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Showing posts from 2010

Not Recommended: Stella Osteria (Ottawa)

The Byward Market in Ottawa is the obvious tourist hot spot in the city, boasting the latest and arguably, greatest restaurants. Stella Osteria has been around for a few years, affiliated with Luxe Bistro and the Blue Cactus. Rated highly by the local paper and magazines, we had high hopes. The hostess at the front was wonderful and attentive - if she was the standard for their service, the evening would have been wonderful. Sadly, she wasn't. From Wikipedia, "Osteria" in Italian literally means a place where the owner "hosts" people. Food is generally regional and prepared with local recipes, and often served at shared tables. We've been to Mozza Osteria in Los Angeles - that felt exactly as described above. I'm not sure if the owners of Stella truly have that in mind, because the experience didn't hit that tone at all. Food First off, the portions are very large. It would be enough to only have three appetizers for a table of four. It was i...

Jason Mraz Site: Common Pleasure (Recommended)

While the main fan site is on RKOP , Common Pleasure is a great site for Jason Mraz audiophiles, wanting to go through his entire discography and perhaps better, all of the songs he has ever performed. The site host (Jon, I believe) has amassed one of the most complete listing of Mraz's work (he also records some of his shows with amazing quality). The forums don't have a lot but the information contained within the site (which is remarkably well updated - details from shows from April 2010 are all there). This is really the kind of site for those fans who want to catch up on older tunes but also any fan who wants to find the latest shows and what was played. Highly recommended.

Recommended: Mozza Osteria (Los Angeles)

Mozza Osteria is a restaurant co-owned by celebrity chef Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton. Our experience was amazing. Expectations were high - and they did not disappoint - in fact exceeded. We were 5 mins late for our 5:45 reservation - and they got us in (lineup after 7pm ) and made my wife's birthday dinner a meal to remember. Our daughter said "most amazing meal experience in her life". Every bite was an amazing set of layers - and the service was phenomenal. Not rushed - amazingly helpful and the price was actually lower than expected. We could not have asked for a better evening. Served by a group of professionals all of whom were exceptional, the experience felt like a tour. If you had been there before, you felt they would have let you do your own thing - but as first timers, they didn't push all of the food, making simple but amazing recommendations ("you don't need four dishes, only take three and mix them"). Including dessert, wine a...