My Two Cents on Chick-fil-A

In one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in recent memory, my hometown now has its very own Chick-fil-A restaurant. While my son and I have been looking forward to seeing if the hype about this place and its chicken products is worth it, my wife doesn't share our enthusiasm. After learning the company donated to anti-LGBTQ groups and what the company CEO said about same-sex marriage, my wife decided Chick-fil-A would never get any of her money. Many other people share this sentiment, and it will be interesting to see if this boycott will affect sales here. In Chick-fil-A's defense, the backlash and criticism they have received have caused them to stop giving money to some (but not all) of the controversial groups that people opposed. They have since pledged to donate to Black-led non-profits or those serving the Black community in the U.S.; to mark the opening of the new Ottawa restaurant, Chick-fil-A plans to donate $34,000 to a local non-profit organization through Second Harvest.  And for what it's worth, the claim that Chick-fil-A broke a promise to stop donating to anti-LGBTQ groups is just fake news that came out after the company pulled funding from the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes after Chick-fil-A decided to change the areas of focus for their charities. I feel I can support the LGBTQ community and Chick-fil-A the same way I go to non-unionized Starbucks while being in a union. Distance will be the deciding factor on whether or not I ever eat from Chick-fil-A. I remember the long waits at Popeyes when they came to town. I'm not driving an hour, waiting an hour, and driving another hour back for a fried chicken sandwich anytime soon. Eating at Chick-fil-A doesn't automatically make you a homophobe any more than liking Kanye makes you an anti-Semite. I can understand why others may feel differently. In the meantime, I'll make do with the FCS I've been making for the times I don't want to go out to eat. I'm sure Chick-fil-A will be a huge success with or without my participation.

Peak Ottawa: An Obama Cookie at Le Moulin de Provence

Source: https://macleans.ca/

Ottawa is a city where you see politicians milling around downtown often. But one day in February 2009, a politician made his first official visit to the city and caused a commotion that you would expect when A-list celebrities appear on a Hollywood red carpet. U.S. President Barack Obama, fresh off his first inauguration the previous month, dazzled the City That Fun Forgot with his grace, charm, and overall coolness - I imagine this was what the buzz was like when JFK was elected or the Trudeamania Justin's dad experienced back in the sixties. The highlight of this visit was the impromptu visit to the ByWard Market, where the 44th president picked up some trinkets for his daughters and the obligatory Beavertail. He then went across the street to Le Moulin de Provence bakery, where he got two maple-leaf-shaped shortbread cookies. Soon everyone wanted one, and the bakery has been cranking out thousands of what is now known as the Obama Cookie ever since. In honour of the day Obama got his birth certificate, seek out the cookie that bears his name. It may remind you of your love for Canada and admiration for the 44th president.

Treat Yo' Self on Yo' Birthday

This month marks the annual day my body has survived the Earth's rotation around the sun. I plan to celebrate this occasion by getting as much free food as possible. Using the world's most popular search engine, I checked how many places offer complimentary items on one's birthday or birthday month. Most places require you to sign up for an email list or download an app a couple of days before your birthday; start at least a month before the day you were born to get all that's coming to you. Below is a way to break down the offers available by type of meal - happy birthday to you.

AVOID AN UNNECESSARY HASSLE ON YOUR BIRTHDAY: BRING ID WITH YOUR D.O.B

BREAKFAST

• Kettleman’s Bagel - Downloading their app and joining their rewards club get you a dozen free bagels of your choice.
• Le Moulin De Provence KD (Metcalfe & Queen) - Get a freshly-baked pastry after proving it really is your birthday. Please note this offer is not valid at the Byward Market store for some reason. 
• Perkins - Three pancakes, two eggs made to order, and two pieces of bacon are a great way to start your birthday.
  
  Coffee fans probably already know Bridgehead and Starbucks offer a free birthday beverage if you sign up for their respective rewards programs. If not, make the most of those points that have been gathering dust on your profile.

