Getting Over the Fear of Cooking Real Food Part I
So many people are afraid of cooking, afraid of making a wonderful meal...to them, it's something beyond the scope of their capability. Making food, to some, is best left to the professionals -- this is a driving factor behind food television and celebrity chefs. We hear of families who cannot cook, and we wonder why the restaurant industry booms and our health declines. We fill our grocery stores with quick fix products and frozen meals, processed products designed to resemble a familiar dish - I know it may be shocking to some, but there are families who LIVE off of this stuff.
This post was brought on by two things I experienced recently. A trip through the McDonald's drive-thru -- I have not eaten anything from McDonald's aside from their "ice cream" in nearly a decade, but something (curiousity?) got the best of me and I decided to have some "food" from the chain. I am not a big fast food eater, so I decided to indulge in a chicken mcnugget happy meal -- fries, nuggets with sweet & sour sauce, and orange juice. Quickly, after I started eating, I realized exactly why I had gone so long without a trip to the golden arches. How did anyone -- even children -- put this crap in their mouths? This wasn't food. This was expensive and food-like, but it wasn't food.
Second, I went to the grocery store and decided to deviate from my standard plain yogurt -- a new brand of "yogurt" was available, on sale, and I had a coupon on top. I decided to pick up a box and had some for breakfast this morning. My normal list of yogurt ingredients is this: milk, cream, bacteria. This yogurt had upwards of 25 ingredients, most unpronounceable, and included artificial sweetener. It was terribly medicinal, and even the fruit inside of it tasted like mushy, "natural flavour", rather than a piece of peach or mango. Oddly enough, it was not even remotely sweet compared to my normal plain brand. I thought to myself, is this what people eat as "sweet" yogurt? This brand was billed as a satisfying, diet-esque product...do people really think that eating this crap would make them feel happy with their choice? I guess so, seeing as it was one of many similar options on the shelf.
Growing up, and before I met my husband, the food I ate was real. It wasn't fancy by any means, but it was homemade and contained as few ingredients as possible, and even if we didn't eat as a family a whole lot, I knew the names of everything that went into my meal. My dad did a lot of the cooking, but my mom had a few dishes as well...and, for that matter, so did I. I was familiar with all of the parts of our kitchen. Flash forward, now I've been with my husband for 6 years, and he's cooked in quite a few of Ottawa's "top restaurants"; my dining choices have become more refined, but the ability to recognize and cook decent food has not changed. I think everyone is capable of cooking, and cooking easily and naturally, but I think there is often a fear of the unknown if you weren't raised with it.
In my next few posts I'm going to be talking about some of the ways I think that we can really, truly bring cooking back into our homes. Not the type of sensational celebrity-chef-watching cooking that exists for a lot of people today, but true and authentic abilities to make food easily and naturally, without having to flip through a cookbook and memorize a recipe, never deviating from the same process. Cooking, like eating, should be fun and adventurous, and it is nothing to be afraid of or to put out of one's reach...and I think a lot of true "foodies" can agree.
I’m a Soul Man
Wilson's Soul Food Inc. 7 by Southern Foodways Alliance
So, my dad recently returned from his annual trip down south (the first one I haven't been able to make, myself, since I was 4 years old). For the past two years, he's shacked up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - not exactly the most exotic locale, but far enough away to avoid (most of) the snow and to get a little taste of ocean air.
Of course, with his return brought loads of southern delicacies. I was happy with anticipation of what he was bringing (and equally concerned with the sheer volume).
As a long-time consumer of southern food, I can say that it is sorely lacking in our city. Ottawans, Canadians, just do it differently than the south. We're just not wired the same way and our food is, as a result, different. I'm not saying it's worse, it's just different. We don't use "barbecue" as a noun, we use it as a verb. We don't have the same local products available that they do. We just eat differently. As much as I love southern eats, I don't know if I could live off of them...I was raised with a slightly different palate.
There is something magical about low-country cuisine, Gullah cuisine, soul food, meat-and-threes...something hearty and stick-to-your-ribs. It's almost magical to me, how each area can have such a defined regional selection based on tradition and history. What's more, you can often feel the love that goes into making this style of food...but stop me before I start blubbering like Art Smith. Southern food isn't just about the food, it's about the preparation, the company, the significance of the food to the people who love it.
I, for one, am a fan.
