The great chocolatine quest: Kelly-Anne shares a friend’s hunt to satisfy her sweet tooth

Photo credit: Roboppy via Flickr

Kelly-Anne Maddox relocated to Ottawa from BC in 2010 and is busy being a mom to her one-year old daughter.

I had just limped my way back to Bridgehead to meet up with the rest of the group. It was my first day of half-marathon training and the searing pain in my knee screamed that it was also my last. I hesitated, then timidly made my way towards the others, rosy cheeked athletes, high on endorphins, warming their frozen hands on cups of steaming coffee. I had refrained from indulging in a post-run treat, thinking that surely these uber-runners wouldn’t even consider ingesting white flour and sugar this early in the morning. Or ever, for that matter.

I sat with a group of women I had never met, feeling out of my league and definitively out of place, yet once I started talking to them, I noticed they weren’t discussing training plans, or the new qualifying standards for Boston, but instead were chatting about the best chocolatines in Ottawa. The effort was spearheaded by Louise, who (to my great delight!) had both a chocolatine and a cookie in front of her, as she recounted the quest that she had recently embarked on with two of her coworkers. A couple months later, Louise and I sat down to write her story.

Photo credit: Roboppy via Flickr

The great chocolatine quest began in January when a firealarm at Louise’s workplace forced everyone outside, onto the blustery sidewalk, frozen in the bone-numbing way that Ottawa is wont to be in the dead of winter. Instead shivering in the cold, and indeed, because of the cold, Louise and two of her coworkers jumped in her car and headed off in search of pastries. They ended up at Fidélice Bakery (262 Saint-Joseph) in Gatineau on a tip that the chocolatines there were worth the drive. After loading up on chocolatines, eclairs, and truffés (chocolate genoise, black ganache, chocolate icing and truffled chocolate), they made it back to the office, delighted in their treats, and, necessity being the mother of invention that it is, decided to find a chocolatine place closer to their work. And so began the search.

They ventured next to Buttercream Bakery (1202 Bank) where the chocolatines, covered with a dusting of icing sugar, were unfortunately disappointing. Although butter is a key ingredient in pastries, these chocolatines left a lingering taste of butter and weren’t light and flaky.

The third stop on their quest was the French Baker (801 Bank) in the Glebe. They had read great reviews about the chocolatines here so had high hopes of finding the perfect pastry. The chocolatines here were slightly on the bready side, appealing to some, but not to others. One of Louise’s coworkers thought they were quite good since they reminded her of the chocolatines that her family made in their very own bakery when she was a child. Louise, however, wasn’t so keen, as she told me: “I think pastry should fall apart in your mouth. It didn’t.”

They moved on to Bread and Sons (195 Bank), the only place they were served a warm chocolatine, flaky with oozing chocolate, “heaven melting in your mouth,” as Louise described. They took some back to the office to eat later, only to discover that they weren’t as yummy cold, and tasted of butter. In the end, they decided that these chocolatines were only good when warm, were better than Buttercream and the French Baker … but not as good as Fedélice, and were a little on the small side.

Their final destination was Art Is In (250 City Centre), where, amidst the bleakness of the industrial park setting, they discovered an oasis of sweet goodness. The group was greeted with chocolatines which looked very similar to the ones at Fidélice, although a bit larger, leading Louise, a confirmed chocoholic, to worry about the chocolate to croissant ratio. Her concerns were soon put to rest as she bit into a delicious and flaky chocolatine, with the chocolate spead out in such proportions as to be just enough but not too much. Indeed, they were delighted to find a chocolatine in Ottawa on par with its Québécois counterpart, and have designated Art Is In and Fidélice as their go-to places for treats.

At the end of their adventures, Louise and her coworkers started thinking about what made for a good chocolatine, and decided on a set of key criteria that, according to their tastes, would incite them to go back for seconds:

• the pastry must be flaky and light;
• it has to be made with a generous amount of real butter, but not enough to taste it;
• they preferred chocolatines nicely browned with just a simple eggwash on top;
• and finally, the amount and position of chocolate should be just right – a minimum of two sticks appropriately placed to provide a bit of chocolate in every bite.

They ranked the bakeries they visited accordingly:

• First place: Fidélice and Art Is In
• Second place: Bread and Sons
• Third place: The French Baker
• Fourth place: Buttercream Bakery

Louise’s story left me interested, curious, and hungry. It has motivated me as well – both to try all of these chocolatines, and also to work harder on my running, the whole point of the latter, after all, being to eat more of the former.

