Ottawa Foodies

My son and I went to lunch yesterday at Le Café following the public unveiling of the life-sized bronze statue of Oscar Peterson by the NAC facing Elgin Street.

We decided to have the lunch table d'hôte. Two lunch items for $18.

I started with a salad which was excellent. Arugula, goat cheese, pear, radish and lightly sugared pecans. My son had a substantial bowl of very tasty black bean soup.

Our mains were a rainbow trout with jasmine rice and side of carrots and rapini. Dreamy sauce. So rich and creamy. And then the 'beef shins'. An osso bucco style dish. No skimping on the meat here. Served with mashed potatoes and the same side of veggies.

The starter buns were not great. The trio of spreads were! Pumpkin pesto, salted butter and then roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato and garlic.

No room for dessert but I did like the cup of coffee. Nice and strong.

I look forward to going back as I would like to try the Taste 5 menu.

If you would like to see pictures and read more, you are welcome to check out my blog at:

ottawafood.blogspot.com

Back in the dark ages of the last millennium, this was one of our go-to places for special occasions, but then they went downhill. After a couple of disappointing visits, we stopped going... must be 14-15 years ago now. But now, with Blackie at the helm, we figured it was time to head back there. Based on our lunch there last week, I'd say they're definitely back as one of the better downtown dining options.

My meal was a two-parter special that wasn't on the regular menu, starting with a really nice salad with mixed greens, candied walnuts, thinly sliced radish, and shavings of a cheese whose name slips my mind. The main was a generous portion of rainbow trout, perfectly cooked, and served with jasmine rice, carrots, rapini, and a tasty sauce that did not overpower the fish. The only nit I would pick is with the rapini (fried), which was fairly tasteless and bitter. Some chard or spinach would have improved the dish. My wife had the "Cape Breton" lobster, done up with a Thai red curry sauce and accompanied by jasmine rice. Very nice indeed. At lunchtime, starters are in the $9-$14 range, and mains ring in at $14-$19. At dinnertime, the mains jump up to the $29-$40 range.

They have a fairly interesting wine list that is about 50% Canadian, which is pretty good - but I'd like to see them bite the bullet and take it to 100%. Prices are fairly typical for downtown Ottawa (which is to say, too high).

Service was okay, though our server didn't seem to know too much about wine, and he wasn't particularly friendly. I don't expect a server to be effusively friendly, but he was just a little too far in the other direction (aloofness?). That's one aspect of our recent visit that harkened back to earlier times dining at the NAC.

On the plus side, though, they have one of the best patios for outdoor dining in the area. It was a great place to be on a warm and sunny afternoon... except for that woman nearby wearing way too much perfume - sheesh! Fortunately, the playful breezes only occasionally pushed the fumes our way.

We'll definitely go back to sample some more of Chef Blackie's creations.

Blackie's menu exceeded my expectations and I had a very nice dinner at Le Cafe. The highlights were the Digby sea scallops and the 30 day dry aged AAA ribeye. Their watermelon compression was nice as well. Never thought to eat watermelon with feta and black olive but it was a great combination. I also really enjoyed the pumpkin seed pesto that came with our bread.

Ate there twice in the recent past. The quality of the food exceeded by far our expectations (thus the second visit). Had the pickerel with lemon juice and butter each time. Best fish I have had in Ottawa, in years. The sevice is fabulous -- the servers are actually of legal drinking age, which is a nice change for Ottawa. Definitely a must try, even if it's not before or after a show at the NAC.

Hubby and I went to Le Café for Valentines dinner and to see a show afterwards.
I will start by saying that the service was wonderful because hubby's cousin was our server, although the service has always been good when we go there anyways.
We started with cocktails: Kir Royale for me, beer for him.
We ordered from the Valentine's menu, but the regular menu was also available if you preferred that. The Valentine's menu included the app, the main and coffee or tea. Le Café never includes the dessert - I still find that a bit chintzy.

