Ottawa Restaurant Reviews

By: Victoria Garland

This article comes better late than never! (or December…wink, wink)

I think the one thing synonymous with Fall is pumpkin. Correction, Pumpkin pie. I’m a big fan of a good spicy pumpkin pie. Lots of pumpkin pie spice containing cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, etc. There is something just so undoubtably “Autumn” about it all that I thought it was only fitting to do an article on my delicious favourites around the city of Ottawa that especially pique my interests this time of year.

First and foremost, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. (Starbucks does it best, but I would definitely be open to trying any other forms of the favourite should they be recommended to me!) A little whipped cream and sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice is just lovely (especially served extra hot on a chilly day). However, drinking more than my fair share of these this month is not the best for anyone, so I usually opt for the non-fat no-whip version unless on a special occasion.
(On a side note I did find a healthier alternative recipe for a home-made pumpkin spice latte, once I have a chance to try it myself I will review it!)

Now onto what originally sparked my idea for this review; The Pumpkin Spice Muffin.
There are two mainstream options to choose from in Canada. One being the pumpkin spice muffin from Tim Horton’s or the Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin from Starbucks. My opinion is that there should actually be a hybrid between the two.
The Pumpkin Spice Muffin from Tim Horton’s is a spicy pumpkin muffin with crispy, spicy toasted pumpkin seeds on the top with a “icing glaze” injected in the middle. The Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin is more a demure pumpkin flavour, however very moist and with a very delectable cream cheese dollop inside.
For my own personal preference, I wish I could combine the two! I find the Starbucks muffin to be lacking that flavour I love so much, however the Tim Horton’s icing choice is cheap and unfavourable.
What is a girl to do?!

Why, head to The Cupcake Lounge of course! My favourite cupcakery in the city so far was offering a seasonal treat, the Pumpkin Spice Cupcake. With a pumpkin pie spice flavoured cake and cream cheese icing this cupcake was everything I wanted the muffin to be and more!

As I set out to write this article, I became more diligent in my quest for fall-fueled eats! Breaks at work were spent running out to different shops to sample what they had in their stores special for the season; all for the sake of research, of course.

I went back to Starbucks to try their Pumpkin Loaf. Meh. There are a lot better (and tastier) things to spend your money on than this. I will not be purchasing again and I wouldn’t recommend it.

On one day I thought it would be a great idea to try the Pear Caramel Black Tea from Sushi Go and a Pumpkin Spice donut from Tim Horton’s. What a lovely mid-morning fall day treat, I thought to myself. Wrong.
Sushi Go did not even have milk or sugar to go with their black tea, so I had to stealthily “borrow” some from the Starbucks down the street (not that I can’t drink black tea without milk, but I thought it would be more complimentary with the flavours at the time).
The pumpkin spice donut was not bad, but not something I’d try again.
The tea was disgusting! I really thought I’d love it, but to my chagrin I begrudgingly had to drink down the rest of the cup. Maybe it was the milk and sugar? Who knows, but I will not be trying that tea again! Yuck.

Thankfully I have found a good tea that’s absolutely perfect for the Fall season. Celestial Seasonings – Cranberry Apple Zinger tea has been one of my favourites for years now. Why I find it so perfect it’s that it’s more reminiscent of a autumn apple orchard. As opposed to the millions of apple cinnamon teas, this tea combines apple flavour with the tart crispness of cranberries (and of course the hibiscus leaves which adds to the tart flavour). So fresh and undoubtably fall! Mmm!

