After discussing the topic for several weeks, my wife Elena has decided to start her won blog. I can't wait to see what she will write about, as we have many similar interests, and I am usually quite amazed by the things she shares with me on a regular basis.
So keep your eyes peeled; as soon as her blog is online, I will post a link and review here. I think I may even make it my Pick of the week for next week!
Showing posts with label Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Living. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
A fantastic first anniversary dinner
Yesterday was my first wedding anniversary, and I decided to treat my wife to a five star meal. We settled on Le Baccara, one of the restaurants at the Casino Lac Lemay, in Gatineau. Seeing as we had a reservation for 18h30, on a Sunday evening, we were the very first patrons to arrive, and received what we considered the best table in the house, with a fantastic view of the Ottawa skyline. It is not the first time that my wife and I visited this restaurant, and our previous experience was good enough to warrant a second visit. Le Baccara is a five-diamond establishment, and has maintained this rating since its opening several years ago.
Like many fine dining establishments, the menu is limited and seasonal, but wide-ranging enough in flavour experiences to suit almost every palate. We began our meal with some fantastic little amuse-gueules, including some Gruyere tuiles, with carraway seeds and some delicately flavoured crab and lobster bread. As I was finishing the freshly roasted almonds and walnuts , our waiter arrived with a another amuse-gueule, this time, a slice of cold marinated beef served over a slaw of root vegetables and drizzled with a herbed oil. The beef was quite good, with a great texture and flavour courtesy of its delicious peppercorn crust.
Next were the appetizers. Elena, my wife, had selected the Tartare of bison from la Petite-Nation with ewe's cheese and truffles, quail egg tempura with raspberry vinaigrette. The presentation was quite lovely, with the bison and ewe's cheese mixed together and served in a small tower, ringed with the rasberry vinaigrette. Bison has a delicate flavour when raw, and we both found that the dish might have been better with a stronger tasting cheese, perhaps even a goat cheese. I also found that the vinaigrette was perhaps a little too strong for the mildness of the bison, and I might personally have reduced it with champagne so as to reduce the acidic properties of the rasberries.
One the other hand, my Terrine of duck foie gras on a thin slice of grilled gingerbread quatre quart served with ginger and rhubarb sherbet was phenomenal. The combination of the sweet crunchiness of the quatre quart was wonderful with the rich, smooth and mild flavour of the foie gras. But what really made this dish standout was the absolutely amazing ginger and rhubarb sherbet, with a beautiful taste that clearly completed this dish. I commented to our waiter on the brilliance of the sherbet's flavour combination and he promptly returned with a small bowl of it, along with two spoons, and a smile, compliments of the chef.
Once we were done, our plates were removed and we waited for the main course. Elena loves seafood, and selected the Seared red tuna in a crisp roll, warm asparagus and artichoke salad, eggplant caviar with asparagus and walnut oil vinaigrette while I opted for the Fresh loin of lamb from la Petite-Nation with confit vegetables, fingerling potatoes and chanterelle mushroom fricassée, watercress with lemon and virgin olive oil vinaigrette. Our plates arrived quickly arrived and we began to eat. Suffice it to say that although both dishes were quite nice, I believe that my lamb was truly the better of the two. It was perfectly done, and flavourful, served over the fingerling potatoes and surrounded by the chanterelles and jus. Elena's dish was also beautifully presented, although milder in taste in comparison to mine. We slowly finished our plates and when we were finally done, our waiter returned to remove our plates and leave us the desert menus.
At this point, we were both quite contented and chose to skip desert and simply have an espresso to finish our meal. By this time, the restaurant had several customers, and as the peaceful ambiance was now disrupted by the sound of too many conversations, we settled the bill and we returned home.
A great anniversary meal in an excellent restaurant that provided outstanding service and quality once again. If you are in the region and would like to have an excellent meal, make reservations at Le Baccara, and I am certain you will not regret it at all.
