Ottawa Foodies

Ron Eade's blog is a great source for info on (amongst many other goodies) restaurant happenings in the city.
Opening is listed as late August/early September 2008.
An aside, I love The Black Cat Café logo!
Voila...
communities.canada.com

Has anyone heard that the Black Cat Cafe is reopening at 428 Preston Street? I accidently ran across this info on the internet, and checked out the Black Cat's Website, and sure enough it says they are moving... however the site didn't say when they made this annoucement, or when the reopening was scheduled for. Anyone know anything about this?

If you like the food at Black Cat, come in for dinner soon. They are closing and next Wednesday will be the last dinner service.

I was at the Black Cat cafe' for dinner last saturday. Its' a nice, small cafe', it has an open concept kitchen and a modern interior design. Acid jazz on air! I had a delicious appetizer, The Black Cat Dips( foie gras Torchon, slt cod pate', goose rillettes, and olive tapenade). They served also a generous portion of homemade fresh bread. Nice presentation!
My main course was Red Snapper with Saffron, Tomato & Onion Broth, Potato Pave with Black Olives & Tomato Jam.
This dish was very good. I had a real fresh Red Snapper(it's rare in Ottawa). My girlfriend had Grilled Wild Tuna, Roasted Fennel & Beets, with a Salad of Cucumber & Watermelon. Very tasty!
Our dessert was Spiced Pumpkin Pie Whipped Marscapone Cream & Caramel Sauce. It was one of the best pumpkin pie I ever had in Ontario. The service was very good, our young waitress was kind and professional. I recommend this cafe', it's an hidden gem in the Market!

Last Monday, we made our way to the Black Cat Cafe, a small bistro restaurant on the edge of the Byward Market, to celebrate my wife's birthday. We had never been there but read favorable reviews online and were intringued by their simple but appetizing menu.

The restaurant is small and uncomplicated, a blank canvas for the succulent delicacies prepared in the open kitchen at the back. We were seated promptly by a sidewalk window in comfortable chairs. There was instrumental music playing softly and when it got dark outside, small candles were lit on each table, giving the whole place a warm glow. The menu was simple and is printed seasonally, on plain paper, to highlight carefully chosen ingredients at the peek of their freshness.

I started with a gin Martini (Bombay Sapphire) which was clean, crisp and perfectly chilled. Our waitress started us of with a small plate of freshly baked bread (traditional baguette and sun dried tomato flavored) sliced thin and served with fresh prepared butter. Then followed a complimentary amuse-gueule which consisted of a piece of red juicy watermelon, skewered on a toothpick with a small heirloom tomato, resting on a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. The quality of the produce used was evident from this delicious first bite.

We both selected the Crispy Duck Confit appetizer, elegantly displayed on a white rectangular plate with Apple Butter, Rhubarb Compote, Mizuna and Gorgonzola cheese. The duck's skin was perfectly crispy and all the flavors blended harmoniously to the credit of this wonderful dish. To accompany the food, I selected a white Chardonnay from Burgundy France and my wife chose the Australian Zinfandel in anticipation of her main course.

Of the 5 items on the main course section of the menu, I was instantly drawn to the Seared Sea Scallops ‘Saltimboca Style’ (Sage, Serrano Ham and Lemon Confit with a ‘Poutine’ of Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Parmesan and Truffled Mushrooms). My wife went for an old favorite, the Lamb Rack (Fingerling Potatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella, Eggplant Confit & Red Wine Jus). Both our dished featured fresh local produce which the waitress explained, varies with availability. Both of our dishes included a miniature corn cob, still in it's green leaves with the delicate silk. My dish also featured some sugar snap peas, sweet and crispy, and my wife's has a fesh whole baby carrot. Everything was fesh, delicious and presented beautifully on large white square plates. The scallop dish was generous (4 large perfectly seared scallops resting on crispy green asparagus and full flavored Serrano Ham). As much as the scallops were tender and tasty, the best part was the side dish which featured fingerling potatoes served "poutine" style with truffled crunchy enoki mushrooms, grated parmesan and a brown gravy which brought it all to a peak of mouth watering flavor! My wife alos enjoyed her generous serving of lamb (3 large tender pieces on the bone) which was perfectly cooked to her specification.

After such a great meal, there was only one choice for desert: the Quebec Cheese plate (St. Honore and Bleu Bénédictin with Spiced Pecans & Apple Butter). The cheese was served with thinly sliced French baguette and "pop in your mouth" fresh Concord grapes. I selected a glass of sweet desert white wine (Castelnau de Suduiraut Sauternes 2003 France) and my wife a 10 year old port (Smith Woodhouse) to enhance the wonderful artisan cheeses served on a large square white plate.

The service was perfect throughout, our waitress pleasant and knowledgeable about the food served. As with all quality restaurants, the bill was steep but not unreasonably so in light of the quality of the food and wines served. I highly recommend this delightful little island of gourmet delight for special occasions or spontaneous escapades.

The Pretoria Bridge location moved to the market quite a few years ago. A Royal Oak took over the old location.

I haven't been to the one in the market for a couple of years but I always liked it.

Presume you guys are all talking about the one in the market as well as Anne Hardy,s guide of course....

I have never been to the one at Pretoria Bridge on Colonial By... anyone tried?

Just wondering where to eat this long holiday weekend...

I have to tell you all that my friends at Black Cat informed that Brunch is no longer available. Sorry if you missed out.

I went to Black Cat for brunch a little while back. They sent out an amuse of a tiny house made scone with rosemary-rhubarb compote, shaved parmesan and a drizzle of what was (I think) chive oil. Then came a very generous portion of bread. The baguette campagne was from my work (The French Baker), but the sour cherry bread on the plate was house made. I had the Green Eggs and Lamb. The egg was in a little shell shaped bowl which was ingenious ( one of the things I hate is when the yolk runs out of your egg and congeals on a flat plate) and had a drizzle that was possibly cilantro (should've written it down), there was some braised endive on the plate and some fingerling potatoes that would have been outstanding if they'd had a little dusting of sea salt on them. The real star of the plate was the lamb....the roasted pepper and tempranillo sauce on the lamb is insane! I had to stop myself from picking up the bones and gnawing on them, since I wasn't the only customer in the place. I decided to have dessert since I was really in the mood to splash out. I had an absolutely perfect creme brulee that had a wonderful silky texture and some chunks on lychee at the bottom. I also had a mimosa and a latte with my meal. Service is attentive but not intrusive.

Review: www.ottawaxpress.ca

I had the Santa Margherita Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Doc Brut. It's a good Italian Sparkling wine from Veneto Region. It was a good choice for my appetizer, The Black Cat Dips( foie gras Torchon, slt cod pate', goose rillettes, and olive tapenade). Very clean nose, pleasantly fruity, with hints of apples and peaches blossoms. Delicate and crisp. $ 10 by the glass.