Is it possible that there’s a hunt more delicious than cupcakes?!?! And if you have a chocolatine favourite for Kelly-Anne or Louise to try, leave a suggestion below.

Rebuilding Beechwood: Kelly-Anne explores Sushi Me and the revamped Nature’s Buzz

Beechwood Avenue is just east of the Market, after crossing over the Ottawa River.

Kelly-Anne Maddox relocated to Ottawa from BC in 2010 and is busy being a mom to her one-year old daughter.

It was a long summer of waiting … a long summer of waiting, which turned into a long fall of waiting.

The sign above Sushi Me on Beechwood Avenue appeared with the first breath of warm weather, both of which my husband and I greeted with sighs of relief and cheers of excitement. It had seemed like an eternity since we last ate sushi, the day before we left BC over a year ago, to be exact.

Although Ottawa has its fair share of sushi joints, we do our best to patronize local neighbourhood businesses, and, well, may just be a bit skeptical about eating raw fish this far from the ocean. And so the sign lingered through July and August, and into September, as the newly installed tables and chairs taunted us. Then, in October, our spirits fell as we watched the dust settle over what looked like an abandoned restaurant.

Sushi from the newly opened Sushi Me (8 Beechwood Ave.)

Waiting for the bus one unusually balmy December day, my heart skipped a beat when I saw an open sign brightly light up the window of Sushi Me. We headed over to check out their food this past week and were happy to learn that the waiting wasn’t in vain. We ordered edamame, which they serve unsalted, and gyoza to start. The edamame were sweet and fresh, a big hit with our toddler, and the gyoza were some of the best I’ve ever had, pan fried and crispy on the outside, with soft gingery morsels of pork on the inside. The bento box which I ordered came with chicken teryaki, rice, nigiri, and pancakes, all of which were utterly delicious. My husband chose the sashimi-sushi bento as his main and was delighted with the artfully cut and rolled fish.

All three of us left with full bellies, smiles on our faces, our only regret that we can’t afford to eat there every day.

In the same week, my inner foodie was rewarded with a second treat. When we decided to move to Ottawa, my husband took pictures of the neighbourhood to show me where we would be living and made a specific point of snapping a photo of Nature’s Buzz, the local Beechwood natural and organic food store. One look and I was sold.

Nature's Buzz burned down last March in a fire that engulfed a block of Beechwood. It has recently reopened at 55 Beechwood Ave. (Photo credit: Coffeego via Flickr)

But then, the store burned down last March in a fire that consumed almost a whole block of businesses. (Other great businesses like Home Hardware, Epicura and Pure Gelato vanished, too.) Throughout the summer, as that part of the street remained empty and vacant, I searched for signs that construction would begin on the promised new building, searched for signs that Nature’s Buzz would open again. There were rumors that they would come back, then whispers that they wouldn’t. Finally, in October, signs started appearing in store windows that the store was set to reopen in December at 55 Beechwood.

I was literally jumping for joy when I traipsed into the new location on opening day. Bright, spacious, and airy with leafy green walls, the new location exudes calm, health, and well being, the friendly and welcoming owners a sight for sore eyes after a nine-month absence. The shop offers organic produce, fresh and frozen meats, fish, gluten-free baked goods, bulk grains, beans and flours, earth-friendly cleaning and beauty products and most importantly, carries a range of local organic products: Bekings eggs, carrots and apples from Quebec, just to name a few.

And so my summer of longing has perhaps served as a lesson in the virtues of patience. After all, as the adage goes, good things come to those who wait.

Sounds delicious, Kelly-Anne! And just in time for some last-minute holiday shopping. Have a favourite thing in your own neighbourhood that you love? Tell us about it at ltottawa@gmail.com.

Kelly-Anne Maddox takes a walking tour of Vanier

Kelly-Anne Maddox takes a walking tour of Vanier

Kelly-Anne Maddox relocated to Ottawa from BC in 2010 and is busy being a mom to her one-year old daughter.

There are some neighbourhoods that call out to be explored, and others that whisper a subtle invitation.

Such is the case of Vanier, off the beaten tourist track, yet the kind of neighbourhood that, once you delve in, reveals itself to be rich in history and community spirit. Murals throughout the area tell stories of Vanier’s past and reflect its strong sense of cohesion, obvious in the mural at the corner of Vanier and MacArthur depicting citizens protesting the closing of Montfort hospital: “Montfort fermé – jamais!”

