At the end of February, Carol Paschal organized another outing for the Hintonburg Supper Club, this time at the Viva Loca Cafe (1233 Wellington Street W.), located inside the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC). In the months since Viva Loca opened its second location, Don and I have only eaten there once, ordering their delicious oat and whole-wheat pancakes from their weekend brunch menu for takeout. Made to order, they were light and fluffy. When we received the email for February's event, we became excited to try their dinner menu.

In addition to their regular lunch and dinner menu of panini grilled sandwiches, gluten-free wraps, savory crepes, chili, soup, and salads, Viva Loca offered supper club members a table d'hote menu ($17.95). For starters, they offered the soup of the day or a mixed green salad. For the entree, there were three options.

1. Hearty chunky chicken stew loaded with fresh vegetables and served with artisan bread.
2. Roasted vegetable lasagna layered with fresh pasta and cheese and served with artisan bread.
3. Ham and fresh asparagus buckwheat crepe with cheese sauce.

Dessert was a selection of home made treats, date squares, apple & plum crisp, cookies (including a gluten-free option) and carrot cake, along with coffee or tea. Don and I decided to order from the table d'hote for that evening's dinner.

Due to the number of people attending that night's dinner, GCTC closed its doors with a sign to the public, saying it was closed for a private function.


Viva Loca Signage

In the daytime, Viva Loca is a wonderfully bright eatery. The sun streams through its floor to ceiling windows that surround it. Despite the concrete stairs and walls, the dining area is comfortable and the staff, warm and inviting.


Inside Viva Loca

Displays of dessert greeting patrons

Starter – Soup of the Day or Mixed Green Salad

Potato and Leek Soup with Artisan Bread

That chilly evening, Don and I chose the soup of the day to start: a cream of potato and leek soup. Made with a vegetable-based broth, the soup contained thinly sliced leek with large chunks of red potatoes. While I enjoyed eating the large chunks of potato, I was surprised at how the soup was made. I had expected a soup with more body. What we were served that evening was a very thin soup, whose cream finish seemed slightly curdled. The leeks were also slightly overcooked. Despite its loose texture, the soup had great flavour. The accompanying slice of multi-grain artisan bread was delicious. It was nicely toasted, giving off a wonderful scent of toasted caraway seeds in its crust.

Entree – Roasted Vegetable Lasagna layered with fresh pasta and cheese and artisan bread

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

For his entree, Don chose the roasted vegetable lasagna. It was layered with a generous serving of cheese, fresh vegetables, and marinara sauce. In fact the serving was enormous. Overall, Don told me the vegetarian lasagna met his expectations. He would have preferred the pasta cooked more al dente and the sauce, slightly thicker. Again, the slice of multi-grain artisan bread made a nice accompaniment to the lasagna, perfect to sop up the marinara sauce. The salad was fresh and crisp.

Entree – Hearty Chunky Chicken Stew loaded with Fresh Vegetables and artisan bread

Chunky Chicken Stew

For my entree, I chose the hearty chunky chicken stew. Coming in from the cold and watching people walk by bundled in their winter gear, the stew seemed like the perfect choice to me. When the bowls of chicken stew were served, I heard other supper club members express worry the servings were rather small. However, the serving was just right. It was filling. The stew, chunky and satisfying. Each bowl contained a generous helping of fresh vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, and celery) and large chunks of chicken breast. The stew was nicely thick and well-seasoned.

Dessert
For dessert, many supper club members chose either the date square or apple and plum crisp. Few chose the carrot cake.

Don chose the date square.

Date Square

Again, as with everything else served that evening, the serving portion of the square was large. According to him, the square was more square than date. The pastry, crisp but thick. The date filling was sweet, but not cloyingly so.

Never one to turn down an apple crisp, I was excited to try Viva Loca's apple & plum ginger crisp.

Apple & Plum Ginger Crisp

It was my first time tasting apple paired with plum in a dessert. When my plate came, the crisp looked delicious. The fruit filling was quite tasty. Not overly sweet, the plums and apples were thinly sliced, skin on. The streussel topping was very thick, crisp, and sweet. After a few bites, it became obvious there was too much streussel and not enough fruit. The distribution of the ginger was somewhat uneven. With every bite, I could taste ginger, but some bites had large pieces of ginger, while others did not.

In general, the meal was rustic and filling. Don and I were impressed with the sheer variety of dishes, flavours, and textures that were made with seasonal and local ingredients. We plan on returning to try their brunch menu.

Total: $40.57 (after taxes, before tip)

Particulars:
Viva Loca
1233 Wellington Street W.
(613)728-8482

More after the jump...

