Spotted - La Cucina, Ottawa

This month's Spotted is a long story. I had someone lined up, and then I didn't. I had another person lined up, and then I didn't. I hate to point fingers, but in both cases, I have to blame CK's laziness. I told him that if my Spotted Interviews don't work out this month because of him, he would be the one interviewed.

Well, here we are.

CK is extremely camera shy, so the picture below is the next best thing. Don't feel jipped because the character below does kind of look like him...big, bushy, angry eyebrows are one of his trademarks...hehe.

This month's Spotted interview is with my darling husband at La Cucina Ristorante, Ottawa.

Where are you from: Memphis, Tennessee, but I spent most of my life in Montreal and Ottawa.

Your signature dish: Boiled pasta and spaghetti sauce from a jar. It is the quickest and easiest thing to make when you are a student.

Most memorable dining experience: My answer will embarrass my wife, but chicken almond guy ding and beef & broccoli from Golden Palace Restaurant in Ottawa. I used to go here every year for my birthday, as a child, with my family.

Favorite ice cream flavor: Bubble Gum. It has the most refined flavor of any ice cream ;-)

Your last meal would be: All of my favorites. For mains, I would have kebab soltani, poutine, a medium tomato, onion & mushroom pizza, and a bowl of Lucky Charms with skim milk. To drink, I would have a glass of Dr. Pepper, and a glass of Cherry Coke. For dessert, two cream puffs.

Happy New Year Everyone! We'll be spending ours in Memphis.

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Spotted - Zen Kitchen, Ottawa

Meet Dave and Caroline (pictured below). They are the friendly owners of Zen Kitchen, a gourmet vegan restaurant that pushes the envelope on vegan cooking.

Before I share my meal from Zen Kitchen, I'd like you to get to know the masterminds behind the operation first. Caroline is also the Executive Chef of Zen Kitchen, and Dave is the manager & drink expert ;-)

They are a warm couple who have a deep respect and affection for what they do. When I asked them who or what their biggest life influences were, this is what they said:

Caroline: My mother for better or for worse. She was very hard to live with, but she had a strong passion for food and presentation, and was a woman with a good sense of style and taste. She was a perfectionist. She loved people, and presenting food to people. Both my mom and dad were great cooks. My passion for style and presentation came very early for me.

Dave: Farley Mowat, whose books were instilled in me as a kid. He had a passion for protecting and caring for the natural world, but at the same time, maintained a good sense of humour. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take him to lunch, and took him to Fressen on Queen Street.

This month's Spotted interview is at Zen Kitchen, Ottawa.

Chef Caroline Ishii

• Where are you from: I was born in Toronto but I've lived all over the world. I've lived in the Soviet Union, I studied in Quebec City, and I moved to Ottawa 20 years ago to study French.
• One cooking utensil you cannot live without: A tasting spoon. I need to constantly taste stuff
• Go-to dish when serving guests: I love serving hors d'oeuvres and small plates. I'll serve like 15 little plates of Japanese Cuisine. I'll serve a clear soup, then a sea vegetable salad, then rice, etc. I'll definitely do a Terriyaki of some kind. Maybe a Terriyaki fusion with wild blueberry. I usually change up the protein.
• Weirdest thing ever eaten: Fish sashimi that was still alive. It was a whole fish cut up. It was so fresh, the meat was still hanging off the fish. I was a little kid at the time, and I just couldn't eat it. I asked the sashimi master to cook it, which obviously was a faux pas. He was insulted. It was horrifying. **laughs out loud**
• Your last meal would be: I love Japanese food so it would be a simple Japanese meal of rice and homemade pickles.

