This article first appeared in the Summer 2015 issue of Ottawa Magazine.
It’s always fun, always evolving. We’re talking about the cheap-eats scene. One day you might opt for an exquisite banh mi sandwich, the next you’re craving a meatball sub. In this, Ottawa Magazine’s gourmet guide to all that is tasty and economical, we eat our way around town, noshing on all manner of well-priced sandwiches, stews, and sweets to bring you our 43 finds. To round out the top 50, we called on seven discerning chefs to reveal their cheap eats of choice. At these prices, you can’t afford not to eat out.
By Cindy Deachman (CD) and Anne DesBrisay (AD), bolstered by staff picks (SP) and chef suggestions
The Cheesus Crust Almighty starts things off. Photo by Christian Lalonde
1. Cheesus Crust Almighty
If you don’t get struck down for blasphemy first, you may still keel over eating the Cheesus Crust Almighty, The Joint’s unique and “mysterious” take on a grilled cheese sandwich. They take mac ’n’ cheese, roll it in a “secret ingredient” (Cinnamon Toast Crunch?), plunge it into the fryer, then “slam” it into a grilled cheese sandwich. This heavenly combo gobsmacks the palate with a jumble of salty, sweet, tangy sensations — the latter if you choose to dunk the sandwich into the accompanying house-made Bollywood sauce (think butter chicken gravy sans chicken). It would be “criminal” not to include a side of deep-fried Britney pickle spears. $7–$10.The Joint, 352 Preston St., 613-656-5849. ~SP
2. Hot chicken sandwich
Hot chicken sandwich from WIlf & Ada’s. Illustration by Jeff Kulak
A long-running tradition on the corner, Ada’s Diner morphed into Wilf& Ada’s last year and serves diner classics with a twist — they’re made from scratch. We’re big fans of the hot chicken sandwich, a pile of moist pulled chicken on a root-vegetable mash, piled on house-made bread and smothered with full-flavoured onion gravy, well peppered and well made. Served with good fries and arugula salad.The taste of the 2015 diner? Bring it on! $14.50. Wilf& Ada’s, 510 Bank St., 613-231-7959. ~AD
3. Square Pizza Slices
Centretowners know that the best slice isn’t sitting under a heat lamp at a chain pizza joint. It’s made to order in a humble pizzeria that has anchored the Somerset strip from Bank to Bronson for 15 years. Pavarazzi offers white or herbed-flecked dough, and one order gives you two four-inch squares of satisfying ’za, which is usually plenty. But if you’re soaking up a night of beer swilling, go for two. Leftovers make perfect hangover food. From $3.Pavarazzi, 491 Somerset St. W., 613-233-2320. ~SP
Hung Sum shrimp dumplings. Illustration by Jeff Kulak.
4. Deep-fried shrimp dumplings
Hanbiao Lin learned the high cuisine of dim sum as an apprentice in his native Canton. So if you want the genuine article, visit Hung Sum, which Lin owns with his wife, May Lee. His shrimp dumplings are beauts. The crisp exterior of the deep-fried wonton yields to a sweet filling of shrimp and pork. And as for the feathery-light frilled edge — oh! $4.25 for three dumplings. Hung Sum, 870 Somerset St. W.,
613-238-8828. ~CD