I’m not sure how to explain it, but I felt like I was dining in a Parisian story-book…I will go even further to say that it almost felt like we were dining at the residence of the “Old-Lady-Who-Lived-In-A-Shoe” character.

The whole place is a bit whimsical, rustic and very warm;

The food carries the same character: very rustic and hardy. The plate sizes are perfect and each bite you take fills you with rich flavors.

They make their own fresh bread in-house, offer wood-fired pizza’s, lots of interesting salads, as well as rich fish and meat dishes.

I should say that they have a fairly small menu with lots of interesting choices…This is a great place to go if you’re a vegetarian too! ***Try the vegetarian mushroom/nut pate, its amazing!!!***

I absolutely recommend it.

Bon Appetit!

XoXoX

Located At:
1087 Wellington Street, West
For Reservations: (613) 695-2999

Today’s post goes out with a huge shout out to Zoo Legacy: a local band that will make you think twice about the hidden talents of a conservative town like Ottawa.

They’re a smooth transitional mix between rock and hip hop. Their music is original, as they proudly write  and produce all of their own sounds. Live instruments include guitar, bass and piano chords. Nick, their lead singer rounds up all the sounds with his soft, raspy voice hopping between rhymes and song.

It’s really a great  marriage of beats and rhymes with appropriately smooth supporting melodies. These guys have found just the right ” ingredient list”  for good music – something that many local bands really struggle to get a grip on.

Listen to some of their music HERE

Photo credit: http://julielalonde.ca/

I can’t believe that I have never been to this fantastic little spot before. It’s amazing how small Ottawa is, and how many little hole in the wall restaurants there are. When people say there’s nothing to do here, I always think – “Use your imagination, dude.”

Mezzanote is a beautiful, upper scale spot where you will find the city’s taste makers and trend setters dine. The decor is absolutely stunning – especially the gorgeous textured back-lit walls (this incredible makeover was done by my good friends at FinalTouchCarpentry), the seating makes you feel so comfortable that you’ll stay for hours (I sure did!) and the music is tasteful and appropriate. I especially liked the respectful volume levels. I really hate it when you’re trying to have a deep conversation over dinner while trying to compete with the volume of the music.

Photo Credit: http://julielalonde.ca/

I really liked their glassed in table towards the back of the restaurant as well – where you would be able to host a private dinner for any occasion.

The menu is a contemporary Italian cuisine with lots of choices ranging from lamb, veal and especially pleasing for seafood lovers such as myself.

I would absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a really nice way to spend an evening enjoying great food or drinks. Thanks for introducing me to this place Genny! <3 *** I especially invite you to try the “Antipasto alla Melanzana” – Eggplant stuffed with ham, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and ricotta cheese, topped by mushroom white wine sauce. AMAZING!

BON APPETIT!
XoXoX

Menu ranges from: About $10 – $25

Hours:

Sunday to Tuesday
11:30am – 10:00pm

Wednesday to Saturday
11:30 – 11:00pm

Address

50 Murray Street
Byward Market
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 9K1

613-562-3978

Pictures: Whisk Blog

I just saw this randomly on Twitter and it really peaked my interest. It’s the ByWard Market Food Tour…Why haven’t I heard of this before? Not sure, but now that I have…I’m interested!

What an awesome way to spend an afternoon! I read on the WHISK blog that the 2.5 hour tour costs $45.00 per person, and is done on Thursdays and Saturdays beginning at 10:30am. Check out the blog – it features really great photos of the tour and a few tour facts that are pretty neat.

I need some feedback – who’s been on this tour? Is it a good time? Does each resto give you taste of their best dish?

Let me know & Bon Appetit!

XoXoX

Drop It Like It's Hot

Who said Thursdays were dead? Hump day aint the only day you can get it on and poppin!

Ottawa has a wicked Thursday night party at RITUAL Nightclub that has really taken off in the last year.

Finally – a casually-dope  hip hop/dubstep/oldschool night is BACK in the capital!

I really like this spot because you can come dressed up, you can come dressed down and you can come dressed in a garbage bag and rain boots. There’s nothing pretentious about this place. It’s a place where ALL are welcome…fear not dress code rejects and bearded leprechauns!  (For the record, I’d still come dressed up either way, cuz that’s how I do).

Stay Fly XoXoX

I’ve been at this spot enough times now that I can confidently say that they {more than} deserve an honorable mention. Trella has apparently been in little Italy for quite some time, but it took them moving to a relatively new building for me to notice. I’ll be honest – I’m really weary of Italian spots…I’ll tell you why: in my experience many of these Italian restaurants can be outdated, the food quality can be poor and the price you pay sometimes just aint worth it. HOWEVER…Trella Bar & Grill is none of the above.

This is such a modern, chic, affordable place, that I just CANNOT stand by and not say anything. I LOVE this spot and I can’t get enough. The food there is FANTASTIC and the prices are surprising! Their menu is quite eclectic – with an Italian spin of course, they combine modern cuisine and traditional elements. The selection is quite rich as well:

They feature classically delicious appetizers like crab cakes, bruschetta, anti pasto, mussels etc

And have a huge range of main dishes: from meal sized hearty salads, grilled meats, fresh fish,  pastas, pizzas, sandwiches etc.

Their dessert menu changes daily as they receive their cakes and pastries fresh daily.

I really like this place also because of their conscious use of local ingredients.

Trella also has a full bar as well, as it turns into a “supper club” on Friday and Saturday nights (10pm -2:30am) – hosted by my good friends at Ebony&Ivory. You can expect really great music all night – hip hop, R&B, Dancehall, Reggae, old school and last time I was there, there was an amazing African drum group drumming to the beat of the dj’s music. The atmosphere was great!

