Sushi Go

Sushi Go

Have to go there more often to really give a decent comment, but a first blush is that they are way too expensive and use a lot of mayo and cream to bring out the flavour of their rolls. So for those with egg or lactose allergies..... forget it.

Otherwise, they have a half price sale a half hour before closing, which in the Glebe, is 10pm everyday, except for Sunday, Monday and Tuesdays, when it is 9pm.

They usually run out at about 29min to closing; and at half price, the average cost is still 50c a piece, for mostly maki rolls, with a nigiri or two thrown in! That's expensive. Cheap is as in Vancouver where those Jap fisherwomen sell nigiri for 25c a piece... that's cheap....

Koreans in Chinatown

Koreans in Chinatown

Two new restaurants besides Bulgogi Garden… SooRa is the new one where Chuck Brown’s used to be, at least the inside half of chuck browns. The corner half is now a bar that has musicians, open to the street, cafeteria style place… at least on Friday night when I was there….

There is also Seoul House, but that place although run by a Korean family, tries to be more Japanese, as in their Korean food really sucks…. The name is quaint. I used to go there regularly when it was the only Korean/Jap place in Chinatown and dropped $300 there for lunch for two, 6 years ago, with a babe from Montreal… mostly blown on sushi and booze… she could drink, man… and yes, they have a license, and no, I don’t remember their kimchi.

SooRa (SR)…. I stand by my comments about Bulgogi, their ingredients and kimchi are still the best in Ottawa, but it’s like a grocer running a restaurant… the input may be good, but if you can’t cook it…. then there’ll be problems, unless there are other creative avenues, like ‘all u can eat’…

SooRa has decent Korean chefs. The cooking is pretty good in that it tastes good, not because of the ingredients, but the method. The soy sauce and kimchi were still pretty low quality, and you don’t get that green tea or miso soup, the ‘side dishes’/kimchi were especially poor, one being just a green salad…., but the menu is certainly more exciting.

I will do a head to head with Bulgogi and the other new one when I get a chance. I have been to BG for their pork and beef ‘cook at the table’ dinners and the price is certainly comparable. I must say the beef at BG was pretty badly marinated…. (used dark soy instead of light soy) but I have also said this about their squid and octopi before… they are not that good at the cooking part of the equation….

SR also has the cold noodle soup amongst others, like pork bone soup…. very big in Tor right now…, and a better variety of choices, but no booze license yet and the owner just 5 months from Korean… guess I forgot to ask North or South… but he apologized for not speaking English well, which surprised me….. said that they will also have sushi starting next week… the restaurant is only 1.5 months old. The décor is nice and prices comparable to BG. They also have a tatami room and Korean style hot pots. And interesting combo dinners. I had the grilled fish and beef marrow, bone and brisket soup… it was pretty impressively cooked… the fish (mackerel) was nicely grilled with a teriyaki coating, the soup in a separate pot tasted pretty ‘thick’. The kimchi was not great and they had a sweet potato soup (instead of the usual miso) that was ok. $20 for a meal…. About the same price as BG… expensive for Chinatown…. Although Jadeland, across the street, has priced themselves out of the market… so I would have to say…. about average… nowadays.

We leave the comments on the survival of BG till I have tried the ‘compare’ between all three new Koreans in Chinatown.

The Angus Burger

MacDonald's Angus Burger has a neat ad.... in a negative sort of way, but at least the burger looked good. And the name implies a nice piece of beef patty inside.

Well the real McCoy is nothing like the ad. It stinks and the meat patty is as bad as ever. For $10 with a drink and fries, it's something to avoid. Stay with Harvey's.

Actually, I really like Arby's roast beef sandwiches and make a point of stopping in Kingston on the way down to Toronto. Of course, there are no Arby's in Ottawa.

Beef Tartare and where to eat it in Ottawa…….

Was watching CTV and know how much my son likes Beef Tartare and Sushi and generally raw stuff…. (I know where he got his cravings from….). So I thought I would comment, in case he reads this....., on the Wellington GastroPub’s beef tartare.

