The Waffle

Friday night, the best deal in town for oysters was not the Metropolitain (1$ an oyster, 4 to 7), it was not Whalesbone (they rarely have them below 2$ a piece), and it was not Big Daddy’s (they also offer a buck a shuck Happy Hour).

No, the place to be was l’Institut Canadien-Français d’Ottawa, located on Dalhousie.  Founded in 1852, the ICFO held its first annual oyster dinner in 1870, an event that has been held every year uninterrupted to this day.

After a great sales’ pitch by a long-standing member who happens to work at my curling club, the Royal Canadian Navy Curling Club my team mate Ken and I decided to go for it - we both enjoy oysters very much, he being half-acadian, me being an athlete needing energy.  For good measure, Ken brought two of his anglo neighbours and I was hoping to show them some French Canadian good times.

So for 40$, you could enjoy cold cuts, beans, cheese, pâté, shrimp, salmon, chowder, and all the oysters you could engulf. As long as you could open them, that is!

Because unbeknownst to me, this dinner is no fancy affair - it is a good old-fashion shuck’em yourself if you want to suck’em shingding.

I had never shucked an oyster before. Its not super hard, but it can be tricky and you can cut yourself if you are not careful. I could give you tips, but I do not want to be responsible for you slicing your hand, so feel free to scroll down to see how it’s done.

So the four of us started with a few drinks to warm up while the folks at ICFO prepared the tables for the feast. When ready, along with over 180 other happy Frenchies and a few wannabes (most of them hanging with me for interpretation purposes!), we started shucking and sucking.

The oysters were Malpèques, which were proclaimed “the Best in the World” at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1900. Their popularity is on the rise because the Malpèques have a very mild taste as far as oysters go, fairly light-bodied with a clean finish. You can get a hint of sweetness, no bitterness at all on these.  They can go with almost everything, but I mostly enjoy them with a couple of drops of lemon.

We had a grand time.  The oysters were fresh, and though there shape was not good enough for most restaurants, it is often in them that you find the best ones.  Overall, we stayed there for over 5 hours, feeling at home amongst our new friends from l’Institut.

She decided that we would have lunch at the Métropolitain Brasserie because she is quite a fancy girl.    

Located at 700 Sussex, The Met is a relatively new favourite for politicos, journos and lobbyists of all types. They claim it is at the corner of Les Champs Élysées for marketing purposes, but you are soon reminded of where you are when you look down Rideau Street. The place was opened in 2005 by the owners of The Empire Grill, and has been trying to attract Hillites with specials such as The Hill Hour, from 4pm to 7pm on weekdays, where oysters, jumbo shrimp, mussels and othere appetizers are offered at decent price.  Oysters for instance can be had at 1$ a piece during the HH. 

I was craving a bloody ceasar, and ever since I tried it, I enjoy horseradish in them, so I got them to make me one with some in it.  It was simply great.

To start, we ordered two dozen oysters.  To be precise, we ordered 21 as Kevin only wanted one. The Métropolitain claims to have the largest raw bar in Ottawa.  We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, I suppose. Today, the Met was offering Malpèques oysters. 

10 millions Malpèques oysters are harvested in P.E.I. every year.  They are certainly one of the finest oysters you can find.  They have a pleaseing appearance, are fairly easy to manipulate and therefore, to enjoy.

The Met serves their oysters with an offering of four different garnishes: a traditional seafood sauce, a lemon mayo, a classic mignonette and horseradish. There is also plenty of lemon served on the platter. If they do not offer, feel free to ask for tabasco if that’s what you like, they always have a bottle handy. 
The oysters were fresh, quite tasty and I could have had more but refrained.

I followed that with their Crispy Duck Confit, served with cranberry chutney, roasted potatoes and greens.  Duck Confit is defintely a french specialiy, from Gascony in fact. It is made with the leg of the bird.  You usually rub the meat with salt, let it cure for 24 to 48 hours, and then you poach it in its own fat.  Yummy!  But yeah, fatty.

I won’t feel too guilty as it was a small leg, and it was very tasty.  The skin was nicely crispy, the roasted potatoes were not extraordinary but firm and well seasoned, the greens were fresh and crispy.  I wasn`t too crazy about the cranberry chutney, though.  I felt it was too acidic and something more earthy would have been a better side to the duck, perhaps apricot or fig chutney.

To accompany our meals, I selected a bottle of Pinot Blanc, a white wine from Alsace.  Contrary to some other alsacian wines, the Pinot Blanc is a softer, less aromatic and not very sweet wine. It is a nice wine, fresh and well balanced. 

Brad picked up Gaby’s meal and the oysters, I picked up the wine, and after tax and tip, I coughed out
90$.  A tad bit pricy for what I had - but I can’t say I’m unhappy about anything I had.

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