

Burak Supermarket
Surrounding the tent's entrance were two tables, piled with Turkish sesame bagels, called simit.

Beside Burak was a display by a manufacturer of Turkish sweets, Gesas

Gesas
Everything looking delectable, we tried the Turkish Delight on the far right. It tasted incredibly sweet and had the texture of a wine gum, definitely a festive treat.

After touring the entire grounds, including spending some time watching sujuk kofta being made on a portable gas grill, we doubled back to the borek pastry tent, where we met a lovely lady who was as curious about the pastries as we were. Seeing me take pictures, she commented that she usually does the same so she can remember what she ate. At this particular tent, the foods were displayed with list of ingredients as well as their Turkish names.

Borek Pastries

ispanakli gul boregi

peynirli gul boregi and orgu pogaca

Unnamed
Jenn and I picked up two pieces of ispanakli gul boregi. The baked filo had softened significantly around the spinach, onion, egg, and milk filling.

Cross section of ispanakli gul boregi
Cost: $2 for 2 pieces

Beside the Borek pastry tent was a more familiar kebab-style vendor who featured shish taouk, but also sold kebbe balls, falafel, and Indian samosas.

kebab-style vendor

signage

In the end, we settled on chicken doner kebabs from the doner tent

Doner

We were served shaved chicken from gas-powered vertical rotisseries, topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, chopped onions, and chunked tomatoes, on a grocery-store style submarine bun. The veg was dressed with a little paprika and a little sumac.

2 doner sandwiches

chicken
To drink, I had a non-carbonated sour cherry drink. She, a carbonated orange drink.

sour cherry drink

orange drink
Both tasted very sweet and rather artificial. When Jenn tasted my drink, she thought she was drinking a can of cherry pie filling, except that there were no cherries to chew.

Cost: $15 for 2 doner sandwiches and 2 canned drinks

The chicken was predominantly dark meat, well-crusted, under-seasoned, and surprisingly greasy. The veg was fresh, but left us with substantial onion breath.

Grease that gathered on the paper plate

Window test
After allowing the paper plate to trap most of the grease that fell over my fingers as I ate the sandwich, my canned drink was somewhat discernible through the plate.

All in all, it was a good experience. Spending an hour wandering tents of ethnic foods, watching traditional dance, and listening to ethnic music is always time well spent.

I had the pleasure of trying carrot cake, complete with cream cheese frosting, for the first time during the month of July. It was leftover from the dinner my better half's university-age sister brought home after spending an evening volunteering at this year's 12-day BluesFest. She was one of the 300 volunteers who spent their time either in the volunteer area's cafe serving food to other hard working volunteers or in the prep kitchen preparing the component ingredients of the food served.

As the Ottawa Citizen's Food Editor, Ron Eade, wrote in his piece on the Cisco event, like a typical army, the BluesFest's 5000 volunteers "march on their stomachs." To prepare the food for the on site volunteers, a prep kitchen was setup and operated by volunteer chefs, most from Algonquin's culinary school, at the college's Woodroffe campus. Its line was made up of volunteer cooks, many never having wielded chef's knives before. On site, a mobile kitchen put together the dishes. It was equipped with a tilt-top griddle, deep fryer, char broiler, six-burner gas stove, a flat-top grill, two convection ovens, two below-stove ovens and a walk-in fridge. When a particular night's concerts wound down, on site volunteers scrubbed the kitchen clean and washed the pans and dishes used, readying them for return to the prep kitchen for the next day.

Here is an example of much of an evening-shift meal Jenn's little sister had no time to eat and brought home:

BluesFest Chicken Pot Pie and Date Square

Texture
The chicken pot pie, arrived to the on site kitchen frozen and had to be heated up to serve. The date squares were apparently a highly sought after dessert along with freshly baked cookies.

Here is the carrot cake I had tried. It was leftover from another evening-shift meal.

BluesFest Carrot Cake
I found the cake light and the icing sweet, but not cloyingly so. The carrots flavoured the cake throughout and gave it an almost muffin-like texture. Then again, muffins being portable cake, this wasn't really surprising. The raisins added another texture and some bursts of fruit.

For comparison, here is a carrot cake from the Glebe's Bridgehead Coffee House. I ordered it weeks after trying the BluesFest carrot cake during a meeting with a local graphics design artist.

Carrot Cake and Coffee

Texture
I found Bridghead's carrot cake much denser and the icing sweeter. Between its icing and the sheer mass of cake, the serving gave me a powerful sugar high. Though, its sweetness went well with my medium cup of fair trade Columbian coffee.

