Za Za Za in the Glebe
A big, warm, welcome to Ion Aimers and his new restaurant, Za Za Za, Pizza with Pizazz to the Glebe!
For
the past few weeks, a big banner in the window at their new location
declared, "An end to Bland Pizza!" With that bold declaration and its
positioning between a Pizza Pizza and a Pizza Hut, I was intrigued.
This
morning, minutes before opening its doors for the first time, two
hospitable servers were stationed as sentries out front and after
getting the scoop from them, I wandered in for a sneak peek.
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| Kitchen Manager, Connor Mcquay |
Once
inside, the red velvet swag at the pass, the twinkling chandeliers,
sculptures, and inviting armchairs sprinkled here and there immediately
created a operatic atmosphere. It reminded me my friend Marco's
eccentric, art-filled Palazzo in Venice. In true Italian style, linen napkins grace each of the place settings. So civilized.
If you're dining alone you can sit at the counter facing the kitchen to watch the pizzaiolo in action.
In
talking to Mr Aimers today, I learned that he relies on fresh, quality
ingredients, dough made daily on site and creative combinations for his
thin crust pizzas to bring him a steady clientèle. Important basics.
Tonight's
opening night dinner is a fund raiser for the Ottawa Food Bank. Kudos
to Mr Aimers for his continued philanthropic efforts.
My friends and are a going to pop in tonight to see if we can score a table. Forks crossed!
One
thing's for sure, if the reviews are anything like the ones his other
Za Za Za restaurant at Beechwood has under its belt, it will be an
enchanting and delicious evening.
The Castle Terrace Restaurant, Edinburgh
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| Chef Patron Dominic Jack, front row centre, choreographing the pass |
Last Saturday night I dreamt of the circus.
Not the kind of circus with poodles jumping through hoops and pretty girls riding ponies around a ring but of Le Cirque de Soleil with its sophisticated staging and awe inspiring acrobats performing stunts that leave you gasping for breath and wishing the show would never end.
I'm certain that my dreams were inspired by dinner hours earlier at Edinburgh's Castle Terrace Restaurant.
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| A spring sprout in toasted cumin earth |
In October, Chef Patron Dominic Jack added a Michelin star to his trophy shelf, already overflowing with nine other culinary awards so since we were in Edinburgh celebrating hubby's birthday, I insisted that we eat there. I'm so glad that we did. In fact, it was the highlight of our visit.
Wherever we travel, we love to dine in elegant restaurants but it's rare to find one with decent vegetarian food. So when we learned that along with its regular menu, Castle Terrace offered a vegetarian à la carte menu and a multi-course vegetarian tasting menu, we could hardly wait to get there.As it turned out, our dinner was even better than we'd hoped. Chef Dominic combined several cooking techniques like Molecular gastronomy, sous vide and traditional French, deliciously and unpretentiously. This was quite a treat for demanding vegetarians like hubby and I. Oh, and for a few more pounds, they would have paired each course with wine. How fabulous is that?
Our humble thanks go to Chef Dominic's sister and mother, both vegetarians, whom he told us inspired him to offer vegetarian options.
If I had to sum it up in one sentence, the dinner was a mix of delicious seasonal and local food, creatively and passionately prepared, served with skill in sophisticated, and soothing surroundings.
And even with his brilliant credentials and a busy dining room, Chef Dominic was incredibly down to earth and generous with his time, showing us his well stocked wine cellar and then inviting us to sit at his chef's table while we watched his harmonious kitchen in action and sipped Lemoncello. It was an unexpected and unforgettable evening for the birthday boy, me, and our guest Alex too.
What more can you ask for?
I can hardly wait to return.
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| Ravioli of fresh herbs and Highland Crowdie cheese |
