There was a very nice article in here magazine yesterday about Liz and the Urban Deli. If you missed it, have a look:

• The Urban Deli’s hustle and bustle

Yes, that’s the Deli’s story.

Speaking of hustle and bustle, we’ve been pretty active lately with the restaurant and our catering. We’ve also made a few small changes to our site. One of those was to keep our menus as downloadable files (.pdf) but to also put them into regular web page formats. So under menu in our navigation, you’ll see all our menus:

• Main menu
• Beverages & desserts
• Weekend breakfast
• Gluten free product list

We think it’s a bit easier that way because you may not want to download a file just to see what we offer.

It seems as if we opened our doors yesterday and today woke up to find ourselves one year old. Does time really move that quickly? Apparently — especially when you’re trying to serve food!

The Urban Deli opened on July 13, 2009. One year later, we’re still here.

It’s fascinating what happens while you’re busy. We’ve had lots of customers come into the Deli and in what seems the blink of an eye some have become regulars, many have become friends, and our staff have become family.

But what has most amazed us has been the way Saint John has welcomed and taken us in, and how Uptown Saint John has made us a part of one of the most exciting and growing communities anywhere in the country.

“Thank you Saint John,” doesn’t come close to saying how grateful we are to the Port City but, thank you Saint John!

And a huge thank you to our staff — not just for the work you do, but the way you do it.

Year one is behind us; the future is ahead and wide open. We’re loving it!

Opening and trial nights are never easy for new restaurant owners and their staff.  There is always something that is unfinished to the perfectionist owner who wants nothing more than to be a crowd pleaser for his or her future clientele. The old saying about having one opportunity to make a good first impression is true and it can be overwhelming.

On Friday, March 26, I and 14 others in our party were lucky invitees to the friends and family night at Bourbon Quarter.   The menu presented for the evening was $20 with the following choices:

Appetizer:

• Grilled Watermelon with goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, spring greens and buttermilk vinaigrette
  or
• Louisiana Fried Clams

Entrée:

• Crisp Skin Salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes, julienne vegetables, fried onions and beet butter
  or
• Supreme Chicken Breast with truffle whipped potatoes and glazed vegetables

For dessert (for an additional $5) there was Crème Brulée, Madagascar vanilla bean (meaning “burnt cream”).

The review:

I’ve taken a hybrid of my own personal experience during my evening as well as those of other people in our party.

Like most foodies, I had to try everything regardless of any extra cost.

Grilled Watermelon:  When the grilled watermelon appetizer arrived the presentation was beautiful. The flavours were something I have not tasted since visiting the Rossmount in St. Andrews just before Christmas. Those of us who tried it (including myself ) were using our pinky finger and spoons or forks to capture the remaining buttermilk vinaigrette on the plate. Need I say more?

Louisiana Fried Clams:  This was a great idea but the consensus at the table was that this appetizer needs work.  There is always one dish for a new restaurant that will be their nemesis. Owners love feedback and I shared mine with Chef Brad. (Our nemesis at the Urban Deli, and as simple as it sounds, was our homemade baked beans.)

Crisp Skin Salmon:  OMG!  I don’t think they could have cooked the salmon any better; the flavor was delicious and the plate presentation was perfect. It was a nice follow-up to the Watermelon appetizer.

Supreme Chicken Breast:  The chicken was cooked to perfection (mine was) and there were a couple of dishes that were on the cooler side but tasty to the hungry visitor.

Dessert:  Crème Brulee was the intent and as it turned out…someone forgot the dessert torch for the brulee; therefore, it was more of a custard (a very good custard too!). When we finished, everyone’s dish was empty.

Plate presentation at Bourbon Quarter is beautifully simple. I haven’t seen their static menu or their pricing. For this friends and family night our cost for two for the evening was $116 not including the gratuity. Our service was excellent….Ashley, who also works at the Urban Deli, did a phenomenal job given the size of our party!

Wine was only available by the glass. Beer, tap beer, martinis, cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks were also being served by bartender extraordinaire Gordon, former manager of Sebastian. Mike Verner is hiring a sommelier from Ontario.  We should see a real focus on wine and food pairings in the future.

