Manx, Pump, Sonnen hill

Good morning,

Today, we begin our first Capital Eats pub crawl. I have reviewed pubs before, but I thought it might be interesting to offer a concentration of these establishments in a series of newsletters.

Given Canada’s long relationship with Great Britain, it’s understandable that we have a good number of pubs throughout the capital. They represent a welcome place to gather with friends for a bite to eat and to hoist a brew in celebration. 

So we begin on Elgin St. with a couple of well-established businesses that held a few surprises. Full disclosure, I’d only been to one of these, on one occasion, many years ago, and I didn’t have the food. Therefore, I’m going in as a bit of a newbie.

Grab your favourite brew and let’s begin.

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

The origins of the pub go back to Roman Britain, where the Romans established taverns. The pub, as it’s known today, however, only saw widespread success beginning in the early 1800s.

These establishments not only provided food and drink but also became centres of local news sharing and political discourse. 

In contemporary times, and it’s especially true in North America, the “pub” has morphed into a place for trivia nights, loud music and watching sports. 

Although more limited, some of these North Americanisms in pub culture have also been adopted by the British.

I recall being in the Chelsea neighbourhood of London when a football match between Germany and England took place at Wembley Stadium. Legacy pubs (and by that I mean much smaller venues than modern sports bars) everywhere had set up screens with fans spilling onto the sidewalks to catch the game. Beer was served through the open windows directly onto the street. 

Germany won the match and I never revealed my sympathies. Good move.

You’ll have no such concerns at The Manx Pub. Since they opened in 1993, other than periodic live performances on a Saturday or Sunday, they’ve stayed with a philosophy of no screens and no music. 

Halfway through my time there, I stopped eating and spent a few moments taking in the sound of human voices in conversation. No distractions, just the sound of people finding their way back to the art of listening. 

A friend and I were seated in the furthest nook to the left of the bar, where they had installed a pass. Through here, our server conveniently handed us our beer and my soup appetizer.

The soup, jalapeno cheddar, was a wholesome balance of a little spice buoyed by a medium-aged cheese built on a foundation of potato. Nothing too salty but with a warming texture that was just right for the weather. The accompanying thick-sliced and well-buttered sourdough toast was a beautiful vehicle for dunking. A superior bread.

It was another example of how easy it is for pubs to produce delicious and healthy food, from scratch, and not rely on pre-made frozen items from food service companies. This is where my money wants to go.

Everything at the Manx is made in their kitchen, including the bread and their luscious garlic aioli.

I ordered their famous Furlonger Club Sandwich, which came with skin-on wedge potatoes. The aioli was a fantastic dip for the sweet, crisp spuds and the sandwich is rightfully one of their best sellers.

The roast chicken was tender and moist, bracketed by decent out-of-season tomatoes and a lovely back bacon that gave that umami punch.

On the chalkboard, you’ll find daily specials. On the day I visited they had a beef burger crowned with a delicious and mild in-house kimchi. The same wedge potatoes came along for the ride, and the fresh and colourful salad was dressed in the Manx mildly sweet citrus dressing.

It was a thicker patty with an appealing char from the griddle, but so well prepared that it was one juicy bite after another. Rather than heat, the kimchi added a crunchy sweetness.

If you’re there for the beer, you can enjoy twenty brews (and one cider) on tap from very good Canadian producers such as Beyond the Pale, Collective Arts and Bellwoods. 

You know where I’m going with this. The Manx speaks to me. It may be a generational thing, but it’s also the care they put into simple pub staples that remind us how wonderful and comforting pub food can be. 

In the end, you can more fully appreciate dining with friends at a place without distractions and if you’re on your own, well... the relative silence is golden.

The Lieutenant's Pump was the second of three such pubs that opened in the mid-80s. It is now the only one left standing, and I suspect that everyone in Ottawa, outside of myself, has been at least once. Now I have joined the club.

While it’s an important community meeting place, it also shows that you can still afford to dine out and enjoy properly prepared food.

Their standards are simply a bit higher than many pubs that rely, almost exclusively, on pre-made food service delivery items. I too know how to prepare frozen food at home.

So it was nice to learn that my starter of honey-garlic wings had been cooked from fresh rather than frozen condition. 

The wings were larger than expected, the meat was moist, not seared to the bone and they were liberally coated in a sweet glaze with bits of freshly chopped garlic.

Fries were cut on-site and made from Russet potatoes with the skins still on. Most of us never balk at any sort of fries, but what a difference when the potatoes are fresh.

If you’re stopping in for just a pint with your fries, you’ll be satisfied with their line up of 30 different brews on tap from lagers to sour beers.

If you happen to be there for a lunch-time brew during the week, you’ll have the option of ordering a burger for just five dollars with the purchase of a pint. A pretty sharp value for a lunch costing you around $20.

I had the brisket burger with added sides of salad and fries. The meat is ground fresh and then slapped on the grill for just the right amount of time. It lands juicily on a supersoft bun adorned with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle rounds.

On the side, you’ll get mustard and relish, into which they’ve finely chopped fresh cucumber. This has the effect of making the relish less sweet, and it adds an extra brightness. Noticeably absent from the plate was ketchup. It’s almost as if they could read my mind.

Ottawa is no slouch when it comes to the range of burgers available, but more often than not, I prefer a simple preparation. A few condiments, fresh vegetables and a good bun that allows the taste of the beef to take centre stage.

That’s what you get at the Lieutenants Pump – quality meat with the char from the grill, adding the required seasoning.

The side Caesar salad was very nice with a good housemade dressing and the only small quibble I had was that the bacon bits were made from a bacon that didn’t taste of natural smoke.

My experience here surpassed expectations. The beer list is good, they go out of their way to make almost everything in house and the service courtesy of Cheyanne was attentive and she graciously put up with my many questions. 

Elgin St. is shaping up nicely as a pub destination. Let’s see what the next installment has in store.

You can’t really have a pub crawl without beer so I thought I’d introduce you to one of my favourite breweries.

Sonnen Hill is based in Caledon, north of Toronto. The brewmaster and brewery owner, Calum Hill, comes from a long line of brewers dating back to early 1800s Bavaria.

In the late ‘80s, after almost 180 years, the Sonnen Brauerei in Bavaria closed its doors. Then, in 2018, a new incarnation sprang to life. Having gone to school in Caledon, it was a sort of homecoming for Calum.

Over the years, the beer he brews has changed a little, with a few core products such as his excellent lager remaining in the line-up. The lager is bright and easy-drinking yet with a surprising depth of character. 

I was excited to see Zwickel (aka Kellerbier- a rustic type of lager from the province of Franconia) as it's long been a personal favourite. It was true to type. It’s a style seldom seen, but if you love a German lager with toasted, bready malt notes backed by a citrus bitterness, it’s worth stocking up.

While the focus is on Germanic styles of beer, he has a quaffable West Coast IPA in the mix, and some dark lagers, such as Shoo Bee Do, lean quietly into a stout profile.

While the beer is very approachable for most palates, beer aficionados will recognize the quality of the brewmaster’s art here.

Sonnen Hill beers show as flawless, superb examples of the styles they are meant to represent. The magic to me is in the lightness of their colouring (other than the dark brews) relative to the flavours they deliver. If you're a beer aficionado, you'll likely find they defy expectations. In my view, these are sophisticated beer products that conjure ideas for food pairing.

You can order directly from the brewery with free delivery on orders over $75. For delivery to Ottawa, it’s estimated to take between 3-7 days. 

Ein Prosit!