Sometime before Christmas, Jenn and I picked up a package from our local post office, a parcel wrapped in parchment paper and tied with butcher cord. Instantly, we knew it was a book and it came from a professional kitchen. Reading the return address, we realized it was mailed by someone in Ottawa's food industry whom we chat with regularly about food, food trends, and local restaurants, Chef Tracey Black of Epicuria Fine Food and Catering (419 Mackay Street). The book was Earth to Table, a cookbook, journal, and amazing collection of chefs' profiles. It's authors were Chefs Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann.

A month later, I learned Chefs Crump and Schormann were coming to Ottawa to host an event at the Urban Element (424 Parkdale Avenue). Only, the timing of the event was in flux as the executive and pastry chefs respectively were balancing running their restaurant, the Ancaster Old Mill (548 Old Dundas Road), and meeting engagements on their whirlwind book tour, stopping in New York City (cooking at the James Beard House), Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto. Chef Crump is also corporate chef at Spencer's At the Waterfront in Burlington, but more on that later.

Completely forgetting, I received word from twitter Chef Crump (@earth_to_table) was coming into Ottawa within days, so I quickly dropped an e-mail to Urban Element to sign up. Lucky for me, the fully booked event had two last minute cancellations. I eagerly snatched one up, making the Earth to Table event my first non-sponsored event. At $125 (before taxes) per attendee, attending decimated my restaurant budget for a month and a half. It was worth it.

Though, I was surprised by the lack of interest from other attendees to greet and chat with Chefs Crump and Schormann when I arrived. After I hung up my jacket, I noticed only a few attendees gathering around the chefs and authors. Everyone was there for a spectacular meal, each course paired with a fine wine. The ticket price included a short introduction to the chefs, a short presentation by the chefs, cheese and charcuiterie, dinner, and wine.

As co-owner/operator Carley Schelck told me when I passed on the wine pairing, had I warned her earlier, she would have made alternate arrangements for someone who doesn't drink wine. Yes, I am a food enthusiast who has not developed a palate for wine. Such regularly irritates front of house staff at several fine dining restaurants, but I digress.

Here is what we were served:
Hor'deurves

Winter Charcuiterie and Cheese
They were accompanied by cornichons, pickled onions, grainy mustard, and zucchini relish

Appetizer

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Brown Butter
The delicate gnocchi was pan fried in brown butter, sprinkled with Parmesan, and topped with deep fried sage leaves

Entree

Braised Beef Short Rib
The short rib was served with apple parsnip puree and whole roasted heirloom carrots

Impossibly Tender and Flavourful

Shot Ribs Broiled and Kept Warm in an Oven
With Chef Crump having staged at Heston Blumenthal's renowned Fat Duck restaurant, the short rib was braised sous vide at 70°C for 24 hours in a gremolata (green herbs and lemon zest). They were broiled in an oven afterward.

Dessert

Sticky Toffee Pudding
The toffee pudding was served in caramel with a "brandysnap" tuile (which tasted of dark sugars and ginger) and creme fraiche.

It was only after the meal attendees followed my lead and took books to be signed, mine already paged through (showing some wear) and me familiar with Earth to Table.

In the proceeding conversations, Chef Crump told us he is sometimes mistaken for Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and the Omnivore's Dilemma. Alas, flattered, he gently responds he is not Pollan and the famed author penned but a short paragraph after he reviewed the original manuscript. However, Chef Crump admits his book's North American publishing (by Random House in Canada), was more than likely the result of Pollan's blessing the manuscript and it being completed during the rise of of the 100-mile diet. When the 100-mile diet is brought up and he is questioned about whether locavorism is a fad, Chef Crump distances both his book and work from either.

More after the jump...

Yesterday evening, Jenn and I sequestered ourselves in a Bridgehead Coffee House. She, to work on her lessons for the coming week. Me, to sort and prioritize the many blog entries in foodiePrints' backlog. With the lunar new year only a week away, I have decided to fast track several Chinese food blogs, including one involving of a traditional multi-course wedding banquet. Many of the dishes are also served during a multi-course Chinese New Year banquet. That said, two coffees, one hot apple cider, and an oatmeal cookie later, we both had made some progress.

As luck would have it, two of our friends (@spoonsie and @isfalk), both members of the Ottawa (Elite) Brunch Club, wandered in. They had just completed a grueling session of yoga and needed to hydrate. We decided to head out to dinner together at the nearby Chilean restaurant, Vina Del Mar (1079 Wellington Street W). There, I discovered how worldly one of our dinner companions is, he quickly identifying authentic Chilean dishes and lamenting that the menu included no regional drinks. We both shared a laugh when a Mexican Mariachi trio wandered by, singing Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World."

