One of the ever present restaurants on the food court level of the Rideau Center is the RichTree Marché Frais.

Here is a picture of the restaurant from one of the mall's crosswalks from August 2006.

Red Umbrellas

Here is a picture of the restaurant from the same crosswalk 2 years later.

Striped Green Umbrellas

If you squint at the second picture, you may be able to find Waldo :P

Particulars:
50 Rideau Street, Level 1
Rideau Centre Food Court
(613) 569-4934

If you're in downtown Ottawa, you're going to find a row of very large restaurants along York Street. We're talking 80-100 seater eateries that represent larger commercial chains: The Hard Rock Cafe, The Keg Steakhouse and Tucker's Marketplace.

Ottawa's Tucker's Marketplace is a corporate favourite for office outings: going away parties, welcome back parties, "dear-god we're still here" parties, and, of course, "you survived till retirement" parties. This is most likely due to the restaurant hosting one of Ottawa's only high selection hot buffet lines. Another is Richtree in the Rideau Center.

Buffets tend to attract office parties because they can accomodate wildly varying tastes and preferences better than menu-driven sit-down restaurants. Unfortunately, having food made en masse and then placing heaping mounds of it under heat lamps for any period of time tends to deaden flavors and destroys textures. However, something must be said about making a necessary compromise between convenience in serving large numbers hungry customers and providing quality dishes. Tucker's Marketplace's offerings are tasty.

Before we begin, I want to point out that dinner at Tucker's Market Place is pricey. A standard 2 adult dinner will set you back $31.98 CAD (after taxes, before tip). Two soft drinks will add another $4.48 CAD. This isn't a discount buffet joint.

The following are typical plates that my better half and I tend to get from the buffet line:

A Slice of Baked Ham on Sliced Baguette

Muscles in a marinara sauce, muscles in white wine, scalloped potatoes, chick pea salad, quinoa, and French fried onions

Medium rare roast beef, mashed potatoes, French fried onions, General Tao's Fish, and Barbecue Chicken

Braised Carrots, Barbecue Chicken, Roast beef, Sausage, French fried onions, quinoa, and Ham Casserole

Is the food spectacular? No
Is the food tasty and do you get access to carve-to-order roast beast? Yes
Are you spoiled for choice? Yes

Two out of three isn't bad when you're trying to accommodate large parties of eaters with differing food allergies, food-related phobias, and general food squeamishness. Everything served is readily identifiable and warm.

Tucker's Market place is also not a bad alternative when it's Thursday, it's too warm to cook, and you're wandering the Market for an open air restaurant with an appetite.

Particulars:
Tucker's Marketplace Restaurant
61 York Street
(613) 241-6525
Really annoying website (Note to Webmaster: Cheesy Music Numbers are VERY Passé on Websites!)