Jack Astor's Lansdowne: Zomato Meetup

Have you been to the redeveloped Lansdowne Park recently? Do you remember what it used to look like? My memories are a bit foggy. I vaguely remember going down for the SuperEx and going to 67's games. Gone are the empty lots. Now there are places like Whole Foods, Lindt Chocolate Shop, Winners, and Cineplex Cinemas. Among the new shiny establishments, Jack Astor's can be found by the Aberdeen Pavilion. Earlier this week, I had the privilege to be invited to the third Zomato Meetup in Ottawa.



Once we were all introduced to one another, we went on a brief tour around the restaurant. We learned that Jack Astor's has added more of a local feel at both their Lansdowne and Hunt Club location. At this specific location, they have coasters that feature local personalities, arena lights that used to light the old Civic Centre, pictures and memorabilia of Ottawa's sports history. Don't be shy to ask the staff if you're curious about the decor.

Sparks Street Ribfest 2015 & Pure Gelato

Last week was the Sparks Street Ribfest. We're veterans when it comes to the ribfest. If you aren't familiar with it, don't fret. We're here to help. We have a few tips on how to conquer the ribfest (adjusted from the 2011 post):

1. Bring cash, patience, and, depending on the weather, a raincoat and maybe an umbrella too.
2. Go with at least one other person. The more friends, the better cause you’ll be able to cover more stalls that way.
3. If you are planning to enjoy ribfest with a group of people, you should try getting some things from a bunch of the vendors. Make sure to figure out who will be getting what and where.
4. Unless you plan to eat on one of the patios on Sparks Street, you should bring a re-useable bag to carry your boxes. You can enjoy your chicken and pork products along Spark Street if you don't want to take them very far. You can only sit and enjoy your meal at the various patios if you buy a beverage from them.
5. Grab lots of extra paper.
6. Add lots of extra sauce on the side. Most vendors will have a table on the side where you can get paper towels, forks, and extra sauce.

Richard, Andrew, and myself were the runners this time. We figured out what we wanted and went out.

Ottawa Street Food Showcase 2015

On a cool sunny day, the crowds were genuinely excited for the street food season to begin in Ottawa. It kicked off yesterday with many vendors setting up shop at the Marion Dewar Plaza, in front of City Hall. The Street Food Showcase donated a portion of the proceeds to the Ottawa Food Bank. It was a win-win situation, really. Not only did the crowds have a chance to check out all the options, but they were supporting a great cause.

I invite you all to use the SFAOtt (aka Street Food Adventures in Ottawa) hashtag on Instagram and Twitter.



Andrew and I went there earlier than the official start time of noon to beat the crowds.

Popeyes Chicken in Waterloo

Andrew had an open house session at Wilfred Laurier University (WLU) two weeks ago, so Dad, Andrew and I went on a road trip to Waterloo, Ontario. There was a heat wave hovering around southeastern Ontario during the first week of July. But we got through the heat with help from the air-conditioned car, water, iced coffee, and lots of shade.

Leaving ourselves plenty of time, we left Ottawa as the sun began to peek over the horizon. We briefly stopped for breakfast at Tim Hortons in Carleton Place. I had a toasted sesame bagel with strawberry cream cheese, Andrew had a bacon breakfast bagel, and Dad had a sausage biscuit sandwich. We ate in the car and continued on the Trans-Canada Highway 7 toward Toronto.

We arrived in the Greater Area of Toronto (GTA) around 9am and decided it would be safe to grab lunch in Waterloo. We arrived in Waterloo around 11am, drove around town, got lost in Kitchener, and then finally found our way back to WLU.

Although there were plenty of other intriguing lunch options like Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, and Greek restaurants, we settled on Popeyes Chicken. I remember the first time I heard of Popeyes Chicken. My cousin, Jennie, asked me if we had Popeyes in Ottawa a few years back. We (Ottawa) have a few Popeye's stores, but they sell nutritional supplements instead of fried chicken, baked biscuits, and sweet iced tea. I believe the closest Popeyes Chicken location to Ottawa is in Kingston.

Given all the items on the menu, we agreed on their Thursday special: 3 Piece Bonafide Chicken ($3.99). For a split second, I thought about getting the Louisiana spicy tenders like I did in Detroit. We bought two of those combos with spicy chicken, plus a side of mac and cheese, coleslaw, and two fountain drinks. I’m not sure why I asked for mac and cheese. I knew it was going to taste like plastic. I wanted to avoid the mashed potatoes, french fries and biscuits because we were going to be walking around afterwards. If I had gotten those sides, we would've needed to sleep lunch off before visiting WLU.

The chicken's batter was very crisp and crunchy. It was quite salty though. More so than usual. As for the chicken, it was spicy and juicy, but there wasn’t much flavour after the heat went away. Maybe we were unlucky and got a mediocre batch.

