During Helen's Cuisine's (formerly in the Melrose Groceteria) last weekend of operation, Jenn and I made it a point to eat there and say our goodbye's. It was a neighbourhood eatery we had just discovered and started visiting regularly.

On its last day, we ordered two chicken shawarma and a falafel sandwich.

Top to Bottom: chicken and falafel
Fresh pita, baked chicken, and crumbled falafel, these were great examples of good homemade pita sandwiches.

Seeing other regulars racing for the last of Helen's boxed dips and pickles, I also claimed a pair of containers.

Left to Right: Pickled turnip and Babaganoush
The pickles were in-house pickled according to Helen's recipe. She does not add the customary pink food colouring, more typical of bottled pickled turnips, which are served at many of Ottawa's shawarma houses. They were tart, slightly spicy, and crisp. Babaganoush is one of very few ways I will eat the wretched vegetable that is egg plant. Helen's was one of favourites. It was bright in flavour and creamy in texture.

Alas, I would never have the opportunity to try Helen's labne, homemade yogurt cheese, ever time she ran out before I arrived.

To Helen and Buddy, we wish you a happy retirement.

Helen's Cuisine's former Business Card
You will be missed!

Particulars:
Helen's Cuisine
Now closed :(

Well, another foodiePrint went up on Ottawa Tonite. Its subject: the Hintonburg Supper Club and our outing to the Allium restaurant (87 Holland Avenue).

As an addendum, here are pictures from the most recent outing, a catered event at the Knights of Columbus Hall (1177 Gladstone Avenue). Catering was Helen Saikaly who, with her husband Buddy, operates the Melrose Groceteria (1082 Wellington Street W.). They will be soon retiring, closing the groceteria that doubles as a popular restaurant (Helen's Cuisine) at the beginning of December. Both pillars of the Hintonburg neighbourhood, Helen and Buddy have been serving great food to faithful patrons for 40 years. Even the Mulroney kids frequented Helen's Cuisine when they were children.

This coming weekend, the Hintonburg Community Association (HCA) will be holding a retirement party in their honour.

Retirement Party for Helen and Buddy Saikaly
If you walk down Wellington Street West, it is somewhat difficult not to come across one of these fliers, advertising the party.

We at foodiePrints discovered Helen's Cuisine's home-style Lebanese cuisine recently. It was recommended by Alexandra Clark, author and publisher of Cheap Eats Ottawa (twitter: @ceot) to CTVOttawa last summer as a great place for a low cost lunch.

When Jenn and I first visited it, we quickly learned Helen's Cuisine offers much more than a cheap lunch. This is an eatery that serves its customers with warmth that is becoming increasingly difficult to find. When you eat at Helen's, you feel like family.

When the Supper Club's organizer announced that October's dinner would be catered by Helen, we quickly reserved our seats. It would be one of Helen's last. And, she put out quite the spread:

Aluminium Foil-wrapped Dishes

It is somewhat amazing what Helen can accomplish without commercial cooking equipment. Her kitchen is equipped with a one-piece residential stove. She has no fryolators, banks of ovens, vertical roasters, or even a gas range. She has four electric elements and a single oven underneath.

From left to right: Fattoush Salad, Baba ganoush, Spinach Fatayer, Hummus, Roasted Chicken on White Rice, More Fatayer

Baba ganoush Close-Up

Spinach Fatayer, topped with Cheese

At a mere $20 per person, we ate very well.

My Plate
Between the soft rice, not quite smooth hummus, roasted chicken, creamy baba ganoush, and crunchy fattoush salad, I dug in eagerly with fresh pita bread, using my fingers to clumsily scoop up small mouthfuls.


Three Kinds of Fatayer
Helen's fatayer is a revelation to me, my being used to thicker meat and vegetable pies from gas-powered oven equipped Middle-Eastern bakeries.

It has been a very long time since I attended a church pot luck dinner. This is what that evening's dinner reminded me of. It was a home cooked meal, made with care, just on a much larger scale. It had none of the textures or flavours from typical shawarma houses. There, I expect its food to be cooked with professional equipment necessitating range hoods that a home owner would hazard to install. I expect temperatures that would make home insurance sales-people faint. Now, I have argued that eating out at a restaurant should be a collection of experiences that are difficult if not impossible to have at home. But, how often do you get to eat authentic ethnic food as it would be served if you were invited into someone's home?

Many thanks to Carol Paschal, the Hintonburg Supper Club's organizer, for arranging this dinner.

BTW, here is a picture of the Kitchissipi Times piece she wrote.

Revived Hintonburg Supper Club Celebrates its First Anniversary

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