Years ago we used to dine frequently at the Maplelawn Cafe on Richmond Road. We loved the ambiance, the wonderful old building, the relaxed atmosphere, and the owner, Peter Fallis was great. I guess there weren't enough of us regular visitors, so Peter ended up selling our fav restaurant to the Keg - a semi-ok chain restaurant generally suited for the tourist crowd.
Well we decided to stop by tonight on our way out to see the Bare Naked Ladies, and boy were we pleasantly surprised!
It being a cold winter evening, we asked for a table by the fireplace, a wish granted immediately. Our waitress, Korleen, was terrific, suggesting an excellent red wine for starters. We each ordered the Prime Rib Dinner which comes with Caesar salad and a choice of potato for $26. We generally like our beef rare, and thought the prime rib was medium rare, it was excellent - well prepared and tasty. The side vegetables were excellent, and the baked and mashed potatoes were very good as well. Nothing at all to complain about.
The restaurant has lots of nooks and crannies. You can easily find yourself a nice quiet place to eat, or a whole room to host an office party or lunch, though we recommend the nice area by the fire place, close to the entrance.
The washrooms are nice and clean and spacious by the back door.
The Keg Manor
529 Richmond Road
613-724-1242
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Little India Cafe
This very small restaurant is a secret gem. You have to "understand" in order to appreciate this place. It has all of 8 or 10 tables, and it's often crowded beyond capacity. Service is not great, but that's not their specialty. You come here for the food, and it's great!
The food here is excellent and authentic Indian food. Everything on the menu is terrific. People come back again and again, just loving this place. Especially telling is the continuous lineup of people picking up takeout meals. Sure, there's only a few tables in this small restaurant, but they are feeding dozens of takeout meals for every meal served in-house! This may in fact be the best way to appreciate the Little India Cafe - use it for excellent Indian take-out!
Washrooms are small and cramped in the back. Nothing special, but not horrifying either.
The food here is excellent and authentic Indian food. Everything on the menu is terrific. People come back again and again, just loving this place. Especially telling is the continuous lineup of people picking up takeout meals. Sure, there's only a few tables in this small restaurant, but they are feeding dozens of takeout meals for every meal served in-house! This may in fact be the best way to appreciate the Little India Cafe - use it for excellent Indian take-out!
Washrooms are small and cramped in the back. Nothing special, but not horrifying either.
Little India Cafe
66 Wylie Avenue
Ottawa, ON K2B 6M4
Ottawa, ON K2B 6M4
(613) 828-2696
littleindiacafe.com
Mediterranean Restaurant & Butchery
This small lunch counter is in a strip mall on Carling, near many high-tech firms. There are a few restaurants in this strip mall, but this one is consistently busy every day - even while the others are bare.
There's a small butcher counter at the back, an old style butcher where the meat is fresh and the service friendly.
Join the small line for lunch, and treat yourself to an excellent meal. There are lots of specials, including Shawarma, Kababs, and lots of plate lunches. Try anything, you won't go wrong.
And, for atmosphere, you'll probably enjoy the continuous world cup soccer match replays on the TV!
The washrooms are at the back, nothing special, but not too bad.
There's a small butcher counter at the back, an old style butcher where the meat is fresh and the service friendly.
Join the small line for lunch, and treat yourself to an excellent meal. There are lots of specials, including Shawarma, Kababs, and lots of plate lunches. Try anything, you won't go wrong.
And, for atmosphere, you'll probably enjoy the continuous world cup soccer match replays on the TV!
The washrooms are at the back, nothing special, but not too bad.
Melrose Grocery Store & Helen's Kitchen
You won't find this restaurant listed any where, but it's home to one of the hardest working Lebanese Chefs in the city. Helen's family owns and operates this small corner grocery store which features a small kitchen at the back where Helen fashions authentic Lebanese dishes, with a special every day. The food here is excellent, always fresh and well prepared. Even the simple salads are terrific! Ask Helen what's fresh, and you're sure to get a treat.
Helen has added a few tables to the space in the last year, so you can sit down while you eat. Soak up the family atmosphere as Dad putters about, and the daughter manages the cash.
There's a humble washroom for the family that customers can use if necessary. The place isn't as clean as you'd hope, but the food and friendly service more than make up for it.
Melrose Grocery Store & Helen's Kitchen
1082 Wellington Street West
Ottawa, ON K1Y 2Y5
(613) 728-2566
Helen has added a few tables to the space in the last year, so you can sit down while you eat. Soak up the family atmosphere as Dad putters about, and the daughter manages the cash.
