Ottawa Foodies

3

1

Date of Visit: March 13, 2013

Brother’s Beer Bistro attracted me initially after I saw a grilled octopus entrée on their online-menu. When I visited the place recently, however, I was disappointed to discover that the offering had been discontinued a few weeks earlier and I almost went elsewhere. I didn’t, as it happened, and, though the meal I ended up having wasn’t exactly spectacular, by any means, I still enjoyed a pretty nice evening…

The Food
Tuna Tartare ... Rating: 3 out of 5
Steak Frites with Roasted Brussel Sprouts ... Rating:3 out of 5

Overall
Even though the two dishes I ordered were less than well-executed, I enjoyed excellent service, some really good beers and a pleasant atmosphere. I would be happy to give the menu another chance sometime and I rate the overall experience at a decent 4 out of 5.

See full pictorial review at: sybaritica.me

3

Loved it! Had the steak and a youngs double chocolate beer. Awesome to see locals open a new spot and be working at the bar. Will definitely be returning!

The Beer Store carries Magic Hat #9 - The ones on Carling avenue and Scott Street usually have it - you can search their inventory online.

1

Interesting AD_2 - so it is available in Ontario, I just checked LCBO inventory and it shows 5 six packs available in the province, all found in Paisley ON, at the store at 277 Queen St North. Wherever Paisley is???
Beer Brothers has it in a bottle.

Somebody told me recently that #9 is now available in Ontario. I haven't seen it but it could be true. Was it on tap or bottled here?

A local place that carries #9? Oh, I'm so there. A friend of mine used to bring growlers of the stuff home and we'd spend a few lazy hours quaffing it down.

1

We went to 3B's yesterday for lunch - turned into brunch as that's what they have on weekends. We were impressed by the look of the place and our reception by staff. The menu was interesting and the beer selection commendably diverse. Our server was co-owner Patrick Asselin who was congenial and knowledgeable about the beers and the menu. My dw ordered the beet salad but wasn't sure she wanted the Mort Subite beer pairing and Patrick suggested a Dieu du Ciel Rosee d'hibiscus and brought her a sample to taste. Good move! Dw liked the DdC and her beet salad. I had the Spanish Baked eggs with the Czechvar Pilsner which was the rec'd pairing. The egg dish was a bit underwhelming in the flavour department as was the beer (they were well matched!). I'm used to stronger flavours than were in the baked egg dish but it was well-presented and not a bit was left behind; evidently I still enjoyed it. My dd had the Blackberry Buttermilk Pancakes and I think changed her beer pairing to Mill Street's Coffee Porter. She asked for the rootbeer glazed bacon to be put on a second plate and was comfortably accommodated (she's veg and her dh got the bacon). She enjoyed her pancakes and her beer. Her dh had the Charcuterie and chose soppressata, smoked duck and Roche Noir blue cheese, and had a Flying Monkey beer I hadn't heard of and a Magic Hat #9, all of which made him happy. He slipped me a piece of the duck and it was full of flavour, totally delicious.
Nice comfortable place this, and well-located. We'll be back for dinner and some pints, but I bet dd and her dh will beat us back here as they can now walk there from their place.

3

I went here for my birthday dinner on Saturday night with a group of friends. First of all, the service here is wonderful as is the extensive beer list (and wine too!)
I had this:
CHARRED BC OCTOPUS
ROASTED GARLIC PUREE, RAPINI, SMOKED PARM, LIONS MANE MUSHROOM, WHITE BEAN, SOPRESSATA, BLACK OLIVE, ITALIAN BREAD CRUMB

Octopus is my favourite food and it's a bit hard to find in Ottawa, so I was very excited. The presentation was delightful -- a nice, big, purple tentacle on top of a bed of white beans, mushrooms, and everything you see above. The charred flavour was quite nice, perhaps a tiny bit overpowering. It was an excellent "intro to octo" dish -- a few friends tried it for the first time and LOVED it. Great texture, but could have used a drizzle of olive oil or something.
My only real complaint is that the white beans were undercooked, making them quite inedible, in my opinion. Too bad. I love white beans.
Overall, the dish was quite good although I'll probably try something else next time.

Now for starters: my partner and I split the tuna taretare and the fishcakes. The taretare, as usual, was the star of the show and came with chips. I want to go back and just eat two servings of this. The fish cakes were actually very good as well and had a nice, solid fish flavour to them.

Between the two of us (two apps, five drinks and two mains) we spent $130 plus tip. And it was my bday so I didn't pay. Yay!

Overall - A- (not taking into consideration the beans as I believe it was a complete fluke)

1

We went for dinner here Friday before seeing a show at the Ottawa Little Theatre.

Being newly gluten-free, I was happy to be able to choose from a selection on their beer menu listing Le Messagère, New Grist and Waupoos Cider.

Hubby went with the Spearhead Hawaiian Pale Ale and the Mad Tom IPA. He preferred the Spearhead.

We shared an appetizer of:

TUNA CRUDO 10.00
RADLER CURED, PIGS EAR CRACKLING, TARRAGON REMOULADE, DULSE

This plate consisted of about 9 small bites (quarter sized) of raw tuna topped with the above garnishes. Not very filling so if you are starving it's not one you will want to share, but it was perfect for us. Very tasty.

As mains, he got the hamburger and I had the steak frites. They seem to vary how they serve these two dishes based on what's fresh because what we got was a bit different than what is listed on their on line menu.

Not sure what cut of meat my steak was but it was medium-rare and melted in your mouth. Served with nice, crispy fries and perfectly cooked green beans sauteed in herbed butter.

The only downside to my meal is that there was no sauce or "jus" on the meat at all. It was just dry. Most steak frites I have ordered usually have something "wet" on the meat? Also the aioli served with the fries was a bit bland. No garlic flavour detected. Wish they had stirred in some paprika or chipotle or something to add some oomph. (I am spoiled by the chipotle mayo at The Works).

Hubby enjoyed his burger and fries but had the same comment as me about the aioli.

No dessert as we were stuffed.

Atmosphere was great, service was very polite, but a bit slow near the end.

All in all we enjoyed our meal and would go back.

2

Now that they are open for lunch, I wanted to try this new place out. The lunch menu had a limited selection but was varied enough that I think everyone could get something they liked. All the dishes are prepared with beer as are some of their condiments. I decided on the mussels and sopprasetta with frites as the side. The mussels and sopprasetta actually make a great combination of both flavour and texture. It was very good. The frites were fantastic! Just the right combination of firmness and sogginess. These were great by themselves but when you dip them in the aioli, wow! Gotta go back soon.

1

Well I was a bit underwhelmed at their chicken and waffles. For a $24 fried chicken plate the portion size of a chicken breast and the bone attached to it was a tad on the small side. I did not really get the Kichesippi flavor that it was brined in and the coating was no better something seemed to be off with the seasoning. Guess I am still remembering Lady&Sons fried chicken so my judgment may be a bit biased. The waffles were on the dry side and the slightly bitter syrup/sauce did not really do it for me,some butter probably would have helped. The slaw was ok and gravy helped but could not save this dish. I guess I just couldn't not get passed the price for chicken. Zaki blows it out of the water.