OK, so finally we are in full swing of our very dismal summer here in Ottawa. And, here I am sitting at my computer with two (now kind of empty) pints of hand-crafted delight. What could be a better way to cool down after a long day of work?
I visited Pascale at The Piggy Market in Westboro last week to sample some of what is described as "decadent" and "made with heart and a whole lot of cream, eggs, and sugar", by the Ottawa Magazine crew. I couldn't agree more.
Pascale is just lovely. She is so down to earth and completely loves what she does. I had known that she is the former Pastry Chef at the Wellington Gastropub, but had forgotten. Oops.
I bought a couple of flavours, but what I am really holding out for, and one of my reasons for visiting again, is the Peanut Butter with Salted Caramel. Luckily, for me, it was in production at the time I visited and Pascale gave me a scoop right out of the churner. OMG - I need a pint of that goodness right now! Pregnant women beware - this is all you will crave for nine months. Husbands - go and find the store now, so you know where to go when she calls.
I bought the Raspberry Cassis because I absolutely adore raspberries. It was delightfully fresh with a luxurious creamy finish. I can definitely taste the raspberries and I am fairly sure I can taste the cassis portion too. It's good, really good, and as proof, over the last few days, I have managed to polish off the whole pint. My mouth and my hips are in total agreement.
The Fifth Town 70% Choc Chevre was an adventure for me as I'm a pretty "vanilla" person (note the pink and brown ice cream I bought). I can't say I would have picked out the goat cheese in a blind tasting, but there is something about it that you know it's not just plain-jane chocolate. I was wary of buying it, but I love that it's not too sweet with a touch of bitter cocoa and the tartness of the goat cheese all seem to meld together perfectly.
Pascale also makes designer scoops which got me thinking about what I would like in an ice cream. How about Lemon Meringue Pie (creamy but tart lemon ice cream with whisps of meringue swirled through), or, Pina Colada (coconut, lime and rum), or, deep dark chocolate oce cream with cocnut macaroons? I could dream all day. I might need to plan a party and have some of these flavours made up for a special event...ooh, what about fresh peach ice cream with raspberries?
The Piggy Market itself, could do with a touch of retail therapy, the store is pretty empty and walking up to it I couldn't even tell if it was open. And, I had a hell of a time trying to find it. Feels like I drove around in circles for a very long time. Even though the address clearly states Winston Avenue, my not-so-trusty iPhone decided to try and tell me the address was Wellington. Not funny. But nowhere, and I mean nowhere, does anyone or anything tell you that Winston does not run into Wellington, it rather becomes a dead-end onto Wellington.
I was cursing while driving around the block to find the front door. There was no way I could park on Wellington and walk down the street. I am the kind of girl who likes to park right out the front of the place I am going. I am usually wearing some ridiculous not-meant-for-walking-long-distance shoes (more for show than anything else). You can imagine the very loud cursing when I discovered that you can't park outside the Piggy Market and I had to find a space two blocks away. I was very tempted to park in the driveway to the right of the entry way...next time I just might.
Enjoy your ice cream.
PS - My last post was on Aug 27, it's almost two weeks later, that means if I continue at this rate, it's going to take me more than two years to complete "the list". I had better get eating!
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