drinks

Support Apartment613 with Tea and Pasties!

Written

on Friday, February 5, 2010

Photo courtesy of clevercupcakes on Flickr

Last week, we were thrilled to announce A Valentine’s Day TEA-ser, our upcoming fundraiser with Ottawa’s premier burlesque group, the Sexual Overtones. The event had everything – tea, crumpets, adhesive nipple patches – that is, everything except for a location.

This Tuesday, our original venue decided to break their contract with us only 12 days before the event. While we have yet to receive an official explanation, we suspect it may have been canceled because of the ‘age 19+’ nature of the show.

This is really quite unfortunate. The Overtones are a class act in all senses of the word. Not only does this not-for-profit performance group put on shows that are sex-positive, respectful and hilarious, but they also donate the proceeds of their shows to volunteer-run community organizations like Ecology Ottawa, The Venus Envy Bursary Fund and, of course, us! In fact, their community work has garnered them a nomination for a 2010 Capital Xtra Hero Award.

We managed to book the Mac Hall at the Bronson Center (211 Bronson) this morning, but with only 8 days to go we are a little pressed for time! Apartment613 isn’t exactly a charity, but we do try to support the greater Ottawa community by spreading the word on great events, artists and organizations. Since we don’t accept advertisements, this fundraiser is a chance for us to recoup some of our costs and put some money aside for future initiatives.

If you appreciate Apartment613, please help to spread the word about the event. The tea and burlesque show takes place from 2 to 5 on Sunday, February 14. Admission is one for $20 and two for $35 and includes scones and cupcakes from Aunty Loo’s Bakery, some savory treats and, of course, tea. Tickets will be available starting tomorrow at Venus Envy (320 Lisgar) or at Canteen Art Shop (238 Dalhousie). For more information, check out the event facebook page.

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Date Night: Absinthe and bowling

Written

apartment613

on Thursday, January 28, 2010

West Park

You can always tell whether a person is interesting if they take you out to see something a little different. Something that shows originality. Something that demonstrates that they don’t judge and are open to trying new things. No, I’m not talking about taking you to a sex shop and pointing out all the toys they haven’t tried — I mean making date night more than just dinner and a movie.

So for all you want-to-be-heartthrobs, here’s our suggestion for a mid-January date: bowling and Absinthe. Or, in our case, Absinthe and bowling (we had to wait for league night to be over). In our opinion, the combination of high and low brow makes this the perfect Westside date.

Bowling is great fun because it’s: 1) entertaining; 2) allows you to gauge your potential mate’s arm strength and coordination; and 3) it’s cheap, costing just $6 for a game and shoes! Plus you’ll find out how competitive you and your date can be… We loved Kent Lanes on Catherine St., but since it closed we are knocking pins down at West Park bowling — your west side bowling centre since 1946. There’s even glow in the dark bowling on the weekends, and the lane is easily accessible to Centertowners by jumping on the number 2 bus.

Drinks are always a perfect compliment to bowling, but if you’re doing the mid-day bowl thing, you may prefer brunch and lots of mimosas. However, if you’re dating in the evening the Absinthe Café and Restaurant is not only located right across the street, but also offers a new experience to those who have never had the chance to try the infamous green beverage. It also goes a long way towards proving that you’re not too cheap.

The restaurant’s cheese board is $12 and each glass of absinthe will set you back $14. Our picks in order of preference: the French brew — lovely licorice taste; the Canadian-made selection — very smooth; and the Czech shooter — harsher but a glowing green… plus they light it on fire. Yum!

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Chef Wars for Charity: Juniper takes on Ottawa!

Written

Katie

on Monday, January 25, 2010

sirwiseowl on flickr

Ever since the Food Network imported Iron Chef from Japan, cooking is becoming more and more like a competitive sport. Just like their non-edible counterparts, culinary sports come in a wide variety of flavours. At the WWF end of the spectrum is the hot dog eating contests, in which ‘reversals’ does not mean a string unexpected of goals. Perhaps more to the taste of the tennis and golf set are events like Juniper Restaurant’s Dueling Chef’s Food and Wine Pairing Event

Like a heavyweight on steroids, Juniper is challenging every other restaurant in its class to duke (or more accurately dice) it out for the title of cooking champion of Ottawa. Every Monday until March 15, the restaurant will invite a competing kitchen to come by to prepare a three course tasting menu. Each team will present their menu, along with wine pairing, to the dinners, whose vote will then determine the winner.

