FUNKY DINING DESTINATIONS
Ottawa, Gatineau are building their foodie cred
There’s an old joke regarding the Ottawa food scene that goes something like this: when someone asks, “Where should I go out to eat in Ottawa?” the quickie comeback is, “Montreal.” Ba-dum-ch!
I know, I know — not nice. But for a while there, it was pretty accurate.
I last spent time in the capital over a decade ago, when my search for a good restaurant came up with Domus Café (which closed in 2014), the original Beckta (more on that later) and not much else. Of course, a decade is an eternity in the restaurant business, and while Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto and Vancouver continue to dominate Canada’s food scene, smaller cities like Calgary, Saskatoon and that hotbed of Canadian gastronomy St. John’s have steadily built their foodie cred.
To that list I’d now add Ottawa, which, combined with the Gatineau region, has become quite the funky dining destination. I don’t think I’d recommend a Montrealer make the two-hour drive down the 40 West exclusively for dinner, but it’s certainly worth it in combination with all the other great things to do in the capital. Besides visiting the Parliament buildings, one can soak up the magnificent exhibitions at the Canadian Museum of History, the Canadian Museum of Nature or the National Gallery of Canada. In winter, an afternoon skating on the Rideau Canal is about as Canadian an experience as you can get.
Dining is now certainly part of an Ottawa visit. And aside from restaurants, the Ottawa/Gatineau food scene has so much else to offer, including bakeries, butcher shops, microbreweries, cafés, ice cream parlours, gourmet shops and more.
Any tour of Ottawa should in- clude a visit to the city centre’s By Ward Market, which averages around 50,000 visitors per weekend in summer. Like Montreal’s Jean-Talon Market, the By Ward features around 260 stands, including stalls by local farmers or resellers (each stall is identified as such) and over 600 businesses.
A nostalgic favourite is the original Beaver Tails stand (69 George St.), dating back to 1980. It was the first store in what is now a chain of 119 franchises, and the first place I had a taste of this irresistible slab of cinnamon-sugared fried dough.
Another must is Corazón de Maíz (55 By Ward Market Sq.),
a taco stand with authentic quesadillas, nachos and burritos. For more taco action in the market neighbourhood, don’t miss El Camino (81 Clarence St.), a casual sit-down restaurant where the fish and beef tongue tacos are bliss, especially when enjoyed with a perfect margarita.
You’ll find unique shops along- side the many chain outlets in the market area, starting with the fun Tea Store (53 York St.), where you can choose from more than 300 varieties of teas, ranging from traditional orange pekoe to wild blends. (I picked up a cucumber/ melon green tea.) The Cupcake Lounge (6 By Ward Market Sq.) gives new life to the somewhat passé little cake. The ones here aren’t too sweet and are made fresh daily with all-natural
ingredients. (Try the red velvet.) And after you admire the farmers’ stands overflowing with garlic, squash and pickled peppers, make like Barack Obama and head to the Moulin de Provence bakery (55 By Ward Market Sq.) for one of their Canada cookies, made famous by the former president when he picked up a few for his daughters when visiting in 2009. They’re delicious, but try the lunette cookies, too — they’re even better.
Market fare aside, bakery items are big in Ottawa, which seems to be more of a cinnamon bun and danish town compared to Montreal’s croissant culture. That’s fine with me, because such sweet breads are standouts, along with the superb coffee, at the
Art Is In Bakery (250 City Centre Ave).
Located in a strip mall a short drive from downtown, this cool bakery is proof that even the least glamorous places can draw the food crowd, thanks to its terrific bread, towering Cronuts, tender scones and irresistible sticky buns. If I lived nearby, I’d pick up a latte and pretzel danish to go daily, or pull up a chair and just hang out at one of the communal tables or on the outdoor terrasse.
A few doors away, you’ll find some of Ottawa’s best local brews at
Beyond the Pale (250 City Centre Ave.).
You can purchase beer to go or pull up a stool to enjoy a flight of their best beers. Or you can simply sample one or two, like the Aromatherapy, a Vermont-style IPA with floral and citrusy notes and bitterness (thanks to an IBU of 55), or the Pink Fuzz, a wheat ale infused with grapefruit zest.
Designer doughnuts are big in Ottawa, and
SuzyQ Doughnuts (969 Wellington St. W.)
is hard to beat. Its fat, Finnish-style doughnuts are sold in flavours such as maple bacon, cookies ‘n’ cream and salty caramel. The shop is minimalist chic, and that whole strip of Wellington makes for great window shopping and noshing.
There are other sweet Ottawa treats worth discovering at
The Merry Dairy (102 Fairmont Ave.),
which specializes in soft serve, frozen custard and homemade ice cream sandwiches. The Merry Dairy has run a well-known food truck operation since 2012, but its new bricks-and-mortar location (opened last spring) is definitely worth a visit. The frozen-custard soft serve tastes like the richest crème brûlée, but the mint chocolate chip was my personal fave. The Merry Dairy also serves dairy-free ice cream, and the facility is 100 per cent nut free.
