Ottawa Foodies

Strolling down Preston Street last night and having a hard time deciding where to eat and decided to stop at the Prescott—just thought we’d have the square pizza. The waiter told us the special was prime rib dinner with soup or salad for 16.95. We were a little leery—traditional British in an Italian institution? Since she called us “luv” with the right accent and recommended it we decided to go for it. We sat on the restaurant side.
They had already brought water and we ordered a litre of house red (we were walking for a change.) Hubby ordered his “rare—quite rare” and tho’ I like mine rare I went on the safe side with “medium-rare—more rare than medium” (at times we can be a servers nightmare! but we’re pretty flexible!) Warm buns with butter arrived next; I partook he waited for the main. The buns were pretty basic but good—fresh bread, warmed in an oven, not microed, wrapped in a cloth napkin, butter soft but still cool. Salad came fairly quickly, very fresh, crisp, large. It was half romaine and half iceberg but it felt like comfort food with the iceberg. Everything was fresh—there were peppers, onions, radicchio and the tomatoes were almost flavourful—dressing was served on the side, without a request, nice touch. The blue cheese dressing wasn’t Kraft and the house Italian was good.
We had pretty much finished our salads when the “meat” arrived. We had roasted potatoes, steamed vegetables and of course the prime rib. The herb roasted potatoes were very flavourful with a nice crispy, browned outer layer. The vegetables were fresh, (the carrots were obviously prepared on site—no “baby carrots) and were in a light butter with a bit of parsley—yellow and green beans + carrots—simple but good.
The prime rib was a large serving, a little more than ½” thick. The rare was just as ordered—hubby was impressed. The medium-rare was slightly to the medium than rare side but very acceptable and delicious. There was a flavour on the roast and “gravy” that we couldn’t quite place but it was absolutely yummy. The gravy was light, not thick and even reheated the next day kept the meat moist and good. They brought horseradish on the side and we left happy (and with leftovers for Saturdays lunch)—delicious reheated.
About $65 with tip—and very endearing service—“thanks Dearhearts”…

It’s not the same as a meatball sub but the meatball sandwich here is quite the competition. In fact, the owner of the little Italian spot I worked at would take staff out after close to a 24 hour joint that sold sandwiches, not subs. The ones at The Prescott remind me of these and I can be seen a couple of times a year ordering these…Very “home style” and absolutely delicious! (Like the pizza here too!)

The only other place that challenges the meatball sandwich here is Pulente's near Carleton University. The Prescott serves theirs on white bread, and you kind of HAVE to get the platter with fries so you can dip the fries in the meat sauce. Yum. It's a once a year type of meal for me, too much cholesterol. LOL.

One of the remaining original Taverns in Ottawa, the Prescott is in "downtown Little Italy" on Preston. They are famous for their meatball sandwiches and pizza. I've only had the former and enjoy them immensely - my only change would be to serve them on an artisanal whole wheat bread. In fact it's been a good 3 years since I've gone there and I do believe it's time to go back.