On August 17, 2010, residents of Gatineau gathered at various locations in Vieux Hull to watch Hollywood movie crews transform some city streets for a large ($28 million) production, the screen adaptation of author Jack Kerouac's On the Road. According to the CBC, director Francis Ford Coppola's company, American Zoetrope, worked with Ottawa/Gatineau's Film Corp to choose the locations.

One happened to be the Vite Vite pataterie (poutinerie) on rue Wellington (61).

Vite Vite
It is an eatery my colleagues frequent almost weekly. Accordingly, its chili cheese fries are a must try. I have never been.

That morning, the section of rue Wellington in front of Vite Vite was blocked off by Gatineau police. The building, which existed during the "Beat Generation" era (1950's), was temporarily re-finished. Then, period cars were brought in. Crews dulled their paint and carefully positioned them along the street.

Here is how the completed transformation looked before filming started.

Transformed
This photo was taken by Catherine (@MsCatou) during her lunch break. I didn't have a camera with me that Tuesday.

I did however bring my camera the following day.

50's Vite Vite

Pataterie turned Coffee Shop

and Snacks

Removed Sign

Everything was restored two days later.

Present Day Vite Vite

If you want to know what characteristics distinguish a food blogger, while crowds gathered to catch glimpses of the film's A-list stars (Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortenson, Amy Adams, and Kirsten Dunst), I only wanted photos of the set.

Particulars:
Vite Vite Patate
61, rue Wellington, Gatineau
(819) 770-9888

Before we begin, please note that sometime late Monday night, fire gutted a three-story apartment and commercial building on Eddy Street in the Hull sector of Gatineau. It made the 40 people, who were living in the residential portion section of the 95 Eddy Street building, homeless. Five businesses were destroyed, including De La Ghetto clothing Shop, Blanchisserie Eddy laundromat and La petite cuisine de Tony.

95 Eddy Street, courtesy of Google Maps
The Ottawa Citizen (a local Ottawa newspaper) reports that there were no injuries caused by the 6:02 pm blaze.

According to the Gatineau police, the Canadian Red Cross quickly mobilized to help displaced residents. With the spat of fires razing apartment buildings in both Ottawa and Gatineau of late, we at foodiePrints have made another donation to the Red Cross. We encourage readers to do so as well. Here is a link to options for donating: Options. Here is a link for donating online: Donate Online.

Now, why is an apartment fire on a food blog? Two reasons. Firstly, I work in Gatineau and have frequented the family-owned and run restaurant, La petite cuisine de Tony. They made a decent Lebanese fatayer. Secondly, I am slightly troubled by how CBC Ottawa reported the incident. My concern stems from an American survey I came across last night via the PR Squared blog.

The survey, conducted by Cision and Don Bates of The George Washington University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations came up with, what was for me, a startling finding:

...an overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories. Among the journalists surveyed, 89% said they turn to blogs for story research, 65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and 52% to microblogging services such as Twitter.

Cision however added the following caveat:

...it's also clear that while social media is supplementing the research done by journalists, it is not replacing editors' and reporters' reliance on primary sources, fact-checking and other traditional best practices in journalism.

Indeed, as many have no doubt observed, the speed with which a lead becomes a story and is reported has increased. Most local news concerns in Ottawa even have twitter accounts. I have seen both @CTVOttawa and @OttawaCitizen request pictures or accounts from witnesses of events.

At 8:30 AM (EST) this morning, CBC Ottawa's website reported the fire with a photo that had the caption "The fire destroyed 16 apartments and five businesses, including a bakery and a dry cleaner." The report read that a brick building at 88 Eddy Street had been the site of the blaze and has since been torn down. A friend of mine graciously provided me a screen capture of the report as it was originally posted:

CBC Ottawa's Original Report
He had it cached on his phone from when I told him that the wonderful little Portuguese bakery and sandwich shop I introduced him to two weeks ago may have burned down. The shop's green awning is in the picture from the original report.

The shop, called Estoril, is situated at 89 Eddy Street. I am particularly fond of it and its owners, visiting the eatery twice a month since I first discovered it last June.

Well, there are some problems with CBC Ottawa's story as it was originally reported. First, the building at 88 Eddy Street is across the street from Estoril. The building at 89 Eddy Street cannot possibly hold 16 apartments.

89 Eddy Street, courtesy of Google Maps
There is also no dry cleaner. Such is readily apparent from Google Maps.

At 10:30 AM (EST), CBC Ottawa updated its story to change the address to 95 Eddy Street.

CBC Ottawa's Updated Report
The update also added several accounts of the fire and a photo of the torn down building, taken by CBC's Chad Pawson.