It would appear that the beef tartare, served as an appetizer, could be eaten as a dinner. If the chef… and elsewhere I have commented on his cooking abilities,… is accurate in his representations on CTV today as to the ingredients of the tartare, I would say that this is the place to try it… definitely! I think it would be the tenderloin; egg yolk only; and truffle oil that would make or break this dish. As Chris Deraiche (chef) says, it is pretty simple to make at home…. , but who the hell wants to buy all of the ingredients….and do it at home….. Especially the truffle oil…. (Oooopppss I forgot for a moment that I was in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada!)

I will be sure to give this dish a try… just hope that Deraiche is there when I order…. Maybe I should ask when I make my reservation, whether he is working that night…. (TIC… as in Tongue in Cheek!).

The food is ok (as in less than 50% 'marks wise’) at this place, but the ‘organization’ works very well……. see elsewhere on this site for those comments.

My response to Deraiche’s question as to why anyone would want to eat this stuff....., it’s like why the Japs eat blowfish… and mmmmmhhhh…, because it tastes great! especially in Ottawa..... and that it is Raw...… like sushi… there is a Risk and a high one at that…... and everyone in 'Ottawa!' loves sushi..... as in the riskksss....? ... just that there are no descent restaurants.....

CIAO.

Tucson's on Bank @ Hunt Club

Tucson’s

Elsewhere on this blog, I have given this place faint praise for the food, as in cooking, wait staff and atmosphere (the ingredients were horrid). Well, I have been back today and the ingredients have improved, but the cooking has gone downhill significantly, the wait staff has deteriorated and the prices have gone up!

(I am also planning a piece on what constitutes a ‘good restaurant’ and my basic premise is that the COOKING has to be good… the other stuff like fresh ingredients, love of the food, can be replicated at home (see DesBrisay’s article this weekend); and the atmosphere and wait staff… well, if you had enough money, it can all be done… the difference is in the cost benefit analyses. I pay for good cooking and well…. there is not a lot of it in Ottawa… Beckta’s, their new guy Mike Moffatt is really not up to scratch and their Achilles’ heel… Even the jap guy at the Casino is ok…. The only great chef right now is Laurier, but he’s succumbed to working at the Museum of Civilization… shame….this is the Ottawa mentality…. And I have not tried eighteen… Matt Carmichael or I like to call him Susur’s disciple… the cooking at Social was so so… but I think this was before Carmichael took over the kitchen….. and John Taylor (Domus), besides his foie gras, other stuff is just ok…. think it’s the truffles or coulis)

All this to say that this place, Tucson’s, now is on the list of avoids because it sucks... no matter who the blues groups are that are coming through.

I had a ribeye and mash, their 'special potato’ for the day. The ribeye was nice enough, ingredient wise, but it isn't too hard to do steak. The grill was obviously not hot enough and I had to ask for it to be put back on the grill to sear (and make the grill hotter this time! … nicely, of course). See, I like my steak Chicago style, burnt on the outside and rare on the inside. Instead of agreeing to do this, the waiter suggested that they have a searing pan where cook can do this. Well... the cook cannot replicate a proper ribeye, with all the fat and sinew (and this part is where the ingredients were good... the steak had the right amount of fat, etc) cooked to rare or even medium on a very hot grill. And the waiter's suggestion just cooked the steak a little more. Couldn't really send a steak back twice.... shame on them...

The potatoes were awful and tasteless. Pretty hard to screw up mash! … And the veggies... please, ... all restaurants cooking snow peas, for god sake... take the strings out of them... it's like those viet restaurants that would not buy the more expensive bean sprouts without the tails.... it really depreciate your food!!!

The steak was $30! And the beers were $12. Plus tax and tip for lunch... a $50 bill, for one! For that kind of price.... I expect more... much more.... It's like Gordon Ramsay says... if you can't FRIGGING cook meat on a Barbee... you shouldn't BE in the business....

The best ribeye in Ottawa, is still at Prime 360.... And I think they are still at around $30- $40. Except they have nothing else besides steak going for it.

Bulgogi Gardens or the best kimchi in Ottawa

Bulgogi Garden or the best kimchi in Ottawa?

Will report more on this place in Chinatown, but if you liked the kimchi at Arum’s, you will find the ex-owner has moved to the Bulgogi Garden, on Somerset, between all those Chinese establishments.