LUNCH/DINNER

• Blue Cactus - With the purchase of another main course of equal or greater value, you can get a free entrée on your birthday. If you go during the month of your birthday, you can get a free dessert.
• Harvey's - They may make your hamburger a beautiful thing, but on your birthday, the best they can offer is free Frings (half French fries, half onion rings).
• South St. Burger - As a member of the Birthday Club, you can treat yourself and a friend to a birthday burger with their ‘buy one, get one free’ coupon. The best part of this deal is that it's valid on your birthday and for 14 days afterward.
• Tucker's Marketplace: Guess who's back...back again...Two years after closing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the former Mother Tucker's is back with its customary free birthday meal.
• The Works: A free burger with the purchase of any burger of equal or lesser value and a side is available to you. As someone who has been working his way through their menu, I would be doing myself a disservice by not suggesting you take advantage of their offer.

DESSERT

If you have a sweet tooth, you've hit the motherlode on your birthday. The following locales will satisfy that craving by comping your dessert with the purchase of a meal:

• The Bad Alibi
• Big Rig
• Flapjack’s Canadian Diner - They offer a birthday cake milkshake which is exactly what it sounds like, a piece of birthday cake blended into a milkshake.
• Host India
• Lone Star Texas Grill
• Mamma Teresa Ristorante (300 Somerset Street West) - BONUS: A song is also served with your dessert.
• Marble Slab Creamery
• Mia’s Indian Cuisine
• Pelican Fishery & Grill Restaurant

Random Thoughts About the Crave Food & Wine Festival

Ottawa is back in the food and wine festival game this year with the debut of the Crave Food & Wine Festival. These are the impressions my wife and I had on Day 1 of the latest version of the premier food and wine event in the nation's capital.

• After the fiasco from the last Food and Wine Festival, I assume the Shaw Centre and anyone else working this event got whatever money owed to them upfront.
• 
  Unlike the last time we went to one of these shows, there weren't long lineups to get in, which is a plus. We arrived at the Shaw Centre after 7:30pm and were surprised at how few people we saw on the way to the main hall.
• Sample tickets were $1 each, with the suggested amount to start with being 20 tickets. With the price of admission for two tickets being over $70, it is still the money grab it always was.
• The dress code for this was chic casual which explains the woman I saw in sweatpants there; she had a Gwen Stefani from her No Doubt days vibe going, so I guess it met the criteria.
• There was a decent crowd to be found once we got to the main showroom, with enough people cluttered around the various vendors that you would want to wear a facemask while waiting for food if you were so inclined.
• I expected more in terms of presentation when I heard they were turning the show floor into a  series of themed sections.  I really couldn't tell which section was which.
• As usual lots of people used this event as an excuse to dress up. The gentleman in the orange suit stood out to me for obvious reasons.
• Dawn: "What's with all the leather pants?"
• Biggest sample I had: a delicious pad Thai from Green Papaya served in a large container that would normally contain bowling alley French fries. Ten tickets/dollars.
• Something as simple as a sign indicating how many tickets something costs would have been nice.
• Standout samples include a banh mi from an Indigenous vendor, a slider from one of two BBQ vendors present, and some fish cakes that reminded me of the ones my Bajan mom would make.
• If they were frying up some chicken wings, I would have made an effort to see what was happening at the Hot Ones^® Ginger Goat booth.
• We didn't get tickets for any of the demonstrations they had (that's extra), but we could enter the room and watch from afar. Maybe that's why the video screens were the size they were.
• There seemed to be a lot of food-related photo backdrops set up for people to use on social media. They really want this to be a place to be seen at.
• It's a big hall, maybe a few more tables for people to eat from?
• "Is that woman only wearing pantyhose?!?"
• Previous food and wine festivals let you keep your sample glass. Not so this year.
• With the numerous security guards and two OPP officers milling around, it made us wonder what exactly did they expect to happen. Everyone must be still on high alert after the convoy protest.
• Overall, not a bad return, but there's a lot of room for improvement.