Dave Loan

• Where are you from: Southern Ontario, near St. Catharines. I've also lived in Huntsville and Sudbury.
• One cooking utensil you cannot live without: My Chef's knife. It does everything from peeling to chopping to shaping. It is a Japanese knife from Japan. It doesn't have a specific brand signature, but it was handmade from a famous knife shop in Tokyo. The blade smith there makes only 2 knives a day.
• What do you always have stocked in your fridge: Beau's Beer. That's an easy one.
• Weirdest thing ever eaten: It was in New York at a sushi bar where the staff only spoke Japanese. I ordered a giant clam on rice. After I ordered it, the chef said something to Caroline in Japanese, where she replied 'oh'. They were telling us not to use the chopsticks to pick it up because the clam was trying to crawl off the rice.
• Your last meal would be: Pasta...a nice ravioli. I crave ravioli all the time. It takes a long time to make.

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Spotted - Fleurs Place, Moeraki

I'm very excited about this month's Spotted interview.

I not only dined at the famous Fleurs Place, but I got to meet Fleur Sullivan herself. She is somewhat of a culinary celebrity, and any foodie from NZ will know who Fleur is.

As I mentioned in my last post, Fleurs Place became known in other parts of the world when British chef and food writer, Rick Stein, picked Fleurs Place after he was told he could go anywhere in the world to write a travel article. Stein was right on the money. Fleurs Place is a charming restaurant with exceptional food.

This month's Spotted interview is at Fleurs Place, Moeraki, New Zealand.

Where are you from: Waitaki River, New Zealand. Waitaki is the new wine growing area.

Favorite ingredient to cook with: Any food of the region. In this case, it would be fish. I had a restaurant for 20 years before Fleurs and the only reason I created Fleurs restaurant was because of the fresh fish.

Most memorable dining experience: Ham and eggs with a lid on top. It was something different, and even the place was different. The walls were covered with Bohemian Dutch scarves. Another experience was when I was a young person, about 16 or 17. It was at the Waitaki hotel. I had lamb with bones and brains in it. But it was the whole dining experience that made it memorable: the service, the silver, the linens, and the well trained waiters.

Favorite ice cream flavor: Hokey pokey. It is a vanilla ice cream with toffee. There is a shop in Hamden that sells great hokey pokey ice cream.

Your last meal would be: Oh, you would need a very big table, rather laden. Hmm...I would have bluff oysters and some lemon, and...[after much thinking] you don't need much else, really [laughs].

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Spotted - Hopewell, Marlborough Sounds

After my freshly caught meal at Hopewell, I asked my dinner guest, Y, if she would be my Spotted for this month.

Y is a teacher in Germany who has decided to take five months off to travel in New Zealand and Asia. She is an avid rock climber, and travelled all the way to NZ just because she heard there was good climbing here. Of course, she is also very keen on good food.

This month's spotted interview is at Hopewell, Marlborough Sounds.

Where are you from: Hanover, Germany.

One word that describes you: Variety.

Favorite ingredient to cook with: Soy sauce.

Weirdest thing ever eaten: Whitebait nigiri sushi in Japan.

Your last meal would be: Starter would be fresh oysters. The main would be anything that my ex-boyfriend cooks. He is so good at cooking. Dessert would be a really good chocolate ice cream, and then I'd finish with an espresso with grappa.

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Spotted - Morning Owl, Ottawa

Meet Jordan and Sarah. They are a charming couple who also happen to be the proud owners of Morning Owl coffee + sandwich shop.
 

Morning Owl is a vibrant little shop with a very inviting atmosphere. Jordan and Sarah have poured a lot of love into this place, and it shows. This month's spotted interview is at Morning Owl, Ottawa.

 

Sarah O'Leary

• Where are you from: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Your signature dish: Oh! Nothing. I'm a horrible cook. Her best friend did chime in to say that she bakes a mean cupcake. That, I can attest to.
• One word that describes you: Busy! That's how busy I am. I can't even think of a word that describes me.
• Memorable Dining Experience: The Black Cat Bistro in Ottawa. It is thus far my favourite dining experience.
• Your last meal would be: Jordan's mom's pasta, and Jordan's grandma's ribs.
  

