ottawa foodies

Great pastries! Loved the fruit tartlet and raspberry macaron:)))

Art Is In Bakery is always my go-to bakery in Ottawa! I love visiting the actual bakery, but I also love to see Art Is In products at restaurants and shops across the city.

I love their breakfast sandwiches and the bonus is this place is listed on EthicalTree.com for having entirely Fair Trade coffee and tea, and tons of vegan and vegetarian options (soups, falafel burgers and more!) :D

CANT!

SO MUCH DESPAIR!!!! Also, HUNGRY!!!!!!

@OSM, sorry, avoid looking at this site during lunch...might help. ;)

Thanks for those pics Wheresdafood.

My leftovers for lunch will taste like ash and despair now.

Duck rillet salad with poached egg and avocado. Nice looking plate.

Dropped in last Friday since they had the green egg burger for a couple of days only.

Darn good burger, the patty what really stood out. Best I've had in the city. I didn't go for the onion ring upgrade but I'm sure that would of been a great topping to add.

Fries were really good too, tossed with thyme.

Gf ordered the duck rillet salad...said it was really good.

In the past I've been pretty satisfied with Art-is-in, and today was no different in terms of taste. However, portion size left a lot to be desired. I had the vegetarian quiche, which came to $12.95 (tax not included). For that price, one expects more than a paltry 1/8th of a quiche! The side salad was fine but the two together hardly constitute a filling lunch. Even if the slice of quiche is only half the cost of the dish (a lowball estimate, given the actual cost of plating a salad), that's still a $52 quiche, which is sort of scandalous.

Here is the Art-is-In response, on their Facebook page, to the recent reddit posts. (sorry for the lengthy post, but I can't find a way to get a URL just to the posting)

"Thank you for your patience over the past week...
Art-is-in was created to offer a unique high quality product. We strive everyday to deliver to our customers the very best in pastries, food and service. We are constantly evaluating, adapting, and implementing processes to ensure that we meet our standards of excellence and our customers expectations of excellence.

The recent discussions via social media have us very concerned. It’s been very difficult to read the comments and not jump in with knee-jerk reactions. Instead we have taken this time, as a team, to truly reflect on our practices, weigh the feedback we have received and look at any opportunities for improvement that might exist.
There is no question, we insist on the very best from our staff as we do every component of our business - it can at times be a very high volume and fast-paced environment. As we grow as a company and continue to be the very best at what we do, our human resources will continue to be reviewed. We are currently working with a third party who is revising our internal HR reporting procedures and developing a customized and more robust employee welcome package that clearly outlines the day to day life at the bakery and what is expected of both employee and employer. At this time, we employ about 60 staff members, it is in our interest and it is of the utmost importance that our staff is happy to be here.
We want to thank you for your support and understanding and we look forward to feeding you in the very near future!

The Art-is-in Bakery Team"

Another 2 bits of news:

1. They again addressed the social media fracas and said they have an HR consultant going over their policies and to create a new welcome package that better explains the responsibilities of both employee and employer.

2. They replied on Twitter to someone who lamented the striking of their favourite brunch items from the menu by saying "I'm so sorry... I will bring them back in the future. But in another location dedicated to breakfast. I can't wait!" So looks like expansion is in the works.

The Savoury French Toast ($16.25) here is made for Instagram! Two thick slabs of brioche-based French toast layered with fried eggs, cheddar cheese, and criss-crossed cuts of crispy bacon, all surrounded by a moat of Hollandaise. Pushing it all over the top is a pitcher of maple syrup in case you want to turn the bottom slab of brioche into dessert.

This is an epic dish in terms of both variety and volume. I'd probably get something a little lighter next time.

For Mother's Day, they were giving out nice little seed breads along with a condiment container of what appears to be jam. My wife got one even though we had left the kids at home. Nice touch!

The Eggs Benny with sautéed vegetables. My friend said it was very good (eggs don't agree with me so I stayed away). I had a bite of the potato pancake and it was perfectly crispy. I hadn't been to art-is-in in some time, so I was very happy that my experience was just as excellent as the last time!

So guess where I had breakfast today? ;o)

Love on a plate aka the "Bellissimo Breakfast": perfectly crisped potato rösti... topped with a grilled medley of just picked corn, zucchini, yellow beans, peppers and caramelized onions... topped with a giant ravioli stuffed with a bolognese sauce made with sirloin... topped with more of the grilled veggies... topped with a fried egg... garnished with hollandaise sauce... surrounded by bits of maple bacon and crumbled maple fennel sausage.

I repeat: love on a plate. ;o)

Burgers, tacos, pizza, brunch... I think one of the successes of Art-is-In is the constant rotation of what's on offer.

My weekend stops at Art-is-In tend to be for the burger on Saturday. I also make a pretty good hollandaise so don't usually think to go out for eggs benedict, but this past Sunday it was nice to have someone else take care of it, particularly when that someone is Kevin.

My husband had his with maple fennel sausage and I had maple bacon; there was also a smoked salmon option (smoked in-house on the Big Green Egg). Both were served with the best potato rosti I've had in ages, deliciously crispy and filling, I actually skipped the English muffin and had my egg directly on the rosti.

