Review:
This poutine had real hand-cut fries cooked crispy, with a thick gravy and a fair amount of cheese curds. It was quite good.
Rating:
7.7/10
Connor’s Irish Pub – Poutine
Connor’s Irish Pub – Burger
Review:
I really enjoyed this burger. It tasted very familiar to me. The burger was actually topped with an onion ring. The patty appeared to be a little bit bigger than a quarter pound and cooked on the flat top. There was a really nice piece of cheese melted onto the patty. There were also diced onions and diced sweet pickles on the burger which I hadn’t seen in years but I enjoyed. The vegetables were fresh and the brioche style bun was very good. I would have liked the bun toasted more to push this up to the next level but even as is, this was one of the best burgers I’ve had in Ottawa.
Rating:
8.5/10
Clocktower – Poutine
Review:
The skin-on fries tasted like frozen fries. The gravy had a nice dark colour, but was lighter in taste than it looked. The curds were adequate.
Rating:
6.2/10
Clocktower – Burger
Review:
The patty was about 1/4 lb and well-done, covered with some melted cheddar. The house sauce worked with the burger, though it could have used more because there were a little too many vegetables, which I needed to thin out a bit. The bun was very generic, but I did appreciate that it was well-toasted.
Rating:
6.5/10
Aulde Dubliner – Poutine
Review:
This poutine featured oversized “chips” which appeared to be dredged in flour. It could have used more cheese curds. The gravy was a little bland. I was actually appreciative of the green onion garnish, which gave a little flavour pop.
Rating:
6.3/10
Aulde Dubliner – Burger
Review:
This burger sure looked the part. I liked the brioche-style bun as well as the bacon, which was not overdone. The cheese was a nice departure from processed cheddar. The vegetables were fresh and the BBQ sauce was absolutely fine. So, there were a lot of things to like about the burger, but the weakness was unfortunately, the most important part, the patty. It was thick, but seemed to have some strange seasoning, which masked any beef flavour. It was also very well done which made it almost pasty/dry. It was something that all of the other elements couldn’t overcome .
Rating:
5.9/10
Bella Vista Restaurant – Pizza
Review:
This pizza was a bit of a conundrum. It looked quite different from most Ottawa-style pizzas, but the taste was quite similar, mostly based on the very familiar sauce. The crust in the centre of the pizza was quite thick, but the outer edge was thin and crispy. Most of the toppings were under the cheese and of average quality. There was a fairly generous amount of cheese. I feel like my rating would go significantly higher with a better sauce. As it stands, this pizza gets lost in the shuffle for me.
Rating:
6.6/10
Super Duper Pizza – Pizza
Review:
This pizza has a reputation for being generous with toppings and I have no reason to doubt that reputation. Most of the toppings for my pizza were actually under the generous cheese layer. This pizza was very much Ottawa-style with the aforementioned traits along with a doughy crust and familiarly spiced sauce. Stylistically, this was just not one of my favourites, though I can absolutely understand how this is a fan favourite from a value standpoint. It was without a doubt very filling.
Rating:
6.3/10
O’Grillade – Poutine
Review:
This poutine featured the frozen fries I just really don’t like (pretty sure they’re McCain Superfries). The curds were fine as was the gravy which tasted a little more like chicken gravy than most.
Rating:
5.0/10
Made in Chicago (Deep Dish) – Pizza
Review:
This had a lot of sweet pizza sauce with large chunks of tomato. There was a thick layer of cheese at the base that gave a really nice, salty punch. The sausage was of good quality and in large chunks. The crust was crispy and cracker-like with a butter cookie-type sweetness.
Rating:
8.0/10