Having lived here only a year, I realized that I still didn’t know a lot about the area, and haven’t taken as much time as I would have liked to explore. Deciding to remedy my lack of local knowledge, I looked up the Vanier Museopark website and learned that the organization offers a series of four heritage walks – Richelieu Park, Beechwood Circuit, Montreal Circuit, and MacArthur Circuit – meant to bring to light the area’s lively narrative. The tours can be either self-guided by downloading the information pamphlets on the website or for $5 one can take part in a circuit led by a tour guide.

With a dog and a baby in tow, I thought it best to opt for the self-guided tour, and I started by checking out the Beechwood and the Richelieu Park circuits. My jaunt began from the Metro at Beechwood and Charlevoix, where I noticed a mural that I couldn’t even recall having caught a glimpse of before. Located on the side of the Metro facing Charlevoix, the painting depicts the former streetcar line and shops from the 1950s. Continuing along Beechwood, the tour revealed little architectural gems and I marveled at the building housing the El Meson restaurant.

The El Meson mural

Having passed by this edifice innumerable times, I had always thought it striking and beautiful, but now I learned from my pamphlet that it is over a hundred years old, dating back to 1890, and is designated a heritage property by the City of Ottawa.

The handout also noted that the El Meson mural portrays the town council of the former municipality of Vanier.

Saint-Charles Church

It also pointed me to the restaurant’s metal roof, distinct from others in the neighbourhood, except for that of the Saint-Charles Church, which first caught my eye last fall, illuminated at dusk, the last of the evening sun glinting off its steeple and the Parliament Buildings in the distance.

I continued on from the Beechwood circuit to see what Richelieu Park had to offer. I turned up Marier and headed to the Avenue des Pères blancs, named after the missionaries who once lived there.

Walking up to Richelieu Park along the Avenue, low-slung apartment buildings gave way to a verdant canopy of mature trees arching over the street, perfectly framing the statue of Notre Dame d’Afrique located at the end of the boulevard.

Notre-Dame d'Afrique statue

I would nomally hightail it up this street on my way to the Public Library without taking notice of the streetscape, but this time I savoured the walk, enjoying the shade, taking time to read the inscription at the entrance gates and at the base of the statue.

I also made a point of looking more closely at the Vanier Public Library building, discovering that it was built in the 1950s and was the former home to the Sœurs Antonines de Marie.

Vanier Public Library

Adjacent to the library lies the spacious, sprawling maple forest which houses the local sugar shack and where in the spring we attended the maple sugar festival.

On my way back to Beechwood, I made a point of stopping at the Vanier Cenotaph at the intersection of Dagmar and Marier, appreciating the quiet and contemplative resting spot decorated with shrubs, flowers and benches.

With the baby fussing, the dog whining, and my own dogs barking, I made my way back home, satisfied with my learning experience, feeling a little more settled in my neighbourhood.

Wow, what a fantastic tour of Vanier! Thank you for sharing!

My Montreal Road (part two): Quartier Vanier Outdoor Market

Photo credit: Vanier BIA

Kelly-Anne Maddox relocated to Ottawa from BC in 2010 and is busy being a mom to her one-year old daughter.

I readily admit that I’m a farmer’s market junkie.

Whether at home or travelling, I make it a point to seek out markets and delight in the plethora of smells, colours, and tastes, jostling people, the cacaphony around me. I was thrilled when, having just moved into our new house in Ottawa last year, I discovered a flyer for the Quartier Vanier Market in our mailbox. We arrived in time for the summer’s last two markets and I even won the celebratory gift basket on the closing weekend, a bittersweet token, for it simultaneously marked a delightful welcome to the neighbourhood and the seasonal end of my cherished locavore emporium.

Photo credit: Vanier BIA

When I heard that the Quartier Vanier Market was set to reopen on July 2nd, this year with an extended season running until October 8th, I knew that the past ten months of bated anticipation were finally over. On the inaugural Saturday, I traipsed, nay, practically skipped, the few blocks to the Scotiabank parking lot at the corner of Montreal and Hannah. At the Bearbrook game meats stand, I sampled their pepperettes, and made the difficult decision of figuring out what to pick up for the barbecue that night… would it be wild boar? or bison? or elk? In the end I settled for a less exotic choice and and bought some turkey-cranberry sausages, all natural and made without added chemicals and fillers. The Maison Baugette stall was the perfect stop to grab a fresh whole wheat baguette to accompany the sausages.

