While I like to celebrate in the company of great friends and family, I seem to have established a tradition of treating myself to a lunch of local cheeses and charcuterie for my birthday. It started three years ago with my return visit to Rendez-vous des Saveurs de L'Outaouais (it is called Rendez-vous des Saveurs de Gatineau now). Then, the annual exhibition, to showcase food and wine, fine dining eateries, and culinary schools from the Outaouais region, was held in Gatineau's Maison du Citoyen (City Hall). A colleague had invited me and Jenn to go with him a year before. Like the Ottawa Food and Wine Show, Rendez-vous des Saveurs is ticket based and allows you to sample food and drink from a large number of exhibitors. Even with the event now being held at the Casino du Lac-Leamy and this year becoming the first year that it charged for entrance, Rendez-vous des Saveurs is a great way to partake of a tapas-style meal for a relatively low price. To me, it is an opportunity to try great Quebec cheeses, sausage, pâté (including cretons or rilletes), terrines, and salt or smoke cured game meats and fish, all artesanal and locally made. That year's favourite was lamb cretons, the quality of which, I have yet to taste again.

A year later, my better half decided to treat me to a traditional English Afternoon Tea at Zoe's in the Chateau Laurier (1 Rideau Street), a Fairmont Hotel.

Chateau Laurier

Zoe's Afternoon Tea Menu
Until then, I had only read about the ritual.

Before we dive into the Canadian High Tea Jenn ordered for me, which happens to be Number 74 in the Ottawa Magazine's "101 Tastes to Try Before You Die" List, published September 2009, we must discuss etiquette. English Afternoon Tea is a very sophisticated affair.

Table Setting for English Afternoon Tea

Sugar, Only to be Added to Tea After Milk
There are rules for how to hold a tea cup (when standing, when sitting, and with or without the saucer), how to sip tea, how to "make" a pot of tea, how to pour one's tea, and even how to eat a scone. Unfortunately, I have not found a definitive list. There seems to be no standard, but the following best practices from the "entertaining" section of the Suite101 website suffices.

• It is rude to loop fingers through the handle. To hold a teacup with grace and avoid spillage, place your fingers to the front and back of the handle.
• It is rude to draw large mouthfuls of tea. Tea should be sipped sweetly and with elegance.
• It is rude to stir one's tea in wide circular motions. Tea should only be stirred gently when it is poured, and with a economy of movement.
• It is rude to leave a teaspoon in the tea cup. When not in use, it should be placed on the right side of the saucer.
• It is rude to add milk to your tea after adding sugar.
• It is improper to add lemon juice or cream to tea. Lemon juice may cause the milk to curdle. Cream may mask the taste of the tea.
• It is rude to split a scone vertically. Split it horizontally and top with jam, if desired. If Devonshire cream is served, then it should be dolloped by spoonful on top of the jam.
• It is rude to take large bites of tea sandwiches or pastries. They should be eaten with small and delicate bites.
• It is rude to set cutlery down on the table. Forks should be set on the side of the plate.

Source: suite101.com

With such precise etiquette, why on earth would anyone partake of such of the ritual? Because it's worth it! Besides being sophisticated, British Afternoon Tea is a multi-course meal, made up of many snack-size dishes.

Here is what a "Traditional Afternoon Tea" (then $27) at Zoe's consists of:

• Afternoon Tea Cake
• Fruit Tartelettes
• Cranberry Scones with Devonshire Cream and Strawberry Jam
• "Dainty" Finger Sandwiches
  • English Cucumber and Onion Sprouts
  • Turkey Salad, Mayonnaise and Green Onions
  • Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese
• Choice of Fairmont Tea

Traditional Afternoon Tea

Regarding the Fairmont Tea, a very large tea cart wanders the lounge with a variety of foreign and domestic loose-leaf teas. It is impossibly burdened with everything from cisterns of hot water to extra teapots, tea leaf strainers and event he odd tea bag. When it arrives at a newly seated table, the people operating it graciously explain how English Afternoon Tea works and are very knowledgeable when helping you to choose a tea.

Here is what "Canadian High Tea" (then $37) consists of:

• Port Marinated Peaches with Whipped Cream
• Maple Mouse and Maple Tuile
• Nanaimo Bar
• Cranberry Scones with Devonshire Cream and Strawberry Jam
• Open Face Sandwiches
  • Nova Scotia Lox and Bagel
  • Ontario Goat Cheese Mousseline and Fig Chutney
  • Smoked Quebec Duck Breast with Clementine Marmalade
• Canadian Cheese Board
  • Sir Laurier d'Arthabaska
  • Aged Balderson Cheddar
  • Ontario Borgonzola
• Choice of Fairmont Tea

Canadian High Tea
To accompany my Canadian High Tea, I chose a maple infused black tea.

