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...

Open at last - Café Gaïa in downtown Hull

by Angela

As of today, the famous rue Montclair friendly vegetarian hole-in-the-wall has a brand new, slightly spiffier twin in downtown Hull! Located at the corner of Frontenac and Laval, Café Gaïa is steps away from the animated rue Laval café strip, and offers the same delicious menu that made the original outlet a favourite among local foodies - granolas or not - who have anxiously been waiting for a more accessible location. The new outlet is open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, and they also offer take out.

CheapEats menu includes sandwiches, soups and salads - for a few bucks more ($12.95  and I drink water!), you get a fuller meal, made from seasonal ingredients, such as their divine veggie couscous. And lots of leafy greens (oh, I can't live without them!)  Desserts themselves are worth the detour. 
And it's all healthy, made with love, and served with a smile...(full review to come!)

[This post was written by Angela Lu, a new contributor to CheapEats Ottawa. Angela is an Gatineau-based writer and serious foodie, cruising the Quebec side of the river for cinq-a-sept treats and the best poutine to share with you. Read Angela's other posts...]

Technorati Tags: cafe gaia, hull, new location, ceot, restaurant, vegetarian restaurant, review

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.

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]

Eat Like A Pirate

Avast, me maties! Today be September 19th -  International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

I have been rackin' me brain t' come up with where t' drink me grog and fill me belly t'day without spendin' all me dubloons.

No barnical soup and salt pork today, here be my ideas on where t' Eat Like A Pirate:

• Eddy's Quick Lunch (pg.31), Aladdin Convenience & Bakery (pg.16) and Nicastro's (pg.60) on Baldwin - so cheap tis like yer robbin' them! But you can leave yer cutlass at home.
• Neptune's Kitchen (pg.58) or Merivale Fish Market (pg.55) - tis not chum, tis much much better. 
• Shawarma Palace (pg.78) or Beaver Tails (pg.19) - great hook-food for when yer up t' crow's nest.
• Groovy's Roti Hut (pg. 37) or Caribbean Flavours (pg.24) - for a taste o' t' islands.

Fer all ye lubbers out thar who want t' talk like a pirate too, here be some bountiful links for ye:

• English-to-pirate translator
• Chat like a pirate dictionary
• Top Ten Pickup Lines for the Pirate
• Knit Like a Pirate
• What be Yer Inner Pirate?

So, me beauties, answer smartly - where be you goin' t' get yer salty dog?

Tags: talk like a pirate day, eat like a pirate, grog, pirate

Recent Reader Recos

Here's what other CheapEaters have been talking about...

Add your own comments or tell us about your recent finds and CheapEats faves. You could win a copy of the book  and you could find your recommendation in the next edition of CheapEats Ottawa. 

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Now Seating at Fettucine's on Elgin

When we started working the first edition of CheapEats Ottawa, we got lots of recommendations for Fettuccine's on Elgin.  But sadly they didn't have a place to sit ("at least one seat".) 

Good news: they now have a counter along the front window with four stools.  Perfect for a quick lunch.

The question is: are people still raving about them?

Tags: ottawa, fettuccine's, elgin street