tap my glass

A few nights ago i had the pleasure of experiencing 2 very new and exciting sense related experiences in the large, fair, garbage filled city of toronto. The first was a restaurant called O Noir, and the second, a cocktail lounge called barchef.

What to say about O Noir… if you haven’t heard, its not the first “in the dark” culinary experience in the world, but it is the first of its kind in our vicinity, and it had to be tried. Basically you walk down a set of stairs into the subterranean. You walk into a dark, dankly lit but classy hallway, and are greeted by very friendly people. You then navigate a little further and have a seat at the bar where you make your choice on 3 courses and initial drinks (32$ for 2 courses, 39$ for 3). Once all the decisions have been made you are led through a door “into the dark”.

By into the dark, i mean into the absolute PITCH BLACK. It is complete sensory depravation. You are led in by very friendly, completely blind wait staff who keep chanting “careful” every 5 seconds as you are linked up, hand on shoulder with the person in front of you. A few minor bumps along the way and you sit down to be instructed where your cutlary are, put your bags on the floor, and start soaking in the feeling that you are completely BLIND. It is CRAZY weird, and i was honestly freaking out for the first 10 or 20 minutes (until the wine arrived).

The wait staff was very nice and frequently stopped by to bring the courses, and/or take requests. I ordered the octopus for my app, pasta for the main dish, and “the surprise” for dessert. Any course could be a surprise, and we were told it would be something distinct from the menu. Other options were calamari on greens, stuffed portobello caps, steak, risotto, chocolate cake and ice cream, mousse, and sorbet (and a few others). The menu was, well, less than amazing, but i’ll get to that in a sec.

Dishes came and went pretty quickly actually, as did the wine. We initially ordered one bottle, then another, but we didn’t actually pour anything – the server would just bring you glasses as you asked for them. The 2nd bottle went really fast, but without seeing it its hard to know how that actually happened. Eating in the dark takes some serious getting used to. As does talking, drinking, and well interacting in general. Having a conversation without observing the mannerisms is totally bizarre. We spent a good chunk of the meal simply discussing the experience of being without sight. It is remarkable, and i highly recommend it. I am a claustrophobic, easily anxious person, and i worked through it and had an amazing experience.

The one downside, which was only really realized upon reflexion after the meal was over, was that the food really wasn’t very good. The meal options were quite standard, and the tastes were not overwhelming. It could have been SO much more. I would not have minded the standard options so much if the food actually tasted amazing. Now perhaps this could have been because of lack of sight, but if so, the proprietors should get on that and mix it up to have a more potent selection. The octopus had a very nice flavour, but the big chunky pieces were really chewy, and frankly not appropriate for eating in the dark! The pasta, same thing – flavour was really mild, and pieces of rigatoni in the dark – not remarkable. How about an orzo? Or even spaghetti with a creaming sauce? Or cannelloni even? Just SO standard, it could have been so much more!!

I think for this reason you should probably go to O Noir while you can – the price is right for this amazing experience, and i don’t think it will last forever. Its a gimmick, one thats great, but unless they overhaul the culinary portion of it they will have very little repeat business, and likely not last forever.

Now on to the second, and actually more amazing experience of the night – barchef. Its this new, also dark abode where they serve from very classy, to ridiculously amazing molecular beverages (plus some delightful sounding apps, but we weren’t there for the food).

The atmosphere of barchef is very appealing (to us anyways). Gorgeous wallcoverings and frames, amazing light fixtures, huge comfortable and roomy chairs. Its first come first serve with apparently no standing room so get there early. The place smells amazing and apparently all the ingredients are fresh/local/organic/whatever. There is a hunk of ice on the bar – no cubes here, just a pick and a bit of muscle!! There is an absinthe decanter/pourer on the bar too, ask the owner dude to tell you about it (he picked it up for 20$!!). Its just really nice and comfortable in there.

All the “recession” drinks are their “standard” drinks, but they are anything but standard, and at 8$ its a standard price at a decent club/lounge making it win win, and perhaps the best mixed drink you ever had.

