CheapEats Ottawa restaurant guide blog

Reservations 101

Reserved by Cafrine

There's a great article by Corey Mintz on the Toronto Star website about the business of reservations.

...the average Toronto restaurant is open for dinner between 5:30 and 10 p.m. Torontonians will not, by nature, eat before 6 unless they are going to a show, or after 10 unless they are Spanish.

With such a small window of operation, a restaurant needs to maximize that time period. Empty seats are holes in their gas tank, draining fuel. If a table is booked for 7:30, it's next to impossible to use that table earlier or later. This is called a single seating.

While the restaurateurs quoted are Toronto-based, on Friday and Saturday nights you know Ottawa's best tables are just as busy.  Corey goes on to explain and discuss that "space and time are perishable commodities" and how restaurants do their best to keep tables turning and get people in, fed and out for the next seating. 

Interesting, since I just got off the phone confirming my online reservations for tomorrow's 11am brunch which had somehow gotten "lost".  

Read the complete article here... and then come back and tell me what you thought.

[Thanks to Paul Lin for pointing me at the article]

Quick Notes

• Just saw the first review of CEOT on Chapters.ca. He likes the book, but I wouldn't call it a positive review. tinyurl.com/4agjkb

Automatically posted from the CheapEats Ottawa twitterfeed - www.twitter.com/ceot by LoudTwitter

Would You Glow For Some Sushi?

In a today's New York Times article "Warnings Don't Deter Lovers of Sushi", New Yorkers are quite cavalier about lab results showing that tuna samples from 5 New York sushi restaurants - Gourmet Garage, Nobu Next Door, Sushi Seki, Sushi of Gari and Blue Ribbon Sushi - all had  unusually high levels of mercury.  Some of the people quoted chose non-tuna items, some chose tuna anyway and Roberta Berman of Staten Island was reported to have shrugged and said :

“If I become iridescent from it, I become iridescent from it.” She added. “I’ll glow in the dark.”

What would you do if the craving for sushi hit?

Technorati Tags: sushi, new york times, mercury, warnings, gourmet garage, nobu next door, sushi seki, sushi of gari, blue ribbon sushi

Ottawa Magazine's Eat Cheap Edition

written in part by our very own Andrea Tomkins, Ottawa Magazine's September Edition - Eat Cheap focuses on finding good and interesting food on the cheap.  A topic close to my own heart.

The main article, Big Bites for Small Change (pg 47), breaks down 40 great deals across the city, sampling tastes from the Lamb Lollipops ($4) at Petit Bill's Bisto to my own current favourite Shafali Bazaar's Chicken Tikka Wrap. (Yes, I even took a video of it being made.)

A couple of other Must-Try items on the list:

• Yre's Quarter Chicken & Fried Plantain ($7)
• The Breakfast Special ($4.35) at John's Quick Lunch
• La Cabana's Pupusas ($2)
• and of course the Meatball Sub & Salad ($7.49) from Parma Ravioli

Andrea's article on All You Can Eat spots around town (Fill'er up - pg 54), lead us to last night's celebratory dinner at Sushi Kan (where we finished off 32 of their 145 item menu, urp!)

Jason Turner's Cartoon Profile

In August I was approached by Lindsay Gibb, the Editor of Broken Pencil, asking if I would consider being a guinea pig for a new feature in the magazine. Each edition, starting with the one you see on the right, they will be inviting an illustrator to create a profile of someone they think is "profile-worthy".
   
Since this is The Food Issue, they thought I would be a likely candidate.  And since I'm always open to shameless self-promotion I agreed. Besides, it sounded fun.

Lindsay hooked me up with Jason Turner, the illustrator, who proceeded to grill me with challenging questions like: "Do you cook as well?" "How is the Ottawa book coming along?" and "what is your earliest memory of eating out."

Jason has done an excellent job, but it's still kind of odd seeing yourself in a cartoon strip.  Cool, but odd.  Especially when someone hits the mark as well as Jason did. Hey, he even caught me delivering CheapEats on my bike.

With Jason's permission  I've posted this frame, but you'll have to check out Broken Pencil: The Food Issue to see the whole strip. But make sure you pick up the right edition. Many of the Chapters/Indigo chain still have the last edition on their racks. (Which is also good, but not as food centric)  I picked up my fresh copy at Pages on Queen W.

As always, I have a couple of quibbles when profiles show me doing this alone. In real life, a huge team of people across North America work really hard to make CheapEats guides possible. I'd love to see a profile of the team, showing all the hard work everyone involved invests in CheapEats. But I guess I'll have to find a CheapEats illustrator to get that rolling   Hummm...

Tags:  CheapEats, CheapEats Toronto, alexa clark, broken pencil, cartoon, jason turner

Photojunkie spotlight on CheapEats' editor Alexa Clark

Have you ever wondered where this whole CheapEats concept came from? How it got started? Why Ottawa and Toronto were our first cities? Where else are we going?

Well, Rannie over at Photojunkie.ca asked these questions and more when he interviewed me after the launch of CheapEats Toronto 2006 for the Spotlight section of Photojunkie.ca.

Alexa Clark serves up some Cheap Eats

If you leave a comment on Photojunkie.ca spilling your favourite Toronto CheapEat you might even win a copy of the latest Toronto edition.

Tags: cheapeats, cheapeats toronto, alexa clark, photojunkie, rannie turingan

Bring My Own Wine now on the menu.

We're pleased to announce that Sandy at BringMywine.ca has agreed to allow us to syndicate her BYOW newsletters as part of the cheapeats ottawa and cheapeats toronto blogs.