When we parted, Jenn whispered to me she wanted dessert, so we stopped into Canvas on the way home. With the dining room fully seated, we took our regular seats along the bar and ordered from the evening's dessert menu. Then, Jenn and I realized how long it has been since we last visited the establishment. The dinner menu had changed. The Ottawa Magazine published a piece, including Canvas' Sunday brunch. And, the Urban Foodie had reviewed the restaurant in a Thursday edition of the Ottawa Metro (a complementary commuter paper). Moreover, Jenn and I had discussed the little bistro with several fellow food bloggers the week before. Everyone remarked at the deep baritone voice of one of Canvas' regular young hosts and sometimes Maitre D.

Greeting Canvas' owner, Charles Beauregard, warmly, I ordered the figs ($7.00). Jenn, the berry crumble ($7.00).

Not two days before, I had wandered by Chef Jason Laurin's Sticky Fingers blog, taking note of his asking his readers how they served their figs. Well, Canvas' kitchen serves them topped with bruleed vanilla sugar, local honey, a small piece of honey comb, and C'est Bon Goat cheese.

Figs served with honey comb, drizzles of honey, and C'est Bon Goat Cheese

Close up, showing the bruleed vanilla sugar
Like Chef Laurin, I consider figs an under appreciated fruit. Even I eat them infrequently. With winter in full swing, I was surprise to find fresh figs on the menu. I found the bruleed vanilla sugar and local honey complemented the fruity sweetness of the figs. Whereas, the sharp goat cheese offered contrast and richness. The goat cheese also went incredibly well with the honey comb. It was a blissful dessert.

What Jenn dubbed a bumble berry crumble balanced classic streusel (a mixture of flour, grains, and sugar) and fruit well. There was enough baked streusel to go with every bite of fruit.

Bumble Berry Crumble
Better still, the streusel was not overly sweet, again complementing and not competing with the baked fruit beneath. Unfortunately, as Shari Goodman wrote in her Urban Foodie review, Canvas is at its best in the summer time when locally source produce is fresh and plentiful. The raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries that both made up the crumble and accompanied it fresh, while sweet, were not vine-ripened sweet. The recipe seemed honed to feature the complex flavours and deep sweetness of fruit that was nurtured on the vine, not picked raw and ripened on a truck traveling from either Argentina or Chile.

Still, both dishes were served well and made for good desserts. Best, Canvas is known for great service. That evening again demonstrated such, everyone was friendly and attentive.

Particulars:
Canvas Resto-Bar
65 Holland Avenue
(613)729-1991

More after the jump...

On January 25, 2010 Ryan Anderson (@ryananderson), web strategist, public relations professional, and founder of Fat Canary Communications, contacted me with a url to an event at Ottawa's Urban Element. Sponsored by the Chicken Farmers of Canada, its guest speaker would be the Ottawa Citizen's (a local newspaper) Food Editor, Ron Eade.

Billed as an "Ottawa Food Blogger Meet-up", I was intrigued, so I signed up. According to its event details, Eade would deliver a keynote about sodium and food writing and there would be a chicken pate cooking demo. All good points.

In the proceeding week, I tweeted the event to local food bloggers on twitter, encouraging everyone to attend. As the date of the event approached, bloggers registered in greater numbers, some I have not come across before. Many I became very excited to finally get the opportunity to meet in person. Others, I had already met and wanted to catch up with. Two of my favourite Ottawa food bloggers confirmed: Rachelle of Rachelle Eats Food and Shari of Whisk Food Blog. Two local chefs who blog confirmed: Chef Tracey Black of Best Tools for Schools: Lunchtime Solutions and Chef Jason Laurin of Sticky Fingers.

To my astonishment, professional writer (sometimes food writer) and legendary parenting blogger, Andrea Tomkins signed up. Hers is the blog many Ottawa bloggers (food or otherwise) measure themselves against, myself included.

Why was this such a big deal? Ottawa's food blogging community, as Anderson and I discussed during the latter part of the event, is large for such a small city. I have enumerated 52 blogs alone. Many of us know of one another. We read each others' work. We comment on each others' blogs. We debate points of contention on the Ottawa Foodies forum. But, we have few get togethers. By contrast, Toronto's foodie community, with its much larger complement of food bloggers, is more organized and has almost weekly get togethers.