Hollandaise sauce in most restaurants is usually on the thin side but this one was thick and rich the way I like it, and with an extra kick compliments of some white wine I was told. My husband was ooohing and aaahing over his maple fennel sausage which Kevin mentioned he'd been upgrading and the result spoke for itself: this sausage patty was juicier and richer than we remembered, so much so that my husband wasn't sharing very much.

Outdoor weekend brunch at Art-is-In: another must on any serious foodie's summer To Eat list. ;o)

It looks like there are usually 3 or 4 offerings for weekend brunch. When I was there they had eggs benny, croque madame, and gnocchi. I'm assuming the breakfast sandwich was also available.

FF...you are bang on and actually quite lenient in your comments!!! I thought I was just unlucky with my past three experiences with their almond croissants. Recently they have not only been over baked and dry but they have also been noticeably smaller and extremely sparse in the filling department.

Don't know what happened but I hope they can fix this as I miss them dearly...I used to love going in and picking up six of these delicious creations.

The last few almond croissants we've had from Art-is-in have been overbaked and dry. This was both in the shop and at the Farmers Market. The pastries in general seem to have suffered. Perhaps the focus has shifted to hot meals or they are simply suffering the effects of high demand and having to prepare foods well in advance of sales.

Wifey wanted to try this and we both loved it! Crusted with toasted almond slices, this is a great croissant. The filling is relatively dense and not super flavourful but we found it to be satisfying and nice. This is an excellent way to turn your morning coffee into a Western European breakfast.

Stopped in this morning for an almond croissant and some macarons on my way to school. Yes, I did have half a croissant and half a macaron for breakfast. (Shame).

While I've never had a bad experience with their almond brioche, nor with their regular croissant, the almond croissant was a strange breed of crispy and caramelized on the outside, and very wet on the inside. I suspect the 'wet' was due to a thick amount of the almond paste, but to be honest it didn't taste much like almonds, more just of a general oil. I wanted to like it as much as I loved both the brioche and the regular croissant, but I couldn't.

In the meantime, I have quite the sugar headache. Oatmeal for me tomorrow.

Dammit RiceLover... now my nice healthy salad lunch is going to taste like sadness.

I want that burger.
I want it.
IN MY FACE.
NOW.
RTF NOW.

Pulled pork on top of a medium rare beef pattie filled with and oozing of St-Albert cheese curds, need I say more? Definitely, one great, juicy burger made with love and all fresh ingredients and St-Albert cheese curds. (Really good value compared to other miniature burgers I have recently had on Wellington St west... )

"I'm not sure why there's all kinds of hype over this burger."

@AD_2: Because for many it's the best burger in the city?

Had my first Art-is-In burger of the season last weekend but alas, no pink for me!

However I did get 200 grams of bodacious burger goodness, cooked medium rare with a customized "we're back from our Mexican holiday" treatment of guacamole, black beans and in-house green salsa made from tomatillos.

Is it obvious how much I like Art-is-In? To quote the diner next to me, "You pay at least twice as much to eat elsewhere and rarely get half the quality."

Agreed, I'd love it pink. But I'm sure they'd accommodate AD_2 if he asked for it to be cooked more.

Kevin grinds his own from striploins youu could probably eat it raw without any problems. Mmmmmmm pink!

I could only dream of the burger I had there having some pink in the middle...

Had the burger today. It was fine, but if this is what everyone is raving about - wow. It was an average burger. The meat tasted fine, although in places it was un(der)cooked and still pink. The cheese was fine, but nothing special. The pickles were good. The tomatoes were fine. The bacon was delicious, but hey, it's bacon. The mustard was bland. The aioli was fine. The bun was very good. No clue why there was a big dollop of guacamole on the plate. Slaw was good. Put it all together and it was decent, but not great (and not terrible either).

The bun shouldn't be the best thing about the burger.

I'm not sure why there's all kinds of hype over this burger. It's an average restaurant burger. The fact that it's cooked at a hyped bakery on a hyped piece of equipment might play into the hype around the burger, or not. I don't know. I do know I can do much much better at home. Too bad though, I really wanted to like it. And for $13.95 it should have been more pleasing.

The berliners are still amazing though.

And the winner is Art-Is-In for best burger in Ottawa. Hands down Kevin has the best burger leaves all other in the dust none even come close to this creation. I was the first today to order a burger the egg was just to temp and you could smell the char coal goodness in the air. The burger melted in your mouth it had such a great texture. It is so great to leave it up to the chef what was to go on it. Cheese bacon mayo lettuce pickles yummm. Kevin came over to say he put his heart and soul into that burger and it showed. We chatted about his technique and the type of beef he grinds in house simply a man on a mission. Well mission accomplished! On our way out I had to go for a close up look at the meat and he was pleased to show me. Wow a nice patty with an ample amount of fat to be rendered down into huge flavor. A burger for the purist no need to mix anything into this just quality meat.

OMG!!! it really IS the best burger EVER. I wish I had taken a photo but I started eating and couldn't stop. From what I know they use the big green egg ..the flavour of the hamburg meat is unreal., followed by maple glazed bacon, cheddar cheese, arugula , seedy mustard, garlic aioli on a cheese bun. at almost $10.00 a pop, you will not be disappointed. Every meal should be this amazing.

