Coffee crawl finale: The Noshers have their say

To finish off the National Nosh's month-long investigative journalism series on independently owned coffee shops that are walking distance from my house, I present the following cross-Canada options, as suggested by enthusiastic followers of the Nosh (Noshheads? Noshers?) This is actually a photo of a great cafe in Tel Aviv, which just goes to show that the appeal of an afternoon coffee translates everywhere. 

Victoria: A new addition to the city's serious coffee culture, Street Level Espresso's hot bevies are served with a glass of house-carbonated water to cleanse the palate. Habit Cafe and Culture, next to Mole on Pandora, is exactly what it sounds like.

Vancouver: Even thought Caffe Artigiano has been on a bit of an expansion blitz, quality has not faltered. And the last time I was there my latte foam artist drew a fairly accurate depiction of a monkey in a turban in my milk suds. At Cafe Medina you'd be a fool not to order a wee, sweet Belgian waffle with your cappuccino.  

Toronto: Balzac's boasts industrial chic surrounds and house-roasted beans. Great almond croissants too (they're also in Stratford). The Pantry actually carries Balzac's coffee, and you can also stock up on potted foie and fancy jams, or grab a fresh steak and Gorgonzola sandwich to go. 

Ottawa: Planet Coffee's boho clientele in the Byward Market isn't enough to stop one from enjoying their lemon cake, while Bridgehead is all about organic, shade-grown, fairly traded coffees, teas, healthier snacks and cool surrounds.

Montreal: For many Noshers, Olive et Gourmando is your all-star cafe in Canada. Mine too. 

Halifax: In a city overrun with Timmy's and Second Cups, Steve-O-Reno's is a beacon in the morning mist. But when I lived there my regular stomping ground was the Trident. I still long for their outsize lattes, homemade iced tea and oat cakes. 

If I didn't mention your favourite cafe in your hometown, I'm sorry, but it's because you didn't write in. That's how that works. 

Please note: I will be out of town on assignment for a couple of days, so recipe Monday will most likely be Recipe Tuesday next week. Have a great weekend! 

My new kettle

I got a new kettle at a fantastic kitchen shop called Grace in the Kitchen when I was visiting Ottawa this week. Didn't plan on it but I saw it, loved it, and lately I had become increasingly convinced than my old stovetop kettle was slowly poisoning me. 

What you can't tell from the photo is that my shiny enamel on steel Le Creuset has a lovely paint job of darker red at the bottom, graduating to lighter up top. Or, that its whistle is like a gentle melody, akin to a Snow White sing-a-long with her forest friends.  

Bottom line: My morning tea just got a whole lot classier.  

I'm here to help: Part 2

As previously discussed in last week's blog entry called "I'm here to help", not everyone is a fan of my Dish column in the National Post. I'm specifically referring to an Ottawa-area herd of elk. 

Here's the column, printed in April of last year, that almost got me sued. 

GETTING IT ON IN THE KITCHEN

restaurants are finding partners in local farmers

Amy Rosen, National Post

"This is the first time in 20 years there's been any interest in 'local,'" says Andy Terauds, co-owner of Acorn Creek Farm. "So we finally fit in."

Terauds's farm is a 75-acre fruit-and-veg spread near Carp, Ont., and he's attending Ottawa's second annual Farmer-Chef Meet and Greet, which is basically a speed-dating event for local producers and chefs. Dreamed up by Savour Ottawa -- a joint initiative of the City of Ottawa, a non-profit organization called Just Food, Ottawa Tourism and Ontario Tourism -- the event is heating up at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. From the looks of things, a lot of people are eager to promote local culinary products.

Landing a date is not always easy, but the Ottawa chefs making the rounds today seem to have no problem hooking up with area farmers, as they ramp up for the 2008 growing season.

There are intimate whispers of micro-greens and sweet promises of heirloom tomatoes. 

Last year, Terauds's farm hooked up with Juniper restaurant, for which they provide some 55 varieties of lettuce. But they're still playing the field. So, too, Sandra Salmins of Wild Parrot Delectables, who's selling her greenhouse-grown "shoulder season" greens to several high-end Byward Market restaurants, including Domus, Eighteen and Luxe.

As for Elk Ranch -- which, last year, forged an ongoing love match with the Chateau Laurier -- well, let's just say every town needs its slut.

And then I printed a nice recipe for elk stuffed peppers.

Long story short, the Elk Ranch did not find the reference funny. In fact, they threatened a lawsuit unless I personally wrote a big feature about them. (At least they liked my writing.) Even now, I'm not sure what they were so upset about. (Who doesn't learn from her mistakes?) Did they really think I was calling their elks sluts? Can elks even be sluts?

As my editor expected, I refused to write a feature story about their farm, and my editor was also smart enough to write the apology for me, knowing I would likely make matters worse. It was printed a couple of weeks later at the bottom of my column. Here's what it said:

An apology: My column earlier this month about Ottawa's Farmer-Chef Meet and Greet contained an ill-considered joke about the popularity of Elk Ranch with local restaurants. I described the event as a date, and in noting Elk Ranch's success with the city's chefs, I took the metaphor too far. The intent wasn't to disparage or offend, and I apologize unreservedly to Elk Ranch for any offense taken.

As you can imagine, that Dish column got the most-ever hits.