Love for the Locals: Art Is In!

Our stay in Ottawa was short, but wonderful. P insisted that I should visit the Art Is In Bakery (Units 112-114, 250 City Centre Avenue, Ottawa, ON), so on the morning of the last day, I did! The play on words is already enough to draw me in! They were actually featured on the Food Network's "You Gotta Eat Here!" hosted by John Catucci upon his visit to Ottawa, so why not see what it was all about?

Art Is In Bakery is located in a sort of strip mall, minus the mall part. Both the retail and warehouse locations are in that strip, so make sure you go to the one with the red, circular sign in front when you visit :P It's a bit of an odd space that resembles a loading dock, but as you step inside, it's hard not to notice the piles of freshly baked loaves of bread. They are so beautiful that you are tempted to take them all, but you probably shouldn't, but maybe you should. It seems that some people have been a bit critical about the place as of late, but I beg to differ. I think that the atmosphere is very unique compared to other bakeries and cafes I've been to, as it isn't so focused on the decor, but their products are lovely, and that is more than enough for me.

Art Is In Bakery!

All the lovely loaves of bread for all to see!

They spell their Kronut with a K. I'm not sure why, but it sure looks decadent.

Their pizzas looked really good too...

Doris got the Breakfast Sandwich made with fresh sourdough, eggs, bacon, cheese, and homemade ketchup that tasted more like a chutney. I stole a little piece of the sourdough from Doris' sandwich, and it was so good that I bought a loaf. 

My breakfast didn't consist of very much nutrition, but it consisted of very much deliciousness. I had a Raspberry Financier (a small cake with raspberry filling, topped with sliced almonds), an the Chocolate Almond Croissant (pain au chocolat with almonds inside and out, topped with icing sugar). They were so good. I felt bad after, but only because my breakfast was dessert, and so was my lunch from the day prior when I had a BeaverTail and froyo.

Chai Latte! It had been a long time since I last had a latte...I have to say that this wasn't the best latte, but it helped cut all the sweetness I got from my "breakfast". 

About an hour after we came, the line built up very quickly...and this was 10:30am on a Wednesday!

The delicious loaf of Keith's White Sourdough that I bought.

All in all, despite what others may say, I think that Art Is In Bakery is worthwhile to visit. I haven't had an actual meal from Art Is In yet, so perhaps they are lacking in that department, but in terms of their bakery part, that is definitely not the case. They had a wide selection of things in their display, and I really had a hard time picking what to have. One of the local regulars suggested the Chocolate Almond Croissant, so that is what I had. I'd love to come back and try their other savoury goods.

-M

Love for the Locals: Zak's Diner

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Canada Day!

We're in our week off from school, and figuring that the chances of being in Ontario again for Canada Day were kind of slim, I ended up roadtripping with awesome people to...Ottawa! We arrived on the eve of Canada Day and met up with some of our other friends from school who are currently on co-op placements in Ottawa. Our friends took us to a place in the Byward Market called Zak's Diner (14 Byward Market Square, Ottawa, ON).

Byward Market!

Zak's Diner is a 50s American-style diner that serves all-day breakfast, a wide selection of burgers and sandwiches, and apparently you can get a shot of alcohol in your milkshake! The atmosphere differed from the plethora of bars and pubs in Byward Market, with its 50s-inspired decor. There was an "Internet Jukebox" near the front door, which was kind of neat. I was a little bit disappointed that the mini jukebox things at our tables were only ornamental and didn't work, but it was still pretty awesome! In the spirit of Canada Day, they had Canadian flags everywhere.

Zak's Diner!

Internet jukebox amid Canadian flags for days.

Canada Day themed menu!

More Canadian flags!

Homemade lemonade :)

My friend, Laura ordered a chocolate mint milkshake with a shot of Vodka. The other choices were Bailey's and rum.

Greek salad! There was a slight mix-up with my order as apparently the server heard me say, "Grilled Cheese Burger", which sounded delicious, but was not what I asked for... I have a tendency not to send food back because I feel it is a waste, but with the encouragement of my classmates, back it went.

When my order did come, the server was very apologetic, and my food was glorious. The Goat Cheese Burger. It was the most delicious goat cheese burger I've had to date. The beef patty was so moist and tender, and the combination of sauteed mushrooms, bacon, the creamiest goat cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, on a fresh bun was to die for. I would definitely go back for this.

