Finding a place to eat lunch in Little Italy has always been a real dilemma. You got your beloved standbys like Dirienzo sandwiches,  new entrants like Beech St. Burger and of course your pick of pasta or pizza. A new addition to the strip - The Zydeco Smokehouse (432 ½ Preston St., right next to Pub Italia) – has just made the decision that much harder. Focusing on freshly made cajun inspired fare, Zydeco fits right in to the neighbourhood’s tradition of straight-forward food without a lot of fuss and muss. We... | Continue reading article

There’s a distinct possibility that Ontarians will be waking up Friday morning to the LCBO’s first strike in its 87-year history. And given it’s the Victoria Day long weekend, the timing of the looming labour stoppage — unless you’re among the 95 percent of LCBO employees who’ve voted in favour of a strike mandate — couldn’t be worse. Thankfully, if a strike does come to pass, thirsty Ottawans won’t be without options. Here are five handy ways to keep yourself hydrated during the coming dry spell. Microbreweries Over the past... | Continue reading article

It could be that Bon Appetit has endured as one of Ottawa’s premier foodie events because it’s not too fussy or pretentious. There’s no competition, just a celebration of food and community. This was the event’s second time at the Ernst & Young Centre (formerly known as the Capital Exhibition Centre), which provided enough space to really spread out. All that elbow room and ceiling height creates an easy, casual experience where visitors can focus on the tastes instead of traffic jams. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, which... | Continue reading article

All photos by Heather Rourke Hands up if you compulsively watch the Food Network—especially “Eat St.”, their celebration of great food trucks around the world. Til now, Ottawa has not made the cut as a great street food city, but that’s all about to change. On Wednesday at lunch time, City Hall previewed a welcome addition to our food scene – some of the new food trucks and carts that were recently granted licenses to operate around Ottawa. Like plenty of downtown office workers and urban residents, I’ve been counting the... | Continue reading article

Jane’s Walk Ottawa, an annual festival of free walking tours held in honour of urban theorist Jane Jacobs, took place last weekend. We got our contributors out on a few of the walks and will be posting their photos and stories here on the site just in case you didn’t get the chance to participate. “If you wanna keep it going, you gotta keep it small.” These words of the gregarious Mr. So, owner of the So Good Restaurant, summed up the theme of Apt613’s Jane’s Walk through Ottawa’s eclectic... | Continue reading article

Who knew that there was a glaring gap in the city’s roster of summer festivals? I didn’t until I found out about the Desserts of the World Festival, taking place this Wednesday, May 8th at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Now that I think about it, the lack of a festival focusing exclusively on baked goods and other sweets was a shocking omission, one that has shamed Ottawa until now. The premise of the event is simple: pay a $20 admission, then sample a variety of sweet things from around the world... | Continue reading article

Last month, a team from Bridgehead traveled down to Guatemala to visit the sources of their coffees. They traveled throughout the countryside, meeting growers and visiting cooperatives. One of the highlights? A cupping competition to determine the best coffees produced by CODECH, an umbrella cooperative that represents 300+ farmers in rural Huehuetanango. Here, we get a glimpse into the wonderful world of cupping – coffee beans are ground, brewed, smelled, tasted, spit out and analysed by judges. Some of the best end up here in our city – that medium... | Continue reading article

I transplanted here from New York in July 2012 and I have a confession to make. In my first few months in Ottawa I dragged my partner into various random places (often on Elgin St.) for a drink, and then complained that, “no one in this town knows how to make a proper Negroni!”  He would simply roll his eyes and tell me not to say that too loudly. Yes, I know it sounds a little pretentious and obnoxious, but it seemed to be the sad, honest truth.  Part of... | Continue reading article

I’m a bit of a coffee geek. While on vacation I plan visits to roasters. I consider a half pound bag of coffee to be a valid souvenir and we ditched the electric coffee machine in favour of pour-over and AeroPress brewers at our house long ago. I am, however, NOTHING compared to the coffee experts who will descend upon the Bridgehead Roastery this weekend for the Canadian Brewers Cup & Cup Tasters events. This is a competition where baristas and coffee tasters get to show of their respective skills.... | Continue reading article

So, I’m one of those annoying, unabashed foodie types that waxes on about the merits of things that are cooked sous-vide while en route to the newest chic taco joint. As a devotee of all things tasty, I inevitably find myself leaving a restaurant with a take-out container filled with the night’s left-overs, which are often too delicious to leave for the green bin – or worse yet – the dumpster. And it’s the makeup of these containers that often irks me, and is the subject of the first ever... | Continue reading article