Stittsville's eats made from scratch
By: Itel Sapozhnikov
Located at 1280 Stitsville Main Street, Scratch Box Gastro Food Truck is an award winning, fully gluten-free and halal food truck that has become a staple in the community. Living up to the name of the truck, Reggie Olson created the entire menu from scratch using home-made ingredients.
With Ottawa’s increasing variety of food truck options, gluten-free and halal options are not always prioritized. People with dietary restrictions also need a quick, on-the-go meal option on busy days.
“It’s showing that you can get quality food at a pretty reasonable price,” said Olson. “For instance, I make my own mayo, I don’t open up jars.”
Olson has been in the restaurant business for almost 30 years, working in different establishments across the country. When starting the business, Olson’s goal was to create restaurant quality cuisine from a food truck.
“I want to make things that you normally can’t make or won’t make for yourself at home,” said Olson.
He opened Scratch Box with his wife in 2021, serving known signature items such as the Double Bacon Scratch Burger, Gluten-Free Fried Chicken and seasonal items such as the Smoked Brisket Dunker.
Olson said his fried chicken recipe is complex and contains about 30 different spices. Eventually the recipe found its way into other items on the menu and Olson’s daily meals.
Jesse Roy is a Stittsville local who has been visiting the truck a couple times a week since its opening.
“I try restaurants here and there, I’ve tried different burgers, I’ve tried to make them at home, it’s never the same so I’m always here,” said Roy. “I’ve tried all the local trucks; this is the only one I’ll come to.”
Scratch Box remains open all year round with the hours and days of operation shortened during the winter season Currently the truck is open three days a week.
“We’re always community and family first and business second,” said Olson. “It’s all about the people.”
Olson purchased a second truck dedicated to catering events such as weddings, schools, and so forth. The truck has won awards including Canadian Choice Awards, Consumer Choice Award and Stittsville Volunteer of the Year Award.
The next step for the Scratch Box Gastro Truck is starting a line of non-alcoholic beverages such as seltzers to serve at the truck. He hopes to upgrade the seating area by the truck to foster a stronger sense of community and a friendlier environment for customers.
“If everything’s successful this year, I’m actually going to create almost a sit-down atmosphere,” said Olson. “I’ll build a great big deck, make a really cool spot for people to go to in the summertime…and just kind of create this really relaxing, fun atmosphere with great food and drinks and music.”
O-FRANGO: the go-to spot for fried chicken on campus
By: Itel Sapozhnikov
The “sit down and enjoy” lifestyle is nearly impossible for students, especially with midterms around the corner. Located right on University of Ottawa’s campus, O-FRANGO knows that’s what students are looking for.
Located on 151 Laurier Ave E, the food truck comes equipped with an insulated seating area to keep customers comfortable during the winter season. O-FRANGO opened shortly before the COVID 19 pandemic but has managed to build a reliable and returning customer base with a menu strictly focused on fried chicken and french fries
Hithm Alshaebi, the director of the family-owned business said the idea originated from his father and with the help of his brother, what was once a dream became reality.
“Ever since my father came to Canada, he had a dream to open a small shop inside the campus,” said Alshaebi. “We didn’t want to make something messy because we don’t want to make students eat it with both hands.”
Yazan Mohammed, a high school student who works at the trucks, said the Frango Fries is their signature item.
“Once we fry [chicken], we cut it up, put it on top of fries add some sauce to it, that’s our signature,” said Mohammed.
The truck offers a selection of sauces made to be mixed in with the seasoned fries and chicken. Choices include chipotle, ranch, barbeque, hot sauce, and others.
O-FRANGO has expanded to a restaurant in 2022 which is located on 769 Gladstone Ave with a more diverse menu including sandwiches, chicken wings and a pop-up coffee shop. Alshaebi said there are hopes to open a third location by the end of the year.
“We were thinking about either Orleans or Barrhaven, still looking for a good location,” said Alshaebi. “We have some criteria for it, if we find a location we’re gonna go for it.”
As of now, the O-FRANGO truck stays open year-round due to high demand, with hours shortening during the winter.
While the menu is halal, there are no vegetarian options available yet, but Alshaebi said he hopes to introduce Falafel into the menu.
“The only problem is the kitchen is very small, so we have to dedicate the whole fryer for it, and I would rather keep pushing the volume with the chicken,” said Alshaebi.
The food comes in a takeout box, ready to be enjoyed on the run, especially if you are a student.
“You can take it as a snack if you want, you can take it as a meal, you can eat it with a fork,” said Alshaebi.
On the weekends, the restaurant is hosting a pop-up coffee shop called Undergrounds Coffee Co. which is owned by Alshaebi’s siblings who hope to expand soon.