Date night: Now that’s a burger

Super cheese burger from Burger & Shake, located at 5510 Limebank Road in Manotick

Shelly Lyonnais is a local elementary school teacher who has been living in Ottawa on and off for 20 years.  She spends her weekends in search of Ottawa’s great date night dinner locations.

Sometimes you just need a low key kind of date night… even better if you have a date night where you can wear your comfy clothes and take the dog!

We recently had one of those nights. We considered the fast food options in our area (nearly non existent) and decided that if we have a hankering for a burger, why not go somewhere that has really good burgers instead of the ones that will inevitably give us a belly ache.

Not far from our subdivision is the Burger & Shake, a little shack on Limebank near St. Mark’s highschool in Manotick.  It is surrounded by a mini putt, a driving range, a picnic table area and soccer fields.  I had read reviews about the awesome burgers and fresh ingredients so I was really excited to try it for myself.  

If you like the indoors there are a few tables inside the small restaurant where you can dine, but if you enjoy the outdoors there are picnic tables and tables with chairs outside.  We opted for taking our dinner home… although the picnic tables would have been very nice had it not been raining all day.

Come on...you know you love it. Where's your favourite place to get poutine in the city?

Dinner is ordered from a counter which is opened to the grill behind so that you can see the magic happen as you wait.  The staff is really friendly and patient as your eyes inevitably pour over the list of burgers, fries, poutine, shakes, ice cream and more.

We ordered a super cheese burger with the works: ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish, lettuce, tomato, hot peppers and onions.  

This patty was monstrous and it wasn’t even the largest size! Seriously??  Look at that burger!  I cannot believe that we were considering  a drive thru!  I will take this opportunity to thank the lovely people at the Burger & Shake for wrapping this burger really well (in wax paper and then in the container pictured above) because on my way out of the car I dropped this beauty and it held together beautifully.

Along with the burger we also purchased a small poutine. This poutine contained fresh cut fries, gravy and cheese curds that still squeaked (a true sign of freshness).

As if the above mentioned items were not enough, we ordered one more thing to share: a vanilla shake that didn’t make it home.  The milkshake was creamy and thick, my only complaint is that I didn’t get my own.

This was a great meal for a low key Saturday night when the most important thing is a little family time and not necessarily dressing up and going out on the town.  

I have a feeling that this little place will be our local place this summer… what is yours?

Thanks Shelly!

Date night: Shelly and her husband visit Westboro’s Nohkam Thai

 

Nohkam Thai Restaurant

Shelly Lyonnais is a local elementary school teacher who has been living in Ottawa on and off for 20 years.  She spends her weekends in search of Ottawa’s great date night dinner locations.

Everyone in Ottawa has their own favourite Thai restaurant, so there is a neverending supply of suggestions when you ask around.  I recently put the word out to my friends that a Thai recommendation was needed, and sure enough, a few were offered.

We decided to follow the recommendation of a friend who lived in Thailand, because if she loved it then it had to be good! Nohkam Thai in Westboro it was.

This tiny restaurant is in a mini mall that is easily overlooked, and I would never have noticed it had we not been looking for it.  Upon entering we were surrounded by tables and people eagerly awaiting the delights from the kitchen.  The walls of the restaurant are adorned with typical Thai finery, sparkling wall hangings and carnations on the tables.  There was a line of people at the bar waiting for take out.

We were seated right away, and even though every table in the restaurant was full and only two servers seemed to be making the rounds, we were very well taken care of.

Our meal arrived piping hot in the blue and white dishes that all of the food was served in. I started out with Tom Kha Goong, which is a soul warming soup –  a combination of shrimp, coconut milk, mushrooms, baby corn and Thai ginger.  I absolutely loved the tang from the ginger and the thickness that comes from the coconut milk.  My husband started with his favourite pork satay with spicy peanut sauce.  This is the first satay that we have seen that is deep fried, so I was a bit unsure of how it would taste, but my husband absolutely loved it.

My entree was a spicy green curry called Gaeng Keow Warn.  This dish is an amazing mix of chicken, bamboo shoots, and Thai eggplant in coconut milk.  This was a bit too spicy for my husband but I thoroughly enjoyed it! The second entree we had was the ever popular, Pad Thai with chicken.  My husband is not a Pad Thai connoisseur, however he has had it many times before and this was his favourite by far.

