Valentines [General]
2007 Feb 5
If price is REALLY not an object, and you want something special, I would suggest Signatures or Beckta - both will run you $200 or over for 2 though (best to check out thier websites in advance to make sure you can and want to afford it!), however both will offer you an exceptional food and wine experience. Signatures in particular will not be a problem for being "squished" - they have several rooms in which they seat people instead of just one big dining room. You may find yourself being one of only 3 tables in a particular room. There's even a special room called "La Chapelle" that seats only 1 table (it's a favourite for marriage proposals!)
2007 Feb 6
How about Genji?
Their website shows the Valentine Special for $38 including a glass of champagne (wrong spelling on their website), seafood soup, sashimi cocktail salad, appetizer, mango sushi, entree and Valentine dessert. $38? is it a typo?
www.genji.ca/main2.html
Their website shows the Valentine Special for $38 including a glass of champagne (wrong spelling on their website), seafood soup, sashimi cocktail salad, appetizer, mango sushi, entree and Valentine dessert. $38? is it a typo?
www.genji.ca/main2.html
2007 Feb 6
Hi, Guess money is a barrier then!!! I was thinking more like 130-140max. I was looking at the signatures valentines dinner and night stay but at 179 pp it seems a bit much. I was looking at all the reviews for Genji online and they are all great, the only thing that doesn't look so great is that on Valentines (if i read correctly) they are only offering the one dinner menu, but they might just mean on Valentines the 14th, and maybe won't extend it to the weekend.
2007 Feb 7
the problem with genji is that it isn't very romantic. as its such a large open space and is quite loud. If you are thinking 130-140 why not try Beckta? you could probably do appetizer, entree and share a dessert with a glass of wine each for 150. It would be worth the extra and is more romantic, plus the food is good.
www.beckta.com i think
www.beckta.com i think
2007 Feb 7
I would suggest Bistro 115 (down the street from Domus) www.bistro115.com/welcome.htm
They are consistently good, and will cost you less than $200. They usually run a 'reservations only' Valentine's Dinner (if you are interested on the 14th) where they do not cram extra patrons in, and they only offer a Table d'Hote for about (couple years ago) $50 / person.
They are consistently good, and will cost you less than $200. They usually run a 'reservations only' Valentine's Dinner (if you are interested on the 14th) where they do not cram extra patrons in, and they only offer a Table d'Hote for about (couple years ago) $50 / person.
2007 Feb 7
One of the most romantic places I've ever been to, is Vineyards in the market. I know it's not fancy, but I love the atmosphere and candles and the selection of wines. When I went there, the food was good, as I recall, but that was a while ago and I can't rememember what we had.
I might go there on the 14th. Does anyone have anything to say about the place?
I might go there on the 14th. Does anyone have anything to say about the place?
2007 Feb 8
The menu for Genji's Valetine dinner looks pretty good to me. I almost wish I wasn't single this year :)
Oh well, I have a printmaking class that night and will be happily up to the elbows in ink. At least I don't have to work that night.
Benny's Bistro (the restaurant where I work) is having a Valentine dinner but only on the 14th (bistro isn't usually open at night). I can't remember the menu offhand but it is on display in the bakery up front. Downside is that the bistro is really small (28 seats I think) so reservations only.
I'm making the dessert which is:
Lychee Bavarian "Bijou" Cake
and
Dark Chocolate Pomegranate mousse in a black and white sesame seed cone
garnished with tropical fruit salad
Oh well, I have a printmaking class that night and will be happily up to the elbows in ink. At least I don't have to work that night.
Benny's Bistro (the restaurant where I work) is having a Valentine dinner but only on the 14th (bistro isn't usually open at night). I can't remember the menu offhand but it is on display in the bakery up front. Downside is that the bistro is really small (28 seats I think) so reservations only.
I'm making the dessert which is:
Lychee Bavarian "Bijou" Cake
and
Dark Chocolate Pomegranate mousse in a black and white sesame seed cone
garnished with tropical fruit salad
2007 Feb 13
I suppose it is bad etiquette to suggest non-food related activities, but mmmfood, are you sure you want to eat out on Wednesday at all? The best places will be crowded and expensive, lesser places will still be crowded, but the food will be sub-par due to the places trying to fit too many people for their staff and kitchen to handle properly. If I were you, I'd look for entertainment, such as The Blacksheep Inn, or The Rainbow. I've even been to the Bytowne Cinema (with my SO) on Valentines watching a Noam Chomsky documentary ( which I get teased about every year of course.. 'remember the year you took me to see Noam....' ) Of course, there is always a skate on the canal with poutine and beavertail to warm you up...
2007 Feb 15
LOL! At about 2:30pm yesterday afternoon ALL the lights went out in Sandy Hill. I was at school (Cordon Bleu), so all the workers at Signatures who were in the middle of prep for that night's Valentine's service were like "Ohhhhhh crrraaapppp". 60 reservations and no power!!!! The dishwasher thought it was hilarious, but I imagine the chef may have been a little stressed! It all turned out in the end though - the lights came back on about 1 hour later - I still had to go to my afternoon practical class (boo!), on the bright side we made seafood risotto, and pork tenderloin stuffed with foie gras, truffles, and mushrooms with Perigoux sauce which boyfriend ate happily (yum!)