Jordan O'Leary

• Where are you from: Ottawa, Ontario.
• Your signature dish: A traditional meat pasta sauce (he's an Italian boy).
• Weirdest thing ever eaten: Atelier's Elvis truffle. A peanut butter, banana, and bacon chocolate truffle.
• Favorite ice cream flavour: Chocolate...wait no, butterscotch for sure.
• Your last meal would be: Baton Rouge ribs.

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Spotted - Le Cordon Bleu, Ottawa

I took a Gourmet weekend cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu a few weeks back and got the chance to chat with my instructor, Chef Gilles Penot, after the class. He is a man who is passionate about food, and I learned that he adores salt and butter. He claims that you can never have too much of it, and truthfully, I'm not sure where he puts it all!

I will soon post about the wonderful dishes I learnt during my weekend gourmet course, but in the meantime, this month's Spotted is at Le Cordon Bleu, Ottawa.

Where are you from: Beauce, France, but I spent the last 15 years in Normandy.

Your signature dish: Sauces and fish. I love cream and butter, and I love to work with fish. My signature dish would be a cream sauce with a fish flavor.

Weirdest thing ever eaten: I don't like pralines. It makes my stomach sick. I am in trouble when I smell it. I've always wanted to taste insects but I am too scared to.

Favorite ice cream flavour: I prefer sorbets. Any fruit flavored sorbet.

Your last meal would be: Rillette de lapin made by my mother. Delicious! Amazing! But it must be from my mother.

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Spotted - Atelier, Ottawa

While dining at Atelier for Omnivore's Ottawa Supper Club, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to ask Ron Eade to be my Spotted for June.

Ron Eade is the Ottawa Citizen's food editor. He has a great local food blog called Omnivore's Ottawa that provides the latest goss on Ottawa's food scene, along with the supermarket specials of the week.

Ron is a very upbeat and sociable person and can chat your ear off about food.

I know, I'm spending a lot of time at this place (can't help it, this place rocks)...this month's spotted is at Atelier, Ottawa.

Where are you from: Kitchener, Ontario.

Your signature dish: Long, slow cooked BBQ pulled pork smoked on applewood in my big green egg.

Weirdest thing ever eaten: I'll eat anything except for okra. I hate okra. I don't really find things weird, but no blowfish please. I've eaten sweetbreads and tripe....oh! I don't like durian. It smells awful.

Favorite ice cream flavour: Peanut butter & chocolate, a match made in heaven. Mr. Reese was a smart man.

Your last meal would be: Bouillabaisse...no question about it. With my luck, I'll be executed in Saskatoon, and they'll have no fish.

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Spotted - Atelier, Ottawa

For this month’s Spotted interview, I got the opportunity to interview the talented team at Atelier.

Atelier is one of Ottawa’s most cutting edge restaurants, offering molecular gastronomy cuisine. What is that? You’ll have to find out for yourself. Can’t get there? I’ll be posting my meal from Omnivore's Ottawa Supper club at Atelier soon, but in the meantime, check out my dinner from a couple of months ago at this link.

I couldn’t decide which Chef I wanted to interview most, so in the end, I asked all three if I could do a triple feature. The great thing was that these guys aren't just colleagues, they have become good friends. This was quite obvious during the interview.

Without further ado, this month’s Spotted interview is at Atelier, Ottawa.

Chef Michael Holland (Pastry Chef)

• Where are you from: Toronto
• Your signature dish: My Elvis Truffle
• Weirdest thing ever eaten: Crunchy Dog Food. My friend was eating some, and I asked to try it. [Sarah asked Michael if he was a kid when he did this, and he embarrassingly said no.]
• Favorite ice cream flavour: Any ice cream that I make.
• Your last meal would be: Would I be in a cell and then lead to execution? That makes all the difference in my answer. I would have a cake with a file in it so that I can try to escape.

