Cyranos Restaurant
Ottawa, Canada's Capital

When I think back to my meals at Cyranos…its yum yum yum. That may well be because Cyranos is Chef Owned and Operated. In this age of fast food chains, restaurateurs and plastic manufactured everything, make it your quest to ask, "Does the owner cook in the kitchen?"

The next thing that assured me was the heat of hot rolls under my fingertips. Yes, a hot roll signifies a chef that takes the time to care enough about me the customer, to add the details and touches. Cyranos owner Ferdi is an international man hailing from Istanbul.

Working his way up from dishwashing in London and New York to opening his first restaurant "Brief Encounters" in Dublin, Cyranos is a fifth restaurant coming after Zola's, Mangia and La Cucina, all started in Ottawa.

Ferdi refuses to keep staff that give, "attitude". Hmmm…the offerings were Chicken Marsala and Veal Scaloppini. Could they do Veal Marsala? No problem. Rudolph and I started with a Caesar salad, served with big hunks of lemon, not the reused drink size.

Cooked tender, the veal has an enhancing zing in the sauce, tiny shreds of sun-dried tomatoes. Skipping the extra carbs of potatoes or rice as the rolls were so good, the Marsala arrived alongside veggies of Swiss chard, tomato, and hunks of roasted garlic sautéed with basil. Love Swiss chard. It's a king of greens and a treat in place of broccoli.

Rudolph ordered the cannelloni, and he was hard pressed to share even one bite. Once I had my tongue wrapped around it, I could understand why. Our dinner was accompanied with a bottle of Beaujolais.

Desserts, bread and pasta are all hand made on the premises though we did not go that route. Instead we savored special coffees. And, posed a question, "Is the whipping cream real?" before the first mouthful. It was.

On another day, for a lunch, sans Rudolph, I ordered appetizers: shrimp, avocado and tomato salad with coriander and mixed greens. And, lovely prawns in a curry sauce. The last dish was a roasted red pepper and eggplant with a goat cheese salad. Good grill marks on the eggplant, and soft melt in your mouth cheese.

The room is large and comfy, with a plush and eye catching wall mural running the length. Besides pasta, there are other items such as mussels and fries, roasted chicken and pepper steak. Mains for dinner are between $12.95 and $23.95 Canadian dollars. Seating is for 72 people and reservations on the popular dining nights are encouraged.

Cyranos is open for lunch and located in the suburb of "Bells Corners" just a short ride down the Queensway. The red carpet treatment is alive in the burbs and it's always worthwhile to escape the city's core to dine on stuff this good.

Venture out and drink up life!

The Sipping Chef
Email: chefsusan@wineries.ca