Ring a Bell

I headed back to Ottawa on Wednesday for a short stay to celebrate a relative's 93rd birthday on the week-end. Via Rail no longer separated its passengers for social distancing but luckily, there was no one sitting next to me on the train.

Friday morning, I headed back to the intersection at Beechwood Cemetery for lunch. But instead of Indian, I opted to visit an Algerian restaurant called Idriss Mediterranean. They had a patio but since there wasn't really much of an outdoor view in this area, I chose to eat inside.

Its past as Cat's Seafood Fish and Chips remained with a large maritime mural painted on its outside wall. I wasn't sure how much of the interior was also from that time. But it was also decorated with earthen clay pots, painted plates, and other knick-knacks that evoked a bit of the Middle-East.

I ordered 2 vegetarian Bourak ($3.99), a lentil soup ($10.99), and a Kromb Tajine. The lentil soup came with a ground beef Bourak but I preferred the veggie version of this so-called "North African spring roll". The latter's assortment of veggie as well as a sharp cheese was nicely different from any spring roll I've had. The lentil soup was rich and creamy although being completely pureed, my coarse palate couldn't really detect all the ingredients that was listed on the menu. I was a little disappointed with the tajine but only because the combination of cabbage and meatballs was a little bland for my taste. I think the olive or potato tajine would have provided the strong flavour or texture my aging taste buds crave. The spongy bread and hmiss (more dip than salad) rounded out the entrée.

Overall, I like Idriss and their other offerings including shashuka and couscous also seemed appetizing. It had only recently opened so I hope they are growing their clientele.

Grillmasters

Not being much of a meat-eater anymore, I don't usually frequent restaurants that do deep-frying or grilling. But I recently visited two such places and I admit that these types of meat preparation are delicious and make most people reluctant to switch to a plant-based diet.

With the unbearable heat last Wednesday, I wasn't going to cook dinner. I wandered along Bloor through Little Korea almost to the start of the Annex looking for a dine-in option. I was happy to see that non-descript Her Chef was still open despite the pandemic. It was a nice discovery just before the first lockdown in the winter of 2020. During my meal tonight, the other diners and take-outs were young folks because this kind of comfort food (and generally wallet-friendly prices) appealed to their lifestyle. My dinner of Coco Shrimp ($5.99) and Chicken Mayo on rice ($7.99), so lip-smackingly oily, was perhaps a little too decadent for my waistline or arteries. But those dishes went down easy!

On Monday, I met up with some out-of-town friends. They wanted to try a Yakitori (grilled chicken) place because although Ottawa finally has Izakayas, these niche places haven't made it there yet. I suggested Zakkushi in the East end on Carlton between Jarvis and Parliament. I warned them that I haven't been there in years but the quality would likely have remained high. I got there early and walked around the neighbourhood to gauge its gentrification level.

I needn't have worried because my pals were blown away by the food. We tried a lot of the chicken skewers from heart and skin to thighs and various meatball concoctions. But we also ordered plenty of beef and pork. There was only 3 vegetarian dishes on the menu, not counting the seaweed salad, etc. I thought that the king oyster mushroom more than held its own in flavour and texture. A highlight was a pork skewer wrapped in sticky rice. Like Yaki Onigiri, the crispiness of the rice made the dish quite addictive. 

We ended the night heading to Parliament looking for a dessert place. Unfortunately, one of my friend was suffering major knee pains and we couldn't walk too far. We also ran into a few indigents who are being pushed out of all Toronto neighbourhoods. These encounters were normal for me but for suburban folks, it was all rather scary.

Sandwiched

The stores at the edge of Little Korea abutting Christie Pits Park have always been in constant rotation. From "Korean" pho to "Korean" tacos to tentative attempts at hipsterdom (Apiecalypse), this stretch has seen many failed dreams. So I was surprised to see that a Vietnamese banh mi place called Lam Han was making a go of it here. Especially considering that its next-door neighbours were Subway and Ali Baba, a popular chain of shawarma eateries. This reminded me of another recent banh mi shop Komi competing with Popeye's and Tim Horton's near Bloor and Dufferin. This seems to be a business strategy from Vietnam which in my opinion, doesn't translate well to North America.

I dropped by on Saturday when it looked like the official opening with a flower bouquet gift basket by the front entrance and friends stopping in for first orders and well-wishes. I looked over the menu and chose a lemon-grass chicken banh mi ($7.50). Lam Han also offered combos that included soft-drinks and fries. Looking around, these new shops all seem to be aiming for the Subway meets Ikea aesthetic.

Once I got my order, I skedaddled over to the Park and sat beneath a shady tree. I'd like to report some wonderful discovery but this was run-of-the-mill. In this case, the chicken didn't have much flavour. I appreciated the stab at better ingredients than the usual cold-meat found at venerable Nguyen Huong and its ilk. But "quality" banh mi has been a thing in Toronto for a decade now with Banh Mi Boys. Since the prices aren't much cheaper than Subway, which was a major selling point for the hole-in-the-wall banh mi shops back in the day, I'm not too confident that Lam Han will be competitive.

Zoom Kippur

Daniela Gesundheit's Alphabet of Wrongdoing was a highlight show for me 2 years ago. This album of reworked liturgical Jewish chants (usually only sung on the High Holy Days) is on my regular rotation. I was disappointed that another show in 2020 had to be canceled because of the lock-downs.

So I was excited to see a show sponsored by Nefesh on Sunday. It was live but in L.A. so I had to follow via a Zoom broadcast. I had hoped that it would be a high-quality production similar to the O'Pears Christmas concert. But given that this was a community event, I wasn't surprised that it was a basic laptop setup pointing at the stage. So there was plenty of audio-visual glitches and jitters during the show for me.

But the power of the songs/arrangements and Gesundheit's voice were such that much of the transcendent beauty still shone through. This took place on the altar at St. Paul's Common so there were Christian symbols in the background. But with today's setup, this definitely felt more religious than the show at the Canadian Music Centre. As a non-Jew who doesn't visit synagogues, I appreciated the communal feeling.

It seemed that only women (or a clear majority) were in attendance. All Zoom viewers had female names. And when Daniela encouraged the audience during one of her songs to recite snippets of quotes she had passed out beforehand, only women voices rang out. It was an interesting feeling to experience a (possibly) all-women religious gathering. Certainly for myself, I can't think of other such scenarios except perhaps some Sound of Music cliché.

On a related note, Gesundheit couldn't wear her custom-made coat of Jewish prayer shawls today because she was pregnant with twins. But she did bring it out to the admiration of the audience after the show. She also expanded upon its meaning: not only does it speak to the issue of women wearing religious garment, but the fact that these tallit had to be cut (which they never are) for the tailoring was also symbolic of her re-interpretation of these religious songs.