My Holiday Loves |Food|
Part 3: A few of my favourite places to dine out (YOW)
And just like that, Christmas is over!
If I’m being honest, I find the time that follows after, between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, to be strange. I like how life still feels slightly paused, how obligations get lowered from peak Christmas expectations, but I also feel a need to rush over it all, take down my tree and get on with the new year.
However, in the middle of these polarizing feelings, is a spot filled with special memories for me. Because it was a few days after Christmas, on a beautiful winter evening, that I gave birth to my baby boy. And years before that, I met my now husband, at a New Year’s Eve party that I decided last minute to attend.
Regardless if the last few days of the holiday season feel monotonous or magical, the one thing that remains consistent for me during this time is food. Long before any gifts are wrapped, dinner menus are planned and long after new toys are put away, food is still being put out.
The food lover in me has a restaurant list for every place I’ve ever visited and many lists for the places I hope to travel to. I plan vacations around food recommendations and use celebrations for hosting with good food. Date nights that involve trying out a new local restaurant is truly a love language for me. And I love seeing my kids explore new foods and order from a menu with confidence.
So as I end this year, finish up my holiday loves guide and I write my last post of 2023, it seems perfectly fitting that it would be about food. In part III I am sharing some of my fave eats in the city I live, Ottawa. To be honest, I could probably write about this for days and list more restaurants than I’ve chosen to do here. To keep things simple, I’ve decided to keep to my current favourites based on 1) it being a new find (and love) this past year or 2) it remaining consistent hit for me. So put your fancy pants sweats on, pop a bottle and start making some online reservations (or gift certificate buying).
Lastly, as I close out 2023, I wanted to say thank you. If you’ve read this last holiday post or have looked at all three parts - thank you for indulging me! If you’ve subscribed, opened, shared, commented on my newsletter at any point this past year - THANK YOU! Starting this Substack account and finding a little “online corner” to return to writing again has truly been a 2023 goal achieved for me. So here’s to 2024 - more writing, more showing up for the grouchy and the love of it all … and more new restaurants!
Bon Appétit!
Happy New Year!
Sending love from where I sit,
N
* Please note, nothing listed below has been received complimentary or done in promotion with a restaurant. They are just places I have ate at, loved and wanted to share.
"Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride."
-Anthony Bourdain
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE |Part 3|
Dining Out
Six Fave Ottawa Restaurants
Torta Boyz | Everything. Just order everything. But especially the spicy margarita and the carne asada torta.
Cantina Gia | BEST Cacio e pepe.
Stolen Goods | Small space, big food and cocktails flavours.
Brassica | It has never disappointed. Their banoffee pie truly owns a part of my heart.
Arlo | They hosted mine and my husband’s 40th birthday dinner perfectl this past summer. The family sharing menu and wine list are incredible. Their old fashion is also a must order.
Giulia | As a wife of a man who takes pizza dough making quite seriously, this place’s pizza won major points from the both of us.
My Ottawa Restaurants To Try in 2024 List:
(If you’ve been to any of these, I’d love to know your thoughts.)