This morning Rebecca (@bitofmomsense) of the "A Little Bit of Momsense" blog posted an entry with a rather significant blast from my past, asking about everyday vices. Hers, Pepsi (sometimes Coke), chocolate, coffee and fast food. The blast, a vintage video from Canadian band, Men without Hats. After commenting two of my past vices, I realized I forgot one from my childhood, McDonald's.

Having grown up in North America during the height of the MTV age, McDonald's was unavoidable. Eating there was an occasional treat, but I developed a taste for its golden fries. In fact, I think that McDonald's defined the single fried shoe string-style fry for a generation. So, while this foodie appreciates Belgian-style fries, he sometimes has McDonald's on his mind.

Having McDonald's on the mind may be the intention behind the rather creative "thought bubble" advertising, gracing the walls of subways. One photo of the advertising at work has been dugg heavily on digg.com.

Think Good Thoughts
Source: EpicWinFTW Website

Here is another.

Think Good Thoughts
Source: lorenzodom's Flickr stream

Unfortunately, the McDonald's dishes we have on our minds tend to be the product of marketing. Here's another installment of "As Advertised" vs. Reality:

Crispy Chicken:

Crispy Chicken as Advertised
Source: McDonald's of Jackson Michigan Menu


Crispy Chicken Box

Crispy Chicken in Reality

Big Mac:

Big Mac as Advertised
Source: McDonald's of Jackson Michigan Menu


Big Mac in Reality

Angus Burger:

Angus Burger as Advertised

Interesting Sticker

Angus Burger Box

Angus Burger in Reality

Big Mac Snack Wrap:

Big Mac Snack wrap as Advertised
Source: Health Kicker Website


Big Mac Snack Wrap Wrapped

Big Mac Snack Wrap in Reality

Big Mac Snack Wrap Opened

Promotional Buffalo Chicken Snack Wrap:

Buffalo Fried Chicken Snack Wrap as Advertised
Source: Orange County Register Website


Buffalo Fried Chicken Snack Wrap Wrapped

Buffalo Fried Chicken Snack Wrap In Reality

Buffalo Fried Chicken Snack Wrap Opened

The various photos come from foodiePrints' archives. We go to McDonald's somewhat rarely given the sheer number of locally-owned eat-in restaurants we have come across over the years. As for what we think of its various sandwiches, they are somewhat uninspired but nothing unexpected given McDonald's menu. To paraphrase an older entry, McDonald's food suffers form achieving economies scale. Its menu is a fixed one with limited options, prepared with assembly line efficiency. Having streamlined food preparation to ensure lowest cost no matter what ingredients are seasonal, this is the food McDonald's serves.

That said, I think McDonald's food stylists and photographers are very talented, transforming the reality of McDonald's menu into what we end up being marketed.

To many Hintonburg residents, their neighbourhood, that is bordered by Centretown's Chinatown and the West Wellington Village, is under siege from forces bent on its gentrification. The culprits: commercial developers and, to some extent, Ottawa's municipal government. Both are seen as overly eager to remake Hintonburg in Westboro's image. Already, there are no less than four large scale construction projects putting up buildings in the West Wellington Village, either multi-story condo buildings or "pigeon-hole"-style townhouses. There are rumours, developers are eyeing Hintonburg next, some homeowners even reporting agents questioning them about their intentions to sell their properties.

Ottawa's Epicurean Row, a stretch of Wellington Street West, that is shared by both Hintonburg and the West Wellington Village, is renowned for having an extremely high density of locally-owned eateries and fine food stores. It now hosts a Booster Juice (1277 Wellington Street W.) and Tea Shop 168 (1356 Wellington Street W.), both franchises of arguably large chain businesses, here defined as non-locally owned and having many storefronts or locations in other cities.
v
Recently, the Ottawa Citizen (a local newspaper) even intimated the close of Melrose Groceteria/Helen's Cuisine another casualty of gentrification, the building soon to be renovated to house an upscale pizzeria. To Robert Bostelaar, writer and journalist for the Ottawa Citizen, neither Helen nor Buddy Saikely were forced out of their business. After 40 years serving a grateful community and at least two generations of loyal patrons, they deservedly retired. Theirs was an eatery and convenience store that reflected a closely-knit community where residents know their neighbours and get together for street parties.

Hintonburg, however, has another eatery that reflects the neighbourhood, the Wellington Sandwich Shop.

Storefront

Counter
This eatery is somewhere, known mostly to locals, inconspicuous and often passed by by people driving through Hintonburg. Inside, a wonderful woman named Filomina operates a place where people get together to eat, enjoy each other's company, and catch up on the local gossip. Patrons partake of food more familiar with times gone by.

