REVIEW: Les Brausseurs Du Temp
Monday, November 28, 2011
0
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Categories:
Beer,
CANADA,
French,
GATINEAU,
Microbrewery,
ONTARIO,
OTTAWA,
QUEBEC
Phone: +1 (819) 205-4999
Prices: E- $12 M- $27 D- $8
$$$ pricey
Payment Options:
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit/Eftpos
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit/Eftpos
Hours: Monday & Tuesday 11:30am to Midnight
Wednesday 11:30am to 1:00am
Thursday & Friday 11:30am to 2:00am
Saturday 3:00pm to 2:00am
Saturday 3:00pm to 2:00am
Sunday 3:00pm to Midnight
Reservations? Recommended.
Handicap Accessible? Yes.
Vegetarian Friendly? Yes.
Vegan Friendly? No.
Gluten-Free? No.
RATING:
Quality of Food: 5/5
Service: 2/5
Originality: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Les Brasseurs Du Temps (or BDT as locals call it) was Sara's "MUST GO BEFORE YOU LEAVE" dining venue. BDT is located just over the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec. It was just a short cab ride from the city and we were there.
BDT is an excellent microbrewery that creates not only delicious meals but amazing beers as well. Their philosophy is that fresh products are the key to a delicious meal. For this reason, they buy local products whenever possible in order to not only reduce transport, but also to participate in the local economy. It is this philosophy that ensures that whether it be your dish of choice or the beer accompanying it, you will always have the freshest and most flavoursome product.
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| Russ and I enjoying our "l'horlage" of beers |
As for the meal itself, I went for the house-made duck confit ($21). Duck confit is salt curing a piece of meat, which is then poached in its own fat at slow, low temperatures. I've always seen it prepared on the Food Network, but had never tried it before. At BDT it was served with white chocolate mashed potatoes, vegetables, and blueberry beet jelly. I have to admit, that it was the white chocolate mashed potatoes that drew me into choosing this dish. The duck confit was delicious, cooked perfectly nearly melting on my tongue with each bite. But the real winner on this plate was in fact the white chocolate mash potatoes. Sounds nasty, I know. But the creaminess of the mash potatoes with slight sweetness of the white chocolate made for a great combination-- honestly.
Haven't mentioned the service yet, there is a reason for that. We rarely seen our server. She took our orders fairly quickly, but then was gone until we called her over for our bills. Perhaps it was timidness on the part of our server as her english wasn't so strong, and our english was far worse. Either way, on this particular occasion the service wasn't the greatest but according to both Sara and Russ this wasn't always the case.
Service aside, I HIGHLY recommend this place whether you are in Gatineau, or just across the river in Ottawa. Food was so unique, and the beer selection was impressive even for a not-so-often beer drinker.
REVIEW: L'Instant Gourmand
Saturday, November 19, 2011
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Categories:
Cafe,
CANADA,
Crepe,
Dessert,
French,
GATINEAU,
QUEBEC
Phone: +1 (819) 770-6464
Type of Restaurant: Food Court Cafe
Attire: Casual
Prices: E- $5 M- 8 D- $3
$ CHEAP
Payment Options:
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit/Eftpos
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit/Eftpos
Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-6:00pm
Saturday 8am - 4pm
Sundays - CLOSED
Saturday 8am - 4pm
Sundays - CLOSED
Reservations? Not Necessary
Handicap Accessible? Yes.
Vegetarian Friendly? Yes.
Vegan Friendly? No.
Gluten-Free? No.
RATING:
Quality of Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Atmosphere: 0/5
I set off from Ottawa on a walking adventure to Gatineau, Quebec. I'm not your traditional traveller where I look up places and go visit. Rarely carry direction on my, and my mobile phone doesn't have internet without an unsecured wireless network available So, when I say I went exploring... you can easily read it as "I got lost". Not only lost, but I was HUNGRY.
Getting lost in Gatineau, when you aren't all that confident in your conversational French it is hard to ask for directions. After walking for a good 30mins, I came across the Place d'Centre. From the street, it looked like some kind of office building, perhaps even conference centre. Surely, they would have food. I took the elevator to the main floor and found the food court. Indeed, this place is a conference centre, office building, and small shopping mall all in one. For once I was saying thank God for a food court.
Choosing where to eat was difficult. This place has all your traditional food court outlet, mostly chains with the same boring menus. Sushi, Burgers, Greek, Pita, Chinese, Subway... you get my drift. After a couple rounds around the food court I came across this cafe looking outlet-- L'Instant Gourmand (translation: Instant Gourmet if I am not mistaken). I was salivating, crepes made fresh on the spot in front of you and a whole display cabinet of french macrons and other sweets. I was sold. I sucked up some courage and let my french go. I ordered a crepe with ham, brie, and tomatoes and two macrons.
Getting lost in Gatineau, when you aren't all that confident in your conversational French it is hard to ask for directions. After walking for a good 30mins, I came across the Place d'Centre. From the street, it looked like some kind of office building, perhaps even conference centre. Surely, they would have food. I took the elevator to the main floor and found the food court. Indeed, this place is a conference centre, office building, and small shopping mall all in one. For once I was saying thank God for a food court.
Choosing where to eat was difficult. This place has all your traditional food court outlet, mostly chains with the same boring menus. Sushi, Burgers, Greek, Pita, Chinese, Subway... you get my drift. After a couple rounds around the food court I came across this cafe looking outlet-- L'Instant Gourmand (translation: Instant Gourmet if I am not mistaken). I was salivating, crepes made fresh on the spot in front of you and a whole display cabinet of french macrons and other sweets. I was sold. I sucked up some courage and let my french go. I ordered a crepe with ham, brie, and tomatoes and two macrons.
