January 2011 archive

Liangs Village: One man’s junk is another man’s sampan!

Liang’s Village!: Just another Chinese Restaurant? Almost everywhere in Ottawa, Chinese food abounds And for a number of years now, we’ve been doing the rounds Whether buffet or take out, it can all seem the same To all but the newbies, the food’s rather tame! Most believe it is healthy, but you’ll still pack on …

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Banana-Kiwi Charlotte – An Un-Chef Special Dessert

Banana-Kiwi Charlotte Surprise

As you will already know if you have been following The Un-Chef for any length of time, our method of cooking involves making things up as we go along! Recently, we were entertaining a large group of people and I needed an extra dessert. I really had no idea at all what I was going to make. …

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Duffy’s in Stuart couldn’t talk turkey on Thanksgiving!

Even though we had leftover turkey sitting in the fridge, neither Mike nor I felt like cooking (or re-heating) on Thanksgiving (US), so we decided to head out to one of the very few local restaurants in Stuart, Florida that was actually open for business on the Thanksgiving holiday. Not surprisingly, the place was pretty busy. …

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New McDonalds at Montreal Rd & Sinclair: A silk purse from a sow’s ear?

There can be no doubt that McDonalds is trying to move up-market and change their image. Several things are noticeably different about this new location which has re-located a few hundred metres from the intersection of Ogilvie & Blair Roads in Ottawa’s East End (formerly Gloucester). Most prominently absent is the children’s playground. The space …

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Louis Steak House on Cyrville Rd is a local institution!

After 30+ years Louis must be doing something right! If you’re looking for Gourmet, Louis likely won’t fit the bill In fact the cuisine is rather run-of-the-mill Still it can’t be that bad, people vote with their feet And, most of the time you’ll barely find a seat! Their secret? It won’t cost a fortune …

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Beavertails on the Rideau Canal show Ottawa at its best!

Beavertails and the Rideau Canal make Winter in Ottawa bearable! Some might find it rather banal, How oft I skate the Rideau Canal To yet others, it might seem unending… But I know a Beavertail’s impending! So it’s worth it after all! Ottawa may not be the most exciting city in the world and once …

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Flanigan’s in Stuart: Come for Happy Hour, stay for the ribs!

Flanigan's in Stuart, South Florida

My friend Mike had a hankering for some ribs. Who would have guessed that Flanigan’s SeafoodBar and Grill was the best place to get them? As you can see from the picture above, Flanigan’s claims to have been in business since 1959 and has 22 locations throughout South Florida. Since I was staying in Stuart, …

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Christmas Eve in France – Vive la différence!

Santa Claus or Père Noël

As I mentioned in a previous post, our Christmas Eve was far from normal this past year! (is 6000 KM far enough?) Even though I usually really enjoy the Christmas Season in general, I did not realize just how much we were perhaps ‘stuck in a rut’! Although we tend as humans to stick with …

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Happy New Year from the Un-Chef (returned from exile ;)

Our regular readers may have wondered why these blog pages have been unusually silent for the last couple of weeks. Our last post was on December 14th, normally too early to simply use the Christmas holidays as an excuse. Nevertheless, by and large, that is the card we are going to proffer since it happens to be …

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