There's a humble washroom for the family that customers can use if necessary. The place isn't as clean as you'd hope, but the food and friendly service more than make up for it.
Melrose Grocery Store & Helen's Kitchen
1082 Wellington Street West
Ottawa, ON K1Y 2Y5
Friday, February 16, 2007
Tony's Snowblowing / Tony's Roofing
Tony's Snowblowing provides TERRIBLE HORRIBLE AWFUL SERVICE. This company advertized heavily in the fall of 2006, including circulars in the Citizen multiple times per week. Their rates were competitive, but we didn't check any further than that before signing up.
Fortunately, we've had a very lean winter in terms of snowfall. I say fortunately because if we had been relying on Tony's Snowblowing for any service what-so-ever, we'd be in a terrible state.
We've had two snowfalls which would merit their actions, and both times, service has been terrible. The first snowfall, Tony didn't bother to show up at all! We waited all night, and all day, but no snowblowing. We finally phoned the next day, and their voice-mailbox was full! We couldn't even leave a message!
The next snowfall occured just a couple of days ago. Tony showed up late at night and cleared 1/2 of our driveway, didn't bother to clean around the car we have to leave parked in the other half of the driveway, and certainly didn't clear our walkway. We called again, left a message, and still haven't heard from them. TERRIBLE SERVICE.
Further digging has shown lots of unsatisfied Tony's customers:
Update: March 02. We had a big snowfall today, and Tony's up to his usual tricks. Check the comments for more confirmations of Tony's terrible service. At least this time, he showed up and cleaned part of our driveway within 24 hours of the snowfall - but he left a huge swath uncleaned in front of our garage. If YOU'VE had terrible service from Tony or any other contractor, let us know! Our email address is near the top of the page, or, leave a comment!
Update: March 18. Some of the comments have mentioned a CBC story on Friday March 16 saying that Tony's has been sued! I'm only sorry there hasn't been a better opportunity for more of us to get in on the suit. I'll update as more info becomes available.
Update: September 2007. Tony has sent out a contrite letter explaining last year's issues and promising to do much better this year. I'm stunned that he would think that ANYONE would use him two years in a row. Here's a link to the letter he sent, and this year's contract. I don't understand how the contract says "Under New Management" yet the letter is signed by "Tony Putinski!!!!
Update: Dec 9, 2007. Tony's still up to his same old tricks in 2007/2008. Many many complaints are being posted to this and other blogs and forums. I'm sorry if you got caught using Tony again, and I'm sad Tony has not improved.
Fortunately, we've had a very lean winter in terms of snowfall. I say fortunately because if we had been relying on Tony's Snowblowing for any service what-so-ever, we'd be in a terrible state.
We've had two snowfalls which would merit their actions, and both times, service has been terrible. The first snowfall, Tony didn't bother to show up at all! We waited all night, and all day, but no snowblowing. We finally phoned the next day, and their voice-mailbox was full! We couldn't even leave a message!
The next snowfall occured just a couple of days ago. Tony showed up late at night and cleared 1/2 of our driveway, didn't bother to clean around the car we have to leave parked in the other half of the driveway, and certainly didn't clear our walkway. We called again, left a message, and still haven't heard from them. TERRIBLE SERVICE.
Further digging has shown lots of unsatisfied Tony's customers:
- Canuckflack
- Bad listing in the Ottawa Better Business Bureau
- And even a news story by the CBC showing how terrible they are!
Update: March 02. We had a big snowfall today, and Tony's up to his usual tricks. Check the comments for more confirmations of Tony's terrible service. At least this time, he showed up and cleaned part of our driveway within 24 hours of the snowfall - but he left a huge swath uncleaned in front of our garage. If YOU'VE had terrible service from Tony or any other contractor, let us know! Our email address is near the top of the page, or, leave a comment!
Update: March 18. Some of the comments have mentioned a CBC story on Friday March 16 saying that Tony's has been sued! I'm only sorry there hasn't been a better opportunity for more of us to get in on the suit. I'll update as more info becomes available.
Update: September 2007. Tony has sent out a contrite letter explaining last year's issues and promising to do much better this year. I'm stunned that he would think that ANYONE would use him two years in a row. Here's a link to the letter he sent, and this year's contract. I don't understand how the contract says "Under New Management" yet the letter is signed by "Tony Putinski!!!!
Update: Dec 9, 2007. Tony's still up to his same old tricks in 2007/2008. Many many complaints are being posted to this and other blogs and forums. I'm sorry if you got caught using Tony again, and I'm sad Tony has not improved.
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