It would’ve been difficult to eat the salty chicken if we didn’t bring some bread. But it wasn’t just any ordinary bread. No, no. It was half a caramelized onion potato dill dynamite loaf that I brought along. I had just bought it from Art Is In the previous day at the Bayshore Farmers' Market. The moist chunks of fluffy potato in the bread tamed the salty chicken breading remarkably well.

The dynamite loaf was easily polished off. I wish I had brought more bread. It wasn’t nearly enough. Andrew began getting shifty half-way through lunch. He was pumped.

Once we finished filling our bellies at Popeyes, we joined up at WLU and did a full campus tour. The small campus reminded me of Humber. All the buildings were so close and the people involved in running the tours were very welcoming and helpful. WLU gave off a small, tight-knit community vibe. I kind of wish I was the one going to WLU. Andrew, have a great time at WLU! We won't be that far away... just a quick text or Skype call away.

Ottawa Ribfest 2012

My younger brother, Andrew, and I took a little visit to Sparks Street and brought home some BBQ goodies for the family dinner. We only went to two different stalls: Bibb’s BBQ and Camp 31. Our plan of attack was to get two full rack meals (that’s with coleslaw and beans) and a half-pound of pulled pork. We weren't going to get any chicken because they're not that flavourful. They get baked in the oven and then sit on the grill, absorbing whatever smoke there is, and get finished with a mop of sauce when it's ordered. If you do buy bottled BBQ sauce from the stands, then baked chicken wouldn't be a bad idea.

If you haven't gone yet or you're planning to go, but you aren't sure what to expect, head over to this post where I wrote down some tips.

Starting from Metcalfe and Sparks Street, we walked westward down Spark Street to do some scouting at Ottawa's 21st annual ribfest. The first stall we came upon was Bibb’s BBQ. Since we were there while most government employees were still at work, there were only two people waiting in line. We walked by a few more stalls before reaching O'Connor. I can't remember which ones though. Sorry. I just wanted to find Camp 31 and Bibb's BBQ, buy our stuff and go home as quickly as possible.

After crossing O’Connor, there was a porta-potty and porta-sink off to the side (correct me if I’m wrong… btw, I forgot to take a photo so I’m just reusing the pic from last year). We passed a few picnic tables on Sparks Street. It looks like the organizers of the event had put them out – at least I think they did. The picnic tables weren’t closed off and it didn’t look like it was part of any restaurant. In any case, walking by the tables, we found ourselves walking through some smoke. Silver Bullet’s grill was smoking away. All that baked chicken must’ve been absorbing the smoke as they waited for an owner.

Camp 31’s stand had the longest line when Andrew and I walked there. It seemed like more people were starting to flood in. Not needing to go any further down Sparks Street, we joined the line that was merely 8 people long.

Sandwiched between Camp 31's stand and Silver Bullet's stand, the Alabama’s Freshly Squeezed Lemonade stall sold cold lemonade. If I recall correctly, they were selling small lemonades for $4.00 and $6.00 for the large.

As we waited in line, I debated whether or not I wanted to buy another bottle of Camp 31’s Rajin’ Cajun BBQ sauce or to try another flavour (you could try samples of all of their sauces before you decided). We only had a few more drops left of the bottle I purchased last year. In the end, we decided we’d buy a bottle at Bibb’s BBQ instead. We bought a full rack of ribs meal ($24) and a full pound of pulled pork ($12). They didn’t sell half a pound.

We walked back to Bibb’s BBQ, bought another full rack meal and bought a bottle of their BBQ sauce. They only had one flavour – the one they use on their ribs and chicken. The three environmentally-friendly takeout boxes were stacked into a grocery bag and then we went back home to enjoy the goods. More after the hop...

Ottawa's Chicken and Ribfest 2011

Just like many other Ottawa residents, our family had ribs from Ottawa’s 20^th Annual Chicken and Rib Cook-Off for dinner.

I brought my wallet, a camera, and a re-useable shopping bag (for the ribs) and met Lucy downtown earlier today. Our goal: To bring some delicious ribs back to enjoy at home. But before we met up, I did some scouting. I started from Elgin Street and Sparks Street.

Crabby’s BBQ Shack.

Keep walking down Sparks St and you’ll see a porta-potty and a porta-sink. This was a great addition this year, since there wasn’t anything last year. Well done organizers. Well done. I think I saw one more porta-potty and two more porta-sinks on Sparks St.

Texas Outlaws.

I think if you cross Metcalfe Street, you can find Bibb’s BBQ. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Gator BBQ Company.

Billy Bones.

Cross O’Connor Street and you’ll find Silver Bullet.

Then I think it’s the Alabama’s Freshly Squeezed Lemonade stand.

The two-time defending champs of the best ribs at the Ottawa ribfest; Camp 31. The photo at the top of this post was from Camp 31.

And finally, the last competitor this year is Uncle Sam’s BBQ.

Here’s the breakdown; in total, Lucy and I bought two and a half racks of ribs and a quarter of a chicken from three different places. Six people helped to eat everything. We got a full rack of ribs with coleslaw and beans for $24 at Billy Bones. Lucy probably added three or four pumps of their BBQ sauce. Most of it is hiding underneath the ribs.

