wine

Discover Cooking at the LCBO

Written

on Friday, July 23, 2010

Photo courtesy of thekuster on Flikr

Despite the torrential rain we saw this week: IT’S SUMMER! With summer comes the need to exploit every possible opportunity to enjoy the refreshing wares available at your local LCBO. This summer the LCBO is also offering Discover Cooking Classes, providing you with the skills to create even more opportunities to imbibe.

With class names like “To Copenhagen with Love” and “The World on a Plate” there’s bound to be something to tempt your taste buds. Although not particularly hands on, for ~$50 a pop you get a sample of each dish, wine pairings with some of the menu, and the know how to re-create the deliciousness once you get home. For those of you with bigger appetites (and bigger wallets), classes such as the “East Coast Beach Party” feature full portions of each entrée at a cost of $85 per person.

Taught by local chefs like Hector Diaz of the Casino du Lac-Leamy and Ken Harper of Chop Chop Catering, most classes are 2 hours in length and are offered on weekday evenings. Classes are held at both the Rideau and Nepean Crossroads locations (not all classes are offered at both locations) and pre-registration is required.

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Restaurant Watch: A Genuine good time

Written

apartment613

on Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Taylor's Genuine

Perhaps the best word to describe Taylor’s Genuine is unpretentious. This wine bar located just South of Lansdowne Park (a 15 min. bike ride from the market) is worth the extra effort. The food is delicious and one of the few places in town where you feel you’re getting value for money.

The service is fantastic. Our bartender let us try a few wines until we settled on some we found truly outstanding. (My choice: 2006 Costers del Gravet Tempranillo/Cabernet from Montsant, Spain, $9.5 for a glass). The wine selection, especially by the glass, is not very large but the prices are reasonable.

The menu was also not terribly large and did not include a vegetarian option, though the chef came up with a creation of smoked mash potatoes, grilled tofu, marinated mushrooms and local greens from the Lansdowne market (sweet peas and green beans) that suited my palate perfectly fine. We also tried the “Kerr Farm” black Angus Steak and the strawberry tart. The mains were reasonably priced (~$22).

Just like John Taylor’s Domus Cafe on Murray Street in the Market, the focus at Genuine is on local foods. The open kitchen means you can watch the chefs prepare your meal and the dinning room smells fantastic. The atmosphere is casual and elegant. It would be a great date spot or simple light meal and drinks on their patio (though the view of the Sunnyside Ave. chip wagon isn’t the best).

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Summer Wine Tips

Written

apartment613

on Sunday, June 27, 2010

Photo courtesy of fieldtripp on Flickr

By Andrew B., Apt613’s resident wine expert

You would never catch me drinking rosé in the winter. Not because it’s taboo, but because the wines I drink are dictated by two things: 1) What I’m eating, and 2) My mood. Somehow a fresh rosé doesn’t seem too appetizing with a hearty beef stew on a cold winter’s day. Nor would I polish off a brooding Cabernet in the middle of a hot summer’s day whilst tucking into a seasonal salad with barbecued chicken.

Summer is all about keeping things light and casual. Clothing, food, drink, conversation, relationships…and, in my opinion, your wine selections should be no different.

Here are 5 tips and suggestions from the LCBO to guide you through the summer wine maze (haze):

Tip 1 – Try Red meat and Red Zinfandel: On a steaming evening last summer, a friend of mine pulled out a beautiful (and very expensive) bottle of California Cabernet to go with our seasoned barbecued steak. While both the steak and the wine were great individually, the two together were hell-bent on mutual annihilation. Too many complex flavours going on, and I left the dinner more confused than inebriated.

I find red Zinfandel, especially from Sonoma, California to be the ultimate steak pairing. Less complex than Cabernet Sauvignon, less jammy than Shiraz, but still more punch than a Pinot Noir.

A couple suggestions: Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel (Vintages #359257, $17.95) and Rosenblum Zinfandel 2007, which was just released this weekend, (Vintages #284653, $15.00).

Click to continue reading “Summer Wine Tips”

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There’s a new kid in town.

Written

apartment613

on Wednesday, June 23, 2010

town. on Elgin St.

By Britt Novakowski

If you’ve strolled down Elgin this summer, you’ve likely noticed the brown papered windows showcasing the logo of Town, a new restaurant on the street promising to “open soon” (if you happened to stroll by at the right moment, you may also have encountered a few lovely people handing out samples of scrumptious little whoppie pies and coupons for free desserts, score!).

Occupying the space of the late Elgin St. Freehouse at 296 Elgin, the highly anticipated, Town. will open its doors for dinner on Friday June 25th – and I’ll finally get to use my coupon.

