La Bottegga Nicastro a Sandwich to Remember

For a Friday lunch nothing is better than a good quality sandwich to be enjoyed.  I had been to one of Ottawa's best sandwich shops earlier in Little Italy, DiRienzo's.  In the mood for another, but needing to do a couple of visits downtown, I thought I would try another highly rated Italian Store. 

On Zomato La Bottega Nicastro (64 George Street, Ottawa) has had numerous reviews by both Bloggers and reviewers with none of them being negative.  This is interesting as usually there is one dissenting opinion about a bad experience on most restaurants that have been reviewed multiple times.

I visited at 11:30 A.M. figuring the store would be busy with the Friday lunch crowd from the ByWard Market businesses and tourists.  The storefront itself makes the store look like a thriving business in a cramped historical downtown building. 

La Bottega Nicastro Storefront

Things change though once inside.  The inside is deep and winds its way around.  In the front are display after display of Italian cheeses, produce and other ethnic products that an Italian grandmother would approve of.  There is a small sit down restaurant section that serves wine and prepared Italian foods.   I first thought this is where the sandwiches were but thought perhaps I would check out the deli area a little further along in the store. 

The deli area had three ladies behind the counter preparing sandwiches to your specifications.  All sandwiches cost $5.31 plus tax ($6.00 even with tax).  So a tip for you, load up on the filling toppings as it will not cost you any more!

I approached the counter where there is an easy step by step menu to get you through positive ordeal of choosing your breads, toppings and whatnot before heading to the cash.    I perused the menu changing my mind faster than a four year old at a McDonald's restaurant selecting a Happy Meal toy. Finally, I was forced to make a decision as one of the ladies behind the counter was ready.  But that didn't take to long as the service here was quick and efficient moving customers through the sandwich making process. 

The Order: A Turkey Sandwich on Focaccia bread with Swiss Cheese, Mayonaise, Mustard, Onion, Lettuce & Tomatoes.

In a matter of minutes I was handed a nicely wrapped sandwich and was off to the front cash to pay for my sandwich. 

The only spot of contention is the lack of seating to eat the prepared sandwich from the deli.  Of course, in hindsight, I could have visited the restaurant and ordered a deli sandwich there with something to drink.  Instead, I had visited the "To Go" section in the deli.  No worries though as the ByWard Market is always a great spot to walk and window shop.  Summer months in the nearby Major's Hill Park would provide a nice patch of grass to sit, contemplate and see the sights of Parliament Hill, the Ottawa River, the Alexandria Bridge and the Rideau Canal. But this being winter in Ottawa, I had other plans, take a stroll through the ByWard Market. 

I opened my sandwich which I originally thought was the length of the Subway 6" sandwich.  Great, for $6.00 I felt a little jipped. But the more I ate the sandwich I realized the Focaccia bread was wider than the average Subway bread and thus probably just a big quantity wise as a 12" Subway sandwich. 

Taste wise the sandwich was solid.  Freshly sliced deli turkey was quite evident.  The mustard, mayonaise, lettuce and tomato added the delicious fresh deli taste that you would expect from a well prepared sandwich.  The Focaccia bread was freshly made that day, but understandibly not warm out of the oven tasting. 

Overall, La Bottegga Nicastro is a great family owned spot to find a good Italian Deli Sandwhich that hits the spot.  In the ByWard Market area skip the local Subway sandwich shop and head over to La Bottegga Nicastro for a fresher tasting sandwhich prepared by loving hands who know what they are doing.  You can't go wrong with any of the bread, toppings or meat you choose.  Just make sure while you are there you don't need a mortgage and a forklift to extricate yourself  from the store with all the fresh Italian foods for sale.

Taking Transit: Cash, Tickets or Pass?

Within the past year I've had inquiries from friends about what is the most economical fare method they choose for taking York Region Transit (YRT) or other transit systems.  These questions usually come around when friends of myself are taking a couple weeks vacation or are starting new transit trip frequencies. 

RideYork blog has previously blogged about the different fare options for riding YRT and which ones to choose as well as tips for maximizing your transit dollar for each trip despite ever increasing fares at York Region Transit. There probably are other similar postings from local area transit experts like RideYork as well.  

Generally, to maximize the transit fare dollars you pay, I would suggest investigating the following options before doing the calculations to choose your choice:

• CASH: Paying cash is great if you are only going to use the transit system once or twice during a monthly period and probably never again or for quite sometime.  A good case in point is travelling from the airport to the hotel and back again on the TTC on a business trip.

• TICKETS/MULTIRIDE: Tickets or Multiride passes are great if you are using transit either for a short period of time (e.g. a week, etc.) or semi frequently.  These usually provide either a free ride equivalent compared to regular cash fares or at least a bonus for your money.  In terms of "bonus for your money" New York City's MTA system provides a 7% bonus when you put $10 or more on your multiride card.  Thus, if you put $10.00 on your multiride card, the card is credited $10.70.

