ottawa foodies

this is my first posting, so i hope this is the right place to put it...

i am desperate for a good vietnamese sub. can anyone recommend somewhere (downtown/chinatown preferred) to get one?

my favourite place is gone (sommerset, between rochester & booth). their subs were fantastic, fresh made baguette, garlic spread, pickled carrots & veggies, tofu and hot peppers. plus it was dirt cheap (was $2, went up to $3 a while ago). people would buy 10 at a time to take home. i really miss it.

That's the only one I knew of too. Very sorry that it's gone!

I've seen one that's on Somerset, but haven't been in and can't off the top of my head say what the cross streets were other than "west of Bronson." It was there two weeks ago; was that the one that closed?

I go to the one on Somerset just before Booth (if you are heading west down Somerset), I had one for breakfast on Saturday, chased down by a chocolate mousse and a really good cappucino at Patisseria Gelateria. I'm not sure if the guy there does anything vegetarian but his sandwiches are $2 or 6 for $10.

There is another, on Preston just at the corner of Somerset, but I can't vouch for it because I haven't eaten there.

i drove past the place you mentioned last night. i am planning to stop in tonight. i will let you know if it compares!

I asked the guy at the shop I go to (Co Cham) about the one that closed, and he said that it was a franchise, and with the fees the poor guy couldn't make a decent profit and went out of business. He also said that he doesn't make vegetarian subs because he doesn't think there's any market for it. Maybe the shop on Preston does.

Mousseline,
thanks so much for asking about that. i did stop by the other night but they were closed because they had run out of subs! i will try again though.

what is on the subs? does he put on a lot of non-meat toppings like the pickled carrots, fresh herbs, garlicy spread, hot peppers? i would be happy to pay the regular price of $2 and get everything except the meat put on.

I tried the shop at Preston street (across from Plant Bath) last Friday and it seems clear now that the 3 shops (now 2) made completely different sandwiches. This one specializes in pork, several different ways and pate mixed with mayo is one of the fillings they offer. I tried that one, it came with some slices of cold cuts as well. There were hard bits that I kept picking out of the cold cut slices, it put me off a little. The amount of salad that come on the $2 sandwich was stingy, presumably they put more on the $3 sandwich.

I think I'll stick to my regular shop.

The hard bits in the meat were most likely gristle, which is actually desired in many cuisines. People like the "crunch" of it. At Vietnamese restaurants I've learned not to order "shredded pork" on my vermicelli because it's 50% gristle. It tastes fine but the texture is outside my comfort zone. :-)