CheapEats Ottawa restaurant guide blog

Vintages Value List Release Saturday March 16, 2013

2013-03-16T12:55:38-04:00

Hi Again Fellow Tipplers,

Vintages has some fantastic and most interesting wines in this weekend’s release. We were very impressed by the Californian “icons” heading into the stores this weekend. In particular – the ‘09 Inglenook Rubicon Cab. Sauv. from Rutherford in Napa at $240 a pop. A rather sublime wine, SO, if you have a spare $240 kicking around, we urge you to go for it!

WHITE WINE

230656 CANTINE RIONDO VINEA GARGANEGA 2011 (VENETO, ITALY) $13.95

This is an unusual white wine grape that has been finely crafted at a great price by the Riondo’s. Look for peach and canned pears on the finish.

320473 RUPPERTSERGER LINSENBUSCH GEWÜRZTRAMINER SPÄTLESE 2011 (GERMANY) 14.95

Nicely balanced, featuring layers of rose petal, lychee and pepper and a hint of apple on the finish. Pair with spicy food or dessert! This is medium-sweet.

95802 PETER ZIMMER PINOT GRIGIO 2011 (ITALY) $15.95

Light & easy. Quite dry with a pleasant citrus zip to it. Generally not fond of pinot grigio – but this proved the exception.

318840 CLOS LE VIGNEAU VOUVRAY 2011 (LOIRE, FRANCE) $18.95

Big, aromatic and rich on flavours that are tantalizing your senses – look for ripe peach, pear, floral, some buttercream and citrus acidity leading out to a well rounded finish. Score 91 (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com)

169730 F. TINEL-BLONDELET L’ARRÉT BUFFATTE POUILLY-FUMÉ 2010 (LOIRE, FRANCE) $22.95

Loads of fresh grass and lemons happening together in a finely crafted, precise fashion. A chalky, minerality flavour is present. Score: 91 (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com)

SPARKLING

310136 FANTINEL BRUT ROSÉ SPUMANTE (FRIULI, ITALY) $14.95

Fresh, fun & fruity, featuring raspberries peach. It’s dry and NOTHING like Spumante Bambino!

FORTIFIED

169045 DALVA COLHEITA PORT 1997 (DOURO) $27.95

Stunning – flavours of caramel, toasted hazelnut and dried figs. Enjoy this well rounded sweet libation with blue cheese or nuts. This is for you Tosha!

RED WINE

134544 MONTE DEL FRÁ BARDOLINO 2011 (VENETO, ITALY) 13.95

Lovely cherry red hue, rich red fruit hints of tomato vine leaf and juicy acidity. Medium bodied and fruity!

313833 MENGUANTE SELECCIÓN GARNACHA 2007 $16.95

Features lithe, dry tannins. Lots of leather, cedar, and sultry incense notes. Will benefit from 2-3 years of rest, but is drinking well now. Score: 91 (Jay Miller, erobertparker.com)

310060 DOMAINES DES AMADIEU CUVÉE DES GARRIGUES CAIRANNE 2010 (RHÔNE, FRANCE) $17.95

Smooth silky, very dry featuring flavors of licorice, berries and garrigue. Elegant in style!

107870 HEWITSON MISS HARRY 2010 (BAROSSA VALLEY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA) $19.95

Miss Harry has a lot going on. The wine is a pleasant sipper, tasty with dense dark berries and a good seam of acidity. Look for some white pepper notes too!

993360 VICCIOMAGGIO AGOSTINO PETRI CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA 2008 (TUSCANY) $19.95

A very decent Chianti for the $$. Quite a bit of wood and earth notes along with baked plums. Score: 90 (Bruce Sanderson, winespectator.com)

ALP

Rose & Karen

p.s. Don’t forget that the Vintages Value List can be found on www.ceotblog.com

Vintages Value List Release Saturday March 2, 2013

2013-03-01T16:10:24-05:00

Hi Again Fellow Tipplers,

Vintages has some fantastic and most interesting wines in this weekend’s release. California and Southern Italy were highlighted wine regions and some of the wines here are from those regions. We were very pleased to be able to taste new grape varietals that were really delicious.

On a spirited note, Vintages is releasing a calvados this weekend where the apple was grown en bouteille. Of course that makes for an interesting visual, but the taste is fantastic – apple-cinnamon brandy if you will. (271726 G.E. Massenz Apple Spirit Vieux Calvados $59.95)

White Wine

313460 VINA ROBLES WHITE 4 2010 (PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA) $18.95

This a lovely white which is a blend of Viognier, Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc and Vermentino features flavors of peach, lime and apricot with some mineral, slightly sweet with an oily mouth feel and a generous finish.

