breakfast blogger

A couple of weeks ago I formed a small breakfast party and headed out with some notes on a scrap of paper with a list of new places to try in Ottawa. The first place we tried was closed for the holidays so we tried the next one, Caffé Zucchero on Queen Street corner Lyon in downtown Ottawa:

Great success! But we found out we were too late for their breakfast menu when we went in at a little after 11. :(

But after looking at the menu we found something perfect:

Turns out we all ordered the #2:

And going in for a fly-by:

Into my tummy you go.

Booya.

Very yummy indeed..

First of all, I’d like to wish everyone a happy new year! It’s been a while since I’ve updated, but it’s not because I haven’t been going out for breakfast. I’ve got a few saved up that I’ll be posting soon.

Last Saturday was really sunny but cold.. a refreshing change from the weird warm weather we’ve been having around here lately. The Snug Pub is right next to the Heart and Crown on Parent Avenue in the Byward Market (the link shows the location in Google Maps, however it’s off.. it’s a bit closer to Clarence Street).

It’s pretty dark and cozy in the pub, but I managed to find a table where the sun was peeking through the window. Perfect for pictures!

I ordered the classic and relaxed with a Journal de Montreal and a coffee while the boys in the pub watched football (soccer) on the big screen.

Yum. One more shot, this time a little closer:

Again, yum.

After seeing that Café Diana closed its doors on rue Montcalm in Hull, I was wondering if some establishment nearby would take its place. Sure enough, one of my favourite restaurants in the area has taken up to the task with style.

Le Twist at 88 rue Montacalm (map) started to do weekend breakfasts in late November and I’ve been there three times since. They are famous around here for their yummy burgers and I was eager to see how they would do with breakfast.

I found out about Le Twist doing breakfasts after I saw a small flyer on my windshield after doing some groceries at the IGA in town a few weeks ago. I was pretty pumped up about checking it out. I headed out on foot the Saturday after that and stopped into a local dep (see the first urban dictionary entry on what a “dep” is here) to pick up a Journal de Montreal. Once there, I found it almost empty and took a spot near a window so I could get good pictures.

As you can tell from above, I ordered the eggs Benedict.. not shown is the side order of toast for the mopping up exercise after eating this kinda dish.

Most of their breakfasts come with a side of salad which is refreshing change from what I’m used to. Not sure if I like it, but it is different.

On my next visit I forgot my camera. I kicked myself. Ouch. Le Twist was still pretty empty, but a bit busier that time..

The pic above is from last weekend. It’s a Croissant croque - madame and it was yummy!

I was off work last Monday and took advantage of that by checking out a place I heard was always busy. Ada’s Diner is on Bank on the corner of Argyle near Catherine.

When I went in it was pretty clear why the spot tends to be busy.. it’s small! The waitress was friendly and let me choose a spot to sit. I grabbed a table near the front window (more natural light = better pictures) and studied the menu for a bit while sipping on a coffee:

The Pancake Sandwich caught my eye right away. Bacon and eggs between two pancakes plus a side of potato pancakes. Yes please.

This may not look like much from the outside, but once you dig in, you’re in for a treat:

Very yummy. The potato patties were really good too. My one regret was not trying the fresh-squeezed OJ.. ah well, next time. T’was $10.80 before tip and after taxes.

Last Sunday I was devoted to finding a new place on Elgin street to try out, even driving over on a spare tire. I parked my crippled car, went to a convenience store to grab a paper and walked down Elgin keeping an eye out for a new spot. As I passed Woody’s, I was drawn by a description of a breakfast special written on the board outside: Veggie-omelet stuffed crepes with hollandaise sauce. I couldn’t resist and went in to try it out.

Yummy.

So I failed at finding a new place on Elgin that I hadn’t covered before, but was still quite satisfied with my morning yummies. My last visit to Woody’s was good too.

$10.95, coffee extra.

I love small diner-style breakfast spots with booth seating.. here’s a breakfast I had at Mellos on Dalhousie, enjoy:

Almost pornographic, don’t you think?

I’ve been enjoying these a bit too much lately.. a toasted bagel with egg, bacon and swiss cheese with a kiss of mayo.

Damn, I could go for one of those suckers right now. The secret to making these well is to mix the bacon, broken up with the eggs in a small deep dish around the size of a bagel. The place I get these uses the kind of bowl used to serve French onion soup to mix it up before it gets nuked. Damn yummy.

I tried the new breakfast thing at Tim Hortons near where I work (I think we’re a test market) and was pretty grossed out. I wouldn’t feed this thing to my dog. This egg mcmuffin knockoff was just salty and nasty. And to top it off they managed to burn it too. Bleah :P

There’s a tiny little sandwich shop down the street from me that became the subject of last Saturday’s breakfast adventure. I was in a hurry to get out and get my chores done and stopped in to Deli Express and got myself a good ‘ol fashioned western sandwich!

A Yummy start to my busy day:

***UPDATE*** This place is now closed. A new cafe is in there now that I’ll have to check out.

Yikes, it’s been over a week since the last update on BB! I happen to have a good excuse since I’ve been prepping for my wedding in three days. Gen and I are having a small wedding (40 people) but trust me, the planning and everything is quite an ordeal. I can’t imagine how people having a big wedding can possibly manage it. It must be totally insane. Anyway, on to breakfast stuff:

A few weeks ago, Gen and I headed to my folks’ place for my birthday and took a detour to a beautiful small town called Merrickville for some yummies. We didn’t know it at the time, but they were having their annual fair! What a treat! We stopped at Sam Jakes Inn and got a table outside. We were a bit late for breakfast, but I did manage to get a sweet Salmon Frittata:

Whoa, that looks like quite a landscape, doesn’t it? “Atlantic salmon and poached leeks frittata with baby red-skin potatoes tossed with lemon-pinenut chutney.” There are raisins in that scene too.. dunno if they are part of the chutney or not, but they really made this a unique yummy roller-coaster ride.

..and from afar:

Yummy..

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore too much but did get a bit of the taste of the surroundings. We also stopped by a little place called Shadow Sterling Jewellery and picked up something for the wedding too ;)