Ottawa Food and Wine Show

On Friday, November 5th, I was invited to the Ottawa Food and Wine Show with the crew from bv02 for some tastings of local restaurants and all sorts of beer, wine and booze. Thankfully we arrived pretty early and avoided  getting stuck in huge coat check lines and got straight to business. Unfortunately, due to technologically related issues, all the photos taken are temporarily unavailable, so I'll keep this short and sweet, and mostly point form from here on.

• TAG Vodka: I wouldn't consider myself a fan of vodka, but this stuff was great, and its from Ontario. Go local brands!! I have to say, I found it much more drinkable, mixable and shootable than some of the premium brands like Grey Goose, yet it costs a couple dollars more than a bottle of Smirnoff. And the bottle looks pretty rad, with a cork top! Definitely check this out at the LCBO.

• Petit Bill's: Lobster Poutine is to die for. Definitely made me want to go check this Westboro restaurant out. Plus the staff were super friendly.

• Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co: Goat, sheep and cow's milk cheese, all made in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Had an awesome little sample plate and went back for another. Their cheese is amazing and can be found all throughout Ottawa. You can pick some up at Farm Boy, La Bottega NiCastro, Il Negozio NiCastro, NiCastros, Piggy Market, Jacobson's Gourmet and Grace in the Kitchen.

• Microbrews: I do enjoy a nice glass of wine, but I have to say I enjoy beer much more. Thankfully there was a great selection of local microbreweries from Ontario and Quebec. Beau's Organic was sampling their amazing Lug Tread Lagered Ale, and their seasonal Night Marzen. Mill Street was in the house, and I tried some of their Lemon Tea Beer. Interesting to say the least, could be quite enjoyable on a 30+ day on a patio, but wasn't really feeling it this time of year. Brasserie McAuslan from Quebec has a great Oatmeal Stout, and I sampled the light and refreshing Apricot Wheat Ale. Finally, the Clocktower Brew Pub was sampling some of their finely crafted beers. I already am a huge fan of their Kolsch beer, so I sampled some ByTown Brown, and the Pumpkin Ale. The Brown was excellent, and although I'm not usually a huge fan of pumpkin spiced beers, this particular brew was easy to drink and not overpowering. If you like a good beer and tasty food, definitely check out one of their three locations throughout Ottawa.

• Sliders: Apparently they're all the rage right now, as several different restaurants were serving them up. Tiny sized food is always fun isn't it?

• The Wakefield Mill: I had the Bison Tartare, which was quite delicious and flavourful. I'd love to get some recipes going with Bison meat as it is super tasty and surprisingly healthy. The staff at the Mill were quite friendly as well, so I'm looking forward to making the trek out to Wakefield to check this place out.
• Silk gloves and cocktail dresses: I feel as though this comment should actually be up on Miss Jones' blog. Why were their so many women adorned with long gloves and dresses? I feel as though I missed some sort of memo, or otherwise I would have worn my tux... Seriously though, its a food and wine show, not a formal art gala. Maybe I'm just a hater.

Anyway, I wish I had some photos to post, but computer malfunctions are to blame for that one and not my lack of diligence in taking them. I definitely got a little shutter happy, and hopefully the photos will be recovered soon and maybe I'll have them up before this is completely out-dated. Check out Dot Dot Dot for another perspective and some pics.