Cost: $1.67 for 1 medium coffee and $3.75 for the square of 1 carrot cake

All in all, both were very enjoyable. Kudos to Jenn's little sis for contributing to a popular tourist attraction and community event by volunteering at the BluesFest! I may join your next year.

Particulars
Bridgehead
366 Bank Street
(613)569-5600

Garnering 345 diggs, Focus.com, essentially an online community for connecting business with market research, posted a two part list, containing 10 jobs that are "better than you thought" and 10 jobs that are worse.

Amongst its worst 10 jobs are President of the United States, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Spy. Amongst its better 10 jobs are Freelancer (no particular field specified), Makeup Artist/Hair Stylist, and Librarian. Focus.com also provides several paragraphs justification for each list item and their relative rankings.

What interested me was the tenth worst job: Restaurant Owner.

Sure, your friends think that you make a mean shrimp creole, but will the critics and the general public? Opening your own restaurant requires more than great recipes: You need a team of devoted, generous investors; a loyal following of customers; and an ample, clean space to serve your food. Besides struggling to attract stellar reviews and an enthusiastic crowd, restaurant owners sacrifice weekends and prime-time evening hours, when their presence is needed at the restaurant.

Source: Focus.com

While ignoring the food blogging community as an audience prospective restaurant owners should concern themselves with, Focus.com's rationale comes with two links. One leads to fabjob.com, where "25 year restaurateur veteran" Tom Hennessy provides a rather positively spun summary of how to start and manage a restaurant business with lessons learned. If you want details, there's a book you can purchase. The other leads to a December 19, 2007 piece by Marty Nemko of U.S. News and World Report that contrasts the appeal from the reality of becoming a chef. Confusion aside (chefs are not always owners), Nemko's brevity is astounding; appeal: 2 lines, reality: 6 lines.

For a much better explanation of whether or not you really want to become a chef, I suggest asking one. For a realistic run down, look to Chef Jonas Luster, who goes by @wildhunt on Twitter. Not only is he experienced in the professional world of food, he has spent time outside of it. For instance, he spent some time as a software developer during one of the tech bubbles.

On his newly launched blog, chezgeek.com, Chef Luster actually posted a very detailed and well written argument about why you don't want to become a chef. In it, he explains the progression in the kitchen, listing the various stages (pun unintended) from dishwasher to executive chef, paying particular attention to the dedication and sacrifice involved. He even touches on the wrinkle that is culinary school. Afterward, he better explains what is touched upon in the Focus.com list item about giving up "evening and weekends." The fact is that the rewards for working in the "back of house", contrary to what the Food Network portrays, aren't necessarily monetary. Those who prepare the magnificent dishes that are critiqued, blogged about, and fawned over are rather poorly paid.

What I took from Chef Luster's piece is that becoming a chef is necessarily an individual decision. Ignore the glitz and glamor portrayed on television. There is a reason that not all culinary school graduates end up working the line.

Regarding becoming a restaurateur, just imagine trying to manage a kitchen of chefs!

I spent part of Canada Day tending to the unwieldy back log of images foodiePrints has amassed over the past two years or so. My digital camera's image numbering reset itself once again (3rd time) and I had to establish yet another "unsorted" folder of images in the archives. In their defense, I don't think Casio ever figured a food blogger would be lugging one of their cameras around with him everyday. The camera's on board software is only capable of incrementing 4 digits of numbers in its file names. And yes, this means that a little over 30 000 pictures have been taken throughout the years.

That evening, Jenn and I watched Ottawa's annual fireworks show from a vantage point outside of the downtown core, on the Scott Street bridge, across from the Bay transit stop, thereby avoiding the crowds and making our Canada Day festivities quieter than usual.

Jenn and I did however walk by Parliament Hill two evenings later, to find the surrounding areas picked clean of litter and the main stage being dismantled.

Parliament Hill 2 days after Canada Day
Along the way, we decided to see how much of our own neighbourhood we could walk during the upcoming weekend.

Wellington West
That Saturday, we took a stroll with a family friend into Wellington West to go to an outdoor art exposition and fundraiser, called "Art in the Alley." It was organized by local artist Alison Fowler of Ali Cat Art and proceeds went to the Ottawa Humane Society.

Art in the Alley

The event was held in the alley way beside the Chick Pea children's store (1395 Wellington Street W), which shares the building with the Ali Cat Studio.