Bake Sale Worthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

In politics, you either leave office as a hero or see yourself become the villain. When Jim Watson became mayor for the second time in 2010, he was applauded for his ability to get city council to follow his lead after the chaotic free-for-all that was his predecessor's term. This eventually worked against Ottawa's longest-serving mayor as his influence over the council was so strong, councillors who voted with the mayor were seen as members of a dictatorial Watson Club. Throughout it all, Watson maintained his support among voters by attending and promoting bake sales around the city. This past December, Watson announced he would not be running for re-election in this year's municipal election. In honour of this changing of the guard, I have posted this recipe for a bake sale favourite, chocolate chip cookies. It's a recipe created by Blogger co-founder Meg Hourihan after she asked people to send her cookie recipes after she was tired of using her regular cookie recipe. After receiving over 30 different recipes, she decided to average all of the recipes and make whatever the result. In a sense, the recipe is a lot like voting in this Monday's election - you sift through all the different candidates who all say and promise the same things and hope that whatever is cobbled together forms something that turns out all right. With the cookie, the results were something that people liked; let's hope Ottawa's next mayor is as successful.

 

Ingredients

257 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
245 g flour
169 g light brown sugar
109 g white sugar
87.9 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
58 g unsalted butter, melted
46 g eggs
29.9 g unsalted butter, cold
20 g dark brown sugar
8 g egg yolk
6.08 mL vanilla extract
3.84 mL milk
3.81 g salt
3.63 g baking soda
2.51 mL water

1. Preheat your oven to 178.98°C, or to as close as you can to the temperature. 
2. In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set the bowl aside once done.
3. In another bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butters and the sugars until they are incorporated and smooth.
4. Add and mix the egg, the egg yolk, the extract, the water, the milk, and the chocolate chips until all the ingredients are combined. Add the bowl of dry ingredients and blend until everything is fully incorporated.
5. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.
6. Place parchment paper on one-third of a cookie sheet. Drop the dough using a rounded tablespoon onto the cookie sheet - some cookies will be on the parchment, some won't. This is deliberate. Cook for 13.04 minutes.
   
   Note: This recipe appeared in the first edition of my favourite cookbook, "Cooking for Geeks".

Commentary on the year that was 2018

2019 is about a two-weeks old, so let's look back at what was hot, hip, and happening in 2018 while it's still fresh in our memories.

Food recalls: It seemed like every week last year, we were getting a warning to not eating something. E-coli in the produce, salmonella in the meat; with reports of food costs to go up this year, we shouldn't have to throw out as much as we do.

The Keto Diet: I completely missed this trend, but a diet that was used primarily to treat refractory epilepsy in children was all the rage. To me, it looks like it involves eating lots of avocados, eggs, nuts, cheese, and salmon, but fans of the keto diet claim you can turn your body into a “fat burning machine" by making it go into ketosis — a physical state where the body is flooded with "ketones" after you deprived it of carbohydrates. Others claim it's just another bad fad diet that's hard to follow, has a high fat intake and could have unknown long-term side effects. I guess like everything, moderation is the key.

Anthony Bourdain Dies: I loved his shows, I loved his writing, I loved his attitude. If I had discovered "Kitchen Confidential" before starting college, my life might have gone in a whole different direction.

Ottawa restaurant closures and openings: Among the noticeable closures in 2018 were Dunn's on Elgin; Wong's Palace; Table 85, and Boko Bakery. Ironically, the restaurant that forced the beloved Mello's to close in 2015, Ace Mercado, has also closed its doors, with surprisingly little fanfare. But as the guy in Semisonic warbled in the nineties, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end with the Queen St. Fare, Ottawa's first food hall, opening in the old Hy’s Steakhouse, and acclaimed chef Briana Kim to open a new restaurant called Alice later this year. Both are on my ever-expanding list of local restaurants to visit.

Buck-a-Beer: Whether it's extending the hours of the LCBO, or considering letting corner stores sell beer, it seems all of millionaire Doug Ford's attempts to appeal to the common man involve getting people drunk. The premier's challenge to Ontario breweries to sell beer for a dollar (plus deposit) after the Ontario government lowered the minimum price by a quarter was a dud. No one wants to drink cheap beer (it tastes bad); no one wants to make cheap beer (you lose money doing so). It was a waste of time that had little to no payoff whatsoever. Hopefully, the Ontario government will handle marijuana edibles better when they become legal this year, I hear Doug has some experience in that area (allegedly).

The Big Mac Turns 50: Back in August U.S McDonald's franchises decided to celebrate the creation of placing two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun by giving customers a limited-edition collectable metal coin with the purchase of every Big Mac that could be redeemed for one free Big Mac until the end of the year. I would have thought there would have been more fanfare about this, not sure why Canadian Mickey D's didn't join in on the celebrating.