• WEEKLY PASSES: Some systems like New York City's MTA New York City Transit provide weekly or 7 Day transit that allow users to ride the system unlimited for a week or 7 days time.  Be carefult though as some systems, like the TTC, only allow you to purchase weekly passes that start on a Monday and end the following Sunday.  However, New York City will allow you to obtain a 7 Day pass that lets you ride 7 calendar days.  Thus if you wish to start on a Wednesday and leave next Tuesday, you can without being strongarmed into the more expensive Tickets/Multiride or Two Weekly pass option.

• MONTHLY PASSES/30 DAY PASSES:  All systems that I have used have some form of Monthly Pass or 30 Day pass equivalents.  Toronto's TTC, York Region's YRT, Greater Toronto Area's GO Transit and Ottawa's OC Transpo have Monthly passes that provide unlimited rides on their respective systems during a calendar month (i.e. January 1st to January 31st inclusive).  New York City is different as it provides a 30 day pass for unlimited travel.  Thus, if you purchase your card on January 15th, the pass is valid for 30 days thereafter until the end of February 13th.  New York City's provides a little more flexibility compared to the other systems mentioned above as it doesn't limit you to one predetermined month (i.e. only January) but allows you to choose which 30 consecutive days. 

• ADDITIONAL OPTIONS: Before choosing your best method of payment you should also investigate additional bonuses provided by transit agencies.  For example, don't purchase a Monthly YRT pass and a GO Transit pass if you ride the GO Train to downtown from York Region but also need to get to the GO Train Station.  YRT routes provide shuttle service to GO Stations for a mere $0.75 if you have a GO Train ticket or pass in hand.  As well, New York City provides discounts to John F. Kennedy Air Train passengers if they also hold a MTA New York City Unlimited 7 Day or 30 Day pass.  As well, YRT and OC Transpo let you use 1 fare for a certain period of time instead of paying per trip (i.e. direction) like the TTC. Thus, it is best to check with the respective transit agency to see how fares are calculated and used.

How do you decide which fare payment method to use?   It is quite easy, take a look at where you will be going on a frequent basis (i.e. home to work) and work it out from there.  Most people use transit during rush hours to get to work.  In York Region this may require use of GO Transit or the TTC on top of YRT. So first start with your regular trips and augment your trips from there for other activities (i.e. shopping).

To calculate which option you should choose use the following example, based on York Region Transit's fares for 1 Zone fares to figure out which method you should choose:

Let's say it is December and John is travelling from Vaughan to Markham on YRT to get to work.  Dutifully John normally purchases a monthly pass on a regular basis as he takes transit every day to work.  But in December John is taking some well deserved time off for 2 weeks (14 days) including Christmas Day & Boxing Day.  So John has 14 days to cover of which 10 of those are regular weekdays he works.   John has figured he will use 20 rides to work plus 2 trips on the weekend for shopping.  John takes out his calculator and sheet of paper and starts working. 

YRT Monthly Pass Option

1 Zone Unlimited Ride Monthly Pass Total: $120.00 minus the 15%  Federal Income Tax Credit = $102.00 per month.

10 Ride Ticket Option

1 Book of 10 Ride Tickets (or equivalent Presto Card load) = $30.00.  2 books of tickets ($60.00) plus 2 cash fares ($7.50) = $67.50 for 22 trips.

Cash Fare Option

$3.75 x 22 trips = $82.50

Thus, John smartly purchases the 2 Books of 10 Ride Tickets and pays cash for 2 trips thereby saving him $34.50 if he had bought his regular monthly pass or $15.00 if he paid cash fares all the way.  Of course additional savings could be had if John bought a 3rd book of tickets and banked those tickets for whenever he needed them next.

When choosing your transit fare options, take a look around to see what service is offered at what price.  If there are multiple systems you could use (i.e. Richmond Hill to Union Station Toronto there is YRT/TTC and GO Transit options) there may be savings based on which route you choose to take. Thus, there are major savings to be had if you do your homework.

Higher Learning Needed at Second Cup U of O

Today I headed over to the University of Ottawa's Morrisset Library to check out the Second Cup (65 Universite Private, Ottawa). 

This Second Cup location is located inside the University's Morriset Library on the main floor next to the elevators.  Just do a circle around the 4 elevators in the middle and you will find it! 

An issue with this Second Cup, like all food establishments on the University of Ottawa campus, is the opening hours keep changing.  The hours change to meet the changing schedules of students on campus.  Thus, before looking for food on campus, especially on weekends and during the summer, your best bet is to check the hours on the University's Food Services website.