The Bourbon Quarter room with its renovations was trendy, upscale and comfortable.  The renovations would have had more of an impact if you had visited the location prior to it being Bourbon Quarter. Vision goes a long way. I could feel a bit of the same flare from the designers of Thandi’s, who also did Bourbon Quarter. The end result? It works for both restaurants.

Thank you to Mike Verner, Sean Verner and their families, Chef Brad Richard, and all the staff.  Great work!

Visit Bourbon Quarter at 112 Prince William Street, Uptown Saint John.

***

Bio: Liz is the owner of the Urban Deli. With a sister in Manhattan, she has visited New York many times and invariably studies the Big Apple’s famous delis.

This dish is versatile, easy to make and requires minimal ingredients — and it is so delicious!

The sautéed red peppers are equally great as a stand-alone dish or a  compliment to other dishes such as a topping for steamed chicken, pasta, or salads and served with a nice Italian bread or baguette, or with grilled sausages.

My sister Michael-Ann and her girlfriend Jodi recently visited Saint John from Manhattan (one of my favorite food cities).  Jodi, who also lived in Italy for a few years, prepared one of her many recipes, which were taught to her in the kitchens of Italy.

I made the sautéed red peppers this past Saturday following Jodi’s recipe and found it easy and the results were fantastic!

Ingredients:

1. Extra virgin olive oil — approx 3/4 to 1 cup (I used a 10.5” skillet – measured the width of the top lip opening of my skillet)
2. 2 to 3 Garlic Cloves
3. 8 to 9 red peppers (yellow can be used too and mixed in). Cut into large pieces – skins on. (I used 11 red peppers with my skillet size. I cut each pepper in half, top to bottom, removed the seed core and the top green stem and then cut each half into six long slices, again cutting top to bottom.)
4. Approximately 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted (I used black olives and wished I had used Kalamata olives simply for the better flavor)
5. 2 tablespoons of capers (If using dried salted capers less is needed as they can be salty)
6. Salt

Method:

Coat large skillet with extra virgin olive oil ¾ to 1 cup (approx 1/4 inch).  Add garlic cloves cut into 2 to 3 large pieces.  Heat oil and garlic until garlic starts to brown but do not completely brown the garlic.

Add cut red peppers to hot oil.  Do not worry if the peppers are heaping over the skillet because they will melt down as they are heated.  To help keep the peppers in place use a lid smaller than the skillet and press down.  Slowly start to rotate the peppers as they cook down.  Turn the peppers frequently.  (I cooked the peppers at a simmer and for 1.5 hours … Ok, I started talking and got side tracked … It all worked out for the good though.)

When the peppers are softened in the oil, add the Kalamata olives, capers and salt to taste.  Cook the peppers until the oil turns to a clear red color and the peppers are soft.  There should be no crunch at all to your sauteed peppers.

Serve hot, warm or cold. It’s even better on day two!

***

Bio: Liz is the owner of the Urban Deli. With a sister in Manhattan, she has visited New York many times and invariably studies the Big Apple’s famous delis.

Saint John Alehouse (SJAH) recently held a staff Caesar making competition between co-owner Pete Stoddart and manager Shawn Horgan. The Caesar, when done well, is a divine cocktail that crosses the line between refreshing and savoury.

After seeing a twitter update about the contest made by @SJAH_NB I quickly asked if I could help judge the event. So, by 10 PM I had made my way Uptown to take part in this fun event.

Pete’s Caesar was up first and was quite true to the traditional Caesar with some modifications. First, Pete infused celery stalks in lime rind and juice. He seasoned the drink with lemon pepper rather than regular pepper and served the drink in a hollowed out orange pepper that lent some of its fresh sweetness to the drink.

Shawn’s Caesar was basically its own cocktail inspired by a Caesar and was flavoured with soy sauce, ginger, basil, and was made with a homemade tomato and clam juice. Pete squeaked by with a win at 4 votes to 3.

Find out about the next competition by following @SJAH_NB on twitter.

(The Caesar – photo by Chinena Smith.)

***
Bio: Dan Jones is a food, drink, and travel writer from Saint John. Follow him on twitter: @danjjj

Through customer and staff support, the Urban Deli donated all the sales for our $2 and $3 Frites from three Saturdays in January (16th, 23rd, and 30th). We also had a donation jar on our counter so if anyone chose to do so, they could contribute as well.

