Haute Dish

Haute Dish

Upon arriving in Minneapolis I picked up a local magazine in the back of the cab. As I was reading it I came across some new restaurants in Minneapolis. There was a great write up about Haute Dish and that made me excited to be going there with reservations already made. I highly recommend making reservations, as it was hard to get one even by booking a week or so in advance.
Walking in we where greeted in the bar area which has less formal seating and opens up to a formal dining room area towards the back of the restaurant.   The bar was a beautiful long wooden bar which you could tell had been a staple in the building for years.  The open kitchen brought smells of the dishes being prepared, and beyond that more casual seating is available.  We got seated fairly quickly and had our server come and take our drink orders. I decided to go with a surprisingly smooth Prairie vodka, a regional product, and my date had glass of white wine.  The server was very helpful in drink suggestions.
  Looking at the menu I knew there was a few things that I wanted to try and when our server told us that most people share plates that made me smile as I knew then that I would be able to try even more food now. So we decided to place our order.
First Course:
Char-Cut (Yar)
General Tso Sweetbreads
Second Course:
Crab Cakes
Pork and Beans
Final Course:
Tater Tot Haute Dish
The first dish came on a wooden dish. These Charcuterie plates are becoming more and more common so it is always interesting to see what the chef comes up with on their own personal menus.  We had a home made liver pate, some home made cold cuts, head cheese terrine. I must say that everything was very delicious particularly the pate perfectly prepared with a pink hue and without too many over powering flavors.
The General Tso Sweetbreads was a very interesting dish. It looked like chicken fried rice with sweetbread pieces on top. Now I have to say presentation wise this dish stood out from the rest and lacked a little flare. Having said that what it did not lake was taste. The Sweetbreads where perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth.  The rice bed it came on did have lost of great things going on with all the vegetables. The foie wasn’t as strong as I would have liked it, but one cannot complain too much when you are having foie and sweetbreads in the same dish .

The second course started off with oversized lump crab cake.  The presentation of this dish was very well done. But going with the split plate idea I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get two smaller cakes one for each but rather one larger one. In terms of flavor must say very well done there was a bottom layer of cucumber avocado salad with the crab cake on top and garnished with horseradish mayo.  The crab cake was perfectly cooked with a nice hard crunchy exterior and a soft inside. The salad was perfectly balanced in terms of spiciness and dressing consistency.

 Still in our second course; pork and beans came next and I have to say great original presentation. This dish came out in a small skillet. The beans where perfectly cooked as they had a nice firm outside but still soft. It had a sweet and tangy sauce that came with it bringing out the ham flavoring. The ham was done very well giving it proper smooth texture and sweet flavor.

Finally onto the third course; was the Tater Tots.  Please keep in mind that by this point we both where feeling fairly full. Out came the tots though. There was a nice piece of dry short rib garnished with over sized in house tater tots, green beans and a béchamel. I personally like my short rids with a glazy sauce but that is just personal taste. The tater tots are what made this dish. Having made these numerous times in the past I know how hard they can be to make. These where just perfect, all uniform crunchy on the outside but so soft on the inside that they where flowing like a cheese fondant. The beans added a nice flavor element to contribute to the fullness of the dish.
Be prepared to spend about 80 dollars per person plus tip but I have to say that it is worth it as the food is simple but great.  The staff is personable; we were even able to speak with one of the owners at length about her experience opening the new restaurant and its great success in its first months in business.  This is a must try in downtown Minneapolis.

Matt's Bar Juicy Lucy

Having watched the show Man vs Food, there is an episode that was taped in the great Midwest City of Minneapolis. While watching this show they brought to light a local creation called the Juicy Lucy.  Having just been in Minneapolis I could not refuse the chance to go and try this city legend. We ended up going to the place that claims to have started the Juicy Lucy Matt’s bar.   Upon arrival looking at if from the outside no one could imagine that there 700 to 800 Juicy Lucy’s served per day on a weekend. Walking inside the place feels a bit small but is packed to the brim. There is a small flat top and a small fryer.  After about 15 minutes waiting in line we find a spot at the bar.  The time has come to place my order Two Juicy Lucy’s please. There are only two options for this burger and that is fried onions or raw. I took one fried while the other one was made with raw ones. Let me tell you what is in this burger. It is very simple two paddies with cheese in the middle that are pinched closed on the sides. I also decided to try a local beer while there called Summit. Very nice local choice I might add that is brewed across the river in St-Paul. The Juicy Lucy’s arrive after about 15 min. During this time the live up has not reseeded if anything it has gotten bigger. Now for my first bit, flavor is there nice and hot and as soon as I take that first bit you can see the cheese oozing out of the patties. Delicious is all I can say and the perfect way to recover a stomach from a long night from the previous evening. It was a great burger that hit the spot oh so well. Thank god there are no juicy lucy’s in Ottawa as I would be there at least once a week and not sure my body would like me for it.

