Posts in Category: 2012
Brother Wu | Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Thin Sliced Braised Pig Ear Marinated in Chili Sauce
Woh Tiep aka Pot Stickers with Chili Dipping sauce
Green Scallion Pancake
Chow Mei Fun, bean sprouts, green pepper, BBQ pork
Chinese braised beef noodle soup
Singapore Fried Rice Noodle
Shanghai Chow Mein
Red Bean Dessert
Any time I’m in Ottawa, I have to make a stop to Brother Wu’s. Best categorized as Szechuan, Hunan and Mandarin style cooking, this place brings back so many fond memories from my childhood. One amazing thing to point out, despite how long this place has been opened they’ve always been consistent and delicious. Favorite has to be the Braised Pig Ears that have been marinated in a chili based sauce and served cold; also the green scallion pancakes is something special that I recommend you giving it a try.
Brother Wu (information gathered 2/2013)
1060 St Laurent Blvd
Ottawa, ON K1K, Canada
+1.613.745.1791
Hours
Mon Closed
Tues 11:00am – 9:30pm
Wed – Sat 11:00am – 10:00pm
Sun 11:00am – 9:00pm
Parking:
There is a private parking lot in front of the establishment.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
| References: Add me on: twitter | facebook Brother Wu website |
Christmas Lights at Parliament Hill | Ottawa, Ontario Canada
The Eternal Flame at Parliament Hill Ottawa
Christmas Lights at Parliament Hill
BeaverTails!!!
Cinnamon and Sugar BeaverTails
As you may have read in my about me page, I am Canadian and Ottawa is where I was born. Was in town on assignment back in December and it was actually quite fun to walk around while the air surged with holiday season flare. As I turned the corner, I saw the Parliament adorned with the Christmas patterned camouflage. Loved it and decided to go check it out.
There was probably three main clusters of people. One set who was posing and taking pictures of the lights, one near the Eternal Flame (probably staying warm), and finally the third was lining up to order some BeaverTails; which is a hand-stretched pastry made of whole wheat, then fried and served piping hot with your choice of topping. When in Rome, right? Headed towards the line which, only took like 10 minutes or so to get to the front. Then, as I went to order and pay, to my surprise… it was free!! Whaaa?!
So awesome!
Got to enjoy a nice hot BeaverTail in front of the Eternal Flame, watching the patterns on the Parliament change. What a wonderful evening~ The event usually happens between December 6 to January 7, but there are a good bit of BeaverTail shops who serve their famous pastries year round, just not free.
Christmas Lights event at Parliament Hill (information gathered 2/2013)
111 Wellington St,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Canada
Hours
Daily 4:30 – 2:00am
Parking:
Side street parking, although it might be best to park at the decks in the shopping plaza nearby.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
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Swan Oyster Depot | San Francisco, California USA
Lining up at Swan Oyster Depot
The kitchen
Sour Dough Bread and butter
Clam Chowder
Oysters on the half shell
Combination salad
Sea Urchin
After eating that lovely breakfast at Farm:Table we proceeded to Swan Oyster Depot to get our seafood fix; some really positive reviews, so I was quite hopeful. Honestly, I’ve heard of them before but it was definitely thanks to Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover that got my excitement going again. They actually open pretty early at 8am (who says you can’t have seafood for breakfast?!) and per the time change from EST/GMT-5 to PST/GMT-8 it was about lunch time for me, so that worked out nicely. Albeit the early start, the line actually got quite long; about a 30-45min wait. Surprising, but not too bad.
As far as the food goes, there is no question that the seafood was fresh but the selection was not to the level I was hoping for; most likely this was due to seasonality. Maybe I just went in with too high of expectations. But what they do have, is all great. The best thing was definitely the Sea urchin. Definitely an advanced foodie type of cuisine as the Sea Urchin’s outer shell was still moving! You have been warned. 🙂
Definitely need to go back sometime between mid-November and early spring when they have the Dungeness Crab. Oh, important!!! Bring cash, they don’t take credit cards, checks, or allow you to barter with your first born.
Swan Oyster Depot (information gathered 2/2013)
1517 Polk St,
San Francisco, CA 94109
415.673.2757
Hours
Mon – Sat 8:00am – 5:30pm
Sun Closed
Parking:
Much like at Farm:Table, your best bet is to find a parking deck. It looks like parking is fairly limited.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
| References:Add me on twitter / facebook: twitter | facebook Farm:Table website | facebook Anthony Bourdain twitter | facebook |
Blue Heron Restaurant | Sunderland, Massachusetts USA
Blue Heron Restaurant
Oysters
Mini Mason Jar with Housemade Ricotta and Local Honeycomb
Pan seared Blue Fish with seasonal vegetables, garnished with local strawberries.