The food and atmosphere at Zak's Diner was all that I wanted it to be, but with more Canadian flags. It was great to catch up with all of our friends, and see that they were doing well! I would definitely go back to dine at Zak's, and for those of you who can drink milkshakes (and are of legal drinking age), I'd recommend getting a milkshake with a shot! As for food, you have to try the Goat Cheese Burger. I feel like it's going to be very hard for me to find an equivalent, so I'll have to return for it the next time I'm in Ottawa.

-M

Love for the Locals: Very Guu'd, Sir!

It's been a while, but I promise that this will be a very Guu'd one! *ba-dum tsh*

Near the beginning of the month, I attended a conference in Vancouver to get some professional networking experience, but also so that I could be in Vancouver, because well, Vancouver. I flew out right after my last class of the week, and went to Vancouver a few days earlier so that I could hang out with P. P drove 13 hours from Edmonton to Vancouver! The foodie force is strong with this one...

London is a great place, but tends to lack super awesomeness in the Asian food department, so I really had to get my fix. On the day that I arrived in Vancouver, P and I went food hopping on Robson Street - a district full of Japanese, Korean, and other delicious Asian foods. We started at Guu with Garlic, a.k.a. Guu Robson (1698 Robson Street, Vancouver, B.C.). Guu is a string of izakaya, which are essentially Japanese tapas bars, in Vancouver and Toronto. I had never been, but heard from several friends about it. It's not a big place, but the atmosphere is amazing. You really feel like you're in a bar in Japan! It's a bit different from the Western bars because you can order things like sashimi, rice, and Japanese deep-fried goodies, and you constantly hear the bar colloquialisms being tossed between the whole team of workers in a very spirited tone.

Be prepared to drool over some fantastic photos by Ply Photography...

Guu with Garlic!

A very colourful menu with a wide range of awesome Japanese tapas!

Specials for the day including salmon sashimi...

We started off with some Tuna Tataki, which is beautifully seared tuna garnished with green onions and fried garlic chips - P really liked the garlic chips. He made very certain that they were all eaten.

Beef Tongue! Probably not for everyone, but it was very tender and juicy. My dad would have loooved this.

Salmon Sashimi, because DUH...first time seeing Shiso leaves in real life! I'd only seen them in Japanese cooking videos on YouTube like Ochikeron and RunnyRunny999. Speaking of which, you should totally watch some of their videos. I really like the ones from RunnyRunny999. His tagline is, "You can order, but you can't eat it!" :P

TAKOYAKI! It's basically like balls of kind of custard with octopus inside that are deep-fried and dressed with Bulldog sauce (something like Worcestershire sauce), Japanese mayo, shreds of nori (dried seaweed), and bonito flakes (Japanese dried, fermented tuna). I'd had it in Edmonton once, and one time in London at an AYCE, but the one at Guu Garlic was a bizillion times better. I could have eaten like 3 more orders of this, but we had more food hopping to do ;)

The verdict? YES. DO IT! If you happen to be in Vancouver, you have got to try Guu Garlic. It's a different experience, but a very delicious one. I'd definitely be up for visiting the other Guu's! They're all a bit unique, but after visiting this one, it seems very worth it. Guu with Garlic has a focus on garlic - they say in the About Us section of their website that it's because "Garlic is sexy", in case you wanted an explanation. But yes, just...yes.

But of course our food hopping didn't stop there! This was like an appetizer. P and I have an abnormally almost insatiable desire for food - i.e. we eat a lot. I wanted some sushi, so we literally went across the street to Sapporo Sushi (1709 Robson Street, Vancouver, B.C.)!

It's a small shop that's longer than it is wide. It seems to be operated only by a couple of people, but has some delicious output! It was crazy how much cheaper the sushi was in Vancouver in comparison to Edmonton given its quality. (Thank you, B.C. for not having H.S.T. anymore :D) Everything tasted so freaking good. My withdrawal from Asian food may have had something to do with it, but it was still probably pretty amazing. On top of the part where I was having sushi in Vancouver of all places, I loved that everything came at once. P and I were so ready to buckle down and devour all the things!

