ottawa foodies

So, like many folks, I'm a bit disdainful toward Valentine's Day. I mostly dislike the hurried, compulsory nature of the gift giving and the landfill's worth of disposable decorations adorning Dollarama and the like.

Could do without the crowds and lineups at restaurants that day too, so the current plan is take out from Shawarma Palace on Rideau, my biggest, guiltiest pleasure. Extra potatoes with garlic 'cause it's V-Day, right?

BUT I've been seeing some interesting prix fixe menus popping up on various resto's websites -- 222 Lyon, Social, Metropolitaine Brasserie, Wellington Gastropub, to name a few. They seem to range from $60-85 per person.

I'm not really convinced, since I could just go to El Meson and enjoy their table d'hote for around $40. Paella. Yeah.

Basically wondering, anyone seen any really interesting/good deals for V-Day menus?

*Fully realizing they are probably all booked up

yessi I can't help out on the resto front but if you would like to have a Valentine's dinner at home without the hassle of cooking I noticed Culinary Conspiracy has a Valentine's dinner menu: www.culinaryconspiracy.ca/

I like that shawarma idea. Add art-is in dessert and movie and done!

I'm lucky that my wife and I both agree on Valentine's Day - it is nothing but a Hallmark Holiday.

Twitter sensation ShitMyDadSays (yes, the user that the short-lived William Shatner TV show is based on) said it best the other day :

twitter.com/#!/shitmydadsays

Quote : ""Valentine's day is bullshit. Our DNA demands we BLEEP each other, so if you need a holiday to talk your wife into BLEEPING you, it's over."

I bleeped out the most offensive words - follow the link if you want to read it from the source :-)

Can I temper the ShitMyDadSays comment by saying that lust is just one facet of the gemstone called love. Ideologically, I'm not a fan of the whole Valentine's Day thing -- after all, we should celebrate love all year long and as often as possible. BUT, the day *is* a good excuse to bring love to the foreground of our consciousness. Any reason to pause in our busy lives and reflect on our relationships is a good one. :-)

Imnsho, getting gouged at restaurants on V-day is anything but romantic.
I'm totally a fan of the romantic dinner out at a nice restau, but ffs prixfix'd menus at raised prices for the glory of a glass of semi-flat pink champagne served by overworked/bitter/distracted waitstaff isn't how to say 'i love you'... it's how to say 'i couldn't come up with a better idea'. I'm all for creative takeout or home-cooked meals. Do the dinner out a few days before or after when sanity re-asserts.

/rant

...that said, if one MUST go out for dinner on V-day in Ottawa... i'd recommend LA ROMA and THE SHORE CLUB for romantic/expensive but worth it, JAK'S, CARMEN'S VERANDA, GASTROPUB for mid-high/nice/intimate, and CEYLONTA, TAJ and AIYARA for exotic/nice.

Oh, and SHAWARMA PALACE because yes those potatoes with the garlic sauce are the bestest thing ever.

OSoloMeal, I can vouch for the Shore Club, which is where we celebrated Vday. Wonderful service, elegant, romantic atmosphere, and though the prices are not a bargain, they didn't increase them for the day.

Preaching to the choir blu'... Shore Club has become our go to special occassion place (i'm way overdue to post re out last trip there, actually...).
There may be a restaurant doing better fish in Ottawa, but i haven't found it yet.

Probably not a necessary update, but here's what we ended up doing/eating:
- Watching Drive
- Getting Shawarma Palace
- White wine

LOVED IT!

An alternative to shawarma for next year maybe...

The Diefenbunker in Carp held a Valentine’s Day dinner event “Love Under Cover” in the bunker's cafeteria. It was catered by The Cheshire Cat Pub with dessert from The Swan ("Fallout Framboise" and "Liquid Courage" truffles).

There was bunker tour and a showing of the 1974 Cold War love story film "The Tamarind Seed" featuring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif.
And I enjoyed this: "Single, but still think it sounds like a great event to attend? Come on out and join others at the mixer table, who knows, maybe you will find love in a hopeless place!"

diefenblogger.blogspot.com

Extremely cool! Thank you. I'll keep that in mind for next year.