Xpress
March 17, 2005

Sweet and savoury sorcery

Centretown eatery takes scones to new heights

As the story goes, Anna, the Duchess of Bedford complained of experiencing a "sinking feeling" every afternoon around four o'clock. Back in Queen Victoria's day, the upper crust ate a huge breakfast, a tiny lunch, and a very late dinner. One afternoon when Anna was struck with a royal case of the munchies, she instructed her servants to serve tea and little cakes in her boudoir. The delightful ritual of afternoon tea was born.

If you ask me, afternoon tea is all about the scones. Not as sweet as a doughnut, nor as rich as a pastry, something about those flakey little biscuits just hits the spot. That is not to say all scones are created equal. While every one begins as little more than a mixing bowl full of flour, sugar, cream and butter, it takes a talented baker to bring out the tasty potential in this understated snack.

As it happens, Ottawa is a splendid city for scone-lovers. Until recently, my favourites came from The Wild Oat, the home of organic, vegan and wheat-free eats in the Glebe. Suffice it to say, these are not your grandmother's scones. Made with spelt flour, these dense, hearty scones have the most amazing crunchy texture and nutty flavour. If my delighted taste buds serve me right, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of sea salt adorns the top. Superb. The fanciful flavour-of-the-day comes as a surprise-will it be ginger, lavender, chocolate and raspberry?

I recently discovered the city's most outstanding scones are being baked daily in the most unlikely of locations. Among the parking lots and commercial buildings of Centretown's business district lies a little eatery called The Scone Witch. The name is in part a play on the word sandwich. Whether it's ham and cheese, a BLT, cucumber and cream cheese or poached salmon, every tasty, tower-like "sconewich" is served on your choice of a cheddar cheese or herb and onion scone.

For those seeking scones on the sweeter side, options include lemon-poppyseed, orange-cranberry, vanilla-cream and ginger-currant. With perfect crunchy exteriors and the most remarkably tender, flaky layers, these are the scones to which all others should be compared. Unlike other scones I have known, these can be eaten unadorned, however they do pair perfectly with the tea-time tradition of Devon cream and jam. I also recommend the homemade fruit compote-a sweet, sticky, melty mélange of oranges, lemons, figs, prunes and apricots.

Delighted by the "sconewich" concept and the obvious dedication to fresh, quality ingredients, there is just one thing about The Scone Witch that confounds me. For a bakery-café whose raison d'être is to celebrate the pleasures and possibilities of the humble scone, why are there none in sight? A very keen eye might spot the large oven trays at the back of the kitchen but I expected to be seduced by the wafting scent and appealing sight of golden-crusted scones from the moment I stepped through the door.

THE SCONE WITCH

388 ALBERT STREET

232-2173

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