303651 PASCAL RENAUD CUVÉE VIELLES VIGNES POUILLY-FUISSÉ 2011 (BURGUNDY) $26.95

This is a very handsome wine offering a good blend of fine fruit notes and a hint of wood. Typical Chardonnay notes of apple, pear, citrus and butter are there too.

Red Wine

313940 ENOTRIA CIRÒ ROSSO CLASSICO 2010 (CALABRIA, ITALY) $13.95

This wine is light & easy and made from a grape we had never tried before – Gaglioppo. Distinct plum and vanilla notes with residual of cherry & cranberry and a touch of vanilla.

211854 CARUSO & MININI SACHIA PERRICONE 2010 (SICILIA) $13.95

Wow we were so taken by this wine made from the Perricone grape (aka Pignatello), a lovely purple hue, opening up with a chocolate mint nose, brimming of chocolate cherry, pomegranate and red licorice flavors replaying nicely on the palate, accented by a slight seam of acidity and soft tannins . This medium bodied gem will have you coming back for more. Cellar for 3-4 years or drink now.

313791 PIÑOL LUDOVICUS TINTO 2010 (SPAIN) $13.95

This is a blend dominated by Garnacha, baked black plum and spice, dry with moderate tannins.

310110 FABIANO NEGRARO CORVINA 2010 (VENETO) $14.95 Appassimento

Medium bodied, ripe red fruit, chocolate, spice and smoke are featured in this easy going wine. Pair this with pizza.

222927 CAVE DE RASTEAU LA DOMELIÈRE RASTEAU 2010 (RHÔNE ) $15.95

2007 was definitely a better vintage for this wine – that we recommended 2 years ago. We are still recommending it today as the 2010 is quite pleasant for the price. It’s dry and Old World in nature with berries and figs on the palate, then a graphite finish.

120980 TERRELIADE NIRA NERO D’AVOLA 2010 (SICILIA) $17.95

Quite rustic – as one would expect coming from Sicily. Plums and black cherry stand out from an almost sugary undercurrent.

661819 DOÑA PAULA ESTATE MALBEC 2011 (UCO VALLEY, MENDOZA, ARGENTINA) $17.95

Blueberry, blackberry, dark plum, chocolate and spice held together by firm tannins. Put this down for 3-5 years and you will be rewarded.

317313 CASALE DELLO SPARVIERO RISERVA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2009 (TUSCANY) $18.95

Meaty, oaky with smoky char notes. Dry and leathery with a bit of fruit coming through.

295899 ROLF BINDER MA I? HAVE THIS EVENING SHIRAZ/MATARO 2009 (BAROSSA VALLEY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA) $19.95

The label caught our eye - medium bodied, densely flavoured of dark berries, spice and notes of chocolate and vanilla enveloped by velvety smooth tannins and refreshing acidity and a lingering finish. A stunning wine and well priced. Score: 90 (Lisa Perrotti-Brown, erobertparker.com)

309328 CHÂTEAU DU TRIGNON LE BOSSU GIGONDAS 2007 (RHÔNE) $27.95

Well-balanced and very smooth. 2007 was a spectacular vintage here and lucky for us this one is still coming to market. Baked plums, dark currants, tannic-y tea notes and clever seam of acidity. Score: 91 (James Molesworth, winespectator.com)

246595 MOLLYDOOKER THE BOXER SHIRAZ 2010 (SOUTH AUSTRALIA) $29.95

Absolutely delicious Aussie gem here. All the berry notes you would expect from Downunder – but there is a distinct nose of bacon fat that pops up again on the finish. Look for licorice and spice. Score: 91 (Lisa Perrotti-Brown, erobertparker.com)

ALP

Rose & Karen

Burgers Photo of the Week

2013-01-17T23:32:00-05:00

The CheapEats Ottawa photo of the week is Burgers by Hindrim.

This was what Hindrim said when he posted the photo:

“A couple of shots from our filming session for a marketing project on The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro in Ottawa”

You can find The Works Gourmet Burger at 326 Richmond Rd, in Westboro,
Ottawa.

Naked Fish Sushi in Westboro - Photo of the Week

2013-01-04T18:17:00-05:00

The CheapEats Ottawa photo of the week is Naked Fish Sushi in Westboro by fishbowl_fish.

You can find Naked Fish Sushi at 342 Richmond Rd, in Westboro,
Ottawa.

Add your own photo to the CheapEats Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo of the Week.

Achievement unlocked: my own custom Hintonburger - Photo of the Week

2012-12-19T19:14:00-05:00

The CheapEats Ottawa photo of the week is Achievement unlocked: my own custom Hintonburger by Mike.Geiger.ca (Myke).

You can find Hintonburger at 1096 Wellington St W, in Hintonburg, Ottawa

Add your own photo to the CheapEats Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo of the Week.

