This past Saturday, I got to experience a new neighbourhood, and learn a bit more about this fair city that I live in.
All this learnin' (best said with a redneck accent) was made possible by the lovely, gracious, funny, charming, and all around amazing Paola St-Georges of C'est Bon Cooking (@cestboncooking on the twitter). Paola is just, one of those people. When you meet her, you feel like you've known her for years because she has this demeanour that is so welcoming, loving, and passionate about her work. That's why I was so SO SO excited to get the opportunity to go on one of the Edible Ottawa Tours offered by C'est Bon Cooking.
The cherry on this food tour pie was that the tour was of a hot hot hot area in Ottawa, Wellington West. These Edible Ottawa Tours are exactly what they sound like, an opportunity to eat your way through an area, while learning about the area, the restaurants, the food served in those restaurants and the people who are behind these restaurants.
Enough of the blah blah blah. On to the food!
A tasty bite from Chef Jason Laurin of Essence Catering - chicken on rice cakes (not the gross kind). Chef Jason started the tour off on a high point, I was actually a little concerned what we would encounter after this!
We next strolled to Burnt Butter (@burnt_butter), a brand new restaurant that is less than a week old! We had these lovely hand made pasta tortelloni that were made with lobster. LOBSTER. The pasta was pillowy soft, and the sauce was perfection, velvety and smooth. Burnt Butter is a place that is "italian inspired" but reminds me of the excellent italian food back home. It is not pretentious, and is easily the best pasta I've had since moving to Ottawa seven years ago.
After that, we ran across the street (due to the rain) and went to the Back Lane Cafe (@BackLaneCafe on Twitter). Again, I was blown away. The food is focussed on local ingredients, and it shows. However, the standout item for me was the chocolate bar. Shortbread cookies, dolce de leche, sea salt and espresso ganache. It was magical, and for someone with a sweet tooth, it was nothing short of perfection.
These are baguette's from Back Lane Cafe. I'm telling you now, if you head here, order anything that involves pastry. I'm not sure who's responsible for this bread, but they have major skill.
Cookies from Credible Edibles (@creded on Twitter). Good to know that healthy food can taste great too! I always have that issue with healthy eating, but I'm thinking that maybe I'm approaching it wrong!
Oooooh onto treats from Thyme and Again (@thymeandagain on Twitter). In order, peach HOMEMADE marshmallow, coconut macaroon, and a lemon square. I may or may not have eaten extra peach marshmallows. I'll never admit it.
Bagels from the Ottawa Bagelshop. These are darn good bagels, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It's always nice to know where a solid breakfast option is available!
Last stop, 3 Tarts. And this particular tart, at 3 Tarts... is worth trekking from whatever part of town you're in to this place immediately. I can't explain it, you just seriously have to try it.
Look at all this freaking food! And I ate all of it, proudly. Okay, maybe I left the bagel for breakfast on Sunday, but this was a ton of food, I didn't even eat anything for the rest of the day!
Folks, this is only a portion of what we saw, ate, and learned about on the Edible Ottawa Tour. Go see Paola, asap. It's so worth it.
-K
