This is my first article and restaurant review for Apt613; as an avid foodie I volunteered my blogging services to editor and soon-to-be-father François over one too many glasses of wine one Friday night at HUB Ottawa. Full disclosure: it has turned into more of a story than a review and is also a bit late because the first time I went to Mello’s I completely forgot to take any pictures and had to go again the next day; if anything this speaks to how great a meal it was… so refreshingly simple and yet also complex that I had to go twice.
“Ottawa needs simple, honest food,” recounts Chef Carmichael to me on a sizzling Friday afternoon over coffee.
“There is no need for overdone expensive restaurants anymore [in Ottawa] – just well thought out design,” he goes on to explain.
For those of you who don’t know his story, here are the broad strokes:
Chef Matthew Carmichael is the driving force behind Mello’s Pop up Kitchen, the first beast of this nature in Ottawa and joins a host of a few pop-ups experiments that have recently surfaced in Ottawa this year (see here and here). The former Executive Chef of Social, E18teen and Sidedoor arrived in Ottawa six years ago having trained under the renown Susur Lee at Susur in Toronto (now closed). As a young chef he opened the popular Ottawa restaurant E18teen and later travelled/trained in Thailand in preparation for the opening of Sidedoor. In his capacity as head chef at E18teen he quickly rose to an almost celeb chef status, something that he insists was all “all part of his journey” and making him the humbled chef that he is today.
OK, back to the main story… I am sitting across from Chef Carmichael as he recounts to me his motivation behind his pop up restaurant experiment and why he decided to leave the warm and loving arms of Social/E18teen/Sidedoor.
“Ottawa is a well educated foodie city and while E18teen fills a need in Ottawa it just didn’t feel like me anymore. I wasn’t cooking for the people that I wanted to cook for…the atmosphere was intimidating and the restaurants that I like to go aren’t like that, they all have an exciting atmosphere and experience.”
When I ask Chef Carmichael where the inspiration behind the pop up experiment came from, he answers me plain and simply.
“I wanted to focus on the dining experience and not the imaging, just like what Mello’s is – stripped down to what a restaurant used to be. A shelter and a meal. Less choice on the menu but more accessible. You have regulars that go every week, and not just once a year for an occasion – good, affordable, simple food.”
I think back to my experience dining there and the first dish that I ordered: spot prawn with fresh tagliatelle.
He was right – it was simple and this what made the dish stand out. The creamy yet refreshing sauce, the fresh light pasta and the not-so-much-trendy but honest and sustainable spot prawns (as an aside, if you have had these you will never go back to farmed shrimp ever again).
Chef Carmichael, I should add, is quite the design buff and, as he recounts his story, consistently references design magazines and organizations that have helped inspire him in his everyday process and work – a quality that you tend to find only in passionate people.
He appreciates the small, well-thought-out touches. Caramel popcorn with rosemary served at every table, for example.
Carmichael’s draw to Mello’s old vintage feel reflects his own personal taste. Currently living in a 100-year-old row home that he is modernizing with the help of Toronto transplant and architect Andrew Reeves (Linebox). Mello’s has an open kitchen and a social dining experience. The old diner layout, the small booths and the counter service are all key parts of the equation. He recounts to me a story of a couple who were sitting in a small booth at the back of the restaurant on the second night of being opened. One ordered the steak frites (flank steak with rosemary fries and Maldon salt) and the other the pasta. After one bite of his meal, the man stood up in surprise and exclaimed “Why can’t more people do food like this!!” Chef Carmichael grins.
He has not gone through this experience alone. He’s had the support of Jordan Holley, Executive Chef at Social, as well as visiting Chef Kei Ng of Parts and Labour in Toronto (great venue for metal band shows). Ng did an amazing job lending a hand/inspiration to Chef Carmichael during both of my visits to Mello’s. His influence and talent was reflected in various menu items, in particular the tuna sashimi (with daikon and yuzu ponzu) and the light but flavour-packed dessert (fried banana in coconut cream with fresh wild berries and tapioca pearls). The wild berries were literally delivered to the restaurant by a local forager during the dinner service and served minutes later.
So, what has Chef Carmichael learned from this experience?
“That you have to have a reason to open up a restaurant in Ottawa and that there has to be honesty in both the design and food presented [to the client]”. This was an experiment and he didn’t know it would work – but it did because the industry/landscape has changed. Chefs can now inform and let customers know how food is supposed to be served without having to pander to the tastes of the masses. This gets me thinking back to his black bean hanger steak lettuce wraps with a spicy chili sauce, pickled radishes, shallots, ginger and jalapeño peppers (I have to apologize – this was my favourite dish and in my haste I didn’t even snap a picture!)
At the end of our talk the mutual understanding that I felt we had reached is that a restaurant should create a story and not just a dining experience. In short, get yourself out to the Mello’s Pop Up before it is gone! UPDATE: IT IS GONE! Tuesday evening was Chef Carmichael’s last night working out of the cramped but energetic kitchen at Mello’s. This experiment has blazed the way for young chefs all over town and who is to say what the future holds for more restaurants of the “pop up” genre.
One thing is for sure, Chef Carmichael is staying true to what he spoke to me about a week ago – honest, simple and well-thought-out food. Keep an eye out for Chef Carmichael’s new spot, a taco and raw bar, soon to open in an undisclosed location on Elgin (your guess is as good as mine!) He’s even talked of opening a second small diner-style restaurant, as the Chef has shown a clear affinity to the vintage feel and over-the-counter style dining that Mello’s offered.
Shameless Plug:
Chef Carmichael will share more about his pop-up experience, as part of the CreativeMornings speaker series at a talk entitled Culinary Creativity in the City taking place this Friday at the Ottawa School of Art.
Be sure to sign up for the free event at http://creativemorningsottawa.eventbrite.ca.
