In this feature, Apt613 asks blog contributors and local food lovers about their recent Ottawa area restaurant highlights to help you find new tasty treats to discover or revisit when someone inevitably asks, “Where do you want to eat?” We want to hear about something that you ate and loved! Leave comments below, and if you’d like to contribute to a future edition of Best Bites, email <editors@apt613.ca>.
Best Bites this week:
- Working Title Kitchen (330 Laurier Ave.)
- Delights by Mama (TD Place)
- Banditos (683 Bank St.)
Working Title Kitchen has one of the loveliest patios in town, tucked against a gorgeous former church in leafy Sandy Hill with strings of lights and loads of ambiance—it’s a fantastic place for a night out.
Recently I met up with a large group of professionals for a networking event there and had one of the most satisfying salads I’ve ever had. The Grilled Romaine + Caesar Salad comes with a wedge of lightly grilled romaine lettuce, moist grilled chicken, crispy prosciutto, tons of shaved parmesan, herb oil, chunky gremolata and a very strong garlic truffle aioli. The presentation was pretty to look at, but be warned—everyone will know you’ve eaten your weight in garlic. Personally, I love it, but if you’re squeamish about garlic breath, bring your toothbrush with you. The salad was filling, and creamy, and the gremolata and parmesan gave it lots of texture. I loved the salty, crunchy prosciutto, and it was great to have so much of it to enjoy.
After seeing (and smelling) my salad, other people in the group immediately ordered one for themselves and were equally pleased. It paired really well with a Rhubarb French cocktail and lavender lemonade. The salad is $28, and definitely a good portion size for the prize.
Grilled Romaine + Chicken Caesar. Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki
There is nothing better than enjoying some delicious local food while cheering on your favourite team. I’ve already covered the food at the Ottawa Titans games, and today I’m here to tell you about amazing empanadas at TD Place for Atletico and RedBlacks games! We all know by now that I’m a lover of all latin food, and empanadas are the perfect handheld stadium food that won’t get all over you, while being easy to transport with one hand up a flight or six of steep steps.
Delights by Mama are selling their empanadas on the main South Side concourse, and all of them can come with their fiery hot aji sauce. Nearly all South American countries have their own style of empanada, and Mama offers three different options. The Columbian is a soft cornmeal dough empanada, filled with ground beef and potatoes. It is flavourful and filling, and the cornmeal is soft on the inside with a nice light crust on the outside. They are halal and also gluten free. The Argentine empanadas are made with baked flour dough and filled with beef. They are crispy and flaky on the outside and dense and beefy inside. Mama also offers a vegetarian, gluten free cheese empanada with the cornmeal dough and a very healthy serving of mozzarella cheese inside.
The Argentina empanadas. Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki
Each order comes with two empanadas the size of your hand and a fun little flag. I would recommend any of these the next time you’re at a game and you want something different! Delights by Mama is also popping up at fairs, markets, Bayview Yards, and 613Flea, if sports are not in your future.
It’s corn season and I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing. Corn is one of my favourite, perfect foods, so I will eat it any way that it comes to me, but elote (Mexican street corn) is something close to magical.
Despite being a simple dish, it’s seasonal, and not easy to find elote on every Mexican menu, so I have to give a special shout out to Banditos in the Glebe for their fantastic corn. I’ve eaten alot of elote in my time, and theirs is fantastic. The grilled corn is drenched in spiced butter, with a zingy lime crema, fresh cilantro and a liberal sprinkling of tajin spice. The corn is mega juicy, creamy and salty, with a little bit of spice, but not a dangerous amount of heat. Some recipes call for cheese on the elote, but this simple version lets the fresh corn really shine.
Banditos’ elote. Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki
This is not a dish to eat if you are trying to be mysterious, because it is messy. An order of elote comes with two cobs for $12, so it’s a perfect sharing snack with a couple of tacos, or just another three orders of corn. I will not judge you. Sit on their enormous patio while you still can and pair your corn with a margarita or a paloma.
We want to hear about something that you ate and loved! Leave comments below, and if you’d like to contribute to a future edition of Best Bites, email <editors@apt613.ca>.
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