Gorgeous Paintings
Featured artists also included Tammy Shane and Andrew King, whose art we recognized from the the galleries in the Hintonburg area.

Speaking of which, if you frequent Holland Avenue, there is a large piece by Allison Fowler in front of the Foolish Chicken eatery (79 Holland Avenue). Interestingly, Saturday's chalk sandwich sign advertised something beyond rotisserie at the Foolish Chicken.

Jerk Chicken with Dirty Rice
Given our previous experiences with the restaurant, we took a pass.

On our way to the outdoor art exposition, I insisted we take a detour to see Allium's monthly menu. We found the restaurant (87 Holland Avenue) closed and a paper sign stuck to the door.

Closed for Renovations
Accordingly, Allium will be closed for the month of July, re-opening in August. Reason: renovations. I guess Jenn and I will have to wait until next month to sit for a Monday tapas night.

Across the street from Ali Cat Studio, we noticed that the former location of Hair Rods Salon and Spa (1356 Wellington Street W) has been replaced by a soon-to-open Asian tea-house, TeaShop 168.

TeaShop 168
This Toronto-originating chain of tea-houses specializes in bubble tea. I last visited one of their establishments in downtown Toronto on Yonge Street (768), near the Bloor intersection. No doubt, it will give the local tea chain Bubblicity some much needed competition.

We also noticed that Harvest Loaf (1323 Wellington Street W.) was advertising something very seasonal on its menu: strawberry shortcake.

Limited Time: Strawberry Shortcake
With the disappointment from seeing Allium temporary closed, we picked up a cake. For $8.95, the tall and luscious confection generously serves 6 people.

Tall and Luscious

Cross Section

Slice
Covered in a light pastry cream and garnished with quartered strawberries, the shortcake consisted of layer of more cream, sliced strawberries and airy slices of vanilla cake. Realizing that we couldn't possibly make a dent in the cake ourselves, we invited our neighbour to give us a hand.

I should note that, on our way home, cake in hand, Jenn discovered a new beverage enterprise that employs some very innovative marketing.

50 cent lemonade

Available almost daily
Honestly, have you seen anything so daring? And, the advertisements are water proof! Besides, the lemonade is aggressively priced. As our neighbour pointed out, a glass of lemonade downtown during Canada Day easily cost $5. Unfortunately, business must have been brisk because we could not find the young entrepreneurs that day.

Hintonburg and Chinatown
Sunday, we walked to Chinatown to satisfy my craving for pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), taking some of the lesser trafficked roads to avoid the construction on Wellington Street.

On our way to Chinatown, we passed by Credible Edibles (78 Hinton Avenue N.). Finding it closed, we took a picture of something that may interest local cyclists.

Cyclists' Discount
According to the sign, to "reduce greenhouse gases and support good health", Credible Edibles is offering a 10% discount on their "edibles" if you ride your bike to eat-in or take-out. Good stuff!

We also came across the most darling birdhouses along Armstrong Road in Hintonburg.

Water Melon House

Tea House
Cute, adorable, and food-related!

Pho, Fruit Vinegar, Fruit Ice, Mayonnaise, and Scallion Pancakes follow after the jump...

More after the jump...

Almost a month ago CTVOttawa went to the source for cheap eats in our city: Cheap Eats Ottawa (ceot). There, the good people, who publish the definitive book on our city's frugal fare, furnished reporters with a collection of 3 dollar lunch suggestions. One, had me re-evaluate an establishment I had been walking by for years: Helen's Cuisine in the Melrose Groceteria (1082 Wellington Street W.).

But first, there is something we must establish. When you visit shawarma houses, such as Istanbouli's at 81 Holland Avenue, they serve fast food. Though, the dishes served are arguably healthier and higher quality options than those from large chain American-style fast food outlets. Plates are also made to order, plentiful, and affordable.

At Istanbouli's we rarely spend more than $25 (including taxes and tip) for a pair of combos or a combo and a platter. This includes Istanbouli's vegetarian platter, featuring falafel (chick pea fritters):

Falafel Plate

Falafel
Crispy, nutty, and delicious, Istanbouli's falafel was not overcooked and the salad was, as always, fresh.

And, Istanbouli's chicken sandwich combo and a chicken shawarma platter:

Large Chicken Sandwich Combo

chicken shawarma plate
That evening, we ate on Istanbouli's patio, enjoying our vertical rotisseried chicken, salad, pickles, garlic sauce, and potatoes.

