Jak's Kitchen

Several Fridays ago, the good folks at DCFD decided a visit to Jak's Kitchen was in order. Some of us had been going there mostly for brunch ever since the change over from Stoneface Dolly's occurred, and realized an outing amongst our elite group was warranted. The food and decor have been on a journey from what Stoneface Dolly's was, and has now become something of their own (imo). I am no longer skeptical but delighted about the switchover, I have since embraced their arrival, and hope for them to last a long long time.







Shortly after we arrived, we were greeted with a feast of some experimental appetizers. Delicious! Smoked salmon wrapping endive, cilantro enfused delicious pate (not a big fan, but this was soooo good), their homemade focaccio slivers and chunks, amongst a few other things. We decided on red wine, made a selection, but were suggested another bold Malbec called "Kaiken Ultra". This wine exploded from the glass, and placed a beautiful haze over the whole evening.

After the pre-appetizers and wine were decided, the proper appetizers ranged from perfectly cooked mussels, and soups, to every tapas choice on the menu. Everything was well presented and delicious. If i recall correctly, the bacon stuffed pork loin was the special, and apparently very tasty (someone correct me on this please!). I stuck to their pasta special, a very spicy pasta dish, and while not exceptional, was definitely memorable (almost too spicy for my pastas taste).

Dessert was delicious, coffee excellent, but unfortnately for me i was the last to arrive and first to leave. I ate *way* too much, and for me to leave a restaurant that wasn't a buffet saying that says a lot. Of course, no one forced me, but when its that good i have a hard time saying no.

I hope Jak's sticks around for a while, it truly is a gem in ottawa, and i look forward to many more delectable meals there.

O, for me, 9/10.

Oz Café

This was the Chef Special that I had - Seared Tuna Steak & humongoid scallops, swiss chard, and home-made bacon. Need I say more? It was fantabulous, so fantabulous that I don't remember the price. Now normally I shy away from fusion, (this dish is probably falls into the category) but I might suggest that the chef's creation breaks the mold and needs a category all it' own called "yum". Who would have thought to put these ingredients together eh?

Other dishes round the table:

DCFD members pose or their first portrait at Oz:

Needless to say Oz Cafe may have changed my view of fusion foods - still it only applies to Oz so far. 8 out of 10 for me. I'll open to the floor to other members...

I should also point out that our meeting at Oz Cafe marked one of our members birthdays - our brilliant blond babe...JENNI...so we had high expectations, Oz Cafe delivered.

phnom phen

Restaurant's site is here, and little did i know a review of it from express is here.

We hit up this interesting little noodle house tucked in the semi sketch part of wellington, between chinatown and westboro a week or so ago (we're damn slow at updating this site, but i don't like seeing things die). I'm not gonna babble, but in a nutshell it was a glorified pho joint with a massive menu, good cambodian beer, and deep fried mango. But in all, i'm giving it 6.5/10... it was tasty, the service was great, but lacks the pizazz, spunk, or gotcha that a good dcfd venue requires.

The pics are a little weird, but you should be able to get the jist.

Phad Thai:

Vermicelli with tofu:

Fried vermicelli, udon in the distance.
Beeramid of angkor, a great cambodian beer:

Savanna Cafe

An impromptu dinner club was held this past friday at the downtown savanna cafe, soon to be celebrating 20 (or is it 30) awesome years of service. Any semi-exotic restaurant that can survive that long is doing something right, and that was evidenced on friday night.

I won't cover all the details, i'll just give a few highlights.

While we longed for a patio, the weather did not cooperate as it was a wee bit chilly. We did get to sit outside while our table readied, sipping cocktails and smoking happily - well most of us were happy, one of our poor saps spilt his funky martini, which the server gladly replaced. High points from this here club.

Once seated, we ordered more booze, and then apps, and then the mains. I kinda like the chance to order apps, and then order the mains a little while later... it leaves you longing a little bit, knowing you've still got a big decision to make. Or maybe i don't like it, i dunno. One dude ordered the soup, i can't remember what was in it, but it was brothy and tom gummy, and o so good. I had the shrimp chips which had a very tasty peanut sauce to boot, and they were great. The mussels were so so in my opinion, a little dried out.

For my main i had the mahi special, and it was good but not uberawesome. Everyone else absolutely loved there food (if not, speak up!) especially the stuffed chicken (can't remember the name), it was apparently the bomb.

To finish it off, i had the banana cheesecake, and while i didn't taste a lot of banana, it was damn darn good. After dinner i went home and fell asleep, with all energy expended on the good food, good chats, and good times that was savanna cafe. An ire 8/10.

Organization Formation

The Dinner Club for Drunks Blog has been created for all the DCFD members to rant, rate and post comments about the places we've been.

Least let's summarize our activities so far:

DCFD Mission Statement:

To attend a new restaurant the members would not normally visit, discuss the experience and assert whether we are better off for having gone or not. To attain cultural awareness of food&drink stuff and availability in the Ottawa area. To promote good food&drink stuff to random people via word of mouth and the interweb. To ensure that the establishments we visit receive credit where credit is due.

So let's get posting! We can certainly get started on the Don Alfonso's, Hot Peppers, Horn of Africa, and Lone Star Topics. I open the floor to all members.

First Ammendment:
We have decided to open the discussion to the waiters/waitresses so that they can critique the behavior of club members and our visit. Business cards have been discussed and Tanya (myself) will have them produced shortly. This will enable us to distribute the blog co-ordinates to the restaurant personel.


Best,
Tanya

Don Alfonso's

If I were Food, this is where I would like to be served.

Horn of Africa

Superb - more on this shortly

Hot Peppers

Unfortunate Service

Lone Star

I was absent from this meeting.