Ottawa Foodies

2

This bustling yet airy brewpub is a welcome addition to Ottawa's West end. I jumped right in with a Big Rig Red (pictured here), which seemed a little on the amber side to be called a red. It was tasty, but with less of the round nuttiness I like in my reds. My second beverage was the Big Rig Brown, which was more to my liking but still not amazing. Personal preference differs though -- try one of their well-priced sampling flights 4 x 6oz for $7.50 and find which you like most!

Service was very friendly, if somewhat clumsy. Our server was an absolute sweetheart but she mixed up a few drink orders on bills and I had to help her figure out which was the Red when she served a sampling flight to my neighbour. (See, even the staff don't think it's red enough!) Worse though, were the dopey guys who delivered our plates of food: they held the plates awkwardly, asking the whole table, "who ordered the ?" One of them accidentally dumped a diner's fried pickles onto the table when serving her plate and didn't offer to replace them. To an extent, it felt like we were attending a fundraising dinner at a high school.

The bathrooms have those cool Dyson Airblade hand dryers.

Had lunch here today as well. Solo, though I enjoyed the company of two little boys in the booth in front of me. It was like having lunch with my nephew and made me smile.

Had the margherita pizza, and a side caesar. Pizza was good, though I have had it in the past and found they put way too much arugula on it, so I asked them to go light on it, and it was perfect.

I've had both the reg. and thin crust and enjoyed them both. I think the reg would hold better for leftovers though?

The salad was good, standard resto fare. Service imo, is still a bit iffy, not bad just not..good. Asked a few questions and got "im not sure I'll check on that" and never heard back, also ignored my empty glass for a while, then forgot when he did see I needed one.

But I do think thats par for the course of a new-ish restaurant. The pizza makes a great lunch and I'll be back.

Today, at lunch, my husband did it. He ordered the #4 burger and that means the burger patty between 2 grilled cheese. It was as bad as expected. The grilled cheese sandwiches (a bit of disappointment here) were not drenching in butter or cheese. It could have used a little more cheese and yellow cheddar instead of white. Overall, very tasty burger. The homemade mustard sauce, served on the side, was very tasty.

I had the French Onion Soup and was not disappointed. Strong onion flavour with chunky toasted bread slobbered in gratin.

MiniMe's 2 sliders was good too.

Upon a second visit, we agree this is a good spot for lunch.

From what I understand (Full disclosure, I know someone who works there) they won't be cycling other breweries, they just have a great relationship with Kichesippi. The Hoegaarden type beer is the Hefeweizen seasonal and it is their own. They will keep their main brews and change up the seasonals. Next up they will have a Raspberry Ale.

AD - It is from K'sippi. I believe they bring in a "guest" brewery for a couple months, perhaps two since they also had a Hoegarden type brew (don't know if it was their own), which I didn't try since I'm not a Hoegarden fan.

Hey Boxers, can you clarify something from your review?

When talking about the beers, you say you had their 'Hell Or High Water' beer. Are they brewing a beer called that or are they serving Kichesippi's 'Heller High Water?'

1

Usually go to pubs with friends for some good company, lots of beer, pub quality food and a place with a vibrant atmosphere with friendly staff. Big Rig hits on all the prerequisites.

Been here a few times and to date the experiences have all been pretty good for the most part.

The hits...

Really enjoyed their Quatrro Carne pizza which is loaded with cheese and toppings. Their pizza is apparently one of their best menu items according to their wait staff and I would tend to agree. A few of the guys have really enjoyed their chicken and avocado sandwich.

The in-betweens...

Pulled pork sandwich was passable

The misses...

Apparently they will not cook a burger medium and would prefer to serve them well to extremely well done. BIG, BIG miss on the burgers and this experience has been shared by a couple of other guys at the table. The fries were okay, just nothing special.

Their spicy Canadian maple wings, which sounds really good, really missed the mark. Barely a hint of maple and no spice whatsoever. It was almost dry wings with a hint of something.

The beer story...

Not really a beer aficionado, but I usually do enjoy and prefer a good red or pale.

I liked their red, their red, their red, gold and hell or high water beers. Their IPA not so much, had a weird taste before and after consumption. Not a stout fan, so my thoughts on their stought would not be fair. The brown was okay.

Took a quick look at their kids menu and was surprised at how cheap the items are. Might even consider bringing the family for a visit.

The barside is always busy and their staff have all been very friendly and attentive.

Definitely on the list of places to go with friends for beers and pub food.

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I have visited twice since they opened and while the beer was great, the food has been disappointing. The prices are very high ($10 for 5 potstickers, $3.50 for a side of gravy, $11.50 for a house salad). The portions are small for the prices they charge (particularly for the apps and sides).

