Festival season has again graced Ottawa now temperatures have risen and the snow has completely disappeared. The grass is green. The skies are mostly blue. The temperature is balmy, sometimes a little too hot.

Many people see Victoria Day as a rite of Spring, taking the three day holiday to start their gardens and hold outdoor barbecues with friends and family. For me, Spring is marked by several weeks of events for various causes or charities that demonstrate significant generosity from locally owned and operated restaurants, fine food shops, caterers, breweries, and cideries.

Two of the biggest events are Taste for Life (April 28) and Bon Appetit (May 4). Taste for Life helps men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS by raising money for Bruce House and the Snowy Owl AIDS foundation. Bon Appetit distributes funds raised to 21 beneficiaries, including the Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa, Ronald McDonald House, St. Joe's Women's Centre, The Door, and The Causeway Foundation. Both events are held within days of each other. Afterward, there are smaller events that benefit the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG), the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC), and the Third Wall Theatre Company. As Patricia Parulekar, a Third Wall board member, told me, "food can make or break an event."

Why am I highlighting the restaurateurs, chefs, cooks, and wait staff who contribute to these events? Two reasons. One of our philosophies is to eat locally, be it food that is locally grown or locally produced. Secondly, a benefit of eating locally is the social network that develops. You meet your butcher, your farmer, your fishmonger, and your shopkeeper. We want to eat responsibly, learning where our food comes from, finding the best ingredients, and supporting communities and local businesses.

How responsibly an individual or a family eats is a personal choice. We prefer a proportion of our groceries to come from someone with a name, not a multi-national corporation. We prefer to eat at locally-owned restaurants who source ingredients from nearby producers. We try our best to limit our seafood choices to sustainably caught fin-fish and shell-fish.

In the course of our blogging about our learning to eat responsibly, we have been lucky to meet a number of people in Ottawa's food industry. When we participate in events for various causes or charities, we buy our tickets to support the cause. We volunteer at a number of events. And, we visit with some of the people we have become familiar with. Here are four we keep seeing donating food, time, and people to events.

Chef Jason Laurin of Essence Catering

Chef Laurin
For the Bon Appetit event, he started preparing his dishes 4 days in advance. His contribution:

Carrot and Cardamom Dark chocolate Truffles with Chai Tea Frosting

Pulled Pork on a Chipotle Biscuit, topped with Aji Amarillo Aioli

Chef Laurin (@chefjayl) hired extra staff to help him assemble and serve his dishes. He made more than enough for the event.

Extra Staff

Extra Cardamom Truffles
At the end, I noticed other Chefs and cooks dropping by Essence's booth, having heard so much about the innovative truffles.

A week later, Essence Catering would donate dishes to the Refresh 2010 Art Auction at the OAG and the Lawyers' Play at the GCTC. Check out the post by Rachelle of Rachell Eats Food blog on the Refresh event.

Essence Catering will also be one of the local caterers, participating in this year's WestFest (June 11-13, 2010).

WestFest

Chef Michael Hay of the Courtyard Restaurant

Dining Room Manager Paul samson and Chef Hay
If you recognize the @michealthehay Twitter handle, it belongs to Chef Hay. He recently impressed communications, public relations, and social media luminary Dave Fleet. When Fleet was last in Ottawa, he asked twitter for great places to eat "near the Westin hotel", thinking he would have to resign himself to a chain restaurant. I responded with twitter handles and addresses of many of the Byward Market restaurants I have visited recently and enjoyed. Only Chef Hay responded. Curious, Fleet ate at the Courtyard Restaurant and enjoyed it. In fact, he was so impressed, Fleet wrote a post on his widely read blog, touching on how communications is changing, businesses have to embrace new ways of cultivating customer loyalty, and Chef Hay is "doing it right."

Well, Chef Hay was also doing Bon Appetit right when Jenn and I ran into him there. His contribution:

Sous Vide Goat Cheese Bread Pudding, topped with Rhubarb Compote, Roasted Almonds, and Micro-Greens

Line Caught Salmon Tartare with lime, soy, and togarashi on a Rice Paper Puff
Like Chef Laurin, Chef Hay wanted to make sure no one who visited his booth left empty-handed. At the end of the event, he had many portions leftover.

