Ottawa Foodies

My husband and I finally made the trek to Juniper last night. For whatever reason, growing up we always went to restaurants that were not in walking distance, so living at the end of the block of Juniper made it somewhat counterintuitive to want to try it.

We were warmly greeted by one of our favourite servers from Stoneface Dolly's who remembered us.

We hummed and hawed over the menu and the server was okay with the fact that we were indecisive. He recommended an excellent Californian wine for Andrew, while I had the Gewuertztraminer, which was sweet but well-bodied. Their price for 3 and 5 ounce pours are fairly reasonable, IMO.

We were served an amuse bouche of cucumber with smoked pineapple salad. Andrew quite liked it, but all I could taste was the smoked flavour--reminded me of smoked salmon and cucumber sandwiches...

For appetizers, Andrew had the mushroom gyoza which had funny, fried crispy goodness on top and a very nice teriyaki sauce. My beef tartar did not disappoint. The beef tartar changes on a daily basis, in terms of what is served with it, which is a nice feature (and which gave me hope after Pej's comments). This one was served with a horseradish sourcream and a deep-fried artichoke heart. The deep-fried artichoke was a most interesting flavour/texture combination. It was almost like halibut in texture and reminded me of fish and chips, but tangy and salty. The beef tartar was excellent, as were the crisps that came with them--they seems to have a bit of cheese in them but I couldn't make out what kind.

For mains, I had the cornish hen, while Andrew took the duck. The duck was super tender and very flavourful. It was served with some of the best sweet potato that either of us had ever tried. The hen was pretty good. Nice and crispy and with a grilled flavour to it. It was served with a goat cheese-pistachio polenta, which sounded good in theory, but in practice tasted like my mother-in-law's stuffing. (Don't get me wrong, I love her stuffing, my point is that neither the goat cheese nor the pistachio was a defining flavour)

We passed on desserts, but were brought a little post-dinner yumminess in the form of a cardamom pudding with chocolate syrup. It was served on a spoon, which begged/begot the question: Is it okay to lick your spoon if it's actually the serving plate? I will definitely try to recreate this at home!

All in all, we both enjoyed ourselves and could see going back. The only flaw in the evening was that our server disappeared at one point and was replaced by someone who was far less personable who cleared our plates and so forth. There was no mention by either of them that they were trading off for dinner breaks or to clean the front of house (it was getting close to closing). It was a small flaw, because it led to some confusion amongst Andrew and I.

(The other thing that was a bit bothersome, and this might just be my mother coming out in me, is that the plates were cleared and stacked in front of us. I've always been told that this is rude, but it also just feels really awkward).

smoked trout with green tomato-apple chutney sandwiched between two fillo crisps on a line of cider syrup. tasty smoked rainbow trout served cold was done in-house according to the server. the accompanying chutney was also cold making this entire dish... COLD! i think to make things a bit more interesting would be to serve the chutney warmed up and spiced up a notch to offer better contrast in flavor and temperature against the smoked trout. again this is subjective. visually appealing dish that's for sure!

green tea marshmallows and citrus salad. another interesting home-made desert @ juniper. three cubes of marshmallows spiked with green tea. the taste of green tea hits your taste buds after the marshmallows have melted in your mouth, so wait for it! the pairing with citrus salad was overly extreme. the strong acidity and flavor of the peeled red grapefruit, oranges and dressing overpowers the marshmallows so i suggest you eat these accompaniments separately or they will cancel out the subtly taste of green tea in this dish. interesting dish however.

beef tartare made with capers, shallots and chives along with toasted crisps. this app waws quite minimal taste-wise compared to many beef tartares offered around town. perhaps a few more items such as a sauce or cheese that goes well with rare beef can make this dish made for royalty. suggest: grainy mustard and/or a parmesan crisp!

passionfruit ice cream on pineapple crepe and topped with fresh pineapple and garnished with caramel. i'm not a desert guy but juniper does have some interesting deserts done well that are quite flavorful. here the ice cream matched well with the warm crepe filled with thinly sliced warm poached pineapple. this whole desert worked well and was composed just right.

oysters @ juniper - natural / natural with apple cider beer battered with cinnamon salt / natural with lemon-horseradish sour cream. oysters were fine, nothing particularly standout flavorwise except the deep fried battered oyster offered a different texture. maybe a spicier dressing for one would elevate this dish and spark even more excitement.

QSter, it can be found in their November newsletter found here: www.juniperdining.ca

"November features the debut of Juniper Wine Hour (M-F from 5 til 7pm). A great chance to sample half-price apps and pairings in the easy Lounge"

Enjoy!

Poutine - I didn't know Juniper had a half-price appetizer special; is it every day of the week? I couldn't find it advertised on their website but would definitely like to try it out again after work with some colleagues if that is the case!

I had not been to the new location yet and thought the 5-7pm half price appetizers was a good time to try it out. What a beautiful place, warm and feutré, those windows are quite the showpieces! Even though the view might not be the best in town, once inside you feel like you are in your own little oasis. We opted to sit at the bar, which was really nice. You can always get a feel for a place and when you sit at their bar. The wine list was impressive and will most certainly please almost any wino :-) Our server Kate (I think) is definitely the one in charge, she runs the place efficiently.

My first glass of wine was a 2006 Zin/Syr/Cab Francis Coppola "Rosso" from California. WHoaaa! Incredible wine. My fiancé had a Chilean Pinot Noir, definitely not your average Pinot, very bold and complex.

For apps, we tried the scallops: Thai spiced and pan seared with mushroom nori roll And a spiced coconut-lemongrass reduction. Very good, the sushi roll was nothing special though..on the bland side.

Next came the beef tartar. I really enjoyed this dish, I thought the flavours mixed together very well. My fiancé didn't appreciate it as much..no prob, just means more for me! Then we had the oysters 3 ways. Deep fried, one with apple cider and the last one with sour cream and fresh horseradish. The oysters were plump and fresh, however we both found the sour cream didn't really do anything for the oyster..but still very good.

We will definitely be back on Thursdays, the jazz is nice and a great way to unwind after a hard day at work. My only complaint is that we felt a little neglected towards the end of our meal. The tab took a long time to come, we had to ask for it, same story to pay. That is one of my pet peeves in restaurants.. I can however maybe attribute this to the fact that our server was training a new person that night.

I've been eating at Juniper quite a bit lately. I recently moved closer to the area and between that and West Fest its been a regular stop for me.
Thursday nights are still fabulous because Brian Brown ( a jazz pianist) comes and pleases everyones eardrums with his playing. I normally just sit on one of the square 'couches' with a glass of vino and listen.
The food is normally always great, and a good representation of the season. Until recently I didn't know that Juniper gets all of its Oysters from Whalesbone, which is always a good tidbit to know.
The patio/terrace is normally my favourite place to dine on warm evenings, but just watch out that you dont have somebody loud and boisterous near you. Inside the tables are pretty spread apart, but outside they are closer together.
Anyway, if you want a more detailed review from me go over to www.harringtons.ca
The photo is of a cold mango soup (if i remember correctly, with brie in pastry). This was my favourite appetizer from Juniper so far.

I had an amazing Lychee Martini here.. not sure if it's still on the menu but can highly recommend.