WestFest is a celebration of the Westboro Village and a fantastic opportunity to celebrate local and Canadian music, literature, and art. Now in its seventh year, this three day celebration continues to expand with local businesses eager to showcase what they do best and big Canadian acts realizing the immense popularity and uniqueness of WestFest. Regardless of the weather, an estimated 200,000 people are expected this weekend.

Beginning the evening of June 11th, the party doesn't stop until late Sunday night. You can check out the entertainment for the weekend, including the big music headliners, street performers, and vendors at the WestFest website.

Last year was the first year Don and I volunteered for this popular event. We had attended in previous years, but it was not until we became volunteers ourselves we truly understood the amount of work and planning behind the festival. The majority of of volunteers in the core group (the "crew") have full-time jobs, yet are willing to donate time to WestFest simply because they love and are proud of their neighbourhood. Kudos to them for all the hard work they put in!

After a great volunteer experience last year, we were eager to to sign up again. As a result, last night, Don and I did our first 6 hour shift with 12 more hours to go today. Originally, we had been slotted to sell bar tickets and bus tables. However, Beau's Beer (a major sponsor for this year's event) decided to bring in its own staff to serve alcohol. As such, Don and I have been re-assigned to other duties.

Despite the mix-up, we were busy, but still found time to walk up and down a partially blocked off Richmond Road. During our break, we managed to partake in some of the fun and delicious foods of WestFest. Please note Friday night was only a sample of what this great festival has to offer. The real fun starts on Saturday and Sunday when much of Richmond Road is blocked off (from Kirkwood to Broadview). There, you will find street performers, local shops and restaurants extending their businesses into the street, and family-friendly activities.



Don and I will be out and about all day today. Hope to see you there!

As a head's up food-wise, Westboro's The Piggy Market (400 Thurston) will be making Jamaican patties every half hour to serve at WestFest. They will also be sending out trays of charcuiterie to the street. Hintonburg's Essence Catering has an adorable site between Roosevelt and Golden. They are serving the most amazing smoked Pork Po' Boy, easily the best sandwich at WestFest.

I'll be checking out Sloan tonight!

This past weekend, I discovered April was Grilled Cheese month according to a re-printed piece by Rita Demontis in the Toronto Star "Great Grills of Glory: Comfort can be Found in melted Cheese Sandwiches." Not one to let a sandwich occasion pass uncelebrated, I decided to attempt a bacon sarnie, grilled cheese style.

Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients
Clockwise from left: Rye Bread, Country-Style Boar Bacon from the Piggy Market, Kate's (Grainy-Style) Mustard from the Piggy market, St. Albert's Old Cheddar. Not pictured, butter.

As with other country-style bacon from Piggy Market, the boar bacon was brined, rinsed, and hot smoked, so it was already cooked. We just placed the rashers on a grill at medium flame to re-heat, crisp up, and sear along the edges.

Bacon, Reheating on the Grill
When you do grill bacon, be cautious, the fat renders quickly and can cause flame-ups.

I then piled three rashers onto one piece of bread, already lightly spread with mustard and layered with shredded cheddar.

Assembling Sandwich to Grill

Ready to Grill
Both the grill-facing sides of the bread were lightly spread with butter.

The left-over bacon umm..."disappeared"

Extra Baconny Goodness
And why not? The good people at the Piggy Market make their bacon, moderately salty. This permitted the stronger porky flavour of the boar to shine.

Without further ado (a very antiquated way introduction), here is a grilled "grilled cheese" sandwich with bacon...

Done
I served mine with grilled pineapples, a sweet and slightly caramel counterpoint to all the savouriness.

Served
Had I some caramelized onions on-hand to put in the sandwich, I would have gone with a peppery green salad as a side.

Aside: If you are interested in an aged cheddar melt that is slightly more civilized, head over to Marysol's blog, She eats Bears. She posted what may be the best way to start a work week I have ever seen!

According to the post's time-stamp, Marysol had the raisin bread, apple, and cheddar melt sandwiches made, panini-press grilled, and photographed and the accompanying post, written by 6:00 AM. Much respect...I'm not functional at 6:00 AM!