(There are actually two more Korean Jap places opening soon, besides the Seoul House. Can Chinatown really handle it? Traditional Chinese usually do not like Korean or Japanese food. They don’t like raw, cold and spicy things, despite what the common knowledge is. But then you know my opinions on Szechuanese food in Ottawa…)

The reason why the kimchi is so good is that the ingredients are good. And the ingredients at this place are so good because the owner is from Montreal where she ran a Korean grocery. She has all the right sources of supply and when they moved to Ottawa, they started Arum’s, which is the restaurant, with an attached grocery store. The stuff is more expensive, but the input is good, so the output quality is very good indeed. She has sold both the restaurant and the grocery on Bank Street…. And each (Arum’s and the attached grocery store) now make their own kimchi. And I have tried kimchi from all three places as well as all the other Korean restaurants in Ottawa and quite a few in Toronto and Montréal. (Besides other provinces, countries and continents.)

And my opinion is that Bulgogi now makes one of the best in Canada. But then it is somewhat a question of taste. I have to add though that other ingredients, such as soya sauce at Bulgogi is first class as well, as is the dried kelp used to make futomaki, the radish pickles, etc. But can they cook….. Ummmm, I am still trying other things, but cooking is not a strong point at Bulgogi as in all Korean food…. BBQ and kimchi and iced noodles soup…. What else is there? The cooking at Arum, where the old cook is still at is still reasonably good, and a 20% price differential… you be the judge… is it quality of taste, or quantity of food for price….? Even the miso soup is bigger and better at Bulgogi, but gotta say that the squid and octopus’ sauce was great, but needed more infusion into the rubbery meats…. Arum’s cook still can do that.

I am going to try their ‘cook your own’ dinners for two, but split for one… the advantages of knowing the owner…. Lim is her name, and the waiter’s Eddie. Tell them Richard sent you…. Maybe they’ll do it for you too.

Buffet to come soon plus all you can eat ‘cook your own’, which was something very big in Toronto a few years back and I had been suggesting to Lim to try since.

No booze license and they will sell you the kimchi separately if you like and ask. They are thinking of having a small store upstairs in the near future. For a place that has been open 8 months now, they sure move glacially. Maybe that’s a good thing in this time of tumultuous change?

2008 06 30.

Elgin Street Diner

This place has a lot going for it and it shows in the clientèle. Mostly young urban golden triangle dwellers. Been there several times. French toast is great for brekka, sandwiches with poutine for late night dinners. Desserts are creative and fun… and the waiters generally know what they are talking about and pretty non-intrusive.

The only thing is that when it gets busy, it’s a pain in the ass. And it usually is. And don’t drink because the booze is really quite expensive.

All in all a nice local eatery for that quick bite, if they have room. $30 pp all in with a beer, but you can get by on $10 pp if you don’t drink and eat only a main. The sandwiches are $4.99 plus $3.50 for the poutine, which I am told is ‘the best in Ottawa’ by some teens who seem to know what they were talking about…. That’s Ottawa of course and not in the Gatineaux!!! Of course! Poutine is the best in Wakefield/La Peche, but it was pretty fantastic at Elgin Street Diner.

Would I go back? Sure, if I wanted a quick meal and instead of Harvey’s or the FF place on Bank and Sunnyside…. which by the way has the 2^nd best poutine in Ottawa…..

La Roma on Preston

La Roma is one of the originals in Ottawa. Have been following it since Somerset and Bronson.

Not bad but I would not write home about it. Tilapia was done well if a little insipid. Manicotti was OK, Carrot soup need more blending, but some like to feel the carrots and sage. Tiramisu was a little too light... needed more body... as in mascarpone.... With a glass of wine…. $80 pp. About average for Ottawa these days, but about the only thing going for it was that it still had that old La Roma feel…!

Arrow and Loon

2008 06 28. Their weekend steak special is now ONLY on Sundays!!!. Now that's a short weekend!!!! Could argue for FALSE ADVERTISING! But then, just pass on this place... and try Corner Grill up the street.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
forget it... horrid food... except for jazz night with their weekend steak special for $10.

All else is a failure and I would give it minus marks out of 6.... as with all restaurants in the Glebe .....

Wellington GastroPub

Well, finally, we have arrived at the Wellington GastroPub. I had high expectations.... and were they met? ... sort of..... Another one of those restaurants that I would not normally have reviewed, but since it's such a hot place.....