While the $135 plus tax and tip price tag makes this tournament a bit more expensive than watching the Super Bowl at home, all the proceeds for the night go to charity. So far, the home team lost to Whalesbone (proceeds go to Ottawa Humane Society) on the 7th and won against Allium Restaurant (The Snowsuit Fund) on the 18. Tonight Juniper will be taking on The Courtyard Restaurant (Quickstart).

See below for a list of the remaining matches/charities.

Click to continue reading “Chef Wars for Charity: Juniper takes on Ottawa!”

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Best Brew in Town

Written

Katie

on Monday, January 4, 2010

Courtesy of Alisha Hill on flicker

Wakey Juice, Liquid Crack, the Black Ichor Of Life… Coffee by any other name would smell as sweet, especially first thing in the morning. More then just a beverage, coffee is ritual, wake up call, excuse for a break and more to millions of Canadians, not excluding Ottawans. Needless to say, the supreme importance bean juice plays in our daily lives means that the topic of the best brew is a highly personal, and hence contentious, issue.

Luckily, Apartment613 never backs down from a challenge! However, for this particular Best Of we’ve decided to ditch our usual opinion-based approach for the rigors of science. Accordingly, this Sunday we rounded up four highly buzzed individuals - two men and two women - to take part in a blind taste test.

Cups of medium roast black coffee were acquired from six popular venues: Planet Coffee, Ideal Coffee, Bridgehead, Francesco’s, Second Cup and Starbucks. The six were largely chosen on the basis of their proximity to Apartment613 science headquarters in the Glebe, except for Planet Coffee and Ideal which where selected for their popularity and presumed awesomeness. The testers each took part in six rounds of testing, where they ranked the beverages on a scale from 1 to 10. In order to get around a bias for coffees tasted earlier (or later) in the process, in each round the testers were given a different sample. Of course, none of the testers knew which brew they tasted until after all the sipping and slurping was finished.

As a note - this test is intended to test the quality of each establishment’s brewed coffee only, and does not reflect other considerations that might make that particular coffee shop great (i.e. atmosphere, friendly staff, location, fair-trade products, etc.)

And without further ado, from first to last here are the results of our first best brew test!

Click to continue reading “Best Brew in Town”

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Best Cozy Pubs in Town

Written

Francois

on Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Photo courtesy of said_the_lorax on Flickr.

I want to put a disclaimer on this post. I’ve been planning on writing this post for the last 6 months at least but have been struggling to come up with what I consider a decent list. I love all these places but for the most part, they all appear to be the obvious choices. However, with the cold weather upon us, this is as good a time as any to share these comfortable watering holes with the world, and maybe get to hear about some new ones as well (please let us know if you’ve got some recommendations, I’ll gladly check them out!) And now, after the jump, my top cozy pubs:

Click to continue reading “Best Cozy Pubs in Town”

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in best of..., centretown, drinks, little italy, market, old ottawa south and visual art

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Ottawa Food and Wine Show

Written

Katie

on Thursday, November 5, 2009

200+ exhibitors featuring food and wine from Ottawa and around the world. Entry is $17 in advance and $22 at the door. 50¢ tasting tickets let you sample from over 1400 wines, spirits and beers, taste a vast diversity of foods – and find out more about your favorite from the people who make them. Included in the price of entry are cooking demonstrations and wine tasting classes. Learn more here. The show runs from November 6 to 8, 12 to 9 on Friday and Saturday and 12 to 5:30 on Sunday.

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Spice up your love life! Best Mexican Restaurant for a Date with Veronica

Written

Veronica

on Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Courtesy of paulshannon on flickr

Post by Veronica Michelle - blogger at The View from Veronica’s Closet, occasional Apt613 contributor and Ottawa’s answer to Dan Savage. This post is cross posted from her new online dating column with Examiner.com

Being a single girl isn’t always fun. I get the short end of the stick at things like weddings, holiday parties and, of course, last call.

