Ottawa Foodies

1

I have to agree with FF that "For the price point that Big Easy's sits at, I think there are better food choices in town."

2

Ever wondered what 3/4 lb of Broiled Jumbo Shrimp ($29) looks like on a plate? Here it is, seven of these colossal wonders, beautifully presented and ready for noshing!

My careful selection of a generous spouse so many years ago proved once again fortuitous. She offered me a shrimp. Well prepared, perfectly cooked, these are everything shrimp should be.

My wife's one complaint (and I agree) is that the accompanying Dirty Rice just didn't match well. Big Easy's dirty rice is made with beef and it is very dark, both in appearance and flavour. It would pair well with a hearty steak or chicken, but not with shrimp! The coconut rice I had with my Surf & Turf would work better in this dish. I guess if you eat all the shrimp first and then treat the dirty rice as a second course, it serves to provide welcome sustenance to what might otherwise be a light dish.

At the same price point as the 6 oz lobster tail, I think this 12 oz of shrimp is the superior choice!

1

I went all out with the Surf & Turf ($40). The value of this is actually quite good, considering the 6 oz lobster tail and the 6 oz filet mignon are each $29 if you get them separately.

The lobster tail was succulent and slightly sweet, easy to access, and just amazing when dipped into the drawn butter. It's tiny though -- I can't imagine making a meal out of just that.

The filet mignon was just a bit underdone (I asked for medium rare and it was closer to rare) but I was okay with that. Perfectly lean and wonderfully tender. I asked for the "St. Elisabeth blue cheese" accompaniment for my steak and found it a little overpowering for such a mild cut of meat. Our server recommended the cheese be served on the side for this reason (nice!).

I chose the Coconut Rice as my carb, and found it a little bland but with a nice bit of heat (green chilis?).

Vegetables were diverse and nicely cooked. Much better than what you would normally expect from a steakhouse.

2

My wife and I had a really nice experience here on Saturday night. We came expecting good quality steak and seafood, and our expectations were met. The feel of the place is pretty down to earth -- less trendy than we expected. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Service (by Leigh-Anne, according to my receipt) was beyond reproach. Friendly, efficient, helpful, well-timed. Spot on!

We started with drinks ($8-$9 each):

Bourbon Street Bellini - my wife thought the sparkling wine was either in very short supply or was mild and had all the bubbles shaken out of it. I tried a sip and found this pretty bland.
Mojito - Mojitos are some of the most thirst-quenching cocktails out there, and this one was top notch. Lots of lime wedges and mint, just enough ice and soda. Not a lot of rum compared to what I make at home, but that's normal. ;-) Recommended!

Then the appetizers:

Creole Chowder $8 - tasty creamy clam chowder. Somewhat sweet due to the corn. Pretty good.
Big Easy's Crab Cake (pictured here) - very mild tasting, as crab tends to be, but really generous. For $14 it isn't very big, but once you dig in and realize that it must be 80% pure crab then the price seems justified. The roasted red pepper sauce on the plate provided a nice spicy counterpoint to the mild blue crab.

I will cover the mains under separate entries with photos.

Dessert:

Bananas Foster Cheesecake $7 - more of a baked cheesecake draped in banana sauce (no chunks), this was really good! Never encountered this combination before and it works well.
Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée $7 - a standard, but delicious, crème brûlée. My only complaint is that the sugar crust was way too thick. Ideally, it is a delicate sheet that shatters readily and provides delicate crunch; this was more of a heavy shell that stuck to my teeth.

For the price point that Big Easy's sits at, I think there are better food choices in town, but none of them are steak and seafood joints. In other words, if you're looking for steak and seafood done right, this is likely the best bang for your buck!

Went to Big Easy's for the 1st time...these people know their meats...

We were 3...cocktails and wine great

we started with a clam chowder - that was very good and tasty

for appetizer..we ordered and shared the duck spring rolls and the duck foie gras with a chutney. the spring rolls were very tasty but nothing much to the dipping sauce...i found the sauce added no taste to the rolls...

the foie gras was too die for...they only give you four little toasts which is not enough to eat that good portion of foie gras - u would need 6 - so the waitress gave us bread as to toast the little breads would take 10 minutes so we opted for the bread instead...

our main course was surf and turf - we all got our meet cooked differently but the chef got each one of it cooked right...my filet mignon was like butter...i didn't really like the peppercorn sauce and wasn't offered another option...which i think there was...our side was caesar salad...it was good but a little too cold and too wet for my liking...but very tasty...

we shared our dessert...pecan tort but the base was really hard to cut into...but it was good...

i would definetely return...

i love the steaks at this place, everything is full of flavor. I have also have had the balckenede salmon...very good

Tried Big Easy's tonight for the first time, have to say that it was outstanding quality and great value. Mahi Mahi was cooked to perfection as was the asparagus, and my wife informs me that her twice baked potato was of an equally exceptional standard. Service was superb and I'd highly recommend Big Easy's - we'll be going back very soon.

Visited last night with a party of four and had a wonderful dinner. Our server Jamie did perfect job with service and made the evening very enjoyable. I had the blackened catfish with mixed veggies and a twice baked potato. Spicy seasoning and cooked just right. I couldn't figure out what was in the twice baked but it was yummy. If I'm not mistaken last time we visited sides were not included in the price of the meal but now are. Others had a strip and rib steaks and left nothing on their plates. My only gripe would be selection of cuts of steak. I guess there is no market for different cuts of steak at steak houses in the area but I for one would enjoy a flat iron added to the menu or as mention in the forum a tri tip.

Hubby and I went here last weekend for a night- out-without-baby date! We had been here twice before and really love the Preston area. I agree woth previous posters, Thank God there are other restaurants besides Italian on Preston now.

We dined for 2 hours had a few glasses of wine,port, 2 apps, 2 mains and 2 desserts all together- Yes I know its a lot :)

Our bill was about 160.00. I though this was reasonable considering the drinks and all the food items.

I enjoyed my salmon and hubby said his steak was cooked perfectly.

We'll be back.

The royal WE (party of 4) decided to celebrate a birthday this weekend. We had a reservation and were seated in the bar area. The total bill for 4 with tip was $330.

Overall the outing was a bust. We will not return. Nothing was offensive or offputting, but at this price point I expect something grander. It is hard to justify charging 30% more for printing the menu in a different font (I looking at you Mr. Big Daddy).

The steaks were quite good, cooked to the proper order. The tuna and salmon were passable. The desserts (individual pies) are a good idea, but came off as premanufactured... they were just missing the thin metal tin pans. Frankly, the menu was pedestrian and I believe constructed so as to minimize the skill required from the kitchen staff.

The service was just barely okay. I'll chalk that up to the fact that we were on the bar side.

Save yourself a few bucks and go to the Keg.

All in all, at $85 a head we should have had a much better experience. We parked way south of the 417. It was a long walk back along Preston seeing all of the restaurants that might have been.