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food_curious_ottawa
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Name: Caroline
Gender: Female
Interests: Eating, travelling, salsa dancing, yoga, biking, boxing, rock climbing, volleyball, dancing to anything with a beat, drinking wine
Expertise: eating, tasting, drinking
Occupation: Professional eater
Industry: Entertainment
Message: message me
Member Since:
6/6/2006
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| I've done alot of eating out this month. Here is a summary of the interesting and exciting places I tried: Anna Thai Piz-za-za The Pelican Grill The Buzz Anna Thai – 91 Holland (between Scott and Wellington) Well frequented by the government lunch crowd, a long working lunch of our own brings us to Anna Thai. I’m not huge on Thai food, but it’s growing on me. Having made a red curry the night before, I wanted something a little lighter. I chose a shrimp stir fried with vegetables in a chili sauce. (#14 - $9.95). If you prefer, it also comes with chicken. Mildly spicy and slightly sweet, it was very good. Bonus points for not being overly greasy or too saucy (i.e. lots of cornstarch), which is my main complain with most dine out Asian cuisine. If I had started this entry with the best part of the meal, I would have started with dessert. I shared a ginger crème brulee ($5.25) with a coworker. Damn it was good!!! The crust was perfectly burnt, and although it could have been a touch warmer, the middle was delectibly creamy in texture, but not overly sweet. With no drinks during a working lunch, the meal was $19 plus tip. Although I’m not a great fan of Thai food in general, I’d make an exception for Anna Thai. Mmmm...this photo of half eaten ginger creme brulee doesn't even begin to indicate how good it was... =P 
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| Pelican Grill - 5.3 km NE - 1500 Bank St, Ottawa, ON, Canada - (613) 526-0995 In a small plaza on the east side of Bank Street hidden beside Farm Boy, is The Pelican fish market. Those who are visiting the restaurant for the first time, might be surprised at how well it does considering its awkward location. Those who have been there before, know why. The Pelican is definitely not central, but it provides amazingly fresh seafood, so fresh they sell it in the attached fish store, prepared with care, and at reasonable prices. Hungry on a Saturday evening at 7PM, I’d say we were quite lucky to score a table. Everything on the menu looked awesome, it was actually quite hard to pick. We finally settled on two dishes. The special, The Sizzler, grilled salmon, cornmeal crusted catfish and broiled mahi-mahi served on a sizzling plate with onions, peppers, carrots, and green beans. The second dish was the halibut, dijon-crusted (I think it was baked) served on a bed of wild rice with vegetables. Both were amazing. The sizzler was great because you had three types of fish, of which, all were very tasty, and not overdone. The sizzler arrived making tons of hissing noises, the vegetables still cooking as we started digging in. By the time the plate finally settled down, the onions left were caramelized, and I was busy picking away at the remaining onion. The halibut Dijon-crusted filet was also excellent. Cooked just right, the taste of the Dijon was very prevalent, to add excellent flavour to a generally milder fish. Both dishes were under $20 and this was all washed down with a half litre of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc for $14  
After being curious about the lobster bisque, our waitress even brought us a shot sized portion to ‘try’. ‘It’s the little things’ that count. Oh bonus points, for warm bread. For really really good quality seafood, a casual atmosphere, very friendly service, albeit a less central location, please please please check out the Pelican. Just don’t go too often, or I won’t be able to get a seat when I go. | | |
| http://www.pizzaza.ca/home/index_f.html 36, rue Laval, (Vieux-Hull)
Gatineau, QC
(819) 771-056536 After hearing numerous good things about Pizza-za, I finally had the opportunity go. I love a good pizza... Pizza-za is the delicious bistro/pizzeria on Laval Street just outside the maze the makes up Place du Portage. Amazing pizzas, cute atmosphere, large wine selection, wine served by the glass, the half bottle, and of course the full bottle. I split two pizzas with a coworker. We had the Payanne (tomato sauce, proscuitto, figs, fontina cheese, and mushrooms) and the Mediterrenean (black olives, sausage, mozzarella, tomato sauce). Did I mention how affordable it was? I believe both pizzas were under $12. The crust is very thin, and with a slight crunch. The size would be perfect for an average appetite, and a hungrier person would likely be satisfied with an additional side salad to start. 