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Boiled Peanuts by NatalieMaynor
Boiled Peanuts
- Officially, South Carolina's state snack food...but we've actually had better luck finding them in Georgia and Florida! Eating a boiled peanut really drives home the fact that these are not nuts, they are legumes. Often you'll find them at a little convenience store or at a roadside stand that advertises local delicacies like pecan rolls, fresh citrus, and so forth. You can get them canned, but they aren't the same. While the basic recipe calls for a slow boil in VERY salty water, individual purveyors change things up...we've had regular boiled peanuts done up in a slow-cooked pork broth with onions and peppers, we've had cajun boiled peanuts with spices and seasoning added during the boil.They usually come in a large Styrofoam container, tied up in a white plastic bag. You simply dig in; crack the shell with your teeth, suck out the salty brine, and toss the peanuts themselves in your mouth and discard the soggy shell. A delicious Cheerwine or sweet tea is strongly recommended to wash them down.
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Sweet Tea, from Lo-Lo's Chicken and Waffles by Cobalt123
Sweet Tea
- Oh, man, there are few things I love more than sweet tea and boiled peanuts. Sweet tea is nothing like the canned type you'll find here in Canada. It's freshly brewed and is served either with or without a simple syrup accompaniment (sweet or unsweet tea, respectively...you can sweeten the latter to your own preference). Add a squeeze of fresh lemon and you're in business. Sweet tea is perfect for hot days and salty food; you'll find it pretty much everywhere in the south, and it must be popular because I've seen it in New York State on the McDonald's menu (seasonally). To my delight, Wendy's in the southern states serves unsweet tea, and I've even had it at Disney World. No matter where I get it, it's always served in GARGANTUAN portions.To say the least, a good sweet tea is refreshing and somewhat astringent; The taste of the tea is never overpowered by the flavouring added to the drink. Another great alternative is the "Arnold Palmer", which is half tea and half lemonade.
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biscuits and gravy, moore by alphabetjenn
Biscuits and Gravy
- I'm not talking poutine gravy here, I'm talking about the delicious white gravy that is peppery and all-to-often laced with little chunks of sausage (think McDonald's breakfast sausage patty, not the link type we prefer in this country). The biscuits, ideally, are fluffy and made with real buttermilk and shortening. Sometimes you'll put some more sausage meat on the halved biscuit, but more often than not, it's unnecessary. A hearty ladle of gravy is added over top, and you simply dig in (with, of course, a knife and fork).Real enthusiasts will add a lashing of butter before topping the biscuit with gravy, but I prefer a slightly more scaled down approach to encouraging a heart attack.
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Best in Georgia by Mark Strozier
Southern BBQ
- Like I mentioned previously, we use "barbecue" as a verb, whereas southerners use it as a noun. BBQ, for the most part, is pork that is slow cooked until tender and "pulled", usually basted with a sauce whose specific ingredients usually depend on the local preference. In some areas, you get "pig sauce". It's vinegar-y and thin. There is also a mustard-based sauce and the more traditional tomato/ketchup-based sauce with which we Canadians are familiar. When the sauce isn't ladled on the meat for cooking, then it's almost always served along-side for you to add on your own. Most BBQ joints offer other types of meat, traditionally ribs, as well as a whole slew of side dishes and a starch (biscuit, cornbread, or plain white loaf bread) to mop up the juices. -
A summer vacation power lunch by ThisIsIt2
Pecan Roll
- The reason that I love pecan rolls so much is because they signify, to me, that vacation has begun. In normal circumstances, I find them to be cloyingly sweet and as someone who cannot claim to be a hardcore dessert/snack fan, I can say that they do hurt my teeth. However, there is something memorable about those delicious little candy logs - a soft, sugary cherry nougat surrounded by crunchy, crushed pecans.The very best ones come from Stuckey's, a roadside store (the bigger ones have gas stations, too) that is easy to spot with it's bright blue roof. Delicious!
Picky Eater
Picky Patrisha by bethany actually
My apologies to anyone out there in internet-land who has been following my blog and expecting a nice collection of posts at week's end; I unfortunately am succumbing to the monster that is late pregnancy and as such, am trying to conserve my energy (and use what I have as efficiently as possible). For the time being, I may be cutting down to 1-3 posts weekly, and will try my best to live on the higher side of that range.
Living in a house with a cook, his cookbooks and his internet bookmarks can be difficult. Life is not a simple, "hey, let's go to Montana's", in fact, dining in Ottawa is downright impossible at times. Last week, we were wrapping up a childbirth class and decided to grab a bite afterwards. It was getting on in the night (around 9:30pm) and first we drove through Little Italy/Westboro, then detoured into our least favourite part of the city (in terms of traffic and a lot of different restaurants), The Market. Up Elgin, around Bank, and then, frustrated, we came home. It's not like there weren't tonnes of places to eat but, to put it kindly, my husband is picky.