That means that starting with the Bring My Wine Alert #22, we will be keeping you up to date on the Ontario restaurants that support BYOW. 

Collected Works' Review of CEOT

reviewed by Trish Slater of Collected Works Bookstore in Ottawa

Cheapeats Ottawa is a wonderful little book, filled with places to eat that are not only inexpensive, but highlight some of Ottawa's hidden restaurant treasures.

"Cheapeats has one of our top ten (10) titles since its release."

With indexes by area and cuisine, the book gives genuinely useful information such as  hours of business, level of kid friendliness, vegetarian options,  halal options, presence of a patio and even portion sizes. There is even information on how to get there by bus.

Gazette: Café Nostalgica makes grade as “cheapeat”

Link: Gazette: The voice of Canada's University.

Café Nostalgica makes grade as “cheapeat”

ISSUE 20: September 16 | 2004

cheapeats ottawa publisher, Alexa Clark For anyone who has ever eaten a meal at Café Nostalgica, it shouldn't be surprising to learn that the popular campus eatery has made its way into a new restaurant guide called cheapeats ottawa. The book recommends 225 restaurants in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, where you can get breakfast for less than $5, lunch for less than $10 and dinner for less than $15. Editor Alexa Clark explained that eateries had to meet four criteria to be included: “Is it cheap? Is it good? Does it have at least one seat? Was it recommended?” The guide offers a neighbourhood and cuisine index along with “celebrity recommendations.” Café Nostalgica, which hosted the launch of cheapeats ottawa, is listed on page 22. The entry notes that “the food is eclectic and as tasty as a gourmet French restaurant with much lower prices.” The vegetarian pizza with pesto is highly recommended. “The atmosphere is unpretentious and full of vitality,” the guide adds, an assessment echoed by the many campus regulars of the GSAED-operated establishment. cheapeats ottawa is the second such guide to be published by Clark. A Toronto version was launched two years ago and has sold more than 5,000 copies. Clark is now researching Vancouver, Halifax and Montreal as possible future markets. There have been inquiries as well from U.S. cities including Boston and Los Angeles. The guide retails for $11.95 and is available in Ottawa bookstores.

A Capital Addition to cheapeats!

PLETHORA PRESS IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE ARRIVAL OF CHEAPEATS OTTAWA IN BOOKSTORES AUGUST 13, 2004! A CAPITAL ADDITION TO THE BEST-SELLING CHEAPEATS RESTAURANT GUIDES!

Ottawa, ON - August 10, 2004 - On August 13th, cheapeats ottawa will be available in bookstores across Ottawa. For just $11.95, about what readers will save on 2 meals out, cheapeats ottawa will whet readers appetites while protecting their pocket books. cheapeats ottawa is bursting with 225 recommendations for meals under $15, and includes quick lists to point hungry readers in the direction of the best bubble tea or where to nurse a hangover.

On August 13th, you can find cheapeats ottawa at Perfect Books, Leishman Books, Collected Works, After Stonewall, Books On Beechwood and online at www.cheapeatsottawa.com.

"When I have a guest, I choose a Cheapeat and I know I wont be embarrassed either culinarily or financially," George Walton, cheapeats devotee, Toronto

cheapeats ottawa will help readers navigate their way through the diverse neighbourhoods, cuisines and cultures in and around the capital. Facts have been thoroughly checked, restaurants visited, quality assured and prices verified. Each restaurant has been independently profiled in cheapeats ottawa and is recommended for a specific meal, including what readers can expect to pay, and a suggested dish to try for value or quality.

225 restaurants where readers can feast on breakfast for under $5, lunch for under $10 and dinner for under $15, including a drink and taxes! The listings also contain hours, website, intersection and lists features including parking, friendly service, fully tummy and WIFI access.

What's on the cheapeats menu?
YUCCA ROOT & CHICHARRON p. 43
a Latin specialty of savoury root vegetable and crispy pork skin ($6.50 & $7.50) La Cabana, 848B Merivale Road

DONBURI p. 83
a Japanese rice bowl with meat, fish, eggs and/or vegetables and broth ($11.75) Takara Japanese Restaurant, 366 Dalhousie Street

KILLALOE SUNRISE BEAVER TAIL p. 19
a hot, delicious lemon and cinnamon sugar pastry, indigenous to Ottawa ($3.25) Beaver Tails, 69 George Street

BUN TOM CANG NUONG p. 67
a dry soup with choice of BBQ shrimp or beef, atop vermicelli and salad veggies ($6.75) Pho Rua Vang, 343 Booth Street

PÉCHÉ DHECTOR (HECTORS SIN) p. 22
a grand breakfast with two French toasts or pancakes, two eggs and roast pork ($6.50) Café Diana, 23 rue Wright, Hull

YATKILT WATT p. 39
carrots, cabbage and potatoes resplendent in a savoury sauce ($5.50) The Horn Of Africa, 364 Rideau Street

Bon appetit!

cheapeats ottawa has been featured in Food Services & Hospitality Magazine, CP24's consumer report, CBC's Ontario Today, Metro Morning, Here & Now and Information Morning, the Halifax Herald, Toronto's NOW Magazine, FAB magazine, CityTV's Breakfast Television, CFRB, and ABC's Dining Around with Gene Burns.

cheapeats restaurant guides are now in their second year in Toronto. cheapeats toronto 2003/04 is #1 best seller at Toronto's Cookbook Store, and last year's edition was a 2002 best-seller.
-- 30 --
For more information contact
cheapeats ottawa - pr@cheapeatsottawa.com