My first drink however was off the molecular menu, and because of my lack of decision making and newfound risk taking desire, i ordered the “cocktail du jour” – i didn’t even think to ask what it was coming from o noir and surprises and all. Everyone elses drinks arrived first amidst ooo’s and aww’s. My drink arrived on a plate/saucer 3 wide, and it was actually 2 drinks, with a ravioli in the middle. The drinks were, well, absolutely amazing – they were a gin base, had funky foam, one was burnt (a la creme brule), had chartreuse, mint, coriander, and i don’t even know what else… holy crap, amazing. But the most amazing thing was the ravioli. Now this is not the typical ravioli, its some chemically created hunk of concentrated drink (in my case, mojito) in a little nugget shape, with a mint leaf and a little something else. When you put the spoon with the ravioli into your mouth, your supposed to slurp it onto your tongue (like an oyster), let it sit, then press down. And boy, it was a taste/flavour explosion!! It was literally the most concentrated most amazing taste type experience ever. It was fleeting, but i’d do it again in a heartbeat. Coming in at 20$ for the 2 cocktails + ravioli, this was highly worth it. All of the molecular drinks ranged from 15->45$ so they are not cheap, but everytime i can guarantee it will be an experience like no other. My other drink was caramelized banana which also had the most unique taste you could imagine – i wasn’t a huge fan as it was quite strong and i’m a bit of a wus when it comes to strong hard liquors, but it was an experience nonetheless (that was easily polished off by others at the table).

Anyways, if you’re in toronto anytime soon, and looking for a new experience, something truly different, i highly recommend checking either/both of these places out. I really enjoy my occasional visits to the T dot, they definitely have more of a range of neat places to shop and visit and eat and drink at, and its worth soaking them in from time to time as its very close to the O dot.

Just as soon as i mentioned my adoration for #705, an era has come to an end.  Why is it all good restaurants must go by the wayside?  Hopefully if this is anything like stoneface, the new tenant will be just as good…

To the point, Cam Kong is no longer – it has been replaced by a similar Vietnamese restaurant called “Fuscian” i believe.  Apparently the owners retired.  We went there a couple nights ago, and were shocked and bewildered for a few minutes before we sat down in a blur and decided to stay. 

They do have a hot n sour vietnamese soup, and were very happy to do a veggie variety upon our request.  The staff was very helpful, and very accommodating.  And the food was pretty darn good.  The soup was not quite like a #705, slightly less tangy and oily, not as addiction satisfying, but good nonetheless.  They told us that we can ask for extra hot stuff for next time, and i definitely will.

When i was in the Dominican, perhaps even on the day they shut their doors, i had a dream.  I had a dream that Cam Kong was closing (i only knew at this point that renovations were occurring), and i actually tried to get a job there in order to learn their secrets.  This is how obsessed i was/am.  I was desperately in need of that soups power, and was frantically dreaming of the 2nd to worst case scenario.  The worst case being, they’d be closed when i go home, no chance to sneak in and steal a peak at their fantastic flavours…

Rest in peace Cam Kong, i’m sure i’ll think of you always.

In related news, for lunch i chopped a tomato, an avacado, and a green mango.  To them, i added lime juice, and salt and pepper.  I then scooped it into tortilla chips and had a splendid time.  Thats what i call a goooooooood lunch.

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Tags: foodottawa

I’m basically addicted to #705 at camcong right now. Its their spicy veggie soup. It is occasionally hit or miss, possibly depending on my mood, but lately its been bang on. Lots of veggies, right amount of noodles, quite spicy, not too greasy, no massive chunks of galangal, lots of good tofu, its really really good. However, i was quite disappointed last night when we showed up at 8:10, and they were closed. Still had customers, but closed. Their sign says they close at 9pm. But its private enterprise, they can do whatever the pump they want. And because they have one of the best most addictive products in ottawa to myself right now, i can’t afford to boycott based on this one early close…

So we went down to new pho bo ga la and i got a much more traditional s9, pho with bbq pork and shrimp wonton’s. Not nearly the same addictive soup, but good nonetheless.

I think spicy foods are addictive to me. A few years ago, i wasn’t much of a fan. Now i actually crave them… another sign of my feverously addictive personality.