Two weeks ago, Jenn and I would meet up with Chef Hay at the Courtyard Restaurant. This time, on a culinary walking tour of the Byward Market (by C'est Bon Cooking). There, he was again generous with attendees, serving tasting size portions of his tomato and cucumber gazpacho with roasted red pepper sorbet, everything finished with argan oil.

Tray of Tasting Plates

Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho
An inspired dish, the gazpacho was somewhat rustic in texture, but subtle in flavour. The red pepper sorbet was a bold statement that savoury sweet can taste good cold. I can only imagine how the gazpacho will taste when tomatoes again come into season. Chef Hay uses organic hot house tomatoes right now.

More after the jump...

Hopefully, the gorgeous weather that has seen people go from light jackets to sun bathing, in the span of a week, will last. Ottawans have started taking to the roads on bicycles and roller blades again. Everyone else seems to be dusting off their sandals and running shoes.

Shops in the West Wellington Village, Westboro, and the ByWard Market have greatly benefited from increased foot traffic. The Piggy Market (400 Winston Avenue), a local fine food shop, has seen their display case of locally-made products empty from a day's good sales.

But, just in case the good weather doesn't last, here's a recipe to clear out the last of the winter vegetables before the farmers' market open. Why not answer a cold snap with a butternut squash soup, flavoured with ginger and apple.

The soup came about when I tried my hand at replicating a ginger butternut squash soup from my favourite fine food shop, Epicuria.

Ginger Butternut Squash Soup from Epicuria

Heating up the Soup

The Soup, Served
Think light on the tongue, velvety smooth, gingery, and butternut squash sweet.

My first attempt had me cooking by taste.

I decided to flavour roasted squash with slow cooker apple sauce.

Slow Cooker Ginger Apple Sauce

For the apple sauce, I took approximately a lb of russet apples, peeled, cored, and cut up,and placed them in a slow cooker set to low.

Russet Apples

Peeled, Cored, and Cut Up
To the apples, I added 1 tbsp of granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 cup water, 1 tbsp of orange juice, and a roughly chopped 4" thumb of ginger.

Everything was cooked on low for 6 hours, darkening the apple pieces.

Cooked Apples
To sauce, I forced everything through a strainer, removing any fibrous bits, mostly from the ginger.

For the soup, I took a squash.

One Butternut Squash
I peeled the squash, cored it of its stringy bits, chopped it roughly, and mixed it with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Squash, ready for roasting
I roasted in an oven pre-heated to 350F until softened. This took approximately an hour. After roasting the squash, I sweated two finely chopped ribs of celery on medium heat until they coloured.

Sweated and Coloured Celery
To the pan, I added the now cooled roasted squash and enough vegetable broth to come halfway up the squash.

Bringing Everything Together
This, I simmered for 10 minutes. I seasoned it with salt to taste and blended it in a stand blender in batches. I started with a stick blender, but it found the going to tough and overheated.

Soup, Blitzed
To the puree, I added enough of the apple sauce to flavour the soup and finished it with a touch of cream.

Served

Lessons learned, the soup was too cinnamon-y with two doses of cinnamon. Roasting the squash until it just colours produces a lighter coloured soup.

My second attempt had more measurements. This time around, I aimed for a gingerbread quality.

Gingerbread Squash Soup

More after the jump...

Wintery conditions have finally returned to Canada's capital after record rainfall earlier this week, the fourth week of January. With such odd weather, it is a wonder Ottawans have their bearings climate wise. Today, temperatures fell below zero again, so I think I will mark the occasion by revisiting a slow cooked dish, red wine braised lamb shanks with onion polenta.

Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks with Onion Polenta

Of note, even though the lamb shanks made a hearty and savoury dinner, I consider this dish a failure. I will explain why later.

To make the above braised lamb shanks, three fresh lamb shanks were purchased from then Loeb (now Metro) on Wellington. For the record, it was several days past Christmas and Jenn and I wanted something very much non-poultry after serving up our annual turkey feast with all the fixings.

Three fresh lamb shanks

At $11/kg, the shanks ran us $16 before taxes
Remember that number, it will come in handy later...

