Shortly after Chef Jason Laurin (@chefjayl) of Essence Catering bid his Smoke Dinner's guests good night, Jenn and I struck up a conversation with guest Chef Michael Hay (@michaelthehay). Besides chatting about developments in the Courtyard Restaurant's kitchen refit, which Chef Hay is actively sharing with twitter, the subject of an old conversation came up, The Dolsot Cafe (512 Bank Street). Apparently, Chef Hay is rather fond of the home-style Korean restaurant's dolsot bibimbap.

Dolsot bibimbap is a stone bowl, containing sticky rice, a variety of cooked and/or raw vegetables (stir fried slivered carrots and daikon, blanched bean sprouts, sliced boiled mushrooms, and spinach) and cooked beef (roughly minced or coarsely ground). Traditionally, it is served with a raw egg yolk.

While we have visited the Dolsot Cafe several times now, neither Jenn nor I have eaten bibimbap outside of Toronto. We will have to remedy that situation.

For the time being, here are dishes we had from our most recent visit.

Here is our traditional banchan (meal side dishes)

Curried potatoes, house kimchi, and deep fried tofu

There's something about Korean restaurant rice I adore. It may be the stickiness, the fragrance, or the fact it handles well entirely with chopsticks (and without having to tip a bowl to your mouth).

Rice

As we typically do, we ordered haemod pajun ($8.95)

Seafood green onion pancake

My main: Gamjatang hat ($8.95)

Spicy pork neck bone soup with potato and vegetables

Her main: Kalguksu ($8.95)

Flour noodles in chicken broth, served with chicken and vegetables

Ordinarily, two people do not order this much food, something our server pointed out to us when she wheeled our dishes to us. She was amazed we finished everything.

While every dish was surprisingly generous in portion, it is not everyday you get to eat food as if you were dining in a Korean family's home. Everything tasted freshly made, no instant soup mixes, no short cuts. The pancake was assembled and "griddled" on high heat, developing a lovely crust. The pork soup and chicken broth, tasted as if they were long simmered. The vegetables were crisp and vibrant. The noodles were al dente (yes, Asian noodles can be tooth-some and chewy). Everything, save for the banchan, were served piping hot.

Great food at great prices. Jenn and I will be back. Though, we may just order a bibimbap each next time...Then again maybe not :)

Particulars:
Dolsot Cafe Korean Restaurant
512 Bank Street
(613) 230-8488

More after the jump...

For this week's "relatively" Wordless Wednesday Patio Post, we visit La Terrasse, a seasonal dining extension of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

According to the Fairmount website

...tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city, our outdoor terrace is as eye-catching as its view of Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River

On a food blogger's budget, a meal with a view isn't exactly something Jenn and I partake in often. While one of the intentions behind foodiePrints is to highlight dining out in Ottawa, we like to focus on great food. Yes, we encourage locals and visitors to participate in the city's evolving culinary landscape. But, we are willing to sacrifice a little on atmosphere and service. Our favourite eateries balance all three.

During our second quest for patios to showcase on our "relatively" Wordless Wednesday posts, we walked downtown Ottawa. The bridge area that connects the Chateau Laurier and Parliament Hill leads down to the Bytown Museum (1 Canal Lane). There, we joined tourists, peering down to the supposedly haunted museum and the Rideau Canal Locks.

Bytowne Museum
That's when we spotted a green awning.

Green Awning

La Terrasse

The outdoor entrance way, beside what was formerly the photography gallery, was somewhat obscured that day.

Sidewalk Entrance
A-style folding signs advertised La Terasse's menu in front of the Chateau Laurier's main entrance.

While we weren't permitted to walk into the restaurant, without actually dining there, here is the view. It is spectacular.

Museum of Civilization

Center Block of the Parliament Buildings

West Block of the Parliament Buildings

As for the food? Well, Anne DesBrisay of the Ottawa Citizen published her thoughts on dining at La Terrasse last Thursday. She found the menu a little on the pricey side.

When Jenn and I were there, the menu sported a $32 steak frites (8 oz angus "New York" steak w/sweet potato fries, a $17 burger, a $20 Penne Caponata (adding grilled chicken breast increases the price to $28) and a $17 pulled pork sandwich. Desserts from a brownie "bomb" to slices of pie were $10 each.

For the time being, I think this pair of bloggers is going to opt to picnic in the green space by the locks...

Particulars:
La Terrasse (Fairmont Château Laurier)
1 Rideau Street,
(613)241-1414
Open: Daily from 4:30pm to 10pm, June to September

As some of you may know, I was attempting berry clafoutis last weekend with mixed success. Clafoutis is a decidedly French dessert that the Food Network's Alton Brown calls a combination of custard, pie and pancake. It is supposedly one of the easiest dishes to make in the French dessert repertoire, a vast continuum of sweet confections. Indeed, clafoutis is easy to make, but difficult to make well. Me, I wanted something Jenn and I could easily and quickly put together after a trip to the farmer's market on a weekday. You know, a sweet reward after a long work day. Essentially, I wanted something that would provide 2 servings. It would have to be light and delicate. It should feature seasonal berries.

After mourning the loss of several pints of ripe seasonal berries, raspberries, blueberries, and some sour cherries, I decided to toss the recipes away and go free-hand. What the failed clafoutises (that's the plural right?) taught me involved coating the baking dish in something that would release the egg-based dessert; keeping the berries from sinking to the bottom by coating them in starch or flour; and baking the clafoutis until just done or risk it becoming dense. Also, the time it takes the clafoutis to brown risks it becoming dense.

