Ottawa Foodies

[Carling Ave] Love the selection and the freshness, and I agree that the produce purchased here lasts, it seems, longer than what I find in larger chains.

However, I am wary, as I've found a few items lately that are out in the dairy case, or the meat case, which have expired (an entire display of Egg Beaters, over ten days expired. A pile of dinner hams, all three days past the best before date. Just one visit, that). I don't cherish the thought of trying any more seafood from a store that puts out stock long-expired...

Will continue using this store/location for veggies, but no longer to stock up on the milk/eggs/meats. Not til they get better at reading the labels of stock.

PS: I find Rideau Bakery products dry, stale, and boring. Is it just me? It's the true weakspot I've found with Produce Depot, is that I can't count on getting fresh bread at the end of my roll through the store!

This is my weekly regular for fruit and veg. I find the shelf life of the produce is longer than that of the major chain fruit and veg. The fish counter is actually decent as well for a small store! The baked goods... ohh... Rideau bakery pecan ring... that's crack right there. My only complaint would be for them to start carrying better quality cheese, even Loblaws has started carrying some of Quebec's finest now!

(Carling) Easily my favourite for fresh veg and fruit, going on six years now. Quality and prices are excellent, I'm always surprised at how little I'm paying for the bags I'm walking out with, and one area deserves special mention: if you want a fantastic skinned and deboned chicken breast for anything, go here! Even if you don't catch one of their frequent specials on this at $9.90/kg, I haven't seen any place else touch their family-pack trays for size and plumpness. The rest of the meat section isn't bad either, but this is a consistent high point.

This was a favourite of mine when I was a student -- great prices.

Squeakiest cheese curds I've ever picked up at 8:30pm in the city (Carling location).

Also noted:

-- good little bakery section; Rideau Bakery stuff, good pitas. They do a nice job of seeking out good suppliers for stuff besides produce.
-- interesting selection of exotica. Not exhaustive, but. I've always wondered who's buying the six-foot sugar canes...
-- still cheap!

Currently $10.99 / lb which is not the cheapest price in the city by a longshot but still is not bad. The tank at Carling and Maitland is fairly crowded but the seabugs were lively - and I hand-picked (literally) 3 of the feistier ones for our traditional family xmas-eve lobster supper.