I arrived at the Second Cup outlet to only one customer in line.  I was asked immediately what I would like to order.  The problem was, I didn't know yet.  At Second Cup I usually go for the flavoured coffees and most locations have you pass by the selection of coffees.  This one,  somehow I missed the lineup que (not their fault) and went straight for the cash. 

At the counter I noticed there were five Barista's working.  This was a first, the most Barista's at a Second Cup coffee working behind the counter I had ever seen was three and these locations were busy.  The Morriset Library counter at 1:30 P.M. on an afternoon seemed slow.  But perhaps this is because the workers need to be gauranteed so many hours per day or week.  This is mainly because the University of Ottawa Food Services division owns this Second Cup franchise location and thus, as employees,  the workers are likely unionized.  This results in the union negotiating with the University representatives over the number of  hours each employee/worker is entitled too.  Hence the need for 5 employees at the Second Cup on a not very busy Wednesday afternoon.

 I did a quick survey of the coffees and placed my order.

The Order: 1 Medium Belgian Chocolate Black Coffee.

After ordering, paid using my Second Cup coffee gift card, waited for my drink to be poured and left.  No issue with service, but I cannot figure out for the life of me why 5 workers were necessary. 

The baked goods at this location seemed sub par.  There was no evident number of muffins or other bakery items like at other Second Cups to tickle your fancy.  Just one display case somewhat empty.  Hopefully this was due to the baked goods being sold out from earlier sales during a busy morning.  A busy morning rush would also explain why five employees were needed to man the counter.  

The Belgian Chocolate Coffee is one of my favourite Second Cup Coffees as it provides a chocolaty taste to an otherwise straight black coffee.  However, this cup just was not on par with what I have had before from other Second Cups.  There was only a hint of Chocolate to the coffee.  The rest of the taste was an over brewed strong Starbucks black coffee.  I was lucky it did not taste burnt.  Really, with 5 employees standing there all seeking university degrees someone must know how to brew coffee.  Heck, they are in a library, one of those 8,000 books must have step by step instructions on how to do so. 

Overall, this Second Cup location is overstaffed and provides pour coffee. Someone from Second Cup head office needs to provide "Higher Learning" to the University of Ottawa Food Services' Employees as they obviously cannot provide a decent cup of coffee or stock their baked goods correctly like other Second Cup locations nearby.

Runaround Customer Service at The Bay

Customer Service is what can differentiate a store or chain from the competition.  The Toronto Star's Ellen Roseman constantly reports the intricate web customers must climb through in order to get satisfaction from retail, home appliance, telecommunications and many more.  Most of the stories in her articles and blog entries provide cautionary tales of both what hell companies are putting their customers through.  As well Roseman provides excellent advice to customers on how to avoid the pitfalls of company "Customer Service" departments instead of spinning their wheels round and round.  

I thought I had a good story for Ellen to investigate recently when my just over a year old Misty Mountain Winter jacket's zipper pull broke on December 29th.  I had purchased the jacket on boxing day (December 26) at The Bay at Richmond Hill's Hillcrest Mall. 

On December 31st, I dutifully Googled "Misty Mountain" and many variations that included the words "jacket" and "winter" in an attempt to find the manufacturer's customer service department  All I got back were pages upon pages of entries on who wishes to sell me the same jacket,  pizza shop, a mushroom farm, coffee shop or climbing gear.  Not a jacket company's website to be found.

Among my searches I noted The Bay was still carrying the jacket.  Thus, I figured since I purchased the jacket with that chain they may have been able to help resolve my issue or have contact information for the manufacturer.

I clicked on the Google entry, then clicked on the "Customer Care" tab to find:

Need Help Placing an Order?
Feel free to call one of our associates at 1-800-521-2364
For all other inquiries please feel free to send us an email.

As a good customer - and since I was not placing an order - I followed the instructions and clicked on the "email".  I filled out the details requested including: name, e-mail address, chose "product quality concern" in the drop down menu and then filled in the "Please Type Your Question Box with:

I purchased a Misty Mountain Winter Jacket on Boxing Day in 2011 at The Bay in Richmond Hill Ontario.
 
On Saturday, December 29th the zipper pull (i.e. the part of the zipper that moves up and down to zip up or unzip the jacket) broke off.
 
I've attempted to find Misty Mountain Customer Support online to see what repair options I may have. I cannot find any customer support information for the manufacturer after a couple of Google searchs.
 
Could you let me know if:

1. Can The Bay provide any support to resolving my issue?

2. Forward any customers support information to me via e-mail so I can follow up with the manufacturer.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Seemed like a simple enough request. 

On Friday January 4th I received a reply e-mail:

Dear Michael,

Thank you for contacting the Bay, please give us a call at 1-800-521-2364.


Thank you,
Hudson's Bay Company

This is a little confusing of course, as mentioned before, on The Bay's website it says for all other inquiries besides ordering to please e-mail.  Then a couple of days later The Bay wants customers to call you?  Will The Bay make up their mind which way they want customers to contact them? 

