kiki's B.F.F: Town [Ottawa - Italian/Canadian]

Love locally source ingredients restaurant and Town (@townlovesyou) was no exception, we just had to squeeze in a last meal for our Ottawa trip and here we were there at 5:00pm as they open.

Love the decor of the space with the art wall and especially the little area with the book shelves that lead to the kitchen.

Love the list of local beer and wine; I just got to try a glass of Redstone Winery Chardonnay which is the latest venture of Moray Tawse and Ben had the Dominion City Brewing Co. (@dominioncitybc). My clumsy boyfriend end up spilling his beer only after a few sip, the guys were nice enough to clean it up in no time and bring him a new pint.

Warm focaccia to start.

Scallop Crudo $14

~ roasted apple / mint /spicy buttermilk / yuzu vinaigrette / radish / grapefruit / grapefruit salt

Love the scale like presentation which hide the real star of the dish, the scallops. It's thinly slice and love the light barely there dressings.

Grilled Octopus Salad $18

~ grilled confit potatoes / gigante beans / corpse reviver lemons / red onion / dried filicetti sausage / pickled chili / frisse / soffritto

Have to say it was nothing new, just your usual grilled octopus dish but the grilled confit potatoes was a surprise, it was just the perfect texture and flavors.

Italian Ramen $20

~ capellini gratin / christoph's confit mushrooms / mushroom pork brodo / beet pickled 6 minute egg / pickled carrots / pea shoots / house porchetta crispy chicken skin /snoki mushroom hay / pickled eggplant

I was totally skeptical about this as you know how I like my traditional ramen but it was so delicious. Love all the different components in this bowl and the big round cake one the left is actually the noodle/pasta which you need to break it into the broth, only wish there was more of it. Instead of the usual radish pickles use in Asian cuisine, love the pickled eggplant which was perfect to cut off the oiliness and intensity of the broth and fatty pork.

Oh, let's not forget the perfectly crisp chicken skin

Bones Thugs n Hominy $31

~ confit & grilled beef shortrib /salsa romesco /hominy polenta /charred romaine/ pickled green beans/ braised cipollini onions / hazelnut dust/ puffed beef tendon chips
Love how the chip looks like a cloud floating on top and the ribs, fall off the bone melt in you mouth good. Love the non-smooth chunky hominy polenta

Crispy Fried Eggplant $17

~ tomato basil saice/ spicy pickled eggplant / fried egg / arugula / parmesan & ricotta

This was one of the signature dish that everyone rave about and it was indeed delicious, I didn't even miss the meat here. Love the thinly slice eggplant and the crispy batter with the yummy basil tomato sauce plus what's not better top with an egg. Also love the sour pickled eggplant in contrast to the cirspy fried eggplant.

Ricotta Stuffed Meatballs $11/21

~ soft polenta / san marzano

We order the small portion to try and it was perfect as a side to share. Love the tomato sauce here and I just can't help scooping up the polenta and the sauce... wish they had a spaghetti meatball dish, kind of crave for some pasta when at an Italian restaurant.