At 12:37 PM (EST), CBC Ottawa updated its story again to change the number of apartments in the building to 12, forgetting to change the caption next to the paragraph. The caption still read 16.

To CBC Ottawa, may I suggest you take a little time to verify facts before you post a story, especially a headlining one? This includes getting addresses straight. If you can find the time to dispatch someone to the scene to take a picture and attach a Google Map to the online report, you can find the time to demonstrate that fast-paced journalism doesn't have to be sloppy journalism.

For instance, as I just found out by walking down Eddy, judging from the layer of ice on the building, Estoril did suffer water damage from the firefighters putting out the fire in the adjacent building. Estoril is presently closed, but I saw one of the concerned owners go in and out. It has not been torn down. However, the City of Gatineau is co-ordinating cleanup of of the torn down buidling and Gatineau police is re-directing car and pedestrian traffic as needed.

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.

Recently, I discovered that a friend of mine was planning the reception for his wedding and a certain French restaurant in Gatineau made it on his short list. The restaurant is called Le St-Estèphe and is located at 711 blvd. St-Joseph. Googling the restaurant, I thought it familiar, so I started fishing through foodiePrints' image archive. Bingo!

St-Estèphe's Chef/Owner Stephane Paquet also operates a quaint little French bistro called L'Espresso, which is located down the street (549 blvd. St-Joseph). L'Espresso was where I first encountered moules frites. Moules frites is essentially moules marinières (mussels steamed with dry white wine, garlic, and shallots), served with bistro fries and a side of aioli. Today, I actually enjoy moules frites more than steak frites when mussels are in season.

Back story? Twas one of my birthdays years ago and the team I worked for liked to celebrate birthdays by going out to lunch on the Friday of the particular week. Hearing about my love of just about anything food and my recently attending "Rendez-vous des saveurs de l'Outaouais" (an excellent annual food festival, held at the Gatineau city hall), the team took me to L'Espresso.

There, I had a lovely plate of steamed fresh mussels and a basket of classic bistro fries done well. I was even encouraged to dip my fries in the cooking liquid that gathered at the bottom of my plate of mussels.

Moules

Frites
Oh it was great and it set a precedent for me. Rarely have I had moules frites so good: tender almost delicate mussels, freshly cooked, flavoured with wine, and flagrant with garlic and shallot. Paired with crisp and golden brown fries, everything was made-to-order and satisfying, but not too filling.

My then colleagues had equally tantalizing dishes. In fact, I challenge you to find a Greek salad so well served, fresh and carefully plated.

Greek Salad
That day the special was salmon fillet, served with Thai rice. A very slight fusion of French and Asian, rustic yet elegant, had I ordered it, I may not have stopped from eating the plate itself.

Salmon Special

Lastly, I remember L'Espresso's decor as warm and inviting. It felt like dining in a country home.

L'Espresso's Dining Room
The surroundings complemented well the food.

On a side note, my search for images from my dinner at L'Espresso also turned up my first try at making mussels at home.

My attempt at moules marinières
Steamed with a mirapoix, heavy with both Spanish and green onion, the mussels were good. L'Espresso's were much better.

Particulars:
L'Espresso Cafe-Bistro
549 boul. St-Joseph
Gatineau, Quebec
(819)773-3363

This year, from June 1 to June 15, Amnesty International organized the "Taste for Justice" fundraiser to support its work to stop violence against women. Many participants hosted Taste for Justice events or "dined in", by registering online, planing an event, ordering a "Host Kit", inviting guests, distributing donation forms, and directing all proceeds to Amnesty International. Others "dined out" at number of participating restaurants in several Canadian cities.

In Ottawa, 20 restaurants participated as "Taste for Justice Friends." One, Infusion Bistro (825 Bank Street), a "Partner for Freedom." Taste for Justice Friends donate a portion of proceeds from June 1-15. Partners for Freedom restaurants donate a minimum of $750 and actively promote Amnesty campaigns year-round. Chef Matthew Carmichael's e18hteen (18 York Street) donated a percentage of sales from its seasonal strawberry shortcake.

In the Wellington West neighbourhood, we had three participating restaurants: Agave Grill (1331 Wellington Street), Caffé Mio (1379 Wellington Street), and Thyme & Again Catering (1255 Wellington Street).

While I'm told that Agave Grill makes a stunning mojito and is owned by the former owner of Feleena's Mexican Restaurant (Comida Mexicana) in the Glebe (corner of Bank (742) and Third), Jenn and I decided to support Amnesty International by finally giving Thyme & Again a try. After all, we've passed by the caterer/eatery hundreds of times during our 5 years, living in Wellington West.

