u/BankStreetBites

I stopped by Sofia Vintage Motor Café at 1158 Bank Street in Old Ottawa South.

Featuring a constantly evolving menu of local and seasonal produce and espresso since it opened in October 2025, owner Dr Hassan Moghadam has developed the café to showcase his private collection of vintage cars in the community. His passion for cars and community really comes through in this unique café. The private car collection is on display in the back half of the room, separated by a glass partition; a feature car is on display in the café for a closer look.

The coffee was decent, a little hotter than I would have liked and not particularly strong, but it was well balanced and creamy. I would say this is more of a latte, but that might just be my Australian perspective. 

Overall, I had a very enjoyable experience at the café, even if the coffee wasn't fantastic. For car enthusiasts, this place is a must-visit, especially for one of the events. If you sign up for the mailing list and make a small donation to Hospice Ottawa, you can join the next tour of the vintage motorsports area.

Full review as well as other local reviews can be found on the link in my profile.

Picked up some Tuna steaks the other day and today the sun was shining so I fired up the BBQ. I marinated them for around 3 hours in dark soy, light soy, Shaoxing wine, maple syrup and sesame oil.

Cranked up the BBQ as hot as it got and then put them on for 3 minutes per side with the lid down for about half of it. They held together well and flipped pretty easily.

Served with a blue cheese side salad and some pita bread. Final touch was some sesame seeds, ponzu soy sauce and wasabi.

Following up from my Nicastro post from last week. Here is the picture of the charcuterie board, not a great photo or presentation I know. People were hungry there wasn't time for faffing about.

The cheeses I got were:

• Delices de Bourgogne - Cow milk triple cream from France. This was my favourite, extremely creamy and smooth, had it out of the fridge for a couple of hours so the texture was fantastic. Bottom right on the board.
• Roquefort Vernieres - Raw sheep milk cheese also from France. Blue cheese, extremely strong and salty flavour. A little too intense for me other then in very small pieces. Middle right on the board.
• Challerhocker - Raw cow milk from Switzerland. An almost sweet, nutty flavour and a little grainy. Still quite salty but good contrast to the Roquefort. Biggest one in the middle of the board.
• 6 year old cheddar - Raw cow milk from Quebec. It was nice and crumbly with a sharp salty tasty. Bottom left on the board.

The meats were(in order right to left):

• Citterio salame spianata - This was from Spain and the pick of the meats. Nice and spicy and with good balance of salt and fat.
• Salami Prosciutto - Kind of bland and generic to be honest, it was nothing special.
• Smoked salmon - Ended up just getting it from the supermarket (Independent). Nanuk brand. It was pretty tasty, I think it was out of the fridge too long for rolling nicely for presentation. It didn't hold together very well when I tried to take it out of the package. Still very tasty though.

I added hummus, bubba ganoush, olives, pickles, candied pecans and crackers. We also had some cut up veggies but they didn't make the picture.

Overall it was a lovely mothers day picnic at the Arboretum. Plenty of flowers are in bloom and lots of birds out!

Happy Mothers day to all of the Mothers out there!

I attended a the Best Fest Ottawa today and had some fantastic ceviche and an empanada

From a food festival in Ottawa

I ate some fantastic ceviche and empanadas from Barrio at the Best Fest Ottawa today. It made me think I will have to go check out the place in person.

Last nights dinner, the sauce was oyster sauce, soy and shaoxing wine.

I made beef and broccoli for dinner last night. Stir fried up with some oyster sauce, sauce sauce and shaoxing wine. It was pretty tasty but next time I think I will prepare the noodles separately rather than try and stir fry them as it got a little too oily.

Homemade beef and broccoli, cooked up in my wok at home.

Stopped by Nicastro on Bank street today to pick up some goodies for a mothers day charcuterie board and I was very impressed by the selection. Probably close to 100 different types of cheeses as well as plenty of deli meats and general produce. They even have fresh basil and other plants ready to go for spring time.

Now I just need to find some good smoked fish products for my pescatarian in-laws. Anyone got any good recommendations? I was going to check out Pelican but open to other options.

Ill post another pic of the complete sea/charcuterie board with the goods laid out if I remember to do it before indulging on Sunday.

I have rediscovered my camera and been enjoying taking some photos of the lovely murals on bank street in Ottawa. Credit to the artists

Create a Spark - Dan Metcalfe

Bench View - Ryan Smeeton

Chinese Aces Skate the Canal - Tia Wong

Morning Glory - Roll Her Sleeves - Bridgehead Coffee

Glebe's Garden - Dan Metcalfe and Pat Buck

Thanks so much for brightening up the city!

