Restaurants in Ottawa - L'Oree Du Bois

So my overall impression is fine. The place looks cosy and inviting.

The starter I tried was salmon and scallops with a chive and beet mayonnaise. Unfortunately the salmon was so old that it was brown (so must have been in the fridge too long and not freshly prepared), which was a little disappointing.

The main I had a chicken stuffed with shrimps that had a delicious port wine sauce. I would say this is a very classical french restaurant that uses a lot of butter and cream. They are able to adapt to a few changes if you have special dietary requirements.

The 3 sorbets (raspberry, mango and lemongrass) taste refreshing and are a nice finish to a heavy main dish.

15, chemin Kingsmere
Chelsea (Québec)

Tel 819.827.0332

www.oreeduboisrestaurant.com

Restaurants in Ottawa - Nokham Thai Restaurant (recommendable)

After trying many Thai restaurants - this is my favourite.

The starters: chicken satay, Nokham spring rolls were all very taste. An especially flavourful dish was the Pad Ped Nor Mai which is served in a pineapple. The Gaeng Caree Gai is one of my favourite dishes (yellow curry with coconut milk and potatoes), however, I believe that the Pad Ped Nor Mai has much more complexity. I also like the egg that they mix into the sauce.

The main dishes cost around $13 which is a reasonable price for what it is. The only thing is that the restaurant is not located close to the centre and therefore you need a car/taxi.

Nokham Thai Restaurant

747 Richmond Road

Ottawa, ON K2A0G6

Tel. 613-724-6620

Restaurants in Chicago - JAM (recommendable)

Jam is a restaurant in west Town (near Wicker Park), where the chef was originally a chef at Charlie Trotter's.

Main dishes are around $17. I tried seared fish with green beans and caramelized onions. They also know their ingredients and take a lot of care with the presentation of the dishes. The fennel soup may not be so exciting, but we thought it might have been a palette cleanser. A way of introducing the delicious dishes that follow.

The tasting menu was $37:

-Fennel soup

-Foie Gras Tortellini

-Ono (which is a fleshy fish)

-Roasted pork with finely chopped olives and figs

-Mini donuts which get dipped into a chocolate mousse

937 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622-4949
(773) 489-0302

www.jamrestaurant.com

Restaurants in Chicago - Belly Shack (recommendable)

This will be one of my personal favourites! This great restaurant is conveniently located right underneath the train tracks of Western Station (Humboldt Park).

The restaurant's chef is Korean and has created amazing food combinations. I am not a big fan of pork, perhaps I eat pork 2 or 3 times a year. But if you can, go on a Wednesday. They have a special - Lola's Lechon which is marinated roast pork with an asian accent! Simply outstanding. The Korean BBQ Koki is also amazing!

Prices are very reasonable for the great flavours one gets. The BBQ Kogi costs $10 and the Lola's Lecon was $12. It is an informal place. One orders and pays the food at the counter, but they do bring your food to the table. It is casual-gourmet!

1912 N. Western Ave

Chicago, IL 60647

www.bellyshack.com

Bar Chicago - California Clipper (not recommendable)

The California Clipper in Chicago has a very strict policy regarding ID's. They did not even accept a Canadian driver's license. I would definitely not recommend it if you are going there in a large group. The likelihood that they will reject one person out of the group is very high. Even if the manager is around it does not help because he is completely inflexible.

I would recommend going to the Weegee Bar in Humboldt Park instead. They are more relaxed and have a great list of liquors. As well as lovely light jazz music (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong).

Restaurants Austria - Pedro's

Pedro's is a family-run business in Lower Austria. Pedro's is a restaurant with delicious dishes that are presented in a classic style.

A speciality of Pedro's is his starter trolley with different fish dishes, a beef salad (from Tafelspitz), egg salad with asparagus and many other interesting starters.

The main dishes change according to season. All dishes are always presented very appetising and service is always very attentive.

With starters, a main and a desert one spends around 60 Euros per person.

Pedro's Restaurant

Dörfl 19

3072 Kasten

Tel. +43 2744 7387

www.pedros.at

Restaurants New York - Wallse

This is an Austrian Restaurant with very good service. Most waiters speak German and if you talk to them you find out that they are all trying some business venture in NYC.

I tried the Halibut ($34) which had a delicious parsley sauce around it. The flavours were not complex, but the dish looked aesthetically pleasing and was tasty.

It is a tiny bit on the expensive side for what it is, but worth it.