I think a lot of it is the expectation of quality preparation and product, something that is the result of reading way too many books about well-reviewed eateries and reading up on some of the better establishments in Canada and the US. It isn't enough to just go to a market restaurant that specializes in pasta dishes...it isn't enough to grab a seat at a smaller chain restaurant for a quick bite. Everything is compared to the top chefs of North America or the James Beard Award nominees.
It makes it hard put a lot of restaurants in Ottawa on our food map. It's even harder when you see the cooks outside the restaurant walking to work or having a cigarette in their whites, waitstaff chatting to themselves and ignoring customers, kitchens that cannot accommodate a small and reasonable change to their food (i.e. no peppers in the pasta) because everything has been pre-made and portioned. It's even MORE difficult when you hear stories from friends and friends-of-friends in the industry, learning about who really doesn't give a shit about the food they cook and serve, hearing the attitude of the staff and owners towards their patrons. At the end of the day, we stick to our restaurant-owning or kitchen-running friends and stay firmly in our little food bubble.
I don't expect every restaurant in the city to be a St. John or a French Laundry. I've been disappointed by a few of the "top" restaurants of this city. I've been disappointed by food in Paris, France...a country where restaurant staff are known to take their career choice as serious as life and death. I've also been wowed by food in this city...perhaps due to lowered expectations...but perhaps due to the merit of the food experience. A goal we've had recently is to start trying more restaurants, even the ones we've been told are horrible or the ones from which we expect very little. We've decided that quantity may actually result in quality, and we might pick up a few good stories on the way.
Spring Clean
I Can See Clearly Now by Gamma-Ray Productions
We've had a beautiful week of weather (tomorrow - 42! friday - 40!) and I think that here in Ottawa, we can safely assume that spring has sprung. Personally, I've been opening the windows during the day, allowing the dogs more ample backyard time (the snow is cold on their little paws) and generally enjoying the streams of sunshine that I'm seeing every day.
In the next little while, we're going to have a lot of things to do...bringing "spring cleaning" into a whole new realm. My husband's boss is leaving for a few weeks, which means he gets less days off, which means less time to be at home to help do the bigger things...and that kind of sucks. But hopefully he'll be able to get a few days of vacation time after and we can start taking friends and family up on their offers to get some things together.
Mainly, we're looking at the baby's room as the "next step". We just need to paint it, and unfortunately, I don't think I can. The kitchen, with it's low-VOC paint, was one thing, but the baby's room is going to be a colour that does not come in the low-VOC range (I know, I know...toxins for the baby, blah blah). The room is exceptionally well-ventilated, so I suspect that with this nice change in weather, a few people can get the room done and ready this weekend. That means we can move everything in, which will free up the "spare room", which we can then furnish accordingly (as a guest room and office, for the time being). Our kitchen is -thisclose- to being complete, the living room is a go, and then it's just little things that involve organization.
I am seriously serious about organization; yesterday, I bought some DVD storage cases and I'm in the process of lugging laundry baskets full of DVDs upstairs to sort and store (essentially freeing up two bookshelves worth of space). In the past two weeks we have donated/ditched over 20 bags of STUFF from our house -- unnecessary kitchen items, knick-knacks, etc. Laundry/clothes is my next big undertaking...we have SO many, after editing it all down the first time, and it doesn't fit in our bedroom and causes a terrible pileup in the laundry room. We'll likely also edit the record collection and book collection, too, getting rid of cheap and useless things that we never really wanted in the first place (i.e. bulk purchases from garage sales).
Cleaning and organizing and editing your life feels good -- especially this time of year, which is why people do the "Spring Clean" thing. We have around 2 months left before the baby's arrival, which I hope is enough time to get everything done. It's going to be a busy March and April!
10 Ottawa Favourites
Market + Cattle Castle + Clouds by S.L.M.
I'm not going to pretend that Ottawa has so many wonderful resources that demand a trip from anywhere in the world, but I will say that if a person finds themselves here, there are plenty of opportunities to try some delicious treats that you may not find elsewhere. Recently, on a flight from New Orleans to Ottawa, via Chicago, I sat beside an IT start-up guy who was visiting our fair city from California as his company had recently been bought out by IBM. We had been discussing some culinary choices in California, New Orleans, and the topic clearly turned to Ottawa.
I kind of wish I had a little business card-sized list of things to tell him to try, and I may employ that technique in the future (just carrying one or two) because I ran out of breath as the plane was landing. I think we are blessed, as a city, to have many lovely resources that highlight Ottawa and Canadian food in general, and whether you're a visitor or a local, you should certainly take advantage of them. Ottawa Magazine put out a list of "101 tastes to try before you die", which is a huge list of great things to find in our city (for the record, the only online resource I can find with the full list is on the Take Another Bite blog, which...incidentally, is a great resource!)