Like many fine dining establishments, the menu is limited and seasonal, but wide-ranging enough in flavour experiences to suit almost every palate. We began our meal with some fantastic little amuse-gueules, including some Gruyere tuiles, with carraway seeds and some delicately flavoured crab and lobster bread. As I was finishing the freshly roasted almonds and walnuts , our waiter arrived with a another amuse-gueule, this time, a slice of cold marinated beef served over a slaw of root vegetables and drizzled with a herbed oil. The beef was quite good, with a great texture and flavour courtesy of its delicious peppercorn crust.
Next were the appetizers. Elena, my wife, had selected the Tartare of bison from la Petite-Nation with ewe's cheese and truffles, quail egg tempura with raspberry vinaigrette. The presentation was quite lovely, with the bison and ewe's cheese mixed together and served in a small tower, ringed with the rasberry vinaigrette. Bison has a delicate flavour when raw, and we both found that the dish might have been better with a stronger tasting cheese, perhaps even a goat cheese. I also found that the vinaigrette was perhaps a little too strong for the mildness of the bison, and I might personally have reduced it with champagne so as to reduce the acidic properties of the rasberries.
One the other hand, my Terrine of duck foie gras on a thin slice of grilled gingerbread quatre quart served with ginger and rhubarb sherbet was phenomenal. The combination of the sweet crunchiness of the quatre quart was wonderful with the rich, smooth and mild flavour of the foie gras. But what really made this dish standout was the absolutely amazing ginger and rhubarb sherbet, with a beautiful taste that clearly completed this dish. I commented to our waiter on the brilliance of the sherbet's flavour combination and he promptly returned with a small bowl of it, along with two spoons, and a smile, compliments of the chef.
Once we were done, our plates were removed and we waited for the main course. Elena loves seafood, and selected the Seared red tuna in a crisp roll, warm asparagus and artichoke salad, eggplant caviar with asparagus and walnut oil vinaigrette while I opted for the Fresh loin of lamb from la Petite-Nation with confit vegetables, fingerling potatoes and chanterelle mushroom fricassée, watercress with lemon and virgin olive oil vinaigrette. Our plates arrived quickly arrived and we began to eat. Suffice it to say that although both dishes were quite nice, I believe that my lamb was truly the better of the two. It was perfectly done, and flavourful, served over the fingerling potatoes and surrounded by the chanterelles and jus. Elena's dish was also beautifully presented, although milder in taste in comparison to mine. We slowly finished our plates and when we were finally done, our waiter returned to remove our plates and leave us the desert menus.
At this point, we were both quite contented and chose to skip desert and simply have an espresso to finish our meal. By this time, the restaurant had several customers, and as the peaceful ambiance was now disrupted by the sound of too many conversations, we settled the bill and we returned home.
A great anniversary meal in an excellent restaurant that provided outstanding service and quality once again. If you are in the region and would like to have an excellent meal, make reservations at Le Baccara, and I am certain you will not regret it at all.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
A new way to look at mobile homes
My wife and I are hoping to move into a home one day, but we both feel that the quality of most homes today leaves a lot to be desired. Spurred by a belief in self-sustainability, environmental friendliness and value, we are looking at home builders that provide these types of features in their design.
One company that caught our eye is the Canadian design firm, Sustain, that provides numerous designs based around a mobile platform. As such, many of their homes are classified as mobile, and may bypass several issues involved in typical residential construction, such as foundations and more. We have known about this company for a while now, and I've even posted some information about the MiniHome Solo, but we wanted to make sure that they would stay in the business and actually build some of the great concepts they came up with. It is nice to see that they have continued the premise of building on a mobile platform. One great advantage of such a design includes the possibility of moving the entire home to another location, which can be an attractive option.
The model above, called the MiniHome Solo, is a bit on the small side, but is fantastically appointed and one of the greenest and most eco-friendly homes available for production today. Take a look here for a gallery of images. And Sustain is expanding and improving, in more ways than one:
Many of the newer designs are based on the experiences learned with previous models and most of the designs share some common ideas, such as external materials that do not require any maintenance or painting, low power consumption and more.
