Girl About O-Town

Guest post by Poppy Vineberg.  Poppy is a food enthusiast with a wicked wit, a keen eye for design and a discerning palate.  Transplanted from Montreal, she is doing her best to come to terms with life here in Ottawa.

In the city that fun forgot, you just have to try harder.

For my inaugural post on Kite’s gem of a blog, I am going to try to challenge some of that good ol’ fashioned Ottawa complacency.  Folks, it is possible to eat well at a reasonable price in O-town, but you really have to work at it.

Believe me, I’ve dragged my friends all over this town in search of my holy grail: a chill restaurant that features good food and won’t make me cry when the bill arrives.

My friends often tease me about my Montreal snobbism and yes, I miss my hometown every day.  I have grown to appreciate Ottawa for a lot of what it offers such as my fantastic and amazing friends, turning right at a red light, job stability, turning right at a red light… but I guess my point is that it’s sometimes difficult to like Ottawa for its own merits if you’re not the outdoorsy type.

I have to be honest; there are some things about this city’s restaurants that really bug me.  Ottawa’s lack of chutzpah (Yiddish word for audacity), abundance of mediocre and over-priced food, lack of entrepreneurial spirit (the “if it ain’t broke why fix it” attitude at many of Ottawa’s establishments) and most of all, the fact that no one in this city seems to expect more out of their dining establishments than a passable performance.  People rarely return sub-standard food and are willing to shell out over 20 bucks for lacklustre and insipid dishes. 

I hope people will cross over to my side and accept that it’s all right to expect more from the restaurants in this town. Let your server know that your dish is blah and most importantly, don’t keep going to the same horrible places!

I’m not even going to pretend that it’s easy to run a restaurant.  I can only begin to imagine the challenges involved.  However, some restaurant owners and chefs have managed to rise above the fray and I’d like to celebrate their labours of love in this and future posts.  Today, I offer three examples of restaurants that have managed to get things right and make me want to go back time and time again.

The little darling that could:   Fraser Café (143 Putman Ave)

I almost hesitate to recommend this place, as I want to keep it all to myself. However, in the spirit of rewarding chutzpah and spreading its goodness, I’ll let you know that Fraser Café may be the front-runner in town for price/quality ratio.

Last time I was there, the most expensive item on their menu was a very tame 25$, or you could select the wild card option (meaning blind tasting).  Plus, the service was friendly and professional.  It’s clear to me that the Fraser brothers love good food and they’re passionate about what they do. The place is open for brunch and they have a patio to boot.  I heard that they are moving into bigger digs, which is great since their current location is quite cramped, and I hope they won’t change the winning formula.  Make sure to reserve but most of all, love it and go often!

The friendly neighbourhood fix:  Jak’s Kitchen (Bronson and McLeod)

The folks at Jak’s had quite the challenge when they took over the tiny locale on Bronson but they rose to the task.  They injected some funkiness into the décor, developed menus that are creative and flexible, and they managed to keep the prices suitable to a neighbourhood joint.  They have a 3 and 5 course menu option for a reasonable price or you can order a la carte. 

Jak’s represents good value, good quality, they offer brunch and the service is laid back.  The only caveat is that their wine list is rather limited, although they have clearly made an effort to feature reasonably priced wines – so all is forgiven.

My home away from home:  The Manx (Elgin at Frank)

I have to admit that I virtually lived at the Manx when I first moved to O-town and I can’t help but to keep going back. The Manx is a pub that actually manages to serve good food, unlike the ubiquitous fried slop featured at most other pubs in town.

The Manx’s many attributes even manage to overcome its basement location. Heck, they even draw crowds in the summer, when the hordes are fighting over patio space.   It’s cheap, it’s good, and they have great beers on tap as well as an incredible scotch list.  They don’t take reservations so you have to wait in line with the rest of us ‘plebes’ who clamour for the amazing brunches, the lamb curry wrap and the fantastic crab cakes.  The last thing I want to do is add to the wait times at the Manx, but I also want to celebrate the place that has sustained me in my Ottawa adventure.  Manx, I love you.

I hope you’ll fall in love with these places as I have.

Talk to you soon with more foodie news, 

Poppy

Photos produced and provided by Poppy.  Nice shots!