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?

Ottawa Date Ideas blogger shares her top Beechwood Village spots

Catherine is a sociology student at the University of Ottawa, working towards becoming an urban planner. In the mean time, she does another form of urban planning by suggesting date ideas in Ottawa through her blog, Ottawa Date Ideas.

Crazy Horse pizza from Zazaza Pizzeria

As we finished our pizzas, my date says to me: “This was worth braving the rain for.”

I agreed.

It was pouring outside, my boots were soaking wet but I was happy eating my Crazy Horse pizza at ZaZaZa Pizzeria. This is one of Beechwood’s many great restaurants and date locations.

I love Ottawa for this. Since last summer, I’ve been keeping a list of things to do on dates in the Capital on my blog and it opened my eyes to the ton of hidden little places and forgotten activities the city has to offer. We have so many distinct neighbourhoods with their own particular style of shops and restaurants. I’ve loved the Beechwood avenue area for years now but had yet to really experience it in a romantic way. Because of the range of great restaurants in the neighbourhood, planning our date was a difficult task, but we settled on a mix resulting as a relaxed pleasant Saturday night.

Zazaza Pizzeria's menu

We first headed to ZaZaZa, the lovely “The Works-style” pizzeria situated at the east end of Beechwood Avenue. In spite of the cold rainy night, the restaurant felt warm and inviting.

We picked the Hot Hot Hot pizza and the previously stated Crazy Horse. The first one was a classic spicy pizza and the second was a refreshing mix of goat cheese, spinach, caramelized onions, mushrooms, chicken and pine nuts. Delicious! This laid-back restaurant is perfect for no-fuss, sure to be a hit, casual date.

We then made our way to Farbs Kitchen and Wine Bar, located at the other end of the street, for some after-dinner drinks.

Cappuccino from Farbs Kitchen and Wine Bar

The first thing we noticed was that the crowd was definitively more mature than the one at ZaZaZa’s. Although that didn’t stop us from enjoying the amazing live jazz duo (there every Saturday) and discovering some impressive wines. As if the pizza wasn’t enough, we decided to order the risotto and were not disappointed. One of the great things about Farbs is that it’s a classy restaurant with a relaxed lounge vibe that doesn’t come off as pretentious. This is certainly because of the charmingly friendly staff with whom we had the opportunity to chat with while sitting at the bar.

Stuffed with great food and a great time, I grabbed a flawlessly fluffy cappuccino, feeling satisfied and happy to have found another great Ottawa date idea.

Looking for more to do in Beechwood Village?

Check out Arturo’s Market, Fraser Café, New Edinburgh Pub, and the Dale Smith Gallery.

Thanks for the post Catherine! Do you have a place you want to write about? Send us a note!

Ottawa’s Amazing Race: Q&A with Urban Quest’s Anthony Woods

Anthony Woods, emceeing at the Sears Great Canadian Chill

Anthony Woods is a consultant and entrepreneur who has lived in Ottawa his whole life. In his spare time, Tony enjoys paintballing, musicals, and participating in City Chases.

So, tell me about the history and premise of Urban Quest.

The founders of UrbanQuest love reality TV shows like the Amazing Race that combine challenges and travel, and require resourcefulness. The idea was to recreate a smaller scale version of the experience that’s available to the average person and isn’t hugely expensive.

What led you to start such a unique business?

There was a long time that we couldn’t figure out how to make the model work.  We could build a huge experience that had a secret ending – but the costs involved meant we’d need to charge hundreds of dollars per experience.  And we felt sure that immediately after we had finished all the answers would be posted on the Internet. The breakthrough for the company was actually the release of the newest Zelda game. The day the game was released, you could pick up a full walk through at EB Games. It made us realize that it was the user’s experience. Give them the answers and if they want to use them, it is their choice. It allowed us to build something cost-effective because we didn’t need to keep everything a secret.

Who is your target audience? Locals or out-of-towners?

The original thinking behind UQ was that it would be a fun activity for locals. In particular, we thought it was going to be “the greatest date night ever.” What we’ve found is another market that loves Quests which we didn’t see coming: families.  Parents started telling us stories about how they loved doing it with their kids and how their kids loved the “treasure hunt.” We are working now to build more family oriented events – we have three museum Quests in queue.

How do you write the quiz questions?

Writing the Quest clues isn’t exactly a science but we do have a methodology worked out.  We always try to design the clues more around shapes, colours and numbers rather than making them trivia based.  We also do a lot of puzzles, books, games, etc. We also read a lot of tour books, surf the web, and a few late night brainstorming sessions over some beers and a game of settlers never hurt either!

Bryan McKenzie running at the launch of Urban Quest's Museum of Nature Quest

What kind of reaction are you receiving from people?

We have actually been receiving an overall positive response to the company’s idea and to the Quests themselves. The vast majority of people are up to the challenge and absolutely love the idea.  We’ve had second hand stories come back from people we know that had friends telling them about this “great puzzle, Amazing Race” thing they did and how they have to try it.  It’s interesting to create that kind of buzz.  There are a few people that have come back without enjoying the experience, but in those cases we have found that we didn’t manage customer experience well enough.  For example, a grandfather did it with his grandson and came back saying that it was way too much walking – so we now post on each quest how much walking you can expect to do.  We listen to our customers and work to improve the product with every response.