2007 Feb 16
I chose to do a nice Cafe Paradiso lunch with my wife... as the romance works better without the babysitter worry, or screaming child... ;-) Also topped up the tanks with a delicious box of Stubbe truffles, and the ever popular meteorites (my name.. not Stubbe's.. they are cocoa coated hazlenut chocolate hard caramel sugary creations...) Too bad for you HOT you still had to go to class, but too good for your BF.. so it all balances out eh? ;-)
2007 Feb 16
I ended up making dinner here, my boyfriend worked till 6 so when he came in dinner was ready, a nice garden salad, some pork chops breaded using my chicken french recipe, my roasted potatoes with homeade french bread and homeade chocolate cake for dessert and a bottle of Lindemans Pinot Noir! We were so full!!
2007 Feb 18
I almost forgot about my Valentines dinner.
I ended up being invited to my Cuban friends' place 2 buildings over for dinner and drinks. We were a party of 8.
For the opener they served Caldosa, which is a vegetable/meat stew including sweet potatoes, beans, peppers and other things, and seasoned with Cuban favourites like cilantro, bay and cumin. The version they made was meatless this time. It's so good! I asked B for the recipe and he kind of chuckled and said, 'It's so easy, and in my head'. So I challenged him to write it down for me and I will share with you guys once I get it. I've been after his recipe for about 5 years now.
The next course was fried pork, seasoned with lime, garlic and salt. They cut it into squares and deep fry it. Crispy on the outside and tender inside. With white rice smothered in more of the broth from the caldosa. I love this stuff!
Then when I thought i was getting full, boiled yucca with Mojo (oil, garlic, lime, salt). Yucca is somewhat like a potato but more fibrous and richer in flavour. And the very best: fried plantains. They are cut into 1" slices and fried in 1/2" of oil once on each side, then removed from pan and flattened out with wax paper, then fried a second time, and sprinkled lightly with salt.
We also enjoyed salad, done up Cuban style, iceberg, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, oil and lime.
All of this was accompanied by a bottomless glass of Havana Club neat, or red wine or Stella. I drank a bit of everything, since it's only a 2 minute walk home.
Cuban coffee for dessert.
If you're ever invited for a Cuban meal, do NOT pass it up. They serve up foods to delite everyone's tastes, and plenty of it! Muy delicioso!
I ended up being invited to my Cuban friends' place 2 buildings over for dinner and drinks. We were a party of 8.
For the opener they served Caldosa, which is a vegetable/meat stew including sweet potatoes, beans, peppers and other things, and seasoned with Cuban favourites like cilantro, bay and cumin. The version they made was meatless this time. It's so good! I asked B for the recipe and he kind of chuckled and said, 'It's so easy, and in my head'. So I challenged him to write it down for me and I will share with you guys once I get it. I've been after his recipe for about 5 years now.
The next course was fried pork, seasoned with lime, garlic and salt. They cut it into squares and deep fry it. Crispy on the outside and tender inside. With white rice smothered in more of the broth from the caldosa. I love this stuff!
Then when I thought i was getting full, boiled yucca with Mojo (oil, garlic, lime, salt). Yucca is somewhat like a potato but more fibrous and richer in flavour. And the very best: fried plantains. They are cut into 1" slices and fried in 1/2" of oil once on each side, then removed from pan and flattened out with wax paper, then fried a second time, and sprinkled lightly with salt.
We also enjoyed salad, done up Cuban style, iceberg, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, oil and lime.
All of this was accompanied by a bottomless glass of Havana Club neat, or red wine or Stella. I drank a bit of everything, since it's only a 2 minute walk home.
Cuban coffee for dessert.
If you're ever invited for a Cuban meal, do NOT pass it up. They serve up foods to delite everyone's tastes, and plenty of it! Muy delicioso!
2007 Feb 20
Better late than never...here is my dinner I made for my boyfriend and I on Valentine's day, with the salmon I picked up from Lapointes. It was a honey mustard cornmeal baked salmon with a side of snap peas and mushrooms. It was really yummy, except for the bones in the salmon. I liked the look of the salmon steak in the store so that's what I bought but next time I'll stick to the boneless fillets like I used to!
2007 Feb 20
Here was the dessert...chocolate cheese cake! I dusted the top of the cheese cake with cocoa powder and then put a cut out of a heart on top and dusted the heart cut out with icing powder....I was so proud how cute it looked!
I've only done a cheese cake from scratch a few times. What happened this time was it had cracked...so I asked my coworker at the bakery why and he said that I should have bain-marie'd (marie's bath) it, which is setting the cheese cake in a pan of water in the oven so it steams it and keeps it from drying out!
I'm sure you bakers out there knew that already though!
I've only done a cheese cake from scratch a few times. What happened this time was it had cracked...so I asked my coworker at the bakery why and he said that I should have bain-marie'd (marie's bath) it, which is setting the cheese cake in a pan of water in the oven so it steams it and keeps it from drying out!
I'm sure you bakers out there knew that already though!
LUVGoodFOOD
Other experiences in market area:
Meditheos: The fist time we went to Meditheo's it was awsome, we got to order our choices on towers of food, then when we went the second time they had 'preselected' towers of food, so we got items we didn't really want..and the whole menu had been changed and we weren't happy and they had painted the restaurant that day and the whole place stunk of fresh paint...I think the bill for the two of us came to 130$.
Fish Market: We used to love the fish market, and the last time we went the staff was just hanging out near us, chatting it up. The food was horrendous, hubby ordered some sort of scallops and the bacon that was on it was just hanging there raw, super gross. The service was horrible and food was just terrible overall, it was like their cook didn't come in and they had some teenager off the street cooking. I just wonder if they just suck tourists in and take their money. What I have noticed is that all the Ottawa restaurant review sites, either were ordered to take down the reviews, or for some ODD reason there are none, but I think there were some there previously....
Bye for now