Fish | The Waffle

Saturday, November 21, 2009

A great bit of Newfoundland in O-town

We were shopping for furniture in Vanier, of all places, and got hungry. I decided the place for us to go was just up further on Montreal road: the Newfoundland Pub. Mel had never been, but it is worth the detour even if it is a bit far from downtown.

The place looks like nothing from outside. It is not an area of Vanier known for its architechture - in fact, it looks like an industrial building. There is a small parking lot available for patrons.

You enter and notice immediately the decor. It is a bit old and tired, but it is part of the charm of the place. Newfoundland is all over, complete with a Lobster on the ceiling.

They have live bands in the evening, pretty much everyday, but the place was not very busy on this Saturday afternoon. As usual, regulars looked up when we walked in - we must not look like Newfie expats. Still, it has a laid-back and easy-going atmosphere.‎ We picked the table right in front of the big screen tv, an older model but working ok. The Mitchell Bowl is on: perfect, I’ll be able to cheer for Laval, my alma mater.

The staff is always very friendly and provide excellent service, especially on weekends. The waitress came and cheerfully took our drink orders - they have many beers on tap.

We looked at the menu - deep fried seafood has a strong presence, bringing the taste of down-home to O-town. The food is reasonably-priced - but if you want to eat healthy, the selection is limited to a few salads.

But why bother? Fish and Chips is the way to go, for sure. Two types are offered on the menu: their regular (made with cod) or the English-style (she said haddock but didn’t look very sure).

We ignored the Cow Tongue and the Deep Fried Mars Bar; Mel decided to go for the English-style.
I decided to go all-in with the fisherman’s platter.

“That’s funny”, our friendly waitress said, “there was a couple sitting right where you are before you who ordered the exact same thing for lunch.” Ha, ha.

Our meals arrived quickly.

Three big pieces of haddock were in Mel’s plate, nicely golden with herbs showing. The beer batter was great, well seasoned, not too thick. The pieces of fish were flaky and moist. Surprisingly, the pieces were not too greasy - no oil residue at the bottom of the plate.

The healthy serving of chips that came with was not stellar, but passed the test. They were crispy and of a dark golden colour - a bit overdone as some pieces were a tad dry. The dish was served with coleslaw (correct, nice vinegar flavour, a bit salty though), tartar sauce and lemon.

My fisherman’s platter included also a piece of fish, cod in my case. It was a little thicker than Mel’s piece, but otherwise very similar in taste and texture. The platter was completed with scallops and shrimp - including two grilled shrimp as a bonus. Lemon, coleslaw and tartar sauce were of course there, and an industrial seafood cocktail sauce. There was not a lot of scallops, and they were not bad, but the delicate flesh does not deal with deep frying very well. The shrimp fared much better - they were well cooked, no chewiness, crispy outside, nice texture inside, I was engulfing them easily. Funny enough, they were better than the grilled shrimp, which were a bit overdone.

If you are in the area or if you are looking for a very good fish n’ chips in a different place, you should not hesitate to drop by the Newfoundland Pub.

Posted by The Waffle in 14:04:20 | Permalink | Comments (5)

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Malta Food Experiment

So our Honeymoon was set for Malta.

Why Malta, you may ask?

Well, we wanted something different, with nice weather and historic things to visit. Located in the middle of the Meditaranean Sea, Malta seemed perfect. And it was relatively easy to get to, Ottawa-Frankfurt-Malta and hop!

Food in Malta is not renowned as gourmet cuisine, but it is reasonably priced and there are plenty of locations to choose from. Foreign influences still play a major role in the local cuisine. The islands’ proximity to Sicily leads inevitably to many pasta dishes and pizzerias; the Brits also left their mark - fish and chips, obviously. The Mediterranean stamp is there, with olive oil being omnipresent, and fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes and green peppers, are commonly used. Fresh fish is easily found and proudly offered. Abundant, it comes poached, steamed, braised or grilled.

The national dish of Malta is fried rabbit. But you can also find rabbit in stews and in pasta. Interestingly enough, we failed to see any rabbits around the islands. Another regional meat dish is bragioli. It is made with thin slices of beef wrapped round a minced meat, egg and bacon stuffing.

Other local delicacies include Gbejna, a sheep’s milk cheese, served either fresh or half-dried. It comes from Gozo, it looks like boccocinni, but it is much more firm. Also, the Maltese bread, called Hobz, is very crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, and is heavily consumed on the islands. Ftira is another bread, higher end, denser.