Check out their website for all the details!

Meet me at Trella!

Stay Fly and Bon Appetite!

XoXoX

I can honestly say that brunch has got to be my favorite meal to eat out of the home. Brunch is always an indulgent time for me because it’s the middle of the day (actually, let’s be honest – it’s usually the beginning of most of our days! ), the sun is shining and you know that have the whole day to look forward to.

Tutti Fruitti opened up in the west end and I can definitely say that for a chain, it’s really a spot that I would go back to! I remember thinking the same thing when the Cora’s chain opened up but after years of success, I really found the whole experience started lacking: The service and the food.

Tutti Fruitti is just like Cora’s but I found the food to be tastier, fresher and more for your buck! The fruit on each plate is fresh, the serving size is large and can satisfy even the biggest appetite!

Crêpes, omelets, waffles, French toast, eggs, fresh fruits and juices, are just a few examples of what you can expect to find at this spot.

We tried the vegetarian omelet (came with some fruit and home fries) and a very indulgent chocolate hazelnut crepe dish:

The  interior has a rustic/homey feel and I found the service to be great. One thing that’s lacking is the coffee, but that seems to be the case at most chains.

Check em out for a casual breakfast or lunch (open until 3pm everyday)!

1463 Merivale
Ottawa, ON K2E 5N9, Canada
(613) 225-4847

Bon Appetit!

XoXoX

So I went to the Ottawa Wine and Food Show this year and since I didn’t make it last year, the thoughts of the 2008 show kept rushing back to my foodie memories…It was fantastic and extravagant and every step you took you bumped into the next booth and smelled a glorious feast. This is what I was expecting this year as well – and the fact that it was the 25th Anniversary of the show, made it all that much more exciting!

I don’t ever write about things that I don’t enjoy (that’s why I don’t have a post each and every week). I try to visit somewhere new each week and wait to blog about it until I find great tasting food and a fantastic restaurant, bar or bistro… and if my palette isn’t satisfied one week, I don’t say anything and I move onto the next thing.

Since the Ottawa Wine and Food show consists of MANY restos and it’s pretty anonymous as a whole, I won’t feel bad to say that I wasn’t impressed. Yeah sure – there was lots and lots of AMAZING wines and liquors…WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD?? Maybe it’s the reflection of our current economic times…but there weren’t as many vendors as there were in previous years, the food wasn’t great as a whole and every booth raised their price (in food tickets). In my opinion, for the price, it just wasn’t worth it!

There were two booths that I have GOT TO GIVE MAJOR SHOUT OUTS TO:

The Clocktower – Lamb sliders with green apple chutney, sweet potato fries

The Wakefield Mill and Dining Room – Bison tartar with arugula, wasabi and soy caviar

These two really stood out from the crowd. Their food was fresh and full of flavor!

One other one that I really enjoyed was:

Petit Bill’s Bistro – They served a lobster poutine

I’ll write about all 3 of these restaurants soon.

One other thing – I discovered an amazing ice wine called “Neige”.  Right now, you can only get it at the SAQ;
ITS AMAZING – infused with pineapple and apples.

In the meantime, I really want to hear some feedback about your thoughts on this years’ Wine and Food Show!

Comment on my post!

XoXoX

The first group I want to spot light is called Trife Clothing. These are a group of local guys who’s vision of fashion includes satire. The original artwork on all Trife Clothing will always feature local tattoo and graffiti artists with raw talent. Each “series” of shirts will come with a back story that we can all relate to. When I saw the first series of tee’s titled “Dumpster Diving Dimes” I instantly got it and laughed – its about something that we all see all the time. Girls that look like dimes in the beginning of a night at the club who take a huge dive throughout the night. It goes like this: she’s hot when she walks in, starts drinking like a fish and leaves the club with one shoe and mascara running down her face LOL

Now, that’s pretty trife!

I GET this concept and I LOVE it!! And I really cosign the local artist thing. I can really, truly appreciate supporting local talent.

For now, the tee shirts are exclusively available at Reap and Sew:

401 Dalhousie Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 9K4, Canada
(613) 562-4545

Prices:

• $40 (stylized Trife Logo shirt available in 5 colors)
• $50 (Dumpster Diving Dimes Series)
• You can also get the original artwork in poster form (11′ x 17′) 3 for $20
• Get all 7 and receive each shirt for $10 less and they come in a cool box too (pictured above)

Kudos to TRIFE CLOTHING for keeping it real! Keep on the lookout – I’ll be following this company for updates and new releases!

STAY FLY!

XoXoX

Can I just take a minute to talk about the BEST DRESSING of all time?

The Farm Boy store  is amazing in many ways but one of my #1 Favorite products of theirs is this Lemon Garlic Dressing. FIRST OF ALL – its all natural and preservative free. (Which is great!)

And Secondly – no matter what I do to try and reproduce the deliciousness of this dressing – I can’t seem to put the perfect finishing touches…Because my pallet screams FAKE!

Maybe its the perfect combination of salt and pepper? Maybe it’s the freshly squeezed lemon juice to garlic ratio?? I can’t figure it out. I’m addicted to this stuff and I can’t get enough. You can sprinkle some on your veggie salad, on your couscous, on your chicken – basically “you can have whatever you like!” (T.I voice)

Whatever it is….I like it. So if you like the lemon/garlic zing, you should try it too! But the recipe is exclusive to Farm Boy so you won’t find it anywhere else!

Bon Appetit,

XOXOX