Upon checking out, the (beautiful) young woman who was helping me inquired about the camera around my neck. From there our conversation lasted quite a while (broke into english halfway through). She sent me off to enjoy my meal and the rest of my time in Gatineau.
The crepe was delish, the batter looking like it was buckwheat or something similar, not that bleach white flour most creperies use and the macaron were sensational. I have always seen these in pictures in various cookbooks but had never tried them before. I once had a french coworker who explained how incredible they are, but I took it as an exaggeration (and cultural pride). But honestly, they were sooooo good. Crunchy crust, with a smooth, yet chewy inside. As I write this review, I am craving a whole box of them.
Overall, food was good, service was amazing, but to sit in a food court and eat your meal out of a styrofoam box... not really my thing. However, it was nice to see this caliber of cafe in an otherwise dull food court. I'd suggest going to visit, stock up on those macarons, then bring them home to enjoy with friends and family.
REVIEW: Absinthe
Saturday, November 12, 2011
0
comments
Categories:
Bistro,
CANADA,
Cocktails,
Dessert,
Local,
ONTARIO,
Organic,
OTTAWA,
Wine
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Phone: +1 (613) 761-1138
Type of Restaurant: Modern Bistro
Attire: Business Casual
Prices: E- $12 M- $27 D- $8
$$$ pricey
Payment Options:
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit/Eftpos
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit/Eftpos
Hours: Monday-Friday 11:30am-2:00pm; 5:30pm-10:00pm
Saturday & Sunday 11:30am - 9pm
Saturday & Sunday 11:30am - 9pm
Reservations? Recommended.
Handicap Accessible? Yes.
Vegetarian Friendly? Yes.
Vegan Friendly? No.
Gluten-Free? No.
RATING:
Quality of Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Absinthe is a one of a kind bistro that rises above all the rest. The restaurant is a modern bistro that sources local ingredients and prepares them on the plate in a unique, sophisticated, and enticing manner. Absinthe, named after the popular and often controversial liquor, famously consumed by artists like Pablo Pacasso and Vincent VanGogh. The restaurant boasts an Absinthe cocktail menu filled with over 13 cocktails highlighting Absinthe, as well as using some in their cooking. The "Jamican Me Crazy" Absinthe cocktail was the perfect way to get this particular night started ;)
Russ, Sara, and I decided to go all out for this dining adventure. We ordered the three course Table d'Hôte which included our own choice of appetizer, mid, and main and three wine pairings to match. The way the three of us love to dine is by ordering all of our choices different so that we can share each others and try a wider assortment of food. Russ went with beet salad (2009 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc), the butternut squash soup (2010 Calamus Estate Pinot Gris), and Absinthe Steak Frites (2009 Larel Glen "Reds" Zifandel, Carignane, Petite Syrah). Sara chose the seafood trio (2010 Gazela Vinho Verde), the arugula salad (2009 Domaine de la Villaudiere Sancerre), and house agnolotti (2006 Lar de Barros Tempranillo Crianza). I, personally, went with the crispy quail (2009 Domaine Albert Mann Auxerrois Vielles Vignes), butternut squash soup, and pan seared rainbow trout (2009 Malivoire Chardonnay).
Let me tell you, the food was sensational. I often compare restaurant's food caliber to my dining experience at Fifteen Melbourne coincidentally Russ, and Sara were there for that as well. Well this place has definitely taken the crown away. The food was so well cooked, the meats all perfectly cooked, the crepe wonderfully fluffy, and that butternut squash soup... TOO DIE FOR. I was iffy, at first ordering what sounded like a plan, jane soup that I could get at just any restaurant. But this was definitely one of a kind. If you look at the picture, you can see what looks like a dark brownish red dot near the middle of the soup. At first, Russ and I were thinking perhaps it was a housemade cranberry sauce, upon having a taste our taste buds went exploded with flavour. We had to ask our waiter what it was. Apparently, it was some sort of raisin-apple sauce which perfectly counter-balanced the buttery, creaminess of the soup. Our wines were all of a high caliber and matched each of our dishes perfectly. Our meal just couldn't stop with our mains however, despite how full we were we, decided to split on a dessert. Just couldn't pass it up with how amazing the rest of our meals were. We decided to go with the dessert sampler which included a tahitian vanilla creme brulee, profiteroles, a lemon tart, and a warm dark chocolate fondant. All exceptionally great, but it was that dark chocolate fondant that stole my heart.
I HIGHLY recommend Absinthe to any of Diner's Dish's readers. Not only for their use of fresh, local, organic ingredients, but the service, atmosphere, and food were simply something that other restaurants could only aspire to have.
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| Butternut Squash Soup |
Russ, Sara, and I decided to go all out for this dining adventure. We ordered the three course Table d'Hôte which included our own choice of appetizer, mid, and main and three wine pairings to match. The way the three of us love to dine is by ordering all of our choices different so that we can share each others and try a wider assortment of food. Russ went with beet salad (2009 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc), the butternut squash soup (2010 Calamus Estate Pinot Gris), and Absinthe Steak Frites (2009 Larel Glen "Reds" Zifandel, Carignane, Petite Syrah). Sara chose the seafood trio (2010 Gazela Vinho Verde), the arugula salad (2009 Domaine de la Villaudiere Sancerre), and house agnolotti (2006 Lar de Barros Tempranillo Crianza). I, personally, went with the crispy quail (2009 Domaine Albert Mann Auxerrois Vielles Vignes), butternut squash soup, and pan seared rainbow trout (2009 Malivoire Chardonnay).
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| The Seafood Trio |
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| Our Dessert Sampler: the chocolate fondant took the cake ;) |
I HIGHLY recommend Absinthe to any of Diner's Dish's readers. Not only for their use of fresh, local, organic ingredients, but the service, atmosphere, and food were simply something that other restaurants could only aspire to have.
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