This year (2013) has seen an increase in the number of food trucks in the city of Ottawa. Our…read morelocal Yelp person has thrown down the challenge to try as many of these new food trucks as possible in the next couple of months. So, to that end I thought I would try the one closest to home. Food: While I only tried two dishes here on my first visit, I would say the food is vietnamese-ish due to their ingredients and flavor. I had their lunch combo which allows you one appetizer, one main and a drink for $11 (basically this saves you $1 from getting them separately). My appetizer choice was an egg waffle (see photo) and my main was their Banh Xeo (see photo). The waffle was nice. In terms of taste, think a waffle made out of a fortune cookie batter. The Banh Xeo was nice and tasty as well with the beansprouts and chicken/pork/shrimp filling (that's their 'special' which is $1.50 more). My only issue with the food was that after eating the waffle and my main I was still hungry. Maybe I just had a hungry appetite today but I'll try something different next time to see if I still feel the same. Regretfully, there is a Dairy Queen down Richmond not to far away so, hanging my head in shame, I had a medium blizzard to fill the gap. Location: The 'Chow Down' food truck sits pretty much on the corner of Woodroffe and Byron Avenue. Byron is the street that is just next (south) of Richmond Road. You can park on the side of Byron if you are driving (which most of you will likely be doing since I can't see this area getting much foot traffic). Seating: Today was a sunny day and they had two small tables for seating. Not a lot but at least it is something. Since it is a low traffic area and most people are likely driving, I guess they don't need more. Hours: I'm not sure, but I think they are only open during weekdays and on lunch hours. I don't remember seeing their truck there on the weekend. Other: There's a Shouldice stand right next to the food truck so depending on when you are there, you may be able to grab some strawberries (earlier in the season) or corn (which they had today). Final thoughts: We'll, I liked it enough that I'll go back. Since I try to give my ratings in relation to similar types of establishments (and this is the first food truck I've tried), I'm starting at three stars. Let the food truck challenge continue....

Really enjoyed the vegetarian options I was able to get. Owners are very friendly and the hours…read moreare very good for 6 days a week. Prices are good and raving portions very reasonable. What I love is that they actually have coconut water without sugar. Fantastically refreshing without the added sugar. It was our first food truck and it exceeded our expectations.

The rice bowls have too much rice to their toppings. If you like just rice without my sauce and…read moretoppings, order from here. Not a good value for money

I've been here a handful of times for lunch and dinner, on the patio, in the restaurant, and take…read moreout, and I really just want to commend this place. They have a daring menu with many different styles of food from many cultures, and they do it so effortlessly. This week, on my way home from my lunchtime swim, I stopped in for some singapore noodles, which I was craving. I waited 5 minutes and my favourite dish was handed to me with a compostable fork and chopsticks. I had enough food to last me not one, not two, but three lunches-- all for $20. Amazing. The bbq pork was cut razor thin and perfectly flavoured, and there were delicious chunks of egg and chicken that delighted my palate in every bite. THe curry in the noodles was scrumptious. I highly recommend this place - it's a little out of the way from Chinatown, but if you're in the downtown core, it's well worth a visit.

What a nice spot! I never would've tried this place if my colleague hadn't insisted on bringing us…read morehere tonight. Noodle burgers usually aren't my thing, but I tried one tonight and it was so good. The veggie patty is probably the best I've ever had. It was fresh, soft, and you could tell it wasn't frozen. Their steamed momos are also my new favourite in Ottawa, and the chili potatoes were something else! Honestly, we loved every dish. I'd definitely come back. Such an interesting and tasty spot!

Really fresh, lightly battered haddock and kettle chips. The regular portions are a lot bigger than…read morethe fish tacos. I could barely eat two pieces. A 3 piece could feed a small family for $25. Beware that taxes are extra. The location is right on the brewery patio (beer sold inside) and they will bring it to your table inside or outside. Parking is difficult but the building has always had this problem, being sandwiched between a railroad and a small ravine!

Server was quite brusque but crab sliders were good. Picnic tables had umbrellas to get out of the…read moresun.

As food trucks go this one is pretty good. Not your standard fries and burgers. Perogies, lamb…read moreburgers, Gyros and pretzels. They also seem to have some inventive specials. I have been a couple of times and had the lamb burger (excellent) and a special greek poutine (Gyro fixings on fries) which was really good, should go on their standard menu. I've also had their fresh pretzels also great. They happen to be parked outside of a micro brewery, not an accident i'm sure. So if you want a cold beer with your meal its only steps away. Best in Stittsville in my opinion.