Starbucks Closes for ‘Racial Bias Training’: After an employee at a Starbucks called the cops on two black men for the crime of being black in a Starbucks, the company issued an official apology and eventually closed 8,000 of its U.S. shops for “racial bias training” on the afternoon of May 29. Canadian Starbucks followed suit on June 11 and closed all of their company-operated stores and offices for the afternoon as staff underwent similar training. I don't know how much this corporate lesson did to improve racial relations between staff and customers, but I do know that if you complained about not being able to get a cup of coffee that afternoon when they closed, you weren't looking that hard for coffee and you're a racist.

Ottawa Wine and Food Festival Bites The Dust: In a move no one saw coming despite the lack of online ticket sales, an ongoing legal battle, and a long line of people wanting the money they're owed, the popular Ottawa Wine and Food Festival was canceled eight days before its announced opening. Having been to the event when it was at the Ottawa Congress Centre, I didn't ever expect to use the word "clusterfuck" to describe the Ottawa Wine and Food Festival, but it's an appropriate word for everything involved with the event since the move to the EY Centre. There are plans to have another go this year, but I'm not holding my breath on it coming together - why can't Ottawa have nice things?

Mario Batali's Comeback: Despite having lost his job on “The Chew”, having his products pulled from store shelves, and being forced to step away from his restaurant business, Mario Batali still hoped he could salvage his reputation and career despite the numerous sexual misconduct accusations against him. But in spite of the charity work Batali is reportedly doing in Rwanda, and the news that he will not be charged for two alleged sexual assault cases against him, the public isn't ready to forgive the Louis CK of the cooking world. Me, I was done with him after I heard one of his restaurants had a rape room in it, fuck him and his asshole business partner from "MasterChef" Joe Bastianich.

Chef José Andrés Is Nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize: José Andrés is known for the three years he worked at elBulli, or for bringing the small plates dining concept to America in his restaurants. He is also known as the founder of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Because of his humanitarian efforts, he has been nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. It's nice to know that not everything was horrible last year.

Grits Redemption

Bag of grits

I don't get the hype about grits. I was curious about them ever since I saw Luis and David eating bowls of them on "Sesame Street" decades ago. When I finally had the opportunity to try grits,  I was underwhelmed both times. The first time was in a greasy spoon near a youth hostel I was staying in when I was in Miami for the 2000 New Year's celebrations; the other time was ten years later at a Denny's in Las Vegas after I went to a gun range. Both times I remember the experience as being similar to eating a side order of flavourless phlegm. How can that stuff be something both foodies and chefs rave about? I must be missing something. So to satisfy my curiosity, and in honour of Black History Month, I'm willing to give grits another chance. It's time to take things into my own hands and see if I can make a better version of this soul food classic than the poor examples I've received.

As part of my grits redemption, I started by finding out what the heck exactly are grits, other than something black people apparently love to eat. Grits is corn ground into a coarse meal and then boiled, and can be used to make cereals, snacks, and beer. As beloved as they are in the American southern states, grits are hard to find in this part of the Great White North. I heard Chef LeRoy of Detroit Soul Food fame gets his grits from Herb and Spice, but were are out of stock when I went, so I got mine from Little Latin America. And while I did make something that tasted better than my first two samplings, I'm still not sure what the big deal with grits is. If you 're looking for something different for breakfast that's savoury and filling, grits are the way to go, but as a comfort food, I guess this is one that you had to grow up on to fully appreciate.

Ingredients:

145 g white grits (not instant, you're looking for something that looks similar to unpopped popcorn)
90 g cheddar, coarsely grated
75 g torn collard greens leaves (the original recipe uses Swiss chard, I made the substitution just because)
15 g tablespoons unsalted butter
7 mL Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
8 slices of bacon, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 Fresno or another red chile, thinly sliced into rings
1 shallot, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt

