LeXXy

I wanted to do a new special feature for my Friday blogs.
Here, I’ll be featuring cute, amazing, helpful, sexy, comfortable and useful COOL stuff that I have, that I want and  that I spot when I’ out.

The first FAVORITE THANG that I wanna shed light on is this to-go mug. It’s a ceramic coffee mug that’s impersonating a Starbucks or Second Cup (or whatever coffee shop you like) to go cup! The lid and cup holder are silicone so it’s all super easy to care for!

Now you can travel with your hot beverages in style and best of all – if you fill this mug up when getting a coffee to go at your favorite spot, you’ll be sending  love to the environment by not using up another cardboard cup!  

In case your wondering, I picked it up at a Loblaws Superstore (It’s a President’s Choice product)

Stay Fly
XoXo

I’ve been meaning to visit this place for quite a while now, and finally got the chance! STeaK is a new modern steak house/lounge that opened in Ottawa about a month ago. I actually heard a few negative reviews about this place – but being a strong advocate of judging a restaurant based on your OWN experience, I went in with confidence.

 Appearance

When you walk into this place you will notice a significantly different look and feel than anywhere else (that I know of) in this city. The first thing that grabbed my attention was a huge wine cooler on the left wall of the restaurant – that lies between the floor and the ceiling full of wines from all regions.

The seating a comfortable and intimate with modern lighting everywhere.

I felt like they made sure to pay close attention to all the small details to coincide with the ultra modern theme that they have chosen…I noticed it in all aspects of the appearance.

The lighting is soft and dim with predominately red bulbs that light up the interior. Red lights are supposed to actually relax the eye more than any other color (that’s why most alarm clocks are lit with red).

There’s also a full bar stocked with any kind of liquor and spirits you can imagine…a wide range of beer as well. I got the sense that I’ll be returning here regularly for after-work martinis.

Menu

Here’s what we started with:

- Beef tartar – tenderloin, capers, tabouli, beet, rocket

- Steak Platter – short rib spring rolls, steak sushi, shrimp cakes, wild mushroom flat bread

Both appetizers where to die for! A special shout out goes to the wild mushroom flatbread and tartar. The food is so flavorful that your mouth waters while your eating! The portions were just right and we didn’t wait long!

Main:

- Tenderloin green bean salad – tenderloin, green beans, Asian slaw, sesame seeds

- 18oz bone-in rib eye

 The steak was PERFECT for both our main dishes. I have ordered streak before that didn’t satisfy me in size – you WONT have a problem with that here! The meal portions are perfect! The food is absolutely fresh and the service is attentive and thoughtful. This place is more upscale then say, The Keg but it’s definately not pretentious.

At the end of our meal, we ordered a few drinks (mine was a special coffee) but no dessert. The waitress came out with our drinks as well as a plate with some thinly sliced dark chocolate. She winked and told us – “You have to have something sweet after dinner, it’s the rules”.

That gesture put the cherry on top of our already great experience.

 I recommend this place to anyone who appreciates modern gourmet food and a relaxing but upscale environment.

TWO THUMBS UP!

87 Clarence Street
613 695-8787
The restaurant is open Tuesday – Sunday (until midnight on most nights)

Of all the Pho places in Ottawa that I have visited (I’ve tried most of the Pho joints in and around China Town) this place sticks out to me. The atmosphere is homey and the owners of this place seem to really care about food and the happiness of their customers. I won’t get into all the dishes because I want to stick to my soup subject, so lets get to it!

This place offers a REALLY UNIQUE chicken soup. I guess I can still classify it as a PHO but its REALLY different. These are the ingredients: Chicken, a couple of cubed tomatoes, pho noodles and a few slices of celery….the special ingredient is PINEAPPLE. This soup is AMAZING. It’s really light and it has a tang that opens up your whole palette. There are a few slices of pineapple in there, but you can mostly taste the zing in the infused broth…MMMMM!!!!

The prices at this place are pretty well the same as any Pho joint – a large bowl of this mouth watering pineapple soup runs you about $8.00.

