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:
- La Bottega Nicastro (64 George Street)
- Mr. Señor ( Ottawa Stadium, 300 Coventry rd)
- Sweet N Salad ( 1615 Orleans Blvd)
La Bottega has been an important foodie fixture in the Byward Market for thirty years, so I know that this is maybe not a hot take, but, the rotating talent in the tiny café restaurant at the back of the store has always meant that you can get more than just sandwiches. Ottawa celebrity chef Rene Rodriguez (Top Chef Canada, Beat Bobby Flay, Iron Chef Canada) took over the bustling trattoria this spring, and so as a super fan of his food and his previous Ottawa eateries (Navarra, Mercadito) the moment I spied him in that kitchen, I knew I had to get in there. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11:30 -3pm and Friday nights for dinner the tiny café is the perfect place to get lunch with the movers and shakers of downtown. The menu changes regularly, but the format of Antipasti/ Pasta/ Pizza/ wine remains the same. There are daily specials, so my bestie got the special Pizza Capricciosa with artichokes, olives, zucchini, and mortadella for $24 and I opted for the Pizza Diavola with spicy salami, olives and mozzarella for $25. We started with the special crudité which was a beautiful creamy and salty white bean pesto dip with veggies and ricotta that was divine.
La Bottega. Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki
The oval pizzas were perfectly sized for lunch, with crunchy/ chewy/ soft crust that was the ideal base for the bright tomato sauce and fresh toppings. The entertainment highlight was seeing chef Rene walk in and out of the café with armloads of fresh ingredients straight from the store to put directly on our plates. There is very limited space, so you can call ahead for a table, or wait in line and shop while you wait. Service was incredibly friendly and familiar, and the wine options were vast. Next time, I’m trying the pasta.
If you’re not new here, you know that I love tacos, and I will seek them out any chance I get. Today I’m here to tell you about one of Ottawa’s perfect experiences: birria tacos at the ballpark. I’ve been pitching the Ottawa Titans to you for a few years now, so imagine my delight when they started serving some of Ottawa’s best Mexican food at the stadium. Mr. Señor is run by a family of Salvadoreans who have mastered the Mexican oeuvre and can be found on the concourse behind the visiting dugout, to the right of the main entrance. The concession has been gaining popularity this season as more fans are following their noses past the hot dogs and pizza to the legit slow cooked meat and fresh salsas. I’ve ordered everything on the menu, and while there are zero misses (including the massive breakfast burrito on Sundays) the birria tacos are such a rare treat to find that they have to be mentioned. Birria are simple. Slow cooked beef, cooked cheese, some onions and crispy tortillas dipped in beef consommé are all it takes. Your life will be changed forever. The tacos are $7 each, and a decent meal is 2 or maybe 3 depending how hungry you are. These are definitely not overpriced stadium food, which is something that Mr. Señor clearly takes seriously. Squirt some of their hot sauce into the consommé for a bit of kick and take more napkins than you may think necessary.
Birria Tacos at Ottawa Titans game. Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki
Get a fresh lemonade or shaved ice to go with it, or a creamy horchata on the weekends if you’re lucky! If birria isn’t your style, they offer killer taquitos, tacos, nachos, quesadillas and a gorgeous taco salad. They have beef, chicken, and vegetarian options for all of their other meals. The vegetarian option is a lovely lentil based chili, which makes for an ideal salad or walking taco filling. Get your tacos. Find me behind the Titans dugout to thank me.
I’m always on the lookout for a really good, fat, satisfying salad. Especially in the summer, sometimes all you want is something cold, fresh and filling. During the last heat wave I found Sweet N Salad online and decided to give them a shot. And wow. The shop in Orleans is bright and welcoming, but they are also on the delivery apps, for convenience. They offered a menu of salads, with the option to also build your own. With toppings like haloumi, shrimp, edamame, feta cheese, pineapple, chick peas and walnuts there is something for everyone. Their menu salads like the Vegan Heaven and Fiesta range in price from $13- $16. We decided to build our own, bringing the prices up to around $19 each. The salads begin with either a crunchy base of greens (ice berg, romaine, kale and mesclun mix) couscous, or quinoa and from there you pile on veggies, fruit, cheeses, protein, seeds, herbs and dressing. I opted for a cobb style salad and added a serving of pasta for bulk.
Sweet N Salad. Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki
The grilled chicken is real chicken, and the hard boiled egg was fresh and not jiggly. The balsamic dressing was rich and salty and just what I wanted. My mom got a more Mediterranean vibe to hers with cooked shrimp, shredded cabbage, olives of both colours and piles of veggies with the light lemon honey dressing. The topping selection is a bit unconventional (no pork products, or caesar dressing here) but everything was super fresh and delicious. The salads are large, so they are a great meal size. They also offer smoothie bowls and juices and crepes, which I can only assume are also fresh and tasty.
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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