Ottawa part II: B/side

Ottawa restaurants part II: B/side
B/side is located in a small neighborhood area called Sommerset, next door to its sister restaurant that also begins with a B but I can’t remember the name off hand. B/side is the casual wine bar part of the restaurant with a limited menu. The restaurant is modern and sparse in décor with simple wood tables and chairs and flowing shear curtains between eating areas that add to a peaceful atmosphere. It was also peaceful because it was almost empty and stayed that way the two hours we were there.
Our waitress was very friendly without being irritating. She was running the show. In Ottawa and most of the rest of Canada the restaurants seem to have waitresses and no other staff which can make for slow service but in this case didn’t seem to matter much. The menu had a selection of light appetizers, and we decided to try the tandoori spiced lightly fried calamari with a Cajun aioli. It was tasty but the calamari did not seem to have been fried in hot enough oil and it was a bit soggy. After this rather heavy start, we ended up ordering pasta arrabiata and pork belly and gnocchi (which normally I don’t like because it’s way too fatty, but the waitress said this confit would not be like that).
The pasta was excellent. I don’t use wax poetic about pasta because it tends not to have much taste but the sauce was spicy and redolent of fennel. It was really good. The gnocchi and pork belly was also very flavorable, not particularly fatty and a huge serving. We weren’t able to finish it. There was nothing special about the gnocchi but the combination of pork, gnocchi and sauce was excellent.
We had two glasses of wine both from Ontario and she brought us a taste of an excellent pinot noir. I also ordered sloe gin which was gin, lime and soda water. I liked it but it wasn’t cold enough.
Overall, the meal was wonderful, but it is worrisome how slow the restaurants are. Maybe on the weekend things pick up.