Filomina cooks entirely from what we at foodiePrints calls first principles. A chicken sandwich or wrap starts with a marinated chicken breast, entirely raw, being thrown onto a gas-fired grill. A burger starts with measuring out ground meat, seasoning it, shaping it into a patty, and throwing it onto a gas-fired grill. Sandwich toppings are prepared to order to ensure freshness. For example, tomatoes are sliced as orders are taken. Soup, salads, and bakery are made daily. The soups are also seasonal and change from day to day.

Daily Soup and Specials
During the last two weeks she made yellow split pea and cream of broccoli, both made from scratch, both disappearing quickly during lunch.

If you are at all regular, Filomina will not only learn your name, but will remember how you like your orders. This includes young children.

What does somewhere that knows your name look like?

It has handwritten chalkboard displays

Its seats are warm and inviting

Its walls are softly coloured and decorated with unique decorations

It offers artisanal products, like homemade soap

What does it serve? Really good homemade food! To date, Jenn and I have only ordered hot sandwiches from the grill.

Hot Sandwiches
On a previous outing, we ordered the BLT and veggie burger, the latter a recommendation from Melissa Dimock of Refashionista (@refashionista).

This time, we followed another recommendation of Carol Paschal, the organizer of the Hintonburg Supper Club, and had the hamburgers. She, the "Homemade Hamburger" ($4.95) with 100% lean ground beef.

Homemade Hamburger
Me, the "Wellington Burger" ($5.95) with cheese, bacon, and fried onions.

Wellington Burger

My thoughts, my hamburger patty was incredibly fresh tasting and wonderfully crusted. Its toppings, exceeded expectations: fresh and crisp veg, browned and singed fried onions, melted cheese, and flat top grilled bacon. The kaiser rolls are also grilled crisp.

Slightly Dry Pattie
Unfortunately, with the patty made from lean ground beef, grilling it well-done results a somewhat dry texture. It is the only issue with what is otherwise a great homemade burger.

To finish, we had butter tarts, highly sought after commodities at the Wellington Sandwich Shop.

Butter Tarts
Dense, buttery, and sweet with a thicker pastry, these are the best butter tarts in town.

If you are in the area, drop by for breakfast or lunch. However, be warned. Filomina opens early and closes at 3:00 pm, Mondays to Saturdays. She only recently started taking Interac and prefers cash.

The next time we head over to the Wellington Sandwich Shop, we plan on ordering the turkey sandwich and asking why turkey's aren't allowed...

No Turkeys Allowed

Particulars:
The Wellington Sandwich Shop
1123 Wellington Street W.
(613)722-5946

In Ottawa, when you ask locals where to get a decent burger, you will likely be directed to one of two old favourites or a newcomer: The Works, Chez Lucien or Famous Frenchy's respectively.

The relative newcomer, Famous Frenchy's opened its doors several months ago and Ottawa Citizen's food editor Ron Eade pounced on it pretty quickly.

Ron Eade's Heart Attack Grill
In his writeup, he referred to Famous Frenchy's by the name of an American burger chain whose restaurants earned some notoriety for serving "excess", the Heart Attack Grill (HAG). The Heart Attack Grill's owner and operator, Jon Basso, would later call Eade on infringement on his trademark from Twitter.

@doublebypass (Jul 25, 11:38 AM)
@RonEade You are publishing trademarks which are registered in US and Canada. Contact me immediately jon@heartattackgrill.com Jon Basso

@DoubleBypass Doctor Jon (Jul 25, 12:04 PM)
Up at 7am to the charming news that yet another ... media concern is violating my trademarks, oh well back to court, it's getting old.

Clearly, foodiePrints' a "Palin" blog entry on the chain was mistaken when my then research turned up that the Heart Attack Grill had closed its doors.

Regarding Famous Frenchy's, friends of mine have visited it, telling me that the burgers are quite good, but you would best bring a defibrillator with you. They also tell me it is a great place to take a "guy" to on his birthday.

We at foodiePrints have visited Chez Lucien several times before, finding both the burgers and service are best at the beginning of evening service, just before the night time rush. Though, I have to admit there is no other eatery in the city with the same ambiance. It is a popular destination.

Regarding the Works, there is a chain of restaurants in Ottawa. My better half, her sister, and I thoroughly enjoyed our first off-the-menu burger experience at the Works' Bank Street location in the Glebe. We also enjoy Westfest burgers from the Works' Richmond Road Location in Westboro during the annual summer festival.