On the subject of apples, Alex and I went on a lovely romantic fall evening walk through the Byward Market and up Sussex Drive. We stopped at the Beavertails canteen and ordered hot apple cider to take on our walk and we split a cinnamon and sugar beavertail, delish! That taste of apple cider made me curious to see how the other ciders fare in comparison.
First I went to try Starbucks’s Caramel Apple Spice. I have actually never had this before! I ordered it and they asked if I wanted whipped cream, which seemed weird to me but I figured if that’s how the drink is prepared then I should review it as such! Well..it was alright. It was quite rich and tasted like something I just couldn’t put my finger on. It was when I got back to my office I realized it tasted like I was drinking an apple pie with melted vanilla ice cream. At that point it just became too rich and I tried to scoop out as much whipped cream as I could but the damage was already done. I’d like to try it again next time without the whipped cream.
The next I tried was from Second Cup. Oh my goodness, we have a winner! How absolutely delicious! I ordered a small sweet apple cider and they serve them with cinnamon sticks. This is a lovely warming drink that has a full bodied apple flavour but with a sweet light finish. Talk about amazing, I went back today to order another!
* I happend to notice they also have a Mulled Cranberry Cider, but when I went to order it they said they only have it for sale in the tin, not for preparation sale. How sad! If anyone has tried it, let me know if it’s good enough to purchase!

Something I haven’t had this season yet, but is a favourite of Alex and I’s is the Inniskillin Late Autumn Riesling. If you can get your hands on a bottle, we highly recommend it!

Last but not least on my list of Fall favourites, is Pumpkin Beer. Last year was actually my first time trying it and Alex and I had picked up a few bottles from the LCBO here. This Pumpkin Beer is brewed by Great Lakes brewery and is one of their many seasonal brews. This beer is brewed with pumpkin and also the same spices featured in pumpkin pie spice. It has a subtle flavour of pumpkin, but not enough to overtake the beer. I really enjoy it but I know a few people who do not. I think it’s one of those beers you have to try for yourself and see if you love it!
This year, Alex and I headed to the Clocktower Pub as one of their seasonal brews this year is the Pumpkin Beer. Wow! If I had to choose between the two this would be the winner. I think it’s just a better, fresher beer and when I commented that it was spicier than the Great Lakes, the waitress explained they add a dash of pumpkin pie spice to the beer before serving. Perfection!

There are so many amazing things to eat and drink especially during this time of year and it only gets better leading into the holiday season. Perhaps I’ll have to start a new review of all things Christmas!

Enjoy! XOXO

By: Victoria Garland

I’ve been really excited to write this review ever since Alex and I went to lunch about two weeks ago at The Tea Party!

I heard great things about it but since I had only stopped in once about two years ago (to pick up some Arctic Fire loose leaf tea) I was itching to go back and experience their vegetarian lunch menu.

The Tea Party is located on York Street, right across from Market Organics. It is housed in a very welcoming, old Victorian-style house with seating that includes a black leather couch, little tables and a large raised table.

Along the walls are large mason jars filled with loose leaf tea that you can open up and smell to help make your selection. Other items include tea paraphernalia such as teapots, cups, diffusers, bagged teas and a selection of preserves (I have my eyes on the Victoria Plum! I wonder why… ).

Alex and I unanimously decided on the High Tea Lunch option, though we’re excited to return and try the others. The High Tea lunch is an assortment of four sandwiches, four small desserts and a beverage. We opted for two different types of tea and decided on two separate pots to keep us going. Alex went for the Earl Grey and I went for the Apricot Black Tea. As soon as I smelled it I knew that it was the right choice for me!

It was perfect that we ended up with two pots of tea since we were able to share and after we finished our lunch we were able to sit and enjoy each other’s company and people watch out the window. It was the perfect lunch date!

When the High Tea arrived there were four types of sandwiches cut in half, so we were able to try one of each. There was cucumber and cream cheese on white bread, spinach and cream cheese on white, tomato and pesto on whole wheat and roasted red pepper with goat cheese on whole wheat. The desserts were selections from their daily selection and we happened to receive a brownie, salted caramel square, lemon shortbread square and a pistachio cookie.

It was incredibly charming and we weren’t the only ones who thought so! As we were getting ready to leave, we heard another table exclaim how cute and British the whole experience was.

