The Good, The Bad & The Interesting

Exploring the ins and outs of Ottawa. Restaurants, shops and events all the while on a student budget.

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The Place: Pho Bo Ga King 

The Location: 778 Somerset Street 

The Breakdown: I love Pho. A lot. Pho Bo Ga King is great because it's cheap and the food is good. We came here late on a Thursday for a spontaneous meal of first time pho for two friends. (Not my first time though!) The menu is massive considering the size of the restaurant. Anything from spring rolls to rice dishes to pho. I have tried their deep fried ice cream which was unlike any deep fried ice cream I've ever had (but still delicious). I have had issues with getting exactly what you order here (ordering the ice cream and getting something with banana? Still not exactly sure.) but it has always worked out to be something great that I never would have thought to order. Ordering here is also a different process. They give you the order slip and you write down what you want and give it back. Its different, but nice if you are ordering with other people and are talking about what dishes you are going to spilt. Overall, this is where I take people who haven't had the chance to try pho. They have a lot of options for types of pho (beef, chicken, seafood etc.) as well as the ability to make it as spicy as you want. 

The Recommendation: If you haven't had pho before, or know someone who hasn't, Pho Bo Ga King is a great place to start. It's relaxed with good food and it's open late!  

The Website: http://phobogakingottawa.com/

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The Place: Wontonmama 

The Location: 109 Clarence 

The Breakdown: Great Sushi. Holy. First off, they have a special that with a purchase of a drink you can get three sushi rolls for $15 and/or 3 appetizers for $12. The restaurant is cute, its small and just nice if you have a small group. Service is fast, sushi is fresh and they give you all of the Sriracha that you could ever want. What more could you ask for? 

The Recommendation: They have a roll that I haven't seen anywhere else, the Florida Roll, which consisted of salmon, a piece of orange, spicy mayo, avocado, and masago.

The Website: http://wontonmamaottawa.ca/?p=home

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The Place: Bluebird Coffee Mirco Coffee Roasting House

The Location: 261 Dalhousie 

The Breakdown: I ended up spending a total of 6 hours sitting in Bluebird Coffee doing school work. They have a great filtered coffee as they are a roasting house they roast all of their beans in store. They have a nice solid wood hightop seating area near the counter and it was a great place to just sit and write a paper or study for an exam. (Plus the free wifi is a bonus) It's pretty close to walk to from uOttawa. They didn't seemed to have the biggest selection of smaller food items but had a good sized menu with soups and sandwiches. 

The Recommendation: Even if you are just walking by, run in and grab one of their filtered coffees. 

The Website: http://www.bluebirdcoffee.ca/

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The Place: Stella Luna Gelato Cafe

The Location: 1103 Bank St. 

The Breakdown: Where else to go on a summer-like Sunday night but for gelato? This was my second time at Stella Luna, the first time we went to hear friends play a Sunday night show! (Carolina Hum, you should look them up!) This Sunday was no different, packed full but everyone was happy to wait, listen to the awesome live music and await their delicious gelato. We got there just in time, because soon after the line was out the door and stayed that way for our entire visit. The choice of up to three flavors in whatever size you choose, its still hard to make up your mind! If you haven't been to Stella Luna before, it may not be a weekly routine, but its definitely a nice treat on a warm Sunday evening!  

The Recommendation: Get there early! When I say the line was out the door and stayed that way I wasn't exaggerating! Also, don't always necessarily spring for the exotic flavors. I had a simple vanilla and it was amazing. 

The Website: http://www.slgelato.com/

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The Place: The Daily Grind 

The Location: 601 Somerset St. 

The Breakdown: I went to The Daily Grind to meet other students for a meeting with the expectations (based on the name alone) that it was strictly a coffee shop. Turns out it is much much more than a coffee shop. The Daily Grind is a very groovy restaurant that far exceeded my expectations of being yet another coffee shop. Located in one of my favourite areas of Ottawa, right on the outskirts of Chinatown, it was easy and convenient to find. The front entrance room is pub style with a small bar, but when you head upstairs you find three very different rooms you are able to book out. Including one that it just old antique chesterfields. Like I said, groovy. They had Mill St. on tap and other beer in bottles and, of course, the expected coffee and other drinks. When it came to food, they had a huge variety for any and all your dietary needs including vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and fancy burgers for meat lovers. Prices are definitely reasonable for the quality of food. 

The Recommendation: If you are a beer drinker like I am, be open to the Mill St. Seasonal. They bring in whatever specialty beer they are brewing with the season. When I was there they were still on their summer tap and had a citrusy Lemon Tea Beer which was light and wonderful. The server informed me that they would soon be switching over to their fall brew. 

The Website: http://thedailygrindartcafe.com/

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The Place: Wunderkammer 

The Location: 234 Dalhousie St. 

The Breakdown: Wandering further than I usually wander up Dalhousie looking for another store and I happened upon Wunderkammer. I spotted it from across the street and made a dangerous decision to j-walk in front of oncoming traffic in order to get to it. It turned out to be worth it. Imagine Etsy in store form along with miscellaneous shelving and other unique methods of displaying product. They had a solid mixture of jewelry, accessories and curio items, which is very much up my ally. I went in with no intentions of buying anything and walked out with a birthday present for a friend. However, chances are good that I will return to buy things for myself. The highlight of my visit would be the guy, who I assume was one of the owners, who helped me find my outrageous requests. He was not only helpful but he was quick to recommend the locally owned coffee shops and businesses on the street which was a breath of fresh air in the competitive age we live in. So all in all, beautiful boutique, minus the boutique prices! 

The Product: The store carries jewelry and such from Canadian artists including Frug, Tamara Steinborn, La Pistole, Russe and Nathan Dubo. 

The Recommendation: Go in with the intention of buying a gift of some sort but splurge and get yourself something nice too. 

The Website: https://www.facebook.com/wunderkammerboutique

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The Place: Ahora Mexican Cuisine 

The Location: 307 Dalhousie St. 

The Breakdown: Despite the bright exterior paint, its not the easiest place to find. What you see is what you get for the street front. Once you find it you head downstairs into an even brighter painted basement restaurant. I visited Ahora for a late after-class lunch with two others and we had the restaurant to ourselves for the majority of the time we were there. Ordering process was mildly unique but simple; menus at the table, order at the counter, and the server delivers it to you. There were a lot of options for different dietary needs, as two of us do not eat red meat we were able to find lots of vegetable and chicken options to meet our hunger needs. Other options offered were vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free!  If you are feeling adventurous, Ahora had a variety of flavours of Jarritos, which is an imported Mexican soft-drink as well as different sauces and salsas to give your meal an extra kick! 

Ahora has received multiple awards for being one of Ottawa’s top Mexican restaurants and for good reason. Food was wonderful and affordable! 

The Recommendations: Be sure to get the side of chips so you can try all of the salsas Ahora has to offer. 

http://www.ahora.ca/ 

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Where to Begin?

I’m going on my third year living in Ottawa since I moved here for school. I’ve had plenty of time to get a grip on what’s happening in the city and I’ve decided to start documenting exactly where I’ve been finding myself. I try to explore as many new shops, restaurants and events as I can all the while living on a student budget.  I made it a rule of thumb last spring to never go to the same place twice (or at least never eat the same thing twice if I do) and hopefully this will keep me accountable for that! I come from a small town and understand the importance of supporting local business so, for the most part, the places visited will be locally owned by fellow Ottawanians. 

Happy Exploring!