It was upstairs... so for anyone handicapped... it's out. Not exactly impressed by the decor and the acoustics was terrible.... and we did not have reservations, but was kindly given a table if we 'could be done in an hour.'.... typically 'Ottawa silly'.... (there's also a story on the people who reserved for 7:30pm ... who were given a better table.... so I don't know...)

The one outstanding feature with this restaurant is that the restaurant works.... in terms of communications.... Everyone talks to everyone... the manager is excellent in ensuring the staff know what the hell they were doing, the wrong wine recommendations are promptly returned... the bus boys talk to the waitresses and they to the owner and then to the kitchen, and then it goes around. Since we were only to have an hour, the food came promptly.... so the kitchen must be informed of the priorities.... Little did they know, we were gourmands.....

That was about the only real plus with this place. Service was ok.... The decor/environ was shit as mentioned above... and the food was so-so.... not very creative at all, but consistent to the level of restaurants that it strives to be... so not bad... And $60/person all in... not bad, but I wouldn't go back.....

We had, ... well what does it matter... the food was consistently good, but not to die for and to remember... pumpkin soup was good... tuna sashimi appetizer was ok, pork belly and pork roast was interesting (both the last two were very very Asian), but pork was a little over done (dry) on the outside and just pink on the inside... belly was good; and then the rib steak... it's better at Prime 360 or Metropolitain Brass, but then that's the only thing Prime 360 can do.... so the repertoire is much greater here. Mashed potatoes with the rib steak was excellent and beans were good.... no dessert or coffee or .... and a glass of wine each... and $60 each (or $120 since there were two of us for all of the above). They do have an interesting wine list and have lots of varieties by the glass and their beer list is interesting.

so that's it... ho hum ... as all Ottawa eateries are wont to....... there is some magic here, but it is all in the organization....

Mambo Restaurante in Market

You know, secretly, I get the Sunday paper just to read Anne DesBrisay's reviews. And although I have been critical of her ethic reviews and non-committal on her other stuff, I think she is finally coming into herself as a restaurant reviewer.

This Sunday's review of Mambo Restaurante is certainly very useful. The food was shit, so for me she was right on; and as she was, I was also looking forward to this restaurant. Thanks to her review, I shall certainly save up my pennies for Le Baccara.

I don't comment on mediocre restaurants, one way or the other, and I have been to a few in the last little while including: Angelina's on Preston (the Italian Embassy goes there for pizza? maybe, but not); La Favorita on Preston (renewed decor, Canadian style, pizza hut type pizza, love it... skip the thin crust); Works in the Glebe (I like Harvey's better value); Clocktower Brew Pub (nice beers, rushed service and the fish absolutely sucks... reminds me of 1980 pub fair); Pe Nan Wok (generally a miss unless you know what to order...); Siam Kitchen (way past its prime, run by non Thais); Pot Au Feu in Wakefield (nice patio by the rails, lousy service and poaches eggs were ok); Soup' Herbe in Chelsea (service was good but too formal (as in anal), food, all vegan stuff, was nice, soups were great, if it was only not out in Chelsea; it's like the fish & chips place up there, very early on in this blog); The Brig on York in the market (same as Works, except they have a nicer patio and was in the 'centro'); amongst other more forgettables .....

......... 20080427.

Give it up, Anne!

Give it up, Anne Desbrisay....!

Other than French and 'Canadian' cooking, you should give up reviewing ethic restaurants....

I am alumni and am tempted to go to your Queen's 'talk', but am afraid I might bust your balloon and create a scene.....

The subject today…. your review of the new Ceylonta location.....

Anyone with any small amount of understanding of Indian cooking, culture and knowledge through living the ‘Indian life’ will tell you that you are way off base... I read your first and last paras and that was enough....

There are no decent Indian restaurants in Ottawa! South Indian food is the 'true' Indian taste/cooking and is generally vegan, with dahi wadas and masala dosas ... the curries are pretty deep and intense… as in just ‘hot’ as opposed to sour or sweet or salty…. (can you even get past the chilliness?) and it is the true remnants of the Indian sub-continent, the north being invaded by the Europeans/Caucasians.

Tandoori was brought in by the moguls and Alexander, the western coasts of Bombay and Goa by the Portuguese and the Eastern burbs by the Thais and Burmese.

