I was invited to brunch with attitude. I just wasn't sure if it was my attitude, my invitor's attitude or the restaurant's attitude. It also didn't really matter how many times I asked, I was told "you'll see". Okay, it's a surprise. Sometimes it's just easier to go along than to ask too many questions. I trusted my companions and boy oh boy was I in for the experience of a lifetime. We arrived at the Parker Meridien Palm Springs and were ushered to Norma's Restaurant.
Have you heard of it? I'd heard of the one in New York but had never visited and had no concept of what awaited. My companions wanted me to have a life long memory. Nestled in what feels like a forest, the soft latin music and bustling wait staff just make you smile. The energy is completely positive and you feel a sense of fun around you. Our waiter was engaging, helpful and efficient and started our experience off with a shotglass sample of the smoothy of the day Coffee was served in a French press. The menu is diversified and interesting with catchy names such as "Wa-Za" for a waffle that has fruit inside and out and looks so interesting you're just not sure whether or not you should eat it or save it as a piece of art.
Mango-Papaya Brown Cinnamon Crepes
Normalita's Huevos Rancheros
Fish Tacos
We're getting ready to go home from our vacation. We're all ready. It's been a great couple of months but reality becons and soon enough we'll have more great things.
Plus 25 Celcius in March? This does not happen in Canada and is not good news for maple syrup producers. Maple sap runs best when the weather is warm during the day, but cool at night.
March and April is maple syrup time around this part of the world. You can read about previous visits to cabines a sucre (sugar shacks) here, here, here and here. If you take a look through these posts, you'll get a sense of the range of sugarshacks, from lame pancakes on a plastic plate to an all you can eat selection of food, sure to make you feel stuffed for the next 2 days.
My last, and probably most intense, sugar shack experience was at Sucrerie de la Montagne.
When you arrive, a horse-drawn carriage will take you the short ride from the parking lot:
You can explore the grounds, seeing several rustic buildings that house cottage-like accommodations, a bakery...
a general store, a building where maple syrup is processed (during the maple syrup season)
and, of course, the main halls where the food is served. Sucerie de la Montagne blows other sugar shacks (that we've been to) away in terms of food quantity and quality. Let's just pretend that everything you see in the rest of this post was stretched out over a week of consumption, rather than one sitting.
Soupe au pois du Montagnard (mountain dweller's pea soup)
Omelette soufflée de la fermière (farm-style omelette soufflé)
Saucisses de campagne (country-style sausages) & Jambon fumé à l'érable (maple-smoked ham)
Tourtière de la beauceronne (meat pie from Québec’s Beauce region)
Traditional sugar pie
Pancakes with maple syrup
On this plate is Ragoût de boulettes (traditional meatball stew, Oreilles de crisse (crispy-fried pork rinds), Fèves au lard de chantier (wood-fired baked beans), Pommes de terre pilées à l'ancienne (old-style mashed potatoes) and the same omelette, meat pie and sausage that you see, above.
Guests are also offered Coffee and tea, Pain croûté de la paysanne (farm-style crusty bread) and
Homemade fruit ketchup and pickles.
Of course, the star of the show is the maple syrup.
The food is all you can eat and is served family-style.
Once you're done. If you're not in a coma, you can get up and dance to some traditional music. Or, at least listen to the music while you rest your head on the table, unbutton your pants and close your eyes. That's normal sugar shack behaviour, right?
Here's a video that gives you a good idea of what the place looks like. Skip to 1:47 if you want to see the food insanity!
California Pizza Kitchen or CPK is a chain of casual family style restaurants that not only serve pizza as the name might suggest, but also a host of small portions, intriguing pasta and innovative salads. There's really something for everybody. I recently got hooked on what they call their Moroccan Salad.. Moroccan flavoured chicken pieces combined with an array of vegetables and nuts to give you one of the most pleasurable textured salad experiences you'll ever have.
CPK isn't found in Canada. Imagine the horror. I had to get to work and figure out how to reproduce this wonderful salad. I was happy to find out that I'm not the only one who loves the Moroccan Salad and that Food.com has a copycat recipe. I altered the recipe to accomodate 4 people.
Ingredients
½ cup butternut squash, diced (I used a whole butternuts squash)
1 (8 ounce) cans beets, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 hard-boiled egg, diced
2 avocados, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 red bell peppers, diced
¼ cup dates or ¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
1 head romaine lettuce, sliced
1 pkg mixed greens
¼ cup girard's champagne dressing (or homemade champagne vinaigrettes follows)
1/2 cup roasted almonds
3 boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon olive oil
Directions
To make the spiced chicken: combine coriander and cinnamon with olive oil to make a paste. Spread on chicken breasts with a bbq brush or fingers; cook chicken in pan or grill until fully cooked. Let chicken cool and slice. While chicken is cooking, roast diced squash in a 400 degree oven for about ten minutes. Toss all other ingredients together with the champagne dressing to taste. Add chicken and almonds and top with diced beets.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dijon Mustard
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 or 3 dashes hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
print a shopping list for this recipe
Preparation
Whisk together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, hot sauce, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Alternatively, you can combine all the ingredients in a blender or a food processor and puré until smooth.
Verdict: The salad is not "exactly" the same but definitely close enough to say that my fond memories of Moroccan Salad at California Pizza Kitchen will live on for many years to come.
Send me an e-mail if you would like free tickets to see the Ottawa Home& Garden Show. Lots of great exhibitors to check out there! You can find our contact information in the "contact us" tab!