Chef Sarah Allen (Chef de Cuisine)

• Where are you from: Castleton, Ontario
• Your signature dish: My signature dish is whatever inspires me at the moment, but if I had to pick something, it would be soup. (Marc chimed in and said she makes a kick a** soup).
• Weirdest thing ever eaten: Duck fat ice cream. It was horrible. Marc experimented and made it when we were at the Courtyard. It actually made me sick. (Luckily, everyone was able to laugh about it).
• Favorite ice cream flavour: Store bought flavor would be heavenly hash. Non-store bought flavor would be star anise.
• Your last meal would be: Hot dogs from Crif Dogs in New York City.

Chef Marc Lepine (Owner and Chef)

• Where are you from: Kincardine, Ontario
• Your signature dish: I don’t have one.
• Weirdest thing ever eaten: Carbonated raw beef. It was awful. It was moving and jiggling. It was alive!
• Favorite ice cream flavour: Chocolate.
• Your last meal would be: A glass of Italian red wine.

After the interview, I went and checked out their garden to see what cool things were growing. I was surprised to see what once was a patio, turned into a garden full of cool herbs and veggies. Some things to note were their curry plant, pineapple sage, and lemon verbena.

I also checked out their solar oven, which has been used to cook things such as braised leeks.

I'm heading to San Diego for a few days, but I'll be sure to write about my exciting 12-course dinner from last night when I get back.

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Spotted - [No Name], Ottawa

This man is the most active man I know. If he is not running a race, he is biking, kayaking, or golfing. He even convinced me to run a half marathon with him last year. Note that it was my first, and LAST half marathon. People are crazy to wear out their bodies like that.

This month's Spotted location will remain unnamed. I had such a bad experience here that I have chosen not to endorse the restaurant in any way. All I will say is that this month's Spotted interview is in my home town, Ottawa.

Where are you from: Havana, Cuba

Your signature dish: Picadillo

Weirdest thing ever eaten: Chicken feet, iguana, and tripe

Favorite ice cream flavour: Coconut

Your last meal would be: A spitfire roasted piglet with an apple in its mouth.


Did you enjoy this post? Check out these other Spotted interviews:

Duane Keats Spotted at Luxe Bistro, Ottawa, Canada
Spotted at La Bottega, Ottawa, Canada
Spotted at Little Mercato Italy, San Diego, USA

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Spotted - Luxe Bistro, Ottawa

I had the pleasure of meeting with Luxe Bistro's executive chef, Duane Keats, to shoot the breeze. He is one of the most down to earth people I have met, and I enjoyed chatting about food, family, and work with him.

At the end of the conversation, I convinced him to be my Spotted interview for March.

Down to the last wire with just a few hours to spare, this month's spotted is at Luxe Bistro, Ottawa.

Where are you from: St. John's, Newfoundland

Your signature dish: Anything you have to cook for a long time...braised short ribs, osso bucco.

Weirdest thing ever eaten: Wild boar liver...it tasted dirty.

Favorite ice cream flavour: Tiger tail: orange and black licorice ice cream mixed together. The funny thing is, I don't even like black licorice.

Your last meal would be: A selection of hot, crispy chicken wings.

Did you enjoy this post? Check out these other Spotted interviews:

Spotted at Cafe Neve, Fox Glacier, New Zealand
Spotted at Ventuno, Sydney, Australia
Spotted at Little Mercato Italy, San Diego, USA

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Spotted - Little Mercato Italy, San Diego

With Lisa's big personality, I couldn't resist asking her to be my Spotted this month.

With cool creations such as strawberry basil and cantaloupe mint popsicles, this month's spotted is at the Viva Pops stand, at the Little Italy Mercato Market in San Diego.

Where are you from: I'm an East Coast girl. I'm from the Washington D.C. area.

Your signature dish: I make a mean lavender lemonade popsicle, and vegetarian chili.

Weirdest thing ever eaten: Cockscomb. It was leathery and disgusting. This was before I became a vegetarian.