I recommend it!!

Pho Vietnam
1187 St Laurent Boulevard

This Little Bar-B Bitch is TAKING OVER! I love this girl – she’s FIERCE and she’s doing her thing! I like her sound and I like that she’s feminine but a bit rough around the edges.

\”Your Love\” Nicki Minaj

Stay Fly,

XoXo

This is a really unlikely place that I would write about but after a few visits, I have been impressed enough to recommend this place!

This is a family/sports/pub style joint located in the west end. You are always warmly greeted upon arrival and seated in a booth or table by a friendly staff member. Unlike many sports/family themed restaurants this place is really not loud – the atmosphere is friendly and pretty intimate. There are however, flat screens EVERYWHERE – so if your coming in during any kind of sports game – its on, and you WILL be able to follow along! (When me and the girls go, we always turn our screen off in our booth – which is a nice option.)

The menu is VERY diverse and the food comes out very quickly. Here are my favorite dinner items so far:

Appetizers:

Southwest flat bread, San Diego flat bread and feta bruschetta

Mains:

Goat Cheese Sirloin Salad (**Amazing and REALLY filling)

Steak Platter(all of their steaks are certified Angus Beef and delicious!)

Peppercorn Steak Penne

Certified Angus Beef Meatloaf

Dessert:

Strawberry Funnel of Love

This dessert is incredible! Where else but Wonderland can you get funnel cake?? Comes with two hot funnel cakes with vanilla ice cream and a strawberry sauce!

This place also have a FULL bar so you can go for beers with the guys or martinis with your girls!

The prices are really decent (mains ranging from $10 – $30)

I will be back and I suggest this place to anyone! They have great nightly deals too! And its right across from the Coliseum Movie Theatre so you can always do dinner and movie!

www.Shoelessjoes.ca
3094 Carling Avenue, Ottawa 
Contact 613 726-3333

For this Tasty Tuesday edition, Idecided to do something special. Instead of encouraging you to check out a new resto, I want to encourage you to try a REALLY EASY and QUICK recipe for REALLLYYY good tomato soup. This is the PERFECT time of year to curl up to a movie with a hot bowl of soup!

What you will need:

1/2 Container of organic chicken/veggie broth (whatever kind you want)

Crushed tomatoes in a GLASS jar. *Tomatoes that come in an aluminum container are subject to toxins that line the aluminum. I would suggest to only buy tomatoes in glass jars.

1 stick of celery

1 carrot

1 Medium red pepper

2 Cloves of garlic

1/4 Onion

1 teaspoon of oregano

Hand full of coriander

DIRECTIONS:

1.) Grate the red pepper, onion and garlic (on the smallest part of the grater). Set aside

2.) Bring the broth, stick of celery and carrot to a boil

3.) Pour the jar of crushed tomatoes in the pot and lower the heat

4.) Add the grated veggies 

5.) Stir

6.) Garnish with your favorite spices (oregano or cilantro work really well) as well as your favorite croutons!

And VOILA! BON APPETIT! This recipe takes no more than 15 minutes…and its DELICOUS! The soup turns out to be quite hearty and no need to add any salt – there’s already salt added into the crushed tomatoes. 

Let me know how yours turns out!!!

XOXO

I absolutely LOVE sushi and I’m always trying to find the best sushi in town and so far I have found a few great sit in spots – but the ultimate take out joint is Kochu Sushi on Elgin St (Ottawa). This tiny place actually specializes in Korean cuisine as well as Sushi…And when I say tiny, I mean it only seats 4 to 6 people inside! In the summer – if you’re lucky – you can find a seat on the patio and enjoy your dinner while the sun sets…but if not, you can always do take out.

This sushi experience was one of my best. Your food is prepared right in front of you by a detail-oriented sushi chef with a quick hand. If your ordering take out (which I strongly suggest) call 30 minutes before you pick it up.

We decided on the Sushi Lover I platter which dazzled us with a huge variety – 46 pieces…Just enough for 3 hungry girls!