However, you won't see vertical rotisserie columns in a regular home. There are no fryolaters. There is no commercial grade range hood. By the same token, Istanbouli's pickles are more than likely purchased in large jars or vats. Their baklava is made in factory and resold.

For a taste of homestyle middle eastern food (Lebanese in particular), go to the Melrose Groceteria where you can pick up a hearty lunch from Helen's Cuisine for under $3.

Melrose Groceteria and Helen's Cuisine

Window Signage

As far as I can tell, the establishment was once a small grocery, but no longer. Helen's is disarmingly informal restaurant. There is a dining area with tables at the front of the store, and, at the back, a large food counter, powered by Helen's single electric stove. Just about everything is made from scratch and you are treated like family. Everyone becomes her sweetheart.

She serves up chicken and beef shawarma, falafel, hummus, tabbouleh, baba gaboush, fatayer, fatoush, beef kibbie balls, and baklava, all home style.

Street Signage Front

Street Signage Back
And, this amazingly happy woman has been at it since 1968.

When Jenn and I visited, there were containers of vegetarian stuffed grape leaves next to the till, made that very morning. Helen had buckets of turnips pickling in the back. And, she proudly showed off two mountains of mini spinach and meat fatayer cooling on trays for a party. Noticing that I have a little familiarity with Lebanese food, she even told me to come back the following Monday because she would have a fresh batch of labne (yogurt cheese) ready.

Just snackish, Jenn and I picked up a pair of larger fatayer, mine with meat (beef) and cheese ($3-ish), hers, just meat (under $3).

Meat and cheese fatayer w/a sorel drink

Cheese-only fateyer
Resembling Lebanese meat pies (lahem bi ajeen), I was reminded what my best friend growing up told me. While lahem bi ajeen are good from a commercial gas powered oven at a bakery, homemade is much better. While I'm not sure if fatayer is comparable because of the much thicker crust and different toppings, they were great.

The dough was well worked and flavourful.

Bottom of the meat and cheese fatayer

Texture of the dough
The toppings, well seasoned and tasty.

Best of all, after we paid, Helen pointed us to a park and ushered us out, like children with a packed lunch, to go out and play.

To me, there is a time for food made by professionals, trained and experienced to work with commercial grade equipment, who produce flavours and textures that are difficult and/or extremely time consuming to accomplish at home. There is also a time to enjoy home style food, made with conventional tools, but with equally masterful hands. Helen's serves the latter.

Determination: Ethnic - Lebanese: ---$, --***

Update 1: According to Reuters, sometime last Friday (July 10, 2009), the word "shawarma" was added to the Webster's dictionary, along with other food-related words: "locavore", "acai", and "goji." Shawarma's definition:

a sandwich especially of sliced lamb or chicken, vegetables, and often tahini wrapped in pita bread

Update 2: For reference, here is what 2 varieties of lahem bi ajeen look like from the Alladin Bakery on 1020 St. Laurent Boulevard.

Lahem Bi Ajeen

Zaatar (Lebanese Thyme)

Meat with Cheese and Hot Sauce

Particulars:
Istanbouli Shawarma House
81 Holland Avenue
(613)722-4800

Helen's Cuisine
1082 Wellington St. W
(613)728-2566

And without further ado, the remaining 7 course from last week's dinner at Atelier.

The first five have their own blog post elsewhere on foodiePrints.

Sixth Course: Choose Your Weapon (strawberry and rhubarb)
This course was just plain fun. First, our host came to our table with a tray of "implements", asking us to choose between them and eating with our bare hands.

Weapons
On the tray were spoons, forks, and plastic bendy straws. With four people at my table, we each chose something different.

Me, I chose bare hands. Mine was by far the most spectacular to watch. It came with a table-side demonstration, involving a galvanized steel bucket of liquid nitrogen and a plastic encased tube of strawberry and rhubarb puree.

Nitro Freezie

Freezie, served
What amounted to a seasonal "nitro"-freezee pop (freezee) was frozen right before my eyes. Unfortunately, the liquid nitrogen worked too well, causing the freezee to harden into a long block of ice. Its flavour was exquisitely spring, but only after my better half melted it enough for me to eat.

At first I thought adding a liqueur to the puree mixture would improve the freezee's texture the same way alcohol does sorbets. Then, I realized that everything and anything freezes in liquid nitrogen.

My better half chose spoon.