This smoked burger is hands down the best burger out there!!!!! THAT IS ALL!!!!

The cheddar and chive scone from Art-is-In. I didn't find it any more sweet than the cheddar scones you can pick up at Loblaws, but can't compare it to the Scone Witch. I did find it had a nice soft crust and great texture.

Oh, great. We just got home from there where I purchased two of those same scones. I hate sweet cheese scones.

I had my very first disappointment from art-is-in this morning. I purchased a cheddar and chive scone at the farmer's market and it was... Not good. SO Sweet!! Cheddar scones should not be sweet. Their raisin and raspberry scones are good, but this was a huge miss. I was expecting something more along the lines of the cheddar scone from the Scone Witch.

I ate it anyways since I paid three bucks for it, but what a disappointment!

Was offered a complementary scone to take away and try when I picked up the double chocolate cake, 3 chocolate almond croissants and an order of smoked rib. Added to the crazy bread and 3 desserts the previous it has been very Art-is-in couple of days.

A decent scone and not too sweet. A little big for my taste since it is a lot of white carb.

I would probably prefer a 6 pack of smaller scones to share, maybe half the size of these individual scones.

Now if I can find the Clotted Cream and some of the nice jams I had when I did tea at Fortnum and Mason, I will be set.

As is, the chocolate almond croissant has this beat every time.

Raspberry scones! Compliments of my friend Ziggy. What a good way to start a Friday morning.

It is a good scone. Nice and moist, not too sweet. I personally would like to see more raspberry in in.

On the whole it is a very nice little scone and definitely worth eating... but I wouldn't go out of my way to find one.

hehe... I know Chimichimi can take it because I have nothing but respect for his knowledge! :-)

We had the scone vs. scawn debate here: ottawafoodies.com/forum/646

psst... it's "scawn" ;-)

FF that was a righteous burn on chimi, but I'll have to admit I had NO IDEA that a scone and biscuit were considered one in the same.

A quick google for recipes does yield results indicating that scones have baking soda added, but boy was I surprised to see those wikis!

Here's a better debate - is it "s'cone" or "scawn"?

Foodie: I think the major difference is that a scone contains a baking soda/powder combo, where biscuits (to me, anyway) just contain baking powder. This results in a different taste and texture. Minor differences are that scones are sweet or savoury, where biscuits are typically plain or savoury.

Martha: I definitely agree that these are probably the best commercially available scones in Ottawa, along with Scone-witch. I just would have preferred some more berry in my scone! :( I think I got a bad one, since my raspberry scone was packed with berries

Well I am by no means a scones connoisseur so my review is not very legit! These are probably the first scones i've had in a few years! Nonetheless I was very pleased with them! Chimichimi, after reading your review, thinking back they definitely weren't buttery but I was told that art-is-in bakes their stuff with a lot of oil and less butter. I guess it's just a matter of taste? Anyways, this isn't really a review but I just wanted to comment back. What makes a scone a good scone? What a weird name.

Chimichimi, to help me understand your comments can you tell me what do you consider to be the difference between scones (en.wikipedia.org) and biscuits (en.wikipedia.org)? Thanks. :-)

i got a big sized loaf cut thin on monday ,, it was called Crazy grain .. it might be the best addition to breakfast since the egg ,, lol ,, this bread is so very delicious and it has replace all bread for brekkie and i catch myself toasting peices for no reason all day and eating them 10 / 10

I love this bread for breakfast, cut thick and toasted with a touch of butter and honey. It's a beautiful dark brown colour (wheat, rye and spelt with molasses) and you can buy a smaller loaf for $5 and a large loaf for $7.

So many flakey, buttery layers. An outstanding example that will improve your life, if only momentarily.

Inkling - Kevin himself called them taco-burritos when he delivered them to our table yesterday. He said that he calls them tacos because officially both sides are fried like a taco and "people around here seem to like tacos". All that said, I second everything that has been written about this wonderful addition to the menu. I love this place.

I find it interesting that they call them tacos at Art Is In. What was served to me today seemed more like what I would call a burrito. With the rice it seemed to be almost a textbook Mission Burrito. Semantics aside, they are quite good and a good deal at $9.25 or whatever it was that I paid. It's a very filling lunch for one, or an inexpensive decent sized lunch for two.

I'm thinking that Kevin will do for tacos in Ottawa what he did for burgers. Happiness is finding out that this will be a regular feature at Art is In on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

As previously mentioned, this is a flour tortilla that bears no resemblance to the 'meh' massed produced crap you usually find, this one had a great texture, further grilled on both sides for a soul satisfying crunch in each bite. Pico de gallo, guacamole, black beans, sour cream, cheddar cheese and Mexican rice were lovingly wrapped inside with a rich and deeply flavoured pork confit and served with in-house salsa made from grilled vegetables. While I was tempted by the vegetarian option made with wild mushrooms, the pork confit left us eating in a silent awe, with just enough spice enough to warm the palate.

