ottawa foodies

i have had some wonderful cheeses from quebec this past month. i am wondering where in ottawa or hull to go and buy some for at home? i am not familiar with the shops in hull, but if anyone knows of a good place to buy some microbrew quebec beer as well, that would be great.

Micro brews at just about any depanneur. Also for micros check out the Jovi Market on Begin directly across the river from Parkdale, close to the river.

As others have reported, try La Trappe a Fromage for both artisinal cheeses and brews. Just took a few of the latter home yesterday from the St. Raymond location. Well worth the short drive if you're looking for both cheese & beer.

Adding to the suggestions already made I would recommend the International Cheese store in the Byward Market or Il Negozio in the Glebe. Both stores have a pretty decent selection of Quebec cheeses. I "think" I saw some Quebec cheeses at the Bagel shop on my last trip but I haven't been there in a couple of months due to the bus strike.

If you have deep pockets, you can find a number artisnal cheeses from Quebec and Ontario and New Brunswick at the Ottawa Bagel Shoppe.

Some say the New Brunsick ones made near the salty marshes that join New Brunswick to Nova Scotia are quite interesting. Cheeses that take on the smells and tastes of the Atlantic Ocean or Bay of Fundy or The Northumberland Strait.

The picture is from around Bouctouche, NB.

Even a typical grocery store in Hull will have a better than usual selection of cheeses. There's a Provigo just off Highway 5 at the St. Joseph Blvd. South exit that is very convenient. You can also pick up your beer and wine there too.

I started grocery shopping in Hull a few years ago and it's great fun noticing all the "little things" that are different.

I'd recommend crossing the river because the dairy product prices are a lot cheaper. I went into Marche Frais in Les Galeries d' Hull and they had a lot of great cheeses for reasonable prices.

Costco on Merivale has a good assortment of quebecois cheeses and the prices are reasonable. I don't know how many would qualify as artisanal.

thank you! i did a search before i posted this, but obviously didn't put in the right words. i found the previous mentions to la trappe a fromage and it sounds exactly what i am looking for. sadly the hours appear to be until 6pm only. i will send my husband across the river on a scouting expedition later this week.

does anyone have any recommendations for cheese & beer combinations? we had a nice appley type cheese at le spa nordik on the weekend that went well with an apple Éphémère by unibroue (though i suppose unibroue is not a microbrewry any more).

"does anyone have any recommendations for cheese & beer combinations?"

The Trappist Monks of Belgium really know how to pair cheese with beer.

www.chimay.com/en/intro_58.php

And Quebec Micro's make lots of belgium style beers.

Here is another good reference for beer and cheese pairings.

www.artisanalcheese.com

thanks for the links. i have always like beer with cheese, and now, thanks to artisanalcheese.com, i know it is because beer & cheese jibe due to the fact they grew up on the farm together :)

i enjoy lambic beers, but never thought of it as a cheese beer. i will have to try out a few combinations.

Lambic is the ultimate farmhouse cheese beer. Don't restrict youreslf to Belgian styles either. Nothing works with good strong English cheeses like a nice Barley Wine. Check out The Brewmaster's Table by Garrett Oliver, a great book.

hipfunkyfun La Trappe has two locations (that I know of) in Gatineau. Apparently the one on St. Raymond has a selection of microbrewed beers: ottawafoodies.com/vendor/1234.

If memory serves me right there is also a big SAQ near that location. I know you were looking specifically for beers to serve with your cheese but if all else fails the SAQ has some nice vins de terroir that they could recommend. I seldom buy wines in Quebec but the times I have the SAQ staff have been very knowledgeable and helpful. Good luck and keep us posted...

Nicastro in the market will have alot of them
the inventory changes requently

at my resto I get mine from Orleans Fresh Fruit and Produce

I currently use

Bleu Benedictine
Le Chevre Noir
a soft goat cheese from the same producer as Le Chevre Noir
and Sir Laurier

"does anyone have any recommendations for cheese & beer combinations?"

Why not combine the two in one pot? BeerBistro in Toronto makes a very tasty cheese-lager fondue.

i do have a cheese fondue planned, so i could just add some beer to that, good idea. we are heading to a remote log cabin in quebec and we always stock up on special treats and beverages for the week.

i had two failed stops and two successful stops in hull. i went to marche frais, but it was closed. we stopped in at provigo, but i was not impressed with the cheese selection. i did pick up some quebec beer (cheval blanc, blonde d’achouffe, coup de grisou, and unibroue ephemere apple) and french champagne. then we stopped at a little organic market on st. joseph and found some wonderful chocolate. we got three bars - honey, fire (cayenne) and fleur de sel.

i found two cheeses to try, but must look for more. i'd like a nice sauvigne and a mordier.

on the way home, we stopped by the jovi market and it does have a great selection of beer. i bought a lot of individual bottles, but may go back for the lambic and something from france. i can't remember the kinds, but one had cognac, and one had hibiscus (this is for me, my husband is scornful of flowery or fruity beers). i grabbed a bottle of sparkling cider to try as well. they were having a sale on lovely jams from france, so i picked up so blackberry jam and sour cherry jam to have with fresh croissants one morning.

I had a hibiscus beer last night (Brasserie Dieu du Ciel). It was quite nice. Not at all overpowering but just slightly flavoured - very pleasant. I am a fan of lambics and am always on the lookout for interesting ones.
Jovi Market is one of our favourites to find interesting beers. Your getaway to the log cabin sounds like a great food time - enjoy!

I'd imagine the French beer would probably be 3 Monts. It's a Biere de Garde and, I think, an excellent beer. Mmmm, I think you've convinced me to make a trip out there this weekend... despite my already bursting beer cellar!

HipFunkyFun - If I recall correctly, I've seen some Quebec Artisanal Cheeses at the Nicastro family's stores:
Nicastro's - Nicastro Fine Foods
Il Negozio Nicastro - Il Negozio Nicastro
Pesto's - Don Alfonso

Although ALL of Quebec is known for fabulous cheese the up and coming regions seem to the Eastern Townships and the long established Charlevoix region. Baie St Paul environs in particular is becoming a cheese mecca.