We’re going to the dominican republic in a few days. Its going to be boring as hell, and perfect as hell. It’ll give me time to come to terms with many things, including my various food addictions. And to read some books, get a tan, listen to tunes, brainstorm, tune out, swim, and hopefully not get food poisoning or anything worse.

When i was in Vancouver a few weeks ago i got to partake in the glorious transcendence that is all you can eat sushi. It was good, great, amazing… but now, upon my return, i have heard of not one, but 2 all you can eat sushi restaurants in Ottawa!!! Yes, its true!!!!!

Having heard that, and having spent the vast majority of my weekend 5 feet underground under extreme physical duress (more on this later), i knew the only thing that would appease me was a mountain of raw fish. It was risky, considering the place we were going hadn’t been open long, but i was game.

The place we went was on carling between maitland and the 417. It is called 1000 Sushi Islands. O man, we were not disappointed.

There’s just nothing like the tenderness and flavour of fresh raw salmon sashimi (i don’t know how they get it here so fast, but man i’m glad they can!!!). The texture is like a really thick al dente noodle, but a little more forgiving. The smell, o so good. No need to bathe in soy/wasabi, these babies are islands unto themselves. The quality told me right away that this place was legit. Their seaweed salad was probably the best i ever had. Tempura, of which we tried the shrimp and squid (i know, squid tempura, wow!!!), and it was all delightful. They did rainbow rolls which were killer, and their spice salmon rolls were a little different as far as ingredients, but man were they good. Unagi. Awesome. The pieces were a little small, but it was ALL YOU CAN EAT!!!! SO WHO CARES!!!! The only thing that didn’t blow me away was their hand roll thingys, but i’m not a big fan of those anyways.

The service was good, but it seemed one or 2 of the things weren’t what we ordered, or stuff we ordered went to the wrong tables. They come around and fill your water and tea quite regularly, as well as take additional order sheets whenever you have new ones ready (i think we went through 4 sheets). No liquor license yet, but pops are included with the buffet, as is everything – nothing on the menu had a price, except the whole buffet which was 20.99 for fri-sun, and 19.99 (lunch was cheaper, and there are kids and seniors discounts). The menu does say you’ll be charged for what you don’t eat, but i assume this is only if there are piles of things untouched (if anyone has experience with this i’d love to hear about it).

So ya, 1000 Islands Sushi is an ALL YOU CAN EAT sushi place. Its in ottawa. I think the food was better than sushi 88. Which might mean i never go back there, as even being the cheapest sushi restaurant in town i’ve never left there with a bill under 50 bux, and never full, and our bill was 43 and change… o man. I’m totally stoked.

The best thing about it: sushi full. Normally when i’m full, and i mean stuffed, with other types of food, i kinda want my body to digest. I go for indian buffet, i stuff myself on 2 plates or so, and i feel like i’m going to die. I recognize it is not healthy to eat so much in a sitting, but when i do so with sushi, i feel like i’m in heaven. No bloating, no barfing, no tooting, no burping, no nothing. Just pure peace. Pure sushi full. And this is something you only get with all you can eat, cause i never eat “enough” at a regular place to reach this level of gastronirvana. O baby, ottawa has never seen so bright.

Ok, so i’ve now been a few times. Went for breakfast there last weekend, and what can i say, it was much improved, so much in fact, that i almost want to remove all my previous reservations about the switch over.

To summarize, there were a ton of homies, the fruit was massive, juicy and better than ever, there were specials, one of which i had, and hot damn it, it was overflowing with what it promised. We were out on the balcony, and hot diggidy the service was almost too god in that my coffee never got below half… below HALF!!! I don’t even like drinking that much coffee!!! Ya, it was really good.

Partially by chance and partially because of that previously quite large breakfast, we hit it up for dinner last week as well. Again, not disappointed in the least, in fact quite delighted (i need to start using words like ‘delighted’ when i order bottles of white wine instead of bottles of beers). Non spicy curried cream farfalle!!! Giddeup!!! The mussels were rippin hot too (not like spicy hot, like sexy hot), with pancetta and portabellas in a red wine kickass broth, they were unlike any mussels i’ve eaten recently (including the ones i had at savanna last night, which you’ll likely hear about elsewheres). And the wine, i think we just had house wine, not even bottles, was super crisp and perfect.

