Those of you who know me know that I am a proud Canadian and I fervently believe in supporting local businesses, especially locally owned restaurants. It is one of the reasons I live in an area of Ottawa that has one of the highest concentrations of locally-owned eateries and fine food stores outside of downtown Ottawa, the Wellington Village.

Imagine my glee when I had the task of putting together a Canadian Care Package to send to Texas. I literally had an overabundance of ideas to balance against shipping restrictions. Heavier and larger packages become increasingly difficult to ship. To solve the dilemma, I first consulted the Internet to see what foods are common up north, but less so down south. On J.J's Complete Guide to Canada, I found a "Foods of Canada" list. The list includes everything from nanaimo bars to butter tarts (something I thought was British in origin), Beaver tails, Poutine, ketchup chips, and several chocolate bars. I was rather surprised to find that Coffee Crisp, Aero, Big Turk and Smarties are rather Canadian. After selecting two items from that list, I decided that I had to include coffee from my favourite local purveyor of Fair Trade brew, Bridgehead.

The rest of the package I promised myself would come from outdoor markets, preferably local farmers' markets and absolutely local producers. Here is the what I ended up putting together:

One Canadian Care Package
Top row:

• Dark Maple Syrup from the Byward Market
• Apple Jelly from the Marche Vieux Hull
• Ketchup chips
• Whole bean Columbian from Bridgehead

Middle rows:

• Cherry Blossoms
• Red Deer Pepperettes from the Marche Vieux Hull

Bottom row:

• Maple syrup candies from the Byward Market
• A fall picture of Ottawa's Parliament Buildings from the Collected Works Bookstore, an independent bookstore

I originally wanted to include some locally produced honey, but realized that Texan bees can easily produce comparable wild flower honey. Though, they arguably have different plant blossoms to feast on.

Aside: Speaking of the Marche Vieux Hull, when I went wandering that Thursday on rue Laval for care package fodder, I happened to come back with an apple pie from the Verger Lacroix Cider House.

Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
The label actually reads "Grandma's Pies."

Here's what it looks like unboxed:

Not your ordinary boxed pie
Unboxed, the crust smelled distinctly of butter and was brushed with an egg wash. Though, it also flaked as if the crust were made with shortening.

Here's a slice:

Sliced, served
What are my characteristics of a good boxed pie? Cooked apples, non-soggy bottom pie crust, flaky strata in the top crust, egg wash to colour. This pie met all the requirements. Best of all, the apples tasted incredibly fresh.

How can you serve a slice of great apple pie better?

A la mode
Top it with rich ice cream from Pascale's. The ice cream of choice, dulce de leche, to add just a bit more caramel flavours.

It has been a wet summer, but autumn is upon us and we have had 2 glorious weeks of cool, but sunny weather in Ottawa. Labour Day has come and past. Newly minted students from the local universities have flooded city streets with music, dance, and Shinerama stickers to raise money to fund cystic fibrosis research. The sun is setting earlier. The commute to work has become more hectic. And, it is time to start thinking about what to do with the oncoming fall harvest bounty.

To help out, Amrita Singh from CBC Radio 1 (91.5 FM) is kicking off a new season of Town and Out with an Autumn Produce Primer. Can you guess which local blogger she chose to provide some sound bites?

In preparation, my better half and I visited the bustling ByWard Market on Labour Day Monday, armed with the newest member of foodiePrints' blog arsenal, a Nikon D60 SLR camera with an 18-55 mm lens.

Crowded ByWard Market

Lots of Families Out and About

Before we begin, the unusually wet summer has shifted the growing season somewhat, causing some characteristically autumn produce to come to market late.

Such was apparent when I asked the lovely tweeps I follow about their favourites. Suggestions included: sweet corn, turnips, parsnips, carrots, butternut squash, and apples. Not only were they available, but so too were raspberries, strawberries and peaches, typically late summer fare in the Eastern Ontario region.

Strawberries

Strawberries AND Raspberries

Peaches

Only now has quality sweet corn started appearing.