Ten dollars for this uber taco is an absolute steal; I split this with my husband along with a pastry and it was plenty for lunch. (Then again, I make him split the burger with me so YMMV!)

This simply kills all other Mexican food I've tried in Ottawa, no need to name names. I'm not one to make dramatic statements ;o) ... but you've seriously got to rethink your foodie status if this taco isn't immediately added to your Ottawa To Eat list.

So OSM you may commence hating me now too. This is the BEST taco I've yet tasted in Ottawa, possibly anywhere. The tortilla has the kind of soft texture that you don't get from the store bought rubbish at other places. The fillings were all top quality and the pork had a rich flavor and slight sweetness that wasn't cloying. Kevin asked me if I tried the salsa - I hadn't because I'm not a huge fan of salsa - but when he told me that he made it especially to complement the taco I tried it, and it made that delicious bundle even better. It had a nice bite that worked so well with the sweet pork. It is huge, and all this for the price of the smaller, poorer examples on offer at Tacolot and sidedoor.

haha OSM. I kinda hate myself right about now for allowing myself to be hooked by Art-is-in yet again! I can't wait til Wednesday.

In case you`re wondering BaconIV now i hate you too.

FreshFoodie`s post takes the edge off tho`...

They just mentioned on Twitter or Facebook or somewhere that Tacos would be available on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Urgh!

I wasn't able to go, darn work. sigh next time.

Kevin - if you're reading this please please pretty please bring back the tacos.

Your hate is well-placed, OSM. if I hadn't heeded Lovetoeat's advice and stayed at the office, I'd loathe him as well. But I love him!

Amazing taco! So authentic Mexican, I didn't wanna drink the water ; )

The pork is this buttery, fatty, flaky meat perfection. All the textures amazing, great little sour cream coating on the perfectly toasted soft tortilla. Rice, guac, cheddar, romaine. A dollop of pico de gallo sauce on the side, some chives to sprinkle, a cup of salsa.

Everything was so fresh. No taste overpowered any other; I don't recall any sandwich with so many ingredients having so much balance. This is hands down the best taco I've had since living in the states. Packed too, chunks of meat, felt like there was a pound of pork in there. I'm stuffed. $9.25 is money well spent for this beast.

Been awhile since I last went to Art-is-in, but if this item becomes a regular, so will I again. Took the last large loaf of Dynamite White. Took the last taco, got there just in time I guess. A monster croissant and sticky bun for dessert later this aft, and I'm a happy, happy man.

i hate you.
IM TRYING TO WORK HERE DAMMIT!!!!

blubarry - we were there at the same time. I was sitting in the main section at the middle table.

We really do need some sort of foodie pin/symbol.

lovetoeat, we must have been there at the same time. We enjoyed the tourtiere around 1:30 this afternoon. It is as good as you noted, and loved the homemade ketchup too. The salad on the side was full of all kinds of good things; brie, walnuts, apples, cucumbers, fresh dill. A great deal for $8.95. Also enjoyed the borscht and a delicious pecan tart that had a melt in your mouth crust.

Oh my oh my! I had a late lunch there today and enjoyed the tourtiere served with Kevins homemade ketchup.

The meat is moist and has hints of clove, cinnamon and maple in it. The pastry stands up to the dense generous filling without taking over the flavour. It's better than my grandmothers tourtiere.

It was so good I had to bring a whole pie home with me.

Lunch served with a generous side of arugula salad was 8.95. The whole pie was 24.95. Both I felt were fair prices for the quality and quantity.

I had been craving doughnuts and this Classic Potato Buttermilk Doughnut more than fit the bill. This is a hearty doughnut--not the light fluffy kind that leaves you unsatisfied. Perfectly done, I would say it is the best glazed yeast doughnut available in town. And the cinnamon sugared doughnut hole sitting on top is a nice bonus.

re:"...more than enough for two to share"? I don't know about that, I ate the whole damn thing! I did give wifey a bite though. :P

Their pumpkin doughnuts (Berliners) are awesome but I feel like a chump paying three dollars for a doughnut. As good as they are, they are still just a doughnut. Definitely worth trying however.

Kevin Matheson is an evil culinary genius.

Buttermilk mashed potato doughnut.

Looked like a ordinary glazed raised doughnut but it's exterior was deceptive. Tender and fluffy and a slight buttermilk taste. With just enough glaze to compliment but not too sweet.

This was a supersized doughnut that was more than enough for two to share.

If you're gonna have it, remember there is chili in the bottom so you need to dig in to have chili with every spoonful.

Delicious mac and cheese, however like every one I've had in a resto, not nearly enough cheese. Nice textures and tastes, I liked the croissant crumble on top.

Also, another knock, pricey at $10.95.

Still, thumbs up given it was so tasty.

Picked up the ordered double chocolate mousse cake for my Mom's birthday. This is the dessert of the 3 course meal we are having for the birthday dinner.

A flourless chocoate cake with a huge layer of dark? chocolate mousse and a thiner layer of white chocolate mousse and topped with a dark choclate ganache and some nice cholate bits. Writing done on top.

You can definitely get 8 healthy servings or 12 more portion controlled serving out of the mid-sized 8"in cake here. I think 6 servings would be far too much sugar in one sitting.

