Buttery Croissants and Good Jam

The French Baker has an almost hidden bistro named "Benny's".  In the front of the house, you can watch the real croissants being made with chilled butter.  No just-proofed and baked-off pastries here.  The coffee is superb...Illy in a bowl with warm milk is perfect -- and the breakfasts options, not counting the long list of classic pastries (brioche, pain aux raisins, chausson aux pommes), range from great (under-stated) mushroom and cheese omelette to what I mowed down...a fluffy goats milk cheese frittata with a dollop of chipotle creme fraiche with thick slices of multi-grain toast.  The jam was a gingery rhubarb....the best springtime tonic out there. (Note to self: This kind of pace cannot continue. But there is a celebration of my book later tonight..#$#&&%$%!!!!)   

Eating on the Hill (a.k.a. LOVING Ottawa)

Small and crowded, the spirit at Whalesbone was one of pure East Coast hospitality.  It reminded me of the early days of my writing  career when I blasted around Atlantic Canada in search of a "real" Canadian dining experience.  But no restaurant or inn or cafe served the food that's coming out of the postage stamp sized kitchen on Ottawa's Bank Street - ever!  Sit at the chefs' bar and you will have a perch to watch two talented guys cook with not only their heads but their hearts. Being transported to another time/place is sometimes the role of culinary experiences.We ate oysters from Cortes Island that were so fresh and tasted so richly of the salt air and the ocean that I was forced to pause and close my eyes in ecstasy. Chalk one up for the good guys. They understand "Fresh and Simple"!  And they also understand flavour-filled and complex.  Case in point, the "lacquered" pork belly which is salted, spiced, marinated, refrigerated, braised till utterly tender and finally chilled 'n pressed till serving time, a process that literally takes days, before it's glazed with honey and soy.   Chefs Wall and Lord hand make their "gnudi" with house-made ricotta and using them as a base and a whole lot of roasted garlic and pan-fried Wakefield mushrooms, the pork belly was one of the best dishes I've eaten in years. BRAVO!