On the savoury side of the equation is the renowned charcutier
Seed to Sausage (729 Gladstone Ave.).
The salami is the big draw (the Northern Italian smoked salami is drop-dead delicious), but everything is top-notch and the shop is filled with gourmet products.
RESTAURANTS
When it comes to fine dining in Ottawa, Stephen Beckta’s name comes up often. The Ottawa native made his name in New York City working as sommelier at Café Boulud, the original restaurant of New York über-chef Daniel Boulud. After meeting his future Ottawabased wife, Beckta returned to his hometown and opened his restaurant in a renovated old house on a side street five minutes from 24 Sussex Drive. Since then, Beckta
(150 Elgin St.) has moved to posh new digs, and he now has two more restaurants to his name:
Play Food and Wine (1 York St.),
which is a great choice for a meal before or after a National Gallery visit, and
Gezellig (337 Richmond Rd.),
a more family-centred bistro in the heart of Westboro Village, a vibrant and oh-so-hip neighbourhood about a 10-minute drive from the Parliament buildings.
Equally hip and vibrant is the wonderful
Pure Kitchen (340 Elgin St.),
which serves some of the best vegetarian cuisine and fresh juices I’ve ever tasted. This hugely popular restaurant serves a mean kale Caesar, hearty grain bowls and a wild dish where cauliflower florets are cooked like spicy chicken wings. Yum! I sampled all their juices, and fell hard for the Surge (carrot, apple, orange, ginger, lemon) and the Electrify ( beet, pineapple, cucumber, apple, turmeric, ginger, lemon).
Those up for something more decadent might prefer the southern-style cuisine at
Union Local 613 (315 Somerset St. W.).
Their Dirty Burger is a sight to behold, complete with fried egg, fried onions, cheddar slice and greens on a cornbread bun. The fried chicken is another winner, and even their salads are a treat. Union Local 613 has quite the cocktail program as well, and even a secret speakeasy space downstairs where you can enjoy a whole different list of libations, along with live music on occasion, in a space the size of a walk-in closet.
The restaurant enjoying the lion’s share of the buzz lately is no doubt Riviera (62 Sparks St.). Located in a magnificent former jewelry store/bank/stamp collector’s edifice, this is one swanky restaurant, complete with towering ceilings, a 70-foot bar, jazz background tunes, old-school china, and even a moustached bartender: Ottawa legend Stephen Flood. The cocktail list is spectacular, and I wouldn’t think of beginning a meal here without trying at least one of Flood’s creations. After that, go for a few oysters, enjoy the deer tartare, the burrata and tomato salad or yellowtail ceviche, and follow up with their terrific corn chowder filled with scallops and bacon, or the luscious red deer cavatelli. I really loved their take on the classic chicken Kiev, and if you can handle even more, don’t miss the pavlova for dessert. The cooking is close to faultless at Riviera, which explains why it’s tough to nab a table. Be sure to book well in advance.
Ottawa’s most famous gastronomic hot spot is surely chef Marc Lepine’s acclaimed Atelier (540
Rochester St.). If tasting menus, wine pairings, artistic plate presentations and a three-hour dining experience are your idea of a good time, this is the restaurant for you. The meticulousness of it all left me a little cold, but Lepine gives you his all with a diverse menu chock full of flavours, colours and textures, all boosted by stellar wine pairings. Intense foodies only need apply.
GATINEAU
A short drive from the capital, Gatineau’s Hull sector is home to two more great eating spots. Edgar
(60 Bégin St.) is the lair of the incredible Marysol Foucault, a chef who likes to play with big flavours. Her maple syrup-doused Dutch baby pancake topped with braised pork belly and aged cheddar is legendary, but everything on offer is a treat — though definitely a calorific one. Edgar is a small space with about a dozen seats, which means weekend brunch fills up quickly. (It’s worth the wait, though.) The good news is Edgar is now open Tuesday to Sunday for brunch and lunch, so the chance to get one of those seats has greatly increased. There’s also plenty of baked goods to go, and the coffee is just great.
The wine, cocktail and microbrewery scene in Ottawa is outstanding, and there’s an impressive number of Ontario wines featured at the city’s restaurants. For those looking for such gems — and wines from the world over — Soif (88
Montcalm St.) is a must. The two-year-old wine bar is the brainchild of star sommelier Véronique Rivest, who favours bottles from organic or biodynamic wineries. I was impressed by the rollicking ambience the two times I’ve dined at Soif, and if you’re lucky enough to be served by the passionate and ever-smiling Rivest herself (she travels a lot), you are in for one memorable evening. Soif’s style of cuisine is small plates, so prepare to share, and consider trying many wines — small tasting pours are the way to get the most out of the experience. I prefer the simpler dishes — tartare, charcuterie, cheese, and how about a steak/ frites with a heady glass of Côtes du Rhône? Sweet.
Lesley Chesterman was invited by Ottawa Tourism