It's like comparing Cantonese food with the Mandarin, Shaghainese and Szechwan cuisines.... by the way; there are no real decent Chinese restaurants in Ottawa either! (There is a new Chui Chow find in Toronto, though).

Be that as it may.... it is really distasteful to me that Anne DesB and Ottawans, besides French and Canadian foods.... know little about other cuisines.... why? ... because no one wants to live here and Ottawans as a general group 'celebrates mediocrity' in terms of food and restaurants....

Dirge of food in Ottawa seems to have become my mantra nowadays…. I welcome suggestions to this site as to places to try and I am open minded, but …. one can only take so much!

National Dishes ... discuss....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_dish

Thank goodness for google? To continue the discussion of national dish, here is what wiki says. I was essentially stuck in the pre 1980s thinking on this, before computers could merge international thinking and change perceptions.

The only error I found was that Portugal’s dish is incorrect... at least pre 80’s when it was porco a la alentejana, a pork stew with clams from a central region of Portugal where you would never think clams existed! Maybe that’s why they have moved it to bacalhau… dried cod fish. Or maybe it was political… in the sense that they wanted to corner the last remaining market for cod. Would I go in and change it… not worth the effort, but….

Sauerkraut is the German dish…. And maple syrup, Canadian… I think we had about half of those on the list. Like Peruvian cerviche, Chilean sea bass… You were also correct in the regional dishes…. But this I think is a North American phenom as they ‘own’ the internet.

Gee I could talk food forever… the Ethiopian chicken and egg is one that requires more study as to why, I think. It tastes like a dry chicken drumstick curry with the hard boiled egg in it, very similar to a Japanese dish….. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Did you know that the Japanese have no word for ‘thank you’ before the Portuguese arrived; and the jap word ‘arigado’ is from the Portuguese ‘obrigado’? Culture and food, which came first?

Habesha, Blue Nile, Horn of Africa.....Ethiopian

Blue Nile @ 577 (377?) Gladstone near Bronson and Horn of Africa on Rideau near the Rideau Center.

Had to try the Blue Nile since it is actually in the downtown area and on my way home in the evenings. I did have an Ethiopian friend with whom I tried Horn of Africa many years ago. If I remember vaguely the pancakes were a little sour, as in Habesha’s, but the pancakes at the Blue Nile were not. I must say, I prefer the non-sour ones better. The food at Blue Nile was a little spicier and the combination plate had many interesting chunky beef & veggie items that were quite curry like. The price however was a little more at Blue Nile. ($25pp vs. $20pp)

Other than that, I would say that Habesha had more Ethiopian customers than Blue Nile, so on the theory that the ‘locals’ would go to their favorites, Habesha is the better bet. Shame though, because the décor was much better at Blue Nile. I am not one for décor…. only the food. And since I can’t be considered an expert in Ethio food, I have to say the curries tasted better, based on an indo-sino palate, at Blue Nile.

Would I go back? Service was next to nil. Got my bill wrong. And the restaurant was empty. I don’t even remember the address anymore.

Habesha, Ethiopian @ 1087 Wellington.

After watching the ‘take home chef’ do a beef wellington, I was encouraged to visit what might be the food of kings and emperors before Christ. I sound like I am following the Desbrisay trail.... I must admit, I had noticed this restaurant before; replacing a Vietnamese restaurant that I thought was most creative with a real chef from New York. Alas, their prices were too high and this spot is now taken over by Habesha, opposite KFC as DesB has deemed to mention.

If you like injera, which is a sour pancake eaten as a bread or staple, then this could be a place for the adventurous and frugal. (Is this the same restaurant that DesB visited?)

The prices are great and I am waiting to go back to try the lamb tripe, and dry beef dishes.... And who am I to judge whether the pharaohs, Caesars, and Queens (Cleopatra) knew how to eat.

I would call them curries, rather than stews... curries without the 'curry' of India. There are various spices without salt and the yellow coloured species; but spices nevertheless.... More so than the Portuguese or the others who traded in spices....

I don't know if I sat in an unheated corner, but I am absolutely chilled after a lunch I had there on a very warm Jan day. Do I think the food has a cooling effect, definitely. And wine actually goes with Ethiopians... vis a vis Indian (East) food, which does not go with wine at all......