As with any braise, I seared the lamb shanks, placed them in a small mount of flavourful liquid, and cooked them covered for a long period of time (3 hours). To ensure a hands-free braise (Sunday is chore day for my household), I turned to my slow cooker (aka: crock pot). To ensure the shanks picked up some tannins from the red wine (an unremarkable cabernet sauvignon), I coated the shanks in flour before searing them.

Lamb shanks seared in a little canola oil in a pan

Lamb shanks unceremoniously deposited into the pot of a slow cooker

The braising liquid was a red wine reduction, flavoured with sweated onions.

3 sweated down onions
I added one bottle of an unremarkable cabernet sauvignon, brought to mixture to a simmer, and lowered heat to low, reducing it until thickened.

Reduced red wine and onion mixture

Mixture poured over lamb shanks and slow cooked on low for 3 hours

Braised Lamb Shank

After letting the shanks cool, I placed them in the refrigerator overnight, since braised meats taste better aged. Here' are theories why.

To serve, I whipped up a standard polenta recipe and added finely chopped green onions to taste. That day, I used Alton Brown's polenta recipe. Others will do.

Creamy batch of polenta

Meanwhile, I baked the lamb shanks in an oven, preheated to 350°F, uncovered until they darkened.

Plated Served

More after the jump...

Several weeks ago, I found myself giving advice to someone who claimed to be a "foodie in training." Honestly, between noted author Michael Ruhlman calling foodies masturbating deviants who "get off" on the Food Network and one of my dear friends telling me that he's not qualified to call himself a foodie, I am somewhat beside myself.

It has been three years since I editorialized that I consider myself a foodie and not a gourmet, the former being less concerned with fine foods than the latter. This very blog has the word "foodie" in it and, unlike Ruhlman, I think there are foodies out there who cook. They are passionate about cooking, but do not consider themselves cooks. I adore Ruhlman's latest book, Ratio, and believe it is a key to reviving cooking skills, something we risk losing if we keep depending on highly granular recipes to make everyday dishes. I think it is foodies who can most easily read his book and take value from it, but I digress....

That evening I was on Twitter and a tweep I follow asked for recipes that involved slow cooking pork tenderloin. She, being a busy mother, was looking for a quick and easy recipe. The Chef/Owner of Ottawa's Epicuria, a fine food store and caterer, replied, suggesting she roast the tenderloins. I advised her tenderloin, being an already tender cut of pork, can be very quickly prepared using high heat methods. Lesser and secondary cuts would be better slow cooked.

Then, I realized how hypocritical I was being. I had prepared what I thought was a braised tenderloin myself. The idea came from a recipe published in the Toronto Star somewhat coincidentally when a local mega-mart had a sale on pork tenderloin. Essentially, the gist is to sear off a pair of pork tenderloins to develop flavour and simmer them in milk to finish. The recipe calls the dish milk "braised" pork tenderloin. According to Chef Tracey Black (the aforementioned owner of Epicuria), it is more of a" poach."

She is right. According to the Fourth edition of the Herbst and Herbst Food Lover's Companion, poaching involves cooking "food gently in liquid just below the boiling point..." Braising involves browning food in fat and then cooking it "tightly covered, in a small amount of liquid at low heat for a lengthy period of time."

Here is my take, borrowing elements from the "Unemployed Cook" blog:

Select an oven-proof piece of bake-ware that will allow you to almost submerge two pork tenderloins in milk. Your choice will depend on the size of the pork tenderloins. Estimate and measure out however much milk is needed to do the "submerging." I estimated approximately 2 cups of 2% milk (whole milk is preferred) for my Corningware.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F with a rack placed in the middle position.

Season the pork tenderloins with kosher salt.

Finely chop 3-4 cloves of garlic (more if you desire a stronger garlic flavour) and gently colour them in a metal pan on medium heat with a tsp of oil. Be cautious as garlic quickly burns.

Colouring the Garlic
Once coloured, add the milk to the pan and lower the heat to medium low. Bring the milk up to a simmer.

Meanwhile, take another pan, preferably cast iron or enamel-coated cast iron, add a splash of oil and heat the oil on medium heat until it shimmers, but does not smoke. Sear the tenderloins on two sides by letting them sit in the pan for a full 2 minutes before turning them over.