So, since i’m just an individual who has little moral responsibility to the community at large and can bounce from one location, to the next, and then back again, i am in the business of second chances, as they often bear juicier fruit, and damn, this time it was falling from the trees. I can’t help but feel a little flushed or perhaps setup, as my original posting is on their cork board, but i’m going to pretend no link up was made and these were just natural changes and in no way directed at yours truly. Bye bye stoneface, hello jak. Thank goodness for second chances, proximity will no longer be the only thing bringing me back (again and again).

So it’s official, “Jaks Kitchen” has moved in down the street, replacing the iconic original location of “Stoneface Dolly’s” gourmet homestyle eatery. I am, tres triste. I’ve been going for brunch still, albeit not as often, regularily over the past few months during the long transition. I’ve got a few things to say about the changes, and what i like and dislike. I realize some of the things that have changed will improve over time given that it is technically a new restaurant, but i’m going to mention them anyways.

Good Changes
Fruit – the new fruit is good. Big chunks of cantelope and pineapple. The fruit has gone from a whole variety, big pieces to small, on the plate to a bowl, and then back again. I actually can’t remember how it was originally, but i remember the occasional blueberry. Now i’m not so sure this is a good change.
Renos – they did some renovations that gave the place a bit more space, which is definitely good.

Ambivalent Changes
Decor – i really liked the old art, then the transitional chunky art, and now i like the mirrors. The new paint is nice too.
Service – the old girls and guys served great, and so are the new. I miss the old cause they knew me of course, and i’m saddened the new may not get to know me as quickly, but i can’t hold that against them.
Coffee – perhaps it hasn’t changed, i’m not sure, but its still damn good.

Negative Changes
Service Times – No matter how busy it used to be, i used to be able to be in and out in 30 min or so. Last time, i was waiting at LEAST 30 min just for my food, and it wasn’t that busy.
Homies – they don’t even call them homies anymore!! They used to have chunks of onion and peppers in em, at least on occasion, and they just tasted better. The new ones are probably healthier tho, less butter, but the old ones definitely tasted better
Omlettes – um, hello?? Can i have cheese in my omellete. Both myself and my friend got omlettes, her the goat cheese, me the fruilano (now called peppers and spinach). Neither of us could taste the cheese, and my friend asked them to check that it was in there… they said it was. I’m skeptical. Mine was just not cooked right, the egg was too cooked, and i don’t think the spinach was saute’ed at all before going in. Thats just a no-no, especially when you can’t taste the cheese.
Portions – the portions are smaller, not by much, but by a little
Coffee Creamers – different company now, used to be organic creamers, now its just regular stuff.
Brunch Specials – there is a complete lack of these alltogether! The specials before were what i went for, only occasionally did i not get the semi-special eggs blackstone or mexican fritatta. Now, there are no specials, and thats just uninspired.

Let me now say this. Breakfast, was awesome, no doubt about it! One of the best breakfasts in ottawa, was and still is. But when you mess with a winning formula, even just a little, its liable to piss a few people (aka me) off. I will go back, i will grow to love it i’m sure, but i’m a little bitter that such an awesome place would every change, even a little bit.

Last night myself and a whole bunch of friends went to hot peppers for a birthday celebration. We sat upstairs in the very delightful decor. I’m writing this post, because, well, i’m disgruntled at the service we recieved. It wasn’t necessarily bad, and my expectations are probably too high, but o well, i’m gonna mention it anyways cause its kinda funny.

Ordering drinks alone was a bit of an ordeal. Most of the beer selections we asked for weren’t available. Some people weren’t even told, their beers just didn’t show up. Someone ordered coconut water, and it took 10 minutes (or more) for the girl to to tell us, upon a remind, that they didn’t have any. I had hogardden, and it arrived pretty promptly. Some people ordered caesars thinking they had sake in them. But no, those are the special “hot peppers” caesars, and when finally ordered were pretty kickass. The regular ones were really good too.