However, I later discovered that the various Works locations are independently run and do not all offer the same quality of food or service. Admittedly, it is difficult to replicate the qualities that gave the Works its reputation in all its location, but each should come close.

Such wasn't the case when I went to the Works' Manor Park location on the Friday evening before the Victoria Day weekend with friends. This would be their first visit and I advised them to try another location before dismissing chain entirely.

Firstly, the service was atrocious. While we understood that a 4 person table at the busy location was difficult to come by, sticking us outside in the makeshift terrace (2 tables on the sidewalk) during dusk in the summer-time only ensured that we got close encounters of the mosquito kind. Then, promising us an inside table when space permits, literally forgetting us outside, and then telling us that we have to be re-queued with other arriving parties just adds insult to injury. Had you no space, tell us so and we would have gone elsewhere.

Secondly, the food we were served had my friends questioning why I spoke so highly of the chain. Our plates of sweet potato fries were served mostly cold, lukewarm at best.

Soggy Sweet Potato Fries

The tower of greasy onion rings did not please the crowd.

Greasy Onion Rings

My friend's "Hail Mary" ($12.94) burger sported an over cooked beef pattie and an egg that was taller than it was wide. I actually had to stop and think about how the cook managed to produce a pimple of a fried egg. Inside, the yolk looked almost chalky.

Overcooked Fried Egg

My "Peppercorn Broiler" ($12.52) burger's pattie had a nice layer of charcoal on top of what resembled an already good sear. It had me wonder if it had been pre-cooked and then re-seared. Needless to say, it too was overcooked, its internal heat literally liquefying the lettuce in my burger.

My Burger

Lifeless Pattie

The buns also came cold. Every other time I have eaten burgers from the Works, the buns came toasted.

Cold Bun

Total: $32.16 (after taxes, before tip, and including an Iced Tea ($2.99))

In future, I'm sticking to what I feel should be the Works' flagship location, the Glebe establishment. There, my guests and I are treated well, and our burgers demonstrate how the Works earned its reputation.

Particulars:
The Works
363 St-Laurent Boulevard
(613)748-0406

More after the jump...

An avid Ottawa foodie, I am always on the look-out for special hidden-away establishments only locals know about. I am also a fan of "hole-in-the-wall"-type restaurants where chefs or cooks are "just in it" for the food. I am a believer that a good eatery should have substance. Flashy signage, expensive furniture, crystal stemware, floor to wall displays of vintage wines, and leather-bound menus do not always make a good restaurant in my books. I wanted to believe I found such an establishment in Chez Lucien, which is located at 137 Murray Street on the "other side" of the Dalhousie Street in the Byward Market.

You see, Dalhousie marks the demarcation along Murry between a string of high-end restaurants (Murray Street, Navarra, and the Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro), the French Bakery and Benny's Bistro, and the beginning of a somewhat residential area. Nestled amongst the town houses and bungalows is an unsuspecting wood-encased alcove with a small sign, quietly marking the bar and grill that is reputedly one of Ottawa's best places to kick back with a micro-brew.

Chez Lucien's Front Door

I originally found Chez Lucien while navigating the Flickr stream belonging to one of the members (handle: LexnGer) of Cheap Eats Ottawa, the organization that publishes a book, listing frugal eats in our fair city. When I saw the following burger and fries, I called up friends to meet there that night.

Cheap Eats' Chez Lucien Burger
Pictured is the signature Chez Lucien Burger, which is topped with crisped bacon, cream cheese, and sauteed mushrooms. I was a sucker for the perfectly charred patty and pile of golden shoe string fries.

Then...
That Friday night (9:00 pm-ish), over a year ago now (April 18, 2008), an old university friend named Kris, his then girlfriend (now wife), my better half, and I arrived to find a packed and bustling 3 floor pub. Asking if we needed to be seated, a very harried male waiter pointed to the lowest level, basement floor, where several booths were located adjacent to the kitchen. Wanting a peek at the heart of the eatery, I happily descended with everyone in tow.

View from our booth

Twenty minutes later (yes 20!), we managed to convince a waitress we were a new table. Twenty minutes after that, she returned with menus and drinks. We ordered and waited another twenty minutes for our food. From entry to exit, our stay was easily an hour and a half.

Chez Lucien is a rather handsome establishment with lots of wood wall finishings, a brass detailed bar, hardwood floors, and well-worn wood stained furniture. There is even a jukebox facing the bar, filled with CD's.