After visiting Malta’s National War Museum and walking around the city, it was time for lunch. We picked Cocopazzo, a small place, located on Triq Nofs in-Nhar, which was recommended in our guidebooks. We were not disappointed. We were hungry early, so the place was not really busy. Colourful, cozy, unpretentious, with great service and great food.

From left to right: Cocopazzo’s cozy atmosphere; complimentary bread pieces, oven-toasted with herbs and olive oil; we shared some delicious rabbit stuffed ravioli to start; I went for the mixed fish grill (red snapper filet, tuna filet, swordfish, shrimp - quite dense) served with fresh vegetables, 20€ ; Melissa went for the fried calamari on a bed of greens, fresh and tender, 13€; and it all came with a side of steamed vegetables, more food than we could consume. The total bill was 56€, before tip.

Our second meal out, the next day, was after a 10 km walk, from Sliema’s waterfront back to Valletta, through Gzira, Ta’ Xbiex, Msida, Pieta’, Hamrun and Floriana. It was a long walk under the baking sun of Malta, and we were ready for something civilized. We just happened to end up in front of Valetta’s 5 star hotel, the Phoenicia, so we went in to enjoy lunch on The Phoenix’s terrace, which had a nice view of some of Valletta’s fortification system.

I went for the classic Maltese Ftira, left, another local bread. Totally mediterranean, with tuna, onions, capers, tomatoes and black olives. Plenty of olive oil to bring everything together. It came with a little basket of potato chips and a mini-salad, for 7€. Melissa picked the Chicken Baguette, garnished with bacon and smoked cheddar. It was served with a mediterranean salad for 8.50€. Despite the 5 stars, and sharing the terrace with Ladies and Gentleman directly out of Falcon Crest, this was a nice lunch and not too pricey.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by The Waffle in 15:31:42 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Wedding Edition

So The Waffle tied the knot.

My apologies to the many Broken Hearts out there who are devastated for not being the lucky one.

Many readers, notably Andrea C. and Kayle H., called on The Waffle to review his own wedding dinner.

Although he irritated the bride slightly by taking pictures of the food, The Waffle is happy to oblige. One doesn’t marry The Waffle without marrying his thousands of fans.

The wedding was celebrated on the shore of Lac Leamy, in the Hull sector of Gatineau, a stone’s throw from the Casino. The reception was held on site, in a neat little French place called Bistro Le St-Eloi.

The friendly staff kicked off the dinner part by serving a soup, a potage of vegetables.

The concoction was heavy on tomatoes, but you could definitely taste red peppers as well. Nicely spicy, they finished it off with a few bits of chives. It was quite smooth, not bland at all. Delicious.

Next came their salad, called Méli-Mélo because it involved a mix of greens and lettuces, with some garden vegetables.

As with most restaurants, it was a bit heavy on the dressing, but nothing overwhelming since the dressing was not powerful in flavour.

3 mains’ were offered by the Bride and Groom:

34 went for the Bride’s pick, a Chicken Breast stuffed with Merguez, accompanied by Bell Peppers.

The chicken was tender and juicy, and the merguez was mild in order not to offend the delicate palates.

32 selected the Groom’s choice, a Veal Cutlet with Asparagus.

The veal was very tender, the asparagus adding some crunchy-moisture, a combination that worked very well. The sauce finished the dish perfectly, adding an extra touch of depth to it all. Quite satisfying.

25 decided to go with the Sole and Shrimp combination, served with rice.

The sole was cooked perfectly. I mean perfectly. There was a hint of spice which worked great with the fish. There could have been more shrimp, but overall the balance wasn’t bad. The sauce was present as a very subtle finishing touch, to add some moisture to the dish.

Every main was served with a piece of corn on the cob on the side. The corn was fresh, juicy and quite a nice addition to the meal.

2 had vegetarian restrictions and were served some vegetarian stuff that the Waffle didn’t and wouldn’t try.

3 were young enough to be able to pick from the kids’ menu.

And for dessert, we had a magnificient wedding cake made by Judy Randall as a favour to the newly weds. One of the best researchers the NDP has ever had on staff, she put a lot of effort and energy into creating a delicious chocolaty masterpiece.

Overall, a great dinner. Kudos to Gilles, Camille and all the staff at Le St-Eloi for their part in making the evening memorable.

.

Posted by The Waffle in 02:00:44 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, August 10, 2009

Fish and Cheap

As we were getting closer to hfx09, I was sent on a pre-convention tour on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.

The obligatory first stop was at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. I was a little annoyed because even though my Air Canada flight had landed 5 minutes ahead of schedule, we sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes as we waited for a free gate and a free ground crew. Still, I had a few hours before the boss landed, and so I decided that lunch was the next obligatory stop since it was past noon and Air Canada no longer feeds people on their flights.

