Ottawa Foodies

Lady who brunches it was always called Lone Star. Val Belcher who played for Houston in collage and Ottawa in the CFL was the original owner of The Lone Star and brought fajitas to Ottawa. A friend of mine managed the original restaurant on Baseline for years. Lane his son runs a great restaurant on Preston.

Ken, what was it called before it was bought out? There are Lone Stars all across Canada (at least in major cities), and they've been around for at least ten years.

I was a regular here before it was bought out ten years ago by a large company that owns quite a few restaurants in Ottawa. I find now the quality of food is not the greatest(pre packaged and processed). Their tortillas are still made fresh.

@ lonestar - been a patron for 20 years; however my visits have been less frequent in recent years due to less value/prices steadily increasing/skimping. don't get me wrong, LS is a great place for getting it on with hot TEX, sizzling MEX, and getting you and your clothes that wonderful perfumed dose of eau de mesquite. also it is a great joint for parties, watching the game, AYCE fajita mondays, loud crowds, office partays and humuliating bdays. service is VERY casual but food is sometimes inconsistent due to larger kitchen staffing; thus, you have to demand the respect you deserve if your visit is not up to par in comparison to your previous ones. good times!

NOTE: if you're a server here, you're prolly among the top places in ottawa for tip revenue...

lonestar pico de gallo - simple perfection that can be easily recreated @ home with fresh cut tomatoes, salt, vinegar, onions, cilantro, lemon juice. surefire flavor hit.

hot pico de gallo porny food pic again. to cut down on calories, forget the salty chips and eat it all up straight like gazpacho.

some of da fixin's.

also cold beans (not pictured) = YUCK and YUCK OFF.
and dirty mexican rice (not pictured) = zesty good!

beef and chicken fajita's for 4. portions this time was right; however, not so for another person at our table...

the beef is skirt steak which is a tougher belly meat yet flavorful that is tenderized then cut at an angle before serving for that it is
easier to chew.

chicken fajita for 1. we were *impressed* at how one person got the skimp with 5 paltry pieces of sliced chicken. we sent it back for replacement to match the advertised photo in the menu. she passed on the good karma and tipped proportionally.

I love their tortillas and salsa. Fajitas are always fun, but I do agree that you always leave a bit stinky! Sitting on the patio solves this problem. Our group of 10 had excellent service at the Byward Market location.

I went to the location in the Byward Market about a month ago for a friend's birthday and was very impressed with the service.

I'm allergic to eggs and seriously lactose intolerant and wasn't in the mood for fajitas so it didn't leave me with very many options (most of the menu items minus cheese = lame).

The waitress was SUPER helpful. I was honestly very impressed with the level of attentiveness she gave to those of us in the group with food sensitivities. I let her know my stupid food issues before ordering, and when I picked the seemingly innocent chicken fingers, she INSISTED on going to double check what the breading was made out of - turns out there were both egg and dairy in them!

I ended up with the "Lone Star Chicken Salad" which is described as "fresh greens with grape tomatoes, roasted peppers, spiced glazed pecans, onions, and jack cheese with our honey citrus jalapeno dressing and topped with Mesquite grilled chicken." (I obviously got it minus the cheese).

I'm not a huge salad person, but this was REALLY GOOD. It was a huge portion, nicely filling, and the varying textures and flavours paired very nicely.

Overall, I was very happy with our meal.

I've been burned a couple of times in the past getting shafted on the tortillas, so now I ask for extra when I place my order. Problem solved! Fajita lovers take note - ask for more tortillas if ordering takeaway!

That sounds like a mistake! When you eat in, they happily bring you more tortillas on request. For take out they should be more generous than that, since obviously you can't ask for more.

FYI - I guess the sharp increase in flour prices has hit Lone Star. Tonight a bunch of us split a 1-pound chicken/steak combo for takeout, and they only gave us 6 fajita wraps - less than 2 per person :(

I should have taken a pic of some of the overstuffed fajitas that ensued...

I could really use one of those little tortilla making machines in my kitchen. These are the best fajitas you'll find in the city. A 1/2 pound is ~$20 and is more than enough for 2 people to feast on (although they could work on the onion/pepper ratio and be a little more generous on the meat sometimes)

The best hands down. It's the fresh tortillas that make the difference. My husband and I always share a half pound of steak fajitas (I find the chicken a little bland) and we always leave really satisfied and very full!

I think it's within the past few months that they've changed their salsa. It's still nice and fresh, but I preferred the older version. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I thought it tasted a bit sweeter than before.

Am I crazy or have they changed their salsa recipe in the last few years? Still a great salsa but I find it has a different kick to it now. I can't quite figure it out but I think it used to have more cilantro.

Perfect salsa! If you are looking for something similar at home try Kickin Salsa.

"The one that all others are compared to" -- yes. And a total thumbs-up on the chips, too.

Lone Star's pico de gallo is the best salsa in town -- the one that all others are compared to. Fresh, zesty, with just a hint of jalapeno heat.

Warm salty goodness!

Really good margaritas. I prefer classic lime but strawberry is pretty tasty too.