Handsome Bar
The alcove itself houses 4-6 tables and is very bright during the day, owing to the large windows in the wall facing the street. The main floor has the bar. The upper floor is a loft with rows of tables.

According to its Ottawa Xpress's 2004 review, the kitchen serves some upper end pub food. By any other definition, this makes it a gastro-pub. Four years later, the menu seemed identical with the restaurant still specialized in "gourmet burgers."

Menu

Each of us ordered burgers: 3 Chez Lucien Burgers and a "Frida and Diego."

Chez Lucien Burger Platter
The Frida and Diego ($9) comes with the same patty as the Chez Lucien ($9), but it is topped with pickled jalepenos, Monterey jack, and "fried" (translated: sauteed) onions

Our burgers, if you could call them that, were served with cold and soggy shoestring fries, a fresh salad, and some bottled caesar dressing on the side. The Chez Lucien burgers sported patties, which were leathery white inside and charred on the outside. The Frida and Diego's was raw in the center and leathery on the outside. It had to be sent back, but returned equally leathery throughout...All were haphazardly assembled.

Overdone Chez Lucien Burger Dissassembled

Condiments
To add insult to injury, our "do-it-all" waitress told us we had to share one set of condiments as they had run out of containers, and potentially condiments.

You see, in spite of its popularity, this restaurant is about as badly organized as a restaurant can be. Too few "do-it-all" waiters rush about, serving everything from drinks to food, oftentimes crashing into one another during their frequent runs to and from the kitchen. They pour drinks at the bar. They fetch what seems like a limited set of menus, moving them from table to table. They settle bills. They clear the tables they serve. They answer phones. They seat new patrons. I wasn't even sure if the restaurant is broken up into sections for waiters to preside over.

It is no wonder people tell me that going to Chez Lucien feels like being treated like mud in a Parisian restaurant. Good service there means you feel ignored.

To make matters worse, the kitchen has absolutely no idea what is going on on the floor, so, when the place is packed, they just sear up burger patty after burger patty, unsure how many they need to make. I saw one batch forgotten on the griddle and binned. I saw another stacked one atop the other next to the grill so the cooks could grab burgers for the incoming order. Unfortunately, juice was visibly squeezed out in the process.

Cost of 2 Chez Lucien Burgers then: $20.34 (after taxes, before tip). Our "do-it-all" waitress was named Michelle.

Now...
Recently (June 3, 2009), Jenn and I returned in the middle of a work week to try Chez Lucien anew. This time, we made sure we went shortly after dinner service began (6:00 pm-ish) and sat at a table beside the Juke Box on the main floor. I ordered a Frida and Diego Burger ($10, a dollar more than before). She, another Chez Lucien Burger ($10, again, a dollar more than before), minus the cheese.

Food and service at Chez Lucien in the early evening is markedly different than later on in the night. The difference is literally night and day. We only waited 5 minutes for drinks and menus. Our platters were served 15 minutes after we ordered. Best of all, the burgers weren't being stockpiled. They were juicy, judiciously charred, and delicious, ever so slightly pink in the middle.

Mine

Frida and Diego Burger

Toppings, now with colby jack

Texture
I added a dollop of mayonnaise to mine for added zing. The peppers and sauteed onions added bite and sweetness respectively. The bun was also grilled. It was a great burger.

Hers

Chez Lucien Burger

Toppings
Jenn was equally surprised by how much she enjoyed her burger.

The salads weres fresh. We were served our own condiments and the fries were piping hot, crispy on the outside and tender in the middle.

Cost of 2 burgers and an ice tea ($2.36) now: $25.27 (after taxes, before tip). Our "do-it-all" waiter was named Guy.

Honestly, I'm not sure at the moment what my determination should be. However, if you want a decent burger at a decent price, you're in the Byward Market, and it's early (6:00 pm-ish), you can do worse than one at Chez Lucien.

Update: Regarding why I mentioned the first names of the waiters who served me at Chez Lucien, when I never have before, I honestly think these good people are doing their best and are forced to be super-human during their shifts. The issues with the restaurant are those of its management. I hope these waiters proudly state on their resumes that they worked at Chez Lucien. Surviving the frenzy I witnessed for any prolonged period of time demonstrates the ability to work under severe stress.

Particulars:
Chez Lucien
137 Murray Street
(613)251-3533

This year, I arranged vacation days around the Mother's Day weekend to ensure that there was ample time to celebrate the mothers in my life: mine, my better half's, and her godmother. Best of all, I would have a day to recover afterward. Having a four day weekend and a long list of tasks to accomplish, we rented a car, picking it up Friday morning. Between chasing from one end of the city to the other, foodies both, we indulged in visiting several eateries, normally difficult to get to without a car.