Choice is limited at the Halifax Airport, so I settled for the Maritime Ale House. Operated by HMS Host, the MAH is an ode to the Molson Brewery. Available beers on tap are all Molson products.

The place was busy but not packed. I settled for a seat at the bar, a prime location to see the staff in action and watch some tennis.

I peered quickly at the menu, and decided quickly - I picked the Fish & Chips. What else for a first meal in Nova Scotia?

Two big pieces of haddock soon arrived. The batter was crisp, was holding together nicely, and it was not too greasy. The fish was not overcooked, still flaky, not dry but not dripping with oil either. The tartar sauce that came with it was not up to the task however - too creamy, bland, boring.

The chips were also a disappointment. Frozen-type, they were not very crispy and not very warm. They were edible - but frankly, the fish deserved a much better partner.

With a pint of Rickard’s Red, this meal costed me $22, including taxes but before tip.

.

Posted by The Waffle in 20:51:03 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Saturday, July 18, 2009

A brunch turned into vinegar.

One great thing about a night out and about is to recover the next day with brunch.

Sadly, there is a lot of uneducated restaurant owners and managers who somehow believe that brunch is just a fancy breakfast.

It isn’t.

When people go for brunch, they are looking for breakfast and lunch at the same time.

BReakfast. lUNCH. BR + UNCH = BRUNCH.

See?

A restaurant that respects its clientèle should not advertise a brunch menu if said brunch menu offers only breakfast items and variations on the same theme. A restaurant that respects its clientèle understands that a normally constituted person cannot sustain themself until dinner with an 11 am yogurt and granola.

Fortunately for me, we ended up at a location that understands: the Irish Embassy Pub and Grill.

Set in a splendid old bank building built in the 1800s located in the heart of the Financial District, and only minutes away from the Rogers Centre, the Irish Embassy is usually very busy with business crowds during the work week. I have had lunch there a couple of times, and it was always buzzing.

Not so much at brunch hour. The place opens only at 11 am, so we waited not-so-patiently for them to open their doors. First in, we sat comfortably in a corner and ordered a couple of brunch drinks. Cider for me.

We looked at their brunch menu, which is a real one:

Some classic breakfast items, like pancakes, eggs Benedict and of course the classic Irish Breakfast.

You could also find, randomly, salads, a burger, a wrap, a curry, crab cakes, quiches, and a stew.

I decided to open the hostilities with their soup of the day: A Corn Chowder. I love corn, and when nicely done, this soup is very smooth, creamy, a sunny concoction with a zing.

This was a pretty good chow-daaah. There were nice chunks of corn, bits of red pepper, the zing was provided by fresh herbs and a generous helping of cracked black pepper. The portion, however, was a bit small, especially considering the 5 bucks I had to cough up for it.

I was hoping the portion would be better with my main course - the classic Steak and Eggs.

And it was sufficient. I got my eggs scrambled, which is the only decent way to eat eggs. Made with three fresh eggs, they were pretty good, not too dry. They could have used more butter, but no real complaint. The home fries were delicious - huge chunks, crispy outside, tender inside. The steak was a AAA Angus 6oz NY striploin, grilled medium rare as I had asked. It was very lightly seasonned, which is the thing to do when you serve it beside eggs. The fruits were not super fresh and were kind of irrelevant.

Jean-Charles, always classy, decided to go with the Fish and Chips. Two huge filets of Haddock arrived.

The Kilkenny battered fish were flaky, steamy, chunky. All around well done. The homemade tartar sauce that came with it was an excellent complement to the deep fried delicacy.

Dominic decided to go for something sweet - he ordered the Blueberry pancakes with a side of sausage.

Now, Dominic had to return his pancakes. Why? What went wrong? I can hear you eagerly ask.

You were not as eager to find out as the staff when we waived at them.

I’ll let you read the transcript:

11:23:12 The waitress: “Don’t worry, it’s an honest mistake. It happens.”

11:23:17 The Waffle: “No, it doesn’t happen.”

11:23:21 The waitress: “Yes, you are right, it never happened.”

Hillarity ensued. Still clueless? Let me rewind the tape further:

11:22:44 Dominic: “I’m really sorry, I made a mistake. I thought this was Maple Syrup and I’ve put it on my pancakes.”

Hillarity ensued.

What? Still confused? Let me rewind the tape further:

11:18:23 Dominic: “What is in the bottle?”