I have been walking up and down Bank street for my commute for a while now and really enjoy all of the beautiful and bright murals. Here is a few of the photos I took over the last week and the artists that did them.

Bench View - Ryan Smeeton

Chinese Aces Skate the Canal - Tia Wong

Morning Glory - Roll Her Sleeves - Bridgehead Coffee

Create a Spark - Dan Metcalfe

Glebe's Garden - Dan Metcalfe and Pat Buck

Thanks so much for brightening up the city!

To make the sushi rice seasoning, I used 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, and a 2" x 2" square of kombu per cup of uncooked rice. Combine in a saucepan, heat, and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Based on this recipe from Serious Eats: http://seriouseats.com/sumeshi-seasoned-sushi-rice-recipe-7253896 (in the foot notes at the bottom is the original recipe from J. Kenji López-Alt ). I rolled the rice into football-sized balls for the nigiri and rolled the rice out onto sheets of nori about 2 cm thick for the maki.

Overall I was pretty happy with how it turned out, the family enjoyed it all for dinner.  Next time I will try to add a bit more variety, with some avocado and maybe some tuna if they have some fresh tuna available.  I also think I need to invest in some nicer plates to make these final product photos a little nicer. Any feedback is always appreciated.

It was my first time making sushi on my own and it turned out great! Cant wait to add some more ingredients next time.

I purchased 4 artisanal turkey sausages with tomato, feta, and garlic.  I cooked them on the stove top in my trusty cast iron skillet for around 15 minutes and then popped the it in the oven for around 10 minutes (while I was warming up some bread)

I'm working on my food photography for a new blog. Any feedback is appreciated!

Thanks.

I stopped by the Belmont on Friday for brunch, here is a quick review.

I got the Turkish eggs, which consisted of three medium poached eggs in a garlic sumac yoghurt, topped with chili oil and a side of apple sage sausage. It also came with two pieces of sourdough bread from True Loaf bakery, which was a great bonus as I am a big fan of their products. 

The eggs were cooked to a perfect medium with lots of runny yolk, the garlic yoghurt was zesty and fresh.  The chili oil on top worked well because I got the  fried bits of chili adding a nice crunchy texture on top of the egg and then the oil combined with the yoghurt and egg yolk to make wonderful dipping for the sourdough bread.  The apple sage sausages were tasty and I am glad I got them as the eggs alone would not have been a that much food.

My partner got the falafel bowl, which had fried haloumi, falafel, baba ganoush, arugula, dukkah, preserved cabbage, and a pickled egg.  The falafel was very fresh with a nice crispy exterior and a moist filling, the haloumi was a nice salty contrast and the buba ganoush tied it together although it didn't quite have the creaminess we were hoping for.  The pickled egg was nice and tangy.

Overall  both meals were excellent as with all of the other meals I have had there.  I would recommend to anyone looking for a small intimate brunch (or dinner) spot.

I visited the cozy location at 801 Bank Street for a flat white around yesterday morning.  They have 2 other locations, one on Elgin street and one on Queen street.

The coffee was smooth and creamy, with excellent micro-foam that blended beautifully with the espresso. There was no bitter aftertaste at all. The temperature of the coffee was spot on—hot enough to enjoy, but no danger of a burned tongue. The presentation of the coffee was good, and the café itself has a very clean and simple style.

Overall, the coffee was fantastic and definitely lived up to the hype.  I would definitely recommend a visit if you are a fan of espresso style coffee and I cant wait to try the other locations.

Since the second location has opened on Bank street I have tried a few sandwiches and am yet to be disappointed. I have decided to go on a mission to work my way through the menu and take photos and write down my thoughts.

For my turkey sandwich today, I have gone with provolone cheese and toasted, with roasted red peppers, lettuce, jalapeños, and garlic mayo.

My first impressions after a bite are that the bread is so fresh and tasty that it doesn't need toasting; it's the perfect combination of soft and chewy, but still holds together nicely with all the toppings. I take my bread pretty seriously, and this bun has put us off to a very good start.  The meat to salad ratio leans pretty heavily in the meat direction, which isn't always everyone's cup of tea, but it's exactly what I had hoped and expected from an Italian-style sandwich place. 

The turkey is extremely moist and a bit salty; it complements the sweetness of the roasted peppers very nicely. The garlic mayo adds some creaminess and leaves me with a very nice taste in my mouth.  Turkey isn't usually my go-to, but this sandwich has been fantastic and I cant wait to try the next one.

Has anyone else been? What are some of the other favorites on the menu?