sign in sign up
<<
Home , Belgian cuisine

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN & LIFE 2009 Dining Guide 2009

PART SIX: ACROSS THE OTTAWA RIVER ■ Aylmer ■ Hull ■ Chelsea ■ Wakefield ■ Papineauville ■ Messines

BY ANNE DESBRISAY

or this sixth and final instalment of the Dining Guide by Fneighbourhood, we cross the Ottawa River to explore the of Gatineau and the Outaouais. From the dazzling French regional at Le Baccara in the Casino du Lac Leamy to the chewy pies at the wildly popular Piz’za-za in Old Hull; from promising newcomers like Bistro St- Jacques to the old-timer Le Pied de Cochon, which has been dishing up since 1976, there is lots to choose from. The region still seems to me haunted by the absence of the iconic Café Henry Burger, which closed in 2006 after 83 years of distinguished service. In its place is a Thai restaurant filled with patrons in jeans chowing down on BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN pad Thai. Progress, I Marianne Johner and Rachid Belamri serve delicious food at the well-hidden L'Echelle de Jacob in suppose. And yet, we mourn. Aylmer. It’s worth venturing out of Gatineau into the unequivocally, some with Cuisine: French. A well-hidden, 30 seats inside, mostly con- countryside, to the quirky some reservation, that might well-established restaurant on stantly filled, plus about 20 little restaurant Chez Eric suit a mood or a budget. the second floor of a century-old more when the patio opens, (named for a goldfish) in There’s a lot of good eating mill. Local goat cheese soufflé, keep owner Flo flying around Wakefield, or to the much- in this chapter of the guide. scallops ceviche, wild mush- this cluttered little space. She is celebrated Les Fougères in So let’s get to it! room charlotte, perfect prof- much the pleasure of this bistro. Chelsea, which seems to me iteroles. The generous portions of steak better each visit. Aylmer BIFSTRO MARIN and seafood prepared by her This guide is meant to 11 Front St., 819-685-0123 husband Sandy are the other. direct you to those L’ECHELLE DE JACOB pages.videotron.com/bifstro restaurants I feel I can 27, boul. Lucerne, 819-684-1040 $$$ recommend — some lechelledejacob.ca $$$ Cuisine: Seafood and steak. The Continued on the next page

1 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART SIX: ACROSS THE OTTAWA RIVER

Price guide

Loosely based on a three- Unless stated otherwise, all dinner for two, with taxes, but restaurants accept major credit before drinks or tip. cards and reservations, and $: Less than $40 many now have websites where $$: $40 to $70 you will find their menus and $$$: $71 to $100 hours of operation. Call about $$$$: More than $100 wheelchair accessibility.

sour-salty-sweet we want in chored in solid French tradi- Thai food; ingredient-focused tions, but filled with toothsome and fairly priced. flights of fancy. Magnificent DELISH presentations. Magnificent 45 rue Laval, 819-771-3456 $ cellar. One of the region’s Cuisine: Café. You order from a best. display case with seasonal styl- LE CAFE D’EN HAUT ishness and either take it away 39A rue Laval, 819-770-9997 $$ and it, or else find a perch Cuisine: French bistro. Opened at this 10-chair/six-stool café early in 2009, in the upper space with a liquor licence. vacated by L’Argoat, with a short, FLEUR DE SEL daily menu of fresh, seasonal 59 rue Laval, 819-772-8596 $$ fare — soups, fresh fish, home- Cuisine: Vegetarian. Serene and made terrines — at a price point pretty, with fish on the evening that will have you climbing the menu for pescetarians — picker- stairs often. el with mango ratatouille, shrimp LE PANACHE with arugula, lentil and cashew 201 rue Eddy, 819-777-7771 $$$ terrine — and now with crêpes. Cuisine: French. Reliably good (See L’Argoat.) French and Mediterranean cook- L’ARGOAT ing complemented by a gener- 59 rue Laval, 819-772-8596 $$ ous wine cellar and charming Cuisine: Crêpes/. For- service in a petite, dated-looking CHRIS MIKULA , THE OTTAWA CITIZEN mer fans of this upper deck space. Lucas Hornblower and owners Tina Cobb and Vincent galetteria, who may have no- LE PIED DE COCHON Denis of Bistro St-Jacques offer gracious service and carefully ticed it’s been supplanted (see 242 rue Montcalm, 819-777- sourced food. Le Café d’en Haut), do not de- 5808 lepieddecochon.ca $$$ spair. You will rediscover it shar- Cuisine: French bistro. Since ing space and a menu with the 1976, a no-nonsense lineup of Hull roasted soup, warm vegetarian restaurant Fleur de Parisian bistro classics. Some mushroom salad, duck confit, Sel a few doors away. things are done very well, like AROME lovely desserts — are paired LA GAZELLE the steak tartare, duck confit, 3 boul. du Casino, 819-790-6410 with gracious service at this new 33B rue Gamelin, 819-777-3850 the daily fish. hiltonlacleamy.com $$$$ bistro. $$ LE SANS PAREIL Cuisine: Grill and seafood. The CHEZ FATIMA Cuisine: Moroccan. In a vibrant 71 boul. St-Raymond, 819-771- dining room of the Hilton Lac 125 prom. du Portage, 819-771- room of 10 tables, you find a tra- 1471 lesanspareil.com $$$ Leamy offers a menu of seafood 7568 $$ ditional menu of tagines, bro- Cuisine: Belgian/French. More and meat, mostly from the grill Cuisine: Moroccan. If you have chettes and couscous dishes. charming from within than with- — steaks, ribs, Kobe - yet to experience what tasty Lamb with prunes, honey, al- out, but once within, inspired burgers — but also from the things happen when a lamb has monds; chicken with preserved French and Belgian cuisine with oven (prime rib, pork sous vide) lain down with a preserved lemon, cumin, onion, olives and emphasis on fish, seafood and and the smoker (house-smoked lemon for a few hours, Fatima’s artichokes. Mint and Moroc- . Of course, moules et chicken and salmon.) place (recently moved from up can . frites, but also venison in a Bel- BISTRO ST-JACQUES the road) is a good introduction. LE BACCARA gian beer , apricot-roasted 51 rue St-Jacques, 819-420-0189 CHEZ LE THAI 1 boul. du Casino, 819-772-6210 duck breast with braised Belgian bistrostjacques.ca $$$ 39 rue Laval, 819-770-7227 che- casino-du-lac-leamy.com $$$$ endive, and a fine chocolate end- Cuisine: French Canadian Bistro. zlethai.com $$ Cuisine: French. Fine dining ing. Delightful. Carefully sourced raw materials, Cuisine: Thai. A dimly lit restau- restaurant of the Casino. Chef prepared in comforting ways — rant with bright food. All the hot- Serge Rourre’s is an- Continued on the next page

