COMFORT FOOD
Astoria Bistro elevates vegan cuisine
The Ottawa area desperately needs more vegan restaurants, says a vegan I know (let's just call him the person I report to). I'm inclined to agree, boss, even if, and I'm not making this up, I barbecued four racks of pork ribs last weekend.
I'm a confirmed carnivore.
But I'm subject to pangs of guilt, particularly because of the horrific impact of factory farms on the environment. Occasionally, I feel the need to atone, and if I can forego meat-eating while covering my beat in addition to when I'm cooking at home, all the better.
But what are my vegan options? At one end of the spectrum, casual eateries such as the Table in Hintonburg and the Green Door on Main Street have attracted the meat-averse for decades with their plant-based buffets. I date myself when I write that they're much better than the early vegetarian restaurants that Woody Allen mocked in his 1977 movie Annie Hall when he ordered a plate of alfalfa sprouts and mashed yeast. That said, if you want a fancier ambience, plus a cocktail for dinner, you'll need to go somewhere else.
Back in 2019, the extremely creative, cutting-edge plant-based cuisine at chef Briana Kim's restaurant Alice, a hidden gem on a Little Italy side street, thrilled me. But fine-dining forays such as trips to Alice beckon principally as special-occasion splurges.
Between these extremes is a near-vacuum, which makes the arrival of Astoria Bistro Botanique in Gatineau, on the Hull sector's main drag, overdue.
According to its Instagram page, Astoria makes “elevated comfort food, made vegan,” which is somewhat reminiscent of what the late, lamented ZenKitchen served in Ottawa during its glory days. I've eaten twice at Astoria this summer and can say that it was a promising place, with a solid cocktails program and some dishes that hit the mark while others fell short.
In fact, Astoria originally had ambitions to pitch its cuisine a little higher, with chef Sara Shpyth, who had worked at Fraser Cafe in New Edinburgh, at the helm. But Stéphanie Gervais, who owns Astoria as well as the neighbouring Pastel & Coco vegan bakery, said in an interview that Astoria pivoted when it opened in December because “the reality of only being able to operate for takeout took a toll on that style of cuisine.”
“We prioritized relatable comfort food, in hopes of demonstrating that vegan food can be just as good, if not better, than the real thing,” Gervais said. Astoria built a following via third-party delivery services, and was able to open its dining room last month with Carly Anderson as its chef, Gervais said.
Astoria opens six days a week for brunches and then lunch and dinner. Both menus offer vegan dishes with emulations of animal proteins, such as tofu “scrambled eggs,” tempeh “bacon,” nut-based cheese, jackfruit “pulled pork,” tofu “fried chicken,” and Beyond Meat patties and sausages.
If you're someone who already likes the fundamental premise of those items that rely on quotation marks, then Astoria has gone much of the way toward winning you over.
At our two dinners, one of the better items was Thai fried tofu tacos, which were well-made, tastily sauced and savoury enough to please everyone at the table.
Astoria also served a quite respectable risotto in which mushrooms stood in for scallops. With toothsome rice in a pleasingly thick broth to its credit, all this dish lacked was a good sear on the tops of the mushrooms to give them some colour and extra tastiness and textural appeal.
The aloha burger, made with a Beyond Meat patty, grilled pineapple and more, was solidly made and one of several burgers on Astoria's menu.
Potato gnocchi, served with slices of Beyond Meat sausage and a nutty garnish, were sufficiently light and tender. But the dish would have been improved with a bit more brightness or a richer sauce, we thought.
General Tso's poutine sounded good on paper. But its sauce was more like a simple gravy and less like a zingy, spicy Asian sauce. After we ate the fried tofu that stood in for chicken, we were left with a massive serving of poutine, in which the faux cheese curds did not melt, never mind squeak.
Another dish in need of a rethink was the pad Thai, which skewed much too sweet. It, and the admittedly tasty red coconut curry with tofu puffs, which came with undercooked rice, felt overly simplified compared to their meaty, umami-rich inspirations at Thai restaurants.
The vegan, gluten-free desserts that we tried — a berry crumble with an almond maple crust and brownies made with black beans — were surprisingly good. The vegan and gluten-free muffins, cookies and other items in the showcase at Pastel & Coco, which is under the same roof as Astoria, adjacent to its dining room, also appealed.
If you've read this far and are still on the fence about visiting Astoria, I have one word for you: cocktails. The amaretto sour, elderflower old-fashioned and violet martini were all worth reordering.
The restaurant has a very small patio in front and a better, more secluded patio in the back. Both could use a bit of dressing up.
Service at Astoria was pretty basic. Restaurants across Canada have faced staffing woes during their recent reopenings and Gervais candidly said, “It's been incredibly challenging being so understaffed.”
She added that despite understaffing issues, Astoria is slowly working toward reincorporating fine-dining dishes to its dinner menu.
As my boss says, the Ottawa area needs more vegan restaurants.
I hope they all will be like Astoria, in that they will strive to be better despite the challenging conditions that the pandemic has created for them.