Favorite ice cream flavour: Dulce de leche.

Your last meal would be: A very awesome vegetarian lasagne with salad, and bread smothered with butter and cheese. Oh, and LOTS of red wine.

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Spotted - Weezie's, Toronto

While dining at Weezie's last night, CK and I got the chance to meet one of their very friendly and warm staff members.

A great neighborhood resto in Toronto's downtown East, this month's spotted is at Weezie's.

Where are you from: Toronto, Canada

Your signature dish: Chicken stir fry

Weirdest thing ever eaten: 6 raw eggs in a glass. After watching Rocky with some friends, they bet me $50 dollars that I couldn't eat 6 raw eggs and keep it down. I won the bet.

Favorite ice cream flavour: Pralines and cream

Your last meal would be: Large Oreo blizzard from Dairy Queen. It's my favourite thing.

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Spotted - The Wharf Restaurant, Sydney

It's that time of the month again! I love these short interviews I conduct with people because in a matter of a few seconds, you learn new facts about random people, and end up sharing a bond with them because of it.

CK just finished his school year in Sydney, and celebrated his school holidays with a bunch of friends. While doing so, he was able to interview one of his school mates for this month's spotted post...thanks, CK!

Situated right above the Sydney Theatre and Dance Company, this month's spotted is at The Wharf Restaurant in Sydney.

Where are you from: Sydney, Australia

Your signature dish: Mashed Potatoes

Weirdest thing ever eaten: An entire raw onion, I was drunk at the time.

Favorite ice cream flavour: Old english toffee

Your last meal would be: Muesli and fruit salad

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Spotted - La Bottega, Ottawa

Spotted is a monthly post that features a short interview with someone I have spotted in a food setting.

The person I interview could be just about anyone: from someone I randomly approach, to someone I just met that same day, to someone I know well.

As I was lining up waiting to buy a sandwich, I got a tap on the shoulder that startled me. It was a friend who was also craving a sandwich after her morning tai chi class. Serving the best sandwiches in the city, this month's spotted is at La Bottega, Ottawa.

Where are you from: Ottawa, Canada

Your signature dish: Paella

Weirdest thing ever eaten: Blood sausage...it was traumatizing, and I'll never do it again. It is a traditional dish from the North of Spain

Favorite ice cream flavour: Vanilla

Your last meal would be: Spaghetti

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Spotted - Cafe Névé, Fox Glacier

Spotted is a monthly post that features a short interview with someone I have spotted in a food setting.

The person I interview could be just about anyone: from someone I randomly approach, to someone I just met that same day, to someone I know well.

After a really awesome day of ice climbing, we headed to our favourite restaurant in Fox Glacier for pizza. Moments later, our ice climbing guide walks in for take away dinner.

Named after a snow field at the head of a Glacier, this month's spotted is at Cafe Névé, Fox Glacier.

Where are you from: Waihi, New Zealand

Your signature dish: Venison Roast

Weirdest thing ever eaten: Locusts, deep fried tarantulas, sheep tongue, and sheep brain

Favorite ice cream flavour: Goody Gum Drops

Your last meal would be: My mom's marinated lamb chops

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Spotted - Ventuno, Sydney

Spotted is a monthly post I am starting that features a short interview with someone I have spotted in a food setting.

The person I interview could be just about anyone: from someone I randomly approach, to someone I just met that same day, to someone I know well. The point is, they must be spotted while eating.

Most of the people I interview will be either someone I do not know at all, or not know very well. For that reason, I have purposely kept these interviews short and sweet to avoid annoying people too much.

Nestled in Sydney's historical old town quarter, this month's Spotted is at Ventuno, Sydney.

Where are you from: Sydney, Australia

Your signature dish: Schnitzel

Weirdest thing ever eaten: Cheese...I never tried it until last month

Favorite ice cream flavour: Ferraro Rocher

Your last meal would be: A Thai beef and cashew dish

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