When I initially decided to look into the "100 mile diet", I noticed that our area extends into half of Montreal, a part of northern Quebec and of northern New York state, and as far as half-way through our lovely province towards Toronto. I am not a "localvore", as they say, because I think it's a true pity to be missing out on the bounty of Prince Edward County, just beyond the reach of our 100 mile circle. However, there are so many incredible resources that we have close to home, and that alone is enough to make a list of my 10 Favourites in Ottawa.
In no particular order, and without further ado:
- Maple Syrup - we may not be the only producers of Maple Syrup, but we do have some pretty great sugar bushes. In addition to the syrup itself, I also recommend maple sugar candies. We get ours from my husband's grandfather, who has a bush in New Brunswick, but for anyone who is visiting the capital (and especially for those just visiting Canada), maple syrup...REAL maple syrup...is a must!
- Poutine - ah, the glorious poutine. I tried very hard to explain a poutine to the guy on the plane, but his eyes started to glaze over and he was having a hard time understanding how the very best poutine can come from a chip truck rather than a legitimate restaurant. Don't ask me how, my friend, it just does. Poutine, the wonderfully fattening food, often relegated as a side dish, is simply french fries topped with fresh curd cheese and gravy. You can do it all fancy-like, as Murray Street and Petit Bill's Bistro prefer, or you can keep it simple and go to those dirty little chip trucks/wagons/stands.
- Shawarma - practically Ottawa's regional dish, Shawarma is yet another sandwich wrap incarnation that can be found in many forms around the world -- gyros, donairs, and shawarmas all have the essential things in common that make a pretty good sandwich, with only minor differences. In Ottawa, we prefer our shawarma, and we prefer it garlicky. Some people swear by Shawarma Palace on Rideau Street (right downtown) while others have their individual preferences. Garlic potatoes are optional but also recommended. So is a breath mint.
- Pork at the Wellington Gastropub - it's moist, flavourful, and the price point is pretty darn good. I can say, no matter what incarnation it has taken, that the pork here is the best I've ever eaten in a restaurant. In addition to that, you get a great, bustling atmosphere and excellent service that doesn't feel too stuffy. A+!
- Tapas at Allium - Yet another winner in terms of price point, and there are so many options to choose from! Tapas night at Allium, which falls on a Monday, is a wonderful chance to try a number of their great dishes - I personally prefer the Steak Frites and the Banoffee Pie, but have been known to try upwards of 10 tapas dishes at a time.
- Art-is-in 12-grain fennel baguette - If you have dinner at the Wellington Gastropub, you can knock out two birds with one stone, as this is what they serve to accompany your meal. Otherwise, take a walk down the block to the Ottawa Bagelshop; Art-is-in's kitchen is right underneath, and they always have a great selection of fresh breads. Butter and any other toppings are unnecessary, this loaf is moist, well-seasoned, and a wonderful carby treat.
- The Works - not exactly the height of culinary excellence in our city, but I would be remiss to exclude our city darlings, the Works Burger, from my list. Every out-of-towner I have brought to sample a burg' off their ample list has practically clapped their hands with glee. You have burgers with Kraft Dinner, burgers with peanut butter, burgers with blue cheese, burgers with...well, pretty much anything you can imagine. With more and more locations popping up, it's easy to find a Works Burger, and a visit really does seem to impress.
- Beau's Beer - It seems like practically every restaurant in the city is serving Beau's now, which is great. It's also worth a trip out to Vankleek Hill to see the little brewery itself and sample some of their wares in-house. Beau's All Natural Brewing Company is certainly an Ottawa darling.
- Ottawa Landsdowne Farmer's Market - if you manage to hit the right season on a Sunday, there are a great number of Ottawa treats at the Landsdowne Farmer's Market. Granted, there are other markets in the city (and I am not counting Parkdale or Byward), but the market at Landsdowne has a great vibe and a great variety of vendors that makes it an excellent visit. Often, you can find the previously mentioned Art-is-in stand, but there are also some of my other regional favourites: Berg en Dal honey, Bearbrook Farms game meat (mmm, boar salami), and the list goes on.
- Bridgehead Coffee - some of us may be getting sick of Bridgehead, or see it as an obvious choice, but bear in mind that Bridgehead is an Ottawa-only chain. Located primarily between the Glebe and Westboro neighbourhoods (the "hipper" areas of Ottawa), Bridgehead sells "fairly traded, organic and shade-grown coffees from small scale farmers" and have a pretty socially-responsible values list. Personally, I go their for their awesome Chai Lattes.
Get. It. Out.