Maple Tea

More after the jump...

Ever since the September 2009 issue of the Ottawa Magazine published "101 Tastes to Try Before You Die", an edible guide to Ottawa's best dishes, I have been almost driven to enumerate the tastes I have already had, catalog them on foodiePrints, and pursue the ones outstanding.

Case in point, gravy pizza. I have long heard that one of Ottawa's better pizzerias originated the gravy pizza when a slightly intoxicated Montrealer, homesick for poutine, wandered through its doors after a night's indulgence. He perused the menu for fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Finding no fries, he asked for a slice of pizza and a portion of gravy. The pizzeria was House of Georgie's (Sorento's) on 211 Gilmour (at Elgin). The rest is history.

According to the September 2009 issue of the Ottawa Magazine, "fans drive into Ottawa from Toronto and Montreal for the delicacy." Me, I have already had many opportunities to try House of Georgie's pizza, enjoying some great delivery pizza, but I kept forgetting to order the side portion of gravy. Here is my first:

Delivery Menu Cover

Medium 13" Canadian: pepperoni, mushroom & Bacon
It had all the characteristics of a great pizza:

An abundance of real mozzarella, gently crusted during baking.

Expertly worked dough to provide just enough chew.

In-house made tomato sauce with quality toppings.
The tomato sauce tasted as if it were carefully simmered. It was much more than just crushed tomatoes, including spices and herbs. The toppings included some fresh mushrooms, spiced pepperoni, and crumbled bacon.

Cost: $19.20 ($17(medium 13" Canadian), taxes, and including a free 1 L bottle of Coke).

Two weekends ago, I ordered an Extra Large 17" Combination from House of Georgie's to take with me to a pot luck dinner party at a neighbour's. This time, I made sure to include a side of gravy, opting for beef instead of chicken.

Extra Large 17" Combination: Mushrooms, green peppers, and pepperoni

To demonstrate how consistently House of Georgie's makes great pizza, the pictures of the Medium Canadian Pizza were taken a year ago.

Again, an abundance of real mozzarella, gently crusted during baking.

The same expertly worked dough.

This time, though, with gravy:

Completing the experience!

Gravied!

My thoughts: The gravy added a savoury flavour to an already great pizza. It was somewhat odd to my palate with the bright tomato sauce. The gravy was also very floury. The experience, though, was definitely poutine-esque, the crust substituting for fries. And the melted mozzarella, traditional cheddar cheese curds. I can understand how gravy pizza quenched a poutine craving.

Total: $28.60 ($24(extra large 17" combination pizza), $0.75(gravy), taxes, and including a free 1 L bottle of Coke)

Would I order it again? The pizza, definitely. The gravy pizza, only after a couple hours' skating on the Rideau Canal during Winterlude. It rivals Dunn's smoked meat poutine and beaver tails as signature winter foods in Ottawa.

Particulars:
House of Georgie
211 Gilmour Street
(613)283-3333

More after the jump...

It is Monday, the day after the North American music industry's gala awards ceremony, the Grammy's, aired on television. Just as the Grammy's have suffered a successive losses of viewership, I have had to take pause to ask a question. I am currently staring at two lists of culinary awards issued to restaurants in the National Capital Region: awards from the 16 annual gala (2009) for the Ottawa Restaurant Hotel Motel Association (ORHMA) and Ottawa's "Epicurean Awards." Both lists include many of the "usual suspect" restaurants. Both lists are long, leading me to wonder, "Are there more awards than there are restaurants in Ottawa?"

From the ORHMA Gala,

• "Bill Joe Restaurateur of the Year" went to Ion Aimers, founder and owner of the chain of The Works Gourmet Burger Bistros
• "MAC Knife Chef of the Year" (Top Chef) went to executive chef Matt Carmichael of Restaurant E18hteen and Social
• "CHEZ 106 Ottawa?s Favourite Restaurant" went to three locations of the Keg
• "Lifetime Achievement" went to Ottawa Citizen Food columnist Gay Cook
• "Ottawa Citizen Service Person of the Year" went to Nawal Roukos of the Newport Restaurant

A giant whisk was awarded to the host, Westin Hotel's, chef, Nelson Borges, whose cinnamon seared Mariposa Farms duck was voted best dish of the event.