Seared Pork Tenderloins
Ordinarily, searing is followed by de-glazing the pan, but this recipe aims to subtly sweeten the pork with the milk.

Place the tenderloins into the baking dish. Submerge it in the milk, garlic and all, and place it in the oven until the internal temperatures of the tenderloins reach 140F.

Pre-Bake

After Baking

During baking, the milk will thicken slightly.

Poaching Liquid
Simmering the pork in the milk on the stove top, as recommended by the source recipes, may curdle it, producing light golden curds. Whereas the Unemployed Cook's recipe actually aims to produce the curds, the Toronto Star recipe recommends blending the cooking liquid until smooth. By baking the tenderloins in milk, I hoped to prevent any curdling.

Slice and serve, saucing with the poaching liquid:

Done
Depending on your taste, the poaching liquid may need to be adjusted with salt or pepper.

The pork came out very tender and the poaching liquid took on a slightly caramel flavour. It is a very clean taste and an easy way to prepare pork tenderloin.

During the most recent Hintonburg supper club, I spoke with a neighbourhood local who was surprised when I told her that there were dozens of local food blogs besides foodiePrints. I then directed her to foodiePrints' list of Ottawa food blogs. But, I neglected to tell her that a number of local eateries and Beau's Natural Brewery also maintain blogs. Many more have gone on Twitter to micro-blog. Here is a list of eateries and the like that Tweet:

Bakery
Auntie Loo's Treats
Blog:

• Auntie Loo's Treats
• Antie Loo's Weddings

Facebook: Auntie Loo's Treats Ottawa
Twitter: @Auntie_Loo
Address: 507 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa

Isobel's Cupcakes
Twitter: @isobelscupcakes
Address: 117 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa
Phone: (613)742-0777

Let Them Eat Cake Bakery
Blog: Let Them Eat Cake Bakery
Twitter: @I_Want_Cupcakes

Little Cakes
Blog: Little Cakes Cupcakes
Facebook: Little Cakes Cupcakes
Twitter: @LitttleCakes
Phone Number: (613) 286-3532
E-mail: info@littlecakes.ca

Life of Pie
Facebook: Life of Pie
Twitter: Owner Kerry Duffy (@lifeofpieottawa)
Address: 70A Leonard Avenue, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 693-1853

Sophie Bifield Cake Company
Facebook: Sophie Bifield Cake Company
Twitter: @OttawaCake
Phone Number: (613) 869-7674

Sugar and Spice Cakes
Twitter: @SugarSpiceCakes

The Cakery: Custom Cakes & Cupcakes
Twitter: @thecakery
Phone Number: (613) 281-0897

The Flour Shoppe
Facebook: The Flour Shoppe
Twitter: Melissa Somers (@TheFlourShoppe)
Phone Number: (613) 513-3752

The Vanilla Bean Baker
Blog: Vanilla Bean Baker
Twitter: Paula Kelly-Bourque (@VanillaBeanBake)
Phone Number: (613) 267-5154
E-mail: paularkelly@gmail.com

Breweries/Wineries
Beau's All Natural Brewing
Blog: How to Start a Brewery
Facebook: Beaus All Natural Brewing Co.
Twitter: @beausbeer
Address: 10 Terry Fox Drive, Vankleek Hill
Phone Number: 1-866-585-BEER

Kichesippi Beer Company
Blog: KBeer
Twitter: @kichesippibeer
Phone Number: (613) 866-1577

Coffee/Coffee Houses:
Bridgehead Coffee House(s)
Blog: Bridgehead: A blog for Bridgehead Staff and Friends
Twitter:

• @Bridgehead
• Ian Clark (@_IanClark)

Address: Various locations in Ottawa

Happy Goat Coffee
Twitter: Pierre Richard (@HAPPYGOATCOFFEE)
Phone Number: (613) 612-5771

Morning Owl Coffee House
Twitter: @morning_owl
Address: 538 Rochester Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 680-8336

Two Monkeys and Coffee and Tea House
Facebook: Two Monkeys Coffee and Tea House
Twitter: @2MonkeysCoffee
Address: 14-4100 Standherd Drive (Cedarview Square), Barrhaven
Phone Number: (613)843-7463