The variety included: Nigiri, Cali, Kami, Salmon,  Mango, Crazy,  and Mini Rolls.

Every peice was SPECTACULAR!!! There were so many flavours that melted together beautifully, that we could not even pin point which one was our favourite!

The prices are very reasonable – our platter of 46 cost about $50. And the average combo platter (6-10 pieces) costs between $8 – $10. And having said that – these are NOT tiny rolls…these are quite sizey compared to other places I’ve dined at!

 KOCHU
361 Elgin Street, Unit 5
Ottawa, ON K2P 1M7
Canada

613.56SUSHI (78744)

Here are a couple of bangers I wanted to feature today:

The first comes from Wyclef Jean – one of my favorite artists. I’ll never forget the quote he said during a music awards show last year:

“I went from a hut…to the hood. I went from the hood…to a mansion! So everybody out there – you got no excuse!”

Thats right dawg! You were born a shotta:

\”Born a Shotta\” Wyclef Jean

The second song I wanna feature is Robin Thicke’s new jam:

\”Diamonds\” Robin Thicke feat. The Game

I always love his soft spoken music…I dont mind Game in it either!

This is a HUGE shout out to all my Montreal peeps! I love everything about Montreal…the air seems to be different, there are tons of amazing restaurants, bars, cafes, clubs, and most of all – great boutiques! After a long night out on the town my friends and I have a tradition of going out for a nice breakfast (well – more like lunch…*pause* whatever you want to call the first meal of the day!)  

This one little spot on St Laurent has become my new favorite for a few reasons: the price is great (every breakfast dish is between $8 and $10.50), the atmosphere is fantastic, the lighting is soft, the seating is comfy and…the food is fantastic!!!

This unpretentious, modern little restaurant/bar is called Cafeteria (3581 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal QC). They are almost always open (8am-3am) and always deliver the goods!

This is where I found my NEW favorite breaky:  a meal made with toasted English muffin, poached egg with avocado on top with a seasoned tomatoes paste on top. This feast is served with home fries, fruit and toast (optional). The flavors blend together beautifully…we all agreed that this combination of ingredients tasted unbelievable!!

Some other great choices are:

CRÊPES MINCES
Ham, asparagus & swiss cheese crepes

Omelette SUÉDOISE
Smoked salmon, sour cream & chives.

BRIE & CHAMPIGNONS
2 poached eggs, brie & sautéed mushrooms with hollandaise sauce.

Bon Appétit!
XoXo

Stoneface Dolly’s

This is one of my favorite spots to go for brunch on the weekends. I have to warn you upfront that it gets busy, so try and make it early and don’t come when you’re starving because there’s an occasional wait…that I believe is worth waiting for.

This casual café serves home-style gourmet food with an international twist…I find the food to be well thought out and quit original. They serve lunch, brunch, dinner, dessert and have an extensive wine list. 

You can find your classic favorites such as Eggs Benedict, pancakes and French toast but for the more adventurous taste buds, there are amazing brunch dishes like: 

*(Brunch is served between 7:30 am – 10:30 am)

Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes (Two pancakes served with lemon curd and whipped cream) 

Omelet (No. 3) Roasted red pepper pesto, smoked salmon, spinach and goat cheese.

Also a few tasty lunch items:

Greek Burger
With your choice of a lamb or beef burger on an olive tapenade, topped with bruschetta, feta, and yogurt raita.

Chicken or Tofu Babotie
A traditional South African dish. Island spiced ground chicken pie topped with banana and yogurt raita served with mixed greens, fruit chutney and yam chips

Grilled Vegetable Panini
Black olive tapenade, grilled zucchini, pesto oven roasted tomatoes, artichoke hearts & goat cheese

I really enjoy the atmosphere of this café, the prices are great and you can always choose very healthy, hearty meals here. Also, I want to point out that there are really tasty sides to choose from which make every meal complete – from fresh fruit salads to homemade bread to veggie mushroom patties.

Stonefaced Dolly’s
www.stonefacedollys.com
416 Preston Street
Ottawa, On
613-564-2222