Warm custard with Strawberry and Rhubarb Nitro Noodles

Sprinkled with ground Pistachio

Test Tube Spoon
She was served a lovely bowl of warm custard with liquid nitrogen frozen strawberry and rhubarb noodles. Her spoon was equipped with a cork stoppered test tube, containing ground pistachio. To eat, she emptied her spoon's contents onto the custard and dug in. She told me the juxtaposition of textures and temperatures was great. She thoroughly enjoyed her dish.

My dear friend Yannick chose straw.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Soda
Yannick was served a strawberry and rhubarb soda with a star anise froth. He happily drank his with the straw, smiling at the whimsy.

His better half, Alex, chose fork.

Rhubarb Compote, Cheese, and Sliced Strawberries
He was served sliced strawberries, rhubarb compote, and a raw milk cheese from Quebec, called La Sauvagine. La Sauvagine happens to be Chef/Owner Marc Lepine's favourite cheese. Alex enjoyed his dish, pairing fruit and cheese with every bite.

As a fan of raw milk cheeses and pairing them with fruit, were I to choose again, fork would be my weapon of choice. It looked delicious.

Seventh Course: Pork Belly

Sous Vide and Sauteed Caramel Pork Belly
The pork belly was my favourite dish of the evening. I also sent pictures of it onto Twitter along with the tuna sashimi. Chef Allen wasn't kidding two weeks ago when she tweeted "It's all about the pork belly."

It was cooked sous vide at 82°C for 9 hours. Then it was marinated in a caramel sauce and sauteed. Each piece was served with a raw apple relish with jalapeno, snow peas, a piece of textured puree of snow peas, and a cube of purple potato.

The pork belly was impossibly tender.

Texture
Sauteeing it on high heat seemed to make the caramel even more complex. Topping it off with a few large grains of kosher or sea salt made it perfect. The accompaniments complemented the pork belly well: sweet and fruity salsa with a very light bite; green flavours from the snow peas; and a perfectly cooked piece of potato. There was only a minor textural exception with the partially overcooked snow peas.

Here is my perfect bite:

Glorious little bit of everything

Eighth Course: Muskox

Muskox Sashimi
Two reasons I will always be excited to go to Atelier involve my having absolutely no clue what will be served and, for the most part, my having no idea how each dish is made. I very much enjoy not being able to have preconceived ideas. For instance, when I walked into the restaurant with a dripping umbrella to greet assembled guests, I had no idea the evening's menu would take me to Nunavut!

The eighth course was wild arctic muskox, prepared sashimi style and marinated in tamari. Tamari is an very richly flavored Japanese soy sauce that is made from soybeans. Whereas, shoyu, which you are normally served in a sushi restaurant, is made from a mixture of soy beans and wheat.

Before our host explained to us what was served, I thought I had a plate of kobe or wagyu placed in front of me. Sliced thinly against the grain, the muskox was well marbled and dark. I am unsure if the colour was due to the tamari or if it were the meat's natural colour. Red meat darkens when treated with soy.

Whatever the case, those of us at my table who were used to soy, just loved it. Those of us who have cut out soy sauce from our diets, found the marinade strong. The texture, on the other hand, was enjoyed by all. It reflected the incredible ratio of meat to fat, literally falling apart in the mouth.

The muskox sashimi was served with sauteed shiitake mushrooms, dehydrated onion, caramelize onion leather, and a few pieces of lamb's quarter (chenopodium album).

For reference, this is what muskox look like in the wild:

Family of Muskox
Source: "The best of readers' Canada Day photo submissions", Globe and Mail

Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth courses follow after the jump...

More after the jump...

We have gathered quite the backlog of images and recipes that I have been meaning to post...Shall we start clearing it out?

Peach Yogurt Muffins
Several months ago, my better half discovered that she had a Zeller's and a Home Outfitter's gift card leftover from her participating in baking competitions at her former office. Checking for an expiry date, we discovered the cards can be combined and used at Zeller's, Home Outfitter's or the Bay.

As such, we headed off to pick up a new muffin pan from Home Outfitter's at the Centrum mall in Kanata. We ended up picking up a KitchenAid silicone muffin tray with a metal rack.

To test it, we made "breakfast muffins" using our tried, tested, and true recipe that was adapted from Alton Brown's yogurt muffin recipe. This time, however, we omitted blueberries and tossed in Balkan-style peach-flavoured yogurt with peach pieces.

The results were fantastic. Because the yogurt took on the peach flavor, the muffin tasted of peach throughout.