Appetizer: wild mushroom soup with crispy pancetta for me, salad with cranberries, pumpkin seeds and feta for him - both were good

Main Course: Me - Crab cake and tempura soft shell crab on a bed of mashed potatoes with roasted white and pink beets and asparagus ($35)

Him - chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese and pistachios served with exactly the same sides as above ($30)

Both of these were good as well but - not sure about the crab served with mashed potatoes, rice would have been better. Seems like they were cutting corners or lacking imagination a bit by serving the same sides with both dishes. Otherwise the food was hot, fresh and tasty.

We had a half litre of Rosemount Estate Diamond Label Sauvignon Blanc to share with dinner. (This was VERY expensive at $27.95) OUCH!

Dessert was a little disappointing. I ordered the special Valentine's dessert which was listed as a "flourless chocolate cake" served with champagne sorbet. I have had many a flourless chocolate cake and this one was definitely not one of them.
It had three layers of light and fluffy cake alternated with what tasted like a hazelnut mousse and was filled with nuts. Nothing special (plus I don’t like nuts but none were mentioned in the description otherwise I wouldn’t have ordered it) ($7)
The champagne sorbet was amazing.
Hubby had a dessert from the regular menu: Pecan sugar pie. This was better but there were way too many pecans so it made it very dry. It came with maple ice cream which was delish! ($?)
The cappuccino he ordered was also delicious and perfectly made.

All in all a good dinner in a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere with great service but the wine is WAY too expensive and the desserts need help.
Our total bill came to $160 including tax and tip.
Would probably go back in the right circumstances. This was just really convenient because we were going to the show and with the weather it was nice to park our car underground, leave our coats and boots in the car and be able to go and have dinner and see a show without having to leave the building. Makes for a really nice evening out.

I went to Le Cafe for dinner the other night on a break. What a treat! I must be on a bit of a Cassoulet kick right now, so I tried their Winterlude Table d'hote. I started with the Mixed Winter Green Salad with Candied Pecans and Roasted Apples, with a creamy stilton vinaigrette. The salad was mostly frisee and the apples and pecans came through the mild stilton vinaigrette. It wasn’t drenched in dressing so everything kept its flavour nicely.

Then came the main course, Le Café’s Rendition of the Classic “Cassoulet”, a confit of duck (from Quebec), grilled saucisse de Toulouse and roast pork breast (from Ontario) and Sauvignon Blanc braised white beans with fresh tomatoes and herbs. Delicious! The confit was moist without being too greasy, the pork breast was perfectly cooked and the sausage was grilled, but not dry. The beans were delicious, full of tomato flavour and hint of basil maybe? I thoroughly enjoyed the meal with a Mission Hill Merlot.

Dessert was also excellent. A “Triple Tall” Parsnip Cake with Vanilla Cream Frosting. Oh my goodness. I love carrot cake, and this was similar, but different in a subtle way. Moist and delicious.

Then came the main course, Le Café’s Rendition of the Classic “Cassoulet”, a confit of duck (from Quebec), grilled saucisse de Toulouse and roast pork breast (from Ontario) and Sauvignon Blanc braised white beans with fresh tomatoes and herbs. Delicious! The confit was moist without being too greasy, the pork breast was perfectly cooked and the sausage was grilled, but not dry. The beans were delicious, full of tomato flavour and hint of basil maybe? I thoroughly enjoyed the meal with a Mission Hill Merlot.

Was here on Sunday for the brunch buffet and could not have been more impressed. It helped that it was a beautifully sunny day and we were able to sit right beside the canal.

The food was excellent, I can't think of one dish that I was disappointed in; the list of items from the web site is exactly what was served at the brunch. Particular standouts for me included the lamb and the homemade perogies. Service was great and they were very attentive to our two-year old daughter and our calls for copious amounts of coffee refills.

For the two of us (under five are free), our total with tip and tax was $73. If I remember correctly, this works out to about $10/person cheaper than the Laurier and I would say they are very comparable, with the advantage going to Le Cafe on a bright sunny day.

We will definitely be back to enjoy again.

Le Café now serves Sunday Brunch! (Starting July 26th) Their sample menu can be found here:
www.nac-cna.ca