While driving through the North Hampton / Amherst, I passed by this interesting looking house who had been converted into a restaurant. Upon looking online at their menu, it looked quite promising and decided to stop by for a bite. Little did I know, this would become one of my favorite restaurants in the Western Mass area. Also, if you’re a big localvore, you’ll be pleased to know that there is references to the likes of 44 different local farms!!
If there was one dish that I favored and if you are in the area, please please please do yourself a favor and try it out. Mini Mason Jar with Housemade Ricotta and Local Honeycomb. Absolutely delicious. A cool smooth ricotta with a textured honeycomb on a warm toast. Holy smokes is it amazing!
Blue Heron Restaurant (information gathered 1/2013)
112 North Main Street, Route 47 North
Sunderland, Massachusetts
413-665-2102
Hours
Tues – Sun 5:00 – 9:00pm
Fri – Sat until 5:00 – 10:00pm
Parking:
A few parking spaces at the front of the restaurant.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
| References:
Add me on twitter / facebook: twitter | facebook |
Craigie on Main | Boston, Massachusetts USA
Sweetbreads
Roasted grass-fed beef bone marrow
Vermont Pork Three-Ways
Craigie on the Main, Chef Tony Maws
On Assignment for Chefs Feed!! 😀
This was a great opportunity to meet Chef Tony Maws from Craigie on Main. Was setup with a lucky one to many session where Chef Tony Maws and staff worked hard to get each dish out for me. Shot an array of dishes and each one looked even more mouth watering than the first. Don’t they look absolutely delicious!? Favorite was definitely the sweetbread. What a fabulous dish! Will definitely need to make another trip out to Boston soon to try more of Chef Maws’ cuisine.
Until next time.
Craigie on Main (information gathered 1/2013)
853 Main Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
617.497.5511
Hours
Closed Mon
Tues – Thurs 5:30-10:00pm
Fri – Sat 5:30-10:30pm
Sun 10:30am-1:30pm
Parking:
Parking deck nearby.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
| References:Add me on twitter / facebook: twitter | facebook Chefs Feed chefsfeed.com | twitter Craigie on Main website | twitter | facebook |
Busaba Eathai | London, England UK
Busaba Eathai
Thai calamari ginger and peppercorn
Ginger beef – Thai pepper, chilli and spring onion asparagus
Tom yam talay – prawn, squid and fish cake, vermicelli noodle, spicy sour soup
Pad kwetio – sen yai noodle, smoked chicken, prawn and holy basil
Thanks to one of Christine’s (aka Xteeener) fans, we were pointed in the direction towards some wonderful Thai cuisine. Perfect as I was totally in the mood for some tasty Asian food. 🙂 The place seriously has a zen like environment and you cannot help but feel transported upon stepping in. I especially love the identical wooden community tables that are spaced out perfectly throughout the establishment and the little pond in front with the candle-lit stuffed flowers. Really nice touches.
Enough of the decor and now onto the food! Ordered a few dishes that were recommended both from Chefs Feed and various online review sites and must say the dishes we ordered were delicious! Although I think we should have coursed the dishes a bit better as we went from the flavorful calamari, to the rest of the dishes. Like a sapling in a densely covered forest, That Tom Yam Talay dish was so delicate in flavor with the lite prawn broth that the other super bold dishes never gave it a chance to shine. Oh and the food comes out really FAST. You will probably want to ask them to space it out a bit as we didn’t even have 3 minutes to eat the calamari when the other three rolled on by. The servers (you will have multiple people helping) were informative and patient however I would have liked more water and it seemed unanimous throughout the restaurant as the other patrons were constantly asking for more too. Might be best to order a drink next time or BYOW (bring your own water). But aside from that, the service was excellent.
Favorite dish was definitely the Pad Kwetio. Perfectly cooked noodles with smoked chicken, well prepared prawns, and some blanched green beans that added a brightness and textural crunch; topped with an addictive spicy sauce that made you want to eat one bite after another.
They have multiple locations scattered throughout London. Checkout their website linked below for more information. We were able to walk to one that was but 10 minutes from the National History Museum. So if you’re in that area, do check it out.
Busaba Eathai (information gathered 11/2012)
44 Floral Street
London WC2E 9DA
020.7759.0088
Hours
Mon – Thurs 12:00 – 11:00pm
Fri – Sat 12:00pm – 11:30pm
Sun 12:00 – 10:00pm
Parking
Walked from a nearby tube station.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
| References:
Chefs Feed chefsfeed.com | twitter |