I am back in Ottawa, my houseguests are gone, my internal batteries are recharged, and I am hoping to get back to more regular posting.
Today, I want to talk about the Side Door restaurant.
At a glance, it is not the sort of place I would particularly want to try. Sleek decor meant to impress the trendy young professionals who seem to be the target demographic, cavernous interior, distinct sections for changes in mood (an atrium, a large outdoor patio, and the main restaurant area, which is HUGE, a large room that can be closed off for private events), an Asian fusion, small-plates driven menu. Everything adds up to après-work singles bar, which is not something I gravitate towards. Perhaps it is unfair of me, but my gut instinct on places like this assumes that it will be mediocre food - more about where you're eating than about what you're eating. In this case, I am happy to say I was wrong.
What got me out to the place was Top Chef Canada, season 2. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a cooking competition show junkie, and Top Chef is one of my favourites. Top Chef Canada? Even better. Great cooking, restaurants I don't have to leave the country to try, and patriotism all in one tidy package. In season 2, there were two chefs from Ottawa restaurants. Strangely enough, the two restaurants were side by side: The Courtyard and Side Door. When season 2 started, I had recently been to The Courtyard, so it was fresh in my mind. But with the head chef from Side Door on the show, I knew I had to go there as well, particularly since it was also revealed that the chef in question (Jonathan Korecki) hailed from my hometown. This automatically made him my top pick, and I must say, he did pretty well indeed, making the final. Having been to his restaurant a few times, I can see why.
A couple of quick observations - the lunch menu is very limited - tacos, soups, salads. To get a full sense of the restaurant and its strengths, you need to go for dinner. Also, the menu changes up fairly frequently, so even looking now at the menu, one dish I LOVED doesn't seem to be there anymore. This is both a strength and a weakness that I must learn to love. Old loves gone, but new things to try. There are a few things that are there pretty consistently, though, from what I have seen. The food comes out as it is ready, not necessarily to balance who ordered what or to create an overall composed dining experience - remember, the idea is small plates, largely for sharing.
Now, on to the food.
As I said, it is a small plates restaurant. This, of course, allows you to try many things. I have mentioned fish tacos a couple of times before, but others I have tried have been lacking. These are not - they are by far the best fish taco I have had. All of the tacos offered here are excellent - 5 regular varieties and a chef's special taco. On this particular night, frequent dining companion L had the fish tacos, pictured above, and I tried the special - something called "squacon." Squacon would be squid bacon. Smoked, cured squid. It was interesting, although I am not sure the smoking/curing process did much for squid's natural tendency towards rubberiness; however, as someone who applauds experimentation and outside the box thinking by restaurants, full marks for creativity on this. It did not compare to my Side Door taco favourite - the spicy beef. What makes the tacos here fabulous is the perfect balance. It is a delightful harmony of contrasts: soft vs crunchy, cool vs warm (temperature), cool vs hot (spiciness), fattiness vs acid. All served on a freshly made flour tortilla. That tortillas are excellent quality, and are really is what ties the taco dish together. Looking back at other fish tacos I have tried recently, my dissatisfaction has been tortilla related - dry, unappealing texture, and lacking in structural integrity. Since I have a pic, here is the squacon, although you can't really see the meat under the toppings.
The next dish I'd like to talk about is the salmon rillette. This was fantastic. First, it is beautiful to look at. The rillette had a beautiful texture, cool, with that rich salmon taste. Assembling little bites using the tempura fried betel leaves and the herbs and veggies in the centre was fun, and made each bit a little different. It was an excellent balance between portions. You didn't finish the protein fast only to be left with a pile of less interesting veggies and herbs. The crispy betel leaves were sturdy and made and excellent "cracker" to deliver the bites of food to your mouth without worrying it was going to end up on your lap.
Another hands down winner was the son-in-law egg. A soft boiled egg, breaded and fried, served over a textured, crunchy rice, with radish, cilantro and topped with a spicy chili jam. To eat, you break the egg, spilling the soft yolky goodness into the bowl and mix it all together. Each bite has a bit of everything - rich, unctuous yolk; crunchy rice and breading from the egg; fresh, cooling cilantro; and a lovely combination of sweet and heat from the jam. This is something I will order again and again. Just writing about it now makes me want to return one night this week for dinner.
Other strong, reliable dishes include the salt and pepper calamari with chili vinegar sauce, and the house made doughnuts for dessert.
Not every dish is a home run. Thai beef carpaccio (ordered on a previous visit, and not pictured) was, for me, too sweet and too saucy. The point to a carpaccio is the high quality raw beef. It should be the star, not the delivery system for a aggressive sauce. Another dish I was so-so on was the grilled beef with butter lettuce leaf wrap and pickled veggies. This dish was the flip side of the gloriously constructed, perfectly proportioned salmon rillette. The beef was nicely cooked, but not intensely flavoured or spiced, which makes sense since it was served with pickled veggies. However, given the portioning, and the more intense pickles, it got a bit lost in all the fripperies.
All in all, I enjoy this restaurant and am willing to keep going back to be surprised, challenged, and excited by the interesting dishes coming out of the kitchen. And, of course, to have more, and more, and more son-in-law eggs.
To close out, the tuna sashimi ordered by frequent dining companion, L. Another pretty, pretty dish.
P.S., my ruthless pruning of my tomato plants last week seems to have brought about the desired results: the plants are not dead, and I have ripening fruit on both plants!
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