Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Fleur de Sel - L'Argoat


Fleur de Sel is a cute little restaurant that serves lovely, simple, delicious vegetarian food. L'Argoat is a classic crepe restaurant, full of all sorts of rich fillings, sweet and savoury (and meaty!). What gives? It's a marriage of restaurants... understandable as the originally separate businesses were run by a real couple ( Christian Pressburger (L'Argoat) and Lucie Maisonneuve (Fleur de Sel)).


So it is no longer truly vegetarian (it did always serve fish in the evening, anyways), with crepes with everything from the traditional ham and cheese to wild boar and other delectable toppings. Add to that a full dessert crepe menu as well... Lots of choices!


I had the Tian d'aubergine - a layering of thickly sliced eggplant, summerfresh tomato, and smoked mozzarella. Not too oily, the flavours melded perfectly. Always a great side salad with grilled zucchini, a tomato compote and sprouts, on top of a real mixed greens salad (none of that slimy mesclun... one of my pet peeves....).


LOVE LOTS: their funky collection of mismatched glass dinnerware that makes everything taste delicious, their great patio area beside their veggie and herb garden in the summer, quirky bathroom supplies (tampons, hairspray, deodorant, panty liners, anyone?).


LOVE LESS: In the past, slllooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwww service that even a civil servant can`t justify. But today was very good - the restaurant was packed, but we were in and out quite quickly!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Shaken, not stirred....

Just saw Quantum of Solace this week, after a re-viewing of Casino Royale. Ahhhh, Daniel Craig - those impossibly white shirts (often stained in blood) under that perfectly fitted tuxedo, the sculpted, scarred body, those steely blue eyes - and that martini! Named after his dead girlfriend.... not exactly the way one might want to be remembered!

The Vesper martini looks and sounds delicious - the recipe, as written in the original "Casino Royale by Ian Flemming reads:

Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"
Lillet is a French aperitif from Bordeaux that is available here in Ottawa at the LCBO.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Student lunch at Le Cordon Bleu


Ottawa is home to a Cordon Bleu cooking school campus, on Laurier Avenue East in Sandy Hill. If you can't afford a meal at their restaurant, Signatures (the only 5 diamond restaurant in Ottawa), try the student lunch on Thursdays and Fridays. The students serve a 3 course set lunch - something to try. Check out the menu and call for a reservation at Bistro Cordon Bleu .