The weekend of Food Day Canada, a friend from the publishing world visited Ottawa for the long weekend, Bonita (@boneats). An Ottawa native, who now makes her home in Toronto, she is also a fellow food blogger. She happened to shake hands with Chef Thomas Keller at a book event last year.

Where do you think we had brunch that Sunday?

Did we go to big-box restaurant chain Milestones (1080 Baxter Road) where a signature "Traditional breakfast" of 3 scrambled eggs, double smoked bacon, breakfast potatoes, seasonal fruit and multi-grain toast costs $8.99

Milestones

Milestones Traditional Breakfast
Think slightly over-scrambled eggs, greasy potatoes with jarred tomato sauce, super market fruit, cool to cold toast, and thinly cut and under-crisped bacon.

Also on the menu, a breakfast hash of "slow roasted and thinly sliced" prime rib, tossed with crispy potatoes (remarkably similar to breakfast potatoes), bell peppers, sweet onion, roast corn and their specialty (mystery) "hash" seasoning. Everything, topped with two poached eggs, "real" hollandaise, roma tomatoes and toasted herb "Filone" for $12.99.

Prime Rib Hash

Poached Eggs

Prime Rib
Think hunk of oily baguette, deep fried potatoes (re-heated on the griddle with the white onions, red pepper, and the night before's prime rib leftovers), cool-ish hollandaise, pre-poached and re-heated eggs, and watery tomatoes. The mystery seasoning was intensely acidic, tasting oddly of barbecue sauce.

I'm not getting into the dated decor that was once cutting edge for big box restaurants 10 years ago. Milestone's service, however, was attentive and friendly.

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

For this week's "relatively" Wordless Wednesday Patio Post, we visit Chef Matthew Carmichael's Restaurant E18hteen on York Street. Protege of famed Master Chef Susur Lee, Chef Carmichael was recently decorated with a bronze medal at the 2009 Canadian Culinary Championships.

The Canadian Culinary Championships consists of three competitions, spread over two days, with eight distinguished judges, all proceeds going to Canada's Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Seven chefs from seven Canadian cities competed, each having taken gold in their local Gold Medal Plates. Chef Carmichael represented Ottawa-Gatineau.

Suffice it to say, Restaurant E18hteen is one of the highest end restaurants in Ottawa. It is also one my pocket book has not permitted me to dine in to date. I have however given gift certificates for this restaurant's tasting menu as a wedding gift to a very dear friend and mentor.

Did you know E18hteen has a patio?

Patio Section on one Side of E18hteen's Main Entrance

Patio Section on the Other Side

Cozy Two Seater Tables

E18hteen's Main Entrance
Clean, simple, and elegant, its patio serves as a canvas for what patrons consistently tell me are amazing dishes.

Particulars:
Restaurant E18hteen
18 York Street
(613)244-1188

During our 2008 "staycation", Jenn and I wandered the ByWard Market and stopped for freshly baked croissants from the French Baker on Murray Street (119). Here is a croissant from Owner Jérôme Mantel's legendary bakery that summer:

French Baker Croissant (circa 2008)

Cross-Section

Here is the "a-style" sandwich sign, belonging to the French Baker's adjoining restaurant from our visit

Benny's Bistro Sandwich Sign
and the bakery's business card.

Business Card

After we finished our ByWard Market culinary tour, lead by C'est Bon Cooking's Paola St-George (@cestboncooking), Jenn and I again stopped into the French Baker on Murray Street. Here is a croissant from the bakery this summer:

French Baker Croissant (circa 2010)

Cross-Section

Unrolled

Here is a shot of the bakery from our visit

French Baker's Murray Street Storefront

Why do I post photos that demonstrate markedly different textured croissants from the same bakery? We participated in a Croissant Battle this past April. The croissants we compared were ones we purchased that day.

The French Baker has been around since 1995. Its website boasts the bakery has grown its operation to "20 employees, including nine professional bakers, food and pastry chefs." While Mantel has no doubt established exacting standards, both its Murray Street and Bank Street locations cannot produce the same croissants everyday. There are simply too many variables in play, including staff turnover. This is why food bloggers are encouraged to visit eateries more than once before rendering any determinations on them.

The fact is the French Baker makes good croissants according to the following criteria:

...a good butter croissant is freshly baked. It unravels easily and can be teased apart. Inside, you should be able to see layers, spiraling outwards. It is brushed with egg wash half way through baking, so it takes on a golden colour as it crisps up. When handled, the crust should shatter into pieces. It should taste buttery, but should not leave your fingers an oily mess.

Source: "Ottawa Croissant Battle: A Round Up", foodiePrints.com

Whether you are a visitor to Ottawa or a long time resident, the French Baker is a source for good croissants. We have never bought croissants there we didn't like.

Particulars:
Le Boulanger Francais The French Baker
119 Murray Street
(613) 789-7941
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am – 6:30pm Sat, Sun 7am – 5:30pm

The last two weeks of July and first two of August are prime vacation times. During these four weeks, the school year has already ended. Summer school is winding down. Summer camp has had its run. Home renovations and landscaping projects are nearly complete.

Where I work, it is actually referred to as the "summer lull", a slowdown that results from significant numbers of personnel, taking vacation. Many project teams are reduced to skeleton staff. Remaining staff are often rotated into critical roles to ensure service levels to high priority projects are maintained.

These days, I hear many of my friends and colleagues, opting for partial vacations (staycations) or extended weekend summers. The former is a compromise. Employees take vacation, but must remain within a city's radius of work. They are required to check their electronic correspondence regularly and return to work should a crisis arise. The latter involves employees, distributing their vacation time to create shortened work weeks. Neither permits much travel.

But, remaining city or mostly city bound does not mean locals cannot be tourists. Make plans just as you would if you were traveling abroad. If you are an Ottawan, I recommend participating in a culinary tour. One of the reasons journalist Michael Kaminer of the Washington Post deemed Ottawa "Canada's cool capital" is its evolving food scene. What better way is there to learn about it than by taking a tour, lead by passionate food enthusiasts?

Paola St-George (@cestboncooking) and Andree Riffou (a Cordon Bleu trained chef) offer one such culinary tour of the ByWard Market through C'est Bon Cooking. It is a 2.5 hour walking tour, costing $45. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a little notebook to take notes. If you happen to be a food blogger, bring a camera with a freshly charged battery (a spare helps) and lots of memory.

Here are snippets from one Jenn and I participated in:

Not included in this slide show are photos from our visiting the Courtyard Restaurant (21 George Street), Murray Street Kitchen Charcuterie and Wine (110 Murray Street), and La Bottega Nicastro (64 George Street), all of which were incorporated in other blog posts.

Now, if you plan to wander the ByWard Market unguided, as Jenn and I often do, here are some additions I would like to recommend:
The Farm House (55 ByWard Market Square)

Signage
For a quick lunch in between shopping at the boutiques, fashion houses, and farmer's market, the Farm House in the ByWard Market Square serves pork and chicken schnitzel. Schnitzel is a flattened piece of meat that is typically breaded, deep fried, and baked crisp.

A-Style Sign

Chicken Schnitzel Platter

Cross Section

Pork Schnitzel Sandwich

Cross Section
While the platter came with unremarkable salad (poor attempt at tabbouleh) and instant rice, the schnitzel was made to order, fresh and crunchy. The sandwich was a little heavy on the bread, but it was quite well seasoned and tasty.

More after the jump...