Did you know that goat is one of the most widely-consumed meat on the planet? It is. And if you live in Ottawa I found the perfect place to get your goat on. It’s called Fishy’s Tropical Grill. Tucked away in the corner of a generic strip mall on Montreal Road in Vanier, Fishy’s is a Caribbean/Jamaican restaurant serving traditional Island food. Curry goat, fried dumplings, ackee, salt fish and more. And Fishy’s just also happens to be a Halal restaurant. Check it out. Friendly service and scrumptious food await you!
Fishy’s famous roti with island veggies and plantain. Delicious!
Saying goodbye is the worst but often made easier by good food and cool people. It was time to bid adieu to some longtime well-loved colleagues. A backyard BBQ on a perfect autumn day was in order. Not much more to say here except that topping off ribs with gourmet doughnuts was genius. Thanks Suzy Q Doughnuts. And so long dear friends. Goodbye is not forever.
I have a buddy that’s the coolest guy around. He’s also hilarious and extra kind. He and his wife both. And my buddy just happens to be a pro with the BBQ. You see, he owns a Weber so you know he’s serious. I am lucky enough to score an invite now and again to partake in his grilling extravaganzas. Yes, I am blessed.
Quite originally, he spiral-cuts the hot dogs. You heard me. Check out this video. The spiral-cut improves the wiener-eating experience by increasing the surface area of the frankfurter, thus resulting in a better grilled wiener and an extra tasty hot dog.
My hands are a bit shaky so the image below appears blurry. But there’s no mistaking that the hot dog was delicious.
The burgers looked like steaks on the grill and were juicy and delectable. The salad and the corn was just the right touch to finish off this meal. My friends really take care of me when I come over. I was stuffed. Oh, and if you haven’t already noticed, I like ketchup.
It’s late September and this might be the end of BBQ season for me. Unless I get a few more invites. Here’s hoping!
When I was seven years old the sound of an ice cream truck used to stop me dead in my tracks. The melodic chimes would send my pals and I into a mad frenzy, scurrying to find some money, any money, that would allow us to partake in this summer ritual. Many years later, not much has changed. My iPhone rings out with a tweet from The Merry Dairy ice cream truck signalling its arrival. The promise of ice cream still elicits the same sweaty palms, increased heart rate and mad dash to find cash.
Merry Dairy doesn’t serve run-of-the-mill ice cream. It dishes out frozen custard. According to its website, frozen custard was invented in Coney Island, New York in the 1920s. Today frozen custard is available throughout the US, but is almost unknown in Canada. Thankfully, The Merry Dairy is bringing this delicious ice cream to the Ottawa masses. Made fresh daily, hand scooped and sold from a truck, its uniqueness comes both from the quality of ingredients (cream, sugar and pasteurized egg yolk) and the machine that makes it.
I can attest to its deliciousness. The menu is simple. Chocolate or vanilla custard served up in a cone or a cup and topped (for a little bit extra coin) with your choice of toppings (chocolate, caramel, strawberry or raspberry sauce, Oreo crumbs, dutch chocolate or rainbow sprinkles). I chose the chocolate custard and xnayed the toppings. I promise to be a little bit more adventurous next time up but I wanted to savour the full flavour of the custard without any distractions, however tasty.
Part of the fun and excitement of Merry Dairy is that it’s a moving target. Here today, gone a little later today and not to reappear for a week or so. An easy way to keep track of the truck is to follow it on Twitter. Check out the upcoming schedule to learn when the truck will be in your neck of the woods. I don’t have any inside deets but I can’t imagine that Merry Dairy will be with us for much longer. As summer turns to fall and fall turns into frozen tundra, I would suggest that it’s best to catch The MD while you can. Carpe Diem and get your frozen custard. The 7-year-old in you won’t regret it.
My boss and a few colleagues took me out for my birthday lunch. I chose Allium Restaurant because of its proximity to work and also because I enjoy it there.
Allium’s mix of Canadian cuisine and classic French techniques often lands it on various top 10 lists of best restaurants in the city. The menu changes on the first Thursday of every month and often includes your choice of duck, foie gras, salmon, steak, sandwiches and pastas.
I had the Mushroom Tagliatelle which was both tasty and filing. If I have one critique for Allium is that its portions are generally on the smallish side. Not this time. My plate contained a hearty portion of ragù which left me quite satisfied.
Mushroom Tagliatelle brought together slow roasted pork shoulder, tomato confit, bacon,
mushrooms, roasted garlic, chili and eggplant.
The rest of my party had the Club Sandwich. I received a chorus of approving nods when I inquired about how they liked their meal.
Club sandwich and potato salad
Allium is refined yet approachable. It carefully and quite adroitly straddles the line between casual and fine dinning. The menu offers regional and farm-to-table ingredients spun in interesting combinations like the Duck Fat Fried Eggplant with chili and garlic or the Scallop Salad that combines blueberries, nectarines, oranges, pickled red onion, spiced peanuts with a cilantro-parsley dressing.
I highly recommend Allium for anyone looking for bistro fare done right. It is located at 87 Holland Avenue in Ottawa.
I’m glad that I got to finish off my birthday month at Allium. It’s been a quite enjoyable to spend time with the cool people in my life. I’m a very lucky dude indeed. I’m already looking forward to next year!