But it ain’t all bad. I get to go on a lot of dates. That generally means a lot of free meals. This past week I’ve been on three dates at three different Mexican restaurants with three different gentlemen, each of whom I have a different relationship with. Each of them showed me a good time and even though they aren’t always around to save me from myself at last call, they’re all great guys that I’m happy to have in my life, and even happier when they feed me!

First up on the review list is Mexicali Rosa’s (33 Clarence, in the Byward Market). I went there last Friday with a gentleman who we’ll call The Good Friend. He’s a wonderful guy who’s always willing to lend an ear to listen and both arms to hug. The Good Friend and I have wonderful conversations, but this proved difficult over the loud atmosphere at Mexi’s. We showed up well after dinnertime and it was not busy, so the restaurant shouldn’t have been so loud. The food was alright, it was what you would expect from a chain restaurant. Mexi’s proved to be a good place for a group outing or celebration, but lacks the originality, intimacy and ambiance for a date. Mexi’s did, however, serve up the tastiest margarita of the three restaurants I sampled this past week.

Once my stomach had some time to settle from Friday’s dinner I had already booked myself for a Monday night rendez-vous with suitor number 2, The Lover. I don’t really know how to describe the relationship between The Lover and I, and I’d rather not try. It’s definitely casual and certainly not exclusive- just how I like it. Why ruin a good thing with a label?

Click to continue reading “Spice up your love life! Best Mexican Restaurant for a Date with Veronica”

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FestivAsia 2009 this Weekend

Written

Katie

on Friday, October 2, 2009

October 2-4 2009
In Ottawa Chinatown - a multicultural village with an Asian flavour

The FestivAsia is a diverse cultural celebration organized by the Ottawa Chinatown Business Improvement Area (BIA) and its partnering organizations. It is an event contributing to the local and regional economies through increased tourism and its vibrant merchants activities.

It also acts as a platform for residents to showcase, to share and to enjoy the creativity, the energy and the hope of this unique neighbourhood.

Thanks to the Ontario Community Builder’s Fund, Celebrate Ontario and Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Program as well as our sponsors and partners, the 4th FestivAsia is able to grow into a larger scale event that contributes to the economic growth of Ottawa and add another attraction to the Ottawa tourism landscape while sharing the wealth of cultural experiences and expressions in our neighborhood, in our community.

red friday ralley
Friday, October 2nd 2009 from noon to 1PM
Location: Dundonald Park (On Somerset between Lyon and Bay Street)
Come and support our troops!

labyrinth walking meditation
Friday, October 2nd at 7PM
Location: St. Luke’s Anglican Church
Free Admission!

Classical Guitar Concert by Andrew Mah and CD Release
Friday, October 2nd at 7:30PM
Location: St. Luke’s Anglican Church
$20

umi cafe open mic + open jam sessions
Friday, October 2nd at 9PM
Location: Umi Cafe, 610 Somerset St. W
Info: (613) 656-1638
Free Admission!

slow dance
Friday, October 2nd from 9:30PM to 2AM
Location: Shanghai Restaurant,
651 Somerset St. W
Info: (613) 233-4001
$8 Admission includes your dance card!

quiet refreshment, pottery and art show
Saturday, October 3rd from 10AM to 4PM
Location: St. Luke’s Anglican Church
Free Admission!

chinatown performance parade
Saturday, October 3rd from 2PM to 4PM
Route: On Somerset Street (From Bay Street to Preston Street)
Free Admission!

make a fortune cookie at raw sugar
Saturday, October 3rd from 1PM to 4PM
Location: Raw Sugar, 692 Somerset St. W.
Info: (613) 216-2850
Materials provided - $2 donation please.

shanghai karaoke with chinadoll
Saturday, October 3rd from 9PM to 2AM
Location: Shanghai Restaurant
651 Somerset St. W.
Info: (613) 233-4001
Free Admission!

orthodox iconography
Saturday, October 3rd from 4PM to 5PM
721 Somerset Street West, Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church.
Guided tours of our beautifully renovated church that features traditional Orthodox iconography and frescoes.
Free Admission!

multicultural stage
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 10:30AM to 6PM
Location: City Parking Lot
(Cambridge Street N. and Somerset Street W.)
Free Admission!

outdoor market
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 10:30AM to 6PM
Location: City Parking Lot
(Cambridge Street N. and Somerset Street W.)
Free Admission!

the door youth art story of asia
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 10:30AM to 6PM
Location: City Parking Lot
(Cambridge Street N. and Somerset Street W.)
Free Admission!

mekong celebrity chef food and wine tent
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 10:30AM to 6PM
Location: City Parking Lot
(Cambridge Street N. and Somerset Street W.)
Free Admission!