Dynamite Roll (crab, avocado, cucumber, prawn) and House Roll (tuna, Japanese sweet egg, cucumber, and crab, topped with salmon, cream cheese, and a house-made sauce). I, personally, am not a fan of cream cheese, but I have a habit to get the "House Roll", because it tends to have more stuff in it, and it implies recommendation by the establishment. Luckily, I have P who eats practically anything, so I just gave him the piece of cream cheese to put on his pieces of sushi :P

One of my favourite kinds of maki is what they called "Chop Chop" or "Chopped Scallop" in Edmonton, but maybe it doesn't exist elsewhere? I'm not really sure. When we ordered the Chopped Scallop maki from Sapporo Sushi, that's exactly what we got - fresh chopped scallop. I was totally okay with that though! Very delish! Oh and also, "Negi Toro Roll" (tuna with green onion) - an imperative, because it's one of P's favourites! Mmm...

Guu with Garlic doesn't have sushi because it's not really a Japanese bar food, but since it's across the street, if you feel you are lacking in the sushi department, Sapporo Sushi is worth a visit after getting your tapas on at Guu! Yes, it's one of the many on Robson Street, but this quaint little shop is very suitable for your sushi fixes! Om nom away, my friends, om nom away...

-M

B-b-b-baking: Presenting on my Personal Passion for Pizza?

Hello lovelies!

It has been a month since my last post, and I apologize. Ever since I moved back to London for the final term of my program, it has been rather busy. I have something kind of fun to share though!

Today, I did a microteaching session for my Information Literacy class where we were required to teach "something" to a group of 3-4 MLIS/PhD LIS students for 20 minutes. Since we had the option of doing something creative rather than what would be considered academic, I tried to come up with a topic that I was passionate about, but could only come up with something to do with music or badminton. P, listening to my flurry of confusion over the phone, said something along the lines of, "well, you like food..." to which I replied, "I do like food..."

The end result? I taught the class about the different components to a good pizza! I had a lot of fun with it, especially considering how I got to make pizza~

I made 3 different pizzas - one made with regular wheat flour and yeast, one with wheat flour and baking powder, and one with gluten-free flour (therefore xanthan gum as well) and yeast!

All 3 were baked at the same temperature (450 F) for 15 minutes. I decided on a classic margherita, because well, it's one of my favourites. A margherita pizza is essentially made up of a pizza dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. Delicious. Also, just a few days ago, I purchased my first plants ever, which included a basil plant!

Hazel (the basil) and Phil (the dill), my new roommates. 

So far, the plant care seems to be going alright, but the aphids are starting to get a tad annoying...

What I have learned today about pizza:
- A good pizza is actually really easy to make! All it takes is flour, yeast, olive oil, salt, and then your choice of toppings!
- The taste and texture is substantially better if you leave the dough to rise overnight in the fridge as opposed to just baking it after 1 1/2-2 hours of rising.
- To give your pizza crust some real oomph, you can knead in some herbs like oregano! (I actually didn't learn this today - I learned it from my roommate, Kaitlyn who lived with me for the past 2/3 of my school year!)
- Fresh basil is the way to go. Dried basil is okay, but if you have fresh basil, it makes a huuuge difference!
- While pizza dough can be made with gluten-free substitutes, and you can kind of make it with leavening agents other than yeast, it just isn't the same...
- The yeast in bread products isn't what gives it the air pockets! It's the agitation done either through mixing or kneading. By doing either of these things, you are incorporating air and creating gluten, making the dough more elastic and flexible, and making more space for it to expand!
- It's not just in grade school. Pizza tastes good cold or hot!

This was what the "dough" from the gluten-free pizza looked like. Really, it was more like a batter than anything. In order to form the shape, I had to wet my hands with water and pat and spread it. It resembled something like hummus, especially when I drizzled olive oil over top...perhaps it could have turned out better if I had more experience with gluten-free baking/cooking...

The gluten-free pizza. Made with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, yeast, eggs, salt, and olive oil. Taste was okay, but moreso because of the toppings. The dough was kind of cakey - not ideal for a pizza crust. It seemed that it just never crisped up.

The baking powder pizza dough. This took a lot of molding. Since there was still gluten in the dough, you could sort of knead it, but it broke kind of easily, and just didn't feel as nice in your hands (or mouth) :(

The baking powder pizza. Doesn't look so bad after baking. Taste? Eh...edible, but not the same...

