In this weekly feature, Apt613 asks blog contributors and local figures about their takeout habits and highlights—to help you find new tasty treats to discover or revisit when you’re just OVER IT with making dinner. We want to hear about the takeout you loved! Leave comments below and if you’d like to contribute to a future edition of Takeout Talk, email <editors@apt613.ca>.
Highlights this week
- Kiko Sushi Bar (349 Preston St.)
- OCCO Kitchen (4240 Innes Rd)
- Riggins Family BBQ (523 St. Anthony St.)
Alison Larabie Chase
Lives in: Nepean
Day job: Freelance writer and editor
Sushi is comfort food for me and has been ever since my university days. I have fond memories of lunches at (long-gone) Takara on Dalhousie Street when I first started working downtown. So when I need soothing, I order some rolls and sashimi and both my heart and stomach feel happier. Kiko Sushi Bar on Preston has been a standby for us during the pandemic. They have a great variety of classic and house special maki rolls, and they always have mackerel (saba) sashimi on the menu, which my husband and I both love. This fishy fish (not for the faint of heart) comes in silvery slices, topped with a little grated fresh ginger, and it’s so rich and flavourful. Last Friday we also got their rainbow roll, veggie futomaki (it means “big roll” and lives up to its name, stuffed with four kinds of veg, plus egg omelet and tofu skin) and dynamite roll. I also love that their pickled ginger isn’t dyed pink like so many places. Their service is friendly and they do excellent low-contact pickup.
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Zachary Resnick
Lives in: Centretown West
Day job: Food writer and chef
Elsewhere on the blog, Zachary Resnick tells us about Riggins Family BBQ, started by Pat Riggins, former banquet chef at Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier hotel. Riggins was able to secure some ghost kitchen space at St. Anthony’s Banquet Hall, and since early April, he and his small, mostly-family team have been cranking out classic BBQ items and meal kits, including slow-cooked beef brisket, baby back ribs with Pat’s Original Rub, side ribs with the Memphis-style “Our Roots” rub, pulled pork, jerk chicken, and smoked whole roasted chickens. All of the rubs and sauces are produced in-house, by the team. Check out the full write-up to see if it might fulfill your weekend takeout needs!
Smoked chicken from Riggins Family BBQ. Photo: Pat Riggins.
Burger of the Month
BytownBurgers, an Instagram account providing “a between-the-buns look at Ottawa’s burger scene,” tells us why OCCO Kitchen delivers a burger with strength. In one word, the OCCO experience is… a MOUTHFUL. The scratch kitchen crafts a solid sandwich from start to finish using fresh, local ingredients. The dill seasoned fries with one-of-a-kind poblano ketchup should not be missed!
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