Food Crawl {A 50th Birthday Surprise}

Surprises, particularly birthday surprises are wonderful. I like to be caught off guard with special gifts, but planning the unexpected is really where I get my kicks! Birthdays, holidays, Tuesdays; I really enjoy celebrating the big and small life events with surprises.

On September 27th, 2013 my mom turned 50! Half a century old, is not just a little feat! For months, my dad and I had been scheming to plan something special for her. We concocted a gift that would encompass all of her favorite things: adventure, new experiences, food and drinks. We decided on a food crawl!

Essentially, I was tasked my by dad to choose 3-5 restaurants that I thought she would like and we would go to each and order a drink and a couple plates to share. And since it was a 50th birthday present, money in this case, would be no object! I was in my glory!

The restaurants were chosen, my parents were in Ottawa, the weather was perfect. We were ready to go. I even prepared an Ottawa Foodie Passport for my mom - a small booklet, where she could record the restaurants visited and what was ordered - which she loved!

My wonderful mum with her Ottawa Foodie Passport, sitting at the bar
at Town enjoying her drink, in front of the iconic octopus painting. I hope I look this amazing at 50!

We ended up going to 4 restaurants, but not necessarily the ones I had originally chosen. The problem (although not really a problem) was that it was a gorgeous Friday night and we didn't make reservations since we wanted to leisurely go from location to location.

Here are the restaurants that we did go to, and what we ordered:

Town

Our first stop was Town. The restaurant was bustling, but still inviting with a warm atmosphere and a buzz of Friday night conversations between couples and friends. I was greeted at the door with a smile and was informed that they were completely booked up for the evening, but there was room at the bar to sit. We jumped on the opportunity!

As a first stop on what would be a rather gluttonous evening, we decided on something lighter. We each ordered a drink:

• Vanilla porter
• Helmut
• Grapefruit fizz

The drinks were lovingly crafted right in front of us and when we asked any questions, the bar tender was happy to give some insight!

For food we ordered the 3 cheese plate and had:

• Grey Owl from Quebec
• Highland Blue from Ontario
• Taleggio from Italy 

Being cheese lovers, all 3 were excellent cheeses and the accoutrements served with the cheeses including apple chutney, local honey, bread crisps and spiced nuts were outstanding. The favorite cheese of the three, however, by far, was the High Blue - creamy, velvety, tart.

Oz Cafe

We arrived at Oz Cafe, off to the side of Elgin St, down the stairs, and were saw what looked to be a full restaurant. Luckily, it was such a beautiful night, the patio was open and available to sit at. The cheese plate was fabulous at Town, but by this time with some walking and a drink under our belts we were developing an appetite. We decided on ordering something more substantial to share. Since the food at Oz Cafe has a Asian inspiration to it, we decided to drink a Sapporo - light, crisp and satisfying. For food we ordered:

• Smoked trout sashimi
• Edamame
• Corn on the cob

When we ordered the food, the waiter told us that it might be a little bit of a wait because the kitchen was so busy. But we ordered and were served within about 20 minutes, so no complaints there! The smoked trout was light, delicate and had the perfect hint of jalapeno kick. The edamame were the best I have ever had; buttery, salty and totally addictive. Finally, the corn. For my family, corn on the cob holds a special place in our hearts as being a summer barbecue essential, fresh picked from my grandparents garden. The corn at Oz Cafe is something extraordinary. As my dad put it, "It tastes like steak!". The char grilled taste and salty, spicy peanut crumble on top, made it the favorite dish of the whole evening!

Johnny Farina's

This is the part in the evening that took a bit of a turn. We had planned to pop across the street from Oz Cafe over to El Camino for some tacos and tequila (my mom's favorite). Unfortunately, on our arrival, and because of the nature of our food crawl not allowing us to make reservations, we were confronted with a one and half hour wait. We have heard such amazing reviews, we were disappointed, but it will be a place to try another time! Thinking ahead, we called to the next restaurant and made a reservation. It was still another hour away, so we strolled down Elgin St. and popped into Johnny Farina's for a drink and an appetizer.

