The only two restaurants from Ottawa on Maclean’s top 50 list of best Canadian restaurants are Play Food & Wine and Sidedoor, but the critics don’t agree. Are these the only two restaurants in Ottawa worthy of being named Canada’s crème de la crème?
It seems the popular weekly magazine improperly selected the title of their article – again.
On September 24, 2010 the magazine’s controversial cover headline was Quebec: The Most Corrupt Province. During a CBC At Issue panel, Chantal Hébert echoed a statement that adding a question mark wouldn’t have “tainted the gist of the articles” and made the headline less provocative. Could the same be said for this headline?
The 50 best restaurants in Canada? would have caused less of a backlash from Canadians and from Anthony Bourdain. There were around 1,000 reactions in the comment section under the online article (many from unsatisfied foodies craving a revision) while Bourdain declared: “Omitting Joe Beef AND Au Pied de Cochon from any list of top 50 Canadian restaurants (or even a top ten list) is like writing a history of British rock and roll and willfully neglecting to mention either Beatles or Stones.”
The saying in Ottawa used to be “if you want a good meal go to Montreal”. This doesn’t apply anymore as the culinary scene in Ottawa continues to flourish with many new exciting, ambitious and audacious restaurants. While the list, representing a whole gamut of restaurants, did include two highly respected restaurants in the Nation’s Capital, Macleans omits some of Ottawa’s gems.
Last January, Ottawa Magazine revealed their Ottawa’s Top 10 Restaurant List with Black Cat Bistro as the number one restaurant – not found on Macleans contested list. Established by renowned and distinguished Chef Stephen Vardy, Black Cat Bistro received a rare 9.5/10 for its cuisine from LeDroit’s experienced food critic Pierre Jury in 2009. Three years later the Ottawa Magazine team wondered if Black Cat’s new chef, Patricia Larkin, had surpassed her talented teacher after naming the restaurant Ottawa’s best.
Maclean’s critics even snubbed Atelier and Chef Marc Lepine, winner of the Canadian Grand Champion at a 2012 national culinary competition. His restaurant did however rank fifth in Vacay.ca’s best 50 restaurants in Canada few months earlier.
What to say about Chez Edgar, identified two years in a row as one of the top 10 new restaurants in Ottawa and Hull. The Food Network’s You Gotta Eat Here (seeking “Canada’s most delicious, mouthwatering, over-the-top comfort food”) also recently filmed an episode there. It seems Chez Edgar’s unique vintage style, original and high-quality plates/sandwiches would nicely fit. Especially since Maclean’s list “aimed for a balance of old and new, cheap and pricey, casual and posh,” and “strove to recognize the best of those different sorts of restaurants.”
It’s true, the task was difficult for the Maclean’s team and their list was certain to get a strong reaction, in turn helping them sell magazines. It’s also impossible to please everyone, but it seems Ottawa and (Québec City for that matter- with only two restaurants listed) did not receive enough recognition.
With that being said, congratulations to Jonathan Korecki, Matt Carmichael, Stephen Beckta and Michael Moffatt, and of course the teams at Sidedoor and Play Food & Wine.
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