Cash only!...., but good value, if you like sour pancakes. $20 pp for a meal with a beer/wine. I will write more on the other more exotic dishes, which I am dying to try. To call them stews is indeed a sin. I only saw africans there....

Ciao. Ricardo.

Little India in Ottawa

Little India Cafe on Carling opposite Britannia.

As the common indian in Ottawa has stated, this is probably the best value for Indian food in Ottawa, if you are willing to go all the way out to the west end....

Dinner for two, $80, all in, no booze. That's about average for a meal in Ottawa, but this place is actually quite tasty. In line with the Haveli's, or benchmarks in Ottawa. Tandoori and nan, a little burnt, but I like the carcinogens. Beef with spinach... the spinach was excellent, cheese (paneer) with okra, they made that especially for us, was very nice. Pickles, yogurt (raita), rice, roti and that's how it adds up. All pretty ok... the main dishes were better.

The owners have changed, but the food is still pretty good. Par with all of the best indian restaurants in Ottawa..... like the chinese.... the best is a 2/5. It was obviously not outstanding, but I have yet to have an outstanding indian meal in Ottawa.

Chaba Thai

As an extension of Nokam's, I would say the food is virtually identical. No booze though... and $40 pp without booze...., so $80 pp if you're drinking..... Not cheap, but reasonable for Ottawa for dinner. And we did not scrimp and save.. yum tom, satay, duck red curry, pad thai, mango salad..... etc...

Except it is at the old 'Salvatore's' location near Carling, on Rochester.

Somewhere between the Arachnid's and the rest.....

See other parts of site for better valued places... I like it cause it's closer now than ever, despite DesBrisay's claim that you can never get a seat at Nokam's... maybe she takes up too much room....!

I still think Bangkok Thai is the best for value in between the thais and the chinks.

Totoya on Dalhousie

Well, I have finally ventured on to Totoya, since I had heard so much about it on ottawafoodies.com, the place where I learnt that there is actually a Swiss restaurant in Ottawa… fondue everything….

But first a few words about current trends in eating….

Poutine, see montrealpoutine.com as the new cuisine canadiana, now where could that go….? Heard that it was good for hangovers, but any milk product is good for hangovers… try a glass of milk before you pass out after a night on the town…. Or better still before you go out on the town… The morning after poutine would probably be too late…. Maybe in a century it’ll replace pizza as the true north’s cuisine des arts. And I wonder what Health Canada would have to say…

And eating in the dark….! Now that’s a trend that the blind can follow…. Jap food is definitely out, because all they have is presentation! I wonder if they cover the laundry bill after….?

Back to Totoya and why I went… alone, for lunch on a cold winter’s day… I had heard so much about it from the web sites in Ottawa that I had to give it a try… (They had jap pizza too…)

Disappointment is the only word I have for it….. And it is run by Japanese…..!!! $80 pp for lunch is very expensive, but then jap food in Ottawa is expensive… except those run by those frugal chinks… Takara just up the street is a case in point….. I had heard so much about the ramen though…..

I asked if they had toro and uni … and surprise…. they had uni... (By the way, uni comes in from Boston on Thursdays… and I am beginning to wonder whether the larger cities have usurped all of the toro…)

So I said I’ll have the omakasi…. you choose… six pieces…. And I’ll have the uni in it…. Sure test of freshness of the sushi… They said they didn’t have any omakasi, but they would bring six pieces of sushi as an appetizer…. Great… test failure… I had expected that I would get six different pieces to please…, instead I got two uni, two salmon and two maguro…. The uni was fresh enough… (and believe me… I have had bad uni in Kingston, Ont., at an established jap restaurant…), the salmon was quite fresh, but you know my thoughts on salmon…. most parasitic of the sushi’s and not really eaten by the japs…and the maguro was pretty bad… also the choice was non existent… still think Ichibei has the best sushi in Ottawa… benchmark that….yuck….

Then the piece de resistance… ramen is only available at lunch… fine, it’s hamburgers for the japs or kfc…. And it was pretty so so… granted I have never had it in Japan… but those ottawafoodies.com folks who have, must have been to some pretty so so restaurants in Japan. The broth was ok…a little low in quantity and thick in taste… but the ingredients were easy to come by… (like the viet pho’s, the soup broth and au dent-ness of the noodles is the thing…), and I can do it better at home with the packaged noodles and for less than the $17 price tag…. The noodles were overcooked… a cardinal sin… and the pepper was… well… pepper… not the jap stuff….