Johnny's (as my former co-workers loving called it) is a decent restaurant, with good food, great service (in my experience) and even a lunch counter (to get good food on the go)! It is a place where I used to have lunch about once per week and holds a special place in my busy former life.

We ordered a few beers and a dry gin martini (with an olive) for my mom. We also ordered the calamari to snack on while we enjoyed our drinks and caught some baseball highlights on television. Cannot say enough about their calamari. Super delicious and huge portion for the price! Definitely the perfect accompaniment for a tall, cold glass of Kichessippi beer!

 Union 613

Our last stop of the evening was Union 613. Admittedly, I had only been once before, to their basement speakeasy and was just dying to try their southern inspired food. The restaurant for 11:00 pm was at a low rumbled of people laughing and talking over their delicious smelling food and drinks. The dark and dim atmosphere is so inviting. We all especially loved the lighting in the restaurant. I have to get some of those recycle bottle chandeliers!

We were seated at one of the common tables in the back of the restaurant near the kitchen. My dad sat on the end and was fascinated the whole time, peaking into the plating station, watching all of the food go from kitchen to tables. We discussed our food and drink options at length while gorging ourselves on the briny, boiled peanuts served (which, by the way, are just beyond addictive). The service from start to finish was impeccable! To drink we ordered:

• Bourbon lemonade
• Apple pie
• 2 bourbons to taste (after dinner)

The lemonade was really great and super refreshing, but the apple pie drink was, in my opinion, one of the best drinks I have tasted. There isn't much to it, and there isn't much to say except that it tastes like apple pie, but it is heaven served in a little mason jar! My parents, after dinner, also tasted two bourbons recommended by our very knowledgeable waiter. Both were enjoyed!

For food we decided to order three things off their late night menu:

• Yard bird
• Fried green tomatoes
• Shrimp and grits

We cannot say enough about how great the food was. The fried green tomatoes were perfect; fresh, salty, cheesy and spicy. The fried chicken was so moist and satisfying. And the shrimp and grits was just perfection. The grits actually tastes like mac and cheese, which is pretty darn yummy in my books!

After Union 613 our bellies were so full, we almost couldn't move. The food crawl birthday present was a resounding success!

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This is a great idea to do with a bunch of friends and allows you to try a bunch of different dishes at a number of restaurants without breaking the bank! Sharing is key here and it makes the evening even more fun! I am already planning my next food crawl adventure!

Happy 50th birthday to my mom! I hope you have 50+ years more of adventures!

-Tina (Turnip)

Bap by Raon Kitchen Food Cart Review & Prepping for Ottawa Foodie Challenge 2013

If you follow our Twitter account or have us on Facebook, you know that in less than 24 hours, Alex & I will be participating in the Ottawa Foodie Challenge! The challenge is essentially a foodie scavenger hunt across our great city of Ottawa in support of the Ottawa Food Bank and to create awareness for community hunger. There will be 100 clues that we need to unravel and my guess is that it will not be an was task, even if we already have a good knowledge of the foodie scene in Ottawa. Alex has been doing a great job at getting us prepped for the challenge this whole week, but due to a busy work week for me, I have been admittedly slacking. Being it is the eve of the challenge, I figured I should spend a bit of time on my lunch doing some studying. But, what is studying without something delicious to accompany it!? I decided to venture out for lunch. Since I haven't had the chance to try any food carts or trucks, and because it was a dreary day, I scouted for one close by the office. I had heard good things about Raon Kitchen, so I walked up to Bank & Slater and decided to try it for myself.

The Raon Kitchen cart serves Korean bibimbap (or bap as they like to short form it). Luckily, since it was raining there was no line! Success!

Huddled behind the cart were three wonderfully pleasant people serving up hot steamy bowls of rice in this dreary weather. I decided to order the vegetarian bap, with egg and tofu. I topped my dish off with Korean hot sauce, sesame seeds and a bit of sesame oil. Knowing that I needed to get cracking on OFC prep, I had them pack my bibimbap up in a bag and off I went back to the office!