Photo Credit: Vanier BIA

Alive with character and a certain joie de vivre, the Quartier Vanier Market fosters a strong sense of community not just because of the quality and variety of foods, but through activities which entice people to stay and mingle. The jovial MC, mic in hand, wandered the square belting out his own take on Sinatra tunes… “I want to be a part of it, Quartier Vanier…”, the MP for Rideau-Vanier, Mauril Bélanger, was on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and at the opposite end of the market, the good folks from Maison Baguettes were demonstrating how to make barbecued pizza. We noshed on the wild boar, red onion and parsley pizza, and then the tomato, olive, roasted red pepper and basil variation, agreeing with our fellow diners, mouths stuffed, that they were quite simply divine, and took home complimentary copies of the recipes.

During the two hours we lingered at the market, we sipped on refreshing lemonade, bought, and ate, a basket of just-picked strawberries from Foster Family Farms, tasted barbecue sauce from Island Spiced, munched on spring rolls at Try My Thai, and chatted with the vendor at Knock Out Cattle Co., who remembered my husband and me from last fall when we purchased a box of his grass-fed, hormone-free beef. We made our way home, slowly, resplendent with full bellies, planning our dinner menu and plotting what to buy next week.

My winter of waiting had not been in vain. 

Wow – you really know how to paint a picture! Thanks for the wonderful post, Kelly-Anne!

My Montreal Road: Kelly-Anne goes exploring

Kelly-Anne Maddox relocated to Ottawa from BC in 2010 and is busy being a mom to her one-year old daughter.

There are some streets that you pass by so often that they just become a nondescript part of the background. Such was my relationship with Montreal Road – not a destination, but a conveyor belt to the naturopath’s, the doctor’s, the bank, the drugstore, the gas station, a quick Timmie’s stop.

Kelly-Anne Maddox

About a week ago, though, I thought it time to look into what Montreal Road has to offer, and started by exploring the block between North River Rd. and the Vanier Parkway. My only interaction with this part of the street had been the occasional stop, on nights when I was too tired to cook, to pick up a Combo #3 and coconut soup from Bon Thai, arguably the best takeout Thai food I’ve had.

As I ventured into deepest, darkest Vanier, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a veritable meeting ground of cultures; in the East View shopping plaza, an east African restaurant, Maskali, is just a few doors down from George’s Meat Shop, a halal butcher offering a wide assortment of Mediterranean and Mideast foods.

Kelly-Anne's husband at El Tucan

In the Green Fresh Supermarket at the north end of the plaza my inner foodie was regaled with exotic fruits and vegetables, and treats like ginger ice cream and potstickers. And then I found a hidden gem on the far wall, a takeout counter with freshly prepared Chinese food – beef and mushrooms, tidy packages of sticky rice, steaming pork buns, even whole barbecued duck. My mouth watered as my eyes roamed over the smorgasbord, and on to an obscure bakery corner rife with golden sunshine rolls, fragrant coconut rolls, chestnut buns, barbecue pork buns, and red bean buns, all still warm.

Unfortunately, just as I prepared to load up on goodies, I was told that the takeout counter only takes cash and, alas, I had come armed with my debit card. The store does take plastic for groceries, however, and I contented myself with schlepping home a hefty melon, one of the best I’ve had in years.

A few days later the owner of La Lumière, an African and Caribbean shop on the other side of the street, explained to my husband and I the medicinal properties of traditional African foods. We ventured into Mercado Latino grocery and deli, and browsed their South American products, including corn tortillas, mole, Herdez salsa, and green and red sauce for enchiladas, a family favourite at our house. The highlight of the day was by far a pitstop at El Tucan, a Tex-Mex and Slavadorean restaurant. 

We were lured in by the ad for milkshakes to go in the front window, and were greeted with a vibrant and colourful atmosphere; welcoming and friendly servers, Latin soap operas playing on big screen tvs, and tables of Spanish-speaking diners.

Inside El Tucan on Montreal Road

The menu offers a variety of traditional Salvadorean foods, like a variety of pupusas, and tamales, and also promises more standard fare like enchiladas, burritos, and tostadas, and a Canadian twist with Yuca poutine. We ordered the Yuca con Chicharron between us and were delighted with what can best be described as deep fried deliciousness – thick strips of Yuca topped with coleslaw, tomato sauce and little bits of pork.

Elated with our find, we made a most definite mental note to return in the near future for dinner, heartily agreeing that sometimes the best destinations are found off the beaten path.