On Monday January 7th I called in.  I left the issue until Monday so that it was a regular business day, The Bay could have further looked into my case more, and possibly if needed a Customer Service Manager or Men's Wear Manager/Purchaser would be available to help.  At least, from the e-mail, I had a case number to quote that indicated to me The Bay might be working on something.

At 1:40 P.M. I dialled  1-800-521-2364, pressed 1 for English, 5 for customer service and 2 for other inquiries.  I waited less than a minute listening to the usual customer service line that my call was very important to them.   Ginger picked up and inquired how she could help.  I  gave her the case number from the e-mail and she pulled up case.  She read for about a minute the details on file which seemed promising.  I further explained what happenned with the timeline to this point and emphasized I was lucky to get perhaps 6 months use of my Misty Mountain winter jacket.  

Ginger's reply though was not very promising.  She said that The Bay Customer Service I had called has contact information for appliances and similar large items but not for clothing.  She suggested I speak to the online department (i.e. the people behind www.thebay.com website) as they deal with a lot of clothing and smaller items.  She transferred me over with the feeling of promise that I was about to get my answer to move forward. I was put on hold at 1:46 P.M. and put through to the hold music. 

Nikki picked up and I relayed my Case number to her and quickly ran through my story again about how the zipper broke and how I ended up speaking to her.  Nikki suggested to contact manufacturer, she doesn’t have a listing and would have to Google it.  I explained to her, as she obviously did not listen to the story or read the case, that I was attempting to contact the manfacturer and had Googled the life out of it so I was not going to waste her time.

I asked to speak to a customer service manager, Nikki said she would have to take my information and a manager would call back in 24 to 48 hours.  Great, the usual Customer Service brush off, seems just like Rogers when no Customer Service Managers are available due to a variety of reasons.  I didn't ask Nikki why a Customer Service Manager was unavailable, I did not need to hear one of the many scripted responses on file from The Bay's aging book of excuses.  
 
I asked to be transferred back to customer service line and Ginger to work from there.  Nikki explained she could only transfer me back to the Customer Service Department and only to the first available agent.  I sighed and requested to be transferred back.   Nikki then transferred me back to main line.  The only thing she save me really from doing was dialling the 1-800 number again!

So I went through it again using my notes  I had written on how I originally got to Ginger.  Press 1 for English, 5 for Customer Service  and 2 for other inquiries.  I waited  about two minutes listening to the music and how much my call was appreciated by The Bay.  Next thing I heard was shuffling and the call dropped.  

I sighed, channelled my inner Ellen Roseman customer service calmness, and dialed again at 1:52 P.M., pressed 1 for English, 5 for Customer Service and 2 for other inquiries.  I was getting better at this, in fact I had to wait for The Bay's automated phone system to catch up to me this time.  The usual hold music was there with The Bay telling me again how much my call mattered to them.   

At 1:57 P.M., Daishawn picked up and inquired how he could help.  I provided my Case number to him and let him pull up the notes and read them. I ran through the story again from broken zipper through until I reached him making sure to include names and departments at The Bay. 

Unfortunately Daishawn was not too much help other.  He explained that The Bay Customer Service department doesn’t have phone numbers for customers for clothing.  They only have numbers for major appliances like refrigerators or stoves.

I explained I was shocked that The Bay Customer Service Dept does not have any contact information for purchasing products as they sell the store.  I'm sure a button has fallen off or like myself a zipper does not work or some seam had given.  Things just didn’t make sense. 

Daishawn tried again to explain that they only had contact information for major appliances.  He obviously did not want to admit the stupidity of The Bay not having manufacturer information available especially considering the majority of the floor space in The Bay Toronto (Yonge & Queen, Yonge & Bloor, Hillcrest Mall, Upper Canada Mall, Yorkdale) and Ottawa (Rideau Street & St. Laurent Mall) stores is taken up by mens, womens and kids fashions.

Daishawn's only solution to recommend was to go and visit a Bay store to see if they would have the manufacturer information available.   At this point, I was getting a little tired of getting the runaround from The Bay with no offer of not a sliver of contact information whether it be a website address, e-mail address, phone number or even a postal code.   I asked Daishawn to make a note on my file.  I explained to him that I would visit The Bay on Rideau Street, failing that I would visit The Bay St. Laurent and if that came up empty I would contact a newspaper.
Daishawn's reply, I should definately visit The Bay store and if I needed any help locating one.  Obviously, like Nikki, Daishawn was not listening, I repeated again and asked him again to add it to the file: I would visit The Bay on Rideau Street, failing that I would visit The Bay St. Laurent and then contact the press. I also requested a Customer Service Manager contact me. 