I toyed with the idea of having the sushi lunch… but was only interested in the nigiri sushi… mistake… The difference in price was $10… quite a bit…. (uni $13, salmon $10 and maguro $7). And I didn’t get soup, salad and rice…

In short… not a place for sushi; and totoya ramen was the only ramen on the menu… the other two noodles were udons with tempura… I had expected much more… like 6 different pieces of nigiri sushi and a number of ramen to choose from…. With tea and saki (the cold booze, not the salmon), for lunch $80…choke… next time I will try the little jap fast food place in the market mall... which had udons for under $7…..

Checked out the dinner menu and it was not much better… definitely not a ‘full’ jap restaurant like Suisha or even Ichibei…. There were some domburis, but not much else…. Definitely trying to be a ‘fast food jap place’.

0/5 on my scale of restaurants to eat at… for Japanese; and my benchmark Suisha Gardens only gets 2/5… Mark it up appropriately…..

Interesting clientèle though… mostly locals who frequent the place, it was ¾ empty at lunch in the market on a holiday Friday… a francophone that spoke Japanese, who spoke constantly to the chef, rather than his guest…. wonder what he ate... and most people greeted by name… doesn’t impress me as I only look at the food, but puts context around other comments I have heard….

Picture was taken by ottawafoodies.com and my ramen was not as colourful, no greens and reds, but two half eggs…must have run out of ingredients….

The Firestone Conspiracy

Did you know that the Firestone family... late of Senators fame, owns the Metropolitain linked to Empire Grill as well as the Luxe, Stella and Blue Cactus group? Wonder what else they own.

Talk about the chinese food oligopoly. No wonder eating out is so expensive in Ottawa for the medium priced ($40 - $120 pp) restaurants.

Ciccio Cafe and Le Panache Cafe

Ciccio's on Preston and Panache on Somerset. The former to be laid to rest soon and the latter... is already semi dead.

As for Ciccio's, that's the last time I go there... I woke up at 1:40am and had that same sinking feeling as I did from Le Panache... think it's the msg again. I get a reaction from drinking red wine with msg.... was awake the rest of the night!

Too bad that these restaurants are all falling by the wayside with retirements and old age.... Speedi, right? Think he used to work at La Strata way back and then moved to Ciccio's. He's the one they wrote about in the citizen and my friend loved the bread he baked fresh every morning and the tiramisu that was one of the best in Ottawa. Apparently Speedi passed away in the fall. The bread was cold and rock hard; and the tiramisu was passable. I had the pork roulades ... msg city, but just tasted over-salted at the time. Friend had the raviolis ... which was not bad. 1/2 litre of wine, a salad to share and the bill was $50 a person. And no speedi to sing for us and no osso buco, one of my favorites at this place.. with none in sight... I was told. It was fairly full though so the word hasn't gotten around yet.

Le Panache on Somerset... awful amount of msg, empty on a Saturday night... think msg was used as a preservative here because of the lack of business. Mama and papa waiting to retire... best turn it back into a chinese restaurant... it was so bad... Or as the saying goes, 'they shoot horses, don't they?'

Small wonder that people in Ottawa would rather eat at home.... I am only going to waste my time writing about really good places or really bad places from now on. These two are the ones that would rate 0/5 on my 6 point scale. Metropolitain based on the one shot... 2/5. (I wasn't going to write about it, but my son insisted...) Beckta's, the benchmark 3/5. Heard Benitz on Somerset is supposedly good... almost afraid to waste my money.....

2007 12 22.

Metropolitain Brasserie

We had dinner at the Metropolitain Brasserie which is one of 'the' places to eat in Ottawa these days.

But Ottawa is really not a town that thrives on eateries. Most bistros I had called were closed Sunday nights... and this place's kitchen was closing at 8pm. I asked if the chef was in.. he was not... just the sous.. so we ordered accordingly and the results showed.

Appetizers of foie gras was passable... duck confit, dry and awful. We all had beef, my son the black pepper steak and daughter and I shared the chef's rib cut for two. Both were excellent, cooked exactly right... and daughter had a cream caramel, which was ok. A bottle of very nice Spanish red, three teas and an aperitif came to $100 a person. Kind of expensive.