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Comments are owned by the poster.
Website copyright © 2006-2013
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All rights reserved.
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Foods from ZenKitchen
Reviews
Sign in to add a commentShowing comments 1 to 10
Apr 28
New Executive Chef at Zen Kitchen...he used to be my mentor chef.
He taught me so many things and I learned a lot. I am very thankful he helped me to start my career as a professional cook...I didn't know anything!
I am very happy for him and I wish him all the best...I know he will surpass the expectation in his way!
I didn't even know about this news until now.
I think he wanted to respect the decision Caroline and Dave made, since it is very personal matter.
He taught me so many things and I learned a lot. I am very thankful he helped me to start my career as a professional cook...I didn't know anything!
I am very happy for him and I wish him all the best...I know he will surpass the expectation in his way!
I didn't even know about this news until now.
I think he wanted to respect the decision Caroline and Dave made, since it is very personal matter.
Apr 26
FF,
I wish Caroline Ishii well on her future endeavours.
I would comment that I took my sister to ZenKitchen for her Bday last year and the deciding factor on ZenKitchen over other restaurants I liked was Caroline's reputation, background and her 2 silver medal wins at the Gold Medal Plates. If someone had gone to try ZenKitchen due to that reason recently and found out afterwards Caroline was not the chef and have not been for a while, they might have been disappointed.
I wish Caroline Ishii well on her future endeavours.
I would comment that I took my sister to ZenKitchen for her Bday last year and the deciding factor on ZenKitchen over other restaurants I liked was Caroline's reputation, background and her 2 silver medal wins at the Gold Medal Plates. If someone had gone to try ZenKitchen due to that reason recently and found out afterwards Caroline was not the chef and have not been for a while, they might have been disappointed.
Apr 26
FoodTravel, they have absolutely no responsibility to announce anything like this. A restaurant stands behind its products regardless of who is in charge of the kitchen. Personal matters such as this are shared with the public only as a courtesy and to fend off annoying and uncomfortable questions in the future.
Personally, I wish Caroline the very best in her future endeavours and I wish Dave and ZenKitchen all the best too. There's no reason to think that the restaurant or its food should suffer in quality. It will certainly be different to some extent, but only time will tell if that difference is negative or positive. If they continue to deliver high quality vegan food, they will surely maintain their loyal following.
Personally, I wish Caroline the very best in her future endeavours and I wish Dave and ZenKitchen all the best too. There's no reason to think that the restaurant or its food should suffer in quality. It will certainly be different to some extent, but only time will tell if that difference is negative or positive. If they continue to deliver high quality vegan food, they will surely maintain their loyal following.
Apr 26
So a personal breakup in Jan contributed to Caroline Ishii more or less leaving in Feb. So why did ZenKitchen not announce it till April?
Could someone who dined here late Feb to now comment on the quality of the food vs before?
Could someone who dined here late Feb to now comment on the quality of the food vs before?
Apr 26
Unfortunately, Caroline Ishii has left ZenKitchen. Kyle Mortimer-Proulx, formerly of the Brookstreet Hotel and chef de cuisine at ZenKitchen, takes over as executive chef - blogs.ottawacitizen.com
Mar 18
I had a decidedly mediocre meal here on Sunday brunch. The "gourmet salad" only had greens, carrots and the (admittedly yummy) tofu, though the soup was pretty delicious. Husband enjoyed his masala wrap, I wish the salad had had more variety of toppings like the wrap. The service was neglectful and it seemed like it was too much for the two girls working to handle. I like idea of vegan food and I am sure some of the other menu items were exciting but I was disappointed.
Oct 19
@HT re "I'm speculating but I would assume she uses a number of natural vegan substitutes to achieve the textures and flavors she is looking for."
You mean... stunt vegans?
....sorry, sorry, i'll stop now....
You mean... stunt vegans?
....sorry, sorry, i'll stop now....
Oct 19
I'm speculating but I would assume she uses a number of natural vegan substitutes to achieve the textures and flavors she is looking for. So although it says cheesecake on the menu, there won't be any actual dairy in it. The texture and taste should be similar to that of Regular Cheesecake though.
It's taking a popular item and recreating it as a vegan option.
There's really no need to specify which dishes are vegan and which aren't, because it's all vegan and anyone eating here should know what they're getting into. It's a destination restaurant more than a "hey, look at that place, lets try it" restaurant.
It's taking a popular item and recreating it as a vegan option.
There's really no need to specify which dishes are vegan and which aren't, because it's all vegan and anyone eating here should know what they're getting into. It's a destination restaurant more than a "hey, look at that place, lets try it" restaurant.
Oct 17
I could be wrong but i seem to recall hearing that she only uses real vegans in her cheesecake.
:)
:)
Oct 17
It is vegan. There are lots of vegan cheesecakes, vegan cheese, vegan whipped topping, etc. I don't know how Caroline makes her cheesecake at Zen, but there are many ways to do it.
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Weekend Brunch [1]
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2012 Aug 11
An extensive brunch menu (maybe 10+ options?) and by rights they are probably all delicious!
I opted for the Reuben sandwich, which involved moist dark rye with a lightly toasted exterior, meaty tempeh, and a wonderfully sauced cabbagy filling. Tasty and satisfying!
The soup of the day was corn chowder so I chose this as my side and was very glad I did! Without a doubt this was the best corn chowder I've ever encountered.
This dish was a reasonable $14. The coffee was a somewhat less reasonable $3, but it was good coffee and it was served with a cute creamer and sugar bin so I hold no grudge. ;-)
It was pretty empty on a Saturday. They are busier on Sunday, when they have live jazz.
Service was wonderful, friendly, and it involved generous refilling of water glasses.
Veggie Burgers [0]
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Aug 29
greetings
The vegan burger at ZenKitchen is delicious. Texture similar to meat, fixings beautiful, on a nice whole wheat bun. Vegan poutine was fab as well. Have eaten here several times for lunch and dinner, always have had a good experience.
The vegan burger at ZenKitchen is delicious. Texture similar to meat, fixings beautiful, on a nice whole wheat bun. Vegan poutine was fab as well. Have eaten here several times for lunch and dinner, always have had a good experience.
This entry is here thanks to Kombu
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| Weekend Brunch [1] | ||
| Veggie Burgers [0] |
