Ottawa Foodies

3

Birthdays are about the company and not the food my wife keeps telling me. Service was really friendly and our server was quite knowledgable about the food and how it was prepaired. It had been years since we last visited this chain and things sure have changed. I remember most of their menu items had some sort of cranberry theme way back when. Not anymore. The new menu has a little something for everyone from an array of pasta dishes to flatbreads and steaks. No local brews on tap but bellinis a flying in this place. One would be hard pressed getting any pork though maybe in the sausage ravioli which I should have ordered. After asking about their frozen burgers and fries I was told the meatloaf was made in house. The Kobe style meatloaf the emphasis on (STYLE)was a cylindrical chunk of ground beef seasoned quite stongly with an herb I could not identify. String dusted fried onions topped this dish all sitting on garlic mashed potatoes that really had no garlic flavor swimming in a salty shiitake mushroom jus with no mushrooms detectable. It may be made in house but I have a sneaky suspicion it was then cooked and frozen to be reheated at a later date. Sodium levels are off the charts on this dish weird since they emphasize a 800mg per dish disclaimer. The meatloaf itself was a tad on the dryside so I doubt it was Kobe beef maybe an american wagu crossed with angus,green beans and carrots were very firm and tasty. Average chain food with a bit higher of a price.

I had a giftcard for Milestones which I used on Sunday afternoon. I have nothing bad to say about Milestones; in fact, although Milestones is a big chain (Cara foods), I am of the opinion that Milestones is better then most restaurants in the market in terms of price, quality, consistency and service. I would choose Milestones over Mama Grazzi, Spiga, Metropolitan, The Black Tomato, Cornerstone, Steak, Mambo, Trattoria, Blue Cactus, etc. If I have ever had a slight problem with my food at Milestones, they rectify it instantly, and after 10 years of dining a various locations, I have only had bad service once (in the Toronto area) to which the manager ended up giving me a generous voucher to keep my business. I also feel that Milestones is far better then Moxy - although similar - the quality of food at Milestones superior to Moxy.

On Sunday my girlfriend and I split the fried mushroom/goat cheese risoto balls to start. These were moist on the inside, filled with tasty mushrooms, had a copious amount of goat cheese and were served with a very rich tomato sauce. The tomato sauce wasn’t quite necessary, so I just ate it separately from the risotto ball. It was so rich that it was a pleasure to eat on its own.

1

For the mains, we ended up splitting two dishes. In my search for a decent Ottawa burger, we ordered the California burger (topped with guac) with sweet potato fries, and I ordered their new Miso glazed black sea bass with edamame, potatoes and mushrooms.

Burger? very good! Nuff said. Not exceptional, but it was moist, the patty was seasoned and it was priced right at about $13.99. Take note Works et. al, a mega chain that is part of Harvey’s (which I personally detest), does a better burger then the so called gourmet burger restaurant(s). When we ordered, we asked for sweet potato fries, but we received curly fries instead. When it arrived the server was very apologetic, and brought us out a fresh batch of sweet potato fries in no time - and she didn’t take the curly fries away. Restaurant rectification done right!

The sea bass was very good too. The fish was the perfect consistency, moist and falling apart but not mushy at all! The accoutrements were perfectly matched, and the sweet and tangy miso glaze was delicious. My only qualm was the price. This was $27.99, while the other bass dish they offered was $22.99. It was fantastic, but I felt the price point was disproportionally high compared to other things, like steak for example which was also 22. But since a belated Christmas gift payed for it, I was happy.

The appetizer, a mimosa, a creemore, the burger and the fish came to about 70 dollars. The service was exceptional - as always.

Milestones nails it again; small privately owned restaurants take a lesson from this behemoth.

Had brunch here for the fist time on Saturday. AMAZING strawberry french toast. Not too sweet and good portion size. Great ambiance and reasonable prices. With such a varied menu, I find the servers are always helpful when asked to recommend something. Love this place!

The European Sea Bass

2

A friend and I were at Milestones (Pinecrest) for lunch and were looking forward to trying the Top Chef Canada menu. After avidly watching the show, we thought it would be cool to check out the menu. It is available as a 'Trio for 2' for $60 - which I thought was quite reasonable. www.milestonesrestaurants.com Each person gets the starter, the main and share a dessert. I frequent Milestones a lot and the staff are always friendly and professional as they were on this day, unfortunately, the food they served let them down.