Fish tacos ($13 for 3) had little quarter-sized chunks of bland fish. The fish tacos at Mucho Burrito are a hundred times better than these.
The burger was standard, good bun..but the fries were limp and not at all crispy.
I enjoyed their white beer and the gold. Unfortunately the beer alone is not enough to bring me back. I would hope that they adjust their prices or at least up the portion sizes. I think they could also benefit from a smaller menu.
The menu is so large, it makes me question the 'fresh and homemade' mantra that they want their food to represent.

The service was a bit awkward. The side plate that I was still using was snatched away by a busboy before I could swallow and ask him not to. On the second visit, again there were multiple servers/busboys lurking around waiting to grab whatever it appeared wasn't being used on our table. My beer glass with an inch or so of beer still in the bottom was almost snatched away too. The over-ambitious table clearing was not appreciated, although I suppose management must be directing them to do so.

3

Went Monday evening with a friend to celebrate Canada's first-ever medal in world-level orienteering competition, by a local girl. Yay!

Service was fine for me. Prices may be a touch high, but not ridiculously so. The menu was... pretty wide. Some things I stayed away from, looked too much like outliers.

I had the fish and chips - how else to evaluate a new pub? It was perfectly okay, nothing great, but nothing bad. Fries however were lower quality and plentiful, I didn't finish half of them.

But what about the beer? They have 5 regulars and one seasonal, and sadly the hefeweizen was not ready yet. My friend had the IPA, which he says is a hops bomb, as the nose certainly shows - 60 IBU. whoo. I had a sampler of the other 4:
- Gold is an ale, not lager or pilsner, and was actually more tasty to me than most light-coloured beers I've had. Fine summer beer.
- Red was definitely tastier, and more what I'd have on a patio as a light offering.
- Brown was... yummy for me. Really yummy. I downed half of the taster at the first try. Bit of caramel taste, bit of hops, bit of better consistency on the tongue.
- Stout was intriguing, maybe more coffee taste than I like (I don't like coffee) but certainly not bland.

The Brown was the overall winner, as both me and my friend got a "small" 12oz glass of it to finish our meal.

He had the beef stroganoff, and as I surmised, he found it very.. eh. Not what I'd get in a pub (like ordering veal parmigiano in IHOP - yes, they have that on the menu).

Desserts were quite nice, an apple pie with a crumbly instead of pastry top, and the kitchen happily accepted my friend's request to switch the ice cream for a slice of aged cheddar (he swears by it.) though the cheddar was "aged" in the slightest sense. Still, he enjoyed it. I definitely enjoyed my sugar bomb - I mean the caramel cake thingie of crunchy goodness.

I'd definitely go back for a nice beer or two with appetizers, especially recuperating from the nearby arcade. Looking forward to trying the hef too.

2

I rarely enjoy a beer as much as I enjoyed the seasonal Scotch Ale here!

Rather than try to describe how it tastes, I'll list other beers I've enjoyed so you can see how our tastes match up. I'm not a big beer drinker and I like relatively malty and usually red beers. The beers I have loved in the past include: De Koninck, Boreale Cuivree, Kilkenny, Caffrey's, Beau's Nightmaerzen, Kichesippi 1855, Rickard's Red (draught only), Muskoka Cream Ale.

Most other beers I just don't like very much. :P

This Scotch Ale is something else. Good to the last drop, whereas I often grow tired of a beer half way through the pint.

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I picked up a growler of their IPA. Very good on its on. Not so good when your 3 year old pours strawberry yogurt drink into it. Beer + Strawberry Yogurt != Lambic

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Portion sizes here are ridiculously large (not something I ever complain about). I was ravenous when I ordered, and I opted for a small Quattro Carne pizza with thin crust ($16.95). I managed to eat half of it before hitting cheese overload. The regular crust is really thick and looks good too.

As you can see from the picture, this pizza is very well done -- even charred in places. I like this. The flavour was great in an ooey gooey yet refined way. It is touted as "Montreal style" pizza. I'm not sure what that means, but it's fine with me as a once-in-a-while alternative to the scantily dressed thin crust pizzas I've been enjoying from Ottawa's wood ovens.

I would order this again, although I'd probably pay 3 bucks less and just get the straight bacon one. I didn't think the pepperoni, salami, and meatballs added much to it.

11

At $16, these "pulled chicken nachos" are some of the priciest nachos in town but I bet they're also the biggest. I'm tired of seeing a skimpy flat portion of nachos for north of ten bucks (The Brew Table I'm looking at you).

I tasted one and found it to be the delicious tender-crisp kind of tortilla chip I like so much. It will be hard not to order this on my next visit. I would have to wear my eating pants.

I was pleased with the freshness and flavour of the rings here! Thick cut onion in a crunchy and tasty beer batter. These are classic rings done right, without any unnecessary cleverness or fancy.

Except for the dip. It was unnecessary and overpoweringly perfumed with liquid smoke. I found myself moving it some distance away so I could enjoy the rings without receiving unwanted input from my nose.

At $8.50 this is not exactly a bargain priced plate of rings, but it's a generous snack and it hits the spot with a pint.