1. Fill a medium-sized saucepan halfway with water, add a couple pinches of salt, and bring it to a boil. Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the grits. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the saucepan, and let the grits cook, whisking occasionally and scraping the bottom of the saucepan to prevent your grits from sticking, until they are tender, thick, and creamy,  depending on coarseness. You may need to add more water in case it all boils off.
2. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, until it's crisp. Transfer the bacon to a small plate with a slotted spoon. Combine the chiles and the vinegar in another small bowl, and set aside.
3. Pour off some of the fat from skillet, and cook the shallots, stirring often for about three minutes, until they are softened. Add the greens in batches, letting them wilt slightly before adding more, and cook, tossing, until everything is completely wilted. Remove the greens from heat and season them with salt, pepper, and some chile-soaking vinegar.
4. Bring 750 mL of water to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan. Crack an egg into a small bowl, then gently slide the egg into the water. Repeat with the remaining eggs, waiting about 30 seconds until whites are opaque before adding the next one. Poach the eggs for aboutthree3 minutes until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to paper towels and set them aside.
5. Remove the grits from the heat and season with salt and lots of pepper. Add butter, then gradually add the cheese, whisking until everything is melted and combined; thin the mixture with a bit more water if it is too thick for your liking. Divide the grits among bowls, and top with the greens, the poached eggs, bacon, and chiles. Season the eggs with salt and pepper.

2017: Food Thoughts and Observations

Happy 2018 everyone. Instead of making resolutions, I'm going to take this opportunity to get some bullshit off my brain about some random thoughts I've had, and some more specific ones about the year that was.

• For all the hand-wringing about the closing of Hy's and Mello's, the Ottawa food scene isn't any better or worse without them.
• Poké may be just deconstructed sushi served on rice in a bowl, but it lives up to the food hype better than the sushi burrito.
• It always pops up on best-of-Ottawa lists, but I've never known anyone who's eaten at Fritomania, and I've lived in Orleans for over 20 years.
• For a city that isn't known as a food destination, we have a lot of food festivals. Not that I'm complaining, I like a summer with several ribfests in between beer festivals.
• Having spent "An Evening with Matty Matheson", I am amazed these celebrity chefs ever had the time to cook what with all the cocaine and alcohol they consume.
• In the upcoming municipal election, a candidate could win my vote by promising to cut the noose the city put around food trucks and treats them like any other restaurant opening within city limits.
• Apparently, drinkable vinegar, snorting chocolate, and using activated charcoal as an ingredient were things in 2017 - who knew?
• The "Riverdale" promotion aside, the only reason anyone should eat at Zak's is they're too drunk or too lazy to go anywhere else.
• Grilling a thick slab of cauliflower may be tasty, but don't call it a steak.
• Nothing wrong with being socially conscious, but do people ever talk about the food at Union 613 anymore?
• If the price of having a meal at the Sky Lounge was what kept you away, fine, but don't use the excuse that it was a lack of a bathroom. Would being able to use a Port-a-Potty 45 metres up really make you feel more comfortable?
• Anyone who has ever pondered whether a hot dog is or is not a sandwich has too much time on their hands (The answer, of course, is 'who cares?').
• "Lucky Peach" was too good for this (publishing) world.
• I do not understand the devotion people have for Perkins. It's a waffle house without any of the interesting late-night clientele. 
• Never order jambalaya from an Irish pub; more specifically, don't order the jambalaya from the Audubliner Pour House. Tasting that slop was not the way to end a Franklin-family outing to see La Machine.
• I loved Jules in "Pulp Fiction", but I got to side with Vincent, bacon and pork chops taste good; not as good as pumpkin pie, but better than a sewer rat.
• I don't think anyone could have predicted the reaction “Rick and Morty” would have over McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce; some of these people lose their damn minds over this. 
• The need to turn Guy Fieri from being a culinary punchline to a celebrity chef supergenius doesn't hide that's he's a goofball with cheesy theme restaurants, and is the most annoying thing on his shows, no matter how much cooking and business acumen he has.
• Can someone explain to me why the owner of the Black Tomato made protest T-shirts for his employees to wear when he's closing the restaurant? Was it worth wasting those profits on a stupid stunt to get people to feel sorry for him?
• Who would have thought that the best way to sell something overtly sweet and colourful was to add the word "unicorn" to it?
• I wouldn't put my faith in Pepper Potts' claims about food without more scientific evidence, but I look forward to seeing her in the next "Avengers" movie.
• Atelier, the Morning Owl, Dumpling Park - if there are three better restaurants that close to one another in Ottawa, I'd like to know who and where they are.