Chipotle has arrived in Ottawa

The rumours started last spring with what appeared to be a job posting. Chipotle was looking for a restaurant general manager… in Ottawa. Even though Chipotle wouldn’t confirm, it seemed obvious. Even more obvious when Cadillac Fairview posted a new floor plan for the Rideau Centre – something folks on reddit shared widely in August: Chipotle had a spot secured in the old Elephant & Castle (followed by the failed The Exchange) location at the Rideau Centre, at the corner of Sussex and Colonel By. Chipotle confirmed on Twitter what every Ottawa Foodie was hoping for and expecting: @CBCOttawa @parkerwags Yep, if all goes according to plan, we’ll open there on January 30th. Don’t beans a stranger. -Dre — Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) January 10 2017 It didn’t quite go according to plan, as the first Ottawa Chipotle finally opened on February 2nd at 10:45 am. It is now open every day…

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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…

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Spécial saucisse!

Regular wafflers will know that when I go to Québec City, I often make sure to drop by Chez Ashton. And this Thanksgiving week-end was no different. After a morning shopping at Les Galeries de la Capitale, we made our way to Chez Ashton on 1st Avenue for lunch. It might have been the influence of the Waffle Jr., or it might have been the picture, but I ended up ordering a regular poutine with sausage. “Poutine régulière, spécial saucisses!” the cashier announced in her microphone. Ashton has 3 formats of Poutine. Small, Medium and Large would make sense. Nope: Bébé, Mini and Régulière. Go figure. Quickly, the tray was filled with our orders and we made our way to a quiet corner of the location. The poutine saucisse would not resist our assault! Ashton’s fries are really what makes me come back, I think. The potatoes they use are…

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Poor Filet-O-Fish

McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish has always been the ugly duckling of McDonald’s menu. Yet for some reason, as I looked for a quick meal at the McDonald’s on Bank at Sparks, I ended up ordering it. I can’t recall the last time I did that, and can’t really explain why I did. Perhaps it was the price? The Filet-O-Fish is the cheapest of McDonald’s big sandwich selection. At 410 calories, it is also the, ahem, healthier choice. The Filet-O-Fish was the first non-hamburger offered by McDonald’s. It was created in 1962 in Cincinnati and at first, was offered only on Fridays to attract practicing Catholics – According to church canon, Catholics being required to abstain from meat on Fridays. Along with the Hula Burger (grilled pineapple with cheese on a cold bun), McDonald’s tested the two non-meat-catholic-friendly-on-Fridays sandwiches, and clearly nobody cared much for the Hula Burger. Yet, not a lot of…

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The last breakfast of 2012

The year is ending. 2012 breakfasts would soon be a thing of the past. Since our hotel was serving the same brunch as yesterday, we decided to leave on an adventure to find a suitable location. It didn’t take long – once on Henri-Bourassa, the familiar n logo soon appeared, and so Normandin would be our last breakfast destination of 2012. Normandin is a chain of family restaurants originating from Quebec City. Their delivery service is quite popular – and noticeable, with a fleet of blinking n logos on top of red cars. It is also open late, making it a destination for the bar crowd looking for a late snack. Normandin is also sells a lot of their products at a counter, where you can get buckets of their spaghetti sauce, family size dishes such as Lasagna, Macaroni, Pâté Chinois, and savoury or sweet pies. The first one opened…

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