ottawa foodies

Two mushrooms pasta with aragula. This was decent but not flavourful enough. I prefer something with tomato too.

We are regulars so we are partial to this restaurant, however, there is a reason. This might be a chain but the quality has been consistent over the years and the prices are decent. The table d'hôte makes things interesting when we're a little more hungry for a couple more bucks. The wine list is primarily Italian which is perfect given the food!

Each regular entrée also comes with a choice of 1 of 2 soups (minestrone or cream of something - depending on the day) or a salad (garden or Caesar). Also, there is the all you can eat self serve "bread bar". It is a bit of a gimmick but the men and the kids seem to love it! Can't go wrong with garlic toast! With the table d'hôte, garlic escargots is an option as appetizer as well.

Pictured is the spaghetti with Bolognese sauce and a big veal meatball. The pasta is a little overdone but I like it very al dente. Flavour wise, it is a balanced, sweet Bolognese sauce. If you don't mind the calories, go for au gratin. It adds a lot!

Here is the eggs Benedictine with goat cheese, tomato pesto and grilled mushrooms over ciabatta bread. It is accompanied with deep fried potatoes and a few pieces of fruit. It was very satisfying.

The Superbrunch: bacon, sausage, capicolo ham, crepes, waffle, 2 eggs of choice, a side of fruit salad and beans. $14 if I remember well. No need to make any choices!

Here is a picture of the raisin-apricot loaves and mixed berries smoothies that is served as appies to the brunch meals. They gave us an extra one even though my daughter didn't order anything.

Came here on a whim with my son while my wife and daughter attended a birthday party at altitudegym.ca .

The gimmick at this family-style chain is the AYCE self-serve bread bar, where you choose bread and flavoured margarines and grill the bread yourself. I didn't have any this time around, as my breakfast was satisfying enough on its own.

For $12.95, I enjoyed this eggs benedict with smoked salmon on ciabatta. The fries were seasoned and tasted spectacular. This price included coffee/tea and the AYCE bread bar. Breakfasts also come with the Vitalia Duo, which involves a slice of cranberry-raisin-apricot loaf and a tasty shooter of banana-strawberry smoothie.

My son had a kid's meal for $4.79: bananas and crèpes with chocolate sauce, and chocolate milk to drink. He was thrilled with his meal.

In the world of chain restaurants, this place seems better than most. Looking forward to coming back and trying their pasta/pizza meals, as well as the bread bar.

The Italian sausage and portobello mushroom pizza was particularly good tonight. It pays to come early as the pizza was just done right. Sometimes, they overcook it and it is a bit dry. Tonight, the sausages were juicy and spicy.

The crust is thin and good. Nothing spectacular. The pizza is fairly large too.