From the owner: Specializing in authentic European homemade cuisine.read more

I had heard of Falafel on Wheels (which is a food truck) but never got around to trying it because…read morethey are usually on Montreal Rd near Blair, which is not an area I'm usually in. So I was thrilled when I heard that they would be providing the food for one of our work functions. They came on site, so the food was freshly made to order. I had the falafel sandwich and a fattouch salad. The falafels in the sandwich were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. So delicious. It also had tomatoes, radishes, pickles, parsley and tahini, all wrapped in a pita. Easily one of the best falafel I've had in Ottawa. My only complaint is that it was a bit on the small side. Ok for small appetites, but likely too small for average to large appetites, and I definitely fall into the latter category, haha. The fattouch salad had romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, parsley, and radishes, all tossed in an oil and vinegar dressing with sumac. I think they usually have pita chips, but mine didn't have any :( It was a little overdressed for my liking, but I like very little dressing on my salad. Service was relatively quick and was friendly. Not sure when I'll be in their usual neighbourhood next, but when I am, I'll need to grab another falafel sandwich ;)

So I was craving a falafel sandwich, and the last couple of times I have had falafel at my local…read moreshawarma joints, it was so gross, that it was not consumable. You know the falafel that has been sitting around for weeks that taste like sweaty armpits? I don't know why Ottawa shawarma joints treat their falafel with such disrespect, but they need to start giving falafel a little bit more love! I decided to give Falafel On Wheels another chance, since they make fresh falafel, on the spot. I am seriously so happy that I did, because their falafel sandwiches are actually pretty bomb! The last time I tried their sandwich (on opening day) while it was good, there was something missing. This time around, the falafels were seasoned perfectly, and crispy on the outside. The pita was super fresh, and warm, and the ingredients of parsley, radishes and pickles were crisp and fresh. There was lots of tahini dressing in the wrap which was awesome! It literally hit the spot! For just under 5 bucks for a freshly made falafel wrap, it is seriously, as good as it gets.

My first time at Oysterfest! I purchased tickets from the Whalesbone Oyster House restaurant on…read moreBank Street for $25 each. They included entry into the event, plus one fish burger or four oysters. I thought the price to be a little steep, but since I was a first-timer, I couldn't really judge. In 2013, the event was held on June 30th. The festival started at noon and went on until about 10pm, though we only stayed for a couple of hours. It wasn't overly busy when we got there around 12:30, but really picked up within the next hour. They had DJs and an oyster shucking contest, and apparently fire breathers later on at night. I found the location to be a little strange. It's actually outdoors, in the parking lot of the Whalesbone Catering building on Kent Street, which, passing by it a few times seemed incredibly small. I wasn't sure how spacious it would be for a festival, but the parking lot goes around the entire building, so there was more space than I originally thought. We found the entrance and provided our passes, then beelined it to the tables at the back so that we had a place to sit under a large umbrella for some shade. It was a hot day and it was smart to have the umbrellas to encourage festival goers to stay longer. Some people were just sitting around wherever they could find a spot, but don't be surprised if someone asks to share your table. Four oysters went down in a whole of 17 seconds, so we had to get more - an obvious way for the business to make money, but we expected as much and we didn't mind buying more. I can't remember the exact pricing for the additional oysters, but I do remember not being able to afford a whole lot. You could easily spend hundreds of dollars here, if you wanted. They only serve raw oysters, so don't go looking for any baked or fried ones - in my opinion, if there was ever a place to eat raw oysters, it would be from a reputable business that supplies sustainable fish and seafood. The oyster bar sort of looked like a large wooden plank, with about 3-4 people behind it shucking fresh oysters. They were shucking pretty quickly, which I appreciated, since I didn't have to wait for very long, but I did get a few shells slurping them oysters down. They had a few different accompaniments on the table, including original and smoked Tabasco, I think some other type of habanero hot sauce (with mango flavor? seemed sort of tropical fruit-flavored), mignonette, lemon, and my favorite, freshly grated REAL horseradish. The fresh horseradish was impressive, I must say. The oysters were delicious, as expected. We also decided to try the fish burger, which was fried quite nicely. There was a gigantic piece of lettuce on mine with an even bigger bun, so it was a little difficult to eat. The fish itself was good, but I'd opt for the oysters if you had to pick one. Besides, it IS called OYSTERfest! Washed it down with a pitcher of sangria, also not the best I've had, but very refreshing. Alcohol was being sold at this sort of food truck looking thing, across from the oyster bar. We were surprised with the DJ - whoever was playing at that time was pretty good! Couldn't tell you the songs, because I wasn't paying much attention to that, but it wasn't too loud and was pretty chill, sort of like lounge music, so it was nice to have something playing in the background while you still had conversations with the people you came with. If it wasn't for the price, I wouldn't hesitate to attend again, but if you're into oysters, you should definitely go at least once!