Dire need of resturant suggestions [General]

2012 Mar 1
I moved to Orleans, ON from Atlanta, GA where the places and variety of places to eat was neverending. My husband and I have not found those types of places here so far. I was told, we might never find the types of places and and foods that we used to eat. I dont want to beleive that to be true and want to find the place places Ottaw has to offer.

2012 Mar 1
Maybe you could start by actually telling us about the types of places where you used to eat.

2012 Mar 1
I think Atlanta is about 5 times the size of Ottawa. Shouldn't get your hopes up... shouldn't be surprised either. Good luck though.

2012 Mar 1
One of my favorite types of food to eat is Mexican. Fish Tacos and good guacamole were a staple of eating out. We are having a hard time find a good place to eat. We ate at Wille and Juans and at the end of the meal we got fortune cookies with our bill. I could have overlooked that if the food was good, wich I didnt think so. And, now its closed.

I think we are having such a hard time because we live up in Orleans and not down by the Market area, or Westboro and Glebe. Thats where I have seen some good places to eat. Up by us, are lots of Chain places. We are used to more of the neighborhood feel of places to eat.

Besides Mexican, we love Chineese, breakfast places are a must, Italian, sandwich/lunch places, bars and bar food. I do have to say, as soon as I tasted my first Shwarma, I was instantly hood and cant get enough!!

I dont want to complain, as much as I want to no know which places I should check out in my new home and country.

Are there any groups that just go out to the latest resturants and check them out? That way, could meet new people and have a great meal/

2012 Mar 1
Yup, you are in what we call here in Canada "the suburbs". Chain places are pretty much de rigour (that's a little French Canadian sha-zaa for ya!) for "the 'burbs" as we also call them.

Chinese - go to Chinatown. Itialian - go next door to Little Italy. Though is there still the original La Favorita still on MacArthur in the east end? Not as far as Orleads so you'd still have to come into civilization.

Ron Eade of the Ottawa Citizen had a dinner party group going for a while but not sure what the status is right now.

2012 Mar 1
And there are many of us in Ottawa who would love to find a passable fish taco somewhere in town. Best to give up that search for now. Better to focus on the kinds of foods that ARE good in Ottawa, many of which are detailed in other threads here.

2012 Mar 1
Chcati not much in the southern fried chicken department. The Smoque Shack does a greet job with BBQ. You should try Art Is In Bakery for sandwiches. Chinese a place on Sommerset called So Good was ok but I do not really know Chinese. For fish try The Merivale Fish Market. The Wellington Gastro Pub is a great place. Cheshire Cat for beer and pub food. If you like frozen microwaved stuff try any of the chains. Pizza if you like the mid east Ottawa style try Loui's on McArthur. Square pizza and meatball sandwiches The Prescott.

2012 Mar 1
I'm an ex-pat too. You will not find Mexican in Ottawa, like you are used to. In fact, you will have a hard time finding Mexican ingredients.

As blubarry said, look to other foods that Ottawa does do well.

2012 Mar 1
Try Pancho Villa on Elgin about the best you are going to find in Ottawa. Good luck. There is always chip trucks Crispy's does a mean Poutine.

2012 Mar 1
Thanks for everyone's input!! I'll be checking often for all your great recommendations.

2012 Mar 1
Milagro Grill isn't exactly Mexican per se, but it's a top place for me to get food in that ballpark (they offer burritos/tostadas/tacos/enchiladas among other Latin-type foods). They've got a really nice rooftop patio if you wait for the warm weather to return.

2012 Mar 2
And since you're in Orleans, Rangoli is out that way and definitely worth a visit for Indian food.

2012 Mar 2
chcatl I live downtown so I'm not familiar with Orleans. But if you ever come into town I can second the suggestion of going to Chinatown or Little Italy.

If you like Mexican cuisine I second Pancho Villa and would also add Ahora to the list.

If you are in the Byward Market area definitely try The Smoque Shack. Chez Lucien, The Black Tomato, Café Shafali, and Murray Street are also favourites.

If you head down Elgin I could recommend The Manx - great food and nice beer selection.

As for groups that dine out, Ron Eade did in fact have a dinner club going for awhile but disbanded last fall. You could always try some meetup groups - Ottawa Social occasionally has dinners out. There is also a new meetup group called Ottawa Great Food Lovers Socializing that has their first meetup in a couple of weeks. If you are on twitter you could also keep an eye out for upcoming tweet-ups.

2012 Mar 2
I grew up in Orleans... moved away from there about 10 years ago though. The only restaurant in Orleans I can really recommend is Rangoli as mentioned by blubarry.

2012 Mar 2
I'm soo glad I found this forum and reached out to all of you!!

2012 Mar 2
PS: WELCOME!