The Magic of Pelican Seafood Market and Grill

As I walked into Pelican Seafood Market and Grill, I was immediately struck by the aroma of fresh seafood wafting through the air. The restaurant, located in Ottawa, Canada, is a multi-generational spot that has been keeping a seafood tradition alive for years. The chef, who seemed to be in his element, greeted me with a warm smile and began prepping for our meal.

One of the first dishes we tried was the poutine, which featured chunks of juicy lobster meat on top of crispy fries smothered in a rich gravy made from a special lobster bisque blend. "This is a normal poutine," I was told, but with this addition, it elevated it to a whole new level. The combination of flavors and textures was stunning, with the sweetness of the lobster perfectly balanced by the savory flavor of the gravy.

As we waited for our food, the chef began prepping for another dish - a lobster poutine that would become the star of the show. He started by deglazing a large pot with white wine, adding aromatics and stock to create a rich base for the bisque. Next, he added raw lobster bodies on top of the mirepoix, which was then placed in the oven to cook for 2-3 hours. "This is the longest stock in the world," I was told, and it would be worth the wait.

Once the lobster had cooked, the chef removed it from the pot and began pureeing the mixture with butter and flour to create a roux. He then added brandy and Jagermeister to give the dish an extra boost of flavor - "this is our secret weapon," he said with a grin. Finally, he whisked in some mascarpone cheese and cream to thicken the sauce and add a silky texture.

The moment of truth arrived when the chef began assembling the lobster poutine. He took a few chunks of cooked lobster and placed them on top of a bed of fries, followed by a generous dollop of the creamy gravy. "We're going to turn this into a lobster gravy," he said, and I couldn't wait to see how it would all come together.

As we waited for our food to arrive, the chef talked about the restaurant's history and its commitment to using only the freshest ingredients. He explained that they source their seafood directly from local fishermen to ensure the highest quality. "We're not just a restaurant, we're a part of this community," he said.

Finally, our meal arrived, and I was blown away by the presentation. The lobster poutine was topped with a sprinkle of chopped chives and a side of crispy fries, all perfectly arranged on a decorative plate. As I took my first bite, I knew that this dish was something special - the flavors were complex and nuanced, with each component working together in perfect harmony.

The chef's passion for his craft was evident in every aspect of our meal. From the expertly prepared poutine to the decadent lobster gravy, it was clear that he had put his heart and soul into creating a truly exceptional dining experience. As I finished my meal and prepared to leave, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the opportunity to try such an amazing dish.