Sweet Corn

Jumbo Cobs
Look for ears with bright green and tight-fitting husks and golden brown silks. Kernels should be plump and should come all the way to the tip of the ear. Fresh yellow corn is sweetest when it is eaten as soon as it is harvested. The longer an ear of corn spends away from the plant, the more likely its sugars will be converted to starch.

Regarding root vegetables like turnips, parsnips, or carrots...

Turnips
The turnips we most often see are rutabagas, relatives of the British white turnip. Choose heavy for their size turnips. Smaller, hence younger, ones tend to have a more delicate flavour and texture. They should be firm to the touch. If greens are attached, they should be bright green and not withered. To store, wrap turnips, unwashed, in plastic and place in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, discarding the leaves. However, like other root vegetables, they can last longer in a cool ventilated area. This is why our grandparents had subterranean root cellars.


Carrots
Carrots, including increasingly common heirloom varieties (purple, blue, gold), should be firm and smooth. Avoid those that are cracked or have begun to soften. If greens are attached, they should be bright and crisp. To store, bag in plastic and refrigerate for up to 7 days, again discarding the leaves.

Parsnips should be chosen in a similar manner as carrots and turnips. Look for firm roots that are neither shriveled nor spotted. They can be stored, bagged in plastic, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Regarding winter squash (we actually found none) and pumpkins...

Pumpkins

and more Pumpkins
Winter squashes like butternut, acorn and spaghetti, should be heavy for their size and have hard rinds mostly free of blemishes, cracks, or moldy spots. If any are present, they should be dry and well healed. Whole, winter squashes can be stored in a cool dark place for a month or longer, depending on the specific variety. Cut, they can be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic, but should be eaten within several days.

Smaller pumpkins, like the ones pictured, tend to be sweeter and more tender. Like winter squashes, they should be picked blemish and crack free. They should also be heavy for their size.

One of my favourites of the fall harvest has to be apples, such as those from Hall's Apple Orchard and Market

Apples

Glorious Apples
No matter the variety, be it for baking or eating raw, buy firm apples with a fresh fragrance. Their skins should be smooth and bruise and gouge free. Paula red, Lobo, Fuji, gala, golden delicious, granny smith, and McIntosh apples are versatile varieties that are equally good raw or for cooking. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

More after the jump...

It was a dark and stormy night...Alright, it was just an overcast Sunday morning in Ottawa when Jenn and I walked into the Courtyard Restaurant (21 George Street) in the Byward Market. There, we chose to dine on the patio, hoping the sky would clear. After helping a waitress connect two tables and re-arrange chairs, the rest of our newly formed brunch club arrived. Six in all, we were eager to sit down to brunch at a restaurant whose chef (Michael Hay) often bragged served the best in Ottawa.

Having followed Chef Hay (@michaelthehay) on Twitter for the past several weeks and seeing him plate up some delicious twitpic'ed dishes, I promised my friends a good meal.

Unfortunately, Chef Hay was not in the main kitchen that morning and what we were served did not meet expectations. Only 2 of us enjoyed our meals. Four now refuse to return. One is willing to risk dinner at the restaurant. I am disappointed and have requested other club members choose our next Sunday brunch destination for the next little while.

I should note, before we dive into our dishes, we saw only one other party walk into the restaurant during our stay. We were the only patrons on the patio. However, things were far from quiet. The restaurant was in the midst of preparing for an event. We watched what may have been two florists walk in. We saw a portable dance floor unpacked by a loading area and wheeled inside. A quick peek at the monitor in the lobby explained why. The Courtyard was hosting a wedding reception, a large one by the looks of it.

Even so, service at the Courtyard was not lacking. Both friendly and attentive, our two waitresses were organized, knowledgeable, and quick to provide assistance. Save for not producing enough appetizer pastries (freshly baked croissants, muffins, and chocolate pastries) for a table of 6, for which I'm not sure they were responsible, service was exemplary.

To begin, brunch at the Courtyard Restaurant is a multi-course affair, one that the menu suspiciously suggests start with an alcoholic beverage, bloody caesar, bloody mary, or a glass of wine, all extra! The brunch itself includes juice: cranberry, apple, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, tomato or a combination thereof. I ordered coffee. Later, I joined my friends at the other end of the table with a glass of half cranberry/half orange.

glass of half cranberry/half orange juice
Freshly squeezed and chilled, my glass of juice was refreshing.