Even though Nohkam Thai is small and lost in a mini mall, it seems to be quite a popular little gem, so you should make reservations.  I know I’ll be returning to this special spot to try the list of items that caught my attention… but that I was just too full to try.

Thanks Shelly! What’s your favourite Ottawa Thai restaurant?

Date night: Shelly and her husband have a romantic Japanese dinner at Genji

Shelly Lyonnais is a local elementary school teacher who has been living in Ottawa on and off for 20 years.  She spends her weekends in search of Ottawa’s great date night dinner locations.

This week we decided to have our date night dinner at Genji on Lisgar Street: we have been to this Japanese restaurant twice before and have loved it each time.

We made reservations earlier in the week, which is a must with this place on a Saturday night, because every time we have gone all of the tables have been full. On this visit we were seated at a table for two with screens on either side, and it was really nice to have such a secluded spot for our romantic dinner.

Miso soup at Genji

I started my meal with miso soup.  This cute little container kept the soup piping hot.  It was the perfect way to start the meal – a nice light soup with bits of tofu.

Stampede roll at Genji

My husband has always had a fear of sushi until he met the stampede roll.  This roll has sliced AAA beef wrapped around green onions, cucumber, asparagus, tempura bits and Japanese mayo (which is a bit spicy).  He dreams about these rolls!

The Boston roll at Genji

For my meal I chose two different rolls.  This one is the Boston roll which is lettuce, avocado, crab, shrimp, cucumber, green onion and the Japanese mayo.  I am a sucker for anything that has avocado in it: the lettuce gave a bit of a crunch, while the crab and shrimp kept it sweet.

Spider rolls at Genji

This other roll was my absolute favourite:  the spider roll has crispy soft shell crab, asparagus and Japanese mayo – this was heaven on a plate! My husband’s entree was the Nabeyaki Udon,  but I didn’t get a picture because my rolls were far too important to me at the time.  His bowl was filled to the brim with steaming udon noodles, tempura chicken, egg, and vegetables.  Normally this dish would also include crab sticks but he chose to have them excluded from his dish.  The egg is dropped into the bowl which you then mix into the steaming broth – it was incredibly filling and so delicious.

We would highly recommend this little place, the service has always been good and the food is amazing.

Thanks Shelly!

Date night at Chinatown’s Mekong Restaurant

Photo Credit: Mekong.ca

 

Shelly Lyonnais is a local elementary school teacher who has been living in Ottawa on and off for 20 years.  She spends her weekends in search of Ottawa’s great date night dinner locations.

Date night last week was to one of our old favourites: Mekong Restaurant in Chinatown. This resto has been serving Asian cuisine for more than 20 years, featuring a delicious variety of Cantonese, Szechwan, Vietnamese and Thai foods.

I introduced my husband to Mekong many years ago and it has been part of our regular rotation ever since.  A piece of advice if you choose to try this little gem: make reservations.  Occasionally you can get in on a Saturday night without one, but generally the dining room is full – both upstairs and down.

Photo Credit: Mekong.ca

The last evening we went we watched the friendly staff turn away at least 10 tables in the first 10 minutes, though once our food started to arrive our eyes quickly turned from the crowd to the delicious meals before us.

We started our meal with pork pot stickers (my husband gets these every time we go) and shrimp and crab cakes.  I usually get steamed shrimp dumplings which I love, but this time I was determined to try new dishes.  I enjoyed the dumplings, especially dunked into the sauce that they provided, but I must say that the shrimp dumplings are still my favourite.

Also, I caution you to beware of the long list of plates: we always over order because we love so many of the dishes on the menu.

At the top of my husband’s list is the crispy beef (saucy, a bit spicy and really crispy as the name suggests) –  definitely a must try! The second is chicken fried rice.  I am not a huge fan of fried rice but he says that it is filled with “yummy goodness”…  so I guess that can’t be a bad thing! Since I was on a new dish kick we decided to spice things up by choosing the Shanghai noodle with shredded pork.  We love thick noodles, and the mushrooms in this dish made it. The last dish that we ordered was stir fry shrimp with eggplant – Szechwan style.  All around, it was a delicious date night, and I’m glad I tried so many new things.