Daishawn replied that it would take 24 to 48 hours for a Customer Service Manager to contact me.  I left Daishawn my phone number.  He repeated it back to me and we parted ways.  Fast forward to today, 10:30 A.M. and still no phone call from The Bay Customer Service Management, apparently my call is really important to them and they are trying to figure out the rocket science they have been doing for 200 plus years (The Bay is founded in 1881) of bringing winter clothing to Canadians from suppliers.

I packed up my jacket, put the two pieces of the zipper into a Ziploc bag, grabbed my original receipt issued by The Bay store at the Hillcrest Mall store in Richmond Hill, printed off the The Bay's e-mail and the notes I had taken from the phone conversations.  Next, I  headed to The Bay store at 73 Rideau Street, Ottawa.

I arrived at the store about 2:40 P.M. looking for the Men's Department.  Coming in across the pedestrian bridge from the Rideau Centre across the street, The Bay becomes a labrynth.  I walked through the Women's fashion department and found the interior escalator.   I ventured down another floor to find the mens fashions.   I skipped the shoe department and found a "Service" counter with "Matthew" waiting for me. 

Matthew inquired if I needed any assistance.  My reply with a grin: I'm about to make your day.  Matthew grinned.  I unpacked my jacket and the Ziploc bag with the broken zipper.  I ran through my story explaining I purchased the jacket at The Bay in Richmond Hill on December 26, 2011, got 6 months use out of it, during that time moved to Ottawa, before the zipper broke on December 29, 2012.  I also explained my adventures with contacting The Bay Customer Service via e-mail and phone showing him printed copies of the e-mail and phone notes.  Then I said, "and now I'm here with you to, hopefully, further unravel this issue".   I also noted I would be happy with any contact information for Misty Mountain either from the store's records, from a tag on a jacket for sale or if The Bay was willing to do anything to help itself. 

Matthew replied that he would speak to his manager and asked if he could borrow my receipt, a copy of my e-mail and notes. He thanked me for being prepared with the e-mail, phone notes and original receipt.   It was 2:45 P.M. as Matthew dissappeared.  For another five minutes I had two other Bay employees stop by to ask if I needed any help.  This is quite positively shocking as at some The Bay stores it is easier to find a roaming dust ball on carpet older than I am than an employee to help.  

Matthew returned at 2:50 P.M. and said I had a couple of options.  The first, which he suggested, was a full refund for the jacket which I jumped on immediately.  We worked through the return and I received full payment back of the original purchase price. 

I asked again of  Matthew if he knew if there was any contact information for Misty Mountain at store level.  His reply was the store did not as Head Office does all the ordering and distribution.  He also said that was probably where The Bay's Customer Service Department was.  We looked at each other with a grin knowing how far The Bay's Customer Service Department was in obtaining that information.  He explained that it would probably have cost $50.00 to repair. At that point, I thanked Matthew for resolving the situation and wished I had come to him first and left.

In the end, after much runaround I got almost what I wanted.  I originally set out to have my duly purchased Misty Mountain jacket's zipper repaired.  But now at least this jacket is off my hands.  Through this experience I have learned a couple of things:

1. Misty Mountain jackets do not stand behind the products they make.  If they did, they would make it easier for customers to follow up with them by providing a webpage with contact information or at least provide their distributors with something customers can use. 

2. The Bay's claims of "Customer Service" and "Your call is important to us..." are false via their  1-800-521-2364 because if they were, my simple question for Customer Service support would have been easily handled.  As well, a Customer Service Manager could easily have looked into it. 

In the end, after receiving unnecessary runaround, I got to use a Misty Mountain jacket for 6 months or less and got a full refund.  I also learned not to purchase a Misty Mountain jacket as well and probably will not buy anything from The Bay.  

As well, I'm not sure how Ellen Roseman survives the agravation of dealing with companies like The Bay, Rogers and Bell.  I would have given up a long time ago.  But thanks to her work consumers can see which company's prefer to aggravate their customers instead of servicing them for what the customer paid for.

In the end, I would like to apologize to Ellen that she did not get to join in on the fun of navigating the web of how a Boxing Day purchase, a Misty Mountain jacket and The Bay went wrong.

Second Cup in Saran Wrap

This morning with Second Cup gift card in hand, I headed downtown to one of my old favourite spots to grab a cup of coffee.

I used to like visiting this location as it had comfy leather chairs for reading in while enjoying a snack and warm beverage of choice.  Great for university students who just want to get away from campus but not too far that it requires a bus trip or taxi fare to return. 