As for the event itself, with Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's Chicken Run on the Canadian Food Network and Food Inc. having had its run in theaters, I expected the Chicken Farmers of Canada event to outline the checks and balances employed by the 2800 farmers the organization represents to produce "quality" chicken, humanely and safely. If you visit either the Chicken Farmers of Canada website or blog, you will find the organization has dual mandates, being responsible to farmers and being responsible to consumers. On the one hand, Chicken Farmers of Canada produces policies its industry follows. On the other, the organization lobbies government to ensure the interests of farmers are represented in agricultural policy and trade decisions. The Chicken Farmers of Canada blog's tag-line is to explain how Canadian chicken goes from farm to plate. The event's tag-line was to get "more Canadians back into the kitchen and pass(ing) on healthy cooking skills to the next generation." Attach to that, Eade's intention to talk about salt in food and food writing and we should have had a pair of very passionate talks and some lively discussion.

Instead, we glimpsed at a chicken farmer, whom I wanted to hear much more from. Eade gave an informative talk about food blogging, raising some thoughtful points about the state of food. We watched Urban Element's resident chef, Candace Butler, make a chicken liver pate and fellow bloggers got to meet each other. It made for a somewhat confusing, but very enjoyable experience.

Resident Chef, Candice Butler

Sous Chef, Line Leblanc
Regarding the chicken liver pate, Chefs Butler and Leblanc prepared several batches beforehand for sampling after Eade's keynote.

Three Flavours of Pate
Sherry Chicken Liver Pate with Pic Bois Maple Vinegar, Bourbon and Rosemary Chicken Liver Pate with "a bit of duck", and Brandy Chicken Liver Pate with Hall's apple and Thyme.

When we arrived, trays of appetizers, made by Sous Chef Line Leblanc were served, only two of which included chicken.

Sundried tomato strata with C'est Bon Goat Cheese

Caramelized onion and pear tarts with Bleu Benedictine

Mini chicken pot pies

An individual mini chicken pot pie

In-house pork rillete with Rochon farm zucchini relish

Chicken dumpling with peanut sauce

Cod cake

Pulled pork with smoked tomato jam

Afterward, Anderson called the event to order, explaining the Chicken Farmers of Canada organized the event to essentially build familiarity with people. In our case, people who are passionate and openly write about food in Ottawa. Apparently, their entire web strategy is being revisited from rebuilding the website from scratch to using social media for richer outreach. Then Eade was introduced.

Food Editor Ron Eade

Here are takeaways from Eade's talk on food blogging:

• Time is the most valuable resource in our hectic lives.
• With distractions like the World Wide Web (referred to as the "Internet"), Specialty Channels like the Food Network, Newspapers, and Magazines, blog readership is precious and must be nurtured.
• Those who read our blogs are choosing our content over others.
• While newspapers try to be everything to everyone, blogs are more focused, a medium unlike traditional media.

Here are Eade's suggestions for cultivating a lasting audience:

• Keep your blog fresh by updating it regularly, preferably every second day
• Do not let your blog go silent
• Add a personal spin so your reader can identify with you, the blogger
• Keep your content entertaining
• Don't bury content, making it difficult to access (Eade dislikes "more" or "read more" links)
• Add value such as photos, videos, and links

Here are takeaways from Eade's talk on food, besides the fact that processed foods harbour an unnecessary amount of salt.

• Traditional print media is guilty of "dumbing down" recipes, simplifying them to a very granular state, effectively suppressing any ability to develop culinary skills (something we have taken issue with at foodiePrints)
• With people dependent on granular recipes, they have lost the ability to be flexible in the kitchen.
• We have become a "nation of non-cooks", making it a strange dichotomy that cook books and fancy kitchen equipment sell surprisingly well in a poor economy.
• It maybe a deliberate effort by food producers to disconnect people from food sources, encouraging waste and objectifying animals as cuts of meat

Eade concluded his talk by encouraging food bloggers to espouse how simple it is to make ready-made foods be they frozen or canned from scratch. One suggestion from another blogger is to start dinner parties earlier with guests in the kitchen, participating in finishing dishes.

So, good company from local food bloggers, good hors-d'oeuvres (complementary of the Chicken Farmers of Canada), and food for thought. I think it an evening well spent.

Links to blog entries on the event from fellow food bloggers:

• Rachelle Eats Food blog (always a pleasure Rachelle)
• Unique Culinary Experiences (Urban Element's in-house blog)
• Eaten Up and Humanyms (great to meet you Pearl)
• Eva's Food World (a blogger at the event I must have missed)
• Sheltered Girl Meets World (great to finally meet you Katy and Dima too)
• Lemon Kitchen (great to meet you Tracey)

Update: This entry has been cross posted on Ottawa Tonite.