Eggplant Parmesan by Sandip Bhattacharya
Welcome to the third trimester. I am rounding the bases and making my way through the 7th month of pregnancy, and at this point I want the baby out. I realize some of you are probably saying, "sister, you have a long way to go!", and that's completely true. In the past week, though, things have taken a turn for the worse...although I personally haven't gained any weight in the past three weeks, that doesn't mean the baby hasn't - I'm beginning to become top/front heavy and that makes it difficult to walk, to move past things, to get up, to sit down, etc. etc. etc. Another wonderful addition has been my hormones, which are out of whack and causing me a great acne flare-up and a terrible bad mood that causes me to snap at everything (when I am not crying, that is). It actually feels like a terrible bout of PMS.
I know I have another few months to wait, but this terrible funk has had me thinking of one of the more fun ways to induce labour, anecdotally speaking. One of our favourite things, food (baby centre UK has a cute list of other things, as well). A lot of these suggestions simple stem from the fact that an upset stomach or intestine will result in an upset uterus (spurring on contractions, if they are so inclined to be spurred), much like an upset (or growing) uterus can cause a reaction vice-versa.
Pineapple - Bromelain, an enzyme found in fresh pineapple, is said to be anti-inflammatory and will help ripen the cervix. However, you would need to eat more than half a dozen fresh pineapples (which I think I could do, actually) to have any potential effect - and at that point, it's likely just that bowel stimulation thing I mentioned earlier to kick things off.
Spicy Food - Spicy food is deeply routed in the idea that your stomach and digestive system being put into a state of upset can cause the same thing to happen to your uterus. It's like castor oil, which my mother swears by -- if you're not accustomed to eating spicy things, spicy food can go right through you. Worst case scenario, you end up with diarrhea and heartburn...and if you're smart about it, you can order take-away and save yourself making a meal. 
Eggplant Parmesan - This is a neat sort of "urban legend" from Scalini's restaurant, which claims that over 300 women have gone into labour after eating their Eggplant Parm. They even altruistically provide you with a copy of the recipe! It might be the food itself that gets your gut going, but chances are it's the herbs inside of it that have a greater chance of doing the trick. Basil, parsley, thyme, oregano and rosemary are all contraindicated in pregnancy to some degree as all are considered uterine stimulants. Now, to be fair, culinary usage of these herbs isn't likely going to do much, but maybe the magic is in the combination?
Licorice - Similar to the herbs found in the Eggplant Parm, licorice (REAL licorice) contains glycyrrhizin, thought to shorten gestational periods. Red licorice isn't going to do anything. Artificial licorice is often flavoured with anise, another one of those "uterine stimulant" herbs...and frankly, it can cause diarrhea (common thread?).
I'm personally not gearing up for a thai pineapple salad, eggplant parmesan, and bag of licorice for dessert (although that does sound like an awesome date), but it's nice to think of ways to move things along when the time comes -- although it seems like despite all of these anecdotes, many women end up waiting impatiently for the baby to decide on his or her own when the time is right.
First World Problem: The Most Expensive Meal
(This post is a day behind because translating the menu into English was a huge undertaking for me...apologies!)
Big ups to my eloquent sister, who reminds me that my daily struggles are simply "first world problems". The Most Expensive Meal, a story we generally reserve for friends and family who will not judge too much, is equal parts amusing (to us) and mortifying. Let it be known that I still cannot believe we spent that much money on one meal. And, to be honest, it was a meal I can barely remember for it's individual parts without prompting. The tinge of shame and humility is always a nice reminder that we have a lot in this world for which we can be thankful.
That being said, it was good. Like, capital G- Good. It was perfectly executed and technically flawless. The experience itself was bittersweet, as we cried a little on the inside as we enjoyed our fabulous meal as an instantly poorer newlywed couple.
When we decided to change our honeymoon plans for a whirlwind trip to London (3 days) and Paris (3 days), we had planned out our meals for London and decided to leave Paris open for adventure. It seemed a little off-balance to me, so I decided to book one reservation in Paris -- not knowing where to start, I hopped on chowhound and found a restaurant that had received awesome reviews. I sent them an email and they were happy to make our reservation, no problem whatsoever. I was pleased with myself and mentioned it in passing to my husband, who conveyed a flicker of recognition to the name, but didn't think too much of it.
We should have known something was up when we arrived at our hotel and the first thing the gentleman said was, "we need to confirm your dinner reservation, it is the most important thing, then we will check you in". Not thinking too much of it, we confirmed for a 9:30 table and proceeded to go on our merry, ignorant way. Our first night in Paris was a blast; great food, beautiful weather, quiet people...an overall gorgeous place to visit.