After taking a couple photos for the blog I dove ravenously into my bowl. My first thought: Mmm! The tofu was well-marinated and very flavourful. I loved the thin, noodle-like slices of egg too.

Overall, this dish was pleasant and totally hit the spot. If you are out in the area or work downtown, I would highly recommend popping by this food cart! You can find them on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/RaonKitchen!

Now, onto studying...

-Tina (Turnip)


See our review on Urbanspoon

P.S. Cheer Alex and I on throughout the day tomorrow via Twitter! Turnip & Bean hope to bring home the grand prize! Stay tuned on a full blog post on how the whole challenge unfolds!

Spring has arrived! So, have great burgers! A Review of Beech St. Burger

It's mid-April, and until yesterday afternoon Ottawa had not seen the likes of spring at all! After a gloomy and rainy day, the workday drew to a close, and the sun peaked out from behind some dark and stormy clouds and (in my opinion) spring began! Stepping outside from my office building downtown, the sun rays hit my face and I smiled with joy! I raced home, grabbed the dog and my wallet, for I knew there was only one thing I could eat for dinner marking the sure sign of warm weather to come - a burger and fries!

A few weeks ago, while coming home from work, I spotted out of the corner of my eye, a sign, stapled to a towering, wooden telephone pole. The lamenated piece of white paper informed me that a new burger joint would be opening up in the neighborhood (Little Italy, that is). Fresh local beef, handmade fries, open seven days a week! I could hardly contain my excitement.

Yesterday, finally, the day had come - the perfect evening to enjoy a burger and try out a new restaurant!

When I arrived at Beech St. Burger, located 40 Beech St. the restaurant was very quiet, no one around except for the owner who was sitting and watching the news. For those of you who know the area, it is the former location of Danini Panini and temptingly situated next to the Greco gym! The owner got up and greeted me with a warm smile, offering me the menu. He explained that there were two types of burger, the larger 4 oz double patties and smaller 3 oz patties. I told him I wasn't shy and went with the 4 oz Beech St. burger with Cheese. I also ordered up a large container of fresh cut fries.

He began whipping up my order and we talked about how the business had been doing for the past two weeks. He said, he couldn't complain but due to a small budget, they hadn't done much advertising, except for slapping up a few posters around the neighborhood. The smell of the searing burgers wafted through the air; now he informed me it was time to choose my toppings. There was the usual burger accoutrements, in addition to three types of mayo (regular, garlic and spicy). I decided on lettuce, onions, extra pickles, ketchup, mustard and spicy mayo. He finished up my order while regaling me with a story of how earlier in the day, he was called away from the restaurant by his son, due to smoke at his residence because his dog had jumped on the counter and turned the stove on, catching a plastic container of hot peppers on fire. I told him that this had actually happened to my aunt and uncle recently and we shared a "dogs-are-so-crazy" laugh together! With a few packets up ketchup, a drink and a plastic fork (which, of course, was never used), he slipped my finished burger and fries into a paper bag and I was on my way!

I ran home, set myself up on the balcony to enjoy my dinner. I ripped open the brown paper bag and unwrapped the huge burger and fries. It was glorious! From the fresh sesame seed bun, to the perfectly cooked and seasoned beef, and the spicy mayo; it was burger heaven. The best and most important part of the burger, was that it was satisfyingly, unabashedly, messy to eat! After wiping ketchup and mayo from my nose, cheeks and hands, I tucked into the wonderfully crisp fresh cut fries, slathering them in ketchup. Delightful!

I cannot in my right mind say that this was the best burger I have ever had, BUT it rivals my homemade burgers and to me that's a good sign! So, if you have the chance, get down to Beech St. Burger and check it out! They also have homemade chili and a homemade veggie burger (which I will be sure to check out next time).

Enjoy!

-Tina (Turnip)

See our review on Urbanspoon