Particulars:
The Piggy Market
400 Winston Avenue
(613)371-6124

Last week, I attended a Prince Edward Country (PEC) wine and cheese fundraiser for Third Wall Theater Company's 10th Anniversary season. The event, dubbed "Go Local-Go Loco", was held at the Wallspace Gallery (358 Richmond Road). Its caterer, The Piggy Market (400 Winston Avenue).

Go Local Go Loco with Third Wall
Me, I was on assignment for Cheryl Gain's OttawaTonite.com when I attended the event and was delighted to have the opportunity to showcase The Piggy Market's food.

Chef/owner Dave Neil provided Prince Edward County raw and pasteurized goat, sheep, and cow's milk cheeses; locally-produced smoked meat; locally-reared heritage pork rib rillette; in-house marinated mushrooms; in-house pickled red and golden beets; and in-house baked mini-Jamaican patties.

At the end of the event, Chef Neil looked visibly relieved. He then informed me, The Piggy Market celebrated its first birthday. Indeed, it was a year ago, April 10th, when Jenn and I took our first Good Friday food tour down Wellington Street West and Richmond Road. We stopped into The Piggy Market, then newly opened. Chefs Neil, Warren Sutherland (Sweet Grass Aboriginal Bistro), and Pascale Berthiaume were just profiled in the Ottawa Citizen (a local newspaper).

A year later, The Piggy Market's storefront is ostensibly the same. Pascale is still making her now celebrated ice cream.

Pascale's Ice Cream Makers
It earned the 2nd spot on Ottawa Magazine's 101 Tastes to Try Before You Die list in its September 2009 edition. She is fast becoming a household name in the city.

Pascale's Image
Her image, now synonymous with rich and natural ice cream.

The Piggy Market still stocks many locally-produced products from preserves to juices, vinegars, and pickles.

Preserves and Pickles

Juices and Vinegar

And, loyal customers keep furnishing the foodie shop with pig-related memorabilia. In fact, every pig in the store is a gift. That is with the exception of the pig paintings at the front of the shop.

Flying Pig Paintings
These painted works are being displayed by The Piggy Market. They are for sale. The price tag: $300/painting.

More after the jump...

On Good Friday, Jenn and I did our annual tour up and down Wellington Street West and Richmond Road to see which eatery or fine food store was open for last minute Easter shoppers. As with last year, Truffle Treasures at 314 Richmond Road was open.

Since we were invited to a dinner party that evening and our host is a chocoholic, we decided to stop by and pick up some of Truffle Treasures' "giant" hand-made peanut butter cups for him. The peanut butter cups garnered the 57th spot in the Ottawa Magazine's 101 Tastes to Try Before You Die in its September 2009 issue.

Alas, there were none. Instead, the purveyor of Belgian truffles, fashioned peanut butter eggs ($3.95) with the same chocolate and peanut butter filling. They also made caramel-filled and Nutella-filled chocolate eggs, so we bought one of each.

Truffle Treasures Easter Chocolate Eggs
For our hosts' better half, we picked up hand-made Turkish delight ($5.00).

Total cost: $19.04

Particulars:
Truffle Treasures
314 Richmond Road
(613)761-3859

What can I say? I am rather fond of The Piggy Market (400 Winston Avenue, just off of Richmond Road) in Westboro. Jenn and I visit the high-end foodie-shop often. Yes, there are closer by storefronts in the Wellington West neighbourhood that sell some comparable goods. Saslove's (1333 Wellington Street) sells freshly made sausages. The Ottawa Bagel Shop (1321 Wellington Street) sells Art is In Bread and raw milk cheeses. Il Negozio Nicastro (1355 Wellington Street) sells in-house made terrines, patés, and duck confit. Thyme & Again (1255 Wellington Street) sells Pascale's now legendary ice cream (for a dollar more). However, we've not developed the same relationship with these shops as we have with the owners and staff of The Piggy Market. Dave, Pascale, and Kate are wonderfully warm people, fun to chat with, and always generous with serving suggestions.

Though, even with The Piggy Market's storefront just a neighbourhood away, we always spend some time at its stall at Lansdowne Farmers' market. Why? Sometimes pricey, The Piggy Market sells nothing short of local foodie goodness.

Every week, Dave and Kate whip up special dishes with ingredients from The Piggy Market's local suppliers to supplement their regular line of products. The specials vary seasonally, so check back to the "Specials" section on its newly re-designed website often. Most weeks however, you will find classic charcuterie in the refrigerated glass display case.

