The Village Café
March 27, 2008

Old friends of ours, Allen and Liz, have lived in Westboro for years now. Liz in particular has been suggesting various local spots for us to try on our date night. She has tried most of them and has an impressively long list of places in Westboro that she recommends. At her and Allen’s urging we decided to head for The Village Café, on the north side of Richmond Road just east of Churchill.

Parking is always an issue in this part of town but with a little patience you can find a spot.

We are always surprised whenever we venture into Westboro, which is only a few times a year. The area keeps changing in subtle ways and has a comfortable, neighbourly sense of spirit to it. There always seems to be a new store front popping up that artfully and subtly entices that you come in and browse.

Ignoring the big box Loblaws monstrosity, this western end of the city is an established and growing destination for people to eat and shop.

The Village Café was an early pioneer in the transformation of Westboro. Since the Cafe first opened their doors 20 years ago it has reportedly offered local residents good lunches, dinners and good times throughout their history.

The décor is a bit dated and thrown together like your first apartment. There are interior designer type fabric art pieces on the wall and some of them are even under lights. The room is long and narrow with a bar in the middle. And that is basically it. Nothing particularly jumps out at you but nothing offends either. It is haphazard that works.

The menu is actually a tome that contains everything the Café has to offer from brunch to dinner and desserts. They also have a very adequate wine list with a good number available by the glass.

The menu options vary from simple Salads to Mussels and a great sounding Mediterranean Plate while the dinner menu has a full compliment offering the usual choices from pasta, fish and meats.

We chose to share a Grilled Romaine Hearts salad with a house Caesar dressing. This was a great take on the traditional Caesar salad. Whole leaves of romaine were very lightly grilled until just barely warmed and then served with pancetta and shaves of parmesan cheese. (11)

The dressing was a tab sweet for my taste but to be fair it is almost impossible to find a good Caesar dressing anywhere these days since chefs abandoned making the real thing with raw egg yolks.

Lynn ordered the Pasta Pomodoro Secchi which was Linguine dish with pan seared caramelized chicken and toasted pecans in a sun-dried tomato pesto cream reduction. (19)

The dish was large, the chicken succulent and the pecans were an excellent compliment. I thought the sauce was a little sweet – again with the sweet.

I ordered the stuffed pork tenderloin which came with terrific mashed leek and potatoes and seasonal vegetables. The tenderloin was a perfect pink and moist tender. The stuffing was basic, cheesy and a great companion to the meat. (23)

We felt more than fed and continued to talk for awhile before we were approached and asked if we would want dessert. Against my best intentions and Lynn’s advice I ordered a slice of chocolate cheese cake. Big mistake. The cake was delicious and dangerous to one’s health.

Someone once said to me the every neighbourhood needs a spot like The Village Café. I agreed then and would agree even more today.

The reason Lynn and I are out on these dates is to spend more time with each other doing new things, to discover the best that Ottawa has to offer, from the 5 star to no star. We search for places where one can bring a date or a good book and feel appreciated and well fed.

While certainly not a no star place The Village Café is the kind of place you would want to spend time in, with someone you want to spend time with.

The Village Café
295 Richmond Road
Ottawa
613-728-2162
www.thevillagecafe.net

Black Cat Cafe
March 20, 2008

I had been looking forward to dining at the Black Cat since Lynn planned the dinner. We were first going to see the Joe Fafard exhibit at the National Gallery and then wend our way down to the Café just blocks away in the market.

Our visit to the Gallery was postponed by a political protest marching on the Embassy of China, also just blocks away from the Gallery. The protesters were supporting the struggle of Tibetan people and Lynn was predicting that there would be a large contingent of people championing this important and pressing cause. We decided that we could see Joe’s exhibit at some other time.

We reached the café for our reservation after meeting for a drink in Centretown.

As soon as we were in the door we were impressed. The Black Cat is the epitome of dressed down cool. The décor is soft beige pastels with fabric accents posing as art pieces. The tables are cleanly lined and simple with thick wooden tops. The chairs are plastic and look stackable. All of the décor is basic and very classy. The space exudes a comfortable mood.

We were seated, our coats whisked away by our server who promptly returned with glasses of water and our menus.

