CheapEats Ottawa restaurant guide blog

Romance CheapEats Style

Keith asked: Is it really possible to have a quality or romantic experience inexpensively?

Certainly!  

There are plenty of romantic and interesting spots in most large cities, where with a little planning or attention to ordering, you can have a great romantic experience with good service and ambiance without breaking the bank. 

Some Quick Tips?

• Cocktails at home - markups are big on booze, so keep your restaurant drinking to a minimum.  Have a cocktail or a glass of wine at home before heading out.  Even better, setup an intimate corner at home to have your dessert & liqueurs and let the evening progress from there. 
• Share your food - appetizers and desserts are perfect sharing courses and sharing is always a great way to get close and isn't getting close the main objective of romance. 
• Show some flair – know a quiet but not so fancy spot with great food… bring your own candles and linen. Hey, the restaurant might even let you set it up in advance if you are really going all out. I have a friend who proposed in a burger joint.
• Get into the mood – cluttered chic and twinkle lights may not be your idea of classy, but boho  spots can be a lot of fun if you relax and embrace the environment. Cuddle in to avoid that spring poking out of the couch and enjoy your calamari.

I polled the rest of the CheapEats team for more tips on how they do romance on the cheap...

Three Bakers & a Bike

by andrea*

I have lost track of the number of people who have told me that Three Bakers & A Bike (1281 Wellington) was a place worth checking out. I had filed in away in a mental to-do list and left it at that.

But those recommendations kept coming, especially as it pertained to their cupcakes. The thought of an afternoon of cupcake eating was enough to keep re-reminding me that I wanted to check it out. Well, I found myself in West Wellington today around lunchtime and decided to give it a try.

Three Bakers is primarily a bakery, but lunchtime offerings include a soup du jour and various sandwiches. The menu is taped to the counter and lists the usual suspects: roast beef, CLT, veggie wraps etc. I chose the BLT. (I have mentioned my bacon thing before, right?)

The BLT is one of my secret measures of Good Places to Eat. If the place can't pull off a decent BLT (or a Caesar salads for that matter - that's my second measure) they risk losing me as a customer. Excellent bread, good bacon, tomatoes that smell like tomatoes and a light touch with the mayo… that's what makes a good BLT. Not everyone knows this yet.

But I digress.

The Patty Debate

by andrea*

I'm a carnivore. There, I said it. In recent years my tastes have leaned towards the vegetarian side of things, but I still remain a meat eater. Bacon is the culprit! If it wasn't for bacon I might very well be a vegetarian.

When I go to The Works (the Richmond Road location is the one we frequent) I usually order a burger with a beef patty. There are many many burger varieties on the menu (40? 50?), and customers have their choice of patty: beef (organic or non-), chicken breast, ground turkey, portabello mushroom cap, or veggie.

On our last visit I decided I didn't need a ½ pound of beef forming a giant lump in my gut, so I took a leap of faith and ordered the "B.A.B" burger ($10.83 – and comes with tomato, raw onion and garlic sauce) avec le veggie patty and sweet potato fries. I had a long inner debate about the veggie patty. I knew that the beef would taste good, so should I risk it? Some veggie patties are made of a lentil/grain mixture and have the mouthfeel of a damp facecloth. Did I really want to eat a damp facecloth?

Well I was pleasantly surprised. The burger tasted great. And more importantly, I didn't walk away feeling heavy and bloated. The sweet potato fries were delicious. And I admit it - I did feel a tiny bit virtuous too. Next time I go back, I know what I'm going to order. Pssst. Did you know The Works does takeout too?

* [This post was written by Andrea Tomkins, a regular contributor to CheapEats Ottawa (where she is known as AT.) Andrea is an Ottawa-based writer, blogger and photographer. You can peek into her journal at  www.quietfish.com/notebook or read her other CheapEat posts here.]

A sushi-related newsflash!

