The best meals and food of summer 2026

It feels as if Ottawa continues to attract more and even younger culinary talent. What I feel may be a trend, is a younger generation of cooks going back to more traditional ways of cooking. 

Almost as if being guided by a grandmother's hand. Making things from scratch and cooking certain dishes for longer periods of time.

We have a number of surprises from this past summer and that includes a destination that will allow you to load up your car for a fraction of what you’d pay at the grocery store.

Henderson’s Meats at 13200 MacKenzie Rd in Chesterville is owned by beef producer Gillette Farms in Embrun.

Their very good beef is available, but they also carry products from other local suppliers. If you’re feeding a family, Henderson’s is the place to shop, as it’s likely to save you hundreds of dollars a year over grocery store meat prices.

Some of you may be familiar with A2 milk. It is said to be more digestible than regular milk, although there is no appreciable difference in taste. 

Henderson’s is the only purveyor in our region of Walker A2 butter. In fact, I did not know that anyone was producing butter from A2 milk. To learn about this butter, I suggest visiting the dedicated Walker Farms page.

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Crazy D’s prebiotic soda is the brainchild of Darren Portelli. He’s created standout natural sodas that have no sugar or sugar substitutes but contain eight grams of fibre per can.

The cherry cola is delicious and these represent some of the best drinks of the year.

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Mama Mai (1861 Roberston Rd.) arrived approximately a year ago and is distinguished by having, perhaps, the only pho in Ottawa not made with msg. It’s a beautiful beefy broth, and I’ve not stopped thinking about it. 

The great taste doesn’t stop there. Enjoy the well-stuffed Banh Mi sandwich and tell me if it’s not one of the nicest you’ve had. They even bake their own bread. This is first-rate Vietnamese.

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