Hareg Cafe, Three sisters

Good morning,

Many of you have written to me over the years, thankful for the coverage of vegan/vegetarian restaurants. I may be an omnivore but I cannot help but notice that as I get older, I have increasingly less appetite (save for cheese) for animal products. From what I read, that can’t help but be a good trajectory.

There are not many vegan restaurants from which to choose in the Ottawa/Gatineau region, and a number of them have closed over the last two years. 

So I was happy to learn that Ottawa does have a vegan association. They provide a number of resources, and they have a comprehensive directory of restaurants with vegan options. If you become a member, you will also receive discounts at those businesses.

Today’s restaurant is included in the directory and while my dessert destination today is not entirely vegan, they do rotate through a number of vegan desserts.

Let’s begin.

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

ETHIOPIAN

Hareg is Ethiopian food at its best

In Amharic, Ethiopia’s most widely spoken language, the word Hareg has a broad range of definitions from vines and plant shoots to line of a poem or pattern of a rug to lineage. I find that kind of elasticity in languages fascinating.

For owner Wondwossen Assalahun of this veggie-centric restaurant, I expect that the meanings of both “plant shoots” and “lineage" resonate.

You wouldn’t know it after all these years but I am a fan of Ethiopian cuisine and when I lived in Toronto, it was fairly common for me to indulge. So now I’m finally embarking on my exploration of this cuisine in Ottawa and Hareg had me off to a terrific start.

What most people understand about Ethiopian food is that the eating is done with your hands. A large, moist, spongy, gluten-free flatbread known as injera is topped with all manner of stewed veggies or meats. You, with friends and family, tear at this bread and use the pieces to scoop up your topping of choice. 

As you might guess from the name “sambussa” it is better known to us in the Indian iteration of samosa. I ordered both the lentil and beef versions and was told they were “just a little spicy”. 

I appreciated that the wrappers were thin with structural integrity and a little chewy. So much more appealing than the thick pastry of their Indian counterparts. They were also packed to bursting.

The beef was minced and heavily perfumed with cardamom and other spices and after a few bites the heat had aggregated and I needed a break with a sip of beer. With those beer intermissions I realized this would make a great bar snack.

As delicious (and if you can take a little heat, order these) as the beef was, I particularly enjoyed the lentil sambussa. It was a little larger and equally stuffed but with a little less emphasis on the chili. When this is what vegan eating can be, I’m a fan.

When dining in a larger group, platters come served with a large round of injera bread topped with all sorts of stewed combinations. At Hareg, individual platters come with cut up, rolled pieces of injera for ease of use.

Injera is a naturally soured fermented bread made using teff flour. Teff is an ancient grain that is one of the few plants considered a complete protein as it contains all amino acids required for human health.

I first came across teff while living in Vancouver and used it as a staple in my cooked morning cereal. A great way to add even more fibre and protein. Just a word of caution: if you are planning on rinsing teff, it’s so tiny a grain that it will pass through most sieves. Go to a restaurant supply shop for a fine-weave sieve.

The accompanying toppings are plentiful and you can go entirely vegan at Hareg but I opted for a platter involving lamb, everything else was plant-based.

It consisted of three types of lentils (yellow, brown and green) each with different seasonings, lamb, carrots and potatoes, beets, cabbage and a dip made from chickpea flour. All were very appetizing and even now I’m having a hard time thinking of which I preferred. It was delicious across the board.

There are many compelling reasons as to why eating with your hands is preferable to utensils as this piece articulates. 

For our purposes, when getting together with friends, we share in the experience of eating and conversation and watching each other's expressions when eating from the same platter. 

I have long had a belief that when we sit at a table, we share more than food. We don’t just share French, Italian, Indigenous, German or Ethiopian stories, we share human stories. Food is the blessing that binds us. It is what sustains us, and buried within Ethiopian tradition, is a lesson for us all.

Come to the table and share. Melkam megeb.

Suggested vegetarian and vegan stories

• Pho Thu Do is cut above other Vietnamese eateries in Ottawa

• Catching the vegan bug at Middle Eastern restaurant Chickpeas

• Off the beaten path with Rangoon, Ottawa's only Burmese restaurant

DESSERT COURSE

Three Sisters Bakeshop

Three Sisters opened their original bakeshop on Kilborn Ave in 2011. Rosemary Brazeau and her sisters, Carol and Joan, recognizing the need for a larger space, moved to 2211 Arch St. almost a decade ago.

This café sits in a strip mall across from Canterbury High School in Elmvale Acres. It provides more than just pastries however, as it’s an oasis for people who want a reprieve from the clacking sounds of laptop keyboards. You won’t find WiFi and televisions here, just people who are interested in old-fashioned conversation. How refreshing.

Pastries of all sorts are produced in-house, while other items such as breads and bagels are brought in from other respected producers such as Kettleman’s. 

Soups and sandwiches are also available and Rosemary takes pride in letting customers know that she never uses deli meats for her beef or chicken sandwiches.

Three Sisters is open for breakfast but they also offer pre-made frozen meals brought in from one of the region's great restaurants, Les Fougeres in Chelsea.

Rosemary’s baked goods are very lovely indeed, and she adjusts her recipes to ensure no one is left out and which means you’ll find both gluten-free and vegan options. The above-pictured caramel nut bar is a case in point.

I also appreciated her pumpkin mousse tart for its restrained use of sugar. The pumpkin had been delicately spiced and whipped into lovely fluffiness and the one area, the crust, that often ruins a pastry, was perfect. 

Three Sisters really is a place to get away from all the electronics endlessly buzzing and pinging at us. It’s an oasis of calm with good food, coffees and teas, and it gives you permission to indulge in the art of conversation, even with complete strangers.

QUICK BITES

• As I’m writing this, I received the announcement from owner Donald Wingell that he’s closing his restaurant Dhruvees on Beechwood.

• This story examines how Ottawa businesses are adjusting their drinks offerings because of our neighbourly trade dispute. [OBJ]

• Good news for workers in Chatham, Canada’s biggest food can maker is returning, bringing back to life a dormant factory. It’s expected that this will result in hundreds of new jobs.  [YouTube]

• Canadian consumers are tired of a grocery store practice known as “Maple Washing,” and this video explains it all. [YouTube]

• This is your go-to recipe for Mesir Wat , Ethiopian red lentils. [Simply Quinoa]

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