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

While we still don’t exactly know what happened with the closing of the Imperial, we do know that a new burger joint will be taking over the vacant space soon. Burgers’n'Fries Forever, aka BFF, is bringing some competition to the Ottawa burger scene. BFF plans on offering fresh, wholesome and unique burgers (halal meat, mushroom caps and more) prepared daily in-house, as well as hand-cut, double-fried Belgian french fries, home made sodas, and something they call gelato burgers. What’s a gelato burger you ask?  First you take two cookies and warm them... | Continue reading article

If you drive West of Ottawa, and drive till there’s nothing, you could very well be in Ashton. With a scant population of 200, this idyllic village has a post office, two churches, an old convenience store, many a field, and the Old Mill Pub, featuring the Ashton Brewing Company – the very purpose of our jaunt. Although the banks of snow had melted a great deal, my mocking of the snowmobile directions found on their website came back around to slap me in the face. Four burly sleds were... | Continue reading article

by @iscoff Since I’m on Twitter almost all day, it’s not often I get the opportunity to talk about what I eat for breakfast, so you can imagine my delight when I was asked to write a few words about the breakfast offerings of Art Is In Bakery. “What if we sold people sandwiches in a warehouse?” is a question that was clearly asked during the planning stages of this not-so-hidden gem. You might notice it because it’s in a giant building with a big sign that says “Art Is... | Continue reading article

Despite the lack of a sign over the door, the opening of Richard’s Hintonburg Kitchen over the weekend was one of the neighbourhood’s worst kept secrets. And while west-enders are rejoicing over yet another high calibre addition to a neighbourhood already packed with foodie destinations, it must be a weight off the back of founder and head chef Richard Nigro. He’s been piecing the new venture together for quite some time, and to hear from kitchen staff Lynda Hall, last-minute tweaks (like the addition of a door to mask the entrance to... | Continue reading article

What’s the most rational thing to do on St. Paddy’s Day for a guy who doesn’t drink and doesn’t fight? Go to a gastro-pub and listen to rowdy Irish music, obviously. The last time I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day was in St. John’s, where my night was a blur of green beer, green hats, free Miller t-shirts (because Irish) and two bars (I’m guessing on that last one). Of course, one of the fun parts about March 17th is that, when done right, you can never accurately compare this year’s... | Continue reading article

It is impossible to dislike poutine. Yes, I am calling out you liars: it is impossible. Whether it’s in a traditional styrofoam cup leaking gravy onto a picnic table or served with pulled pork, vegetarian gravy, homefries or other creative ingredients, it’s hard not to gravitate to the one menu item guaranteed not to let you down. With a little help from the polling worlds of Twitter and Facebook, we have found some of Ottawa’s go-to poutine destinations. 1-  Sasha’s Chip Wagon. For weeks people have yelled that it is the... | Continue reading article

There’s probably a lot I could say about Wellington End. But, since this is web writing, I’m going to try to condense it into a sentence.  Here it is: Fantastic music, great beer, delicious food, all local. Cheap, too! Just 30 bucks for the whole thing, and that gets you access to 40+ artists across several venues, all in the same, very cool, strip on Wellington near Irving. Tonight’s lineup features NDMA, No Kinds of Love, Kenny Voita and The Glorious Moon Rockets. Find more info here. Oh, and here’s... | Continue reading article

It’s been quite a few months since my last food post, and that’s definitely not due to a lack of memorable meals to write about or amazing people in the industry I’ve met. That said, I think it’s only fitting that I re-emerge with a post about one of Ottawa’s newest joints, one whose name has been on everyone’s lips recently: Supply and Demand. For those who don’t know, 28-year-old chef Steve Wall – formerly of Luxe, Town, Whalesbone, and the list goes on – recently took a chance and... | Continue reading article

This post originally appeared on Vanier Now.  The jukeboxes may have been removed from Fontenelle years ago, but this Saturday (February 16), 1960s French pop is back. From the well-known to the obscure, Vanier-born DJ Mimi la Twisteuse is bringing her vinyl collection of French yé yé to Après-Snow at Fontenelle, an evening component of Vanier’s Winter Carnival. Having hosted the always packed monthly Franco-dance party Zoï Zoï in the mid 2000s at The Boat in Toronto, and now the co-host of Montreal’s weekly radio show MondoPQ, dedicated to French pop, rock and soul of... | Continue reading article