Roost: The Urban Smokehouse

The idea of starting these reviews started a few months ago, but really came to the front after last night.

Out in the east end of Ottawa, there is a small place called the Roost: The Urban Smokehouse. If you've been out there, it's located right beside The Works. We've been to The Works many times out there, and each time we go into The Works, the Roost is usually empty. As tempted as we've been to go in and try it out, we've always sided with what we like. Recently, we got an invitation to a re-opening. Roost had a re-vamped menu, and was giving away free sample platters for free. What a great idea to help spread the word out! The lineup was out the door, and the place was packed with people all having the same idea...What is this place about?

The atmosphere there was very well done. It was not too dark inside, but the decor made the place look similar to what you would think a smoke house might look like. The place was clean, and the serving staff was very polite and courteous. The wait for the drinks was quick, and they have the same beer and milkshakes as The Works. While waiting for our platter, we took a quick glance at the "new" menu. It had your typical chicken in quarters, halves and whole, ribs, and chicken wings. Overall, the menu was what you would expect to get in a roast chicken joint, but there was not much more there. The prices were not cheap, and in my opinion, slightly overpriced for chicken and ribs.

Our platter came with a little mix of everything. We got some ribs, a quarter chicken, some wings, onion rings, fries, cornbread, and some chicken sauce. The portion was big, and I was hungry and ready to delve into this feast.

The food was good...but that's it. It was not great, it did not blow me away. After eating it, and thinking about the prices it would have cost me to eat one of those, I would have felt a little gypped. The ribs were decent, but we've made better at home. The chicken was well cooked and moist, but tasted...well, like what you would get at a supermarket for $9.99. The dipping sauce was different, but St. Hubert's is still better. The best part of it all, was the onion rings...which are the same ones you'd get if you went to The Works.

Overall, the food was decent, but I would not go back. The price was too high for the value of the food. On the bright side, all the tips went to help support breast cancer. Good job on that! Sorry Roost, the new menu just does fly...


Review (out of 5):
Food: * *
Value: * *
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price Range: $8-$25
website: http://www.roostchicken.com/

New Idea

Hi everyone,

To those who follow my blog, you know it has been a while since I've last posted here. This can be due to the fact my life has been going great, but at the same time, I've come to the point in my life where I don't rant about it online. Just on my tweet account; but I digress. Instead, I've decided to change the idea and theme of my blog to one of my loves in life. Food. To some, that may not be as exciting as my roll up the rim rants, but I think it's something that I might enjoy doing.

I will try and get pictures of the food that I eat when I can, but otherwise, I'll just post about the great foods that I've eaten, or the great restaurants I've been to. I'll also include not so great foods and restaurant's I've been to as well.

Small disclaimer: These are just my opinions of course, so please take that with your grain of salt :P No pun intended.

Let me know what you think of this idea. I'll post whenever I go out to eat, and I have a few places I've been on trips saved up to tell you all about. Enjoy, and bon appetit!