“Because it’s good for you,” my mother would say in that tone generally reserved for the seventh time I’d asked her for something in the toy aisle.
This time it was used to combat my lamentations that I couldn’t pour myself another bowl of sugar-coated-marshmallowy-chocolated awesomeness that was Count Cocoa Alpha Charms, my own personal blending of Count Chocula, Cocoa Pebbles, Alpha Bits and Lucky Charms cereals. Instead of praising my inventiveness sure to revolutionize breakfast as we know it, at times like these mom would grab the oatmeal, slice up some bananas and counter attack with, ugh, health benefits.
Alas, she had Wilford Brimley on her side. Who was going to argue with the Quaker Oats guy? I mean, that mustache and that everybody's grandpa look about him just made whatever came out of his mouth sound so tender and truthful. Not that I felt I had a high cholesterol level when I was eight, but ol’ Willy’s urgingings that a bowl of oats could “actually keep it down” was enough for my mother to lock up the candy that was passed off as cereal and turn to a bowl of oaty medicine.
Nothing could change her mind. Echoing the words of Brimley she’d put the piping hot bowl in front of my recoiling body and frowning face stating emphatically that “it’s the right thing to do.”
Oh course, they were both right and these days oatmeal is my ultimate comfort food. There’s just something about it that cuts through the gloom of a rainy Sunday. It sticks to your insides like an internal blanket when heading out into a typical Great White North's great white blizzard and, alongside a cup of coffee, is the perfect perk me up breakfast on a wooded weekend getaway.
But an entire restaurant devoted to various oatmeal combinations? Get out of here, might be the first thing that crosses your mind. It’s exactly what chef Ben Baird thought when approached by Ottawa businessman Brian Montgomery. Sure, we have cat cafés, eateries devoted to old school gaming and there was even that cereal bar in Toronto.
But, oatmeal?
You bet your mustache it is, Willy! Baird eventually discovered this himself. What started with pondering possibilities moved to playing with various oat based ideas and the chef had a change of stomach…err, heart. Oatmeal was pretty tasty and he realized this untapped restaurant market had a lot of potential to make the dish something that wasn't just for breakfast.
Montgomery had wanted to bust into the restaurant biz for a while and saw the all-day breakfast trend as the wagon to pour his oatmeal into. Initially, he had been moving towards a varied breakfast bowls biz but, with chef Baird now in the mix, the two started drumming up enough options to make their venture all about the oats.
Oat Couture has been open at 1154 Bank Street now for a few months and people are just eating the oatmeal-inspired menu up!
Marinated shrimp, sticky beef brisket, blue cheese and green onions are not what most would grab when wanting to top their bowl of oats but Baird and Montgomery are thinking wayyyyyyy outside the Quaker box here. The results are unique taste combos that still pack in the feel good vibe of comfort food.
Who says prosciutto can’t be included in your warm and fuzzy?
“Oatmeal seemed to be stuck in the breakfast category and many of us have memories of porridge and oats from our childhood – and not always good ones! Humans though, have been putting stuff on oatmeal for centuries- mostly sugary things like syrup and brown sugar to help with the bland taste. Oats, like any grain, could be so much more. Oatmeal could be enjoyed all day. Savoury. Sweet. Baking. All oats – all the time. Why should rice and quinoa have all the fun?” say Baird and Montgomery.
One glance up the menu shows you they weren’t just messing around. It’s time to forget everything you think you know about oatmeal!
The Savoury section of the Oat Couture menu has interesting selections like the Kyoto bowl. It includes that sticky beef brisket, shiitake mushrooms, pineapple, peanuts along with some pickled ginger, sesame and green onion. Or there’s the sensuously sounding Eden with it’s rosemary poached pear, fig, pecans, and blue Ermite cheese.
For those not feeling as adventurous, you have the hippie-dippy Woodstock, a bountiful blend of house granola, banana, hemp and chia seeds with dates, yogurt and maple syrup. O-towns football heroes inspired the RRRRedblack, a bowl filled with rhubarb-blackberry compote, crunchy oat clusters and a stir-in of the curiously named “oat”qurt.
My saccharine side (what, you couldn’t tell by my childhood cereal choices?), however, propelled me towards all the deliciousness listed under the Sweet section of the menu. Taking all the best parts of your usual tent-side treat without having to build up a fire, the Campfire sparks up your oatmeal with graham crackers, toasted marshmallow, chocolate chips, caramel and just a bit of raspberry. Want something sweeter to share with your sweetie?
Try the Valentine! Shredded coconut + chocolate chips + dark cherries + vanilla cream = oatmeal ecstasy. Bowls of bliss!
Oat Couture is open from 6am to 8pm seven days a week. Right now there’s 18 bowls to choose from with Baird and Montgomery stating seasonal choices will be added to the menu to keep things fresh. Both oatmeal masterminds are already cooking up something delicious for the holiday season.
With so much selection, the ultimate comfort food is now the ultimate comfort dining experience. I gotta’ think both Ma and Wilford would agree.