ottawa foodies

Thanks very much Richard's for your generous contribution to the Connaught Public School Stone Soup fundraiser!

Last weekend I popped into Richard's Hintonbur Kitchen to pick up a ready-made dinner to have for dinner on Saturday night. There were two specials available that day - a fish dish (can't remember what type of fish) and an oxtail stew. Although I love both I haven't had an oxtail stew in ages so I decided to pick some up for dinner. It was described as being a Vietnamese style oxtail stew but the ingredients look similar to my decidedly Canadian version on the dish consisting of oxtail and root vegetables. But Richard's version came with a dark gravy which was lightly spiced - it almost tasted like there was a little cinnamon in the gravy. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, the vegetables (potatoes and parsnips) were nicely roasted and the gravy had a rich velvety texture. I was also provided with some homemade hot sauce to have on the side. The oxtail and veg came in separate containers presumably to accomodate different heating times. The portion was just perfect for one but the price a little steep ringing in at $17 for the order. I don't eat out much (mostly just take-out on Saturday nights) so I don't mind paying a little more for the meal I purchase for take-out. I also like having the complete meal made for me - protein, veg, etc. so I just have the one dish to wash up after-;) And it's still a little cheaper than dining out in a restaurant.

Richard's Hintonburg Kitchen also has cookies, condiments, and lots of frozen meals to take home. I look forward to trying more of their offerings.

I dropped by here for some take out lunch the other week. I chose:

- the fried green tomato salad – several slices of local green tomatoes encrusted with a cornmeal herb crust with a corn vinaigrette and some goat’s cheese on the side
- the trout salad – two pieces of deliciously tender smoked trout sitting on a bed of greens with horseradish Worcestershire sauce

I thought my favourite was going to be the tomato salad, however it turned out to be the trout. The way the food was lovingly packaged and explained to me illustrates that food is taken very seriously here.

I will be back to get something from the Fresh-to-Freezer Pantry.

I had a quick lunch here on Saturday. I tried the fried green tomato salad and the Borscht Soup. Both were very fresh and tasty, the portions just right. The owner is very pleasant and passionate about his cooking. I also took home a Quinoa Carrot Cake from the freezer (gluten free). I was very surprised at how delicious and moist it was.

Was there to pick up some more cookies since I forgot about the emergency room staff at Montfort who managed to get my mom transferred to Heart Institute on Victoria day for an emergency angiogram and stent.

Not having had time for lunch yet, I got the asparagus chowder with bacon, potatoes, tomatoes and onion and the sweet potatoes salad which was the side for the smoked pork shoulder. The person before me walked out with the last serving of the smoked pork shoulder.

Really liked the asparagus chowder, much more than the asparagus bisque I had earlier in the week. I guess I am too much of a carnivore since the bacon really kicked it up a notch.

The sweet potato salad had cilantro, garlic chilli pepper and was excellent. I did not mind the cilantro and I am usually not a fan of it.

With my Mom at the Heart Institute, the limited hours of the cafeteria on Ruskin, and not wanting Timmy's for more than coffee or very occasional donut, I have been doing some takeouts from Richard's Hintonburg Kitchen.

First I did the asparagus bisque and chicken and bacon balls. The bisque was good with chunks of fresh asparagus the chicken and bacon balls were nice.

Another day I had the smoked pork butt sandwich with slaw and a roasted pear salad. The pork butt sandwich was small but good. Ended up I was full from the sandwich so my Dad had the salad later.

Also did a takeout dinner for myself and Dad of smoked trout dinner salad and the sous vide North African style chicken with vegetables and quinoa salad.

I liked the greens with the smoke trout salad and the smoked trout was fairly salty but tasty. The olives were pretty salty too and so was the artichoke hearts. With my mom having a heart attack, I am even more sensitive to the amount of salt in food.

I had a slice of the sous vide chicken and it was moist and very tasty and the quinoa salad was flavourful and studded with some dried fruits. the vegetables were some cut up crudités and only so so. I would have preferred some of the leaves in the trout salad personally.

The bags of cookies were looking interesting so bought some for gift baskets for doctor and nurses. There were chocolate hazelnut biscottis, peanut butter cookies, coffee walnut cookies and spilt gingersnaps.

Nothing wrong with a warm toasty bum

The proud (and he should be) Chef Richard carefully assembling my Lamb and Beef Ball Sandwich.

Lunch today.

Lamb and Beef Ball Sandwich on Harvest Loaf square bun.

Meat was loose (not too compacted), moist and cooked just right. Detected just-a hint of pink in one small portion. Lovin' it ! ($8)

Bum was nicely warmed and a bit toasty. I forget the mayo like sauce on it, but it complimented it quite well.

Over all, not a huge looking portion, but I'm surprised on just how filling this ultra-rich sammie is.

Looking forward to going back.

FF,

Yours looked nice too.

The pile I got was cooked sticky rice but they were a tad liquidy for my taste. Maybe they were cooking the sticky rice due to the congee they also had that Sat. The bok choy that was in the carton was about 3 leaves and they were raw. I guess they expected me to microwave the bok choy with the meat, thus cooking them. Ended up throwing them into a veggie stir fry. The kimchi was okay but for me I could have it or not have it. The korean broth came as jellie for mine and they were good eaten as jellie too.

I would love to find the beef cheek in more restaurant (a la bourguignon) but the only other place I found it so far was le Cordon Bleu and it was in their $75 tasting menu.

Had the Black Bean Soup I picked up on Sat a couple of days later. Had a smoky pepper with a bit of kick and lots of vegetables (carrots, celery, tomatoes) and the headlining black beans.

It was very tasty and reduced a little bit more it could easily have become a vegetarian chili.

Wanted a snack while picking up a take out diner. The Scotch Broth sounded good and I ordered that with the Beef Cheek diner special.

The soup had chunks of lamb and lots of root vegetables but did not have any barley in it. I would consider this a very nice lamb vegetable soup rather than scotch broth but I guess the omission makes it gluten free.

I would order this again. $4 for the soup or you can order soup and side salad for $7.

Ordered the side roasted beet salad with the black bean soup to takeout for $7.

Arugula with roasted beets, orange segments, goat cheese and a citrus beet dressing. Very tasty and good counter to the beef cheeks.

Beef cheeks in Korean broth was on menu 2 Sat in a row and apparently are now in freezer order too.

They had Caribbean coconut curry version this week on menu but did not make it in before they ran out.