Head on over to their website and take a look a what they've got to offer. So far, we have been pretty impressed and will inquire to get more information.
One company that caught our eye is the Canadian design firm, Sustain, that provides numerous designs based around a mobile platform. As such, many of their homes are classified as mobile, and may bypass several issues involved in typical residential construction, such as foundations and more. We have known about this company for a while now, and I've even posted some information about the MiniHome Solo, but we wanted to make sure that they would stay in the business and actually build some of the great concepts they came up with. It is nice to see that they have continued the premise of building on a mobile platform. One great advantage of such a design includes the possibility of moving the entire home to another location, which can be an attractive option.
The model above, called the MiniHome Solo, is a bit on the small side, but is fantastically appointed and one of the greenest and most eco-friendly homes available for production today. Take a look here for a gallery of images. And Sustain is expanding and improving, in more ways than one:
Many of the newer designs are based on the experiences learned with previous models and most of the designs share some common ideas, such as external materials that do not require any maintenance or painting, low power consumption and more.Head on over to their website and take a look a what they've got to offer. So far, we have been pretty impressed and will inquire to get more information.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Modern and minimalist housing...
For those who know me, my obsession with modern and minimalist housing is only increasing with time!!! Good Lord, I should have been an architect rather than a computer geek! Actually, the concept of this type of housing includes several ideas that really appeal to me, such as prefabrication, energy efficiency, use of natural materials and more.
Currently, it seems that there are many, many concepts, but very few actual products for sale. As I discussed in a previous post, architect Rocio Romero has been selling her idea for quite a while now. Some others are doing the same, including a Canadian company called sustain, which has been marketing the MiniHome:
The MiniHome is actually listed as a travel trailer by the Canadian government, so it can be towed to its location, without special permits:
And here is a look at the interior:
The more I research this topic, the more I realise that I am not the only one with this obsession... I wonder what I will find next?
More to follow...
Currently, it seems that there are many, many concepts, but very few actual products for sale. As I discussed in a previous post, architect Rocio Romero has been selling her idea for quite a while now. Some others are doing the same, including a Canadian company called sustain, which has been marketing the MiniHome:
The MiniHome is actually listed as a travel trailer by the Canadian government, so it can be towed to its location, without special permits:
And here is a look at the interior:
The more I research this topic, the more I realise that I am not the only one with this obsession... I wonder what I will find next?More to follow...
Thursday, January 3, 2008
More of my obsessions...
Ever since I got a look at some modern, prefabricated housing, I have been bitten by the bug... This is exactly the type of house that I have been looking for, and I believe that I have found the one!
After doing some extensive research, I have pretty much settled on Rocio Romero's design for the LV house. Although there are several interesting designs available online, this is the only one that I have found that has been built several times, and the layout seems to be the most rational:
One of the main reasons behind my interest in this type of housing is my concern about the lack of thought going into today's North American housing market. Careful research has led me to conclude that most builders in Canada (if not the USA as well) are far more interested in profit than intelligent construction. I have also concluded that most houses do not cater to the needs of their inhabitants, but rather seem to be built to impress visitors more than anything.
Here is a look at the internal layout for the LV house:
More to follow.
After doing some extensive research, I have pretty much settled on Rocio Romero's design for the LV house. Although there are several interesting designs available online, this is the only one that I have found that has been built several times, and the layout seems to be the most rational:
One of the main reasons behind my interest in this type of housing is my concern about the lack of thought going into today's North American housing market. Careful research has led me to conclude that most builders in Canada (if not the USA as well) are far more interested in profit than intelligent construction. I have also concluded that most houses do not cater to the needs of their inhabitants, but rather seem to be built to impress visitors more than anything.
Here is a look at the internal layout for the LV house:
More to follow.
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