Chummy Jiggers, Silver Swallow

Good morning,

For some reason, summertime always finds me rummaging through my vinyl collection and putting the turntable through its paces. 

It’s a fun exercise and just the other day I found a long forgotten gem by a 60s protest singer in the great tradition of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. His name was Phil Ochs and he was a powerful wordsmith. 

He was perhaps most famous for “I Ain’t Marching Anymore”, a song as salient today as when it was written. 

Today I discovered a new summery eatery in Manotick and I show you a sophisticated fizzy drink for those who choose not to drink alcohol. Delicious stuff.

Let’s begin.

Ralf Joneikies, food and drink editor. [email protected]

SEAFOOD

Chummy Jiggers is an East Coast comfort food oasis in Manotick

Chummy Jiggers. It’s an amusing name and could almost be the lost installment of the British Comedy “Carry On” film franchise.

However, as owner Steve Ryan told me, “It’s a Newfie term that means something like ‘thing-a-ma-bob’. As in “Hand me that chummy jigger over there.” “

When applied to the modest menu of this food truck, I suppose it could also mean “odds & sods”.

Ryan and his life/business partner, Megan Freake, are both from the East Coast and have assembled a collection of bites that will warm the cockles of Easterners’ hearts.

Make no mistake, this is comfort food pure and simple. What this sometimes means is that it's not exactly healthy but that’s not a concern when we just want a taste of home.

 A good example is these stuffing bombs that are one of my new guilty pleasures. 

It’s as it sounds: homemade turkey stuffing is rolled into balls and deep-fried. They come in orders of three or six. I ordered three and that was sufficient. 

There was a properly crisp outer shell with a warm and salty interior perfumed with fresh summer savoury. These were served with a warm gravy and a mustard pickle made by a small, independent producer in Newfoundland.

Garlic fingers are a favourite from Nova Scotia and you can find this pizza-like treat throughout Ottawa, from Hunter’s Public House to Spark Beer to Centertown Donair & Pizza.

While the aforementioned are decent, I have a feeling that the Chummy Jiggers version will be seen as the more traditional. 

They were moist and loaded with just enough garlic and crumbled bacon on a nice crust that almost tasted and appeared as if it had been baked with a little extra oil. It was not a greasy dish, but felt like a combination of baked and fried.

Moving from fried foods to healthier fish territory, I tucked into their cod au gratin. Here was a fresh tasting melange of tender cod, cream, herbs and cheeses. 

It came served with a standard dinner roll and while it was okay, I did wish that the bread had come straight from the oven.

If you love a Halifax donair, as I do, you’ll find the donair nachos a no-brainer. It’s an obvious sharing plate but it was a bit unwieldy. 

The meat was seasoned correctly but had been a bit excessively fried and had lost too much moisture. The corn chips were of good quality but the requisite tomatoes and sweet onions were too coarsely chopped and kept falling off the chips as I attempted to eat them.

When eating something as simple as nachos became a logic puzzle, an element of frustration set in and I started eating the entire thing by the handful.

My suggestion would be to more finely chop the tomatoes and onions for better distribution and to keep more of the veggies on the chips.

I sat at one of the shaded tables and watched many people come and go and I suspect the line-up continued long after I left.

A good number of the folks at neighbouring tables were from the east and I enjoyed listening to them talk about the food and how nice it was that they could now get a few favourites.

Such is the power of food. It brings people from various backgrounds together around the table but it can also act as a balm for the homesick. 

It may be simple eating but they do it well, and all I can say is ‘Carry On Chummy Jiggers.’

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DRINK

Silver Swallow: Bubbly not boozy

The first thing you’ll notice on tasting Silver Swallow non-alcoholic sparklers is their refined palate and their very low sugar content. 

Peruse their website and you’ll learn that co-founder and CEO Genna Woolston is also very candid about the health challenges that led her to create these products.

Unlike other products that get dumped into the market to capitalize on a trend, Silver Swallow sparkling wine alternatives are expressions of a cultivated sensibility. There’s also a deep belief that being alcohol abstinent shouldn't exclude anyone from a sophisticated social experience.

The company uses a rare, hand-picked white tea from Yunnan, China as the base for its beverages called Silver Swallow. It could also do double duty to describe the experience. 

Genna and her food scientist life/business partner Andrew Roberts, have created two fermented products: one white and one a rosé. 

The blanc has, as does the rosé, rowanberry and passion fruit extracts and the flavours are delicate, mineral forward and leave no cloying sensation at the finish. The white will also remind some of kombucha with an elevated acetic acid element.

With my preferences, I enjoyed the rosé a little more with its notes of strawberry and the rounding/colouring effects of black carrot. 

Interestingly the nose unfolds in aromas of pear and rosehips and that was a bit of a surprise. That rosehip component also made itself known on the palate. 

Finally, I was supremely impressed by the quality of the Silver Swallow website. It’s smartly laid out for easy reading and the photography is both professional and arresting. You’ll also be pleased by the numerous, thoughtfully constructed mocktail recipes created for year-round enjoyment. 

If you’re someone who loves to entertain, I can only recommend these wine alternatives for those guests that are making dietary changes or are designated drivers. They’ll thank you for the introduction. 

You can purchase directly from Silver Swallow or visit Knyota, Ottawa’s specialist for non-alcoholic adult beverages. You’ll find them on Bank St. close to the Sparks Street mall.

• Non-alcoholic beverage shop Knyota is ahead of the curve

• Hits and misses for ready-to-drink Canadian summer beverages

• Want more to drink? Read our entire archive of drink stories

QUICK BITES

• Turkish restaurant Sultan Ahmet in the Glebe has closed for a failure to pay rent.

• Preston St. restaurants are benefiting from Bluesfest. [CTV]

• East Coast Slang History is a good site for all things maritime.

• Taste of Home offers a couple of dozen East Coast recipes, although what Philly Cheesesteak is doing on this list, is anyone’s guess.

LOOKOUT WINE

An affordable and high-quality Hungarian Riesling

It’s always wonderful, therefore, to discover a Riesling that is both very dry but has sufficient fruit characteristics. A too dry Riesling will often result in the simple sensation of acidity. Here this Hungarian wine shows its pedigree.

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