Ottawa Foodies

3

My better half and I had dinner at Burnt Butter last night. Well, I only had an appetizer because I didn't know we were going out and so I had eaten earlier.

For starters we had :
Dominica slaw ($8) paired with torrontes
Prosciutto / melon / balsamic reduction / mint bruschetta ($8) paired with the riesling ($10)

My better half had the Cayenne Fettuccine for entre ($20) (with gluten-free noodles paired with a lighter red Italian (for get the name, Italy has too many unique varietals!)

We were too full for dessert, so we opted for a 2oz Taylor Flagate Late Bottled Vintage port and 2oz St Germaine Elderflower liqueur. Not sure how much we were charged for these...

(These are not on the menu, but if you ask they have dessert wines & liqueurs.)

The total bill came to under $100.

Service was excellent. Though I should mention that the place very quiet given that it was a Sunday evening on the long weekend and there was a Sens game on. When we couldn't decide on a red wine, we were offered samples to help choose.

I am thinking of requesting the chef try gluten-free gnocchi for my better half's upcoming birthday!

2

I had the opportunity to eat here last night with some friends, once again trying out a WinterBites menu. I have eaten at Burnt Butter once before, a few weeks after its first opening; I thought the food at the time had some hits and some misses, which I attributed to their having just opened. I was looking forward to trying out the restaurant again, although I left with some of the same feelings...

My starter was the calamari. A huge portion, nicely fried and not too greasy. My main were the scallops with a chimirchurri sauce and a fennel angel hair pasta. The scallops were delicious and perfectly cooked. The pasta was fresh, but kind of bland tasting. My dessert was pecan pie (to their credit, Burnt Butter offers you the choice of any of their desserts along with their winter bites menus); it was good but not amazing. I chose not to indulge beyond a few bites.

I find that some of their descriptions of food are just not that appealing. Their bruschetta for the night was lamb, wilted escarole, hummus and microgreens. I thought the hummus seemed out of place, so I chose not to order that item. My partner did, and after tasting his portion, I found that the hummus was more of a garlicky chickpea mash. Maybe not the best way of describing it either, but a bit better than the thought of a peanut-y tasting hummus on top of rosemary roasted lamb. I also considered ordering the yellow beet and amaretti gnocci, but after asking about it, decided not to. They crushed up amaretti cookies to put into the pasta; it just sounded too sweet. Sometimes I feel like they are trying too hard.

In short, Burnt Butter is a pretty good establishment, but it really doesn't wow me. With so many other consistently amazing restaurants in the area, I don't know if I would chose to dine there again.

3

5

Disappointing tenderloin. Cooked medium rare as I asked, but awfully bitter asiago pesto ruined it. Also, the steak had no seasoning, I needed to add salt. The veggie side was pretty bland. My girlfriend's osso bucco was pretty dry and dull. The polenta was equally bland, dry, hard, boring.

For this money, I'd rather go to the Welly and lick my plate clean with one of their usual awesome, innovative creations, with better ambience, and a way superior wine list and beer selection. Places like this and Back Lane and Public House shouldn't last long with these prices when for the same shekels, you will have a phenomenally memorable meal down the street.

2

Foodisgood with respect to your comment re: the polenta - it is quite common in Italian households to serve it sliced as it was at Burnt Butter. Once made, it can be cooled in a loaf pan, sliced and grilled. Very yummy. It does, however, sound like this wasn't the best to go with your dish...I agree that warm polenta is better with ossobuco.

2

Had the Ossobuco tonight. The meat was very nice but the polenta was not freshly made but rather made well ahead of time and cut into pie slices and served. It wasn't warm enough either. I have made polenta enough to know that it can be whipped up fresh in no time at all. A nice dollop of hot, fresh and herbed polenta would have made the dish. Also, the plate was lacking a third item. The meat and polenta was screaming for a tart note... a few olives, or oven dried olives, a chutney, few slices of cuke with vinaigrette, something. Service was good. Spent about 80 bucks before tip for one app, one pasta, one main and two drinks. I expect more for that. Probably won't go back unless they step it up.

1

We dropped in a few weeks ago on a whim – no reservations or anything and were seated right away. As a bonus we also got a parking spot literally right in front of the front doors, I guess it was our lucky night!

I’ve been wanting to go to this place for a while; every time I’ve driven passed, the large windows exposing this cozy narrow spot had me yearning to try it!

