CheapEats Ottawa restaurant guide blog

Vintages Value List - Saturday July 4, 2009 Release

Greetings!

This time round it is all about summer – BBQs, vacation and a wonderful opportunity to taste the world on your stay-cation. Hope you are enjoying the season …

White Wine

683847 Ravenswood Vintners Blend Chardonnay 2007 (California) $16.95

Well rounded Cali Chard big on mango, peach some citrus and toasty oak flavours.

991950 Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay 2007 (New Zealand) $19.95

Here is a pure and clean fruit driven Chardonnay with pretty floral and tropical fruit nose and flavours following through on the finish.

727255 Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Gris 2007 (New Zealand) $18.95

A Pinot Gris with some hue and flavour! Layers of pear and apple flavours abound, peach pit bitterness, and some mineral envelopes the palate with a slightly oily mouth feel and a lengthy finish.

662882 Sileni Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (New Zealand) $16.95

Bouncing with all the aromas and flavours that is signature to N. Z. Sauvignon Blancs - gooseberry, herb, grass, citrus, clean and crisp acidity and a long finish.

What To Drink On Canada Day

Whether you'll be at the cottage, watching waterfront fireworks or just barbecuing in the backyard, it's time to hit the LCBO to stock up for tomorrow's Canada Day celebrations. 

To help you out with your shopping list, we decided to whip together a list of:

6 Great Canada Day Drinks:

1. Bloody Caesar
   - a truly Canadian drink. Invented in Calgary in 1969 (!) by Walter Chell, and then perpetuated in 2002 by Mott's designing pre-mixed Clamato juice just for this purpose. You can't even get a Caesar (unless it's with grated parm) anywhere but here, though there is something called a "Clam digger" which is similar.  There's currently a petition to make it Canada's Official National Cocktail.
2. LugTred Lager 
   – a lagered ale from locally-owned and operated Beau's All Natural Brewing Company. LugTred is the perfect summer beer, light, golden and crisp. Beau's brewery is in Vankleek Hill and makes drinking their LugTred a great way to celebrate Canada Day. Read more about LugTred & Beau’s in Robyn’s post Follow The Tractor (Disclosure: Beau's was a sponsor of the last CheapEats Ottawa book launch)
3. Malivoire's Chardonnay Musqué
   - made at an eco-friendly winery in Beamsville, this light, sweet, effervescent wine is a big favourite in my house. With hints of fruit - apple, peach, melon - it is great slightly chilled for sipping on a warm afternoon or for before dinner bubbles.
   Now available (yay!) in the LCBO/Vintages unfortunately only in 1/2 bottles
4. Molson Canadian – while drinking Canadian doesn't give the nod to the increasing interest in microbrews and more complex flavours, it does say CANADIAN on the bottle and thus satisfies the most literal interpretation of a drink that says “I am Canadian”.  And besides, who doesn't love the I Am Canadian ads?
5. Canadian Club - with it's "Damn Right Your Dad Drank It" ads, it carries both the nostalgic and literal requirements to be a good Canada Day tipple. Drink it straight, on ice, or with a splash of ginger ale.
6. Canada Dry Gingerale - speaking of ginger ale, why not splash in a bit more Canadiana? Canada Dry has been the ginger ale of choice in my house since we moved from the Maritimes and couldn't get Sussex anymore.

This post was inspired by SueB24 who asked why we didn't have a Can-con equivalent to Slashdot’s All-American Wines to Celebrate July 4.

Vintages Value List - Release Saturday June 20, 2009

Greetings!

We trust you are enjoying our rather chilly summer thus far. Warmer than tepid weather is around the corner and we’re sure the BBQ has been fired up regardless of the prevailing climate. This week’s release brought great elation to us – the feature is Malbec. A fabulous grape honed in Argentina, but originally from France under the name Cot, hailing from the Cahors region.

In France it is generally usually as a blending varietal. Malbec’s prime characteristics are its deep, dark colour and overwhelming smoothness. Depending on the producer, different flavours prevail – but they are predominately black fruits, spice, mocha and earthiness. Vintages is hailing Malbec as a fabulous BBQ wine and that it is – but we also like it with just about any meat, pasta, pizza or stew.

The varietal has seen growing popularity over the past few years and we all know what that means from a Supply/Demand perspective – prices will go up. Don’t despair, there are some really reasonable, tasty wines on offer this weekend.

Here are our picks:

White Wine

90969 Sandalford Element Classic White 2008 (Australia) $13.95

This is a blend of Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Riesling, the nose just hits you with pungency, on the palate it is herbaceous, grassy, some guava and lime citrus acidity that carries through on the finish. Easy drinking makes for a good sipper!

682625 Domaine De La Grange Vieilles Vignes Muscadet Sèvre & Maine 2007 (Loire) $14.95

Green apple nose with some ripeness, mineral notes and lemony flavours.

Lunches Under $3!

