Worth a Trip to Carp. Alice's Village Cafe, Ottawa

The fact that I have been here 3 times in the last 2 months says alot! I am hardly in town because of my work travel and when I am, I usually try to get out to new places because I miss out on so much being gone all the time. Well. Lately, I've just been wanting to visit Alice's Village Cafe in Carp.

Why? I love Alice's Village Cafe for 3 reasons.

1. Their coffee is AMAZE-balls!
2. Their food is DELICOUS. I leave this place, everytime, feeling really full but really good at the same time.
3. It's peaceful out in Carp. I kinda feel like I'm on a mini getaway because it's in the exact opposite direction as the city.

Alice's Village Cafe is modern yet cozy. It's a family-friendly restaurant so you will see people and kids of all ages here, which is nice. The owners and operators of Alice's, Dustin and Crystal Therrien, are also the same people that own and operate The Cheshire Cat in Carp (which has re-opened for business).

For those that love coffee, they have a coffee club where your 10th coffee is free. My favorite dish here hands down is the breakfast wrap, a warm tortilla filled with egg, cheese, avocado, bean, onions and pepper. On the side are homemade hash, fresh fruit, fresh salsa and sour cream. They will change this up little depending on their menu. The first time I had this, the bean used was black bean. The last time I had this, my wrap was filled with a sweet delicious maple baked bean mash which completely made me melt. Two completely different experiences with the same dish.

One thing they are known for is their famous "Big Nasty" cinnabon bun. If you have a sweet tooth, this is definitely recommended.

Breakfast Wrap with Hash and Fresh Fruit

Cappuccino

Eggs Benedict with Salmon, Hash and Mapble Baked Beans

Big Nasty Cinnamon Bun

Apple Almond Muffin

Alice's Village Cafe
3773 Carp Road
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone:613-470-2233

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Aussie-Grade Coffee at Workshop Coffee, London

The time I spent in Oz has made me appreciate coffee in a whole different way. In a few years, I learned more about coffee than I ever imagined. Aussie's are so passionate about coffee that they have schools (like Italy) that specialize in coffee where you can learn about latte art, the art of making the perfect espresso, and even the ins and outs on how to run a profitable coffee business. Baristas are the rock stars of Australia and the ones who do it really well, are surely recognized for it.

Everywhere I travel now, I'm always on the look out for good coffee. In London, a very notable coffee bar is Workshop Coffee. With roots in Melbourne Australia, Workshop Coffee was once St Ali, a sister coffee bar to Melbourne's St Ali. Almost a year after St Ali London opened, they decided to re-invent themselves as Workshop Coffee.

In Aussie fashion, Workshop Coffee takes their coffee seriously. They are meticulous about the sourcing, roasing and brewing of their coffee, which you can read all about on their website. Every year, they take the time to travel to different countries to learn from the people who grow their coffee. This year, the focus will be on travels to Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.

Workshop Coffee currently has 2 locations - Clerkenwell and Marleybone. The Clerkenwell location (the one I visited) is the larger of the two and serves hot food including weekend brunch. The Marleybone location is the complete opposite with just 14 seats and a small selection of pastries and sandwiches. In March of this year, they are opening a 3rd location, a 1200 square foot space, on the ground floor of Amazon's headquarters in Holborn.

On Feb 17, they announced that they are shipping their coffee globally, which means you can enjoy Workshop's awesome coffee whether or not you can get to London.

Workshop Coffee
27 Clerkenwell Road
London, UK
Telephone: 0207 253 5754

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