Ottawa Foodies

Hubby and I went to La Roma on Sunday evening. Being relatively new to the Ottawa area, we've been really surprised at how busy restaurants are on nights we'd considered to be "off".

We were seated quickly. After ordering drinks, we perused the menu and decided to each get an appetizer and a pasta dish.

I ordered the calamari, which turned out to be a huge disappointment. It was probably the chewiest I had ever had and really inedible. When the server came over, I told her that it was very chewy, and she took it away and got me another order. The second batch came right out of the fryer, so it was hot and fresh and a bit better, but as it cooled down, they got chewier. It was obvious that the squid had been frozen. Anyone who had eaten calamari from fresh squid would be able to tell the difference.

Hubby had the artichokes with garlic and 2 cheeses and it was very good. The artichokes were tender and hot and the garlic and cheeses were a nice complement.

My pasta dish was Fettuccini ai Spinaci Monte Verde (spinach fettuccini, tomato sauce, cream, mushrooms, ham and artichokes hearts). It was very flavourful and good. It made up for the appetizer! Hubby had the Fettuccini ai Spinaci al Salmone (fettuccini with mushrooms, garlic & smoked salmon in a cream sauce) and it was excellent. We were both pleased with our pastas.

We had tons of dessert at home, so we skipped dessert and coffee there.

We'll probably go back again sometime. Overall it was a pleasant experience, service was efficient and friendly and seemed to appreciate my comments about the calamari.

Being New Year's Eve, La Roma had two seating times...6:00 and 8:30 ish. Because of this I was expecting to feel rushed for some reason but we for sure weren't. Service was timed just right and not overly polite or anything negative. Reasonably priced, especially for the quality food they served. They took our jackets before we were seated and when we were done, they brought them back and the gentleman put them on for us ladies which I thought was a nice touch, in this day and age! Seating was a little tight with the back of my chair being super close to the table behind me. That wouldn't deter me at all from going back again and again! Or recommend it to anyone who asks for good, homestyle, high quality Italian food!

Last but not least, our meat/seafood east coaster friend got the Linguini alla Pescatore
Tomato or cream sauce with shrimps, scallops, baby clams and mussels. He said it was really, really good but thought they sort of short changed him on the pasta portion, maybe because it was full of seafood? He definitely could have ate more....but still didn't order dessert so he must have been satisfied!

Another main...Manicotti della Casa
Stuffed with ricotta cheese & spinach covered in a tomato & bechamel sauce. I don't think the picture does this one justice....he finished the plate!

My sister had the Fettuccini ai Spinaci al Salmone...Spinach fettuccini with mushrooms, garlic & smoked salmon in a cream sauce. This was going to be my first choice, but I thought I should try something that I don't "normally" get. I HAD to try it and wow, even though mine was really good, I wish I would have ordered this one. The smoked salmon was just nice and tender and the cream sauce was surprisingly light, not too heavy, yet still full of flavor.

Here is my delicious main..Fettuccini ai Spinaci Monte Verde....Spinach fettuccini, tomato sauce, cream, mushrooms, ham and artichokes hearts. But since I'm a vegetarian, I ordered it without ham. Yummmy! They served just the right portions that made you full but not enough that you feel the need to open your top button!

Of course, being in an Italian resto, someone always orders the Baked Lasagna! She said it was really yummy....sorta looks the same as the Manicotti, but of course wasn't...traditional style with meat sauce.

Ok...I finally figured out how to get my pics of our New Year's Eve dinner from La Roma off the new camera and onto the computer!
This is my starter salad which was the Insalata La Roma...romaine, onions, green peppers, artichokes, tomatoes and fried scallops with a really nice light vinagrette. I've never had scallops fried like that before so I was expecting them to be chewy but they definitely weren't!

This was my partners appetizer which was called Carciofini al Formaggio...artichokes baked with white wine, garlic, and parmesan cheese. Being a lover of artichokes as he is, he LOVED this one!