Month: November 2009

Restaurant Nov 21, 2009 The Waffle No Comments After spending the night competing at the World Trivia Night – where our team, the Riverside Pub, had a respectable finish but was mostly proud of having raised the most money for the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa – and spent the remainder of the night celebrating our success (and I am not talking about our ranking). As the hectic flow of bar-goers was pouring out on Elgin street, I decided to walk away from it all in order to collect my thoughts, and, as always, I had many of them. I passed the Golden Arches located on Elgin, I hesitated, then I walked away. But the damage was done. I kept walking, but a thought started creeping in my head – I was going to lose my free small fries!  The deadline to claim my winnings was November 23rd.  I could…

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Restaurant Nov 21, 2009 The Waffle 5 Comments We were shopping for furniture in Vanier, of all places, and got hungry.  I decided the place for us to go was just up further on Montreal road:  the Newfoundland Pub. Mel had never been, but it is worth the detour even if it is a bit far from downtown. The place looks like nothing from outside. It is not an area of Vanier known for its architechture – in fact, it looks like an industrial building. There is a small parking lot available for patrons. You enter and notice immediately the decor.  It is a bit old and tired, but it is part of the charm of the place.  Newfoundland is all over, complete with a Lobster on the ceiling. They have live bands in the evening, pretty much everyday, but the place was not very busy on this Saturday afternoon.   As usual, regulars…

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General Nov 21, 2009 The Waffle 3 Comments “Are you in town?” That’s how it all began.  An email from my friend Sonja, wondering about my whereabouts.  Yes, I was in town. Lucky for me – her partner had a pair of tickets for the Ottawa Senators, and didn’t – couldn’t – wouldn’t go. Whatever the reason, I was very thankful that they thought of me to dispose of said tickets. And I was even more so once I showed up. It was 6 PM.  No time to waste – we were on our way, first downtown to pick up the tickets, then to the Scotiabank Place to see if the Sens could beat the Sabres. First surprise: location.  These babies were located in a Suite 105 A.  Second surprise, the suite sponsor:  Bell Canada.  Don’t ask me how he got them – I do not know.  Third surprise: that…

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General Nov 13, 2009 The Waffle 2 Comments Friday night, the best deal in town for oysters was not the Metropolitain (1$ an oyster, 4 to 7), it was not Whalesbone (they rarely have them below 2$ a piece), and it was not Big Daddy’s (they also offer a buck a shuck Happy Hour). No, the place to be was l’Institut Canadien-Français d’Ottawa, located on Dalhousie.  Founded in 1852, the ICFO held its first annual oyster dinner in 1870, an event that has been held every year uninterrupted to this day. After a great sales’ pitch by a long-standing member who happens to work at my curling club, the Royal Canadian Navy Curling Club my team mate Ken and I decided to go for it – we both enjoy oysters very much, he being half-acadian, me being an athlete needing energy.  For good measure, Ken brought two of his anglo neighbours and…

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General Nov 10, 2009 The Waffle 1 Comment Remember when I told you to stop eating Old Dutch potato chips? I  am sure you all complied. The lock-out is over.  You can now indulge again and enjoy the tasty taters.  Why is the lock-out over? The Alberta Labour Relations Board  has determined that the province’s labour legislation was interfering with the constitutional rights of workers, and has suspended the months-long lockout of UFCW Canada Local 401 members by Old Dutch Foods. The ruling established a Rand Formula type of union security for members there for the first time  in Alberta. The Alberta government has 12 months to revise the province’s labour code. The lockout officially ended after 227 days on the picket line, the second-longest dispute in Local 401’s history. The full labour board decision is here.   .

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