Welcome Kaho to the Team

2012-12-10T12:28:00-05:00

Please help us welcome Kaho Amano to the team here at Plethora Press & CheapEats HQ

Kaho will be working with us until mid-January. She comes to CheapEats bringing insider experience from working at an Izakaya in Yokohama. We're looking forward to visiting a couple with her to learn a little bit more about these Japanese pubs as they start making a foothold in Ontario.

Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Kaho and I’m from Yamanashi, Japan.
I’m an university student in Japan. My major is sociology. Specifically, I’m studying media and culture.

What do you do (or are you going to be doing) at Plethora Press?
I’m an intern at Plethora Press. I work on CheapEats Toronto and CheapEats Ottawa, selecting photos for the Photo of the Week posts, publishing Vintages Value List posts, managing and tagging our Flickr photo and groups, publishing and sharing on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and making it easier to find information about CheapEats.

If I were looking for an "authentic" Japanese restaurant in Canada, what clues would I look for to identify it? (is there something specific that would let us identify a restaurant if it were specific to your home town or region as more than just Japanese?)

I think an authentic Japanese restaurant in Canada uses fresh ingredients. The restaurants use fresh fish in particular because they are serving raw fish. So the restaurants care about how fresh it. Because if we eat fish which is not fresh, it makes us sick. Other Japanese restaurant’s feature is that they pay attention a lot to keep the inside of restaurants clean.
If we compare Japanese food with Korean food because they are similar, Japanese food is not as salty, sour , spicy or sweet. It is more subtle.

What is your favourite CheapEat in your hometown and why?
My favourite CheapEats in my hometown is Katsunuma Hanten. This is a Chinese restaurant in my hometown where the dishes are suited to Japanese tastes. We can order Japanese food too. So you can chose your favourite Japanese or Chinese. They are not very oily and salty. If we order ramen and dumplings, we can eat them for less than 10 dollars.
The restaurant is family-run and everyone who works there is part of the family. They create a good atmosphere where I can enjoy dishes and feel comfortable.
Of course all of the dishes are very delicious. I recommend ramen!!

Where is your hometown and what is its signature dish?
My hometown is Katsunuma in Yamanashi prefecture which is next to Tokyo. It takes 30 to 40 minutes to drive from my hometown to Mt. Fuji.
Houtou is the signature dish of Yamanashi. It is noodles with vegetables and pork, cooked in miso and dashi soup. Whenever I cook it, I use pumpkins, potatoes, carrots, daikon (Japanese white radish), shimeji mushrooms and long green onion. Sometimes I use sweet potatoes.
The noodle is thick like Udon. But Houtou noodle is usually flatter and thicker than Udon. Mainly we eat it in winter because it is hot and in winter the daikon and pumpkins that you can get are more delicious.

Another signature dish of Yamanashi is Torimotsuni. It is giblets in soy sauce and sugar.

I think it’s better to eat Torimotsuni with rice, but when you go to Izakaya (Japanese pubs) to drink, it is served without rice. I like it because it is easy to cook, the nutritional value is high and even though it’s made from giblets, the taste is great. A lot of people like it.
It was created for the revitalization of the prefecture in 1950 to bring tourists and visitors. So, of course it’s cheap and delicious! When you go to restaurants or Izakaya in my hometown, you can eat Torimotsuni. 2 years ago, Torimotsuni won the Grand Prize in The B-1 Grand Prix which is local gourmet food competition. Now a lot of people know about Torimotsuni.

My hometown is famous for grapes and wine. About 120 kinds of grapes are harvested in my hometown. For eating, I recommend Pione and Kyoho (name of kinds of grapes). Both grapes are dark purple, sweet and big. But they taste a little bit different, Kyoho is sourer than Pione.

For wine, I recommend Koshu (name of grapes). These grapes grow in Yamanashi. Most of Japanese white wine are made with Koshu grapes.

What is your favourite comfort food? (Comfort food is the food you eat when you are homesick, food that reminds you of your childhood and/or that your mom made when you were sad or sick)

My favourite comfort food is Japanese curry and rice. It is very different from Indian and other kinds of curry. It is difficult to find a restaurant which has Japanese curry and rice in Toronto, so sometimes I cook it with my friends. I like curry and rice that is a little bit sweet. But my favourite is my mother’s, it always makes me happy.

What is your favourite food discovery? (something you found and surprised and delighted you since you’ve been in Toronto/Canada.)

Greek food, I really like Moussaka and Souvlaki. It is uncommon in Japan, so I’ve never eaten it before. When I went to eat Greek food, my friends took me to the Danforth. I was impressed that it is so delicious and surprised by the performance of our waiter setting fire to cheese. After that I often went to the Danforth. I enjoyed Taste of the Danforth too!! There were a lot of stalls on the street. It was very exciting.

What cuisine are you looking forward to trying next?

