Some time ago we were in Ottawa. I have been slow at posting and so have decided to do this in a few upcoming posts. The three places I want to highlight are Beckta, Atelier, and Pure Kitchen. These are each very distinct places, and at very different levels in the culinary economy and in somewhat different parts of Ottawa. And yet, each one is worth a visit and made me smile as a diner.
Let's approach them sequentially. As I do so, a few things to keep in mind: On our visit, we stayed in Hull in an Airbnb, and loved it. We ate in the apartment on occasion, purchased veggies, fruit and some cheese at the Byword Market and went out to eat several times. We definitely had some coffee too. The latter will be treated in its own separate post.
Let's begin with our arrival.
One of our favorite places: Beckta. Yes, this is now located on Elgin Street in Ottawa in a huge location, but it still feels like an amazing and welcoming dining experience. We went recently (well, not so recently by the time you read this) when we were in the area for the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival (which was amazing, despite the awful awful hot weather).
In any case, for various reasons, we arrived to the city right around the start time for our first concert experience so dined late -- after a truly amazing concert focused on duende -- at Domain Chalmers United Church. The concert title was "!Duende!: Lorca, Cohen and the Spirit of Spain." Some of my favorites were in Ladino -- and I learned a lot about Lorca as well.
What is duende (and why can I not get an accent to appear or an upside down exclamation point?)? Dundee turns out to be a cultural notion with a long history focused on both entities (who have duende) and the notion of darkness, creativity, and related matters being intertwined (or at least that was what I took away with me). Here is a wikipedia article on the notion. I think I will be reading Lorca, thinking about duende, and more for quite some time.
In any case, by the end, we needed to get a bite before heading to Hull (Gatineau) for the night. So, we walked to Beckta and took a chance. The place was nowhere near full, but we chose our favorite most places: to dine at the bar.
Here's some of what we had:
First: drinks. I had a drink with "blue" in they name, in honor of my long time love for drinks that are, well, blue. The drink, it turns out, was not blue. But: it was a spectacular drink. It's name? Joseph "Blue" Pulaski. And, it was made of butterfly pea flower-infused gin, amaro, dry vermouth, Lillet Blanc, cucumber, orange bitters. The infused gin was delightful -- and the drink terrific. My partner had wine -- and I admit I do not recall what exactly.
Second: noshes. The bar serves more or less what is available elsewhere and we went for it. My most memorable item was the fried green tomatoes, which I always like. These were thinnish, crisp, and just right in terms of savory. And, we did have a red faro caviar bit -- which was also spectacular. The blinis were light and -- yes -- reddish in hue (from the older form of wheat) and the caviar was both salty and sweet. We might have had a salad. I can't recall!
Finally, we ended with a shared version of andouille sausage and green pea risotto. I gave this an A at the time -- light, and the sausage was particularly piquant without overwhelming the dish.
Yes, it was a while ago. And my memory is not what it once was. But I can say this: we were heading back there after our last concert of the trip and quite disappointed to find it not open that day! Great place to dine and drink. Friendly, beautiful, and tasty.
Beckta is located at 150 Elgin Street in Ottawa and is worth the search for parking. Or, you could wait til the next chamberfest and walk from Domain Chalmers United Church!