The chocolate mousse is rich and creamy and I prefer the dark mousse but the white is good for contrast. The thin cake layer on the bottom was moist and tasty.

Overall a good very good chocolate mousse cake but need to hear how my Dad's sugar level is tomorrow to see if we would do this more regularly for special occassions.

I have been looking for a new bakery for the special occassion cakes after the issue with the Cake Shop last year.

Did not see cakes on display on my visit but asked about it and was given a list. My eyes immediately went to the double chocolate mousse cake but they also had cheesecake, carrot cake, black forest cake and a bunch of other types.

Pricing as follows (need to check tomorrow):
6.5 in 3-4 people $20
8 in 6-8 people $32
10? in 10-12 serv $50

The largest sized cake need 7 day advance notice. I asked if it is possible to get the mid-sized double chocolate mousse cake for the next day i.e. 24 hrs notice for my Mom's Bday. The staff checked with Kevin and he said it was possible so thumbs up for that :D

Will post a phote tomorrow and feedback on taste.

I personally found their clam chowder too salty for my taste. Don't get me wrong. The soup was delicious, but salty for me. I will definitely be back for their sandwiches and coffee, but not for their clam chowder though.

Tried Kevin's magical chowder for lunch on Friday. Very, very good. Lots of clams, dill and bacon. The base was delicate not gummy like some chowders can be. The carrots and potatoes were cut quite large and were a bit undercooked. I'd like to see smaller chunks so I could eat them in one bite.

While their bread is what made this wonderful venture what it is, the soups are truly magical. My top two favourites would have to the clam chowder (just smelling it, makes you want to order a second batch) and the spicy squash.

This Lemon Vanilla Cronut was like a delicious 3-way hybrid between a croissant, a doughnut, and lemon meringue pie! Awesome and distinctly superior to the dryish cronut I had earlier this year.

This Vanilla Cronut was tasty because of the sugar and cream filling. The pastry itself was dry and disappointing. This makes me sad, as Art-is-in used to be the place to go for pastries. It's still the place to go for a little bit of everything though.

To qualify: All the products my wife and I have ever purchased from Art-is-in Bakery have been awesome. The quality, the taste, the presentation is second-to-none.

The issue I want to identify and clarify refers to the label "gluten-free". This label can be applied in two contexts. The first is implying the product is made without any gluten-based ingredients. The second denotes that the product contains no gluten-based products, was prepared separately from any gluten-based products, and is racked/stored/packages with an eye on preventing any cross-contamination.

My wife has Celiac's Disease and it is important to us that the second label holds true. A granule of gluten no bigger than a grain of salt is enough to trigger a reaction. Prior to today we had been buying "gluten-free" products from Art-is-in Bakery but after our last purchase and my wife had a reaction she decided to inquire further about their preparation and packaging.

It was clarified that Art-is-in does make its gluten-free fare without gluten-based products but it is prepared in the same space as the gluten-based products and they are packaged/stored without special consideration for preventing cross-contamination. This was confirmed by the clerk who, unfortunately, remarked with disdain that they "never guaranteed" that their gluten-free products have never come in to contact with gluten.

So, if you are just trying to eat gluten-free (like me) and don't have any concerns with cross-contamination I highly recommend Art-is-in Bakery. The products are awesome.

If you have a health concern like my wife you should not buy any gluten-free products there because their labeling only applies to the products used to prepare the item and does not represent a guarantee that no cross-contamination may have occurred.

I had the Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Onion sandwich for brunch at Art-Is-In at the beginning of July. It was all the things a grilled cheese should be, perfectly gooey provolone and gruyere with wonderful savoury flavours. The buttermilk multi-seed bread had a great texture, just enough crisp.

Smokey pulled pork from The Big Green Egg, creamy slaw with pear shards, jalapeno spread, spicy dip, crispy toasted bread.

Absolute Masterpiece !

Most Delicious Sandwich! oh my, I wish they would let me live in their store.
This is the AAA ANGUS STRIPLOIN sandwich. The meat was so tender and flavorful. The entire sandwich, from first to last bite, was a thing of beauty.

Here is the infamous Spicy Crispy Pickle Melt Sandwich.

Yes, it's as good as others have reported in other areas of Ottawa Foodies.

The spiced aioli and caramelized onions make this puppy sing.

Save room for the bread pudding.

Tracinho - I've devoured my pickle melts so quickly that I'm not the best source on what makes it so delicious, but the sauciness seems to come from a chipotle mayo. I was actually there for lunch (again) today and thought it best to order something else, as my regular order of "pickle melt and bread pudding, please" was getting kind of embarrassing. I had the buttermilk chicken caesar instead, which was very good, but... it's no pickle melt. The sandwich also seemed to be missing some of its previous spiciness. Not sure if they've tamed down the cheddar jalapeno bread or if it was just the slices I was dealt today.

AAA angus striploin sandwich - yum, yum.

Dying to try the Spicy Crispy Pickle Melt.

We visited Art-is-in for lunch today and split a Spicy Crispy Pickle Melt and an AAA Angus Striploin sandwich. Both were great, but the spicy pickle blew us away.