Whalesbone Sustainable Fish and Oyster Supply
For lunch on the Friday, we went to The Whalesbone Sustainable Oyster and Fish Supply, located 504-A Kent Street.

Front

Side Signage
There, we encountered Chef/Manager Kate Klenavic in her characteristic toque, which she seems to be always wearing in her pictures.

What makes the Whalesbone Supply sustainable? According to its handouts, it is committed to sourcing shell-fish and fin-fish from suppliers who practice sustainable farming and fishing. While their product list is small, their targeted species reflect, among other factors, the following:

• populations abundant enough to sustain fisheries
• preference to hook & line caught fish over trawling
• preference to on-shore farmed fish over open water
• preference to string and rack farmed shellfish over ground culture
• minimized catch of non-targeted species
• protection of spawning grounds, sea beds, and kelp beds
• sustainable management initiatives

Together, purchasing sustainable fish from Whalebone Supply ensures that fisheries remain healthy, less species go extinct, the food chain is preserved, "by catch" is reduced, and damage to the natural habitat of fish and other marine life is preserved. They are also honest about their fish being shipped to Ottawa frozen when not in season.

Between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, Fridays and Saturdays, Whalesbone Supply sells their "Famous Brown Bag Lunches", made from available stock. Because of unfortunate weather patterns in Western Canada, leading up to the day of our visit, the bag lunches were restricted to yellow perch and mackerel from Lake Erie and sockeye salmon from Alaska.

Lunch Board

Jenn had the Perch Dog Sandwich (cost: $5.50)

Perch Dog

Cross Section
Think incredibly fresh tasting, lightly floured, and pan fried fillet of perch in a soft kaiser (with toasted sesame seeds). It was accompanied by lightly pickled onions, shredded lettuce, and homemade mayonnaise. The bite I took was amazing, balancing crispy freshly cooked fish with crunchy lettuce, fatty mayonnaise, and bright pickled onions. The onions reminded us of sauerkraut.

I had the hot smoked salmon sandwich (cost: $6.50)

Hot Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Cross Section
When the Whalesbone Supply opened, the father of one of the co-founders found that he had a hot smoker that he wasn't using and offered it to the establishment. It is now located at the rear of the building. The result: Whalesbone Supply produces some really nice hot smoked sustainable fish, which they sell to a steady stream of customers. Hot smoking fish means that it is lightly cured and cooked in smoke that has not been cooled. As such, the fish is not preserved and will need to be refrigerated to prevent spoilage. Textures different to cold smoked fish are produced, but hot smoking adds a wonderful smoky flavour.

Case in point, the hot smoked salmon. Think gently flaked fish that came from smoker to plate, in a soft kaiser. It was accompanied with a sour cream sauce, lightly caramelized onions, and capers. This take on the classic cold smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers was great. The same balance is achieved between savory, smoky, and bright flavours, all carried by the fat in the sour cream. But, there is added sweetness and texture from the onions. Yum!

Total: $20.00 including 2 drinks, taxes, and tip. This is quite the bargain, considering that the fish came straight from the supplier.

Speaking of drinks, Jenn and I purchased two types of ginger ale, a more traditional canned Schweppes and a much more full flavoured Stewart's Ginger Beer.

Stewart's Ginger Beer
Stewart's didn't carry the strong and searing punch of ginger like the Jamaican ginger beer I tried at the Ottawa Bagel Shop. It was also less sweet than the Schweppes.

Please do not confuse the Whalesbone Sustainable Fish and Oyster Supply with the Whalesbone Restaurant on Bank Street.

Whalesbone Restaurant
Both are affiliated, but one is a supplier. The other is reputedly the go to place for fish and seafood in Ottawa. Further, the Whalesbone Supply has no seating area. Bag lunches are strictly takeout, made to order, and, if 10 or more will be purchased at any one time, they require prior warning by phone.

The Works
After having accomplished Friday's errands, Jenn and I took her sister Jazzie for dinner at, what I feel is the flagship location of locally owned "The Works" burger chain. Its Glebe location on 580 Bank Street is the oldest of the 5 establishments. The others are located in Kanata, Orleans, Manor Park, and Westboro. I believe the Glebe location is where the "legend" was born and it serves as the example for the others. As such, while Jenn and I have had Westfest burgers from the Westboro location, we decided to have our first authentic "The Works" experience in the Glebe.

A description follows after the jump:

More after the jump...