This spot has a modern Italian feel with a cozy yet elegant demeanor.

We were offered two specials: 3 course meal for $30 or $40 with different choices in each. We opted for the $40 special. All in all we chose the arugula salad and chipotle calamari as the apps, filet Mignon & osso buco* style beef for the mains, as well as burnt butter pecan pie for dessert.

Everything was delicious (although my steak was more cooked than I would have liked) but still very well made.

The service was excellent and attentive. I saw some reviews that complained about the wait for the food…And I think it comes down to this: if you want fast food, go to a fast food spot. This restaurant only brings out high quality ingredients made with love and care.

My recommendations are DEFINITELY to try the osso buco*…this was the most tender and flavorful cut of meat I have had in a LONG time. AMAZING! And the pecan pie was just incredible!

Bon Appetit!

XoXoX

*Ossobuco or osso buco is Italian for “bone with a hole” (osso bone, buco hole), a reference to the marrow hole at the center of the cross-cut veal shank. It is a Milanese specialty of cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth.
Burnt Butter
1100 Wellington Street West
Ottawa, ON K1Y 2Y7
613.792.4000

2

Part 2: The main...
The Curry Rasta Linguine: grilled chicken & shrimp, chilies, olive oil, pineapple salsa. Looked goods tasted bland... very, VERY bland. I expected more.

More punch, more power and taste, our food was perfectly cooked, exquisitely plated and yet, we were left a little flat.

As a consequence, I liked it, but I really, really, really wanted to LOVE it. I wanted to swoon and feel giddy but instead I felt like a little sad. I know what it is to have a dream and watch it take it's first breath, the thrill of those first few steps and the excitement as it starts to gain independence and confidence. I want success for Burnt Butter and it's people.

Having heard from other restaurateurs that customers are complaining about too much salt, I sent Burnt Butter owners Gen & Steve a note to ask if this was the case. Were they dialing back the food to appease dulled taste buds?

No, Steve just thinks we all eat too much salt.

For the rest of the story, read my blog:www.foodgypsy.ca

2

Part 1: The starter...
The big backboard menu brimmed with choices and everything sounded so... exciting. The Pasta selection made my head spin: Swiss Chard Gnocchi, Lemon Totalini, Curry Rasta Linguine, Tomato Fettuccine and Sesame-Soya Agnolotti. How to decide?!

We started by sharing the Arugala Salad: brandied figs, toasted walnuts, plum tomatoes, purple onion and a balsamic vinaigrette. Let me start by saying I am now addicted to brandied figs, I don't know why I hadn't though of this combination myself, I now plan to add them to everything.

The salad itself was a delight, both in texture and flavour, tart, tangy, sweet, savory, sharp - all at once. It had edge and appeal.

From my blog www.foodgypsy.ca

But wait... there's more...

I went yesterday for lunch and it was a step above delicious. Really nicely prepared and tasty.

To start, the potato and leek soup. It was good, but a touch on the bland side. However, there was a good amount of it and it was a nice starter on a cool day. I had the pork and lemongrass agnolotti in a coarse tomato sauce where you could see that it was made from actual tomatoes. Very good.

The dessert I chose was the pecan pie with lightly flavoured whipped cream. It was nice, but I shouldn't have to use both hands to get through the pie crust.

All in all, a nice lunch. A bit pricey at a touch over $40, but still a really good meal.

2

My better half and I are big fans for Burnt Butter and their pasta in particular. While it's not on the menu, the restaurant always has gluten-free pasta on hand. The "Cayenne Fettuccine" was full of flavour - O'brien farms meatballs stuffed with gorgonzola, in a curried tomato sauce. We were also impressed that the meatballs didn't have bread crumbs in them making the dish an easy gluten-free option!

2

Prosciutto / melon / balsamic reduction / mint bruschetta ($8)

The bread was toasted but fresh, which I much prefer to break your teeth crostinis! And the mint really added an extra punch. I really liked the clever design of the bruschetta with the melon and prosciutto shaved on the bread.

2

Now, I'm a fan of sweetness in my food and this Dominica Slaw salad really delivered! Made of red and white cabbage, mango slices, sweet peppers, with a brown sugar vinaigrette the flavours really popped. I'm also a big fan of cilantro and think there was enough acidity in the dressing to carry the sweetness. Going to add this to my salad recipe arsenal.