DOMUS: Butternut squash bisque with Ferme Floralpe’s Micha goat cheese, frisée, and radish
1 Domus Café
I’ve never met anyone who has had anything but a great meal at Domus. I’m not saying a good meal as in: Yeah, it was good. I’m saying a great meal as in: Holy Toledo, that was gah-rate double exclamation point. John Taylor is a true pioneer in Canadian cuisine and was doing local sustainable way before it was trendoid. His food is consistently simple/complex, imaginative/comfort, and always, always in season. In particular, pay attention to his fish, soups, and braising. Almost all of Ottawa’s great chefs have put in time on the line at Domus. It’s attached to a kitchenware store by the same name and has huge windows in the front and an openish kitchen in the back. Wines are global, but as with his food, Taylor has a great Canadian grape list at very reasonable prices. Current menu* includes a heretical Canadian barley and wild rice risotto and a pan-roasted venison leg with cranberry apple chutney that’s better than drunk cab sex.
87 Murray St. 613-241-6007, domuscafe.ca
BECKTA: Potato cannelloni, saffron-butternut risotto, Micha goat cheese, pickled radish pesto, and tomatillo salsa verde
2 Beckta Dining & Wine
Steve Beckta knows that to keep a killer executive chef like Mike Moffatt, you gotta treat him like a partner. When Moffatt comes out of his kitchen to do walkabout and Beckta is on duty, it’s fun to watch them together. These two are truly buds. The service philosophy (learned from working for Danny Meyer in NYC) is all Beckta, but the food is all Moffatt. The service is impeccable and the wine list extensive, with lots of excellent Canadian offerings. Current menu* items include stupid (that’s a good thing) handmade pappardelle with pig cheeks, garlic scapes, arugula, and applesauce.
226 Nepean St., 613-238-7063, beckta.com
3 Restaurant e18hteen
Out of 10, I’d say 18 is an 18. (Har! Madge, c’mere and read what funny boy wrote.) Executive chef Matthew Carmichael rules the kitchens at this numberific eatery. Co-owner Caroline Gosselin keeps changing stuff in the stone heritage-building dining room to keep it fresh and chill. A big bar bisects the upper seating area and is a good place for weekend people-watching. Current menu* includes a crispy braised octopus and an amazing loup de mer (Mediterranean sea bass that melts in your mouth) with poached prawns and a crazy curry emulsion.
18 York St., 613-244-1188, restaurant18.com