Along with drinks came appetizer pastries and a shot glass of house-made berry preserves. At first, one basket of pastries, containing a pair of croissants, a chocolate pastry, and one really small bran muffin, was placed on our table. Thinking we were being rationed pastries, we split most of them, each enjoying half of something.

Half a Chocolate Pastry
When only crumbs remained, another basket was placed on the table. Clearly, two were intended for a group our size.

The pastries themselves were crowd pleasers, freshly baked, crisp, and delicious. Though, in search of a washroom when I arrived, I walked by dual ovens in the lobby, spotting a half sheet pan of freshly formed and egg-washed croissants being baked. Why we weren't served at least enough croissants for the table was puzzling. In hindsight, this was a portent of what was to come...

Next, main courses. Two of us, myself included, ordered Eggs Benedict. Jenn, the blueberry pancakes. My friend's fiance, the crepes. He, the tuna melt. And, my other friend ordered an interpretation of the classic steak and eggs.

Eggs Benedict ($22)
The plates of Eggs Benedict our table was served were identical. Here is mine:

Eggs Benedict
As described in the menu, the dish consisted of poached eggs, hollandaise, and ham. Accompanying it, a potato apple hash and a side salad.

Overcooked Poached Egg
Unfortunately, the left poached egg was overcooked. The other, properly done, soft and runny. Contrary to the menu, the slice of ham did not look grilled. Moreover, the muffin halves had burnt edges as if they were tossed onto a griddle a little longer than they needed to toast.

Since both plates were identical (both left eggs overdone), I surmise that the eggs were poached in pairs. Finding two overcooked, the cooks seem to have knowingly plated one on each plate. On the bright side, the salad was very fresh and the apple and potato hash, novel (sort of a dry Asian potato salad). My better half actually ate most of mine.

Pancakes ($20)
Why? Well, to allow me to save face because I promised a good meal, she quietly choked down her pancakes with 6 cups of water. As she would tell me later, the only part of the brunch she enjoyed was the hash she picked at off my plate.

Blueberry Library Paste Pancakes
As per the menu, the stack of pancakes were served with fresh fruit, including one rather bruised strawberry. And, it was garnished with a pat of maple butter. Unfortunately, only the bottom pancake, the sole thin one, was truly edible. The others were a gooey mess.

The batter must have been so overloaded with previously frozen and thawed blueberries that the starch structures could not form when it was cooked. While the surface developed a skin and browned, the berries inside bled, causing the texture of the thicker pancakes to resemble library paste. My friend who ordered the steak found the pancakes disgusting.

Steak and Egg ($25)
He faired much better.

Steak and Egg
His dish consisted of a 4 oz grilled angus sirloin steak, a "sunny egg", and Bearnase sauce. It was accompanied by a grilled tomato, crispy fried potato, and an apple hash. Accordingly, the steak was quite good. The rest, less than stellar.

While he flatly refuses to return to the Courtyard for brunch, he is willing to try its dinner menu and only steak dishes at that.

Tuna Melt ($19)
The tuna melt illicited no complaints.

Tuna Melt
According to the menu, it is made with a sweet gherkin mayonnaise and topped with aged cheddar. From my view, the dish seemed constructed on a hunk of Art Is In bread with the top sliced off and a mound of tuna salad layered on top. It reminded me of a Russian kubliaka, which is a puff pastry dish that substitutes salmon and pastry for the tuna and bread, but shares much of the other flavours.

Crepes ($21)
Unfortunately, I have no picture of the crepes, but I am told they were good.

To end, with six of us and 3 desserts to choose from, we ordered two of each.

Of the two who ordered the the chocolate pate, one was somewhat put off by its salted caramel garnish, but he enjoyed his dessert. The other, a chocoholic, cleaned his plate.

Chocolate Pate with Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Of the two who ordered the lemon tart with the pine nut crust, one was happy with it.

