CheapEats Ottawa restaurant guide blog

Vintages Value List for Saturday May 10, 2008

Greetings All!

This week’s release focus is – “the allure of Burgundy – Seductive Wines, and Surprisingly Affordable”.  Well, for those of you who are familiar with Burgundian wines – the last statement is an oxymoron.  Wines from Burgundy usually cost a bomb, however, the Vintages buyers have found some affordable gems and they are highlighted below along with other great finds:   

Sparkling Wine

48686 Domaine de Nerleux Cremant de Loire Brut (Loire Valley, France) $17.95   
A super fizz – features a green apple nose and a dry, crisp finish.  Start the evening with this one!   

Vintages Value List for Saturday March 29, 2008

Greetings All!

Vintages is promoting organic and artisanal wines this weekend. The emergence of organic wine, along with many other organic offerings in the consumer realm has grown exponentially over the past few years. We have tried to be good environmental citizens in the past and purchased a few of the organic wines brought in by Vintages over the years, but these have been met with disappointment for the most part. Given the high consumer demand for such products, producers have risen to the challenge of producing good quality wine without the use of pesticides, fertilizer, and high levels of sulphites. Wines with high levels of sulphites – a preservative – can cause headaches for the allergen sensitive. This release offers some VERY good and affordable organic wines. As well as organic offerings, "artisanal" wines are featured. These are defined as wines made using traditional methods, staying true to the land and the climate and with an extreme passion not witnessed in most commercial wineries.

WHITE WINES

001693 Grove Mill Pinot Gris 2007 (Marlborough, New Zealand) $16.95

Impressive Pinot Gris richly scented of flowers, apricot and lychee, nice body and a slightly oily mouth feel. (not certified organic, but carbon neutral)

Vintages Value List Saturday March 15, 2008

HELLO!

The Vintages release catalogue provides a bevy of wine factoids and beautiful photography for each release. This one is particularly delish because its focus is food-wine pairing. Here are the highlights of their counsel:

• If you are planning to serve a wide variety of appetizers, you’ll want to choose a wine that is light enough to enjoy on its own and versatile enough to match with a variety of foods: wines with “zippy” acidity (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Italian Pinot Grigio, Sparklers)
• Match textures of the dishes to textures of the wine: tomato sauce = Chianti/sangiovese, olive oil = pinot grigio, cream sauce = chardonnay, pesto = Riesling
• Seasoning – to elevate the flavours, match the unique character of the wine to the strongest seasoning element
• Eat local – drink local
• Strong flavours call for medium to full-bodied wines

Bon Appetit!

This Food That Wine Book Launch

We've been talking a lot about wine on the CEOTblog.com, and I'm doing it again. Well... sort of.

CheapEats Ottawa celeb Stacey Metulynsky, of FoodTV's This Food That Wine & Groovy Grapes, just announced the launch of her first book - This Food That Wine written with her FoodTV co-host Angie MacRae.

You might also remember Stacey from the last CheapEats Ottawa book launch where she & Sean of Groovy Grapes were hosting a mini-wine tasting.

I'm a big fan of Stacey's personally and professionally, and I'm eager to get my hands on a copy of this book. 

Stacey told me recently that "Angie and I will be holding 2 book signings & tastings to officially "launch" our book - one in Toronto, one in Ottawa"

Ottawa's launch will be on Wednesday at the Sparks Street Smithbooks. If you are interested in attending, here are the details:

OTTAWA - Sparks St. Smithbooks
Date: Thursday, Dec. 6th
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Smithbooks- 56 Sparks Street
Details: come for a nibble and a sip, and get some holiday shopping done at the same time
RSVP: info [at] McArthur-co [dot] com or 416-408- 4007

This Food That Wine is available now and you can order your copies online

Technorati Tags: this food that wine, book launch, stacey metulynsky, angie macrae, chris knight, ottawa, groovy grapes, wine tasting

Vintages Value List for Saturday November 10, 2007

Salut! 

A few bottles from the 2005 Burgundy vintage will be hitting the shelves this Saturday.

This vintage is touted as being one of the best of the century – a perfect vintage. Why? Early spring rains brought plenty of water and water reserves to get the vines going and keep them growing throughout the early summer. The summer was warm and dry with cool temperatures in the evening – creating the optimal acidity levels in the grapes. There was a brief wet spell right before the harvest which gave the grapes a wee boost and then a tepid harvest season ensured that the grapes could be picked leisurely at their optimal brix. The end result provides mature tannins, the pips lose their bitterness and the grape skins are delicate.

Burgundy produces some of the finest wines in the world. Centuries of grape growing and wine production have rarely failed to thrill collectors and imbibers alike. The prices are quite high due to demand and the small production lots, but “Burghounds” shell out for the wine that, for some, is close to nirvana.

Vintages Value List for Saturday October 27, 2007

Greetings Everyone!

The “good deals” at Vintages are getting a bit scarce as we head into the holiday season. You will notice a slight price creep as the holiday season draws nigh. We muddled through the tasting and at the end, had quite a few reds to recommend and one lone white. The theme of the release is “the wine list – PERFECT WINES FOR PARTIES BIG AND SMALL”. We are definitely heading into the social season – cocktail parties, dinner parties, holiday parties and the like. You can always refer to the Vintages Value List when faced with the “what wine should I bring?” dilemma. If you do want to spend a bit more, we recommend a visit to a Vintages location and talking to one of the Product Consultants. They are extremely helpful matching wine to food and budget. Don’t be shy – these folks are passionate about their jobs and wine and offer reliable, credible advice when it comes to wine selection.

WHITE WINE

D’Arenberg The Olive Grove Chardonnay 2006 – McLaren Vale Adelaide Hills, South Australia (702845) $16.95

Apple and plum nose with flavors of yellow plum and a distinct green olive finish.