Bin 790

This last week I was brought to a new restaurant in Kanata called Bin 790. This is a small place right in front of the theatre that seats about 35 ppl. It has a very urban loft feel but with nice rich colors that make you feel very comfortable. We went there at around 6:30 without making a reservation. The host was very accommodating in that we ended up getting a table with 5 minutes even though the place was full. They sat us at the bar but it was right in front of the open kitchen so I was delight to see what was going on in the kitchen. This is also a tapas style restaurant where you can share plates which I enjoy as I can try more things then if it was a typical 3 to 5 course meal.

We started off with the rosemary flat bread. Now this was one of the only disappointing dish from that. night. The rosemary was a buttery past spread on a nan bread and put in the oven to heat up. To me a flat bread is hard and crunchy with roughly chopped Rosemary that you roll out a la minute.
The following dish was a Grilled Portobellos. The marinated was very nice but the mushrooms where a bit over cooked as they where grilled the whole time. It would have been a bit nicer if they where finished in the oven so they could keep there thick fleshy flavor. The following dish that came out was the Sesame seared Ahi Tuna. This was the typical sesame topped tuna that you can get anywhere but I have to say that it was perfectly cooked with just a bit of searing on the side. The wasabi glaze though was not very present. We got some Tenderloin Bites they where very tasty with the foie gras butter but unfortunately over cooked. It was almost well done when I personally never eat it more then medium rare. We also had some pan seared bison. It was very nicely cooked but the potato confit was a bit under done and thus harder then it should have been. The mixed berries went very nicely with the dish.
The last two items where the Spinach Salad Very simple and light just the way it should be on a tapas  menu. We also ordered the green curry Mussels. The mussels where very nicely cooked but they where a bit to garlicky and not the green curry was barely present. A thicker sauce and the garlic being sauteed a bit longer would have solved that problem.
All in all it was a very nice experience and I would return in the future. For two ppl with two glasses of wine each be prepared to spend around 70 per person.

Working Food Terms List

Hey guys
This will be an updated post that will include general cooking terms. I will explain what they mean and how to do them. This will facilitate you once the recipes start going up.
Blanching:
 This is one of the first things that you are though in cooking school. It is a very simple process of making food last longer sealing in the nutrients and increasing the color of your food item. When you blanch something it is simply bring a pot of water to boil with salt in it. Add whatever vegetable to this boiling water, and once it becomes crisp on the inside and a bit soft on the outside your are finished. Don't forget to run your vegetables under cold water afterwards as to stop the cooking process, otherwise your vegetables will continue to cook from the heat.

Mire Poix:
This is a mixture of Carrots Onions and Celery. It is usually even parts and cut into big cubes. Mire Poix is used from stocks to a base for braising a meat to soups. To give color to your Mire Poix you would roast them in the oven.

Bain Marie:
This is a very simple process of using a pot, water and a bowl to heat things up. Place about an inch of water at the bottom of your pot, place your bowl on top of the pot so that the bottoms aren't touching.
Place on top of the stove top and let the steam heat up your bowl. This is used so that you can melt chocolate without burning it or cooking a sabayon for example.

Clarified Butter:
Butter in it's regular form burns at a relatively low temperature since it contains milk solids. In order to be able to Saute something at a high temperature you must separate the different elements of the butter in a bain marie see above. On a low heat start melting the butter. You will start to notice that the butter separate. Once all melted you can remove the top layer with a spoon this will be much harder then the rest of your butter. The middle layer is what we are after you can start pouring this into a a squeeze bottle but make sure to leave the bottom layer in the bowl. The difference will be in color and consistency as the middle one will be very liquid and the bottom one will be jelly like and white.

Drinks In LA

During my time in LA I had the chance to visit two great establishments for a nice drink at night.

The first of these destinations was the Shangri-La Hotel in Santa Monica and the second was the Beverly Hills hotel in Beverly Hills.

Th Shangri-La is on the corner of the Santa Monica Freeway and Ocean Drive. As you walk into the hotel you are moved towards the elevators which take you to the penthouse. Arriving a top of the hotel you get  to enter through the bar area that has a very nice modern chic decor. This leads to an outdoors patio area the over looks the ocean and the Santa Monica pier. I recommend going there for the sun set as it is just gorgeous. The bartenders are all very knowledgeable and both nights I was there I told them to surprise me with a gin beverage. These guys truly make it an art as they have fresh fruit available a big block of ice that they chip ice cubes from and a vivid imagination in terms of new concoctions. Dress code is casual business all the way to black tie if there is an outside event going on. I recommend calling ahead to make sure it is open to the public the night you want to go as they throw events fairly regularly according to the door man Andre. Drinks will run you 12 to 22$ but well worth it to watch the bartenders in action with the lost art of drink making.