Muffins in a Brand New Silicone Muffin Tray

Peach Yogurt Breakfast Muffins

Chive and Cheddar Scones
For my 29th birthday (eons ago), my better half bought me baking lessons at Three Bakers and a Bike. There, the youngest of the three baking sisters who own and operate the bakery, Lule, taught us how to make a pie crust and apple pie, whole wheat bread, and cranberry and oatmeal tea scones. She also gave us written recipes, which we all marked up with invaluable tidbits from Lule. I have since made the scone many times, usually as Christmas potluck.

This past Christmas, Jenn and I spent some time modifying the recipe, which we are not at liberty to share, to employ butter, instead of margarine. Wondering if people could tell the difference, I brought two batches of individually wrapped and marked scones with me to work, one using margarine and one, butter. 8/10 of my colleagues preferred the butter scones.

Several weeks ago, with a bumper crop of chives in the balcony herb garden, we made a batch of savory scones for a friend to encourage her to stop smoking.

Cheddar and Chives Scones

We made another batch for my better half's dad for Father's Day.

Another Batch of Cheddar and Chives Scones
This time around, I sprinkled shredded cheddar cheese on top of several scones to create a crust.

Buttermilk Berry Cake
Speaking of Father's Day, here is a "just about perfected" buttermilk berry cake that I attempted for Jenn's mom's Father's Day Dinner (try saying that 3 times fast!).

At first, I followed Smitten Kitchen's Raspberry Buttermilk recipe to the letter, but found that, during the prescribed really quick cooking time at high heat (20-25 minutes at 400°F), not only did the berries cook, but they also sank into the cake.

Batter made and topped with strawberries

Sunken strawberries

To make matters worse, when the center strawberry sank, it also bled, leaving the center a gooey mess.

Gooey mess, ready to be binned

For the record, blueberries fare better, but they also bleed profusely.

Bleeding Blueberries
More than likely, the viscosity of the batter better supports the lower mass of the individual blueberries as the cake bakes.

After borrowing some innovation from Sippitysup's "Manly" Strawberry Cake recipe, picking up a new batch of locally grown strawberries (Savour Ottawa-certified Rochon Garens), and tinkering a little, we turned out the following cake.

Successful Strawberry Cake
Topped with icing sugar, it and a blueberry redo were very well received by Jenn's mom's Father's Day guests.

Topped with Icing Sugar

Sliced

One Serving

Leftover Halves

Recipe for the Berry Cake follows after the jump...

More after the jump...

Ottawa's Farmer's Market at Lansdowne Park is Ottawa's only "all local producers" farmers' market. That is, there are no resellers permitted. Located on the grounds beside the Aberdeen Pavilion, it also happens to be one of our larger Farmer's Markets and opens to quite a crowd at least twice a week.

• Sundays (May 10- November 22: 8:00 pm-3:00pm)
• Saturdays (November 7, 14, and 12: 8:00 am-3:00pm)
• Thursdays (June 18-October 8: 1:00 pm-6:00 pm)

Best of all, besides selling great produce, dairy, and meats, the Farmer's Market also sells baked goods, crafts, sweets, and plants. It has a food court too.

That said, I would like to take the opportunity to point out that on the Ottawa Farmers' Market board of director sits Gerry Rochon, owner of one of my favourite local farms. He and his family happen to sell some of the best produce at three of Ottawa's major outdoor markets: Parkdale (resellers allowed), ByWard (resellers allowed), and Lansdowne. And, Rochon is always the first to market with an impossible assortment of produce every spring because they start several crops in multiple poly tunnels when there's still snow on the ground.

Here are pics from Jenn and I first visiting the market early June. Sadly, we live a bit too far away to make the trip too often. Instead, we rely on Savour Ottawa certified vendors at two other outdoor markets, Parkdale and Byward.

Upon arrival,

Sign from the parking lot
we immediately went to see a familiar face, Pascale Berthiaume and sampled some of her (then) new Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Goat Cheese Espresso Ice Cream
Slightly thicker and richer than her regular ice cream, it carried flavours extremely well. Unfortunately, my first sample fell to the ground before making it into my mouth. Seeing me almost in tears, Pascale gave me another.

Beside Pascale's freezer, which is co-located with the Piggy Market display, was Delice Royal, a "Fine Bakery"

Delice Royal
There, we samples some freshly baked apple raisin cake

Apple Raisin Cake
and purchased some vegetable spring rolls

Veg Spring Roll
Crispy and slightly oily, they didn't last long.

Cross Section

We then ventured into the food court, finding a potato stand, serving...well potato products...