I arrived at the Second Cup (171 Rideau Street, Ottawa) at 10 A.M. to find about five people in line.  Upon entering there was a weird little crackle as the first of two glass doors is opened.   I looked up to find window film used to cover drafty windows substituting as the ceiling between the two doors to keep the drafts down.  Someone apparently thought it was a great idea to install a second set of doors to help prevent cold drafts during the winter from disrupting the customers from enjoying their coffees.  However, while doing said installation they forgot to install a ceiling.  So this work around was created causing every customer entering or exiting to make the entire restaurant sound like it was wrapped in cellophane.

With five people in line and only one Barista working the line things moved slowly.  Figures it was not until I moved forward, placed my order and was waiting for it to be filled that another Barista arrived to ask me what I would like.  I signalled to him that I had already ordered and that next person in line would probably like to be served.  After a total of not a bad 3 minutes in line I was on my way with my order.

The Order: 1 Medium Caramello Coffee & 1 Apple Cranberry muffin.

I reviewed my seating options with order in hand.  Darn it, they seemed to have remodeled and did away with the comfy chairs.  Heck, why do coffee shops and fast food stores remodel every 10 years?  Those were good chairs!

Instead, I sat down on one of the bar stool style wooden chairs at the counter in the window facing Rideau Street to watch the interesting pedestrian traffic mosy by.  I find Rideau Street people watching is a lot different than Elgin Street as there seems to be a lower income clientele going by on Rideau than Elgin.  On Elgin Street you watch for interesting fashions, amusing kids holding hands with parents and possibly a dog tied up outside a patio.  On Rideau Street you watch to see what the homeless person's game is in the valiant attempt to obtain some spare change. 

I first tasted the muffin.  As mentioned before, Second Cup is not known for their freshly baked fresh goods.  The cranberry was instantly easy to pick out, with the apple less so.  The muffin could easily have been just a cranberry muffin without the apple and would have been pretty good for Second Cup.  The apple just was not there taste wise and quite frankly seemed like a tag-a-long to the cranberry.

The Caramelo Coffee was interesting but something I've had before.  The coffee tastes moderately like Caramel but not too overpowering or strong.  It is perfect as a medium blend and compliments Second Cup's medium blend line of coffees that includes Irish Cream and Belgian Chocolate. 

Overall, this location is interesting to visit during the day whether it be to grab a cup of java on your way to the nearby Byward Market or to simply transfer to the nearby OC Transpo bus station on Rideau Street. The baked goods are mediocre for a bakery with nothing special, but that is normal for all Second Cup chain locations.  The coffee is the same flavoured coffee you would find in the chain as well.  Bottom line, if you are looking for a regular Second Cup location without any negative surprises except a little bit of cellophane, this is your spot.

McDonald's Mayhem at Billings Bridge

My wife and I visited Billings Bridge Shopping Centre to do some shopping.  A couple of weeks ago we had also received some McDonald's coupons in the mail.  So we thought we would have a morning brunch and then start our shopping at the mall. 

We arrived at 10:30 A.M. to find the Mall's Foodcourt McDonald's (2277 Riverside Drive, Ottawa) closed and not opening until 11 A.M.  But the Tim Hortons outlet directly opposite was lined up and could barely keep up with the flow of customers looking for coffee, muffins and other breakfast items. 

Observing the food court unscientifically customers were enjoying many items that Tim Hortons provides that McDonald's made their name on (i.e. the Egg McMuffin Sandwich).    It is a wonder how the Foodcourt McDonald's doesn't open before 11 A.M. to provide breakfast as the demand, as demonstrated by the Tim Hortons food court location, was obviously there.  The demand was also quite obvious as the Tim Hortons and McDonald's Food Court outlets are opposite each other with the main entranceway from OC Transpo's Billings Bridge Station to the mall being right there presenting a lot of customer traffic.

With the Food Court McDonald's obviously not wanting our business, we continued through the mall to the McDonald's location in the parking lot of the mall (2269 Riverside Drive, Ottawa).

We entered to a semi busy McDonalds with quite a few customers enjoying some breakfast meal with many reading free copies of the Ottawa Sun newspaper.  We walked up to the counter to find four employees working the front.  Two employees were working the drive thru to the left, one female employee was taking our order and one male employee was also working the front doing some running to obtain orders.  One male customer was awaiting his order to be put together.  All seemed normal for a McDonald's. 

We placed our order with the cashier.

The Order: 2 Can dine for $6.48 coupon: 1 Sausage ’n Egg Buttermilk Biscuit, 1 Small Green Tea, 1 Sausage McMuffin, 1 Small Black Coffee and 2 Hashbrowns. 

We politly stepped to the side as the female server went to collect the sandwiches.  The customer who was waiting started getting a little antsy.  The female employee who served us brought over our sandwiches.  Meanwhile his, a Sausage McMuffin was still yet to be served and his hash browns were obviously ready but out of reach of the regular customers.  

The two employees at the drive thru were not doing anything but chatting to each other waiting for more cars to pull up.  The male employee was putting through one customer who needed a drink and that was it. 