The dough for the regular pizza. This was the funnest to work with because it was the real deal! I wasn't daring enough to throw it in the air and catch it while shaping it into a flat circle...maybe another day?

The best for last! A real, classic margherita pizza. Mmm...perfection (or at least pretty close).

The best part about making 3 pizzas to teach a lesson is that you have to test all 3 pizzas. Score. Can you tell which one is which? :P

The experience was really interesting. I haven't been exposed to the world of instruction very much, and hope I get more opportunities to do so in the future! Especially if it's about food...

In case you're interested, below are the accompanying slides from my microteaching session, (although they don't have as much content as my actual presentation did, because I tend to explain things a bit more myself and just use the PowerPoint as a visual).

The Science Behind a Good Pizza

And last but not least, the recipe...

A Good, Old, Classic Margherita Pizza (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)
*Makes ~4 personal-sized pizzas*
1 package quick rising yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (plus extra for kneading, rising, and drizzling on top)
1 tsp sea salt
Tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat your oven to 450 F, and line a 6-8 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
2. Meanwhile, add yeast, warm water, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave for 10-15 minutes or until foamy.
3. Stir yeast mixture a bit, then add flour, olive oil, and sea salt, stirring until combined.
4. Lightly oil your hands, and knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes until you can form a smooth, round ball.
5. Lightly oil the inside of the mixing bowl, place the dough ball in the center, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave for at least 1 1/2 hours in a warm place until doubled in size. (It's better to leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. Believe me.)
6. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Take one piece and gently stretch and shape it into a circle to fit your cake pan. Drizzle the top with olive oil, and brush to coat evenly.
7. Add tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil to your liking.
8. Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is browned and a bit crispy.
9. Remove from oven, slice, and enjoy immediately.
**You can choose to bake the other 3 right away, but they freeze very well. Simply wrap each piece in plastic wrap and stick in the freezer for up to 1 month. To thaw, leave in the fridge overnight until pliable, and continue from the second part of step 6.

Buon Appetito!

-M

Love for the Locals: Le Petit Coin Latin

10 years ago, my family made a trip to Montreal and Quebec City, back during the times when I reliably got sick on every trip we went on. My memories of Quebec were vague, but with some vivid images that I never forgot. There was one cafe in Vieux-Quebec that we went into on a miserably rainy day when I had come down with a bad fever, and my mom had to carry me. All I remembered was a red, wooden window frame with pouring rain running down the glass, yellow painted walls on the inside, and a brown ramekin of French onion soup that my dad was eating. 10 years later, we've returned, and I've finally gotten to enjoy the Quebec City I missed out on!

My family and I had brunch at Le Petit Coin Latin (8 1/2 Saint-Ursule, Quebec City, QC), the very cafe I remembered.

They have a picture of a giant fork on the inside of their door.

Le Petit Coin Latin! It's on a slanted road, as most roads are in Old Quebec :P

I like to think that part of the reason why the menus are so interestingly shaped is because of the slanted road, but I'm not 100% sure because it's actually slanted the other way... Still a cute touch!

The very booth that my family sat at 10 years ago, while I laid on my mom's lap passed out with a fever. All I could remember of Old Quebec from that time were slanted roads, a lot of rain, and a window frame painted red on the outside, and yellow on the inside.

I had my lunch with tea, of course!

The French Onion Soup I longed for... the broth is light, but flavourful. Delicious.

My smoked salmon salad! Shredded beet and carrot, slices of zucchini, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and capers were hidden beneath the generous slices of salmon lox. 

My brother chose the croissant with vegetables. The cheese melted all over it really made it look 10 times tastier than it already did!

My dad opted for the eggs benedict. Smoked salmon eggs benedict, that is.

Of the meals that you could get in touristy districts like Old Quebec, this was very reasonably priced. The French Onion Soup was $6, and the small Smoked Salmon salad was $9. And, it was all very very much worth the wait.

The waitress told me that their staff are usually travelling employees, so the turnover is rather high. New employees hang out in Quebec for a couple of years, and move on to another destination! I found it quite surprising considering how great their service is. My dad used to have business trips to Quebec, and always stopped by, noting that they've been remarkably consistent!

After finally tasting the tastes I missed out on 10 years ago, I ought to return! See you again in 10 years, Le Petit Coin Latin?

-M