When I was a kid, my most beloved stuffed animal was a beaver.

His name, naturally, was Beaver.

(OK, you can stop laughing now.)

I’ll spare you a photo of Beaver. In his aged, worn-out state, I’m afraid he resembles a naked mole rat. You’ll have to take my word that, at one time, he was loveable.

Perhaps that loveable Beaver somehow imprinted on me, so that when I grew up, I moved to Canada, where the beaver is the national animal.

And of course, after I moved to Canada, I set about getting acquainted with Canadian foods.

Which is how I found myself in Ottawa last winter, eating my first BeaverTail.

No, a BeaverTail isn’t the business end of Canada’s largest rodent. It’s a Canadian fried dough treat that gets its shape from its namesake’s tail.

What makes BeaverTails different than typical carnival fried dough is that they’re made with whole wheat flour, giving them a slightly nuttier flavor. They’re quickly fried and served sizzling hot.

You can slather your BeaverTails with all sorts of over-the-top toppings, from crumbled Oreos to chocolate hazelnut spread, but I like them in their simplest form: sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar and perhaps a squeeze of lemon.

The first BeaverTails were cooked up more than 30 years ago in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital.

The iconic place to sample a BeaverTail is while ice-skating along Ottawa’s Rideau Canal, which freezes in winter to become the world’s longest skating rink.

And one of the best times to visit Ottawa is during the annual Winterlude festival, when both residents and visitors scoff at Ottawa’s chilly weather to enjoy skating, ice-sculptures, food events, and other festivities. This year’s Winterlude fest runs from February 3-20.

I thought about nominating my beloved Beaver to be the official Winterlude mascot. But I think a BeaverTail is a more fitting, and definitely more delicious, symbol!

If you go…
In Ottawa, you can find BeaverTails at the ByWard Market and along the Rideau Canal. For a complete list of BeaverTail locations across Canada and elsewhere, click on the BeaverTail store locator.
For more information about travel to Ottawa, contact the helpful crew at Ottawa Tourism.

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Tasty Travels!

Carolyn

Blue Bottle Coffee
The garage door goes up, and the line-ups begin at this “odd but convivial coffee kiosk” on tiny Linden Street. It’s not news to Bay Area coffee geeks that some of the city’s best coffee comes from this take-out-only java joint. Even the decaf – an afterthought at many cafes – is delicious. There’s no place to sit, but you can sip your brew while browsing the nearby boutiques.
315 Linden St., 7am-6pm Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm Saturday-Sunday.

Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates
What’s even darker and richer than Blue Bottle’s excellent coffee? The “Liquid Chocolate” at this carefully crafted chocolate shop. Yes, the truffles are gorgeous, but their upscale take on hot chocolate, which you can choose with milk or water, and with several different flavors, is a serious hit of drinkable bittersweetness. I loved the mildly chili-scented “Venezuelan” version.
401 Hayes St., noon-7:30pm Tuesday-Saturday, noon-6pm Sunday-Monday.

Chantal Guillon Macarons
Now that we’re fully caffeinated, let’s stop for some sugar, shall we? I’ve been slow to hop on the macaron bandwagon, but these delicate creamy treats have changed my mind. The salted caramel is an intensely buttery, sugary, and slightly salty confection, while the chocolate is rich and delicate. Mmmm.
437A Hayes St., 11am-7pm Tuesday-Saturday, noon-6pm Sunday-Monday.

Have your own treats to share? Link to your blog post or leave a comment below.

Happy New Year, and Tasty Travels!

Carolyn

I’ve always been a do-it-yourself, sling-your-backpack-onto-the-roof-of-the-bus kind of traveler. But when I was offered the chance to learn chocolate-making secrets from the pastry chef at a chic Arizona resort, I stashed my backpack in the closet, packed my strappy sandals, and flew south.

The setting was the Montelucia Resort and Spa, a Moorish-inspired property facing Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale.

If you’re a connoisseur of such resorts, you’ll want to know that the spacious, comfortable rooms (most overlooking one of the four pools or the red cliffs of Camelback) have over-sized bathrooms with deep soaker tubs, and that at Joya, the Moroccan-style spa, you can indulge in a traditional Hamman water treatment.

Instead of lounging by the pool, though, I made a beeline for the resort’s Prado Restaurant where “The Art of Chocolate” workshop was about to begin.

Executive Pastry Chef Ben Galang, our cheerful instructor, started by demonstrating how he garnishes a flourless chocolate cake to give it a little more pizzazz. He used squeeze bottles filled with berry coulis to make decorative squiggles around the plate.

Then he added dried apricots that he had infused in green tea to plump up the fruit and amp up their flavor.

This airy cake, which the chef had baked in a water bath to keep it light and creamy, was richly chocolate and delicious.

While we were licking the chocolate off our lips, Chef Galang, who took over the Montelucia pastry kitchen earlier this year, showed us how he creates chocolate roses. After cutting circles from the molding chocolate that he had laid out on the counter, he gently pulled the edges of each circle to shape them into a petal.

You’d think that any playdough-wielding preschooler could make a chocolate petal, but it’s harder than it looks.

Chef Galang took several petals and nested them together to build a rose. He uses the roses to adorn the heart-shaped boxes that he fills with chocolates for weddings and other special occasions.

I was hoping he would teach us how to make some of these luscious goodies, but alas, our workshop was just a brief demonstration, rather than a full-blown pastry class.

Fortunately, Chef Galang sent us off with boxes of samples.

The next morning, I tried to keep my rough-and-tough traveler credentials by signing up for a sunrise hike up Camelback Mountain. And yes, it was sufficiently rough and tough (if you’ve hiked Vancouver’s Grouse Grind, the Camelback trail is similar, except with desert sand and boulders).

But when I came off the mountain, I headed straight to the spa, had a massage, and went back to my room to polish off the leftover bonbons.

Perhaps I’ll keep my backpack in the closet a while longer!

If you go…
The “Art of Chocolate” Workshop is a new offering for guests at the Montelucia Resort & Spa (4949 E. Lincoln Dr., Scottsdale, AZ, 1-888-627-3010). Contact the resort for workshop schedules and other details. Room rates start at about $300 per night, but discounts and packages are often available outside the peak winter season.

For more information about the Scottsdale/Phoenix area, contact the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Tasty Travels!

Carolyn

Thanks to the Montelucia Resort and Visit Phoenix for hosting my stay.