The time came for our reservation, we dolled up and took a taxi and were shuffled into the restaurant by a polite doorman. We were early, but were seated immediately. It was around this time that we realized our table was for the entire evening; Pierre Gagnaire, the eponymous 3-Michelin star restaurant of fusion-loving chef Pierre Gagnaire, only takes one seating for the entire evening. You book it, and that table is yours. We were there for hours, some tables longer than us still, and there was not one bit of turn-over.
Are you scared yet? I'm getting a chill just reliving it. Pierre, boyfriend, you are a scary cooking mo-fo, look at the fear you have driven into my bones, a year after I first even heard of you!
We sat down and ordered a few drinks immediately to calm our nerves. Then, the menu. I stared at mine for a while; it was in French, completely, and was taking me a while to translate into something I might remotely understand. I looked over at my husband, who had gone a little pale...I had assumed he was a little overwhelmed himself with the translations, so I asked him what he had intended to order. I mentioned that I enjoyed the langoustine appetizer I had at Gordon Ramsay a few nights before and would love to have langoustine again. He gave me a sideways glance and asked, half under his breath, if I was aware of the prices. I told him that my menu didn't have prices. He offered his menu to me and took a pretty hefty sip of his Gin and Tonic. The letters and numbers unblurred and I came face to face with the full reality of what I had done.
I'm not going to go into specifics, but the cost of the langoustines was approximately the cost of filling up a tank of gas on a Ford F150 when the gas prices in Ottawa are just under a dollar a litre. That was the appetizer. My husband and I stared at one another for a few minutes...he told me later he was considering how to make a quick exit, whether or not it meant leaving me behind. I could tell by the deer-in-the-headlights look he was giving me that I was going to have to make a decision. I steeled my nerves, thought about the options, and told him how it was going to go down - we were going to get the tasting menu, I was going to eat everything on it, and we were going to put it on the credit card we had put aside to pay our good friend who had done the wedding catering for us. We knew she hadn't run it that day, and was likely not going to be running it for a few weeks, so we would have time to sort things out. We would enjoy our meal because, frankly, we were never, ever, doing this again.
Again, I'm not going to go into specifics, but that meal cost me about two weeks wages. That meal cost us more than a mortgage payment and a car payment. That meal cost us car payments for the whole summer. That meal, that expensive meal, was worth every penny that we spent...my husband, happy to know that a decision had been made, finished his drink and we placed our order. The new task at hand was calming down so we could enjoy our food. I, of course, kept making inappropriate jokes about learning lessons and how "unforgettable" this meal would be. I can't say that we were ever fully relaxed and as such, maybe didn't enjoy our meal as much as we could have...which is a real shame.
You'll notice I mentioned that I was going to eat everything on the tasting menu. There were things I ate at Pierre Gagnaire that I would never, ever put in my mouth in any other circumstance. I will elaborate as we go through the menu, but you need to fully understand the culinary sacrifice that I made for this meal...my husband was nothing short of shocked. He kindly tried each dish before me to give me full disclosure on what I would be tasting, and I appreciate him for it...he did not lie when it came to something I would not like, he simply told me to prepare my wine to wash it down quickly. It was a labour of love, this experience, and we still talk about it to this day as a sort-of "remember the time we went to Paris and almost had to remortgage the house for our dinner?". Ah, nostalgia.
- Course One: Murex, thon rouge et gambas obsiblues enrobés d'une bisque au cerfeuil; Infusion douce-amère gélifiée de fenouil. Moutarde de céleri-rave façon cramone et pointe de persil fumé.
Translation? Sea snail, red tuna and pacific blue shrimp and chevril bisque, bittersweet fennel gel, Cramon-style celery root mustard with a tip of smoked parsley. - Course Two: Nage émulsionnée de colinot à la coriandre fraîche. Pannequet de tourteau, pressé de lapereau au combawa. Asperges blanches, fèves, petits dés de spe et betteraves rouges. Fleurs de sauge-ananas.
Translation? Poached pollock with fresh coriander, crab cake, young rabbit and keffir lime leaves. White asparagus, beans, red beans and flowers of pineapple sage (I'm also missing something in here I just cannot translate). - Course Three: Tronçon de sole poêlé meunière, ail de ours; kinsheim. Feuille de parmesan, côtes de blettes. Soupe de petit pois au cidre fermier.
Translation? Butter-roasted sole with wild garlic, parmesean "sheet", swiss chard, cider and small pea soup. - Course Four: Morilles fraîches de Turquie ivres de crème au vin jaune de Jura; fines tranches de navet kabu, radis rouge croquant. Carpaccio de gras seiche; agria onctueuse, oseille & curry vert.
Translation? Fresh morelles drunk in yellow wine, kabu turnip and red radish, sardine, agria potatoes, veal sauce and green curry (this translation was hard and may be off completely...). - Course Five: Petit rouget de roche vuit entier au four, crumble végétal; just court aux aubergines lié du foie de poisson. Chou coeur-de-boeuf.