I want to try Brazilian food. My friends told me it is very good, but I have not tried it yet. I think it is also uncommon in Japan. So while I’m in Toronto, I’m looking forward to trying Brazilian cuisine next.

What food are you snobby about?

I’m snobby about chocolate with jelly inside. I really like chocolate. I always keep chocolate in my house. I eat chocolate every single day. But If chocolate has jelly inside, I will not eat it. The taste is weird and not tasty. It makes me grumpy. I can’t understand why they put jelly the inside of chocolate. Whenever I see it, I think they should separate the jelly from the chocolate.

What is one of your food quirks?

When I eat toast, I put sweet bean paste on it, it is normal in Japan. But I put processed cheese slices on top of sweet bean paste. It’s very delicious! When I was in Japan, I could get sweet bean paste, but it’s hard to find it in Toronto. I just have to have patience and wait until I go back to Japan to eat my favourite quirky toast!!

Parisian macarons from Pretty Fours - Photo of the Week

2012-12-05T19:24:00-05:00

The CheapEats Ottawa photo of the week is Parisian macarons from Pretty Fours by e. macduff.

That was what e. macduff said when she posted the photo:

“At the St. Laurent Farmer's Market”

Add your own photo to the CheapEats Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo of the Week.

20121011_4860 - Photo of the Week

2012-11-26T17:13:45-05:00

The CheapEats Ottawa photo of the week is 20121011_4860 by teafortwo.c.

That was what teafortwo.c said when she posted the photo:

“Spicy meat pie (aka sfiha) from Aladdin Bakery (on 1801 Carling Ave).”

“For more details, please visit Tea for Two Sisters:
http://teafortwosisters.blogspot.ca/2012/11/aladdin-bakery-and-convenience-its-all.html”

Add your own photo to the CheapEats Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo of the Week.

Vintages Value List November 24, 2012

2012-11-24T22:20:00-05:00

Hello Again Fellow Tipplers,

We are both extremely busy these days at the LCBO (tis the season!!!!) and were only available to taste the release on one of the two tasting days. When we arrived, we found only red wines. Our despair was short-lived as the reds we tasted were excellent! Read on … Drink on …

Red Wine

213520 Santa Carolina Specialties Dry Farming Carignan 2009 (Chile) $15.95

Dry Farming = no irrigation. Apparently this isn’t a necessary farming method in the Cauquenes Valley because this wine rocks! Look for mushroom and dark berry notes before you face a delicious lingering finish.

232561 Cennatoio Chianti Classico 2010 (Tuscany, Italy) $15.95

A classic Italian Chianti – dry, with smooth tannins and a smoky undertone.

133033 Mas Estela Quindals 2007 (Spain) $17.95

A great label before a great wine. It’s mouth-fiilling with distinct black cherry notes and a nice long finish. Score: 91 (Jay Miller, erobertparker.com)

142935 Small Gully The Formula Robert’s Shiraz 2007 (South Australia) $18.95

It’s got some age – which is good. It is rich and dense with leather and tobacco notes. It is fruit-forward and large, but this is tempered by smooth tannins and a seam of acidity.

292857 Château Haut-Bertinerie Elegance Merlot/Cabernet 2009 (Bordeaux, France) $18.95

Old world style emenates ripe black fruit, leather and wood with a distinct oak note. Score 91 (Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast)

Kaiken Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile) $19.95

Licorice and plum aromas leading to flavours of black cherry, plums savoury spice and a generous finish. Thiscame out on the last release and we recommended it then. It was in the tasting room and it still delights our palates!

83337 Pascual Toso Reserve Barracas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (Mendoza, Chile) $19.95

Smooth and velvety flavours of licorice, berries, plum, cocoa and sweet spice balancing out with soft tannins and juicy acidity.

298620 Villa Symposia L’equilibre 2008 (Midi, France) $20.95

Beauty in a bottle blackberry, smoke, pepper spice replaying harmoniously on the palate and a long finish! Good value!

990440 Kenwood Cabernet Savignon 2009 (Sonoma County, California) $22.95

Off the bat you are faced with a lovely vanilla nose. There are also oak and vanilla notes on the palate. It is soft and round and could lie down for a spell for more mellowing.

17400 Pierre Amadieu Romaine Machotte Gigondas 2010 (Rhone, France) $23.95

Quite dry with charming berry and floral notes. This wine is complex and interesting – worth the $$$. Score” 92 (James Molesworth, winespectator.com)

Rose & Karen

Ps Don’t forget that the Vintages Value List can be found on www.cetoblog.com

From SuzyQ! - Photo of the Week

2012-11-21T14:01:26-05:00

The CheapEats Ottawa photo of the week is From SuzyQ! by fishbowl_fish.

Add your own photo to the CheapEats Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo of the Week.