RED WINE

Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz 2006 – Limestone Coast, South Australia (673897) $19.95

Loads of jammy raspberry and cherry with nice juicy acidity. This makes an awesome sipper!

Vintages Value List for Saturday September 29, 2007

Greetings All!

The theme of the upcoming release gave us a feeling of great promise, as the wines featured in this release are from the Rhone Valley, Provence and Midi. The beautiful, sunny, breezy weather that greeted us when we set out to walk over the LCBO Sensory Evaluation Room didn’t distract us from this optimistic state either! We were particularly hopeful because the wines from this region usually offer good value for the $$ with the exception of wines from the northern Rhone Valley.

The Rhone is home to the Syrah grape – known as Shiraz in New World wine producing regions. ‘Hermitage’ is one of the most famous (and expensive) sub-appellation from this region.

Farther south in the valley is the famous Chateau-Neuf-du-Pape. CNdP can contain up to 13 grape varieties and thus each wine from this sub-appellation offers distinct differences. CNdP’s neighbour – Cotes-du-Rhone offers a greater value proposition and there is one recommendation for CdR below.

The real values appear as one travels farther south to the regions of Provence and Midi along the Mediterranean. Here the reds are usually blends and offer a variety of styles – from smooth and light to big and bold.

We talked about the release on the walk back to work and decidedly chose four wines that really stood out:

Top 4 Picks

40220 Gundian Albarino 2005 (Spain) $16.95

Albarino is a white grape indigenous to Spain. There is a definite pear nose that segues to a citrus palate. This is a biggish wine with a slight hint of oak. This one was thoroughly enjoyable and pleasant.

36988 Jean Bousquet Malbec 2005 (Argentina) $12.95

A terrific blend of barnyard and fruit. Cherries, blackberry and chocolate predominate the palate. It is a great value that goes down easy – it’s OK to swill at that price!

644047 Langmeil Three Gardens Shiraz/Grenache/Mourvedre 2005 (Barossa Valley, AUS) $19.95

JAMARAMA!!! It has a good, long, sweet finish with lots of different flavours going on before you get there. Rob Parker gave this one a 90 – won’t last long!

925453 Kilikanoon Killerman’s Run Shiraz 2005 (S. Australia) $19.95

Cassis and smokiness stand out in this intense, opulent wine. Rob Parker gave this one a 92 – it won’t last long either!

The Patty Debate

by andrea*

I'm a carnivore. There, I said it. In recent years my tastes have leaned towards the vegetarian side of things, but I still remain a meat eater. Bacon is the culprit! If it wasn't for bacon I might very well be a vegetarian.

When I go to The Works (the Richmond Road location is the one we frequent) I usually order a burger with a beef patty. There are many many burger varieties on the menu (40? 50?), and customers have their choice of patty: beef (organic or non-), chicken breast, ground turkey, portabello mushroom cap, or veggie.

On our last visit I decided I didn't need a ½ pound of beef forming a giant lump in my gut, so I took a leap of faith and ordered the "B.A.B" burger ($10.83 – and comes with tomato, raw onion and garlic sauce) avec le veggie patty and sweet potato fries. I had a long inner debate about the veggie patty. I knew that the beef would taste good, so should I risk it? Some veggie patties are made of a lentil/grain mixture and have the mouthfeel of a damp facecloth. Did I really want to eat a damp facecloth?

Well I was pleasantly surprised. The burger tasted great. And more importantly, I didn't walk away feeling heavy and bloated. The sweet potato fries were delicious. And I admit it - I did feel a tiny bit virtuous too. Next time I go back, I know what I'm going to order. Pssst. Did you know The Works does takeout too?

* [This post was written by Andrea Tomkins, a regular contributor to CheapEats Ottawa (where she is known as AT.) Andrea is an Ottawa-based writer, blogger and photographer. You can peek into her journal at  www.quietfish.com/notebook or read her other CheapEat posts here.]

Poutine or Pizza & Gravy?

My friends have been talking about it, but none of us had tried it, so Friday after just enough beer to bolster our courage and cleanse our taste buds... we headed over to House of Georgie to try their "Gravy Pizza".

Now, I've heard that there's a debate about where this new late-night food fad originated. Some say House of Georgie & Sorento's, and it was written up that way in Trendz magazine. But others say it really originated around the corner at Colonnade.

Either way, Gravy Pizza, Pizza & Gravy or just simply P&G was inspired by poutine. And if you are willing to stretch your imagination, you can see similarities - gravy, cheese, and some starchy substance to carry it to your mouth.

So, on Friday night we tried the House of Georgie's version.  I was surprised at how much better it was than I expected. The gravy and cheese was certainly reminiscent of poutine. The gravy and bready-dough was reminiscent of a hot chicken sandwich.

I'd love to try a Beckta version with each flavour refined to perfection, I think it could be outstanding.  But for now I'm sticking to poutine.

What about you? Fess up!
Have you tried it? Where'd you get it? What did you think?

Technorati tags: pizza and gravy, gravy pizza, house of georgie, colonnade pizza, sorento's, beckta, poutine, late night snacks, elgin street, cheapeats ottawa, ceot, cheapeats

Secret Foods of Summer

What's your summer food secret? That one thing that gives you a little summertime thrill every time you bite into it? 

Is it the first strawberry?  A hot Beavertail dripping with lemon and sugar? Your first bubble tea of the season?

Maybe a crepe on a patio in Hull? Chip Truck chips? Or ripping open a fresh baguette and spreading on peppercorn pate while sitting on the grass at the NAC listening to a lunchtime concert?

I've had a crappy week and want to hear some fun secrets. Please?