I was treated to the most excellent of birthday dinners at Town by two dear friends last month. As someone who loves good food, it was a surprise that I had not already been since it opened in June of 2010. Having looked at the menu beforehand, I was excited when the night of our reservations came. As it turns out, my excitement was warranted – this meal easily made my top three dinners out, ever. Town is a family owned restaurant, located at 296 Elgin Street in Centretown. Firm believers... | Continue reading article

Until recently, food preservation was thought of as a dowdy and grandma-ish chore, if one thought about it at all. In recent years, however, canning and other food preservation techniques have gained a new prominence, less as a necessity for surviving harsh winters than as a trendy pastime. A new exhibit at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, which is part of the Experimental Farm, aims to situate this trend in a long history of food preservation. The exhibit is called “Food Preservation: The Science You Eat” (which doesn’t seem... | Continue reading article

Continuing my series on Open Mic/Open Jam nights in our Capital, this month brings me to the wonderfully snug pub of Woody’s in Ottawa’s Golden Triangle downtown area of Elgin St., a busy street which hosts a wealth of activity throughout the year, including the annual Ball Hockey Tournament, Charity Chili Cook-Off, and has been affectionately dubbed Ottawa’s Sens Mile. Woody’s Urban Pub, founded in 1986, boasts an excellent bistro/pub-style menu, a great selection of draught beers and wines, and a large front window which opens up onto a quaint... | Continue reading article

Despite her day job as a bureaucrat, A. Laramey is a writer who spends far too much time on the internet. You can find her on Facebook. This year marks the 5th anniversary of the creation of the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans, and in the spirit of creativeness, arts and community, Shenkman is hosting a 5th anniversary celebration on May 31st .  And what a five years it’s been! The goal of the centre was “to create a home for arts and culture in east Ottawa,” says Karen Scott-Gagné, Marketing and... | Continue reading article

Anyone who loves curry often wants endless supplies. So many restaurants in our city can put a spin on a curry dish, a foodie is never disappointed and a novice is rarely overwhelmed. These magical places come together every year to flaunt their curry skills, and this year it’s for The Great Curry Cook-Off presented by the Ottawa Fringe Festival. For the past several years, the Fringe Festival has put on a fundraiser for curry lovers and curry inspired dishes from local restaurants around the city. Roughly a dozen restaurants... | Continue reading article

This past weekend I got a chance to sit down with co-owners Alessandro Argentina and Mike Hopkins of The Loft Board Game Lounge, to chat about their passion for board games and their brand new lounge. In the midst of preparations for their grand opening this Thursday, the two partners explained their vision and the driving force behind their idea to open the lounge in downtown Ottawa. Alessandro and Mike, both Ottawa natives, joined forces about a year ago in an attempt to introduce something fresh to the Ottawa nightlife... | Continue reading article

Where do you go when you’re craving pho, shawarma, bibimbap, or korma? Where must you absolutely take out-of-town guests for the best sushi, bannock, pupusa, or schnitzel? I decided to put my chopsticks where my mouth is and craft this list of the best global cuisine in Ottawa as a response to this recent Where to Eat in the Capital City feature – while I’m a big fan of every eatery mentioned, what frustrated me was the favouring of obvious, trendy spots and near-omission of global grub. O-town eaters know... | Continue reading article

Privé is at it again promoting another [classy, 19+] mouth watering experience, that has been the Tac-O The Town! What is Privé, you ask… Privé is an Advertising and Marketing agency that loves food. They are “famous” for bringing Ottawa The Underground Chef Market in November of last year and The Sip n’ Slurp Noodle Fest. in February. I used the word “famous” because as a fat girl at heart Privé events are always the highlight to my week. Nothing beats a night out with fantastic food! It’s a perfect... | Continue reading article

When I pulled up to the Overbrook industrial park and saw David Villarroel and his two young boys waving a blaring fire truck towards the back of the building, I thought: Oh no, the Cauldron Kitchen is already up in smoke! Turns out it was just a burning bush outside and not the premature demise of the Ottawa engineer’s new start-up business — a first-of-its-kind in the city — a commercial community kitchen. A sign from above, perhaps? Had he and business partner Dave Neil indeed been “chosen” to lead Ottawa’s... | Continue reading article

Prom dresses, 80’s office attire and a fair share of bad suits will be making their way down Elgin Street on April 26 to celebrate Ottawa’s fourth annual Bad Suit Pub Crawl. Groups of sober strangers put on terrible outfits and stop by pub after pub, transforming into drunken friends, still looking just as awful. All of these efforts go towards raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society. Participants are expected to contribute $2.40 each or an empty case of beer. “Instead, people (usually) hand me $20’s and $50’s,” says... | Continue reading article