Hot Potato Company

We stopped at the Bombay Garden for another deep fried confection.

Signage

Veg Samosas and Pakoras
We split a pakora.

One Pakora

Cross Section

More follows:

More after the jump...

Today, the Real Estate Section of the Globe and Mail website is featuring an image slide show of a Toronto luxury loft in what the newspaper calls a "1919 Edwardian bakery" (306-183 Dovercourt Road).

This particular section of the recently revamped Globe and Mail website features slide shows of luxury properties. Here are pictures of the bakery loft's interior:

Kitchen
Source: Globe and Mail


Living Room and Stair to Loft
Source: Globe and Mail

Whilst wondering if the centrally located unit with extremely high ceilings still smelled like bakery, I googled the building's address to see what other information I could turn up. According to the Toronto Condominiums website, the 5 storey building is called the "Argyle", as Dovercourt Road is south of Dundas Street West at Argyle Street. It was built in 1873 and once housed a bread factory, not a bakery per se. It was formerly owned and operated by the Ideal Bread company. According to the Toronto's Historical Plaques website, the building was in-use as a bakery until 1957.

Ideal bread Company Factory Building
Source: Toronto's Historical Plaques

It was converted into 86 residential lofts, with 11 being 2-story penthouses with decks, in 2007. It was designated an Ontario Heritage Building a year later. Its architect was Montreal's Sydney Comber who designed the factory building in "Edwardian Classical" style. When it operated as a bread factory, bread wagons were loaded from the ground-level archways on Argyle Street. The factory clock even remains above the front entrance.

At the moment, a 1 bedroom, 1 washroom loft one floor below the one featured in the Globe and Mail (210-183 Dovercourt Road) is listed on My Toronto Condo for $276 500. Condo fees are $245/month.

I don't even want to know what the Globe and Mail featured unit would list for...

For those of you who don't know, Jenn and I organized a pre-Canada Day dinner at Atelier, inviting everyone to join us, be they foodies, gastronomes, gourmets, or simply adventurous eaters. In total, 9 people attended, including several local twitter personalities (@spoonsie and @epicuriadotca). Our intention was to support a local restaurant on a traditionally slow day of the week.

Our 12 course meal included an appetizer/amuse bouche, 8 savory courses, and 3 dessert courses. It culminated with what has become a signature dish for Atelier's pastry chef, Chef Michael Holland: the Elvis Truffle.

However, before we begin, let us start with the restaurant itself.

Unassuming Building
Located at 540 Rochester Street, Atelier is situated in an unassuming building with purposely aged iron grates and no signage. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the word "atelier" is French for "workshop" so the building resembles one outwardly. Like other avant garde restaurants, such as Chicago's Alinea, Atelier's food speaks for itself. Secondly, when the restaurant opened, signage simply wasn't a priority. When time permits, Chef/Owner Marc Lepine has said he will look into something subdued.

Here is Atelier's utilitarian kitchen with its compliment of ubiquitous equipment to make highly imaginative dishes, which are best described as "avant garde."

Left to right: Chefs Allen, Holland, and Lepine
It is amazing to think that approximately 552 dishes (12 course x 23 seats x 2 days) are produced in this small space during Friday and Saturday service alone. It is a very efficient space.

Atelier's dining room is elegant with its simplicity. Its walls and ceiling sport shades of white. Its tables, a dark stain. Its chairs, white leather upholstery.

Dining Room

Local Art
The chairs were specifically chosen to allow patrons to sit comfortably through Atelier's 12 course tasting menu. A meal can easily last 3 hours.

I feel the intention is to take nothing away from the meal, whose individual courses are meant to be experiences for the senses. As such, the wall decorations, furniture, and colours chosen are meant to be neutral. They mimic a canvas. They also encourage patrons to dispense with any formalities, speak to each other, and enjoy themselves. Regarding the wall decorations, all of the paintings come from a local Canadian artist, Chef Lepine's (then 3 year old) daughter.

For a little history, Atelier's Chef de Cuisine, Sarah Allen, directed me to a thread on the E-Gullet forum that includes pictures of what the restaurant looked like before. With permission, here are before pics.

Formerly Chaba Thai

Kitchen before renovations
The transformation is striking: repaired masonry, painted brick, gutted and entirely re-built kitchen.

Now, on with the food!
As we were seated, we were presented with Sour Cream and Onion Bread with Flaked Butter and the Wine List.

