One of Ottawa’s newest restaurants is Ember, which opened at 92 Clarence Street in the Byward Market last June. It can accommodate 105 people in the multi-level dining room, with a front patio for 44 and another on the side set to make its debut next summer. Both will be handicapped accessible. At Ember it is all about sharing and that is precisely what we did. After some drinks, a couple of match milk punches and a chardonnay, we ordered a half dozen Quebec/New Brunswick oysters, some delicious  beef tartare with roasted marrow, spicy crispy tuna, charcoal kissed salmon crudo, wood fired halloumi, zucchini pesto pizza, a 12-ounce char-grilled striploin and for dessert the Turkish lokma, made of leavened and deep fried dough balls, soaked in syrup and coated with cinnamon. Info: www.emberottawa.com

Our “go to” Red Lobster location at 1499 St. Laurent Blvd. continues to bring in the crowds. We had a fabulous meal in the spacious dining room, feasting on freshly boiled Maritime lobsters and savoring the freshly baked cheddar bay biscuits, some lobster bisque and clam chowder to start. One member of our party opted for a shrimp dinner with lobster tail as an add-on. For cocktails we enjoyed the spiked strawberry lemonades. We had just enough room to share the decadent chocolate wave dessert and vanilla ice cream. Info: www.redlobster.ca

Cindy Shields at Cindy's Restaurant in Ottawa.

Cindy Shields aims to please at Cindy’s.

One of the things I love about the Ottawa dining scene is the wide choice of diner-style restaurants that serve up good old-fashioned breakfasts. On this trip I discovered Cindy’s Restaurant, located in a strip shopping center in an industrial sector of the Ottawa suburb of Nepean. Owner Cindy Shields welcomes all the customers personally, works the cash and serves the meals. My friend Jack and I were impressed with the exceptionally large servings. I went for the Hungry Special, which included three eggs over easy, two slices of bacon, two sausages, ham, home fries, toast, two slices of tomato and a cup of tea.  Jack chose the veggie omelette, Breakfast service ends at 11 am and lunch is then served until 2 pm, with more sandwiches, salads, wraps, burgers, chicken tenders and other tasty items. Find them on Facebook at cindysrestaurantottawa.

I also decided to travel across the bridge to the town of Aylmer in the Gatineau region. The quick 15-minute trip from my Ottawa address brought me to the iconic Dinty’s Restaurant, which has been in business for decades. It opens seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Co-owner Jim Sourges dined with me and provided a wonderful history lesson of the establishment. I very much enjoyed the popular combo with a few extras: bacon with rye toast, eggs over easy, crispy cubed potatoes, French toast and a cup of tea. You can see their vast and diverse menu at www.dintys.com.

You can read a lot more about these restaurants at https://mtlrestorap.com/category/ottawa/https://mtlrestorap.com/category/ottawa/
Mike Cohen’s e-mail address is [email protected]

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