It might have been all the awesome smells circling the room, but I was already thinking about what I would order next time…even before my pizza came. I will definitely be back, and if you like pizza you have to check this place out | | |
| http://thebuzzrestaurant.ca/ The Buzz Restarant 374 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario CANADA ... Phone (613) 565 - 9595 It’s Saturday night at 5PM and we’re craving seafood, but we can’t get into the Whalebone without reservations. At 5PM? Yes, definitely book ahead, a few days in fact. As we saunter down Bank Street passing by the usual suspects of pubs and coffee shops, we see The Buzz. Known as a restaurant/bar, part of Ottawa’s ‘alternative’ scene, each time I visit I think “Why don’t I come here more often?” They have amazing specials, BYOW Sundays and Mondays, and half price appetizers on Thursdays. Some saucy chicken thing on Tuesday as well, but that doesn’t whet my appetite much. The menu is not extensive, and I wouldn’t say the food is the best in the city, but it is good. Overall, the restaurant comes in a great package. Decent food, reasonable prices, comfortable atmosphere with lots of booths, and excellent service. Two of us tried ‘Sea shells by the sea shore’, a deep dish with a generous portion of various seafood, mussels, scallops, prawns and salmon, over large pasta shells in a soy cream sauce ($17). Lots of seafood is appreciated after going to some restaurants that skimp, or give your shrimps so small, they look like they should only be used to feed larger fish. Two of the others chose the butternut squash ravioli, giant raviolis sautéed in butter and crushed walnuts ($18). The odd one out found the filet mignon, a large portion with a side of mash very appealing ($24). With a glass of white chardonnay ($6.75), my meal was $25 plus tax and tip. Not bad! 
Thursday of the next week, I’m at The Buzz again for half price appetizers (until 7PM). After a long day at work, mixed with the comfortable booths, we stayed way too long. I had the calamari ($4.50), a generous portion lightly fried with a spiced cornmeal coating as well as the mussels with a marina sauce ($4). We finished the apps with the best dessert, warm chocolate pudding. Similar to a molten lava chocolate cake with a side of ice cream, it’s to die for…seriously. Could have came with a little more ice cream. Oh, have to mention the great bread. Warm baguettes sliced, a mixture of regular and olive served with a fluffy herb butter. I think I’m becoming a regular…thanx Ron | | |
| Horn of Africa 364 Rideau Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5Y8
613-789-0025 The day after Aroma, I went to Horn of Africa on Rideau. My first time trying African food or Ethiopian food to be exact. After the pricey food from the day before, Horn of Africa was so affordable, I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. $7 for a half litre of wine? Everything on the menu was under $10, except for the platter that we ordered which was $18. Why? Because it was for 2 people! Three types of meat curries (lamb, chicken, and beef) a few vegetable curries, and we’re done. Similar to Aroma, Ethiopian food is also about sharing, but less stressful for the dishwasher if you’re eating it at home. No plates and forget forks and knives because that's what your hands are for. The food all comes on one giant plate, with large crepe-size like flatbread called injera, but with a doughy texture that I can only describe as ‘spongy’. It’s definitely something that requires a little getting used to, and very different than roti, naan, greek flatbread, or pita. The bread is moist, but not buttery or oily in any way. 4 pieces of flatbread is layered in a circular way on the plate, with the 6 types of curries placed in the centre. It wasn’t obvious immediately what was what, but after some blind taste testing my favorite turned out to be a chicken curry (with lots of cumin) and a yellow lentil curry. Within the platter, the ‘hot’ factor varied, but all of the dishes were tasty. Did I mention that one type of chicken was served with boiled eggs? Yes, boiled eggs, two of them…not exactly my favorite part of the meal, but it was enjoyed by my dining partner. 
Compared to other ethnic foods with curry, Ethiopian curries are less oily and heavy than Thai or Indian, but with just as much or even more flavour. I used my "entertainment" coupon, but even without it, I think it whole meal would have come to just under $30 plus tip. Pretty crazy eh? For my first experience with Ethiopian food, I’m still trying to figure out what’s what, but I will definitely be back, and perhaps also try the other Ethiopian restaurant a few doors down as well, the East African Restaurant. | | |
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