Last year's winner of the "Bill Joe Restaurateur of the Year" was Dot Janz of Black Dog Bistro. Top Chef went to Derek Benitz of Benitz Bistro. "Lifetime Achievement" went to chef Kurt Waldel of the National Arts Centre.

Regarding Aimers, according to the Ottawa Citizen, he graciously accepted his award, remarking how lucky he was to be able to attend the event. Last April, he suffered a massive heart attack, spending 5 days in a coma. He celebrated his award with 20 managers and employees he brought with him as his guests at $125/seat.

Proceeds from the gala go to the Algonquin College student bursary fund. On a related note, Chef Carmichael was also celebrated at the gala for working with students enrolled in the Algonquin College Culinary Program.

From the The Epicurean Awards,

• "Linda Thom and Robert Bourassa Café Henry Burger Trophy" (Chef of the Year) went to Serge Rourre from Le Baccara
• "Three Stars Epicurean" Awards went to 3 restaurants: Le Baccara, Beckta Dining & Wine, Restaurant E18hteen, and Perspectives Restaurant
• "Two Stars Epicurean" Awards went to 20 restaurants: Absinthe, A'Roma Meze, Bella's Bistro, Benitz Bistro, Canvas, Chez Eric, Coconut Lagoon, El Meson, Juniper Kitchen and Wine Bar, Murray Street, Napo, Navarra, New Dubrovnik, La Roma, Restaurant Les Fougeres, Trattoria Caffé Italia, Urban Pear, Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro, Wellington Gastropub, Whalesbone Oyster House
• "One Star Epicurean" Awards went to 4 restaurants: Castlegarth Resaurant, Petit Bill's Bistro, Poco Pazzo, Sweet Grass Aboriginal Bistro
• "Best Wine Experience" Award went to Le Baccara's Sommelier Danielle Dupont

Conspicuously absent this year were last year's awards for "Regional/Specialty/Ethnic" and "Best Service." The list from last year was equally as long.

Award winners were chosen by public survey. Entries were submitted between July 25, 2008 and October 15, 2008. Results were announced during this year's Ottawa Wine and Food Show.

While the Epicurean Awards seem to give awards to any restaurant with three submitted entries, the ORHMA are issued by industry peers. Honestly, why would anyone bother to spend 10-30 minutes filling in an Epicurean Award survey entry if the requisite restaurant didn't earn at least a 70% in your books. You would be spending more time rating the restaurant than you did partaking of the meal. Conversely, judging from the proceedings reported by food columnist, Ron Eade, on the Ottawa Citizen's Omnivore Blog, the ORHMA seems to be a must-attend event of the year for Ottawa's culinary industry.

As someone who has limited funds to dine out, I will take the ORHMA results into consideration along with the Ottawa Magazine's Christ Knight's best and brightest when choosing my next fine dining destination.

Speaking of which, here are Ottawa's "Top Picks" according to the Ottawa Magazine for 2008:

Christ Knight's Top 10 for 2008

1. Beckta Dining and Wine (Chef/Owner: Michael Moffatt/Stephen Beckta): 226 Nepean Street - (613)238-7063
2. Domus Café (Chef: John Taylor): 87 Murray Street - (613)241-6007
3. Le Baccara: 1, boulevard du Casino - (819)772-6210
4. Restaurant E18teen (Chef: Matt Carmichael, protegé of Susur Lee): 18 York Street - (613)244-1188
5. The Wellington Gastropub (Chef/Owner: Chris Deraiche): 1325 Wellington Street - (613)729-1315
6. Benit Bistro (Chef/Owner: Derek Benitz): 327 Somerset Street West - (613)567-8100
7. Allium (Chef/Owner: Arup Jana): 87 Holland Avenue - (613)792-1313
8. The Urban Pear(Chef/Owner: Ben Baird): 151 Second Ave., Unit C - (613)569-9305
9. Les Fougerès(Chef/Owner: Charles Part): 782, route 105, Chelsea - (819)827-8942
10. Signatures by Le Cordon Bleu: 453 Laurier Avenue East - (613)236-2460

Two weekends ago, friends came over to my place after dinner to chat and enjoy dessert. Jenn disappeared into the kitchen to make a Japanese sponge cake, called a kastella. I entertained.