Translation? Red mullet, vegetable crumble, reduction of eggplant and fish liver, beef heart cabbage. - Course Six: Gratin d'oignons nouveaux à la pistache, lichettes de foie gras de canard. Sorbet d'agrumes et salade de pousses d'épinard.
Translation? New onion and pistachio gratin, fois gras, citrus sorbet and baby spinach salad. - Course Seven: Suprème de poulard de Bresse, taillée en escalope, au miel de jungle; Pascaline aux mousserons. Rouelles de homard bleu au poivre de Pondichéry. Sauce Violine.
Translation? Bresse chicken, scallop, honey, Mousseron mushrooms. Brittany blue lobster and Ponicherry pepper with Violine sauce. - Course Eight: Terrine de roquefort; velouté de brebis, wurtz au citron.
Translation? Roquefort terrie with ewe's milk sauce and lemon mousse.
Bear in mind that my French is rusty in the best of circumstances, downright atrocious regarding food preparation. Somewhere in that mix was squid, but I cannot recall what meal and am clearly mis-translating something. I believe it was in course four, as I greatly enjoyed the morelles but was a bit hesitant to eat the squid (it wasn't that bad). Following our set courses was an insane collection of desserts (another three courses on top of that). If you include the intricate amuse bouche (and I do) but not the ample bread course, that brought us to a total of 12 courses. We went in at approximately 9:00pm and left at approximately 1:00am.
As promised, a list of the things I ate that I never would in other circumstances: squid, fish liver, Roquefort cheese. A few things, I don't particularly ENJOY, but will eat: foie gras, mushrooms, sea snail.
When we arrived back at the hotel, the gent behind the desk kind of snickered at us and asked us how our meal was. We mumbled something and rolled ourselves into the elevator as his maniacal laughter echoed down the hall (ok, maybe I'm being dramatic...there wasn't much of a hall to echo). Even the next morning, our friendly regular host, the one who had checked us in originally, wink-wink-nudge-nudged us and asked us about our dinner the previous night. At that point, we had prepared ourselves and simply told him it was "memorable in every way", to which he laughed knowingly.
Overall, the meal was really, really. Really. Good. In particular, the chicken course was amazing, and my husband liked the foie gras dish so much that they actually prepared a second course of foie for us (after an awkward exchange trying to explain that foie gras is not readily loved in Ottawa with the waiter who just...nodded and smiled a lot). We also received a really nice little book on different restaurants of a similar 'calibre' and the quality of service was truly outstanding from the doorman when we entered to the doorman when we left.
As for a three star restaurant, well, Gordon Ramsay was a fraction of the price and it was, in my opinion, much better of an experience because our comfort level was higher. I suppose for a truly Parisian 3* experience, at a restaurant that lives at the top of the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best, the bar is higher. It was, sadly, a once in a lifetime experience, never to be recreated...like a little platinum-coated, diamond-encrusted snowflake of opulence. Next time, we're trying his other Parisian restaurant, Gaya Rive Gauche and shocking ourselves with another 3* (which we will research before reserving).
Here are a few other reviews from around the 'net in case you want to know more about Pierre Gagnaire's restaurant (and, they take pictures when they eat, so I suppose that is bonus points to some):
Pierre Gagnaire, Paris 4 and Pierre Gagnaire, Paris 2
Pierre Gagnaire (Paris) - Strictly Business and Pierre Gagnaire (Paris) - Best Meal of My Life
Pierre Gagnaire - Paris (this one has particularly lovely photos, and the restaurant looks completely different during the day!)
Discovering Pierre Gagnaire - And a Friendship (more A+ photos)
Travel Eats
There are plenty of resources for people looking to find the best food in a certain city or country...personally, I like to short-list my resources to four:
- For (primarily) the U.S, I check out Road Food for any wonderful hole-in-the-wall restaurants highlighting local cuisine.
- For a good idea of any number of recommended choices for pretty much anywhere, I always search the Chowhound forums.
- For higher-end selections, there's the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best and the Michelin guide.
Obviously, reviews and recommendations need to be taken with a grain of salt; these are people with a different background, different expectation, different chequebook and different palate than you. That being said, these and other resources can help to point you in the right direction if you're looking for a particular type of food or experience...the ultimate choice is always yours to make. Think of it this way, though -- if you never made it back to that city again, would you have missed eating at a certain restaurant?