Ah, the menus. The Black Cat has been around for a long time and gone through a few number of chefs. I had scanned their old menus on the net and read through the reviews that they had garnered in the past – including a glowing appraisal from the NEW YORK TIMES. But those were days now gone.

Today’s menu is the creation of Trish Donaldson and it is a joy to peruse, in a way. As I worked down the list of offerings I found myself trying to match the culinary concepts to what the dishes might actually taste like.

First off was an appetizer, Isaac’s Tempura Veggies, which was described as “Plum/Passion Dressed Baby Frisee, Tempura Veggies, & Eggplant Mousse Stuffed Caps.” ($12) Hmmm.

And the exotic descriptions of all the Black Cat offerings just keep on coming making a choice feel more like taking a test.

The Main Course offered six choices, two pastas, two meats, a tuna study and a duck breast. I hovered over the Beef Tenderloin which was “Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Parsnip/Marscapone Butter, Black Pepper Hollandaise & Pulled Chai Oxtail Yorkshire Pudding.” ($33)

We decided to share a first course, Kobe Samosas. Lynn had never had Kobe beef before and I was singing its praises at length as the dish arrived. Two Samosas wrapped in a light pastry stuffed with Curried Kobe Beef with Carrot – Orange Marmalade & Tomato Saffron Coulis. ($12)

Lynn loved it, I was less than impressed. Curry is for meat you want to hide while Kobe Beef is a meat that deserves a spotlight and a full orchestra. But the sauce dips were tasty.

For our main courses Lynn chose the Thai Noodles - “Sweet and Sour Thai Spiced Noodles with Soft Tofu, Baby Bok Choy, Eggplant Sous-Vide, Kafir, Smokey Peanuts & Chilies.” ($24)

I decided on the Lamb Ravioli – “Braised Lamb Shank & Silky Ricotta Stuffed in Mint Pasta with Bitter Orange/Earl Grey Glaze, Navy Bean Puree, Carrot Chips and Mint Butter.” ($28)

I love Lamb but in this dish it could have been ground beef. The concept of Mint pasta seemed like a great idea but I yet to have a flavoured pasta that actually tasted like the flavour it advertised.

I can’t count how many times I have had spinach pasta and not once did I get a snippet of the taste of spinach across my taste buds. As for the sauce it was like watching Quasimodo and Ginger Rogers trying to waltz together, just not going to work out. The carrot chips were exceptional and a tasty sidebar.

Lynn liked her Thai Noodles but found that they presented more of the sweet while ignoring the balance of the sour. I wondered what the heck is a Smokey peanut anyway?

Most things about the Black Cat work with precision. The service is seamless and exceptional. Everything brought to the table is explained in detail, even the four small slices of bread as well as the butter mixed with virgin olive oil and two spicy olives that come with them, have a background story.

The problem was that concept and aspiration runs ahead of taste. In her attempt to be newer and different from the last chefs Ms Donaldson might have not relied so heavily on writing her menu and spent more time creating and tasting her food at a stove.

What she offers seems to sound good on paper but falters on the plate. The food isn’t bad by any means, but it misses the essence of the products being cooked. Basics are okay, tweaking the basics is okay, but enhancing the value of the tried and true should be the goal, not infusing the recognition out of the produce.

Any meal is a chance at savouring and experimenting but it also should be a robust adventure
that both inspires and satisfies.

We will go back as the weight of their history and reputation far surpasses anything I could offer here. All the right requirements are in house, great location, great space, remarkable service and all the necessary ingredients for the menu to re-embrace and maybe even re-jig some of the past kitchen classics.

Finally the bathrooms. Lynn insists on checking out the washrooms of where ever we go. She has a theory that an interesting, or at least spotless washroom is indicative of how much management really cares about their clientele.

Returning from her inspection she insisted that I check out the Men’s facilities, no she demanded that I go the bathroom whether I had to go or not. Trust me they were cleaner than clean but also they have a truly unique feature that we will have to leave you to discover.

Black Cat Cafe
Monday to Saturday 5:30 – 9:45
93 Murray Street,
Ottawa
613-241-2999
http://www.blackcatcafe.ca/