My uncle is a fascinating guy. Apart from being an admirable person, he loves Paris the way I love Boston. Hard to imagine, I know. He spends oodles of time in France hanging out with his friends. He fences (with a sword!) He’s a wine aficionado and a proficient chef. He has the ultimate green thumb. He’s a skilled photographer. He’s kind to my mom (his sister), to me (his godson) and he’s a supportive father to his two great kids. And if that wasn’t enough, he has the raddest dog on the block, Humphrey.
I always enjoy spending time with my uncle and I was happy to snag an invite to his groovy abode. Not much to report but suffice it to say that it was a nice evening, with some fine wine, some good food and a cool dog. Sometimes, that’s all that matters. Enjoy the pics below.
My boy Humphrey
A jade plant
Another jade plant. This one is humungous.
I think this is an azalea. I’m not a plant guy so I can’t be sure.
A funny birdie
A pensive Humphrey
Stuffed tomatoes
Chicken brochettes, potatoes and stuffed tomatoes. Delicious!
My employees mean the world to me. If you met them you’d understand. Smart, funny, talented, hard working, good looking and they even smell good! Quite frankly, I’m the luckiest guy around to have the privilege of managing these terrific people. In addition to being great, they are also quite thoughtful and favour a good old beer and burger combo now and again. So with that, my birthday lunch was set at The Clocktower Brew Pub in trendy Westboro.
The Clocktower Brew Pub Westboro, 418 Richmond Road, Ottawa
This new location in Westboro is stellar. It’s also the largest of its four Ottawa locations. We took advantage of a sunny day to sit out on the patio. A big plus of the Clocktower is that they brew their own beer. Their website states that “attention to detail, authentic ingredients, no preservatives, no additives and small batches ensure our enjoyment.” They also have some cool imported beer. I had Kölsch, a lighter German ale. It tasted great.
House brewed Kölsch is a refreshingly crisp light blonde ale.
I ordered the Rise & Shine burger. Anytime I can incorporate breakfast items into my meal, I’m in! Eggs and bacon on a burger? Brilliant.
Rise & Shine Burger had a sunny side egg, crisp bacon and HP sauce.
One of the crew had a burger with goat cheese, banana peppers and spicy mayo with some soup on the side. His plate was wiped clean so I’m guessing he was pleased with his choice.
Soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, fish & chips and steak & frites make up the majority of the menu. You can also find some unexpected items like the Kung Foo Noodle Bowl, the Chicken and Leek Crock Pot and a Hummus Platter. But in the end, my table went with the tried and true pub grub and we all left full and satisfied.
I wasn’t feeling the greatest that day but it was made better by hanging out at a great new spot with some of my fav people. This birthday month is really about spending time with the people in my life that mean the most to me. And if I get to celebrate at a great place like The Clocktower, then I’m all for extending my bday into September!
My family knows how much I dig birthdays. Lucky for me they’re always willing to do it up big. This year’s celebration included gourmet burgers, salads and make your own sundaes. Sweet! My family is pretty fly. I’m a very lucky guy. Check out the party pics below.
Baseball balloon. Coolest thing ever.
Choice of drinks. And no, I didn’t go for the Skinnygirl cocktail.
Spectacular salad
Burger toppings: Guacamole, sun-dried tomatoes and aioli.
More burger toppings: Bacon, caramelized onions and mushrooms.
It’s been a long while since my last barbecue. Some pals of mine threw together the most fancy pants BBQ I have ever had the pleasure of attending. Salad, vichyssoise, steak, potatoes, fennel and my favourite pie in the world, coconut cream.
You’ll notice the absence of a shot of the vichyssoise. I’m a photography dunce. I’m working on getting better so I ask for your patience. [As an aside, if you have tips for taking better pictures with an iPhone, send them my way. I would be eternally grateful.] Suffice it to say, the vichyssoise pic didn’t turn out and I was not going to subject you to the blurry mess. Although I have to say that the salad shot ain’t bad, no?
Thank you kind friends for throwing me a beautiful birthday BBQ. I appreciate you and all of the time you put into this great meal. You guys are brilliant!
A colourful and delicious summer salad
Dinner by candlelight. Steak, potatoes, fennel and wine. Mmmm.
Basil. Roasted tomato. Garlic. Walk into Parma Ravioli and the smells of Italia assault your senses. There’s a flurry of activity in the open kitchen. Cooking, chopping, baking. Rolling dough, stuffing pasta, simmering sauces. Man this place is cool!
I was psyched when my friend brought me to Parma for lunch on account of my bday. Nice! One of the sweet features of Parma is their express lunch counter. I indulged in a chicken parm sandwich. Pretty much the best I’ve ever had.
I work near Parma. I’ve been there a million times and will be back a million more. Their pastas are awe-inspiring, probably cause they’re made right on site. Need some assistance with dinner? Take away their fresh pastas and sauces or try their ready made dishes. Asparagus and Mascarpone and Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash are two of my favourite pastas. Apparently they do catering. If anyone is listening, maybe for next year, how awesome would it be to have a Parma catered CFD birthday lunch? Way awesome.
Although I intended this post to be more about my bday outing I couldn’t help but give a shout-out to a very deserving establishment. Thanks friend for springing for lunch and for remembering my birthday. And thanks Parma for another great meal. I’ll see you again soon.
