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Lived off of Preston for about a year and worked in a deli on Preston for about 6 months. Here are my personal observations.

1) The bakery that Tracinho refers to is Campiano Bakery. It's quite good. And they supply the deli next door which imo makes better cold cut sandwiches than DiRienzo's. However, DiRienzo's hot sandwiches are killer.

2) For Italian, Giovanni's is still the go to spot. However, it is rather expensive. For cheap eats, I normally go to Ciccio's.

3) For pizza, I prefer La Favorita.

4) The new gelateria open on Preston is quite nice.

5) I've never bought cheese on Preston outside of Casa Nicastro (I worked there), but the selection is decent.

6) Le Kim Chi is decent, not great.

6a) The little Thai takeout is actually pretty decent.

7) Pub Italia hands down, best beer selection in town, but food is crap.

8) Prescott, you go more to say you've had a meatball sandwich, or a square pizza. They aren't that good, but it's a good place to catch the game.

9) Heart and Crown is nice as a more upscale pub, with prices to match.

10) Pho, Pho Bo Ga La 3 is best, followed by Pho Bo Ga La 2. All others are too salty imo.

11) Best BBQ Pork, Wa Kiu.

12) Best Chinese veggies, Wa Kiu

13) Chinese food, Cafe Orient for HK style food, or Northern Han for well, northern Chinese food.

14) Dim Sum... best to avoid it.

15) Best wild card, St. Honore Bakery on Booth St. Best Gai Mai Bao I've had, including Toronto and HK.]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163
Here's some instructions on how to freeze cooked chanterelles:
www.ehow.com
Seems that freezing uncooked ones is not the way to go.]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3162
i froze some in the past, soon as they thawed, they turned to a useless gummy mush. fresh is best i say. and they can't be used quickly, de-hy!!!

btw, chanterelle season is now but appears weak locally.....!?

will be counting on COSTCO bringing them in by the truckload soon! LOL!]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3162
Welcome to the board and the hood-

I like May's Garden for Chinese. Ging Sing was good too but prices are a little higher.

I've heard good things about Kiko sushi on Preston as well as Sushi 88 on Somerset- I haven't personally tried either.

The Prescott has good pizza and good food in general.
I also like Pizza Shark on Gladstone.

I also like the Prescott as a bar in general and the Heart and Crown on Preston.

Best Wild Card- either Big Easy's or sandwiches at Di Renzo's on Beech at Champagne.]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163
Freezing is best, some people cook them and then bag them up in the freezer with as little air as possible in the package... I've seen loosely frozen whole, uncooked chanterelles as well but they got a bit of freezer burn.]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3162
FINE I'll bring something too.]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3155
So THAT'S how you get people interested in a thread! haha]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3155
I'm in your neighbourhood, after about 8 months I'm still figuring things out:

Cheese and Antipasto at Lucianos;
there is a bakery that makes good bread on Preston just north of 417;
Pub Italia for patio atmosphere and beer selection;
Lindenhof has great beer and great german food (particularly the ham hocks);
Ban Mi at Co Cham;
Pho: Thuc Do(?);
I like both Koreana on Somerset(particularly the shabu shabu and spicy tripe stew) and Le Kim Chi on Preston for Korean;
Dim sum: For value I like Jadeland, for variety and fried stuff I like Yangtze
Tend to go to Yangtze for Chinese, mostly b.c. it is open really late and has draft beer, I have no idea if it is the best but I do enjoy it.

Can't speak on Italian food as I tend to do a lot at home, and there are still quite a few small patios on Preston that I look forward to checking out in the next few weeks. Hope this helps

]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163
OttawaNewbie I guess it's a question of semantics. When someone asks me what vendor makes the "Best X" it implies (well to me anyway) that they are the only vendor that can make a decent cannoli, etc. That's why I usually ask people what their favourite pizza place is, what their favourite pasta shop is, etc. because that is where I want to go. I'm sure we all have our own favourite haunts so hopefully you will get lots of suggestions. My comments were just a rant nothing personal was meant by it.

I haven't eaten in the area in ages but I can recommend the meatball sandwiches at the Prescott. I know you asked specifically for restos but if you ever want to pick up something for dinner at home I can recommend Luciano's. They are an Italian grocery store but they have really good homemade pastas and sauces. The Pastecceria Gelateria Italiana has nice pastries.

I am looking forward to hearing what suggestions will be made.]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163
OttawaNewbie I totally see where you're coming from. I like that discovery aspect of restaurant hunting: passionate people making amazing cannoli? Sign me up.

Welcome to Ottawa, BTW!]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163
Absolutely...didn't mean to imply that its the only place to go. I meant "best" more of as in "Place I should not miss". If you had to pick your favorite (top 2-3 whatever) what would it be. Figured with multiple replies, I'd get a nice selection of eateries for various "foodgroups". Can we make cannoli a foodgroup? ;)

Also, given that I wanted to specific food recs (i.e. cannoli, not just dessert) I figured it would be a more limited response anyway. Such and such a place migth have great dessert overall, but is there a little hole in the wall that makes amazing cannoli? I want to go THERE.]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163
Oh, you'll get opinions, all right. I'll put in my two cents and then hide for a while while everybody tells me I'm wrong ;)

Best Pizza: The pizza at The Prescott isn't necessarily anything special, but I really like it. Must be the beer.
Best Chinese: Ging Sing
Best Dim Sum: Yangtze
Best Bar/Lounge: Pub Italia if you're there for the beer
Best Thai: Can I suggest skipping just that little bit west and going to Siam Bistro instead of worrying about Chinatown/Little Italy?
Best Wild Card: Banh Mi at Co Cham?]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163
OttawaNewbie I was looking for recommendations in Chinatown and Little Italy when an out-of-town friend was visiting last winter. We ended up going to the Royal Thai in the Byward Market but a number of excellent recommendations were made in the thread I started: Forum - What is your favourite restaurant in Chinatown or Little Italy?

P.S. I hate it when people ask for BEST pizza, BEST burger, etc. implying that no other resto can make a decent pizza, burger, etc. Just sayin' //endrant]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163
Yeah, sign me up for macarons and anything alcoholic that Pete brings ;)]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3155
Hey all! Just moved to the intersection of Chinatown and Little Italy, and in desperate need of restaurant recs! I'm a meat lover, a spice lover, a beer lover, and looking for places where the main dish is under $20.

Anyone have oppinions on:

Best Pasta
Best Pizza
Best Cannoli
Best Chinese
Best Dim Sum
Best Sushi
Best Kim Chee
Best Pho
Best Thai
Best Burger
Best Bar/Lounge
Best Wild Card

In and around the Somerset/Preston area.]]> http://ottawafoodies.com/forum/3163