Thanks for the post Kelly-Anne! We can’t wait to see where you go exploring next…

Kelly-Anne Maddox takes her family to the National Gallery of Canada’s giftshop

 

Photo credit: The National Gallery of Canada

Kelly-Anne Maddox relocated to Ottawa from BC in 2010 and is busy being a mom to her one-year old daughter.

When I moved to Ottawa last fall I left behind a ridiculously well paying job to become a stay at home mom.

The shift from our former financial status to a single income household was a dramatic one and for the first time since grad school we had to pay close attention to our spending habits; no more spontaneously eating out because we felt like it, gone were full price movies and, with heavy hearts, we even agreed to sacrifice full cable. Reluctant to take such a dent in our lifestyle lying down, I decided to embrace our circumstances not as an exercise in frugality, but as an experiment in creativiy. I subscribed to Groupon, took up free activities like Strollercise, skating on the Canal, and my husband and Baby started going to free museums on Thursdays.

On a blustery Sunday afternoon during Winterlude my husband and I were delighted to read in the festival guide that entrance to the National Gallery of Canada was free that day. After packing up baby, diaper bag, stroller and schlepping the lot off to the gallery we were told at the ticket counter that we had read wrong (our bad!) and that regular entrance rates were indeed in effect. Doing a quick mental calculation of our budget I balked at dipping into our reserves and instead suggested that we entertain Baby in the gallery giftshop.

National Gallery of Canada

We spent an hour browsing through the store. Baby was captivated by the bold First Nations prints emblazoned on bright tea towels, gazed with rapt attention at the Totem Tree puzzle, squished Elmer the Patchwork Elephant in her little paws, squealed in delight at the board books, and had a blast as we flipped through the poster display. On the drive home I realized that our excursion to the giftshop had made a trip to the Gallery a tangible experience for my one year old; works that she normally couldn’t see up close or touch were transformed into an interactive adventure.

I did, however, draw the line when she decided to move from tangible to edible, making sure that no giftshop items were harmed in the researching of this post.

Thanks for the great post Kelly-Anne! Do you have a frugal adventure in Ottawa that you’d like to share? Send us a note or leave a comment below!

From British Columbia to Ottawa: Kelly-Anne Maddox becomes a Local Tourist

Kelly-Anne Maddox relocated to Ottawa from British Columbia in 2010 and is busy being a mom to her one-year old daughter.

Kelly-Anne Maddox

I’m not the sort of person who adapts well to change.

Major upheavals in my life have brought with them fear, trepidation, and a not-so-healthy dose of introspection. So when my husband announced to me last year that he had been transferred from British Columbia to Ottawa, it was with much kicking and screaming that I tagged along. I lamented the loss of my dear friends, my job, my house, my beloved mountains, and the bounty of Okanagan produce.

I had been to Ottawa as a tourist many times in the past, visited Parliament, strolled along the Canal, and wandered through the museums, and was well aware that I was moving to a beautiful city. But nonetheless, I was plagued by doubt as to how I would live my everyday life here: Would I get to know people? Would there be interesting hikes? Would I like the neighbourhood I had yet to see? And were the people of Ottawa interested in 100-mile food?

We arrived in Ottawa on September 1st, after a meandering ten day road trip. For the first couple weeks I sat at home, brooding, with a six month old and a dog for company. As I started to put a finger on my initial loneliness, I realized that I was in mourning for lost connections and companionship. With two choices in front of me – get out of the house or go mad – I decided I had to start building my own community in Ottawa.

As luck would have it, I found out about the Boomerang Kids Strollercise program around that same time, and before I knew it Baby and I were whiling away three mornings a week walking the Canal with other moms and chatting over coffee in the Glebe. We added Mom and Baby Fit classes at the Glebe Community Centre to our routine, and signed up for Hush-a-Bye Babies, a locally owned song and rhyme class. My family and I discovered our Quartier Vanier Farmers’ Market and, at the last market of the season, I won their gift basket – a delicious welcome to the neighbourhood! We expanded our radius of exploration and spent Sundays at the Lansdowne Farmers’ market, and weekend afternoons hiking in Gatineau Park. We found sustainable beef and heritage pork, and a nearby organic store where the shop owner now exchanges pleasant banter with us.

My original questions were all eventually answered with a resounding yes. I’ve made friends though the various programs I became involved in, gratefully embraced the heartpounding ascents of the Wolf trail, planted roots in our delightfully colourful neighbourhood, and unearthed a locavore presence that’s very much alive in my new city.

Thanks for the post Kelly-Anne! We hope to see more of you soon!

Do you want to tell us how you ended up in Ottawa? Send us a note or leave a comment below!