Lemon Tart
Me, I was critical the sheer number of cracks in the tart. What filled the pine nut crust was a lemon custard. Given its cool mouth feel and darkened skin on top, it was a chilled custard. To crack as it did, either someone was less than careful with the pie spatula (unlikely because the crust was intact) or we were served a day-old tart. As for taste, I judiciously rationed my strawberry sauce, eating a little with each bite. Else, it would have been simply too lemony, even for me. Ordinarily, I love lemon desserts.

Of the two who ordered the seasonal fruit with frozen yogurt, one had had enough. He gave his away. Jenn pushed her plate in front of me, half eaten, and asked me to try the frozen yogurt.

Fresh Fruit with Frozen Yogurt
It was very icy and tasted very little of yogurt. It also melted quickly.

Total cost of one pancakes and one Eggs Benedict brunch: $47.46 (after taxes, before tip)

Were it not for the company of friends and my better half, this brunch would have been a rightful disaster. Three days later, I am still riddled with guilt over subjecting people to this pricey meal.

Determination: Domestic North American - Sunday Brunch: $$$$, ---*1/2 (because the service was good)

Update: For a look at what non-library paste blueberry pancakes should resemble, head over to another Ottawa food blogger's site, RachelleEatsFood. Yesterday, Rachelle posted up both pics and a recipe for some great looking blueberry pancakes she had for dinner to top off a birthday weekend. Happy Birthday Rachelle!

Regarding poached eggs, I recently asked Chef Jonas Luster (@wildhunt) how to make them consistently. He graciously posted tips on his blog for not only how to poach eggs, but also to how fry them up over easy. The blog post is the first in a series of planned "Ask the Sous (Chef)" posts to raise funds for the Riley Center for Battered Women in San Francisco. For every culinary-related request he entertains, a donation will be made to the center. Some generous tweeps are even offering to match donations in their requests.

Particulars:
The Courtyard Restaurant
21 George Street
(613)241-1516

An avid Ottawa foodie, I am always on the look-out for special hidden-away establishments only locals know about. I am also a fan of "hole-in-the-wall"-type restaurants where chefs or cooks are "just in it" for the food. I am a believer that a good eatery should have substance. Flashy signage, expensive furniture, crystal stemware, floor to wall displays of vintage wines, and leather-bound menus do not always make a good restaurant in my books. I wanted to believe I found such an establishment in Chez Lucien, which is located at 137 Murray Street on the "other side" of the Dalhousie Street in the Byward Market.

You see, Dalhousie marks the demarcation along Murry between a string of high-end restaurants (Murray Street, Navarra, and the Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro), the French Bakery and Benny's Bistro, and the beginning of a somewhat residential area. Nestled amongst the town houses and bungalows is an unsuspecting wood-encased alcove with a small sign, quietly marking the bar and grill that is reputedly one of Ottawa's best places to kick back with a micro-brew.

Chez Lucien's Front Door

I originally found Chez Lucien while navigating the Flickr stream belonging to one of the members (handle: LexnGer) of Cheap Eats Ottawa, the organization that publishes a book, listing frugal eats in our fair city. When I saw the following burger and fries, I called up friends to meet there that night.

Cheap Eats' Chez Lucien Burger
Pictured is the signature Chez Lucien Burger, which is topped with crisped bacon, cream cheese, and sauteed mushrooms. I was a sucker for the perfectly charred patty and pile of golden shoe string fries.

Then...
That Friday night (9:00 pm-ish), over a year ago now (April 18, 2008), an old university friend named Kris, his then girlfriend (now wife), my better half, and I arrived to find a packed and bustling 3 floor pub. Asking if we needed to be seated, a very harried male waiter pointed to the lowest level, basement floor, where several booths were located adjacent to the kitchen. Wanting a peek at the heart of the eatery, I happily descended with everyone in tow.

View from our booth

Twenty minutes later (yes 20!), we managed to convince a waitress we were a new table. Twenty minutes after that, she returned with menus and drinks. We ordered and waited another twenty minutes for our food. From entry to exit, our stay was easily an hour and a half.

Chez Lucien is a rather handsome establishment with lots of wood wall finishings, a brass detailed bar, hardwood floors, and well-worn wood stained furniture. There is even a jukebox facing the bar, filled with CD's.

Handsome Bar
The alcove itself houses 4-6 tables and is very bright during the day, owing to the large windows in the wall facing the street. The main floor has the bar. The upper floor is a loft with rows of tables.