Bellardita's Fine Cuisine at 1688 Carling Ave. (near Cole) is being replaced by and All-you-can-eat sushi restaurant.

Sushi lovers rejoice!

Any baklava lovers in da house?

by andrea

I looooove baklava. Oh, the crisp flaky pastry, the sweetness, the crunch. I am swooning as I type.

[What? You aren't familiar with this Middle Eastern dessert? Read the wiki here.]

I've tried making it myself, but it's always come out on the soggy side.

I had a great piece of baklava the stuff the other day. It was brought to me in a waxy paper bag, direct from Lashish Pita (1383 Clyde Ave.). The lady behind the counter had indicated that It Was The Best in Ottawa, but not actually made in Ottawa. They bring it in from Montreal.

I savoured it with coffee. The perfect antidote to a garlicy shawarma.

[This post is written by Andrea Tomkins, a regular contributor to CheapEats Ottawa (where she is known as AT.) Andrea is an Ottawa-based writer, blogger and photographer. You can peek into her journal at  www.quietfish.com/notebook or read her other CheapEat posts here.]

There's a reason why they call it the most important meal of the day

Ah, breakfast. I could eat it morning, noon and night, couldn't you?

I rarely waver from my regular order: Twoeggsovereasywithbaconandwholewheattoast. Andlotsofcoffee.

Some might call that "boring" or "predictable" but that's the way I like it. And I like the way they serve it up at the Baker Street Cafe on Richmond Road (near Roosevelt Ave.).

Breakfast at Baker Street comes with fried potatoes topped with a grilled pepper/onion mixture and fruit salad on the side. I was happy to see they started putting the bread in its own basket. There are fewer issues with soggyness that way.

Here it is, in all it's glory:

There is no kid's menu. You'll have to order sides or split regular dishes. We didn't heed the warning and this is what each kid ended up with:

... mind you, I'm not complaining. It was just a lot of food, but a great deal at $4.95. (Yes, the innards of the toasted cinammon bun were a little over-toasted, but it still tasted okay.)

If you like breakfast as much as I do should definitely check this place out. They serve it up until 3.p.m.

[This post is written by Andrea Tomkinsa regular contributor to CheapEats Ottawa (where she is known as AT.) Andrea is an Ottawa-based writer, blogger and photographer. You can peek into her journal at  www.quietfish.com/notebook]

The Westboro Bakery is closing

Westboro Bakery (formerly known as Harvest Loaf) is closing at the end of June due to massive rent increases.

Westborians still don't know how they going to satisfy their cravings for garlic/cheese bread.

A few words about Westfest

[this post is written by Andrea T. in Ottawa.]

We live walking-distance from Westfest. There were six of us, child-free (WOOT!), drinking wine on the front steps. We laughed. We talked. We drank. And before we knew it, it was 8 p.m. We hadn't eaten. The plan was to go down to Milagro Grill for dinner. We've had some pretty good meals there before. Their menu leans toward Mexican, with fajitas and the like, and they have some kind of stew a friend of mine raves about.

I am sad to say that our lovely meal wasn't going to happen. Upon arrival we were informed they had run out of food and were only serving drinks. Oh. Okay.

The Works, which has been known to serve up a very good hamburger, did the same thing they did last year: slashed their menu down to two styles of burgers. You could purchase a cheeseburger or Westfest-burger (something with fried onions). They were busy too. Despite the fact they'd extended their patio right onto the road, there was no room to eat.

That left us with Newport. Guess what? It was going to be a 45-minute wait. So we phoned in our order, picked it up, and ate our pizzas in front of All-Saints church. 

Newport makes these wonderful gourmet pizzas … thin crusts, fresh ingredients … they're delicious. One of the pizzas we ordered was one of these. I think it was a supposed to be a chicken/thai pizza. But instead of the lovely thin crust it was on regular thick/doughy crust and all of those fresh, delicious ingredients were buried under their trademark pile of mozzarella. *sigh*