Earlier this week, Joanne Schnurr from CTV Ottawa  contacted me asking about great lunch deals around Ottawa, preferably places where she could get lunch for under $3.  UNDER $3, now that IS a cheap lunch. 

Unfortunately we weren’t available to go on a cheap lunch adventure with her, but Joanne profiled 3 places last night where you can get lunch for around $3.

• Helen's Cuisine - 1082 Wellington (pg. 55 of CheapEats Ottawa)- tucked in the back of a convenience store with seating in the front near the window, Helen cooks up great Middle Eastern lunches like you'd get from a home kitchen. Soups are the best deal with a large being $2.25. Vegetarian options are generally the best deal. (pg. 55)
• Parti Pizza - 267 Greenbank (pg.77) has a $3.25 slice + pop lunch.  Quick, good & easy. Great price.
• and Saint Honore Bakery Shop - 361 Booth Street - a Chinese bakery on Booth – where they have a selection of stuffed Chinese buns including 99¢ BBQ pork buns, 99¢ chili buns and 75¢ pinapple buns. We’ll definitely be checking it out for the next edition of the book.

Here is are the other places which came to mind immediately,  some under $3 all under $6  (the prices may be slightly off since I haven't checked them recently)

• Aladdin Convienience at 1801 Carling & 1020 St. Laurent (pg 27 of CheapEats Ottawa) They have pizza-like meat pies, spinach & cheese pies and zathar (thyme & herb pies) - running $1-3 each.  Tasty savoury treats.
• Olga's Delights - 588 Bank Street (pg. 74) – home-style soups, chili and sandwiches that will fill you up with goodness.  Medium soup or chili for $3.50 last time I checked.
• Slots Racetrack - 4837 Albion Road (pg. 90)- if you get a free membership card you can get in on the $5 lunch specials, and the $1.99 breakfast specials.
• La P'tite Epicerie du Quartier - 158 rue Notre-Dame-de-l'ile in Hull (pg. 62) - $3.99+ for a great selection of deli sandwiches.
• La Cabana - 848-B Merivale (pg. 61)- where you can get 2 pupusas for $4 ($2/each minimum 2). If you get them to go, you can share.

V V List Release Saturday June 6, 2009

Bonjour!

Vintages is coming at you from Burgundy this release, along with a bunch of Rosés from around the world. Burgundy is generally out of reach for the Vintages Value List as they tend to be pricey. Burgundy is famous for the Pinot Noir varietal and Chardonnay aka Chablis. Burgundy is all about the “terroir” – which is wine-speak for the earth the vines are grown in, the amount of precipitation that falls on the vineyard, the slope of vineyard and the weather. “Terroir” ends up in your glass. If the soil is limestone based – the wine will likely have a minerally note. If there is more rainfall and the slope is gentle – the grapes will not be as expressive as those grown at high altitude with little rainfall during the season.

We found one stellar pinot from Burgundy that barely qualifies for the list this time round AND a great pinot from our own backyard. Buy them both and have a taste-off for fun, checking out the difference in the French terroir from the Niagara terroir.

Sparkling Wine

120949 Barth Extra Dry Sparkling Rosé (Germany) $16.95

We know … this is weird! BUT it is incredibly refreshing – not in a wet your whistle sense – but the taste is surprisingly traditional – a champagne nose, but this is paired with a dry, red fruit note on the palate.

White Wine

25064 D’Arenberg The Last Ditch Viognier (Australia) $19.95

This is a “big” white wine with a finish of marathon proportions. I read an article in the Globe this week stating that “wood is no good” for white wine. This wine was fermented in the barrel and it is an oak-bomb. So if wood is your thing – grab it. Jay Miller of eRobertParker.com fame gave it a 90.

V V List Release Saturday May 23, 2009

Hello There!

We were feeling like a couple of Mother Hubbards when we went to the tasting room this week. More than half the bottles were empty due to a scheduling mix-up that saw all the LCBO Product consultants taste in one group, rather than two. There are probably some great finds that we have missed. Be sure to ask the product consultant in your store for recommendations.

White Wine

377770 Quails’ Gate Chardonnay 2006 (British Columbia - $19.95)

Fresh and crisp like biting into a crisp green apple with notes of grapefruit and melon.

342857 Concha Y Toro Marques De Casa Concha Chardonnay 2007 (Chile - $17.95)

Packed with juicy fruit flavours of apples and pears and a finish to boot!

117028 Cantina Tramin Gewurtztraminer 2007 (Italy - $19.95)

Weird – but allegedly wonderful. This Italian Gewurtztraminer was gone by the time we got to the tasting room. A reliable source said it was great.

V V List Release Saturday May 2, 2009

Hello There!
We’re back after an extended hiatus. The tasting room was under renovation. That, coupled with demanding work schedules prevented our attendance at release tastings.

We tasted in the new, state-of-the-art tasting room and lucky for us – the focus was Tuscany and California. Most Tuscans (Chianti & Brunello) and iconic Californian wines (Caymus, Duckhorn, Dominus) are not in the Vintages Value budget this time round.  There are a few Chianti(s) priced under $25, but not very palatable relative to other offerings in this price range – there are two exceptions.