Do you have goals for expanding your business in the future?

We recently launched our first Quest in Toronto, with more to come. We’ll also be moving to Kingston soon. We will continue to work the east coast from there.  We also recognize that we will have to move past our small crew writing all the clues and are working on a writing contest to try to get others involved in the process.  Becoming mobile is also key for us – both Blackberry and iPhone versions of the product are in development.

What do you think is the number one misconception about Ottawa?

Ottawa’s painted with the stigma that we are a boring government town!  There are two things I have against this. First, Ottawa is one of the most diverse and beautiful cities out there.  We cover the range of winter sports like skiing to summer activities like white water rafting.  The second is as a government town, Ottawa isn’t without entrepreneurialism.  If you look to some of the historic companies that have come out of the Ottawa area, especially Kanata, it is tough to say we are without business innovation.  We’re hoping that UrbanQuest can be just another one out of this great city.

Can you describe your perfect day in the city?

Of course my first natural answer is “spend my day doing an Urban Quest”.  That aside – it depends on the season.  In the winter, a day snowboarding.  In the summer, that’s a tough one but I’d probably say a day on the Ottawa River.  Either way – this is a city that requires going outside!

Why do you think it is important for people to get out, pound the pavement a little bit, and explore this city?

This city is filled with hidden spots and neat areas.  How many people drive to work every day passing the Parliament buildings but have never heard of the cat sanctuary or the whispering wall?  People spend lots of money to go visit foreign places but especially in a tough economy, one of the cheapest things people can do is visit their own city!  Urban Quest just makes doing so a lot more fun!

Thanks for dropping by Tony!

Also: this just in — LTOttawa will be doing an Urban Quest and writing about it (as soon as the weather and our schedule clears up!). If you’d like to tell us about your Urban Quest, send us a note and we’ll bring you in on the fun.

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!

My frugal Valentine: last minute VDay advice from Frugal Fun Ottawa

"Love Canal" was taken by photographer Robin Kelsey (www.robink.ca/blog)

Josée is an Ottawa engineer and mother of two who loves to find free and frugal activities and events happening in Ottawa. She puts her research to good use over at Frugal Fun Ottawa.

It’s Valentine’s Day! If you’ve left the planning to the last minute, you may be wondering if it’s too late to wow your sweetie. But I have some frugal, yet romantic, suggestions that will keep you out of the doghouse and out of the poorhouse.

My first suggestion is very old-fashioned, but that’s precisely why your sweetheart will love it. I suggest that you both take some time to write hand-written letters to each other. My husband and I have been doing this for years, since we decided that Valentine’s Day was just becoming too commercial. I love this tradition for many reasons: the process of writing the letters forces us to put into words how much we love and appreciate each other; it’s wonderful to have the letters to re-read and remember major events in our lives; and the whole family is included – when our children were born we started writing them Valentine’s Day letters too. If writing a letter isn’t your style, you can write little notes on heart-shaped paper and hide them around the house or your sweetheart to find. Hide some in hard-to-find places so that Valentine’s Day lasts longer than just one day!

If writing letters seems like too much work for a Monday, take your partner to the movies – but not just any movie! Only a romantic comedy will do on Valentine’s Day, and if it happens to be a French romantic comedy, well, nothing can top that. Amélie is exaclty what Cupid would recommend, and it just happens to be playing at the Bytowne Cinema tonight at 6:30. Tickets are $10 for non-members (members pay $7.00). My husband and I went to see it when it first came out, and he describes it as “a decent story that is well-written, that just happens to be a romantic comedy.” Pretty much the highest rating a romantic comedy will get from him. And don’t worry if French isn’t your forte, the Bytowne is showing it with English subtitles.

Today’s forecast is calling for mild temperatures and light snow, so don’t be afraid to ditch the traditional restaurant supper and box of chocolates and opt for some outdoor fun instead. How about taking your sweetheart for a romantic evening skate on the Rideau Canal? (Don’t forget to share a BeaverTail!)

If he or she is the adventurous type, visit UrbanQuest.com and purchase their Original Quest package: tor $19.99 (plus tax) they will provide you with clues that lead you around Parliament Hill and other downtown locations. It’s a fun way to explore the city to see downtown Ottawa in a whole new light.

Happy Valentine's Day from Local Tourist Ottawa!

If your date is more historically-minded, take in the city by following one of the three downtown walking tours in the NCC’s Discover the Heart of the Capital brochure. It includes interesting facts about various Ottawa landmarks and points out interesting sights along the route. Be sure to bring your camera – the view from the Portage and Alexandra Bridges is particularly beautiful at this time of year.

After your quest or walking tour, warm up and get a romantic view of the snow-covered city by going up the Peace Tower at Parliament Hill. (If my husband planned this one for me he would earn himself a whole lot of brownie points!) The Peace Tower is open today from 9:00 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.; visits are self-guided. Keep in mind that you will have to go through security so there may be a line-up.

You really don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a romantic Valentine’s Day. All it takes is little imagination, and being lucky enough to live in a wonderful city like Ottawa!

Thanks for the ideas Josée!

Single or coupled up, how are you spending your Valentine’s Day?

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!

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!