Call ahead to reserve your place in the revamped 50-seater restaurant and prepare you taste-buds for a new take on Italian cuisine – think limoncello and small plates, not red sauce and spaghetti. If you’ve never experienced a social evening of small plate dining then this is the perfect opportunity (and excuse) to round up some friends, order a few plates along with a bottle of wine and nibble your way through the night.

The menu will also include four or five rotating main dishes limited only by what fresh and seasonal ingredients are available and some tasty sandwiches for the lunchtime crowd.

Click to continue reading “There’s a new kid in town.”

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Italian Week Ottawa (June 10-20)

Written

apartment613

on Sunday, May 9, 2010

The Corso Italia (Preston Street) is the place to be for great Italian music, food, pageantry, art and opera at the piazza (a traditional festival square). Be a part of this cultural celebration while enjoying great food and entertainment in an affable atmosphere. Don’t miss the bicycle race and the Italian Car parade with Ferrari demonstrations driving through an oval track on Carling Avenue, from Preston Street to Booth Street.

Be sure to mark off June 18-20th: this is the grande finale weekend when Preston will be closed to traffic!

Website: www.italianweekottawa.com

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Nom Nom (Some of) Ottawa’s Foodie Bloggers!

Written

saxby

on Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Courtesy of Jo Stockton from apat613 Flickr Pool

Ottawa might not be known as a foodie capital, but there is no doubt that there is something of a food culture living below the surface of our city. A world-class culinary school and top-notch restaurants certainly help, but the lifeblood of any foodie community (and we hope any community really) is its bloggers - an area where Ottawa is excelling!

The institution of Food Blogging has really taken off - I’ve followed about ten new ones since watching Julie and Julia alone. In my Google Reader list there are a couple of local Ottawa folks who I keep going back to. This list is in no way comprehensive! I’ll add your suggestions to my feed reader and do another post on this ASAP.

Click to continue reading “Nom Nom (Some of) Ottawa’s Foodie Bloggers!”

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Chef Wars for Charity: Juniper takes on Ottawa!

Written

Katie

on Monday, January 25, 2010

sirwiseowl on flickr

Ever since the Food Network imported Iron Chef from Japan, cooking is becoming more and more like a competitive sport. Just like their non-edible counterparts, culinary sports come in a wide variety of flavours. At the WWF end of the spectrum is the hot dog eating contests, in which ‘reversals’ does not mean a string unexpected of goals. Perhaps more to the taste of the tennis and golf set are events like Juniper Restaurant’s Dueling Chef’s Food and Wine Pairing Event

Like a heavyweight on steroids, Juniper is challenging every other restaurant in its class to duke (or more accurately dice) it out for the title of cooking champion of Ottawa. Every Monday until March 15, the restaurant will invite a competing kitchen to come by to prepare a three course tasting menu. Each team will present their menu, along with wine pairing, to the dinners, whose vote will then determine the winner.

While the $135 plus tax and tip price tag makes this tournament a bit more expensive than watching the Super Bowl at home, all the proceeds for the night go to charity. So far, the home team lost to Whalesbone (proceeds go to Ottawa Humane Society) on the 7th and won against Allium Restaurant (The Snowsuit Fund) on the 18. Tonight Juniper will be taking on The Courtyard Restaurant (Quickstart).

See below for a list of the remaining matches/charities.

Click to continue reading “Chef Wars for Charity: Juniper takes on Ottawa!”

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Taste in the Glebe

Written

Karen

on Saturday, January 9, 2010

Love all of the restaurants in the Glebe? Want to eat from all of them at once? Head over to Taste in the Glebe at the Glebe Community Centre (175 Third) on Thursday, Jan. 14, from 5:30 to 8pm. For $40, you can eat and drink to your heart’s delight.

Participating restaurants include Fratelli, Domus Cafe, Infusion Bistro and more. There are even some outside-of-the-Glebe restaurants sneaking in to participate, so this is one event you won’t want to miss!

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Ottawa Food and Wine Show

Written

Katie

on Thursday, November 5, 2009

200+ exhibitors featuring food and wine from Ottawa and around the world. Entry is $17 in advance and $22 at the door. 50¢ tasting tickets let you sample from over 1400 wines, spirits and beers, taste a vast diversity of foods – and find out more about your favorite from the people who make them. Included in the price of entry are cooking demonstrations and wine tasting classes. Learn more here. The show runs from November 6 to 8, 12 to 9 on Friday and Saturday and 12 to 5:30 on Sunday.

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