The first course was the Tomato Gazpacho with Mini Bacon Tomato Cucumber sandwich. The gazpacho arrived at our table room temperature. It was a scorching hot day and an ice cold gazpacho would have been great. It was spicy and had some avocado chunks and roasted red pepper, but otherwise was not anything special. It was lacking some crunch - some diced cucumber would have been great. The best part of the starter was the mini-sandwich. The server arrived and asked if we liked it, noticed our almost still full bowls and said it's been a hit and miss with the customers (mostly a miss). We didn't complain about it, just how we would like it to have been cold. The manager then came over, with apologies, and told us that they are contractually obligated to serve the dish exactly as the recipe comes to them from the Top Chef Canada people. He apologized that we didn't like it (not his fault at all) and gave us a voucher for an appetizer next time we were in.

The main course was European Sea Bass with roasted fennel and orange glazed radishes served with basmati rice. This dish was better. The fish was perilously close to being over cooked - due to the thinness of the filets, so not much could be done about that. The fennel/orange sauce was a tad over-reduced so had a strong flavour. However, I have to say that once a bite was composed - rice, fish, sauce, fennel, radish - it harmonized nicely in the mouth. Still, I probably would opt for another choice on another visit.

The biggest let down was dessert, which we each tasted and left the rest on the plate. It was the Apple Bacon Tart. The tart was warm, but there was no crunch to the crust. The apples were lacking a glaze and were a touch undercooked. The bacon pieces were limp. There was a dollup of (?) creme fraiche on top, which was lumpy. It didn't seem to gel with the rest of the dish - there wasn't enough sweetness in the tart to overcome the tanginess of the creme fraiche.

Overall, the meal was a let down. Service, as usual was stellar and I can't wait to return, but to try some of their usual favourites. The things I wasn't fond of could have been a combination of Milestones execution of the items and the restraints that were put upon them by the menu. Regardless, I don't fault Milestones for this menu. I imagine there was some tweaking done somewhere in a kitchen by the Top Chef folks, to make the dish on a mass scale. I just think that something got lost in translation between the Top Chef's intent and the actual dish that is being served across the country.

As ever, this is a matter of opinion :-)

1

Was at Milestones on Saturday afternoon for a drink and a light post-lunch snack with the girlfriend.

Belini's x2. Yum! It's totally a lady drink.. I know, but it is too good to pass up on a beautiful, hot May afternoon.

We shared one of our usual apps at Milestones, the baked goat cheese, crustini/pitas, roasted garlic and preserve plate.

It it was delicious as usual. We did notice that it has slightly changed since the last time we had it. There is no longer a chunky, spicy mango chutney and the chunky fig preserve is now a fig smooth fig jam. This plate is still great. To bad about the mango chutney, it was really good.

The platter is about 10 bucks - this is the perfect afternoon snack/drink for a beautiful patio in downtown Ottawa.

3

Headed to Milestone's for their 'Date Night' promo a couple weeks back, and were promptly greeted by 6 smiling teenage hostesses (+ 1 host) ready for the impending rush. We noticed that when we were seated, there was a card on the table with the exact time that we took our booth. Our waitress was persistent in asking for our orders every couple minutes, but we still didn't feel too rushed.

Seeing as everything was 2 for 1, we got 2 apps, which was more than enough. Our first choice was the Baked Goat Cheese & Slow-Roasted Garlic plate, which featured ciabatta toasts, 'naan' bread, cranberry relish, fig jam, roasted garlic, and an ample ball of goat cheese (coated in poppy seeds or something, I forget). It was all great, except the breads/toasts didn't quite taste fresh. The condiments were really nice, and the presentation was appealing.
The other app we ordered were the Yam Frites, accompanied by a chipotle mayo. An overwhelming 'meh' to these .. though there was a mountain of them, there wasn't much to them or the mayo. Fairly tasteless, but good to munch on anyway.

For mains, we both got burgers. Partner had the veg patty topped with four cheeses (ched, mozza, feta, goat). Said it was bang on. As was mine-- I had the beef patty topped with surprisingly generous helpings of avocado salsa and bacon. We really like the burgers here-- we both rated them as above average, and the toppings are plentiful and complementary. Only complaint for mine might have been salt-- I was reaching for water the whole time, but not totally sure if that was the reason.