Eventually, I put something together that would fit the pair of oval gratin dishes we use for small pot pies. Borrowing from the "Dutch baby" and pop-over tradition I decided to use approximately equal parts (by volume) of milk and flour and an egg. The rest, flavouring to enrich the custard and compliment the chosen berries. Finally, everything would be baked at 400F. This is the temperature required to make pop-over-style batter rise.

After coming across the British Columbia Blueberry Council's 2010 Blogger recipe contest, Jenn and I tailored the flavouring to blueberries. Here is our entry for the contest:

Blueberry Clafoutis w/Lemon and Almond

Recipe

Sugar Coated Bakeware

Finely Chopped Lemon Zest

Fleur de Lait Cheese

Floured Blueberries

Egg and Sugar Mixture, Beaten until Lightened

More after the jump...

On Wednesday June 23, 2010, an earthquake shook Ottawa with a magnitude of 5.0 on the richter scale. It was a significant geological event. According to the The Globe and Mail, the earthquake shook buildings from Sudbury to Quebec City.

My office building is located on the Gatineau side, closer to the epicenter of the earthquake than Ottawa. When it struck, municipal government and police enacted emergency plans, evacuating personnel to safe locations, and locking down buildings. On the Ottawa side, downtown workers spilled into the streets. Some, rather foolishly by elevator. In hindsight, a safer course of action would have been to duck under desks or stand inside door frames.

Considered a "moderate" one, the earthquake shattered windows, cracked masonry, damaged ceiling tiles, and caused some hysteria. But, earthquakes of this magnitude are uncommon in the national capital region. Residents were caught ill-prepared, everyone fearing being trapped in a collapsed building. Shoppers at several large malls even thought it a terrorist attack.

Me, I was dining at Bella's Bistro Italiano (1445 Wellington Street W.) with colleagues when the ground shook. We were celebrating one of our own, earning a promotion, and leaving the team for bigger and brighter things. Bella's is his favourite restaurant.

It, being located in Wellignton West, which is adjacent to Hintonburg, I gave some rather poor directions to our student who insisted we car pool with him. Jenn and I routinely walk past the handsome brick building that is Bella's on a weekly basis. I always thought it a throwback to 80's style, now cliche, Italian restaurants. The generalization was uncalled for, but it would turn out to be partially apt.

Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Bella's exterior betrays a semi-modern dining room: ceramic floors, dark wood, two-seater tables with wooden chairs, and yellow-beige walls. The window treatments and fixtures hail from an earlier era, when servers were career waiters and Italian restaurants still had dessert carts.

Ground Floor Dining Room
The bar, is however much more modern and serves draught Beau's beer.

Bra
Bella's tables sport white linens, textured cutlery, and standard just off-white dishware.

Table Setting

A little history, Bella is the restaurant's chef, Raffaela Milto. According to the restaurant's website, she studied northern Italian cuisine and worked in some of "Ottawa's finer Italian restaurants", without naming any of them. The two story restaurant that seats 50 people is a family venture between she, her two brothers, and her husband.

To mark its 15th anniversary, Bella's circulated discount cards worth $25 throughout the neighbourhood.

Discount Card Front

Discount Card Back
I gave mine to our student.

According to Ottawa Citizen restaurant critic Anne DesBrisay's 2008 edition of the Ottawa Capital Dining Guide

Popular bistro offers comfort of familiar favourites, a knowing staff and a reasonable bill. First-class pasta dishes, veal sausages, carpaccio, chocolate cake.

Source: Ottawa citizen

In her 2004 edition of the Ottawa Capital Dining Guide, DesBrisay refers to Bella's as a "neighbourhood favourite" and a "bistro that offers comfort and consistency." She recommends the freshly made pasta, the mussels, the carpaccio, the sauces, the cake, and the gelato. She ends with a nod to the staff, praising their professional service, likening it to what she would expect from a much more expensive establishment.

More after the jump...

For this week's "relatively" Wordless Wednesday Patio Post, we visit Metropolitain Brasserie.

I have had an on-again/off-again relationship with Metropolitain Brasserie, sister restaurant to the Empire Grill (47 Clarence Street). Metropolitain Brasserie is located on a busy corner of Sussex Drive (700), next door to the Chateau Laurier, and beneath the ByWard Market's location of large-chain Milestone's.

I have eaten at the restaurant several times since my first visit, July 8, 2008. Trusted friends and gastronomes have visited. Their mixed reviews mirror my own.

While I no longer consider this bistro a "troquet" (genuine troquets can be found in Gatineau), the Metropolitain Brasserie's patio is a nice one.

Great Patio
Its abundant bistro's seating, modern-looking interlocking stone, sizable courtyard, and available large umbrellas make it a great place to enjoy an outdoor lunch or early dinner any day of the week.

During the weekdays, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, the Metropolitain Brasserie holds "Hill Hour" in lieu of other establishments' "Happy Hour." Attracting staff from the nearby Parliament buildings, the restaurant converts its bar area's long bar into a raw bar, which it self proclaims to be "Ottawa's largest." On it, the restaurant serves oysters, shrimp, and mussels.

Me, I'm sticking with #OysterFriday at D'Arcy's on Sparks Street.

Particulars:
Metropolitain Brasserie Restaurant
700 Sussex Drive
(613)562-1160