According to its Ottawa Xpress's 2004 review, the kitchen serves some upper end pub food. By any other definition, this makes it a gastro-pub. Four years later, the menu seemed identical with the restaurant still specialized in "gourmet burgers."

Menu

Each of us ordered burgers: 3 Chez Lucien Burgers and a "Frida and Diego."

Chez Lucien Burger Platter
The Frida and Diego ($9) comes with the same patty as the Chez Lucien ($9), but it is topped with pickled jalepenos, Monterey jack, and "fried" (translated: sauteed) onions

Our burgers, if you could call them that, were served with cold and soggy shoestring fries, a fresh salad, and some bottled caesar dressing on the side. The Chez Lucien burgers sported patties, which were leathery white inside and charred on the outside. The Frida and Diego's was raw in the center and leathery on the outside. It had to be sent back, but returned equally leathery throughout...All were haphazardly assembled.

Overdone Chez Lucien Burger Dissassembled

Condiments
To add insult to injury, our "do-it-all" waitress told us we had to share one set of condiments as they had run out of containers, and potentially condiments.

You see, in spite of its popularity, this restaurant is about as badly organized as a restaurant can be. Too few "do-it-all" waiters rush about, serving everything from drinks to food, oftentimes crashing into one another during their frequent runs to and from the kitchen. They pour drinks at the bar. They fetch what seems like a limited set of menus, moving them from table to table. They settle bills. They clear the tables they serve. They answer phones. They seat new patrons. I wasn't even sure if the restaurant is broken up into sections for waiters to preside over.

It is no wonder people tell me that going to Chez Lucien feels like being treated like mud in a Parisian restaurant. Good service there means you feel ignored.

To make matters worse, the kitchen has absolutely no idea what is going on on the floor, so, when the place is packed, they just sear up burger patty after burger patty, unsure how many they need to make. I saw one batch forgotten on the griddle and binned. I saw another stacked one atop the other next to the grill so the cooks could grab burgers for the incoming order. Unfortunately, juice was visibly squeezed out in the process.

Cost of 2 Chez Lucien Burgers then: $20.34 (after taxes, before tip). Our "do-it-all" waitress was named Michelle.

Now...
Recently (June 3, 2009), Jenn and I returned in the middle of a work week to try Chez Lucien anew. This time, we made sure we went shortly after dinner service began (6:00 pm-ish) and sat at a table beside the Juke Box on the main floor. I ordered a Frida and Diego Burger ($10, a dollar more than before). She, another Chez Lucien Burger ($10, again, a dollar more than before), minus the cheese.

Food and service at Chez Lucien in the early evening is markedly different than later on in the night. The difference is literally night and day. We only waited 5 minutes for drinks and menus. Our platters were served 15 minutes after we ordered. Best of all, the burgers weren't being stockpiled. They were juicy, judiciously charred, and delicious, ever so slightly pink in the middle.

Mine

Frida and Diego Burger

Toppings, now with colby jack

Texture
I added a dollop of mayonnaise to mine for added zing. The peppers and sauteed onions added bite and sweetness respectively. The bun was also grilled. It was a great burger.

Hers

Chez Lucien Burger

Toppings
Jenn was equally surprised by how much she enjoyed her burger.

The salads weres fresh. We were served our own condiments and the fries were piping hot, crispy on the outside and tender in the middle.

Cost of 2 burgers and an ice tea ($2.36) now: $25.27 (after taxes, before tip). Our "do-it-all" waiter was named Guy.

Honestly, I'm not sure at the moment what my determination should be. However, if you want a decent burger at a decent price, you're in the Byward Market, and it's early (6:00 pm-ish), you can do worse than one at Chez Lucien.

Update: Regarding why I mentioned the first names of the waiters who served me at Chez Lucien, when I never have before, I honestly think these good people are doing their best and are forced to be super-human during their shifts. The issues with the restaurant are those of its management. I hope these waiters proudly state on their resumes that they worked at Chez Lucien. Surviving the frenzy I witnessed for any prolonged period of time demonstrates the ability to work under severe stress.