The chef's confidence and expertise were on full display as he presented each course with flair. "This is our brand," he said, "and we're proud of it." And with dishes like lobster poutine, it's no wonder that Pelican Seafood Market and Grill has become a beloved institution in Ottawa.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI'm here on Yonge street,which was once considered the longest streetin the world, and it divides Toronto, Canadaby the East and the West.I'm here to check out a joint that's beenhere since 1939.This is the Rosedale Diner.Poutin O'Canard.So we're making duck cheese fries.Yeah. With gravy.With gravy. Yeah. So some fresh duck notfrozen.We got the legs in the.And the thighs. Yeah. We've trimmed them up.Taken a bunch of the fat off, rendered thatdown.Okay, we're going to start with some salt,some peppercorns.Give it a Canadian kick with some maplesyrup, some pureed garlic, fresh pickedrosemary, some fresh picked thyme.Lastly, some bay leaves before we mix thisall up.So now you're just going to get in the tubwith the duck.Rub it up.Rub a dub duck. Rub a dub.You got it. Hit it.All right. We're going to get in here, makesure we show every one of these guys a littlebit of love.And how long is this going to sit here andset up?We're going to wrap this guy up and throw itinto the cooler for about about a full day.Got it.So stove top cone filling.Stove top duck, comfy.We have our duck that's marinated for afull.Day, a bunch of rendered duck fat and I meana bunch of rendered duck fat.Get everybody in there.There we go. Okay, so that sits there.Let it go for about 2.5 hours, let it cool,then skin off.Shred the meat off the bone.You got it. Ready to go?Take it.Next up. Next up, gravy.Melt some butter down. Our duck fat in atour flour and make a quick roux.Let this guy cook out for a minute.Look out. Cook out.Next up.Our demi glass, which we make in house.Veal bones and all. That's right.Veal bones and all. We also add a bit ofchocolate red wine to it.Add a little bit of our chicken stock,which.Of course, we make in house.Of course. Now we're adding the duck essencefrom our confit duck.So that's all of the gelatins that come outof the duck.Out of the bone, out of the the joints.Yep, that's right.Finish this guy with some salt black pepper.We're going to let this gravy cook down forabout an hour.From this state.From this state. Just a, you know,concentrate all those flavors.Okay, Now we'll make the fries.We've got some nice quarter inch blanchedrusset fries.We have a special touch to them.We add sliced white onions.We've been doing this for 25 years.It's Doobie's idea.Okay, drop them.All right. How long do these take to comeup?3 or 4 minutes.Hit it with some salt.Give it a nice toss. We're going to put thisguy.Mm. Oh, good.Goodbye. I've got a little onion kick there.Trouble with some Québec cheese curds.Quebecois cheese curds.No clue what that meant.The real deal from Quebec.So now that goes in the oven.Come out. Hit it with the duck and hit itwith the gravy.You got it, huh?Oh, my God. Boom.Wow. That's crazy.The duck is unbelievably tender and therichness of this canard French for duck gravyis outrageous.It's very decadent. It's such a refinedmeal.I mean, I say if it's funky, I'll find it.But this is this is fancy, funky.I mean, all I need to do is have a littlecandle, maybe some white wine.And could someone please dim the lights?That's what I'm talking about.Can you feel it?Pure elegance.Dig it. A triple D.We love visiting the joints that are part ofhistory.We're here in North Vancouver, BritishColumbia, about over the Lions Gate Bridge tocheck out a joint that is the oldest familyrun restaurant in Vancouver.This is the tomahawk.Steak and mushroom pie.This place is an institution.Yeah, beefed it. It's where I grew up.It's just become an icon.Yorkshire pudding.And so his second generation owner, ChuckChamberlin.Chuck is a Tongan who took over the jointafter his parents opened it back in 1926.When Mummy that started, they had no idea onhow to cook.But it wasn't a restaurant.It was more of a meeting place at that time.But today folks come for the food they fillup and that's all thanks to Head Chef andZubaidi steak and mushroom pie up who cookedin restaurants around the world before movingto Canada?Because I wanted to learn Canadian cooking.Hey.That's what you say, right?Hey, hey, hey, hey.Now we're going to do the roast beef topsirloin, so make a little scoring on the top.And then we're going to put grainy mustard,Montreal steak spice, and we just massage itin.Roast off in the oven at what, temp?350. About an hour and a half.We got the beef drippings going to scrapeall this goodness from the pan into mystockpot and we're bringing that up to anice sizzle, adding flour.So we're making gravy. We're making gravy.And where did the Jew come from?We make our own beef stock.We brown the bones, of course we brown thebones and we make them from stock.Oh, look how dark and rich and beautifulthat is.That's the back of the Camaro to doing.It's thickening and it's done.Now, do we start slicing the meat?Would you like the big one?Okay. Beautiful gravy over everything.Two knives and forks.Go ahead.Oh, that's outstanding.Roast beef dinner.All right. What do you get when you combinea marine biologist and a chef?No, this is not a joke.You guys, I'm really serious about this.You get a funky little joint right here onthe main street of Vancouver, Canada.That's serving up locally and sustainablyharvested seafood.This is the fish counter.To crispy oysters and a bouillabaisse.This is the place where people who know fishcome for seafood.Your oyster po'boy.They'll tell you what's available, what'sfresh, what's in season.They'll tell you the fishermen who caughtthe fish, and they'll tell you how to cookit.And that's just the fish counter side.That knowledge is dished out by owner andmarine biologist Mike McDermott.And in the kitchen, chef Rob Clark iscooking it as fast as they can catch it.The cod, please.Together, they take their mission seriously.We demonstrate that you can have a local,responsible, sustainable seafood shop andstill stay in business. It becomes.With our customer an education.Process. So it's education, conservation.I mean, you can.Look at our case, it's super minimal.I want to try it all.And we'd love you to taste the salmon.That's a fish and chips.I've never heard of fish and chips done withsalmon.The place is known for its fish and chips.I don't think anybody does it any better.Two piece salmon.This is unique. You don't just get yourrandom white fish.It's one of the underdogs.Unsung heroes.What's kicking this.Off? Tartar sauce.Simple, fresh ingredients.Regular mayo.Lemon juice. Cornichon.Ground up. Little pickles.Parsley, tarragon.Got it. Chopped capers, shallots and alittle bit of dried dill.This will just improve with a little bit oftime.Yeah, about two hours. Next up, batter