The genius of the latter sandwich is twofold. First, the pickles. They were sliced into strips, breaded and fried. The pieces were big enough to be toothsome and crunchy, but not so big that you felt like you were taking on a gigantic pickle with each bite. Second, the spice was handled with a deft hand. There was enough of it to get your attention and hold it, but not so much that it overwhelmed the sandwich. A great lunch.

Can anybody share what's on this spicy pickle melt? I make dills and would love to have some new ideas on how to use them up. I also don't work near Artisin so might not be able to try it for lunch for a while. Thanks...

I tried the spicy fried pickle sandwich last Thursday and am still talking about it to anyone who will listen. If this sandwich had been around when I was pregnant, I would have been a goner. I normally don't like a lot of fried foods but this wasn't heavy or greasy, had a nice tang that didn't overwhelm and each mouthful made me love it more.

Here is the Angus Steak Sandwich. It had a garlic sauce, arugula, havarti and tomato. Served on Multigrain fennel bread. Amazing!

So I heard from a little bird that the aiib baguette is questionable because it is too tasty -- due to the oil content.

The little bird said that it is very possible that a layer of oil has been brushed on each baguette before baking them on a very high heat (500F).

Any oil is bad when heated at a very high heat.

Anybody can confirm this?

I picked up a baguette today at the Ottawa Bagel Shop and I'm a little annoyed. It was definately not fresh. I thought it felt a little bit hard but thought maybe the crust was a little on the thick side. When I left the store, I ripped the end off to sink my teeth into some fresh bread and they almost couldn't sink.

I really should have turned around and took it back but I just kept thinking, maybe the ends got over baked. Things did not get any better further into the loaf and it became apparent that it wasn't so fresh by the texture of the inside. $3.50 to the green bin.

I certainly don't blame Art is In for what happens to their product after it leaves their care. I'm just disappointed that the shop would sell it.

I definately like their bread. The quality is very consistent.

Their baguette is rather rich when compared to a traditional french baguette. This is not a bad thing but I think putting butter on it might be overkill.

At a weekend BBQ, I snapped up a piece of baguette for my dinner plate. I took one bite and... deliciousness...*swoon* :)

I asked the hostess and low and behold it was an Art-Is-In baguette.

A different fermentation process is used for the recipe, yielding a slightly salty, moist, rich flavour. And amazing texture!

Initially I thought that they used parmesan cheese in the bread, but no; it was simply a mature pre-ferment process.

I second Fresh Foodie's sentiments, incredible!

We picked up a small Art-is-in baguette from Thyme & Again (Thyme And Again) on Saturday, and we were not disappointed! This bread lived up to all our expectations and then some. I had planned to enjoy some good salami with it but ended up eating it as is. Definitely the tastiest baguette in Ottawa!

The crust is thin and crispy with a delicious salty sheen to it, as though it had been brushed or sprayed with brine during the baking. (Good breads are usually cooked in a steam-injection oven to develop a great crust. Maybe they use salt water here??)

The crumb is just incredible! Wonderfully chewy, with a perfect balance of airiness and moisture, and a rich, almost buttery, flavour.

I should warn you that this is not a normal baguette! It has certain characteristics in common with focaccia and croissants -- it doesn't need any toppings (not even butter). Superior though it is, I would choose a less rich tasting baguette (like Première Moisson or ACE) if I were making sandwiches.

For me, good bread is the ultimate comfort food. I'm thrilled to have a new source for it!

Had a chocolate croissant since they didn't have any regular ones left, but they were delicious. The chocolate filling wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be, very nice but not overwhelming. The pastry itself was flaky and buttery.

Also got a 5 grain fennel seed bread, which was well seasoned, although a bit denser than I was expecting, and the exterior crust a little bit soft for my liking (I like a crisp crust to bread). Still delicious, but thought it could be better.

My boyfriend and I picked up a loaf of their garlic and rosemary bread from the Kanata farmer's market. I completely regret not buying two or three because it's already half gone.
I've been smearing it with the Thai chile red pepper jam from the stall right next door to their's. Heaven.

@argula - there is also the Farm Boy on Richmond Road.

There's always (d) go somewhere else for your bread.

So what this means in effect is that if you live in the Westboro/Civic area, your choices are the Farmboy on Merivale (a real joy of a trek on a Saturday), the extra long line-ups at the Ottawa Farmers Market (which will be a lot longer now) or the bakery itself with the dysfunctional service counter? These are my choices?

I recently had the jalapeño chive and cheese bread from Art-is-in and it was fantastic! i loved every bite. The chucks of jalapeño were big which made it spicy too. I also bought a rosemary garlic loaf which was not my favorite. The bread was very tasty but I didn’t get any rosemary (my husband got one piece) and I didn’t get much garlic flavor either. It seemed like there was garlic powder just sprinkled on top, but none baked in. Either way, we happily finished both loaves and I will be going back soon!

roasted garlic and rosemary loaf

picked it up fom the lansdown market Sunday and cant stop eating from it . toasted a piece for brekkie and it was perfect, garlic bread with cheese for dinner . 10 / 10 i will be there early on Sunday to reload

Best bread in the city

The bread is awesome. Picked up potato and dill bread. There are individual bits of potato inside. Very moist and tasty - made a great hearty sandwich. The bits of potato are interesting, as I've made and had bread made with potato water, and sometimes some mashed potato in the dough, but never chunks.