We absolutely love this restaurant. No matter how full the dining rooms are, the noise level is never overbearing, the food is always fresh, and the service is warm and friendly –  we will be going back very soon.

Thanks for the snapshot Shelly!

Breakfast at the Elgin Street Diner – not just for the food, but also the memories

Shelly Lyonnais is a local elementary school teacher who has been living in Ottawa on and off for 20 years.  She spends her weekends in search of Ottawa’s great date night dinner locations.

Sometimes when our traditional “date night” isn’t possible, my husband and I still try to do something in Ottawa together but in a less formal way. This often leads us to breakfast out.

Ottawa has many amazing breakfast places but one of our favourites is, of course, the Elgin Street Diner. If you went to University in this city, you are probably well acquainted with the ESD. My husband and I love going there because the menu has barely changed (has it at all?), the atmosphere is laid back, all walks of life go through the doors, it is open 24 hours (we are early risers) and the servers are familiar.

One morning, we had one of those weekends where we were hankering for a good breakfast… so off to Elgin Street we went. We were seated at the back of the restaurant which is a great place to watch the happenings of the place, although I prefer the window tables so that I can watch the hustle and bustle on the street.

It was very easy to pick what we wanted to eat…. where else can you get eggs, your choice of meat, toast, beans, home fries… and poutine? Yes folks, that is the hangover breakfast! We were not hungover on this particular morning, although I am sure that the original reason for choosing this breakfast was after a long night of drunken debauchery, many years ago.

The breakfast is pretty self-explanatory and much like a breakfast that you would get anywhere else (minus the poutine) but what keeps drawing us back is the memories of days past, the comfort of knowing what we want and the staff that we are so used to seeing. No matter how old we get (40 is not old no matter what kids say!) this place will always have a soft spot in our hearts.

Do you love all things brunch in the city? Check out our growing battle of the Ottawa brunch spots, and let us know about your favourite spot!

Date night: Shelly hits up Absinthe on Wellington

Photo Credit: Absinthe Cafe

Shelly Lyonnais is a local elementary school teacher who has been living in Ottawa on and off for 20 years.  She spends her weekends in search of Ottawa’s great date night dinner locations.

Who doesn’t love date night?

I don’t know about you, but when my husband and I are home together we are often in different rooms, watching TV or working on laptops. So our date night is a must; once a week we unplug and venture out around Ottawa in search of delicious food.

When we started this tradition my husband was not as adventurous with his food as I was, so we started out trying places that have “safe” foods on the menu (read: steak), he could enjoy his favourites and I could experiment. But, over the years he has begun to try new things and now steak is just one of the meals that he enjoys among many others.

Photo Credit: Absinthe Cafe

This past weekend we made a reservation at Absinthe on Wellington Street West. (note: I absolutely love that they have an online reservation option!)

Upon being seated we were served water in an old Absinthe bottle, little espresso cups of soup and bread made in house.  The warm, creamy soup had parsnip and apple in it, and was the perfect way to start a meal on a cold and snowy night.

After that, we decided to order cocktails because we wanted to try the Absinthe. My husband asked for a Mohito which was very minty and I ordered Pat’s Punch, it was red and reminded me of the beach.  These drinks were a little pricy, but we figured that it was a fun splurge and they were super tasty to boot.

We started the meal by sharing the charcuterie, which came on a wooden board with little areas of goodness.  There was wild game terrine, pork confit rillette, porcetta, devilled quail egg, celery root remoulade, cauliflower, carrots, pickles, prosciutto, mortadella and toast. Everything on that board was so incredibly delicious! I highly recommend it.

My husband ordered the steak frites as his entree, the steak was medium rare (perhaps a bit more rare) and came with green beans… all of which he loved.  He also upgraded his frites to poutine ( fries, cheese curds and shredded pork).

My entree was a drop filet burger.  The plate was divided into three distinct areas; a burger, salad and poutine.  Everything was tasty – the perfect meal to eat slowly and savour each bite.  Much to my husband’s enjoyment, I had to ask him to help me finish this meal and even still we couldn’t.

We definitely enjoyed our experience and would go back in a second… but I also look forward to next week’s adventure to a brand new spot!

Thanks Shelly! We look forward to hearing about more of your Ottawa date nights!