While several of my guests argued the finer points of application development on mac vs. Linux platforms, another guest, a fellow foodie and dear friend from my university days, picked up my November 2007 issue of the Ottawa Magazine. Like me, she immediately turned to this year's list of top 10 "Best Restaurants" according to guest columnist, respected critic, and cooking television producer, Chris Knight. That's right folks, Knight's top 10 for 2007 is out!

For people new to the Ottawa Magazine, each year, around November-ish, Knight releases a top 10 list for restaurants in the national capital region. It is his determination of the best and brightest in the local restaurant scene. The criteria for Knight's top 10 list follows:

1. The restaurant needs to be a fine dining establishment.
2. The restaurant needs to be on the tip of your tongue when your current boss, former mentor, hero, and father in law says he's coming to Ottawa and wants you to recommend a place to go with the "missus" for their 40th wedding anniversary.

If you don't believe me, I'll happily show you the page in the November 2006 issue of the Ottawa magazine, where Knight actually states this.

Along with his annual top 10 list, Knight also includes a short list of restaurants that just nearly missed edging someone out and joining the list themselves. These restaurants will most likely be contenders for next year's list.

And without further ado, here are Ottawa's Best Restaurants for 2007:

1. Beckta Dining and Wine: 226 Nepean Street - (613)238-7063
2. Le Baccara: 1, boulevard du Casino - (819)772-6210
3. Domus Café: 87 Murray Street - (613)241-6007
4. Restaurant E18teen (new head chef since 2006: Matthew Carmichael, protegé of Susur Lee): 18 York Street - (613)244-1188
5. The Wellington Gastropub (chef/owner: Chris Deraiche, former head chef of E18teen): 1325 Wellington Street - (613)729-1315
6. Ambiente: 101-18 Beechwood avenue - (613)744-6509
7. Juniper Kitchen and Wine Bar (changed location since 2006): 245 Richmond Road - (613)728-0220
8. Social Restaurant + Lounge: 537 Sussex Drive - (613)789-7355
9. Perspectives: Brookstreet, 525 Legget Drive - (613)271-18000
10. Les Fougerès: 782, route 105, Chelsea - (819)827-8942

Here are Knight's 6 Restaurants "to watch":

1. Absinthe Café Resto Bar (new location since 2006): 1208 Wellington Street - (613)761-1138
2. Canvas Resto Bar (at the former location of Absinthe): 65 Holland Avenue - (613)729-1991
3. Allium (my personal favourite restaurant): 87 Holland Avenue - (613)792-1313
4. Benitz Bistro: 327 Somerset Street West - (613)567-8100
5. Luxe Bistro (formerly 47 York Restaurant, new name, new ownership, new head chef: René Rodriguez): 47 York Street - (613)241-8805
6. The Whalesbone Oyster House (new head chef: Steve Wall): 430 Bank Street - (613)231-8569

As I told my friend, the November issue of the Ottawa magazine is to foodies what the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit issue is to sport fans. Both are issued once annually. Both are eagerly awaited.

For me, my meager restaurant budget only permits me to visit a precious few fine dining establishments during a given year. Chris Knight's top 10 list and his write-ups on each incumbent restaurant provide much needed reconnaissance, information that will let me spend my money more wisely.

Regarding this year's choices, Knight has confirmed the existence of Ottawa's Epicurean Row. Two of his top 10 and three of his 6 "to watch" are located in the Wellington Village, almost within walking distance of each other.

To Arup Jana, chef/owner of Allium, congratulations. I'll be by your restaurant soon to get my copy of the magazine signed!

Oh, if you're interested in Knight's top 10 pics for last year, they follow:

More after the jump...

For those of you in the know, the Ottawa magazine is semi-dedicated to providing good insight into the culinary landscape of the National Capital Region. This includes Ottawa and parts of Gatineau. It reports on the newest happenings, restaurant openings, restaurant closings, and any other events that could tickle the curiosity of a resident foodie. It also prints some very good reviews by some very knowledgeable people.

Every so often, the Ottawa Magazine produces an issue that lists the best restaurants to dine in in the region, best upcoming restaurants, and restaurants with the best wine lists. This year, it was the November 2006 issue that contained these lists. Such is why the pictured copy is slightly worn. Budget depending, I plan on hitting everyone of the highlights before the next issue is published.

BTW, as I discovered recently, the Ottawa magazine is quite different from the Ottawa Life magazine. I do not believe they are at all affiliated. Like Frank's Energy Drink that's featured on the cover of the issue that I had the misfortune of appropriating, the Ottawa Life magazine has little culinary value. Actually, I highly doubt that Frank's Energy drink has much nutritional value either.