My stomach thanked me profusely recently holding our Tasting Ottawa group at the amazing Brassica Restaurant in Westboro. The goal of the group is 3-fold:
- Have an incredible meal & great conversations with really nice people who all enjoy great food (with new people joining all the time!)
- Introduce friends/clients to a restaurant & dishes that they may not have tried before.
- Give support to a local business and to spread the word to others!
I had initially thought that a Wednesday night would be a slow night. It was NOT! It was a fleury of activity with great energy. Our table for eight had menus all laid out. The mouth-watering began! We all assumed that we would each be making a choice of a preferred dish. NOT! Each dish on the menu was served to us with the appetizers being beautifully presented together as were the two desserts at the end.
Barbara was not able to attend the event…and I am NOT going to even try to replicate her food-writing ability. What I will say is that each dish is on this menu every day until they do a menu change so you can go in the next couple of weeks and savour them. As each dish was presented to us by Manager Adrienne, Chef Dipesh & Chef Arup they explained each ingredient AND which LOCAL farm they came from. Local supporting local!
Click the photos below to enlarge to see a sampling of how beautifully presented our food was.
Usually in a meal there is an almost invisible food…one that you simply do not notice but rather just eat. This was not the case at Brassica that evening. Each mouthful was SO memorable. Guests shared their thoughts on each and which was their favourite! Hands down for me was the Cornish Hen roulade and the deep-fried carrot cake (with the beef short rib a close 3rd). We even loved the china that the dishes were served on.
It was an incredible evening and one that left you feeling like you had supported your community, not just the restaurant but the appreciative staff, the farms that provide the ingredients, and the community as a whole. Be sure to read our blog on the importance of supporting local businesses and add links to those businesses that you would like to see supported!