Café Nostalgica makes grade as “cheapeat”

cheapeats ottawa publisher, Alexa Clark

For anyone who has ever eaten a meal at Café Nostalgica, it shouldn't be surprising to learn that the popular campus eatery has made its way into a new restaurant guide called cheapeats ottawa.
 
The book recommends 225 restaurants in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, where you can get breakfast for less than $5, lunch for less than $10 and dinner for less than $15. Editor Alexa Clark explained that eateries had to meet four criteria to be included: “Is it cheap? Is it good? Does it have at least one seat? Was it recommended?”

The guide offers a neighbourhood and cuisine index along with “celebrity recommendations.”

Café Nostalgica, which hosted the launch of cheapeats ottawa, is listed on page 22. The entry notes that “the food is eclectic and as tasty as a gourmet French restaurant with much lower prices.” The vegetarian pizza with pesto is highly recommended. “The atmosphere is unpretentious and full of vitality,” the guide adds, an assessment echoed by the many campus regulars of the GSAED-operated establishment.

cheapeats ottawa is the second such guide to be published by Clark. A Toronto version was launched two years ago and has sold more than 5,000 copies. Clark is now researching Vancouver, Halifax and Montreal as possible future markets. There have been inquiries as well from U.S. cities including Boston and Los Angeles.

The guide retails for $11.95 and is available in Ottawa bookstores.