For those of you who don’t know, Italy has very strict regulations for their winemakers. There are four different classifications. We will provide these classifications in the tasting notes. DOCG stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita and it is the highest classification of four Italian wine classifications. DOC is the second highest and stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata. IGT stands for Indicazione di Geografica Tipica and represent ubiquitous wines that are grown in specific geographical growing regions. However, there are exceptions - some of Italy's best wines do fall under this category just to avoid more stringent regulations associated with DOC or DOCG – these are often referred as “Super Tuscans”. The last classification is Vino di Tavola = table wine.

There are some fabulous wines in this Saturday’s release at great prices. Here
they are:

Sparkling Wine

039016 Pierre Sparr Brut Rosé Crémant D’Alsace (Alsace - $19.95)

Aromas and flavours of almost ripe strawberries, a hint of biscuit and refreshing citrus acidity. Pull up a chair and bring on the bubbly this is a nice deck sipper!

White Wine

095976 Te Awa Left Field Chardonnay 2007 (New Zealand - $16.95)

Pure fruit, peach pit and lemony crisp acidity makes for a refreshing sipper or paired with light summertime foods.

sugar, salty, sweet: a cupcake story

cupcake tragedy, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

I am a mad baker. I love to bake. Cookies, cupcakes, and other bizarre concoctions of flour and sugar and sweetness seem to flow from my kitchen on a regular basis, finding homes in the bellies of co-workers, friends, family, neighbours, and possibly a kitten or three.

So when the notion of cupcake camp started floating around a few months ago, first on twitter, as @CETO and others expressed their regret at missing such a glorious event, and then on facebook and in casual conversation, I just knew that this was something I had to check out.

The Ottawa version of cupcake camp took place this past weekend at the Jack Purcell centre, and was an absolute feast for the eyes - cupcakes as far as the eye could see! With over 3400 cupcakes, 100 bakers, 30 volunteers and more than 500 (very patient) tasters, cupcake camp was a resounding success.

cupcake crowd, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

I attended the event as a taster, along with a baker partner in crime, who effortlessly whipped up a fluffy batch of chocolate mocha cupcakes for the event. This way, we were guaranteed to get to see the event from both sides.

Doors for the event "officially" opened at 2pm, but bakers were cautioned to arrive quite early in order to get through the cupcake "check-in" process. Upon our arrival just after 1pm, we were ushered into a long line full of bakers, arms piled high with giant bakers boxes, tupperware containers and all other form of cupcake transport. It was fascinating to stand in line and just watch the sheer variety of cupcakes float by - plain jane cupcakes, beautifully iced, fancy decorated cupcakes, dressed like sunflowers, butterflies, purses, mushrooms and more, and even a special batch of cupcakes stashed away in a still warm crockpot (but more on those later).

wall of cupcake schedules, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

Checked-in cupcakes were given a number, checked off the registration list, and then professionally photographed with one of the most lovely huge camera lenses I've seen in quite some time, so that photos of the cakes could be projected on the walls above the judges table during the course of the afternoon.

deliberation, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

With cupcakes checked in, we headed off to the tasting room to get a real 'taste' (ha!) of what cupcake camp was all about. A horseshoe of crepe-covered tables greeted us in the centre of the room, and it's all you can do once you arrive to not watch, mouth gaping, as tray after tray of the widest variety of cupcakes you've ever seen are paraded out for public consumption. There were ten batches of cupcakes at this event, a new batch brought out ever fifteen minutes.

judges table, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

There is no public vote, but there is a judges table. The public gets to taste at random (and we can be a choosy public!), however, the judges must taste every cake the comes their way. I can only imagine how they felt on Monday - sugar hangover anyone?

With all of the sugar in the air, I could only bring myself to try two tiny little cupcakes - a candy-glazed red-velvet ball, and a wee-mini chocolate merlot topped with toasted coconut. Rest assured, though, there were many more to be had. There was a fully vegan batch (about 20 different kinds of cupcakes), a nut-free batch, and many more. And those crockpot cupcakes? Meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting - certainly one of the most inventive of the bunch!

Quick Notes

• RT: @WTL: It's beer o'clock @mishkaottawa has arrived at the 'Offfice'. -- I love beer o'clock! Wish I were there.
• Do you celebrate #PoutineFriday?

Automatically posted from the CheapEats Ottawa twitterfeed - www.twitter.com/ceot by LoudTwitter

Quick Notes

• I'd like to apologize for the wave of daily retweets! No luck in solving the infinite loop of loudtwitter & twitterfeed.
• Way to go! RT: @CapitalCupcake: 3300+ cupcakes and 600 participants means Capital #CupcakeCamp raised $2000 for Woman Alive!!!

Automatically posted from the CheapEats Ottawa twitterfeed - www.twitter.com/ceot by LoudTwitter