Hey there, capital city audiophiles. It’s another edition of Apartment613 Live, coming to you – as always – in juicy podcast form courtesy the good citizens at CHUO 89.1 FM. This week, we bring you the sounds of the recent Gatineau Festibiere, as beer aficionado Sylvain Cloutier takes us on a journey through the history of beer in la belle province. We also chat with Gen Lamorie, co-owner of the soon-to-open Burnt Butter Italian Kitchen, about Hintonburg’s continuing emergence as ground zero of the local food scene. And of course,... | Continue reading article

My experience this past Saturday convinced me that Gatineau has a few beer lessons to teach Ottawa. It was under a dark sky that my friends and I headed on the other side of the river, near Lac Leamy to participate in the first edition of the Festibière de Gatineau. Despite the weather, the yards were filled with people, young and old, beer flowed and lots of delicious food was on offer. Ça m’a surpris quelque peu de voir des grosses brasseries comme Alexander Keiths et Carlsberg, mais il faut... | Continue reading article

In the midst of an election campaign a few weeks ago, some local Ottawa politicians, community leaders, media and beer lovers converged on the new Kichesippi brewery off Carling Avenue to celebrate the launch of the brewery’s second beer – 1855. The name is a reference to the date Ottawa was founded, reinforcing the deep commitment the team at Kichesippi has to the region. For the last few weeks, I’ve been asking my usual places for the 1855 and had yet to find one with it on tap. Being the... | Continue reading article

I admit, I’ve been a bit remiss in not writing about Alpha Soul Cafe sooner. Yes, the trendy cafe-slash-wine bar opened two weeks ago, but that’s not the source of my shame. No, it goes back months, ever since the owners erected that mysterious, impossible-to-miss wooden purple facade on Wellington Street West between Fairmont and Irving. Sure, there was a blog that sporadically kept us Hintonburgers in the know – but that couldn’t be all, could it? What was really going on back there? I had my suspicions (mainly plans... | Continue reading article

Another sign Ottawa’s night life is picking up? The folks behind Barrymore’s have decided to re-open the legendary Aloha Room. In a recent Facebook message, Barrymore’s Manager George Syriannis writes: On Wednesday April 20th – ALOHA ROOM is re-opening its doors 7 days and nights a week. To some of you this little room meant alot. When it closed its doors it made you really depressed .Well its BACK n BETTER than ever. We haven’t changed much…. (dusted it up a bit and cleaned the washrooms). Open every days at... | Continue reading article

Ottawa may just have a new brew pub opening, and hopefully in time for patio season. Don’t worry – it’s not going in the Market or near our already-beloved Clocktower in the Glebe. According to CBC News, the Toronto-based Mill St. Brewery put in an application to move into the Thompson-Perkins Mill near the Portage Bridge. According to the paperwork submitted to the City by Chorny Associates Architects Inc., a micro-brewery would be installed at the Mill, churning out 40 kegs per week. 20 of these would be served at... | Continue reading article

Post by Andrew B., Apt613′s resident wine expert April 6th marks one of my favourite days on the Ottawa wine scene calendar: it’s the day of the annual California Wine Fair, hosted at the Westin Hotel on Colonel By Drive.  The event provides a unique opportunity to taste over 300 wines from all regions of California under one roof – and for one price.  Your $70 ticket gets you in the door, and allows you to sip to your heart’s content from  7-9:30 pm – all without having to wait... | Continue reading article

By Chris Cline and Yasmin Nissim This Monday night local chefs will ‘meat’ their match in a head to head, high-‘steaks’ cook-off extravaganza! The Duelling Chefs return for a second year to entice attendees with fast-paced culinary creations from some of Ottawa’s top gastronomic gurus. Last year, Juniper Wine Bar and Kitchen launched the first ever Duelling Chefs competition, intended to bring together top chefs from around Ottawa to compete in some friendly competition and raise money for local charities. This year, Juniper returns again with 10 new challengers set... | Continue reading article

Post by Andrew B., Apt613′s resident wine expert If you’re entertaining your significant other at home this Valentine’s Day, here are a few things to keep in mind: Valentine’s Day food is about both exciting and sensual flavours and textures. As such, your wine pairings should either have dazzling pop or have the semblance of melting in your mouth. Try to avoid wines with “rough edges”, so to speak. On February 14th, I often turn to the warm flavours of California and Washington Syrah for red wine, the zinging acidity... | Continue reading article

Picture this: It’s Friday night, and Joe Hintonburg is at the Elmdale Tavern with some friends. Hunger strikes. His thoughts turn to the fabled burger joint The Hintonburger. But it is not to be. The Hintonburger lies a good ways down Wellington, and it’s cold outside. Plus, it’s probably already closed. Disappointment, anger, hunger – Joe Hintonburg remains Hintonburgerless.