Month: April 2009

Restaurant Apr 17, 2009 The Waffle 2 Comments On our road trip to Toronto, we had to stop for lunch, and Scott had pre-selected our lunch spot for us:  we were to stop in Kingston, at Bubba’s Pizzeria. According to Scott, this place, located on King Street, is standing room only when the bars are closing. It is easy to see why: Bubba is a small place.  12 people could sit at the table in the middle, a few more on stools by the window. But as we walked in today, there was one person eating a burger at a table and another one was leaving with a pizza. Scott was also claiming that when he visited his brother here when he was attending Queen’s, this was the best poutine in town. Sure enough, the store’s window was proudly displaying it’s #1 poutine in Kingston as awarded by Queen’s Journal. However,…

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Baseball, Restaurant Apr 17, 2009 The Waffle 1 Comment We arrived in Toronto fairly early – we made good time, thanks to a combination of speed mania and pregnancy. For our stay, we rented rooms at the Renaissance which is attached to the Rogers Centre. We checked-in, settled in our rooms, and proceeded to Arriba for refreshments. Arriba is a self-described Modern Mediteranean Restaurant and Lounge.  Seems like an odd choice for a place with a view on the Rogers Centre, but hey, what do I know, perhaps baseball fans visiting Toronto are also fans of Mediteranean fare.  The view is quite neat, and having a good meal is enticing, but if you do make reservations for game time, please be aware that you need to spend at least $50 per person – $75 if the Red Sox or the Yankees are in town.  No charges for the Expos, though. We…

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Restaurant Apr 15, 2009 The Waffle 5 Comments There are a lot of Thaï restaurants in the National Capital Region.  A lot.     You can almost never go wrong, but it is quite hard to go all the way to the top.  Green Papaya – a local favourite – has four locations, and its sister chain, Hot Peppers.  Siam Bistro was a hit, before it burnt down. (They now have re-opened.) In the market, you make a pretty good choice if you end up at the Royal Thaï.  Siam Kitchen and Som Tum are also pretty good, and they both offer nice combo plates. Considering its location way out in Ottawa South, Sweet Basil is good, but overpriced. On the Quebec side, Chez le Thaï is quite good, and they have a great backyard terrace in the summer.  Le Lotus Royal Thaï on Montcalm is small, pricey, but excellent.   But without…

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Recipes Apr 12, 2009 The Waffle 1 Comment We were having a few friends over for Easter brunch, and I had been thinking about trying something I had never tried before.  Well, yes, I do know it is wrong to try new stuff on unsuspecting guests, but I had to do it:  a ham on the BBQ! I went to the Byward Market looking for the right piece of meat, and Aubrey’s seemed like the place to go.  After all, they have been around since 1908.  After looking at their selection, and being stopped from buying a half-pig, I settled on a quarter ham. Surely, it would be enough for 6 people.  Well, 5 really since one of them is vegetarian.  But you never know, she might be tempted, I thought.   First, I brined the ham in salted water overnight, after bringing the ham to a boil and letting…

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General Apr 8, 2009 The Waffle No Comments In Ottawa, people often try to use food to promote their cause, their organization or their business. Food and politics do mix well, apparently.  So much so that Maclean’s has a full time guy covering the scene (candy Martini, anyone?) , and so does the Hill Times. It happens all the time, and politicians, staff and especially interns are always happy to indulge and enjoy free food. And booze. Which brings me to the most recent food-related marketing operation that I witnessed, which was certainly different and interesting.  And it made a lot of people smile, which is a plus when you invest time and money to promote your business. After working in politics for close to a decade, Ian Capstick left the NDP after the last election, and he set up his own communications consulting shop, MediaStyle.  Ian’s proposal is to…

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