Unlike my 10-day outing before leaving Toronto that included several events, Ottawa has been mostly eating out. Primarily, it had to do with being far from the downtown core. Long transit rides make me reluctant to head out after dark. But it also seemed that any events here sell out; perhaps the lack of fun activities meant that any going-ons quickly fill up. So a trip to the NAC to hear a Peruvian musical show-case or seeing local bands covering other bands (similar to Death to T.O.) at the 27 club were no-go.
I had given up on continuing this exercise but then I remembered that near Laheeb on Montreal Rd was another grill place called Lazare's BBQ House. The curry goat at Royal Prince was all right but in general I have found African-descent food in Ottawa (Creole Sensations, Boukannen) to be disappointing. There was no 9 Mile, Pam's Roti, or the exquisite Afrobeat Kitchen. But I was glad I gave this spot a chance because it was a delicious dinner.
At first, I thought the owner was Muslim since the food was halal. But an open Bible on the counter and people singing at an African church on TV cleared up the restaurant's name. There were a few tables inside but it was obviously a take-out place. The quarter-chicken combo ($20.80) was substantial and filled with flavourful ingredients: chicken was smokey and tender, plaintain sweet and freshly fried, and the rice was a bit oily but so good. If I can forget that a half-chicken dinner at Sardinha (The King of BBQ Chicken) was once under $10 (and didn't now eat a mostly plant-based diet), I'd put Lazare on regular rotation.