When we lined up for the ribs, they had just changed the coals so we had to wait until they were hot again. Good thing they had a mechanical fan to speed things up. The downside was that all the smoke blew in our direction. They had put a few racks of ribs on the grill when they were heating up the coals, so the ribs were extra smoky.

Doesn’t it look tender and tasty? Billy Bones’ sauce was quite sweet. Lucy said that if the ribs hadn’t been smoky, the sweetness of the sauce would’ve been “…sickening.” The beans were really sweet, but that’s probably from their sauce. As you can see from the two pictures above, the tender and moist ribs were slathered with their sauce.

Jimmy made a spinach, mushroom, bell pepper, and red onion salad to eat on the side. We definitely needed some veggies, especially I ate too many ribs and felt sick afterward in 2009.

We got a full rack of rib combo at Camp 31. Camp 31 was one of our favourites last year, but the ribs we were given were mostly tough and dry. There were only two or three moist ribs – which only Mom and Dad were able to enjoy. The beans had a more rounded flavour than the beans from Billy Beans Bones. The beans from Billy Bones was sweet at first and then there wasn't much flavour after that.

Jimmy was unlucky and got a really tough piece. It looks like jerky.

I also picked up a bottle of the Ragin’ Cajun BBQ sauce ($6) at Camp 31. It was pricey, but we all really liked the kick it gave. I liked how the spiciness also lingered and cut through all the grease.

This was the chicken and rib ($15) from Silver Bullet. The sweetness of the ribs reminded her of the Chinese ribs (the one on the roast pork) we get, because hoisin sauce is brushed onto the roast pork ribs. Most of the ribs had a lot of tender meat. Silver Bullet’s rib pieces were the most consistent in both size and amount of meat, but they can’t really control the latter. I believe the organizers provide the chicken and ribs.

The one thing that I found funny was that out of the ones I walked by, I think Silver Bullet was the only place that had some kind of branding on the white boxes. I’m surprised no one else has picked up on it.

The chicken had no flavour. One of the reasons why we got it was to try out the Rajin’ Cajun sauce I bought at Camp 31. The chicken from every stand is and then finished off on the grill with a bit of their sauce. If you decide to buy a bottle of BBQ sauce from one of the competitors, you should get some chicken to mop up the sauce. That’s what we did.

After everyone had a chance to try everything from each of the three boxes, we chose our favourites out of the three stalls:

1^st place: Billy Bones

Dad, Lucy, Richard, and Andrew all liked the ribs from Billy Bones the most.

2^nd place: It was a tie between Silver Bullet and Camp 31

It was hard to judge the ribs from Camp 31 because most of the ribs were dry and tough. Mom’s favourite was Camp 31, but that's cause she got a rare piece of rib with tender meat. It's too bad their ribs weren't consistent. Jimmy mentioned that this would’ve been his favourite if the ribs were as moist and tender as Silver Bullet’s. Since Silver Bullet’s ribs had a lot of tender meat, Jimmy was able to enjoy this more.

I didn’t cast a vote because I barely ate anything. After spending two hours walking back and forth on Sparks Street, the perfume of the smoke and ribs just got to me and ruined my appetite. I’m also not a big fan of ribs. You can see my empty plate at the bottom of that picture. I struggled to finish everything (at least I was able to finish my salad).

This is probably the end of this year’s ribfest for us, but they’ll still be around for you all until Sunday, June 26^th. I'm not sure when the official judging begins, but I'll update the article whenever I find out.

We have a few tips on how to conquer the ribfest this year... 

1. Bring cash, patience, a raincoat and maybe an umbrella.
2. Go with at least one other person. You’ll be able to cover more stalls that way.
3. If you are planning to enjoy ribfest with a group of people, you should try getting some things from a bunch of the competitors.
4. Unless you plan to eat on one of the patios on Sparks Street, you should bring a re-useable bag that you can get at the grocery store. You can enjoy your chicken and pork products along Spark Street if you don't want to take them very far. You can only sit and enjoy your meal at the various patios if you buy a beverage from them.

Despite the weather, I hope you can all go downtown and enjoy the chicken and pork stuff this weekend. I know it’s still early in the event, but what was your favourite place this year?


Update: Here are the winners of Ottawa's Chicken and Ribfest 2011...




Billy Bones knocked off Camp 31's powerhouse and took home the best ribs and sauce title and trophy.  Camp 31 did place second place in both categories though.

Bibb's BBQ took home the trophy for the best chicken. Texas Rangers and Boss Hog's came second and third respectively.


Read about our other experience:

• Ottawa Ribfest 2013
• Ottawa Ribfest 2012

• Ottawa’s Chicken-Ribfest 2010

• Diet-Busting BBQ Chicken and Ribs 2009 (Lucy's lunch)

• Ottawa Ribfest 2009

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