Thyme & Again
According to its website, Thyme & Again caters events of various sizes, from dinner parties to weddings, and operates a popular brick and mortar retail space, called its "food shop." They also supply the dishes served at the nearby Great Canadian Theater Company's (GCTC) in-house restaurant, mostly food that the establishment can heat up or serve cold.

Regarding their food shop, it is stocked with frozen dinner ideas from game-meat stuffed pasta, vegetable stir fries, soups, desserts, breakfast scones, and even tourtiere. Their "eat-in" options include various pastries (both miniature and full-size tarts), cookies, chocolates (mostly in-house made truffles), soups, pot pies, and sandwiches. They also serve entrees that change from month to month. Everything is listed on their website.

Me, I love sandwiches, so we went to Thyme & Again for a light dinner after work. Unfortunately, we were served sandwiches that were wrapped in plastic and chilled for several hours. We surmise this is because the majority of the store's "sandwich" business comes from its lunch service. Because workers from surrounding office buildings, including from the large government campus called Tunney's Pasture, pile into the establishment during lunch time, sandwiches may be made en-mass in the morning. Such leaves whatever remainder after the lunch rush for the afternoon and evening.

Originally, I wanted a calabrese sandwich: capicolla ham, soprasetta, orovolone cheese, red onion, and spicy eggplant finished with a lemon herb mayonnaise. They were all out. Instead, I had the "Green Thai Curry Roast Beef with Lemon Grass Aioli and Smoked Gouda." Jenn, the dilled Egg Salad: egg salad with fresh dill and chives.

Green Curry Roast Beef ($5.25)
My roast beef sandwich was less than impressive. The roast beef tasted bland and had a refrigerated texture. The seeded kaiser had succumbed to the cold, hardening and tasting somewhat stale. The smoked gouda added some sharpness. The featured "green curry and lemon grass" flavours came from the aioli, which was unevenly spread throughout the sandwich. As such, some bites carried faint flavours. Others, much more.


Dilled Egg Salad ($5.25)
Jenn was equally unimpressed with hers. Her egg salad had only fleeting dill flavours, which is normally a powerful herb. She tasted no chives. Her kaiser was equally hard and stale. In fact, she had difficulty eating her sandwich as the egg salad kept spurting out the opposite end. She also found it somewhat too salty for her linking.

At $11.87 after taxes, but before tip, I was glad a portion was going to charity. Else, this would have been a rather expensive "cafeteria"-style sandwich.

Here is Thyme & Again's card:

Front

Back

In fact, I was so non-plussed that the next day, I moved up my visit to a Portuguese bakery and sandwich shop near my workplace, so I could remind myself what a made to order sandwich tastes like.

Estoril
Located in Gatineau (89 rue Eddy), Boulangerie Estoril is family owned and run. It supplies ethnic Portugese products along with more French-style freshly baked bread. Its signage is tattered and well worn. There are domestic chest freezers in the middle of the retail space. Its eating area only has a handful of tables. However, it serves deli-sliced made-to-order sandwiches, something I readily appreciated after my experience with Thyme and Again. It's owners, an older couple that speak mostly Portuguese and French, are also warm and friendly.

And yes, Estoril is located nearby two large government complexes Place du Portage and Terrasses de la Chaudière, furthering the comparison with Thyme & Again.

For a measly $3.95 (before tip or taxes), I was able to pickup their "Portuguese Special": deli-sliced Portuguese sausage (whose Paprika flavours have me thinking it was linguiça); Portuguese cheese; all, on a freshly baked roll with mayonnaise and yellow mustard.

Lunch

Portuguese Special

Linguiça?
It was delicious, every flavour playing well with one another: savory, spice, sharp, and bright. Best of all, the textures met my expectations for an ethnic sandwich shop: fresh bread, slicer thin meat, and a generous amount of cheese. None, cold!

For dessert ($1 more), I picked up a Portuguese egg tart, which differs greatly from the Chinese variety that is served at dim sum.

Egg Tart
Served chilled, the egg tart's custard was dense and sweet, tasting of vanilla and slight hints of caramel. Its pastry was light and flaky.

If you work in walking distance of Estoril, I urge you to drop by.

It seems the only redeeming quality of our visit to Thyme & Again is our discovering a cache of Pascale's ice cream.

Pascale's Ice Cream
Thyme & Again sells Pascale's ice cream a dollar more ($10.95) than she does at the Piggy Market. This is good information for those evenings when we have surprise guests and we need to make an ice cream run.

Nevertheless, with its reputation, I promise to try Thyme & Again again, perhaps when I find them supporting another charity campaign.

More after the jump...