Last night, Jenn and I took a Toronto foodie (@ugogurl on Twitter) and foodiePrints guest blogger Treena (@tgrevatt) to newly opened Jean Albert's (495 Somerset St. W.).

Jean Albert's should be familiar to Ottawa foodies. It is the reason a number of us traveled to Hallville, Ontario, where it was situated at 1759 Reids Mills Road. There, owner LeRoy Walden told the media he wanted to convert Ottawa from poutine to chili cheese fries ($8.99), a once and again starter on Jean Albert's menu.

It was Treena who first informed me Jean Albert's had re-located to downtown Ottawa. She just wasn't sure where. Late March, I happened by Jean Albert's, still in renovation, on my way to Ethiopian Restaurant, the Blue Nile (577 Gladstone Avenue).

Former Hallville Takeout Menus

Sign on the Door

Soul Food, Coming in April
It replaced a former Thai restaurant, Hot Peppers.

Formerly, Hot Peppers
As a foodie who reads about collards long cooked with smoked ham hocks, flaky biscuits smothered in sawmill gravy, butter milk soaked fried chicken, and freshly baked fruit cobbler, I was excited to say the least. I never found the time to head out to Hallville when Jean Albert's was there.

Fast forward three weeks and I come across Ottawa Citizen's Food Editor, Ron Eade (@roneade), tweeting about attending Jean Albert's grand opening.

Fast forward another week. The Hot Peppers sign is still up. Walden has yet to print business cards with Jean Albert's new address. He has yet to release new takout menus. He is still looking for soul food cooks. Yet, he is selling out of shrimp and collards. In 6 days, he has sold 780 chickens, stress testing his supply chain. He hasn't been home in 3 days and looks exhausted.

Needless to say, the Friday evening we walked in, Jean Albert's was slammed. There was an hour long wait for a table. Somehow, we ended up at the restaurant's best booth on the ground floor. The new Jean Albert's has two stories. Its second is equipped with a full bar.

We ordered 1 lb of sweet potato chips ($6.99) to share and the Southern Fried Chicken ($13.99). The chicken comes with a choice of any two sides: mac and cheese, collard greens, candied yams, creamed corn, baked beans, French fries, mashed potatoes, dirty rice, black eye peas, or cole slaw.

Jenn and I ordered the lemon iced tea ($3.00).

Lemon Iced Tea
True to form, it wasn't sweet and tasted like a tea blend.

The sweet potato chips were sliced thin, fried to order, and doused in sugar and a little salt.

Sweet Potato Chips
They were delicious, crisp and tender, tasting of dark sugars. Being freshly fried though, they went slightly soggy as they cooled.

With her fried chicken, Kymm ordered mac 'n cheese and candied yams. Treena, mashed potatoes and baked beans. Jenn, mashed potatoes and creamed corn. Me, baked beans and dirty rice.

Southern Fried Chicken with Baked Beans and Dirty Rice
According to the menu, the chicken was "battered" in a "home made secret coating." I found the coating slightly under seasoned, lightly coloured, and thin. I also expected more paprika. Still, it was wonderfully crisp, not too oily, and the chicken was moist, both dark and white meat pieces.

We had mixed thoughts on the sides. The mashed potatoes were satisfying. The creamed corn seemed made of sweet corn kernels (good), but with too much corn meal mush (not so good). The baked beans tasted better than canned. My dirty rice had red beans in it. I expected bits of chicken offal.

That said, as soul food goes, Jean Albert's has no equal in Ottawa. Its service is quick, friendly, and attentive. The fried chicken was good. They have but to work on their sides.

Total: $42.61 (includes two southern fried chicken mains, two glasses of iced tea, a package of sweet water bread mix to go, and taxes)

Jenn and I will be back.

A poutine fan, I want to try the chili cheese fries.

We are both awaiting the return of Jean Albert's breakfast menu. Brunch in Ottawa will never be the same when chicken and waffles become an option.

Particulars:
Jean Albert's American Style Soul Food
495 Somerset Street W.
(613)569-5326

More after the jump...

Two weekends ago, two of Jenn's former house-mates came to Ottawa for the weekend. They came to visit and enjoy some of the festivities of Ottawa's annual winter festival, Winterlude. Unfortunately, the weekend was fraught with blisteringly cold temperatures and freezing rain, so, from time to time, we had to stay indoors. Happily, poor weather really can't keep a houseful of foodies down. Besides visiting Ottawa's premier shawarma establishment, the Shawarma Palace, a lot of the weekend was spent swapping old recipes and trying a handful of new ones.

Here's what turned out:

Pernil

Anyone for Cuban Sandwiches?

Biscotti Baby!

Dried Cranberry and Pistachio Goodness

What's Frying Doc?

Southern Fried Chicken

Recipes follow:

More after the jump...

When asked what foods are picnic-able, the following is my typical answer. Go wander into an ethnic European deli and pickup some cold cuts, some paté, and some cheese. Then, visit a bakery and pickup a loaf of crusty French baguette. Purchase a couple fruits from a grocer. And a pickup a 1.5L bottle of water from a convenience store. Everything fits neatly in a picnic basket and the fare is suitable for either a romantic lunch at the beach or a warm summer day in France.

Can you really ask for more? Actually, you can. How about Southern Fried Chicken? Connoisseurs say that it is best eaten at room temperature. Fine!

Firstly, let me point out I have loved fried chicken ever since my parents picked up a bucket of KFC for dinner one day. That day happened to be the day my family moved into the house I would later grow up in. I was 4 or 5 years old. The day was ending. Everyone was tired and cooking in a new kitchen with everything still packed away in boxes was out of the question. Besides, at that age, finger licking was acceptable. Little did I know that KFC's claim to fame was because Colonel Sanders discovered that you could cook fried chicken in oil in a pressure cooker at the fraction of the time that it takes in a deep fryer. I was just happy to eat his patented chicken with its secret blend of herbs and spices.

Today, I am no less happy to eat fried chicken, but I visit the Colonel very seldomly. Armed with a seasoned cast iron skillet and a recipe, when I hanker for fried chicken, I make Southern Fried chicken.

BTW, this posting and recipe is dedicated to Abby, whose offline message about picnic food went unanswered because I only use open source tools for instant messaging. One of these tools, called Pidgin, doesn't process offline messages. Sorry :(

Recipe follows:

More after the jump...