I ordered the tom yum, and as i remembered, it was awesome. Everyone ordered something different, some shared, some not. The food was, really good. Not the best ever, but i’ve never had the best ever thai (as i think i’ve previously mentioned). Thai is normally pretty large, but never “blow you away”. Lots of flavour, lots of kick, lots of love, but i guess as a personal feeling is missing that savourness that i’ve found in other dishes that just make me die and go to heaven (fettucine carbonara comes to mind… mabye i’m just missing dairy ::))).

Anyways, it took a while to get our food, in general. Me and my gf ordered 2 dishes, and some rice. To start, we got one dish. 10 minutes later everyone else had (almost) everything, and we still had our only dish that we had been picking at, sans rice. We had to remind about the rice when our other dish arrived, and it showed up shortly thereafter. Anyways, the food was really good, as i said.

One of my friends ordered 2 dishes, and was going to share 1 of them with another. Only one of them ever showed up. When everyone was almost done he reminded her, she was apologetic, and offered to get it then. He declined, and then she offered to have it prepared to go free of charge. He declined that too, stubborn yes, but whatever, he was kind of annoyed and didn’t want to carry it around for the rest of the night (we were going elsewheres after).

She was very slow with the bills, but did bring out our custom cake as we asked. I only ended up getting 2 drinks over the 4 hours because it was just slow. In the end, everyone was dinged for a 15% gratuity on their food orders. Fair enough, it probably told us this on the menus. But the funniest thing was for my friends bill, the one that missed an order, she forgot to add the 15%. She had the gaul to approach him after, tell him that she forgot it, and informed him that he didn’t tip enough to cover it…. he was a little confused, and basically brushed it off, without paying. I think if lacked the competance to charge someone for gratuity who probably wouldn’t pay it, you shouldn’t approach them after to pay it. It was ballsy though, i’ll give her that!

Anyway… i just felt the need to rant about this. Again, food, awesome, service, less than so. I guess its hard to get good service for 12 people. The girl was just serving us and another relatively large table, but i guess it was a little too much. I should say she was very kind and very nice, but just a little less than prompt.

A korean-japanese restaurant opened up near my place recently, called “Miga”, its on bank and waverley. What can i say, i’m thrilled!!!

Had dinner there last friday. With massive expectations we went in, and with great thirst i found out their liquor license is still pending. I fretted not, got some water and their brown rice tea, it was kickass. Their menu is a lot like the only other korean place i’ve been to in town, that bbq place on rideau, but perhaps not as big. They’ve got traditionalish korean dishes, japanese noodle dishes, and all the regular sushi stuff (nigiri, rolls, etc..).

Their main korean dishes come with miso soup and korean salads, ie sesame greens, kimchi, and what seemed like incredibly canadian potato salad. The kimchi might’ve been from a jar, but it still rocked (if bad kimchi exists, i’ve never tried it). The miso soup was well, just warm and kinda tasteless… but it was the only low point of the meal, and i still gulped it all back. We also ordered a spicy tuna roll for an app which was kickass, but again, how can you go wrong??

So we both ordered main dishes with all the fixins i mentioned above, I ordered the dolsot bibimbap pictured here. It arrived pretty much first, ie with the apps, which they apologized for, but because of the uncooked egg and the rockin hot stone bowl in which it can be cooked by the consumer, they probably didn’t want to wait. It says on the menu its veggie, but it normally comes with beef, which was confusing, but i got them to omit the beef anyways. It was kickass. I liked cooking my own eggs, and with all the veggies and some funky red spicy sauce it rocked my world. But again, if you haven’t learned by now, i’m kinda easy to please with food.

After it all they gave us this iced dea that was douced with cinammon to refresh us, and holy crap did it ever. The next time i go (possibly for take out) i’ll try some of the japanese noodles. And yes, i will be back. It was reasonably priced (8-13 i think for a dish) and mostly filling, although for me i’d need an app and a dish to be fully satisfied. We were quite stuffed, but still went for gelato after, which didn’t jive too well, but meh, it tasted good.

Read the one review here if you like. These people are a lot harder to please than myself. Its true, the portions might be improvable, i’ll have to go check soeul house for sure, just to get a better frame of reference.

