Pop-Up Madness: Matt Carmichael's Pop-Up Venture at Mello's Diner

I'm a big fan of the casual, unpretentious diner vibe, but I'm not always crazy about the greasy diner food (because working out sucks, y'all).  Luckily, thanks to Matt Carmichael - chef extraordinaire formerly of Eighteen, Social and Sidedoor - we can have the best of both worlds: fresh food made with quality ingredients served in awesome plastic booths.  Carmichael launched what I think is Ottawa's first pop-up restaurant Monday night at Mello's Diner on Dalhousie.  Pop-up restaurants are basically temporary restaurants using random spaces (a private home, former factory, and in this case, greasy spoon diner that has been around longer than Coronation Street).  I'm always up for trying new things; sometimes this works out (zip lining!) and sometimes not so much (the Ottawa Carleton Regional Plow Match!)  So Ariann, Brandon and I grabbed our umbrellas and headed down for the 6:00 pm seating.


Mello's was gussied up with flowers, candles, and new lighting (sparklier lightbulbs?)

The menu was short and pretty seafood heavy.

After we ordered, they brought out a complimentary bowl of bourbon caramel popcorn:

It had a lovely, smoky, burnt caramel flavour, though I do think it could have been improved with the addition of a little Maldon salt sprinkled on top.

Me:  It's Cracker Jacks, grown up!
Brandon:  I must say, I am disappointed with the declining quality of Cracker Jack prizes.
Me:  It's Cracker Jacks, gone posh!  It's Cracker Jacks that have left their trailer park, went to Harvard and now live on the Upper East Side!  It's...I'll stop now.

Next, we had the black tomato and mozzarella salad ($12) and the cod fish taco ($8)

These, too, were amazing.  The mozzarella in the salad had the consistency of marshmallows, soft and pillowy and melt in the mouth.  The cod fish in the taco was crisp in its light batter, topped with jalapenos and greens and a mayonnaise based sauce.  It was everything that my taco at Tacolot wasn't - namely, flavourful.

For the mains, we had the caramelized black cod with peas and morels ($22), which was served in a aluminum take-out container:

and the steak frites with peppercorn sauce ($22):

The cod, for me, was the hit of the night.  The fish was light and flaky, the sauce slightly sweet and the peas done al dente.  The steak frites, in contrast, were, as Brandon described, "deliciously average".  Cooked medium rare (the server didn't ask how we wanted the steak) it was a little on the chewy side; I would have liked the frites crispier though Brandon said he liked them mushy.

Ariann:  Everything else just slid down, then with the steak we had to... (*makes manic chewing motions*)
Me:  The steak is definitely not the road less travelled.  Not only is it not the road less travelled, it's a 400 level highway. Complete with Timmies.
Brandon:  (wistfully) It's a dream that never grew wings.

We tried the one dessert offering, a coconut caramel pot du creme:

I took more shots of our food that night than I have of various UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the globe.  The Imperial City in Hue, for example, got one shot.

I'm generally not a big fan of custard, but this was beautifully creamy but light, with caramelized banana chunks sprinkled with coconut cookie crumbles.

The Mello's pop-up will be running from Sunday to Wednesday, starting at 6:00 pm, for an indeterminate length of time.

Photos were taken by myself and Brandon.

Cage Match #3: Hintonburger vs. Baja Burger Hut (with a side of Tacolot and Suzy Q)

Up today: a heavyweight battle featuring the acclaimed Hintonburger vs. the 2011 winner CTV Ottawa's "Best Burger" contest, Baja Burger Shack.  Hintonburger has moved into the old KFC building on Wellington, and they've awesomely kept the bucket sign:

Does anyone remember Mike Myers' Colonel Sanders rant from So I Married and Axe Murderer - "Oh, I hated the Colonel with his wee beady eyes, and that smug look on his face.  "Oh, you're gonna buy my chicken!  Ohhhhhhh!!!"  Anyhow, we got the Hintonburger with fries ($8.75) which is a 6 oz bacon cheeseburger with their "signature BBQ sauce".  We asked for garlic sauce as well.

It's a good burger - moist but slightly charred on the outside, your classic barbeque burger.  In fact, it tasted just like a burger a friend would grill up for me at a backyard barbeque - a friend who really likes me, granted, but not really superior to that.  Jon agreed - good burger, but not great.

Scores:

Jon: 7.5/10
Me: 7.5/10

After sharing the burger we wandered over to the Tacolot, which we've been meaning to try for a while.

 Unfortunately, it was after 8 pm and they only had beef tacos left.  We got the platter (two tacos, rice, salad and fruit, $10):

There was melted cheddar cheese on the bottom, then pulled beef topped with chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro.  The beef wasn't seasoned whatsoever - not even salt and pepper - and the whole thing was rather bland.  Other than the bit of cilantro, the vegetables weren't dressed with anything either.  The rice and beans were similarly tasteless.  Never having been to Mexico, I don't know if this is what authentic tacos are supposed to taste like; I've tried the tacos at Corazon de Maiz in the Market Mall and it was pretty, blandly similar, though at least there you had five different hot sauces to try.  Other than that, my experience with Mexican food is pretty limited.  The last time I was at an actual sit-down Mexican restaurant was years ago at Mexicali Rosa's on Clarence St. and it was wretched, as you might expect.  We gave our order, the server took away our menus and immediately brought out our (terrible) food, leading me to picture a bunch of dishes lined up in a row, waiting to be microwaved (as an aside, I went to use the washroom and didn't realize that Mexicali's shares their restrooms with Haveli next door, located off a common hallway.  I came out and picked the wrong door, and ended up in this Indian restaurant, thinking, What happened???!!!  Alas, I had not stumbled into an alternate dimension, my life is not that glamorous).

While we were waiting for the tacos, we went next door to Suzy Q's donuts, located in the Hintonburger's former home.  An employee (owner?) walked out holding this beauty:

Hello, lover

He told us they had closed at 8, but we were welcome to have this white chocolate raspberry donut.  Well, we wanted to be accommodating.  I've tried Suzy Q donuts before; I picked up a half dozen over Easter and  while I find their flavours creative - I enjoyed the margarita with lime glaze and salt - I thought the toppings were more delicious than the actual base donut (which did not vary between varieties).  The texture is airier and spongier than I like, and - dare I say it - a bit bland.

Baja Burger Shack is a concession stand located at Britannia Beach, and you can't really beat the view from the patio:

I guess the grass fringe makes it a tiki bar?  More hint o'Tiki.  Tiki light?  Memories of Tiki.  Okay, I'll stop now.  We ordered the Baja cheeseburger with fries and a bottle of water ($12.40 with taxes).

The patty was slightly pink, and while it was soft it wasn't mushy like the one at Vera's.  It was also moist and juicy and SEASONED and oh so lovely.  However...

Me:  The bun's really pale.
Jon:  It tastes pale.  And doughy.
Me:  It tastes like everything we've been indoctrinated about white bread in the past ten years rolled into one doughy bun.
Jon:  You have the soul of a poet.
Me:  You know what doesn't have soul?  Or poetry?  This bun.

So all that was separating this burger from greatness was a better bun.  The fries were okay; I personally prefer my fries a bit crispier, though the portion was pretty generous.

Scores:

Jon:  8/10
Me: 8.5/10