I hate to be the one to point it out but most of Lil review have been equally poorly received.

I purchased some Hot Cross Buns from Art-Is-In Bakery on Easter Monday and was less impressed then usual. While they matched the definition of the baked good, I found them a touch denser then my preference and lacking in the icing department. Good, but not to the high standards of which I hold Art-Is-In-Bakery to.

I picked up a loaf of Art-is-In sourdough at the Lansdowne Farmers Market yesterday. The bread is very moist and made a delicious tomato sandwich with the tomatoes I picked up from the Acorn Creek stand. The loaf is huge and so delicious I have a feeling it won't last in my fridge for very long-;)

As Jagash mentioned, The Piggy Market is now the exclusive distributor of Art-is-in's Beau's Sourdough bread.

The loaves are 12 inches in diameter, and use 1 liter of Beau's per loaf. It's pretty crazy. We picked a quarter loaf (selling for $7.50!) at The Piggy Market on Saturday, and enjoyed it with raclette.

It's airier than most sourdoughs, and wasn't really conducive to sandwiches or much other than dipping into oil, or eating as an open faced sandwich with a knife and fork.

However, it had a very rich flavour to it. If I could eat that much bread without the help of nine friends, I'd buy it more often.

In light of yesterday's adventure to get a macaron from French Baker, I thought I would stop by Art-Is-In this morning to get a six pack for a friend's birthday and to compare their raspberry to the one I had yesterday (on the recommendation of a friend).

I was disappoint. The exterior was crunchy and crumbled all over when I bit in: no delightful chewiness. Neither the filling nor the cookies taste like much of anything, except sugar.

I'm hoping that the gift box fares better with my friend and that this was only a matter of taste. :S

I work in Hull and every Thursday during the summer there is a market on Laval street.

This is the first summer that there has been an Art-Is-In stand - so fun!

I bought a package of 6 macarons for $10 - 2 chocolate, 2 strawberry and 2 pistachio.

I haven't eaten any of mine yet but I did taste a pistachio that they had samples of and it was really tasty. Crunchy on the outside and moist and gooey on the inside.

Can't wait to dig in to the rest tonight :)

On Tuesday they only had the regular croissant left and I bought one.

It was decent but not really worth the $2.50 since it is not quite as good compared with the ones I had in Paris the week before for 1 Euro or 1 euro 20. With the high fat/butter content of the croissants, it is an indulgence I want to save for something a little better.

On Wednesday, realizing that they might ran out a lot of stuff with March break, I called at lunch and asked them to set aside 3 chocolate almond croissant in addition to the double chocolate mousse cake I had ordered. With my Mom's birthday dinner, I am pretty sure we will have some takers. My niece misses the pastries from Paris and my sister forgot the little bag of hand carried goodness / care package under the footrest in the plane back on the Jan trip.

The chocolate almond croissant is a almost as good as the ones I had had the week before and a good deal at $2.95 considering the amount of work that goes into it and these tend to be 2Euros or more in Paris. Decent amount of chocolate, almond paste and sliced almonds with flaky pastry. I rather have these once in a while as a treat rather than the tarts, truffle, scone, and regular coissant I had tried in the last 2 days.

We finally got to the new location last week, twice! Everyone loved the almond croissants - they were definitely the favorite. I also had a chocolate croissant and it was very nice.

tried a croissant from here for the first time. it was great. definitely my favourite croissant in the centretown area so far. time will tell how consistancy is though.

i had another pastry - a kugelhopf - as well (it was mother's day afterall). it was really disappointing. i had one previously (though can't seem to find my review on here) and it was wonderful. i don't know that i will try again. the prices are just too high for my pocketbook for me to take too many chances.

Definitely my new favorite croissant in town.

I came to Art Is In to try out their lunch sandwiches (delicious) and discovered my new favorite place to enjoy a croissant and double espresso. I can't wait to try out the rest of the inventory!

I find it amusing to read the various comments on this forum from posters chiming in about croissants, some of whom go so far as to claim authority from having travelled to distant faraway lands such as France where we're told they bake the real McCoy. Having eaten my fair share of both trash and treasure in this fabled gastronomical Shangri-La, I'd like to say that there as many styles of croissants in Paris as there are bakeries, with long queues of their respective devotees.

This empirical data suggests that the best croissant is possibly the one you enjoy best. Given that, I'd like to throw some gas on the fire and flat out denounce the croissants from the French Baker. I was introduced to these more than 20 years ago by a Parisian no less, and while once upon a time I would have agreed that they were very, very good, over the past few years they've become inconsistent, greasy piles of Pilsbury dough, and with all the finesse of a lead weight. I used to buy these from Herb & Spice on Wellington and when I complained was told that the quality varies depending on which baker has been on the night shift. Thanks for the explanation.