We’ve managed to raise a little over $400 and are planning to get it over to the Canadian Red Cross today. We’re also going to see if there is a way to get the federal government to match it (which would make it an over $800 contribution). If what we understand is correct, the “matching dollars” program ends tomorrow. Our fingers are crossed that we’ll be able to get it matched by Ottawa.

The picture below is of two of our staff, Lianne and Ashely. Lianne is holding the fish bowl that was on the front counter where customers could donate and Ashley is holding some of our fries!

We’ve been very quiet recently on the site and elsewhere (like Twitter). We’re hoping to change this very soon! One of the reasons for being less than active online is that we’re exploring a few changes. Basically, we’d like to put things up that aren’t necessarily Urban Deli related but related to food generally, Saint John and especially the Uptown.

We think if all we talk about is the Deli we would get very tiresome very soon — kind of like the guy at the party who only talks about himself. Of course, we still want to talk about the Deli, just  not exclusively.

In the meantime, thank you to everyone for the donations to our Haiti relief effort and please keep in mind the country’s problems aren’t going away anytime soon. You can donate anytime through organizations like Red Cross, World Vision and many others.

We’re geared up for next week’s Chop Chop “Feast”-ival. What’s that? Have a look at Dig in at the Chop Chop Feastival! As the article says, “The concept was to celebrate local businesses, local food, and show how far the city (Saint John) has come.”

It starts Sunday (November 1) and runs through Saturday (November 7) and it’s a fine opportunity to get a taste of Uptown Saint John. Of course, we’re not open on Sundays so the Urban Deli will be getting underway on Monday (November 2). And what does all this mean?

It means all of the participating restaurants (including the Urban Deli) will feature something as we show the world what Uptown Saint John has to offer by way of food. Here’s what we at the Deli have planned:

Urban Deli 2 course lunch or dinner for $12:
- Soup or Salad and a Montreal Smoked Meat Pizza (Vegetarian Pizza also available)

Our Chop Chop Plate for $10:
- The Trio:  Hummus, Roasted Garlic & Artichoke Dip & Chicken Liver Pate served with Seasoned Pita Chips

If you’re a foodie, you may want to keep your calendar open next week so you can try all the features at our Uptown restaurants. And even if you aren’t a foodie, it’s a good bet you’ll discover something or someplace new.

How many places can you visit in a week?

In case you missed it, the Telegraph-Journal had a story this week about an upcoming food festival we’ll be taking part in: Chop, chop food fans, fun festival is coming. To quote from the article:

“The idea behind the week is to put us on the food map,” said Margret Begner, co-owner of Opera Bistro and a member of the festival organizing committee.

“It should showcase how proud we can be of the different restaurants and businesses that we do have in this area.”

During the Chop-Chop festival, foodies will have the chance to sample from 22 participating restaurants in the uptown with a set pricing menu.

So from November 1 through 7, Uptown Saint John is where you’re going to want to be to give your taste buds the time of their life. We’re very excited to be part of this! Let’s help make Saint John’s uptown one of Canada’s great food destinations!

We saw this article in the Telegraph-Journal: Canadian chefs’ aprons are in a twist. According to the story, “The country’s top kitchen gurus have had their aprons in a twist since learning last week that an upcoming book profiling the world’s 100 most-promising culinary talents fails to include a single Canuck.”

Disappointing, to say the least. So our question is:

Do you think Canadian chefs should be in there?

Better still, especially for the foodie-travellers out there, what are some of the best restaurants across the country, in your opinion?

A few people have pointed out that we haven’t been very clear, here on the site, about our hours. They couldn’t find them anywhere! We did have them in a post but neglected to put them up anywhere obvious. Sorry!

And thanks for the heads up. You’ll now see them posted over in the right hand column, just below our address. You’ll also see an “Hours” page up in our navigation at the top.

Also, while we close at 8:00pm, Liz says, “… As long as your food order is into our kitchen by 8:00pm you can sit back and relax … We won’t rush you out by 8. And we promise not to ask you to help close!”