Café My House- Ottawa, Canada
http://www.cafemyhouse.com/
With the caveat that I have not been to Toronto for several years I will say that this is the best 100% plant-based restaurant in Canada. Chef Briana Kim produces some of the most innovative cooking all while restricting herself to completely gluten-free ingredients. If the server had not told us that the menu was gluten-free I would have been none the wiser.
Fortunately for my wife and I, my cousin’s attempts at getting a reservation at a vegan restaurant in Ottawa were spurned not once but twice, making Café My House the third option. The name sounded boring and the Happy Cow reviews did not convey the awesomeness that is Café My House. From what it sounds like they shifted gears in early 2014 to what they are now.
My wife is a believer in chef tasting menus and requested one for the four of us. I may have mentioned to our server that I don’t eat eggplant but other than that we were keen on seeing what was coming. The amuse bouche set the tone for what Chef Briana is able to accomplish. Her blue cheese incorporated natto, which for anyone who is familiar with natto will say to themselves that it makes perfect sense and ask why they didn’t think about it themselves. The stinkiness of the fermented soybean proved to my omnivorous cousin and his partner that you can imitate even the more challenging cheeses such as blue cheese.
Our vegetable dishes were Kale & Roasted Hazelnut Salad and Sesame Crusted Oyster Mushroom Calamari. The salad featured perfectly cooked kale along with the smart use of seasonal hazelnuts in the pesto sauce. I’m normally not a fan of mushrooms but the expectation of a calamari texture worked well and the chef balanced the aquatic tastes while still allowing her white wine and caper sauce to stand on its own.
The cheese and pickle plate went quickly as everyone fought over the bounty, which included pickled carrots, four different kinds of cheese and a baguette better than many gluten-based baguettes. The diversity of the vegan cheeses is unparalleled in Canada, short of Graze in Vancouver, and each one is a shining individual. Think different children from different mothers not fraternal twins.
The main was Yam & Sage Gnocchi and featured a rich merlot-reduction sauce that fit perfectly with the chilly Ottawa evening- hearty but still elegant in its presentation and structure.
My only criticism is the tiny beer list. The craft beers they did have were good local options but could certainly be expanded to include beer pairings for the dishes.
Service was impeccable. Our server was attentive but still gave us our space to appreciate the well-conceived tasting menu at a reasonable pace. Her knowledge went unchallenged and genuinely appeared to share in the delights of the restaurant.
-B