Sour Cream and Onion Bread with Flaked Butter

Wine List
The sour cream and onion bread is a dish that Chef Holland discussed on twitter (@pastryoverlord) several months ago, even asking his followers what "flavour" he should try next. Before, he baked up loaves of barbecue bread, which Chef Allen (@sarah_j_allen) assured me was delicious, even attracting local wildlife to the restaurant's garbage bin. To make the barbecue bread, Chef Holland replaces all of the liquid from a regular bread recipe with barbecue sauce. I have absolutely no idea how he makes his sour cream and onion bread.

Nevertheless, with its baguette-style texture, oven freshness, and "from my childhood" flavour, I was grateful just to eat it.

Sour Cream and Onion Bread Texture
The bread was served warm and perfectly sliced. The warmth actually just softened the butter flakes enough to allow them to be spread smoothly onto the slices. My dear friend Yannick, who writes the Endorphin Buzz blog and who joined me for dinner, told me the butter was actually sprayed onto the serving tray. This attention to detail (spreadable non-softened butter) and creative take on a traditional restaurant element (table bread), demonstrated the innovative whimsy of the dishes to come.

Regarding the wine list, I should point out that Atelier has two sommeliers on staff. The first is Steve Robinson, who presided over our meal. The second is Chef Lepine (@marclepine). Besides being a celebrated chef, he carries sommelier credentials and trained at Ottawa's Algonquin College.

For an additional $55, Atelier includes a wine pairing to go with its 12 course meal. The wines chosen represent a veritable multi-continent tour, with a partial preference towards Canadian wineries. While members of the other table opted for the pairing, I chose not to. I was however assured by those who did that the pairings were well chosen.

First Course: Pretzel Pop

Pretzel Pop
When our host explained what went into this first course, I immediately thought "creamsicle." The "pop" portion was attached to an authentic rolled-paper lollipop stick. It consisted of a Dijon mustard cream that was frozen on an "anti-griddle", dipped in honey, and then covered with crushed salted pretzels.

Cross Section
An anti-griddle is the opposite of a regular griddle, rapidly cooling foods instead of heating. It gave the cream an ice-cream texture.

The dish's flavour pairing is classic (Bavarian pretzels with hot mustard), just completely revisioned: slightly sweetened, with contrasting textures, and cold. It was great. Even my better half, who dislikes dijon, enjoyed this appetizer/amuse bouche.

Second Course: Halibut Cheek

Halibut Cheek
This fish course served a portion of fish that is extremely prized in Asian cultures. Cooked sous-vide for several minutes with star anise, it sat atop Jerusalem artichoke puree and was accompanied with asparagus heads, pieces of crumbled bacon, and drops of olive paste (finely ground tapenade).

Overall the dish was good. Its flavours worked well with one another and everything was expertly plated. For unfamiliar patrons, this would have been an excellent fish course. However, since my better half and I grew up eating this portion of fish, we found it slightly overdone. While it was by NO means harsh, we are just used to this portion being softer and much more succulent. Interestingly, before dinner started, my table even discussed a Chinese meal of fish heads.

Aside: It was after the second course that we started seeing subtle differences in the service between Atelier and other restaurants.

• Our hosts were extremely knowledgeable about the dishes, demonstrating an understanding about them, not just reciting facts. With the sheer number of different dishes and constantly changing menus (sometimes weekly), we assumed they must be food enthusiasts. Else, Atelier employs two of the best front of house staff in the city.
• The cutlery changed with each course, ensuring no leftover flavours or textures.
• While each course came promptly after the previous, the ladies of our party were served theirs first, a courtesy that other restaurants seem to have lost.

Suffice it to say, despite the number of courses, we were tended to very well.

Third Course: Lobster

Atlantic Lobster
The third course was a wonderful multitude of textures and flavours. Butter poached Atlantic lobster came served atop truffle oil pancakes. It was topped with a very thin slice of black truffle and a chardonnay foam. It was accompanied with cinnamon mushrooms, a dehydrated leek ring, a piece of chive, and two sauces: watercress mayonnaise and egg yolk.

This course made up for the previous one. The lobster was perfectly cooked and the earthy truffle and mushroom flavours, a wonderful compliment. The onion, raw chive, and watercress provided a nice green and onion contrast, all carried well by the rich egg yolk and mayonnaise. My perfect bite: lobster, with several bubbles of foam, a sliver of truffle and pancake, a bit of chive, a scant touch of mayonnaise, and some egg yolk. Yum!

Fourth and fifth courses follow after the jump...

More after the jump...