With the discount, it was a great price -- at regular price, the meal would have come to $70. Even though the food was great, I'd rather take that kind of budget elsewhere.

But again-- for a chain, Milestone's always impresses me. It's easy to see they run a tight ship, but the product is great and well worth a visit every now and again.

So good! I love bellini's and this one is really delicious! I usually order it with the extra shot (choice of raspberry vodka or pineapple rum...I go with the vodka because it has a higher alcohol content therefore you get more for your money) but I don't mix it in I just drink it as a shooter. Much cheaper than actually ordering a shooter and I can't resist a good deal. ;) I love the little drink animals too!

...and I should mention that this "drink" is so good that guys should order it too. Who cares if people look at you funny -- it's delicious!

Fishbowl-sized, eh? Hmmm.... wow.

Also comes in a fishbowl size...ie a real fishbowl :D
lol


...darn i can't seem to find my picture of mine from last summer. oh well, google it. :)

1

The famous Bellini!! DELISH! Perfect for the patio on a hot day.

"A frozen blend of premium white rum, peach liqueur and champagne, topped with Boone's sangria."

I know another review on this dish here wasn't all that great but I quite enjoyed it. Simple, not a lot of sauce and I love any kind of nuts with pasta. The rosemary/garlic foccacia (spelling?) that came with was yummy...but then again, I love fresh rosemary so this was a win win for me.

Me and another girl friend ordered their roasted garlic caesar (dinner portion) with additional grilled chicken breast. Their so-called signature Caesar dressing was okay. (I gave 2.8 stars out of 5). Again, good portion and I had hard time to finish it as well.

P.S. The two crostinis included in the salad (put on the side) were not fresh at all. We only had one bite.

Two girl friends ordered their grilled chicken salad (chicken breast, red corn tortilla strips, cilantro, tossed with honey-lime peanut vinaigrette and peanut sauce). The portion was huge and one girl friend can't finish it.

This was the chocolate ganache torte. Very rich, but not bad at all. The crust was very delicious. If you like dark chocolate and a cookie crumb crust, then you’ll love this.

This is a delicious slice of cheesecake.
I believe it's vanilla bean cheesecake with coffee creme anglaise or something like that (don't quote me on it). Our server suggested we try it with their homemade butterscotch sauce and brought us a little dish of it to pour on. Heaven!

3

I hope I don't loose a foodie star, but Milestones was a great brunch choice, even though I tend to avoid the corporate chains. We choose it because it has a gluten free menu, and my wife had the red curry chicken. Many of their mains can be made gluten free, and our server had some great suggestions, such as eggs benedict made with the gluten free burger buns.

I had the california benedict, which is eggs benedict with grilled shrimp and guac. It was really good. It also came with roasted potatoes, topped with a chili jam. The chili jam was awesome.

The kids menu offerings were an incredible deal, 8.99 which included mains, drink and desserts. The mains were so large, they fed the kids for supper too.

This was a great place for our family, as it was kid friendly, the food was really good, and very celiac friendly.

They have Kobe Meatloaf here. At ~$20 I'm not sure whether it was actually "Kobe", or just American Wagyu. A satisfying portion but no better than any other meatloaf I've tried in my life.

The South East Asian Chicken Skewers with Trio of Dipping Sauces (Kobe mustard, cool mango vinaigrette, sweet citrus cilantro sauce ) were reasonably tasty. Not as good as those spicy thai drummettes though. I kept switching through the sauces, trying to find one I really liked. Too bad because southeast asian flavours can be so great.

We also had the Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip that Ashley shows in her review. Very nice indeed!

1

The Spicy Thai Chicken Drummettes are really very good. Tasty and satisfying, served in a pool of peanut sauce (hidden in this admittedly bad picture) with a bowl of sesame-cucumber mayo.

I think I said before that the appies are good here -- better than the mains. I still stand by that. A great place for a drink and a few small plates!

I also ordered the roasted corn & potato chowder. A very rich and creamy soup with red corn tortilla strips, ancho chile, cheddar, sour cream (see the photo).

We ordered two appetizers to start. This was their famous spinach & artichoke dip with red tortilla chips. Good finger food to go with our drink (POM juice, ice tea) before our meal. But nothing special.

P.S. All the ladies are monitoring our weight carefully as our New Year resolution.

This was their calamari with andouille sausage that we ordered to share. Taste was okay.