My Quest to Find the Best Burgers, Pizzas, and Poutines in the Ottawa-Gatineau Region
Review:
The fries were the crispy frozen fries that seem to be making the rounds these days (they might be McCain Superfries). I’m just not a fan at this point and it affects my score. There was a decent amount of cheese curds. Unfortunately, the gravy was very bland.
Rating:
4.5/10
Review:
The burger looked good, but fell short of expectations. Most elements were ok, such as the bun and the cheese (I chose cheddar). There was way too much lettuce, but that was easy to address. The special sauce was a little thin, making things messy, but it tasted fine. Where it fell very short was the patty. It was large (just under ½ lb), but had a strange texture, almost as if it was slow-cooked and was seasoned with something that I still can’t put my finger on, but I found rather off-putting.
Rating:
4.2/10
Review:
I opted for the double patty option (I can’t imagine going with a single considering the relative thinness of the patties). I thought the meat was terrific textually with a slightly crispy outer layer, while still being very soft. This could probably be attributed to the panini press-like cooking method used. There was a nice amount of processed cheddar. The toppings were good, though I always prefer iceberg over other lettuces (leaf, in this case). My only complaint was that the bread was a hint dry/flimsy. A toasted or fresher bun would have made this good burger even better.
Rating:
8.2/10
Review:
The poutine featured excellent, skin-on fries. They were thinner than average, but not quite a true Julienne. There were a few smaller ones that were extra crispy. There was a decent amount of cheese. The gravy was good, but didn’t really stand out.
Rating:
7.2/10
Review:
This burger featured a big patty, approaching ½ lb, cooked well-done with strong charcoal flavour. Swiss cheese was a nice change from cheddar. The bacon was thicker than most other restaurants and quite good. The crusty bun was rigid enough to hold up to the burger. The tomatoes were cut way too thick, but they at least protected the leaf lettuce from wilting. Dijonaise was a great choice of sauce to tie everything together.
Rating:
7.5/10
Review:
This featured large, frozen fries that actually held up pretty well compared to most frozen fries. There was a very generous amount of cheese curds. The gravy was also quite flavourful. I actually liked this quite a bit for a frozen fry poutine.
Rating:
6.4/10
Review:
This pizza was very doughy, but it was cooked through. The bottom of the crust was somewhat crispy. There was a generous amount of cheese. The sausage wasn’t particularly granular, it was more like a cold cut. Pepperoni and onion were under the cheese. The sauce was very much in line with most Ottawa-style pizzas. It didn’t stand out, but probably wouldn’t offend anyone either.
Rating:
6.1/10
Review:
The poutine was hurt by the use of frozen fries, but they were of reasonably good quality. They actually held up well whereas some frozen fries get very pasty as they cool. The gravy was pretty good, not too thin. It had a decent amount of cheese curds.
Rating:
6.1/10
Review:
This is very much an “Ottawa pizza”, but a little thinner than most and with slightly better crisp. We ordered pepperoni, sausage and onion. The pepperoni and onion were under the cheese (not my preference because you miss out on the crispy edges on the pepperoni). The sausage was of pretty decent quality. The slight reduction of thickness and the doneness boosted this a bit over most Ottawa-style pizzas
Rating:
6.4/10
Review:
This was very cheesy, but not to the point of being a problem. I chose a “regular” crust, but there is a “thin” option. The crust was reasonably good. This pizza came with sausage, tomato and onion. I would have liked a little more onion, ideally. The sauce was pretty generic (seemed to lack some herbs), but at least there was a good amount of it. This was not a highlight, but it served its purpose.
Rating:
6.3/10