I drove into Ottawa on Saturday at 7 pm and left on Monday at 8 am. This means that I had a lot to do in a short period of time. Guess what? Mission Accomplished. I checked out 4 new places. Here’s what I discovered:

a) Bread by Us…this new bakery is only 6 months old and is already a hit in the neighbourhood.  I had a lovely chat with the owners and enjoyed my coffee with a white chocolate strawberry scone . Next time, I really need to buy a loaf of bread.  Kind of kicking myself that I walked away empty handed.

b) La Trappe a Fromage: I have NO idea why I’ve never been to this store before. It’s only a 15 min drive from downtown Ottawa and WELL WORTH THE DRIVE. There’s a massive variety of Quebec beer and a massive variety of Quebec cheese too. This is now going to be a store that I’m going to visit on a more regular basis.

c) Beyond the Pale Brewing Company:  I drove by this place in the morning but it was closed and then returned in the afternoon. I’m so glad that I did. What a discovery. I had 3 samples and then chose one to bring back to Toronto. This little brewery is soon to be expanding as there’s a HUGE demand for their beer. Very happy for them.

c) Salt.…this restaurant only opened 2 weeks ago! I’m not sure what I should write about first…the space or the food. Both are outstanding. In fact I can’t think of a restaurant in Ottawa that has paid this much attention to the space! The owners wanted to create a restaurant that is open late at night (i.e the kitchen is open till 2am) and where live music is played. As for the food – everything is made in house (the jam, the mustard, etc) and both dishes that we had were well executed and plated to perfection.

For more information

Bread By Us: 1065 Wellington St. W, Ottawa (613) 422 5300 Twitter: @BreadByUs

Beyond the Pale Brewing Company: 5 Hamilton Ave. N, Ottawa, (613) 695 2991 Twitter: @BeyondThePale

La Trappe a Fromage: several locations…I went to 114 Blvd Saint-Raymond, Gatineau Quebec

Salt 345 Preston St. Ottawa  (613) 695 5755. Twitter: @SaltOttawa

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I subscribe to a blog called  The Yum Yum Factor and while reading thru one of her latest posts, she mentioned a new grocery store called Adonis. Naturally I was intrigued and got into my car and drove out to Victoria Park and Eglinton to check it out. I also went online to read a bit more about Adonis as well. I learned that they are owned by Metro..from Quebec (6 locations)…and they now have two locations in Toronto. The store I visited is only two weeks old. Here’s what you need to know. The store is MASSIVE. Repeat – MASSIVE. Soon as you walk in, you notice the impressive fruits and vegetables. Then you start to notice the mediterranean food selection. ie. the selection of different cheeses and the AMAZING prepared food section. I bought a package of 3 of these pies for $5. Not bad eh? There’s even a bakery in the middle of the store that makes FRESH PITA. Now that’s pretty neat. (in my humble opinion) Of course I had to buy these two salads: Fattoush (on the left)  and Tabouleh (on the right). Please note that the prices are very reasonable!

I also bought 3 different types of cheese, fruit and vegetables, and oh yeah, an assortment of baklava. How could I not?

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