Seau de Crabe, Mandy's

Good morning,

Today we have the curious coincidence of two Quebec-based restaurant chains opening in Ottawa in the same week. 

It’s a nice change from the news of so many other closures and once again these businesses are showing how it’s done right.

One is for a fun day out with friends and family and the other is for those health-conscious, post-workout enthusiasts. Either way the food is very good.

Let’s get started.

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

SEAFOOD

Seau de Crabe is a family seafood feast

First we had the arrival of Chez Lionel in Kanata and now with both Seau de Crabe and Mandy’s launching in the same week, Quebec-based businesses are finding a welcome home in Ottawa.

Not only are they bringing a level of quality seldom seen from a chain, but with Seau de Crabe, they’re also bringing value. 

Take for example this classic salad of greens, tomatoes, cucumber and red cabbage. It’s a simple enough arrangement but they certainly have a different supplier from other chains because the salad leaves tasted fresh and distinct. The other thing? This salad, more than sufficient for two, was only $5.99. 

The dressing was their housemade tartar sauce, which worked admirably on the salad and which I had hoped they bottled. It really is that good.

That same sauce came as a dipping side for the fried calamari. It was a perfectly mixed foil for this fried dish. Appropriately salty and with a springy tang.

I’ve had both some of the best and worst fried calamari of my life in Ottawa. The worst being those rubbery rings from the deep freeze that are then saturated with bitter oil from the fryer. The best, of course, are those that have been freshly prepared to order.

Too many restaurants rely on the food service delivered in a frozen variant, and these should be rejected outright. They’re seldom edible and they’re always overpriced.

So how is it that Seau de Crabe can present me with one of the most perfectly executed deep fried calamari I’ve had? Then consider that they only charge $14 for this medium portion, which is so much less than your (very) average pub.

These wide cut rings were sweet and tender to the point of creaminess and days later I can attest that they are craveable. 

The tartar sauce was terrific, but so was the sweet(ish) creamy Cajun dipping sauce. This contained actual pieces of cooked red pepper, a flavour which stood out with absolute clarity.

This is a place for friends and family dining. It’s informal and if you don’t mind wearing a lobster bib, it’s a bit of fun. You’ll also eat with your plastic-gloved hands.

The Seau de Crabe mix for $79.99 is a shellfish feast that may well feed three. It involves one lobster tail, eight large mussels, 16 shrimp and one half pound of snow crab. You’ll also have your choice of two sides from potatoes, rice and corn. 

The entire jumble is brought to your table in a steam-filled, billowing bag and then dumped onto a large paella pan. Let the carnage begin.

You can choose from three different sauces in which your feast is tossed and I went with their signature. With its robust garlic and butter profile this was the right choice for seafood.

This brand has clearly worked out the science behind simultaneously cooking a variety of shellfish of varying sizes. All of it was sweet with tenderness and moisture intact. Nothing was overdone. 

I enjoyed the corn and the potatoes were firmly cooked but came in their skins. It’s not my thing unless the potatoes are ensured to be organic. 

Tools, such as shell crackers and picks to get at the meat, are provided but they’ll be of little help when confronted with a crawfish. 

Apart from the tails, there’s little eating to be had. I made a valiant attempt to get some of the claw and leg meat but in the end it was a fool's errand. 

With leftovers from my first seafood boil, I made an absolutely gorgeous pasta dish with that garlic butter sauce being all that was required.

With the crawfish shell leftovers I managed to extract a very nice stock to later be used in a risotto. Nothing wasted.

So not only is this seriously fresh seafood deliciously executed but if you’re in the mood for a family outing, Seau de Crabe is a very good option. Certainly the kids, but also the kid in you will enjoy the messy eating.

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LUNCH

New spot Mandy’s is a vegetarian and vegan mecca

Look up Mandy’s online and you’ll run across the words “cult following”.  I took up the invitation to attend the grand opening of their first Ottawa shop at 581 Bank St. and the place was already packed.

The opening had been scheduled for 11 am but apparently the line had formed down the block at 10 am so they felt compelled to get people off the sidewalk. They certainly have an enthusiastic following.

Montreal born sisters Mandy and Rebecca Wolfe started their salad business in the back of a Montreal women’s clothing store in 2004. Word of mouth steamrolled their lives and soon a mini empire began. 

Mandy continues to focus on the recipes while Rebecca handles the shop designs and brand marketing. 

They certainly know their audience, and I was not at all surprised by the predominance of female customers in the room.

Their focus is on healthy, clean foods that bring a little more fun and flavour to the salad experience. As Mandy told me, “Rebecca and I started this because we were looking for foods that we wanted to eat.”  They ended up with Montreal's first build-your-own salad bar.

I ordered a seared tuna salad which was loaded with salad greens, kale, arugula, apples, avocado, edamame, cucumber, red cabbage, tempura onions and sesame seeds. The tuna had been seasoned with togarashi and seared.  It was a very nice wasabi ginger dressing that brought it all together. 

The berry acai smoothie was another banger that at $14 might raise some eyebrows, but it was a luscious concoction. It was a blend of acai, banana, strawberry, mango, blueberries, almond butter, almond milk and no added sugar. I loved it.

Over the course of more than an hour, I watched well-dressed patrons come and go and when I left, I saw that people were still in line half-way down the block.

Mandy’s does offer chicken, bacon and turkey as protein options, but make no mistake, with 11 different salads, four grain bowls and customizable options, this is a strong choice for those with vegetarian or vegan lifestyles.

QUICK BITES

• My favourite Filipino restaurant in Ottawa, Tamis Café has closed its doors. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Across the globe restaurants are starting to charge “no show” fees. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Who doesn’t love smoked salmon? Unfortunately we sometimes need to educate ourselves about the ugly side of the foods we love. Legendary British journalist George Monbiot explains it all. [YouTube]

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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.

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