In 2017, I scoured from Stittsville to Aylmer to Wakefield to Orléans for delicious, memorable dishes, and I didn’t do too badly at all.
Of course, new, upscale restaurants in Ottawa’s downtown dining districts — places such as Sur-Lie and Oz Kafe in the ByWard Market, Stofa on Wellington Street West and Orto Trattoria in the Glebe — provided thrills.
But further afield, there was also La Maison Conroy in Aylmer, plus a wave of more casual eateries such as Flavours of Kerala in Kanata, Meatings Barbecue and Persis Grill in Orléans and Xiang Zi in Nepean. The latter was one of many in a wave of cheap and cheerful Asian restaurants that opened this year in Ottawa.
Established eateries that I visited, such as Aperitivo in Kanata the renovated Albion Rooms downtown and the funky Le Hibou in Wakefield, also chipped in.
Looking back at my 100-plus meals out this year, I found that many of my favourite dishes came from the above-named restaurants. Below are my faves in a dozen categories.
But first, a few provisos. I’m not singling out Ottawa’s best dishes or even the best items at these restaurants. Also, some of these items are no longer available — menus, and even chefs, have changed. Still, these plates (and bowls) best pleased my taste buds and esthetic sense in 2017.
BEST SMALL PLATE
– Octopus: harissa braised with kimchi, labneh, black garlic and squid ink tempura at Le Hibou
At Le Hibou in Wakefield, an octopus was a harmonious, multicultural success packed with surprising components. With a tender, harissa-braised tentacle came house-made kimchi, Middle Eastern strained yogurt, hits of house-fermented black garlic and crunchy, squid ink-infused tempura bits. We scraped the plate clean so that none of then-chef Arif Khalid’s tasty efforts would be squandered. Honourable mention: The squid-ink paella at Aperitivo.
BEST SOUP
Wonton soup at Xiang Zi
At Xiang Zi, hidden in a strip mall’s parking lot on Meadowlands Drive, the meal-sized wonton soup was simply a knockout, brimming with more than a dozen meaty, think-skinned pork dumplings in a splendidly savoury broth bolstered with scatterings of seaweed. Honourable mention: Northern Vietnamese-style pho at Chez Anh.
BEST SNACK
Pork pie at the Jack Ketch
At the Jack Ketch in Stittsville, a slab of pork pie was a spot-on delicious, meaty indulgence with a rich, melting crust. Honourable mention: Empanadas at Petit Peru in Gatineau’s Hull sector.
BEST ASIAN DUMPLINGS
Deep-fried then steamed green onion ginger beef dumplings at Hung Sum
At Hung Sum, the re-opened dim sum emporium on Somerset Street, the kitchen goes the extra mile with its green onion ginger beef dumplings, which are deep-fried to give some crispness to their wrappers and then steamed to bolster their internal juiciness. Honourable mention: The soup dumplings at Shanghai One.
BEST NON-ASIAN DUMPLINGS
– Gnocchi a La Parisienne: braised rabbit with sweet peas, housemade ricotta, local tomatoes, sunflower gremolata and chicken jus at La Maison Conroy
At La Maison Conroy in Aylmer, chef Kyle Mortimer-Proulx’s gnocchi parisienne with braised rabbit was a must-order, not only far superior to the too-often gummy renditions of gnocchi that I ate elsewhere in 2017, but also blessed with a delicious savoury broth. Honourable mention: The ricotta gnudi with gorgonzola, pear, spiced hazelnut and brown butter at Orto Trattoria.
BEST VEGETARIAN DISH
Eggplant with chickpea and fennel stew at Oz Kafe
At Oz Kafe, chef Kristine Hartling featured charred baby eggplant with a hearty chickpea and fennel stew, sautéed greens and the flavour hits of slow-roasted tomato, green olive tapenade and sunflower romesco sauce. Honourable mention: The dry tofu in chili oil at La Noodle.
