Our vote for the best Indian food in Ottawa? It's the East India Company - in part because Chef Mehra took us behind the scenes and into the tandoori room at his prized restaurant. (Updated in 2022!)
What's our vote for the best Indian food in Ottawa? It's the East India Company - and it's thanks in part to a few secrets we learned behind the scenes! Most chefs are notoriously tight lipped when it comes to sharing their culinary secrets but Chef Nitin Mehra couldn't spill the beans even if he wanted to. The exact recipe for his restaurant's famous garam masala is a secret guarded so tightly that there's only one person on earth who knows the exact formula - his mother. Technically, it's not even her recipe. She inherited it from Chef Mehra's great grandmother on the day she passed away.
If you get goosebumps just thinking of how close that recipe came to being forever lost, you're not alone. Talking with Chef Mehra gave me amazing insight into the careful crafts of the culinary world, the passion and discipline that are poured into every sauce, and the role that family, tradition, community, and care play into making good food taste great. Elsewhere in Oxford County: Cheese, farming, more cheese, foodie fun, and MORE cheese!
The name "Oxford County" may sound familiar to you. This wouldn't be the first time you've heard me praise this region! Oxford County, in the southern part of Ontario, Canada, is world famous for its cheese and even has a "Cheese Trail" that visitors can explore. Dairy farming attracted early pioneers to settle in the area and the nearby town of Ingersoll even boosts a cheese museum - something we were thrilled to visit and write about.
Don't do dairy? Not to worry! Oxford County's amazing cheese is just the tip of the foodie iceberg. Whether your passion is history or food (or both!) you will be very content to spend some time exploring Oxford County, visiting a wonderful collection of restaurants and sampling great local flavors. From classic chicken salad to fiery vindaloos to gourmet grilled cheese, Oxford County is a foodie's dream destination in the making. A quiet cemetery preserves centuries of history in Otterville, Ontario and has a very special connection to the Underground Railroad in Canada.Otterville is a tiny village in the southern Ontario district of Oxford County - a village whose small size conceals a huge amount of history.
Otterville's mild climate, fine stock of timber, and easy access to transportation routes, combined with incredibly fertile farmland, made Oxford County very attractive to a diverse group of early settlers. Many of these pioneers would soon call Otterville their home. A mill, a blacksmith shop, and eventually a rail station would all come to thrive in this prosperous community but in the early years, Otterville was serving a different kind of rail network. The Ingersoll Cheese Museum will inspire you to new poetic heights. It's the perfect thing to do in Oxford County, Ontario! In Oxford County, Ontario, all roads on the cheese trail lead to Ingersoll. The cheese trail isn't just my personal list of delicious spots, it's an actual real thing that anyone can experience! Restaurants, food producers, farms, inns, and gift shops all come together to honor the area's heritage as one of Canada's leading diary and cheese producers.
Of course, to REALLY appreciate the awesomeness that is Oxford County cheese, you have to do more than sample it (or, in my case, inhale it). You have to follow the cheese trail all the way back to the beginning and pay a visit to the Ingersoll Cheese Museum. Update: Sadly, this business is now closed. Have you ever liked a place so much you felt a bit reluctant to share the details because you don't want anyone else to go there? It's selfish, I know, but sometimes I can't help but feel protective about some of my favourite travel discoveries. What will happen when the word gets out and suddenly my secret hideaways are inundated with people?
One of those places is Palm Trees and Polar Bears Bed and Breakfast in Port Rowan, Ontario. Port Rowan is a small community on the shores of Lake Erie in southern Ontario. The region is famous for its provincial parks, beautiful beaches, and bird watching. I got to know the area first by camping at nearby Long Point Provincial Park, and then again on a repeat visit for kayaking. Year round camping isn't a possibility here - and for a lot of people I know, it's definitely not a summer option either! And for those who enjoy some creature-comforts when they explore nature, a B&B is a decidedly civilized option and Palm Trees and Polar Bears is definitely one of the best I've ever enjoyed. Things to do in Tillsonburg: This former tobacco mecca is now humming a new tune."Tillsonburg, Tillsonburg - my back still aches when I hear that word." Canadian folk singer "Stompin" Tom Connors' lyrics rang true as he sang about the backbreaking work of tobacco picking in Tillsonburg's famous fields. Located in Ontario's southern agricultural belt, a mild climate and rich soil made Tillsonburg the ideal location for tobacco farming. It was a prosperous industry, supported by the kind of arduous work that made such an impression on Stompin' Tom.
It was an industry that thrived for decades until the decline in tobacco usage, combined with less expensive growing regions in the United States and elsewhere, spelled hardship for the entire region. Like so many communities in Ontario, Tillsonburg has had to sing a new tune to ensure its continued prosperity. Part of their strategy includes embracing art, culture, and heritage. Stompin' Tom may not have been fond of the Tillsonburg of yester-year, but I feel confident that his spirit smiles down on the town's endeavors today. Here are some of the best things to do in Tillsonburg. Updated in 2021! Check out the crazy downpour of rain! We filmed this from our tent at Sandbanks Provincial Park, one of several wet and windy camping experiences we had this summer. And yet we keep coming back for more! So why, exactly, would anyone chose to go camping in the rain? Have you ever read Garth Stein's book "The Art of Racing In The Rain"? It's a terrific read for anyone who loves travel and dogs and it always reminds me that there's a bit of an art to doing just about anything in the rain - even camping! Here are some important lessons I learned about doing it with good grace while camping at Pittock Conservation Area near Woodstock, Ontario.
In Ingersoll, Canada, step inside a shop where homemade chocolates meet international teas.One of the sweetest things about travel - literally - is the chance to discover delicious bakeries and cafes around the world. You don't always have to head to Europe to satisfy that sweet tooth either. Some of my favourite delectable treats and treasures have been unexpectedly found in small towns and Chocolatea is the perfect example of that. Frankly, you'd never expect to find gourmet homemade chocolates in a town as small as Ingersoll, Canada, but Chocolatea isn't one to play by the rules.
By the way, in case you're wondering where, exactly, Ingersoll is, you aren't alone! This small town is in southern Ontario, approximately 30 minutes east of London and 2.5 hours southwest of Toronto. In other words - Ontario roadtrippers have no excuse not to visit! Wheat flour, winning food, and Will Ferrell come together...Have you ever seen the movie "Stranger Than Fiction" with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Will Ferrell? There's a great scene where Ferrell's character, Harold Crick, presents Gyllenhaal's baker character, Ana Pascal, with a huge basket of flours - buckwheat, oat, whole wheat, you name it - as a peace offering. "I brought you some flours" he deadpans.
Of course, as a baker Ana Pascal knows that blossoming flowers are nothing compared to baking flours. The 2006 movie was well ahead of its time, exhaling the virtues of diverse flour and food before words like locavore or farm-to-table had even entered our vocabulary. And the southwestern Ontario county of Chatham-Kent has its very own Harold Crick. |
Recent Posts
Posts by Location
Post Categories
All
Posts by Date
April 2024
|