Coming back from Hollywood one night We decided to stop in at the Beverly Hills hotel to have a drink. We went there on a monday and lucky for us it was not too busy. There are two ares to go too one is almost a restaurant that turns into a bar  (The Polo Lounge) the other is a bar that over looks Beverly Hills and Sunset Blvd. (Bar Nineteen 12) While tlaking to the front desk about which one to try out I remembered on hearing that the hotel has very unique ball rooms. Seeing that it was not too busy we asked the receptionist to give us a tour which was not a problem. I have to say that the hotel made you feel like you where in the 1930. It was renovated less then 15 years ago but they kept all the old world touches in place. The ball rooms where spectacular even having some of them overlooking gardens.

We decided to go to bar nineteen 12 since it was named after the year the hotel was built.

The servers was where very quick and helpful and new the drink menu inside and out. As soon as you sit down you are brought olives to eat while you wait for your drink. I got the French 75 out of the favorite selection. I am not a big fan of champagne but it was recommended by the server so I gave it a shot. I was very surprised and very pleased. The Champagne sweetness was taken away by the gin bitterness but the bubbles remained there was also a hint of citrus that played nicely with the cucumber in the hendricks gin. Prices run from 16 dollars into the hundreds for things like a Johnnie walker 1805 or a Macallan 50 yr.

If you want to feel like you are in the 30's in old hollywood then this is the place to have a drink.

Koi in Los Angeles

So recently my travels have taken me to sunny Los Angeles. Upon arriving I knew that i would have to eat some seafood especially something with a Japanese twist. While in LA I had the pleasure to meet up with some great friends. I had my eyes set on two places one being Koi the other Nobu. Following some advice from some locals I settled on Koi. The supper was reserved for 730 on a Monday night. Walking in a few minutes earlier then the reso we where greeted by the Manager and a hostess. The table that was assigned to us was indoors but since it was so nice outside we asked to get moved to the patio. This was done without problem. We sat down and the server was very quick to ask if we needed anything and to recommend drinks. I started looking at the menu and I was very excited to see the mix of options. We decide to all share plates so that we can try as many things as possible.
For the first round of food there was quite the mix.
The seaweed medley was the first thing to be brought out. It was very nice not over powerful with vinegar but full of flavor.
This was served along with the Crispy Rice topped with Spicy Tuna. This is considered to be one of their specialties and I can see why. It was some sushi rice made into a roll and very nicely seared to give it a brown outside crisp. The Tuna it self was almost in a puree from mixed in with spices of all kinds. It was a very nice contrast in the mouth.
The next dish was the Kobe Beef Carpaccio with Yuzu Vinaigrette. This has to be one of the best Carpaccio's that I have ever eaten. It was not mixed meat that was sliced into small pieces like the french do it traditionally. Instead it seems that a meat slicer was used to make paper thin Steak cuts that just melted in your mouth.
Seared Tuna Sashimi with Foi Gras and Truffles was the following thing on the menu. It was nice to see something like a Foi Gras on a Japanese menu. I do have to say that it disappointed. Part of the nice thing with Foi Gras is that it should melt in your mouth if done right. The issue that arose here was that the pieces where too small and thus over cooked. The Sashimi on the other hand was delicious.
The oysters also felt dried.  Now I might have been spoiled back home with oysters but i was not that impressed here. They where quite small for starters and a bit on the dry side not the nice juiciness you would expect with oysters. Also there was no condiments that came with it other then lemon. No hint of horseradish or scotch or a house spicy sauce.
Steamed Chilean Sea Bass was delicious and it was more of a sit down plate. The ginger was nice in the dish as it was blanched as too not be so over powering. The bass was steamed perfectly but lacked a little something to take it over the top.
We also tried Baked Lobster Rolls which was quite nice but could have used a bit more sauce.
The hot dish Soft Shell Crab was a disappointment. The Crab was deep fried but unfortunately they where too small. This caused it to almost dry out. If it would have been a bigger crab and would have stayed moist it would have been succulent with the sauces, alas that was not the case.
The services was great the food all in all was very nice. Price wise if you have a few drinks be ready to spend 100$ per person before tax and grats. I recommend making reservations ahead of time. I hope that you all enjoy.

Hello Everyone

Hello Fellow Foodies

This is my first blog so bare with me. Also bear in mind that english is my fourth language so if you find the odd mistake it is too be expected. This Blog will focus on food mainly food and drinks from my travels, restaurants in the Ottawa area, as well as tips for young chefs and entertainers. If at any point anyone has questions about places to eat that I have visited and not blogged about or about something in particular about Ottawa or cooking feel free to ask away.