Particulars:
Chez Lucien
137 Murray Street
(613)251-3533

Sunday afternoon, my better half and I took our guests to the Piggy Market in Westboro to visit Dave Neil and Pascale Berthiaume. Apparently, we arrived two hours before closing. Pascale had just returned from the Landesdowne Farmers' Market. Both she and Dave was visibly worn, but happy to answer all of our friends' many questions. Suffice it to say, Abby and Mlle Ling were curious about just about everything in the self professed "fine food delicatessen with a focus on artisanal pork products, and locally produced foods."

Bread and Smoked Duck Breasts
In the end, we picked up a loaf of oat and cranberry Art Is In bread and a pair of smoked duck breasts. Originally, I promised Mlle Ling duck confit, but Dave was all out. He offered me some frozen ones, but I substituted smoke duck breasts instead.

Abby Carefully Slicing the Art Is In Bread

Pair of Smoked Duck Breast

Sliced, served chilled
Mlle Ling's boyfriend Thomas picked up a tub of Pascale's Hazelnut and Chocolate ice cream for dessert.

Dave also graciously invited me back to see a batch of in-house hot smoked pork belly bacon. Were I not just in the market for appetizers for that evening's dinner, I think I would have walked away with an entire side. It looked and smelled incredible.

Total cost of duck breast and bread: $32.25 (and worth every penny!)

When I tweeted what I planned to serve as an appetizer (thinly sliced smoked duck breast on artisanal bread), Epicuria's Chef Tracey Black mentioned that smoked duck breast goes very well with fruit chutney. Yes, Chef! I then walked up to my fridge and demanded ingredients. My fridge coughed up a pair of mangoes, so I made mango chutney.

Mango Chutney
With limited ingredients and time, I settled on FoodTV's Anna Olson's recipe with slight omissions. The modified recipe follows:

Recipe

Ingredients

Diced Onions

Baking Chutney

Done
Things you'll need:

• 2 cups diced mango - I know, mass would be better. Still, 2 regular large mangoes produce 2 cups of diced flesh
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• zest of 1 orange
• white granulated sugar to sprinkle

Prep:

1. Disassemble the mango, onion, and ginger
2. Pre-heat an oven to 375°F

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a non-stick pan and simmer on medium to medium-low heat until the onions are tender and the liquid reduces to a syrup
2. Spoon the mixture into heat proof ceramic containers. I used oval gratin dishes
3. Sprinkle with sugar
4. Bake for 20 minutes

The latter oven baking is meant to create a sugar syrup on top of the chutney. Had I a butane torch, I would have brullé'd the top.

Since there was no time to cool the chutney or allow it to mature its flavours, I chose to add some caramel sweetness and serve it warm. My intention was to pair savory and smokey with spicy and bright. The pairing worked.

Served

Playful Plating
Think duck breast. dry cured with spices. hot smoked. sliced thin, served chilled. Accompanying it, on slices of expertly worked bread, was something sweet, bright, and spicy.

Stew
Here is the additional entree I was asked to make: slow cooked beef stew (4 hours), using beef rib meat.

Beef Stew
Regarding the sauce, it came from blening the onions I stewed the beef with, forced them through a strainer, and using the resultant puree to thicken leftover braising liquid. Major flavourings: light soy sauce, fish sauce, and black pepper.

Bacon Waffles
For breakfast the next Monday, I snuck out of the condo early in the morning to barbecue a typical supermarket-sized package of bacon.

Barbecued Bacon

Bacon Mountain
When I came back, I whipped up a batch of cookingnook.com's waffle batter: 1 1/2 cups milk, 2 egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 cups plain flour, and 1/2 tsp baking powder via the muffin method; thinned with 2 oz melted butter and 2 tbsp cold water; and lightened with firm peaked egg whites. While the mixture was hydrating, I ran the crisped and cooled bacon through a food processor and added the fine crumbs to the batter.

Batter

Then, my better half ran the batter through our waffle maker. Result: bacon waffles, which tasted really good with pancake syrup.

Waffle maker

Waffles

Texture
Think light waffles, crisp, and loaded with savory bacon bits.

Lunch in the Byward Market follows after the jump...

More after the jump...