2 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART SIX: ACROSS THE OTTAWA RIVER

LE TARTUFFE neau nam tok, but this pretty cornucopia of cuts and 133 rue Notre-Dame, 819-776- beef salad, along with a few weights of premium steak 6424 letartuffe.com $$$ dozen other Thai dishes (soups, share a luxury menu with Cuisine: French. In a lovely old , stirfries, and noodle oversized seafood. house, the principles of modern dishes), fill the menu of this third are applied to re- location of the Green Papaya Chelsea/Wakefield gional produce: cranberry- restaurants, in digs once occu- stuffed roasted quail, pheasant pied for some 83 years by Café CAFE SOUP’HERBE with wild mushrooms, crème Henry Burger. 168 chemin Old Chelsea, brulée. PIZ’ZA-ZA 819-827-7687 LOTUS ROYAL THAI 36 rue Laval, 819-771-0565 piz- soupherbe.com $ 101 rue Montcalm, 819-778- zaza.ca $$ Cuisine: Vegetarian. 0559 $$ Cuisine: Pizza. This cheerfully There’s more than veggie Cuisine: Thai. Thai food with all French and jampacked restau- soup to like at this little the right stuff. Excellent soups, rant is mostly about pizza and house in the woods in panaeng, spring rolls, satay and wine, but also about lemon pie. Chelsea. The burrito has fish curries. STERLING RESTAURANT ample flavour, the chili has PAPAYE VERTE 835 rue Jacques Cartier, 819- bite and brawn, and the piz- PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN 69 rue Laurier, 819-777-0404 568-8788 zas boast fresh toppings Game terrine is a constant on chef greenpapaya.ca $$ sterlingrestaurant.com $$$$ and a tasty crust. Home- Che Chartrand’s commendably Cuisine: Thai. Not sure what Cuisine: Steak and seafood. Spa- made desserts. short menu at Chez Eric. Madame Burger would make of cious, dramatic dining, where a CHEZ ERIC 28 Valley Dr., Wakefield, 819- has changed hands and purpose 459-3747 cafechezeric.ca $$$ over its 170-year history, but it Cuisine: Canadian. The black- has been operated as an inn board menu changes regularly since 2000. Its restaurant offers and is commendably short. On it a short menu of contemporary you will likely always find a game dishes, some with Asian notes — terrine, dinner salads, some- smoked beef maki and ginger times fish and chips, with cream; scallops with a green tea local mushrooms, and magnifi- beurre blanc. cent duck. LES FOUGERES Out of town 783 Route 105, Chelsea, 819- 827-8942 fougeres.ca $$$$ LA TABLE DE PIERRE DELAHAYE Cuisine: Canadian. Impeccably 247 rue Papineau, Papineauville, sourced raw materials prepared 819-427-5027 latabledepierre- with contemporary flair at this delahaye.ca $$$ lauded Chelsea restaurant. Pota- Cuisine: French. Lacy French to soup with smoked Arctic char, restaurant that specializes in the scallops teamed with salt cod, cooking of the apple-rich region lamb drenched with Indian of Normandy: escargots with , chocolate tart with blue- Calvados, ris de veau braised berry compote. with apples, apple tart. L’OREE DU BOIS MAISON LA CREMAILLERE 15 chemin Kingsmere, Chelsea, 24 chemin de la Montagne, 819-827-0332 oreedubois- Messines, 1-877-465-2202 lacre- restaurant.com $$$ maillere.qc.ca $$$ Cuisine: French. Long-estab- Cuisine: French. The focus of lished, rustic-looking restaurant chef Andrée Roger’s table d’hôte in Gatineau Hills forest setting is on local, seasonal and Quebec serves unrepentantly old-school ingredients, prepared in classic French favourites: fish soup, es- French style. The focus of som- cargots, duck confit, seafood pot melier André Dompierre’s list is au feu. Regional products on wines to match his wife’s good abound and chocolate enthusi- cooking. Reservations essential. asts are well served. JANA CHYTILOVA , THE OTTAWA CITIZEN WAKEFIELD MILL INN Anne DesBrisay is the author of Robert Noël, head chef at Le Sans Pareil in Old Hull, delivers 60 Mill Rd., 819-459-1838 wake- Capital Dining: A Guide for Dining delightful French and Belgian cuisine, such as apricot-roasted fieldmill.com $$$$ Out in Canada’s Capital. Check out duck breast on Belgian endive. Cuisine: Contemporary. The mill her website at capitaldining.ca.

3