I’ve been the worst blogger every lately. Can’t really clasify myself as one. Classification blows anyways.

I ate about 2/3 of:
- 1 cup organic white flour
- 1 cup vanilla soy milk
- 1 egg (1 yolk, then 1 folded egg white)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (ya, its organic too)
- 2 tsp of baking powder (don’t know what this does)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- lots of grade a maple syrup
- some organic margerine
- banana

Banana waffles rule.

Checked out a new thai place last weekend, Sacred Garden. Its vegitarian, its on bank, ottawa south but before riverside. It was very tasty, as most ottawa thai is. The soup – the tom yum – not up to massive par, but tasty. The most striking part is everything had a frickin meat substitute “protein” in it!!! I think its ridiculous!!! Apparently there’s an art or something in coming up with things that look and taste like shrimp/beef/lamb/whatever that is made from plant, i’m not a buyer of it. Plus it all has wheat in it, and some people i know can’t eat that cause they’re celiac. So just substitute everything for tofu!!! Ok!!!! Which is good, but why not, i dunno, massively creative veggie/fruit dishes? Try some squash, eggplant, mangos, appples, hell roasted thai chillies!!! The food was good, the service was amazying, but holy crap, your special really isn’t “lamb protein” is it!!! Geez. Please correct me if you think i’m being unfair.

So over the past couple of months, i’ve finally gotten off my ass and hit up some thai restaurants in my area. Heres a brief review/synopsis:

Coriander Thai (Kent St.)
Very dark and quiet decor, awesome food. First time i’ve had tom yum soup, and won’t be the last, it was phenominal! Had the soup, and a salad and red curry dish, all tasted absolutely superb. Have since had takeout, and it wasn’t nearly as good, and the portions seemed awfully small (hint, trend beginning).

Savanna Cafe (Gilmour St.)
Ok, not pure straight up thai, but pretty damn close. Only had one dinner here, a friday night job with some good wine and a desert… my meal was ok, not super kick ass, i think i had the ramen noodles with a bunch of seafood. Not nearly spicy enough, but still ok. I’ll definitely go back though, the decor was nice, and its just a good spot. Service, very friendly. Portions were pretty consistent with coriander. No tom yum here, i think we had some rolls, must’ve been some freshish rice paper cause it was thick – and good.

Hot Peppers (Somerset & Lyon)
Finally hit this spot up. Never even went to zibbibo, which is what this place was a year and a half ago, but finally checked this one. Decor was nice, cute little wine bar upstairs, friendly and helpful staff. We did have the tom yum here, and while it wasn’t quite as spicy as coriander, it was better – not by much, but it was, and it was absolutely amazing. For mains we had one of the salads and a seafood dish (i think), and neither was super kick ass, but it was pretty good. The cocunut rice was pretty good too.

Green Papaya (now on Preston)
Definitely nice decor. The place was quite busy for a sunday night, and the food took its time, but it was a nice meal. Tom yum – kinda flavourless. The food itself was good, we had the jungle curry and a shrimp salad, but man the portions were quite small. Even all the rice went with no problem. Lots of sauce with the curry which was good, but the whole meal left me wanting more. Even after the cheese cake (cheese cake isn’t thai!!) i was still hungry.

Conclusion
All in all thai food costs way to frickin much. For a regular dish you’re looking at 10+, and one dish ain’t gonna cut it (for me anyways). The tom yum soups are awesome though, and hot peppers takes the cake. I think coriander has the peppiest stuff, full flavour just exploding, but the one time we had takeout it was less than desirable – these resaurants definitely have their best dishes and i’ll have to figure out what those are. Unforutantely for 60+ per person its a bit of a kick in the teeth, especially for me who can go to cam kong (review pending!!!), spend 15 bux, and be ridiculously full and satisfied (and for another few get a mango slushie which is an explosion of satisfaction).

If anyone knows of any other thai restaurants i should hit up, i’m all ears – and once i figure out how to harness the flavour of the thai chile pepper from my mortar and pestle, i ain’t ever going out for it again (actually i’ll need to figure out what yum truly is at the bottom of my soul, then make it, and then i’ll be good).