BEST MEAT PLATTER
The family platter served at Meatings, featuring St Louis Pork Ribs (counter clockwise from lower left), Smoke Chicken, Pulled Pork, House Made Pickles, Deep Fried Cornbread, Grandma’s Pecan Tarts, Grilled Cornbread, Urban Onion Buns, 14 hour Smoked Brisket.
The family platter at Meatings got barbecue right, acing chicken, pulled pork, and especially notoriously hard-to-cook beef brisket, which was thick-cut, savoury and moist with well-rendered fat. Included side dishes such as smoked beans and mac and cheese appealed too. Honourable mentions: The beef-and-chicken combination special for two at Persis Grill, the charcuterie board at the Albion Rooms.
BEST SEAFOOD
The two-tier seafood tower at Stofa included shrimp, oysters, scallop ceviche, mussels escabeche, lobster sliders, potted trout and calamari plus miso popcorn, spicy rice crackers, kimchi, and pickled daikon
At Stofa, chef-owner Jason Sawision’s two-tier seafood tower was packed with pristine raw and faultlessly prepared items, from oysters with mignonette and plump just-to roe-topped potted trout, lightly pickled mussels escabeche, tuna gravlax, mellow scallop ceviche with passionfruit and wee lobster sliders. Honourable mentions: West Coast seafood boil at the Albion Rooms, tuna piccata at Orto Trattoria.
BEST SPICY DISH
Elayil Pollichathu Salmon cooked in a banana leaf at Flavours of Kerala, pix by Peter Hum
By a nose, my pick is the elayil pollichathu (salmon slathered in a thick, tomatoey spice paste and cooked in a banana leaf) at Flavours of Kerala, even if other delicious dishes there such as the pepper lamb and beef vindaloo are more incendiary. Honourable mentions: Tandoori lamb chops at Coconut Lagoon, Taiwanese beef noodle soup at Spicy House, fried chicken with chilies at Full House.
BEST POULTRY
Cassoulet at Meat Press
In the meat-forward cassoulet at Meat Press, near-perfect duck confit and smoked duck breast were the stars. Honourable mentions: Kanthari kozhi at Flavours of Kerala, Duck confit at Social, pollo a la brasa at Petit Peru.
BEST RED MEAT
Ontario Venison with sweet potato flan, Tokyo turnips, puree, candied pecans, apple chocolate juniper jus
At Sur-Lie on Murray Street, venison was sophisticated and exemplary with sweet potato flan, Tokyo turnips, candied pecans and chocolate juniper jus. Honourable mentions: Nagano pork rib chop at Oz Kafe, Iberico pork shoulder at La Maison Conroy, grilled goat at Jambo Restaurant.
BEST DESSERT
Chocolate tart at Aperitivo
At Aperitivo in the Kanata Centrum Shopping Centre, the dark chocolate and whey caramel tart was impeccable on its own, and roasted grapes, house-made ricotta and olive oil put the dish over the top. Honourable mentions: Passionfruit soufflé served with tonka bean ice cream at Stofa, and madhurakatti “bread pudding” at Flavours of Kerala.
THE RESTAURANTS
Aperitivo, 655 Kanata Ave., Unit L2, aperitivo.ca
Flavours of Kerala, 1104 Klondike Rd., Unit B, flavoursofkerala.com
Hung Sum, 939 Somerset St. W., facebook.com/HungSumRestaurant/
La Maison Conroy, 61 rue Principale, Gatineau (Aylmer sector), lamaisonconroy.com
Le Hibou Kitchen & Bar, 757 Riverside Rd., Wakefield, cafelehibou.com
Meat Press, 45 Armstrong Rd., meatpress.ca
Meatings Barbecue, 2807 St. Joseph Blvd., meatings.ca
Oz Kafe, 10 York St., ozkafe.squarespace.com
Orto Trattoria, 151-C Second Ave., orto.ca
Stofa, 1356 Wellington St. W., stofarestaurant.com
Sur-Lie, 110 Murray St., surlierestaurant.ca
Xiang Zi, 1121 Meadowlands Dr E.
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