Fine Food/Catering:
Bliss Gelato
Twitter: @BlissGelato
Address: Truffle Treasures (314 Richmond Road, Ottawa or 769 Bank Street, Ottawa)
Phone Number: 1-866-582-2773

Credible Edibles
Twitter: @creded
Address: 78 Hinton Avenue North, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 558-7569

Crazy 4 Chocolate: Artisan Chocolate Truffles
Facebook: crazy4chocolate.ca
Twitter: @crazy4chocolat
Phone Number: (613) 424-0076

Epicuria Fine Food Store and Catering
Blog: Epicuria Fine Food
Twitter: Chef/Owner Tracey Black (@epicuriadotca)
Address: 419 Mackay Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 745-7356

Essence Catering
Blog: Sticky Fingers: Culinary Adventures in the Nation's Capital
Twitter:

• @EssenceCatering
• Catering Coordinator Kelly Serjeantson (@kellskitchen)
• Chef/Owner Jason Laurin (@chefjayl)

Address: 430 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 850-4776

Jacobson's: Concept Gourmet
Blog: Jacobson's: Gourmet Ottawa Food
Twitter: @JacobsonsOttawa
Address: 141 Beechwood Ave, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 746-6002

Koko Chocolates
Facebook: koko chocolates
Twitter:

• Co-Owner/Chocolatier Lori Sword (@kokochocolates)
• Co-Owner Jon Sword (@jonsword)

Address: 45 Spencer Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 277-3254

Manotick Village Butcher
Blog: The Manotick Village Butcher Blog
Facebook: The Manotick Village Butcher
Twitter: @manotickbutcher
Address: 2-5556 Manotick Main Street, Manotick
Phone Number: (613) 491-1411

Scratch Kitchen
Facebook: Scratch Kitchen
Twitter: Chef/Owner Sean Patrick Murphy (@scratchkitchen)
Phone Number: (613) 601-0672

The Magic Fridge
Blog: The Magic Blog
Facebook: The Magic Fridge
Twitter: Owner Julie Broczkowski (@themagicfridge)
Phone Number: (613) 837-8476

The Whalesbone Oysterhouse: Sustainable Fish and Oyster Supply and Catering
Blog: Chef Kate Klenavic's San Francisco travel blog Stuff We Ate in the San Francisco Area
Faceook: Whalesbone Oyster House (WBOH)
Twitter: Chef Kate Klenavic (@whalesbonecater)
Address: 504 A Kent Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 231.3474

Thyme And Again Creative Catering And Take Home Food Inc
Twitter: @thymeandagain
Address: 1255 Wellington Street West, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 722-0093

Tulips And Maple Inc.
Blog: Tulips & Maple Cater-taining
Twitter: @tulipsandmaple
Address: 1980 Merivale Road, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 723-7103

Pubs/Bars:
D'Arcy McGee's (Ottawa)
Twitter: General Manager Jeff O'Reilly (@pintinhand)
Address: 44 Sparks Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 230-4433

Patty Boland's Irish Carvery & Pub
Twitter: @PattyBolands
Address: 101 Clarence Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 789-7822

Restaurants:
Atelier Restaurant
Blog: Atelier Restaurant
Facebook: Atelier Restaurant
Twitter:

• Chef/Owner Marc Lepine (@marclepine)
• Chef Michael Holland (@pastryoverlord, twitpic)
• Chef Sarah Allen (@sarah_j_allen)

YouTube Channel: AtelierOttawa
Address: 540 Rochester Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 321-3537

Beckta Dining and Wine
Twitter:

• Co-Owner Stephen Beckta (@stevebeckta)
• Co-Owner/Chef Michael Moffatt (@michaelmoffatt)

Address: 226 Nepean Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 238-7063

Bin 790 Bistro Tapas & Wine Bar
Twitter: @bin790bto
Address: 790 Kanata Avenue, Kanata
Phone Number: (613) 591-3287

Black Cat Bistro
Twitter:

• @BlackCatOttawa
• Chef Trish Larkin (@PatriciaLarkin)

Addresss: 428 Preston Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 569-9998

Blue Cactus Bar & Grill (Firestone Group)
Facebook: Firestone Restaurant Group
Twitter:

• @bluecactusbandg
• Firestone Restaurants (@frginthemarket)

Address: 2 ByWard Market, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 241-7061

Courtyard Restaurant
Facebook: Courtyard Restaurant Staff Past and Present
Twitter:

• @courtyard
• Chef Michael Hay (@michaelthehay)

YouTube Channel: Michaelthehay
Address: 21 George Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 241-1516

DiVino Wine Studio
Blog: DiVino Wine Studio
Twitter:

• @DiVinoOttawa
• Event Coordinator Larissa Beznaczuk (@LarissaOttawa)

Address: 225 Preston Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 221-9760

E18ghteen Steak, Seafood, and Wine
Twitter: @restaurant18
Address: 18 York Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 244-1188‎

Farbs Kitchen and Wine Bar
Twitter: @Farbskitchen
Address: 18 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 744-6509

Hintonburger
Facebook: HINTONBURGER
Twitter: @hintonburger
Address: 991 Wellington Street W., Ottawa

Jean Alberts American Style Soul Food
Facebook: Jean Alberts
Twitter: @Jean_Alberts
Address: 495 Somerset Street West, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 569-5326

Juniper Restaurant
Facebook: Juniper Kitchen & Wine Bar
Twitter: @JuniperKitchen
Address: 245 Richmond Road, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 728-0220

Le Cafe
Twitter: Chef Michael Blackie (@michaelblackie)
YouTube Channel: MBcuisine's Channel
Address: 53 Elgin Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 594-5127

Luxe Bistro (Firestone Group)
Facebook: Firestone Restaurant Group
Twitter:

• @luxebistro
• Chef Duane Keats (@DuaneKeats)
• Firestone Restaurants (@frginthemarket)

Address: 47 York Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 241-8805

Murray Street Kitchen Charcuterie and Wine
Facebook: Murray Street - Kitchen|Wine|Charcuterie
Twitter: Chef Steve Mitton (@MurrayStreetKWC)
Address: 110 Murray Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 562-7244

Navarra Restaurant
Blog: The Iron Bull
Facebook: Navarra Restaurant
Twitter: @navarrarest
YouTube Channel: NavarraRestaurant
Address: 93 Murray Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 241-5500

Petit Bill's Bistro
Twitter: @littlebills
Address: 1293 Wellington Street W., Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 729-2500

Play Food and Wine
Facebook: Play Food and Wine
Twitter:

• @playfoodandwine
• Co-Owner Stephen Beckta (@stevebeckta)
• Co-Owner/Chef Michael Moffatt (@michaelmoffatt)

Address: 1 York Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 667-9207

Santé Restaurant
Twitter: @santeresto
Address: 45 Rideau Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 241-7113

Stella Osteria (Firestone Group)
Facebook: Firestone Restaurant Group
Twitter:

• @stellaosteria
• Firestone Restaurants (@frginthemarket)

Address: 81 Clarence Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 241-2200

Stoneface Dolly's
Twitter: @stonefacedollys
Address: 416 Preston Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 564-2222

Thi Fusion
Twitter: @ThiFusion
Address: 790 Kanata Avenue, Kanata
Phone Number: (613) 599-0880

Toss It Up: Fresh to Go
Twitter: @tossitup
Address: 208 Sparks Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 216-2845

Town
Blog: Town
Facebook: Town
Twitter: @townlovesyou
Address, 296 Elgin Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613)695.TOWN (8696)

Vittoria Trattoria
Twitter: @vtrattoria
Address: 2 Locations (35 William Street, Ottawa or 3625 Riverside Drive, Ottawa)
Phone Number: (613)789-8959

The Whalesbone Oysterhouse
Blog: The Twisted Chef (old link)
FaceBook: Whalesbone Oyster House (WBOH)
Twitter:

• Chef Charlotte Langley (@charlotke)
• Junior Pastry Chef Lynne Frappier (@letwistedchef)

Address: 430 Bank Street, Ottawa
Phone Number: (613) 231-8569

The Works Gourmet Bistro
Facebook: The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro
Twitter: @worksburger
Address: Various Locations

Zola's Restaurant
Twitter: @zolas_ottawa
Address: 194 Robertson Road, Bell's Corners
Phone Number: (613) 721-0227

More after the jump...