11:18:26 The Waffle: ”It’s vinegar.”

11:18:28 Dominic: ”Ah.”

Hillarity soon ensued when Dominic received his pancakes and just assumed that The Waffle was either lying or simply dead wrong. In the bottle, it must not be vinegar, he thought, but additional maple syrup for his pancakes. Which he then happily splashed on his Blueberry pancakes.

And this is how Dominic was inducted into the Irish Embassy Hall of Shame.

If you drop by (and I encourage you to, considering the qualifty of the fare, the prime location and the quality of the beer list), and if you are served by Erin, be sure to mention the story. We can still hear the laughter from the kitchen when she brought back the plate to the cooks and explained why.

.

Posted by The Waffle in 13:43:16 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Friday, July 10, 2009

On the way back from Guinea

It is often said that airplane food is terrible. It most often is.

Unless you fly First or Business class, domestic flights are indeed feeding you badly, and most often you have to pay extra for it.

But one airline does understand that a nice flight includes a nice meal - no matter where you sit.

Air France.

Here is what the tray looked like when it appeared in front of me:

The menu was printed as follows:

Meal Service

Tabbouleh with tuna

Choice of main course
Curried chicken accompanied by rice with raisins
-or-
Filet of barracuda with sorrel and mushrooms, dauphinoise potatoes au gratin

Cheese

Fruit salad

Crème caramel

Coffee and tea

Beverages

Apéritifs
Upon request

Champagne
Jacquart Brut Mosaïque

White Wine
Vin de Pays d’Oc Chardonnay 2008 La Baume

Red Wine
Vin de Pays d’Oc Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 La Baume

Beer
Heineken

Mineral Water

Soft Drinks
Schweppes (Indian Tonic)
Schweppes (Agrum’)
Pepsi
Pepsi Max
7up

Fruit Juice
Fruité

Coffee and Tea
Nescafé

Brandy and Liqueur

This was probably the best meal I’ve ever had on a commercial flight.

Even though the tabbouleh was low on parsely and mostly made of couscous, and the tuna was from a can, it was not bad. The baracuda was tender and moist, the potatoes were nicely done. The cheese, a camembert from Président, was half-decent, the bread was fresh, the fruits were alright, and the crème caramel was not the worst I’ve ever had.

All in all, a very decent meal.

Which is a good thing, considering the long layover I had at Charles-de-Gaule. Exhausted, I could not sustain myself in the Food Court, which was closed, and could not bring myself to indulge in caviar from one of the Expensive Duty Free Stores in Terminal 2E.

I had the choice between an Illy coffee shop and an Exki outlet. I hesitated, passing the time reading, playing some games on the courtesy PS3 machines in the terminal or on my own PSP, and even was able to get some micro-sleep. After hesitating, I finally settled for the Belgian chain.

Exki’s philosophy is to serve high-qualiy fast food, “offering natural fresh produducts (sic) at all the times of the day.” Their motto? “Natural, Fresh, Ready.”

Their fare is simple: salads, sandwiches, soups. They claim not to use any additives, and some of their products are organic, such as their bread.

I decided to go with something simple, so I picked the Louise from their Vitalis selection , which was only 376 calories: homemade cooked ham and gouda cheese, served with a honey mustard dressing on an organic bread made with Malt. The bread was of a very good quality, with nice tasty flakes of cereal. The ham was also very good, nice and thick. They were a bit cheap on the cheese, and they could have added more honey mustard as the sandwich was a tad dry. Thankfully, I had a Coca-Cola to help me out.

Even by airport standards, at 9.60 Euros, this was a pricey meal.

.

Posted by The Waffle in 22:25:46 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Guinea: The Conakry Food Experiment

I was in Conakry for 8 days at the beginning of July, at the invitation of NDI for a Retraite Politique, ahead of the scheduled Fall election.

I figured I couldn’t blog much while in Guinea, and wouldn’t be able to write about everything. So I decided I would do a photo-blog.

Every picture below is clickable and you can have a closer look at the food. Generally, the Guinean food is either from the sea or spicy. Lots of stews. Generally, they have a plate of hot crushed peppers available to increase the heat. Perfect. You can also find skewers and all sorts of food stands while wandering the streets of Conakry, as everybody tries to sell some food for a bit of money. But I decided to stick with restaurants, except for the food cooked in the little shack attached to Café Obama. If you plan a trip to Conakry, you may want to look at this dining guide.

Obviously, French cuisine is very present in Guinea as well as Lebanese. A couple of Chinese and Korean restaurants are there too to serve the workers who came to work in the mining or fishing industries.