We continued to stand there alongside the other customer. His sandwich showed up but not the hashbrown which was still teasing him from the fryer area but not reachable to the average customer.  It was infruriating.  He had to speak up as the female employee and the male employee were now more interested in talking to the kitchen staff as they were holding an easy to hear conversation about when they were going to do after work.  Added to that, he had previously requested a copy of the free copy of the Ottawa Sun and never go it.  But considering the effort he needed just to get the food he duly ordered and paid for, it wasn't worth it.

The male customer, getting agitated, asked for his hasbrown. The female employee ventured over and obtained the hashbrowns and so he was off.  We obtained our hashbrowns but were still waiting for the drinks.  The female employee dissapeared around the side of the drive thru.  I figured she was working on the green tea.  Turns out that was not the case.  She reappeared empty handed to start talking again with the male employee and now the two drive thru employees.

There was obviously no coordinated management at this McDonald's in terms of who was doing what or the attention to detail that the customers were receiving what they ordered in a timely fashion.  At other McDonald's locations there usually is a coordinated effort of one employee taking orders and another running to fulfill the orders.  This works with managers filling in as needed.  But at this McDonald's nobody was wearing the traditional black shirt of the McDonald's manager or supervisor.    All we had were young teenagers wearing blue and black coloured shirts more interested in figuring out what they were doing after they clocked off instead of doing what they were paid for. 

Like the previous customer who got impatient in obtaining his Egg McMuffin, I raised my voice, while pointing to my receipt, asking where the drinks we had ordered were.  The male employee looked over and said he would be filling my order.  Dumbfoundingly, he finally clued in that my wife and I weren't just hanging out at the counter with two breakfast sandwiches and 2 hashbrowns for the ambiance.  He fulfilled our order, finally, and we headed off to find a seat. 

Sadly, there were four tables available.  All of them with empty trays, egg crumbs or other remnants of previous customers meals.  There didn't appear to be any effort of cleaning the tables despite the large number of customers enjoying a Sunday morning breakfast at this McDonald's. 

We found a table in the back of the restaurant that someone was just picking up his tray from.  He conveniently left his copy of the Ottawa Sun on the table and left. We sat down and opened up our meal. 

The Sausage 'n Egg Buttermilk biscuit my wife had tasted like it had been mingling with the hashbrowns and french fries in the fryer.  It was doused in grease.

The hashbrowns were the usual taste.  I will hand it to the McDonald's chain overall, they have the better hashbrowns than Tim Hortons.  Tim Hortons' version tastes like an afterthought to the sandwich instead of making an effort to compliment it.  

The Sausage McMuffin was also wanting.  The processed cheese surprisingly enough was melted unlike other locations.  But that was the only good thing about the sandwich besides the usual English Muffins.  The sausage oaddy was overcooked dry and not very warm.  The sausage paddy tasted like it had been out to long. 

Overall, our stay was not enjoyable.  The service stunk despite there being adequate staffing and the food was below mediocre even by McDonald's standards.  There obviously was no interest from McDonald's in properly managing this location on a typically busy Sunday morning breakfast.  This is one McDonald's location we are not likely to return to for quite sometime.

Way Too Mello at Mellos Restaurant

Today for lunch we decided to head downtown to an Ottawa institution that has been in business since 1942. 

A general rule of thumb about restaurants that have been in business for lengthy times can be either really good or slowly turn sour.  You never know what you are going to get until you are there. 

An example of a restaurant that has been open for good length of time is Jonathan's in Aurora, Ontario.  The restaurant has been open twenty plus years yet good food, modern deocr and decent service can be expected.  We have never been dissapointed in visiting this restaurant numerous times when we were living in Aurora and nearby Richmond Hill. In fact, I'm dissapointed I have not reviewed Jonathan's since a visit in 2007.

But many institutions do go downhill after being open for so long.  This may be because the ownership is passed on to the next generation or sold to a new owner.  This leads to changes that may not necessarily be good. Steer Inn Burgers in Richmond Hill is an excellent example of this.  The decor has become dated and the similar tasting burger is not competively priced to the local Harvey's just down the street.  The Steer Inn though may not be for long because the developer friendly property the building was sitting on was up for sale as of September 2012.

With the above in mind, my wife and I visited Mellos Restaurant (290 Dalhousie Street, Ottawa) for a noon time lunch.  We entered just below the iconic Mellos Restaurant sign that overhangs the Dalhousie Street sidewalk.  A server was just ringing a couple of customers through the cash register to our right.  She said we could sit anywhere but there were a couple of tables for two available near the back.  She continued to process another set of customers as we headed to the back. 