Spring
Earlier this past spring, we picked up some chicken liver paté and pork terrine.

Chicken Liver Pate and Pork Terrine
The paté is milder in flavour than anything you will find at the supermarket and more refined in texture. The terrine, baked wrapped in bacon rashers, is often sold to customers as "meat loaf."

We also found goat milk feta that afternoon nestled amongst the cartons of locally-raised free-range Bekings eggs in the opposite case, beside the cash and till.

Goat Feta
More dense than traditional cow's milk feta, stronger tasting, and sharper, I like pairing slices of it with slices of terrine.


Paired Goat Feta with a Slice of Pork Terrine
Served on Jewish whole-grain rye crisp bread (unleavened bread, sold in the same aisle in the supermarket as Melba toast) and paired with a tossed salad, you've a lovely lunch or a hearty mid-afternoon snack. The brand I usually buy is Ryvita.

Incidentally, the paté and sliced terrine go equally well with the grainy crisp bread by themselves.

Pate on Rye Crisp Bread

Terrine on Rye Crisp Bread
Picking up several inches of each, some local cheese, and a grainy mustard makes a great appetizer plate for your next dinner party.

That spring also saw us take The Piggy Market rotisserie chicken to family potlucks and a picnic.

The Piggy Market Rotisserie Chicken

Honey Mustard Rotisserie Chicken at a Family Potluck
Unbelievably juicy and flavourful, it always disappears at potlucks faster than I can take a picture.

Summer
The Piggy Market is revered for Dave's in-house-made sausages, using locally-reared heritage pork. Dave even teaches sausage-making at the Urban Element (424 Parkdale Avenue). Me, I purchased his sausages for the grill.

Piggy Market Chorizo

Piggy Market Hot Italian

In the summer time, The Piggy Market also sells produce on select weekdays. We found them selling freshly picked Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan) one Monday.

Gai Lan from Jambican Studio Gardens

Gai Lan
Fresh from field to plate, we thought the gai lan picked too old. Chinese cuisine prizes gai lan for its stems as much as its leaves. As such, it needs to be picked young. What we purchased, while fresh, was very fibrous and tough.

Fall
For an autumnal treat, carefully layer sliced game terrine (this one pheasant and wild boar), sliced ripe Niagara peaches, and some of The Piggy Market's goat feta onto toasted rye bread.

Bread overlayed with sliced terrine, feta, and peaches

Neighbourhood Sandwich

Served
Like we did for Food Day Canada, this sandwich is sourced from within the neighbourhood, making it a neighbourhood sandwich. The peaches were sourced from the Parkdale Market. The terrine, Il Negozio Nicastro and the bread, the Ottawa Bagel Shop. Though, the rye bread was actually baked at the Rideau Bakery downtown. The fruity sweetness of the peaches provides a great counter point to the savory terrine and sharp feta. It was delicious.

This fall, Dave started baking Jamaican Patties. They made great edible carry-ons when I flew to North Vancouver in August.

Jamaican Patties
More on these wondrous savoury pastries will appear in another post, entitled "Snacks on a Plane."

Winter
Most recently, Jenn picked up some "head cheese" (aka: brawn) for me, essentially meat jelly that is served either cold or room-temperature. Traditional European head cheese is made with long simmered bits of meat, skin, cartilage, and tongue, each picked from the head of a pig. It is not cheese per se, but a jellied product, set using gelatin rendered from simmering the head, sometimes with added trotters.

Dave's Head Cheese
Dave's head cheese includes bits of pickled cucumber, which I feel it can do without. According to wikipedia.net, this addition make Dave's Head Cheese more German in tradition. I served it chilled and sliced with whole grain crackers.

Over the past year, Jenn and I have purchased many cartons of Pascale's Ice Cream. Dave's in-house hot smoked duck breast has graced our dinner table. The Piggy Market's locally sourced Pinge prosciutto was served as an appetizer for Christmas dinner. Its stock of vinegars, most recently a Maple Vinegar from Cabane du Pic Bois, made excellent gifts.

Good luck on the coming year Dave, Pascale and Kate. We'll be in to check on you soon.

Particulars:
The Piggy Market
400 Winston Avenue
(613)371-6124