up.Batter up.Oh, that's an American thing.Is that. You guys.Play baseball? I'm just kidding.All purpose flour. Rice flour.Quite a bit of baking powder. Quite a bit,for sure.Cornstarch and a touch of salt.Soda water.A little bit of local beer.You're getting the effervescence from thebeer.The effervescence from the soda water.So one of the techniques we use is frozenstainless steel plates that keep the battercold. The colder.The lighter and airier, it's going to puffwhen it hits the.Hot oil. Exactly.Love it. And what type of salmon is thiswe're going to use?Harrison River Wild, caught by the Charlo'sFirst Nation.It's a meatier fish.We're just going to batter this.Put it on the cold plate.And we fry. So fresh cut fries.And what kind of potatoes are we getting?Local kennebecs from Langley.And then some salmon fit for a king.That right there.That's got a good amount of flavor.Not oily one bit, and you get some greatcrunch.Batter's not too much. It's not competingwith the fish.Tartar sauce. That's a nice balance rightthere.Fries are legit.Give me the rundown on the slaw.Kale, cabbage, rice, vinegar and celeryseeds.Nice juxtaposition to the salty, fried,crunchy.I'm actually done my. I'm here to check outa joint with this guy's taking street food toan artisan level. This is Ocho.Poutine hitting the past.When I tried the food the first time, I washooked.So I've got the cauliflower wings.There's a lot of East Coast flavors from theeast coast of Canada.That's because chef Marc Steele is fromNewfoundland.He went from corporate cooking to cateringto this joint.What is osso mean?Orleans catering.Companies. Orleans is an area here.It's the East end, Ottawa.We take very approachable food everybodylikes, but we make things from scratch usinglocal ingredients.You get the burgers and the fries, but thenyou get the specialty things like the EastCoast Donair.Which is a familiar regional dish.It's ground beef that's piled together on apita bread.Fired up with Marc's own culinary punch.The combination of the sweet sauce and thehot peppers is so, so good.All right, so what are we getting into?An East Coast owner.Aware With what?It's a spin on a gyro made with ground beef.Now, this is our version.A little more pizzazz, more razzmatazz.Razzmatazz and pizzazz.What did I get into?We have some ground, Chuck.About 70 over 30 garlic powder, onionpowder, smoked paprika, pepper salt.This is the pizzazz here.Cayenne There's pizzazz.Into the meat, fresh oregano.Throw this right on the sheet.Pan here. Just roll that out.Throw it in the oven. 350 for about sevenminutes.Now, the donor is something that you findthroughout.Canada, especially the East Coast.But this sauce is what differentiates it fromany other beef meat sandwich type slicething. Absolutely.We start off with evaporated milk sweetenedcondensed milk.Those cows are rich and thick here.Fresh garlic, because.That's what I always do. Evaporated milksweetened condensed milk.Yeah.Garlic, some.Sugar. I'm just going to add in the vinegarand you're going to see this thickened.Vinegar is going to tighten this up big time.This is where the magic happens.It's already starting to thicken up.I've never seen this. What do you think hashappened here?Can we call out Brown right now?This is an out and brown question 101.We've got the meat cooked off.Take it to the flattop.Grill the pita, hit this with some garlicbutter.Dude, this looks awesome.Nice and thin and easy going, little.Cheddar, crisp lettuce, a ton of sauce, andthen some cherry tomatoes, sweet mini peppersand sliced jalapeno some more cheese.Finish it with our pickled red onion.There you go. Look at that.Yeah. Huh? Don't you know?Oh, you got a little.That's the way it should be, though.Oh, you bring a bath towel or have a carwash?When people leave, they just walk throughit.Get hosed down.Delicious, chef. The meat is what's the mostimpressive with the seasoning, with thecrust, with the caramelization.But when you get the fresh vegetables mixedwith the cheese, and then you get the littlekiss of the sauce, it rounds it out.I will adopt.Daughter in the POS.Best owner I've ever had.Seriously?The meat is nice and juicy.Perfect. Where does my sweet son?No, you can't have any more sweet sauce.A multi-generational spot in Ottawa, Canada,keeping a seafood tradition alive.It's Pelican Seafood Market and Grill.We'll come and pick up some salmon and takeit home and prepare other nights when youjust feel like going out and being pampered.Come here and have lobster poutine.You come to Canada, you get big about thepoutine.But this is a normal poutine.Lots of nice, meaty lobster.The gravy. It's a lobster bisque blend.The combination blew me away.Poutine is typically fries topped with beef,gravy with curds.But we're taking it to lobster.We're taking it to Lobster Town.Is there a lobster town in Ottawa?Now there is right here.Right now there is.Start with the stock. Put our raw lobsterbodies right on top of our mirepoix.It's going to go in the oven. How long?2 to 3 hours.Deglaze it with the white wine right now.Right into the pot here.Water, bay, leaf and peppercorn.And how long are we going to let this go?Three hours. Next up, we are going to makethe lobster bisque.Okay. Olive oil, white onion, red pepper,orange carrots.Because they're out of the blue ones.We got our lobster stock and we're going toget this pureed.Say hello to.My little friend.Picking this up with our butter and flour.Roux.This is the longest stock in the world.Time for her to go back in.All right. Our brandy and our Jagermeister.Secret weapon here.Right into our mixture and cream.This is the best that you're serving in therestaurant all the time.Yes. We're going to turn it into a lobstergravy.All right, Start it up.Mascarpone. And our cream cheese.We still have cheese curds to come.You got it?Sure. A swimsuit season here in.Ottawa for about a month.That's when I'm not going to eat the cheesecurds.Bring on the lobster.Let's take out our lobby straight from thesteamer.Do you steam them for order?Yeah. When you see a lobster poutine.You're not joking.Fries. So we cut them by hand every day.Cheese for the gravy.And we're going to put the rest right on topof the fries.Gravy. Chives.What was the noise that just happened?You got to make that noise if you want it tofall nicely.You know, never.In the history of Triple D have we ever had asound effect.Seasoning. I respect the full swing of thebat here and I'm thinking I'm going to getbits of lobster sprinkled inside of thepoutine.But when you get it served in the body ofthe lobster and this is higher end.Wow. I'm getting all that brandy flavor.Next level with the cream cheese and themarscapone grape fries.Delicious dish. Well done.Right on.Lobster poutine.This ranks probably as one of the bestpoutines I've ever had.And believe me, I've had a lot of poutines.The sauce is super silky and it's perfect.This whole dish is so Canadian.\n"