Somerset West CHC Family & Kids Fun
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 10:30AM to 6PM
Location: 755 Somerset Street, Dalhousie Community Centre
Free Admission!

vendors / crafters
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 10:30AM to 6PM
Location: 755 Somerset Street, Dalhousie Community Centre
Free Admission!

heart and stroke foundation - healthy kids booth
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 10:30AM to 6PM
Location: 755 Somerset Street, Dalhousie Community Centre
Free Admission!

hybrid racing motorcycle show
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 10:30AM to 6PM
Location: 755 Somerset Street, Dalhousie Community Centre
Free Admission!

japanese garden
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 11AM to 5:30PM
Location: 755 Somerset Street, Dalhousie Community Centre
Free Admission!

live art by local artist daniel martelok representing chinatown’s spring art festival chinatown remixed
Saturday, October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from 11AM to 5PM
Location: 755 Somerset Street, Dalhousie Community Centre
Free Admission!

a liturgy in church
Sunday October 4th at 10AM
Location: St. Luke’s Anglican Church
All are welcome!

outdoor blessing of animals
Sunday October 4th at 2PM
Location: St. Luke’s Anglican Church
An outdoor “Blessing of Animals” for the Feast of Saint Francis followed by treats for people and pets in Lindsay Hall. All are welcome!

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Heritage Brewing’s Harvest Hop Party

Written

Katie

on Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr

Tuesday night is the most underrated party night of the week. Believe me, I speak from experience. However, if you need a little further inducement to some midweek irresponsibility, look no further than Heritage Brewing, Ottawa’s homegrown purveyor of cheer in a glass. The brewery is having a party tonight to celebrate the release of its Harvest Hops beer, a special brew that uses fresh/wet hops rather then the dried and concentrated hops. From 5 to 7, guests will have the chance to try this new beer while enjoying food and live music. The fun takes place at 866 Campbell Avenue, and to the best of my knowledge there is no cover charge. So head over to Heritage and discover a whole new night to party!

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TASTE! A Celebration of Regional Cuisine

Written

apartment613

on Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Courtesy of fieldtripp on flickr

Post by Apt613 food critic extraordinaire, Arran Arbiter

Ottawa is overflowing with a cornucopia of artists, musical venues, delectable places to dine and plenty of political intrigue to keep one entertained on a daily basis. Yet, all this excitement can over stimulate the senses and you may start confusing the O-train with a hot new downtown restaurant or Lansdowne Live with a new video game platform. When you reach this point a weekend getaway is sorely required.

Thankfully, Ottawa is also perfectly situated to take advantage of its neighbouring regions. A quick drive east will put you in reach of a quaint village and locally brewed beer (read: Vankleek Hill and Beau’s Brewery), while a quick drive south-west will put you in Perth and all that it has to offer. However, when you plan for a weekend getaway, you really want to get away. So, my advice, and the focus of this post, is to introduce you to Prince Edward County (PEC) and the plethora of wine, food and recreation this region has aplenty.

This happens to be a timely post, as on Saturday, September 26th, from 11am to 5pm, against the backdrop of Picton’s historic Crystal Palace, you will get a chance to dive right into the richness of the county’s bounty. TASTE! is a celebration of regional cuisine, highlighting local food and wine producers, with all proceeds being donated to the local Food Bank. TASTE! will be offering over 50 booths, with 18 local wineries and breweries pouring over 50 wines and a selection of beers and ciders from the PEC DVA (Designated Viticultural Area), Ontario’s newest, 16 restaurants and 7 specialty food providers.

This is the 8th annual epicurean experience, and I can safely say, from experience, that it truly is a smorgasbord of extravagant, scrumptious and refined expression of what can be achieved when regional farmers, winemakers, chefs and community work together.

To assist your adventures in the County, I’ve compiled a list of must-go places to explore. For those who can’t bear to leave Ottawa I’ve included purveyors in the city that stock some of this regions fine product.

Click to continue reading “TASTE! A Celebration of Regional Cuisine”

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