I enjoyed it so much that I brought two of my girlfriends for lunch last weekend. That time we ordered two orders of The High Tea lunch and two pots of tea (Apricot Black Tea and Pomegranate Black Tea) to share. The sandwiches were the same, however the desserts were different. This time we were served a raisin cinnamon loaf, a chocolate chip cookie, a double chocolate mini cookie and the salted caramel square adorned with a walnut.

This time on the way out I opted to pick up 50g (for $5) of the Apricot Black Tea, and 50g (for $5) of the Strawberry Black Tea, after it was recommended to me by a friend.
This place gets a solid 5/5 for me. The food quality is amazing and the price is right.

The Tea Party may not have as much of a selection of teas as The Tea Store located a couple blocks away, but the atmosphere and quality will continue to bring us back!

$11.99 for The High Tea plate and $2.99 for a pot of tea (extra beverage)

By: Victoria Garland

A Vanilla Vanilla Cupcake from Glitz

These sweet little cakes have finally made it to our side of the city. Having heard of many cupcakeries located in Ottawa, especially in the Glebe along Bank Street, I was delighted to notice two that have recently opened around the corner from where we live in the Byward Market!

We first noticed The Cupcake Lounge while it was under construction. It’s located next to the Blue Cactus at 6 Byward Market Square, between York Street and Clarence. We ended up walking by during their early grand opening and Alex and I were lucky to be able to purchase and preview their delicacies. They only had a limited menu, and the majority were all sold out! Alex left with a Chocolate Chocolate and I with a Vanilla Vanilla.

Alex’s cupcake was “Belgian dark chocolate cake with bittersweet chocolate frosting” and covered in little chocolate piece sprinkles; mine was “Classic Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake with vanilla bean frosting” and covered in vanilla pearls. They’re quite big in size and not overly sweet, as some cupcakes (especially vanilla) can be! They go for $3.25 a cupcake, or 12 for $36.

We enjoyed the cakes so much we brought two of our visiting friends to The Cupcake Lounge to try out a few other flavours. This time around I ordered the Key Lime which is described as “Pure lime infused cake with lime zest and cream cheese frosting”. This cake was equally as delicious as my previous Vanilla Vanilla cupcake. Our other friend tried the Chocolate Coconut which is described as “Belgian dark chocolate cake with toasted coconut cream cheese frosting” to which he had nothing but good things to say.

The other cupcake shop we discovered in the market is Glitz Cupcakes and Company. Located at 11 Murray Street, we discovered this little place while sitting out on the patio for lunch at The Earl of Sussex Pub. We stopped in to try their cupcakes and the décor is really quite cool. Black furniture and dark wood, with light purple accents and mirrors, very similar to the décor of the Anna Sui make-up counters! We popped in right at the end of the day so again, our menu choices were limited.

This time Alex and I both opted for their Vanilla Vanilla cupcakes, although they had a few mini vanilla and Chocolate Chocolate left. They were adorned with purple sugar sprinkles and a purple star sprinkle atop a swirl of pretty ivory vanilla frosting. Although they were a bit smaller than the cupcakes offered at The Cupcake Lounge they were a little cheaper. I found these cupcakes to have the same savoury flavour (read: not too sweet!) as the Vanilla Vanilla at the Cupcake Lounge.

When I first discovered these two cupcake shops I thought for sure I was going to review how one was better than the other, but to my delight and surprise, they were both excellent! Both places offer quality cupcakes at reasonable prices in very chic little shops. The only difference between the two is that Glitz offers you larger lounge-style seating, while the Cupcake Lounge (ironically) only offers a few seats. However there is a bench located in the front of the store to enjoy a little people-watching in the market.

The only downside I have to state is that Glitz Cupcakes and Company have not developed a proper website other than a main page with the address and their hours. I would have loved to look at their daily offerings and descriptions of the cupcakes.

Our Review:

The Cupcake Lounge – 4.75/5

Glitz Cupcakes and Company – 4.25/5

Urbanspoon’s Opinion:

and
Glitz Cupcakes and Company isn’t on Urbanspoon yet!

(As I’ve only been to Glitz once, I will update this score upon my second trip and/or upon their implementation of a proper website)