Particulars:
Urban Element
424 Parkdale Avenue
(613)722-0885

In December, the Hintonburg Supper Club held its monthly dinner event at Pho Van Van (93 Holland Avenue), a neighbourhood Pho noodle house. Interestingly, of the three long tables we occupied in the restaurant's second floor dining room, only three people ordered bowls of pho (beef or chicken), Jenn and I ordering our "usual"'s. She, a medium-sized bowl of pho bo, topped with beef, beef tendon and beef balls ($7.50). Me, a medium-sized bowl of pho bo, topped with beef, beef tendon, tripe, and beef balls ($7.50).

While Pho Van Van is no longer in our top 5 list of Pho noodle houses in Ottawa, it still serves up a decent bowl of pho bo (beef) and, as we hear, pho ga (chicken). That is, along with much more, as other supper club member demonstrated that evening.

Appetizer-wise, Pho Van Van's menu includes pho noodle house staples like Vietnamese salad rolls (Goi Cuon Tom Thit), salad rolls with shrimp or chicken (Goi Cuon Tom Hoac Ga); deep fried squid, shrimp, and chicken wings; and deep fried spring rolls. More exotic is grilled quail ($7.50/pair).

The quail comes quartered on a bed of iceberg lettuce and two sauces (lemon/pepper and a sweet chili). Curious, we first ordered the appetizer in 2007.

Grilled Quail Quarters
Demonstrating consistency, here is grilled quail we ordered this past summer (2009),

Grilled Quail Quarters
The quail tasted marinated, seasoned throughout. The meat was never dry, but it took some finesse to work with the quails' tiny bones. The sauces were great accompaniments.

Noodle-wise, Pho Van Van's menu includes another pho noodle house staple and alternative to pho, Vietnamese vermicelli noodles (Bun). Served dry and topped with a variety of toppings, bun comes with a portion of fish sauce to mix in, moisten, and season the vermicelli noodles. At Pho Van Van we have tried the grilled chicken with spring roll vermicelli ($7.50)

Grilled Chicken Bun with Spring Roll Served

Grilled Chicken Bun with Spring Roll Mixed and Ready to Eat
Please note that if not enough fish sauce is provided, you can ask for more without additional charge. I know of two people who eat bun dry.

Unlike some Pho noodle houses, Pho Van Van also serves up rice platters and chow mein (a more Chinese-style dish). Wanting a change from pho, Jenn ordered the chicken "crispy noodle" with vegetables ($9.95) one evening.

Crispy Noodle with Chicken and Vegetables
The noodles were indeed crispy, but she found the sauce too garlicky and salty. The vegetables were tender, not mushy.

Lately, friends of ours and I have been working through Pho Van Van's complement of milk shakes for dessert. Here is the soursop milk shake ($3.95).

Soursop Milk Shake
It was creamy, but had the texture and flavour of pureed pear. I have been told that the mango and avocado milk shakes are much more enjoyable.

Pho Van Van is a family-run restaurant and we have always had good service there. The waiters are friendly, attentive, and always pleasant to talk to. Regarding bills, as with most Vietnamese pho noodle houses, the waiters will rarely bring the bill to the table as it is custom not to disturb patrons. When you have finished your meal, pay at the cash and till. Your bill will more than likely be awaiting you and so will a bowl of lovely Thai coffee candies as a parting treat.

Here is Pho Van Van's card.

Business Card
Lately, the restaurant put up a more elaborate website that includes more than a link to a .pdf file of its menu.

Aside: To anyone who wonders if Pho Van Van's pho broth is genuinely made from meat and bone, Jenn and I took home some pho we couldn't finish and left it in the fridge overnight.

Gelatinous pho broth
It solidified characteristically of meat and/or bone-based stock/broth, which carries significant gelatin (dissolved from collagen). As per a discussion at a recent pho tweet-up at Pho Bo Ga La (784 Somerset Street West), pho broth solidifying is not itself indicative of significant fat content. Fat will rise to the top of a stock/broth and solidify as a separate layer. This layer is typically completely opaque, white, and brittle.

And, for those interested in pho at Pho Bo Ga La, here are my tweeted first impressions:

Pho at Pho Bo Ga La (#ottawa) is somewhat small in portion, served lukewarm, rather salty, and could do with fresher bean sprouts.

Oh and Pho Bo Ga La (#ottawa)'s pho noodles were overcooked...

You would be better off ordering pho at Pho Van Van.

Particulars:
Pho Van Van
93 Holland Avenue
(613)722-1663