The bar with the open kitchen behind it runs down the right side of the restaurant with the booths for sitting on the left. The walls are plane white with a few mirrors attached.  No real artwork to speak of, but this being a diner nothing flashy should be expected.  The exposed cooking area behind the counter was something different that I hadn't experienced at the diners I had visited previously in Aurora or Ottawa.  The only advantage is you can watch the pair in the kitchen prepare the meals and see when they are ready. 

We sat down, took off our winter jackets and settled in. The booths are quite cozy as the restaurant is narrow and long so space is at a premium. A couple of times I whacked my knee on the steel support bar to the table at our booth.

We waited about two minutes for waitress to bring the menues over for us to review. This was despite the opportunity to hand the menues to us on the way in.  But this can easily be overlooked as the majority of the server's attention was taken up by the customers paying their bill on the way out the door.  The diner was busy with customers during the beginning of our visit but things gradually slowed down as our the clocked ticked away as we ate.

Several reviewers at Urbanspoon.com noted that service was quite good at Mellos Restaurant.  So I was interested to see what all the fuss was about especially feeling like your own mother was serving you at a restaurant.

We perused our menues to find several different diner options to we could enjoy.  As usual my wife decided to investigate the breakfast options and I strayed towards the sandwiches.  

The server returned to inquire if we were ready to order.  We of course were and she started with my wife.  But this is where things got a little interesting.  It seemed the server felt rushed so all the usual questions were not inquired about.  So below is the order we would have liked but couldn't quite acquire as the server's attention was elsewhere.  Notes in brackets are what was served to provide a comparison.

The Order: 2 Eggs with a choice of meat (wanted Sausage but instead ended up with bacon), toast and choice of potato (was given home fries).  1 Chicken Salad Club Sandwich with choice of potato (was told it came with fries).

I was a little astounded ten minutes later when the food was served.  As the waitress was walking away from our order to place it with the kitchen she of course noted my meal came with fries and did not provide other potato options.  So my Chicken Salad Club Sandwich came with fries which was terrific because luckily enough that was exactly what I wanted anyway.  But options for baked potatoes, home fries or other variations would have been nice.  My wife ended up with three well prepared pieces of bacon despite wanting sausages in the first place.  This latter part we missed as the choice of meat was never inquired about when my wife was ordering.  So perhaps this was both the server's and our fault for overlooking it.  But the attention to detail by the server was still an issue on this and other things to come.

The waitress inquired if we needed anything.  We replied ketchup would be perfect.  The table next to us had cleared out and the ketchup bottle on the table next to it was being used by another couple enjoying a meal.  The waitress reached over, grabbed the ketchup from the table with the couple at it and put it in the empty table between us and them.  She said we could share the ketchup. We politely did but I can't help but think for a diner a standard table item besides the salt shaker would be a ketchup bottle. 

The Chicken Salad Sandwich was an interesting take on the traditional club sandwich. To be fair, Mellos Restaurant does have the traditional club sandwich on the menu but I wanted something different instead of the same old club sandwich diner offering.  The chicken salad portion had creamy  mayonnaise that practically stole the show.  But the bacon was also well prepared and not dry and overcooked like at other diners or pubs.  Fresh lettuce and tomato were also used to round out a good variation of the Club Sandwich.

The fries that accompanied the sandwich were exactly the same as what Le Bac A Frites based at the University of Ottawa. These were just as warm and delicious as Le Bac A Frites but instead of a hamburger accompaniment it was with a delcious Chicken Salad Club Sandwich. 

My wife's breakfast meal she called it mediocre with nothing special about it.  No interesting take on it except the home fries were not oversalted or overfried which left a nice soft potato taste to them.

After we finished our meals, we sat with an empty plate for a while.  At no time since the food was dropped off did our waitress stop by to ensure everything was going well, refill our water,  if we wanted anything else or to bring the bill.  The person bussing the tables didn't make his way over to clear the dishes or help out the waitress by inquiring if we needed anything. 

The two cooks, with no orders coming in, started kidding around and a practical joke was played on one of the other workers who was retrieving something from the back.  All the staff of about five were more interested in figuring out what was so funny instead of ensuring the paying customers were looked after.

We gave up waiting for the service coming to us.  We slowly put on our coats and looked towards the waitress.  She was chatting up one of the other customers who was now paying his bill. The other waitress was still trying to figure out what the laughing was about from the nearby open kitchen to help out by retrieving our bill.  We headed towards the cash register at the front and the rang up the bill.  Sure I left a tip of $3.50 by not accepting any change but am still unsure as to why.  

Overall, Mellos seems to be resting on its reputation of being around since 1942. But things are starting to turn sour. The food is decent with some interesting attempts at traditional diner fare.  But the service and decor need some updating.   For the same price I could visit the nearby Zak's Diner with roomier booths, more attentive service and a good condiment selection on every table.  We probably will not be back to Mellos for quite sometime as there are a several other Diners in Ottawa the provide equally good food and much better more attentive service.