Meatball sandwiches!

Founded in 1934, The Prescott was one of Ottawa’s two original licensed drinking establishments, The Lafayette being the other.

Located in Ottawa’s little Italy, the business started as a corner store with founder Antonio Disipio making his own sausages and serving cheap beer.

The Prescott Hotel was named as such in 1941 because the hotel was the last building on the highway to Prescott, a town 65 miles away, hence it’s nickname, “The Last Chance”.

The spot is spacious and can accommodate a lot of people. It regularly hosts live bands and acts from the Ottawa area.

The three telephone booths are still in place, labeled French, English and Italian in order to facilitate access for customers.

This old school tavern is still popular after all these years, people gathering to watch a game, have a pint and grab some grub.

And that’s what 8 of us were doing this Friday night, as we held an important planning meeting ahead of the 11th annual Eh! Bay Invitational Golf Tournament.

We ordered a few quarts, but nobody asked for the menu, as everybody knows that when you are at the “P”, you order one of two things:
The Meatball or the Pizza.

Prescott’s Pizza is square and delicious. It comes in 5 different formats and is available in eight different combinations. The most popular is the Dewie, with Pepperoni, bacon, green peppers, mushrooms, onions and green or black olives.

But the Meatball smothered in meat sauce is THE classic at The Prescott.

You can get the Original Meatball Sandwich for $6.25, get it in the Platter version for $10.25. If you are more of a light eater, the light version is a Meatball in a Bowl for $5.75. If one sandwich is not enough, you can get 3 Prescott Sliders with coleslaw on the side for $7.99.

But the real deal is The Cadillac.

Their famous meatball sandwich with melted brick cheese, smothered with their signature meat sauce. At $8.25, it is more of a luxury and definitely more comfortable than the Original.

And The Cadillac is what we all ordered. Except for Dave, who opted for the Clubhouse. His loss, considering how long it took him to eat it.

But the Meatball Sandwiches were engulfed, and quickly.

The base of the sandwich is a simple, industrial, classic, soft, white bread. That’s it!

Between two slices, a quarter pound beef meatball. Tender, lightly seasoned, meaty.

To complete the dish, a classic homemade meat sauce. That’s right, we have a meat sandwich smothered with meat!

The sauce was delicious. Fairly sweet, with tomatoes and carrots as a base. It is reminiscent of a deluxe version of Chef Boyardee’s sauce. No, really! It has a nice, thick texture, lots of meat. Lots of consumers regularly ask for extra sauce.

I generously sprinkled grated parmesan and red pepper flakes and dug in. The goey cheese poured out the sandwich, mixing in with the sauce for more creaminess. My sandwich was warm, but Ken did point out that his was kind of cold. Tough luck!

This sandwich is strangely comforting, quite filling and deliciously addictive. I could have had one more!

No wonder this has been on the menu forever. And on the menu it shall remain.