I'm told that even Herb & Spice got tired of the complaints so recently switched to Art-is-In and I have to say that I really enjoy their offerings: airy puffs of pastry, with a good amount of buttery flake, light inside, equally good warmed or as is... salvation at last, to have croissants in the neighbourhood that do justice to my husband's scrambled eggs, and make Eggs Benedict worth the effort.

To put my remarks in proper context, my holy grail of local crossaints hailed from the long defunct "Blue Moon Cafe" on the corner of Bank St at MacLaren. While Art-is-In croissants are not quite on par — this little bistro made them every morning and served them hot & fresh with the most amazing omelettes — they are a fairly close second and will have to do until I retire in Provence and play petanque with the locals while we drink pastis and debate which baker makes the best croissants in the Vaucluse.

(As a side note, my favourite baker in the city is currently True Loaf and I wonder when and if they will start to offer their version of the mystical croissant.)

The cross-sectional view, after tearing in half. Just beautiful!

Finally!!! Ottawa has a source of truly authentic Croissants! These are without question the BEST I've had outside of Europe, and are (as far as I can recall) exactly the same as the great croissants I enjoyed in Montreux.

They strike that perfect balance between crisp flakiness, chewy butteriness, and light airiness. This is what I've been talking about, folks.

Reading the "About" page on the Art Is In Bakery website, I see that Kevin Mathieson has work experience in Paris, Monaco, and Zürich. It all makes sense now.

I am ecstatic!

$2 per croissant makes this a pricy treat, but certainly one worth experiencing -- if only to save yourself a trip to Europe. ;-)

I purchased an Americano to go with my pastries. The quality was stellar -- sugar was optional! Suffice it to say that I'd need to do a side-by-side comparison with the offering at Morning Owl Coffeehouse to determine if there's a difference...

I finally had the chance to try this today. I think I have died and gone to heaven. Oh my.

This is the bread pudding I enjoyed yesterday. As dropofh2o says, the sweetness builds up over time. I suggest accompanying it with an Americano, but with less sugar than you might normally choose. Eaten by a single dedicated individual, this makes for a super filling breakfast.

I also agree it could have been hotter. Holding the bowl in my hand for at least 5 minutes while waiting in line to pay didn't help the situation.

This photo sure looks different from the one I posted earlier this year. I guess the product varies over time. I think I prefer it with bigger chunks and a little more custard.

Had this last week. It was very tasty and surprisingly not too sweet. I found it to be quite creamy and each bite of bread pudding would just melt into your mouth. By the end, I found it was cloying due to the large portion size and the richness so you may want to share it with somebody. The one minor complaint would be that I would like it to be served at a higher temperature as I found it to be almost lukewarm.

Available again, as of today! So it looks like a fall/winter/spring thing. Fair enough, I can go 3 months without. I guess. :-)

No longer available!? I got a quizzical look when asking about it. Maybe it's a winter thing...

I am drooling. Had the bread pudding a few weeks back when they first added it to the menu and it was sublime, but now I see all that enticing caramel drizzle that can only be an improvement!

This stuff is quite amazing! Very sweet -- great with an Americano. It's made from a bunch of chopped up pastries and sweet breads, soaked with custard, and drizzled with caramel. Worth getting fat for. ;-)

The $9 price tag on this loaf has kept me from adding it to my grocery bag up to now, but a couple of days ago I splurged and do not regret it. This loaf has such a buttery taste and rich texture! The crisp crust is perfectly square in section, and we were able to slice it very thin and toast it to make a perfect foil for duck rillettes. The square shape made the toast points very attractive.

We have enjoyed this elegant loaf in various ways for two days now, and I know that what is left will make amazing french toast tomorrow. Well worth 9 bucks!

These are awesome! And the closest thing you can get right now to their Bread Pudding...

They are shaped a little like a cinnamon roll but have no cinnamoniness. Excellent pastry, topped with pecans, and soaked with a heavy syrup. Verrry nice!

The pizza here is a unique product very much worth trying. As advertised, the sourdough crust is fantastic. Crunch-chewy and a real delight.

The toppings are of excellent quality and with good flavour. My only complaint keeps me from rushing back: the more eclectic pizzas have a sweet flavour profile that just doesn't work for me.

We tried a large half-half Sincerely Kevin and Tarte Flambée (top). The latter had amazing smokey bacon chunks but both included sweet caramelized onions and a honey drizzle. Just too sugary for my taste!

We also got a small Cheese Louise (bottom), which was not sweet and therefore ended up being my favourite.

The pizzas are on offer after 5pm on weeknights, until they sell out of aged dough. I really appreciate that they let you split the large into two choices. The portions are about as expected. A large and a small were enough for three hungry people.

Finally got to try the pie at Art-is-in and wow, it was stellar. Great toppings but the sourdough, extra crisp crust is, not unexpectedly, out of this world. We had a large, half margherita, half chorizo and mushroom with honey drizzle. The margherita was preferable but both were on par with the best pizza in this style in the city. A nice touch was the sesame seed crust which they only do on the non-traditionally topped pizzas. You'll notice the pie is cut into strips which kinda reminds me of pizza hut but this is way better. Extra bonus points for playing the entire Best of Muddy Waters album when I was there.