When my husband and I lived in Ireland, we made the trip out to Dublin a few times. There was a particularly nasty rainstorm when we were out and about, and we were hungry...so we dipped into the first place we saw, which was a Johnny Rockets-style restaurant called Eddie Rockets. Can you imagine how disappointing it might be to eat at an American-style diner, at a huge premium, when you're in a foreign country? At that point, we were tired and hungry and wanted anything but another heavy traditional Irish meal, but surely with a little bit of forethought we could have found a better, cheaper, and less boring option.
It's been a bit of a running joke for us, now, eating (and almost eating) at places like Johnny Rockets. Eating at this type of restaurant usually signifies to us that we did not plan our venture as thoroughly as we could have. A trip to downtown Toronto saw us in one, when...had we waited five minutes and turned the corner, we could have eaten at any number of other restaurants. My sister and I *almost* ate at another "American Diner" in the Chicago O'Hare airport but were smart enough to just munch on delicious cheese and caramel popcorn from Nuts on Clark and save our appetite for after our flight.
I personally think it's worth even a quick review of options prior to visiting a new place, lest you end up at something that looks a little too familiar. Even in Paris, when we were surrounded by amazing food choices, we could have eaten at a regular old McDonald's...and what a shame that would have been. There are plenty of interesting parts of local cuisine and really fabulous restaurants that you can enjoy in any country, and they don't have to be expensive or difficult to fit into your plans.
Pregnancy and Eating Habits
I sit here, seven and a half months pregnant, awkwardly working my laptop around my ever-burgeoning belly, and all I can think about is CARBS.
It's rather frustrating, actually, because I just ate 4 mini muffins and I still want a nice, carby, thick-breaded sandwich...or a huge bowl of macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes.
Now, I am predisposed to loving a good carbohydrate to begin with, pregnant or not. My favourite food is bread, followed very closely by cheese (and when you combine the two, OH BOY, watch out!). However, for the first trimester of this pregnancy, all I wanted was spicy food -- specifically, the green hot sauce from Pancho Villa on Elgin Street. The second trimester was filled with a need for everything juicy - watermelon, oranges, orange juice, even slushies from the convenience store down the road. There was a brief love affair with hamburgers that lasted a few weeks, but now we are firmly in the world of cereals and grains.
A pregnant woman and her relationship with food is very unusual, I can only imagine how it looks to someone on the outside. Food is important because it's how you get your nourishment, which not only gives you energy but transfers the needed vitamins and minerals to the unborn. I've always been a firm believer that aside from those marketing-induced cravings (c'mon, nobody WANTS Taco Bell), humans crave food because they are missing something, nutritionally, and that food is the quickest way to get it into their system. Here's a pretty neat breakdown of what you might be craving if you're eyeballing some chocolate or french fries...
I think that cravings intensify during pregnancy because our nutritional needs have increased, and because we are more likely to act on them because of any possible impact it might have on the unborn. My mother craved champagne during her pregnancy with my sister, and managed to hold off until the end of the third trimester. She craved cheesecake with me, which resulted in my father making her a different cheesecake every day (her eating one slice and him eating the rest...and subsequently, he gained 70lbs). My mother also ate ketchup when pregnant with my sister, put it on everything, and will not touch the stuff to this day.
Even stranger than cravings are aversions. Sometimes it's an aversion to a food on the whole (the thought of going for Dim Sum makes me break out in a cold sweat of panic) and sometimes it's something that is just a little different from the norm. I personally cannot stand the taste of 80% of the ketchup I've had during this pregnancy. It's not that it tastes particularly OFF to me, but I can pick out flavours (cinnamon once, cloves another time) that I would normally not notice in the condiment. I can, however, eat the store brand ketchup in my refrigerator that I've been using for years. I also had a problem with lobster, one of my favourite foods -- it tasted so saccharine to me that I could only eat half a portion before pushing it aside (yes, I did cry a little inside). Bottled water tastes milky. I normally hate red wine, but it is the only alcohol in food (sauces, etc) that I can tolerate...rum raisin ice cream made me ill, bourbon BBQ sauce made me retch - and I know it's only the flavour, not the alcohol itself.
Eating with a pregnant woman can be exciting, if you're into something akin to bumper cars or Russian Roulette. You run the risk of going out for a nice meal, one that you are certain she will enjoy because she was dying for it about three hours ago, and suddenly she cannot find anything she wants on the menu. You might make her favourite dish and she turns her nose up at it (my husband made a chili in the beginning of my pregnancy and I made him remove it from the house). And it's true - there may be times that she begs for you to go to the store at night to pick up an incredibly specific treat. I've been pouting for the last three days because Dairy Queen closes at 9pm, and my craving for a Banana Split Blizzard kicks in around 9:15. Nothing like pregnancy hormones to get your food-related adrenaline pumping...
And on that note, off to eat a loaf of bread.