Tacos Del Rancho justo lo que necesitaba

I woke up at 2 AM, awoken by the arrival of yet another snow dump. My alarm was set for 4 AM, for a United flight out of Ottawa which was originally scheduled at 6:25 but had already been delayed by half an hour the night before.  I knew the heavy snow would cause further delays and my layover in O’Hare was impossibly short to begin with. Perhaps for that reason, I couldn’t get back to sleep. Or perhaps I was too much aware there was no other flight to Tucson out of O’Hare. I was already assuming that I’d spend the night in Chicago and my plan B was a deep dish pizza adventure and a visit to the United Center to see the Blackhawks play the Predators. We landed late in O’Hare, but United had decided to hold the plane for the few of us who needed that…

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Rubio’s surfing above the competition

We were shoe shopping in Mesa. Time flies when you shoe shop with kids. Because nothing matches the cross-specifications required by Ms. Waffle and Mini Waffle – and when it does, the shoe doesn’t fit. Suddenly, a Spiderman shoe seemed to fit the bill. Alas, I noticed that the left shoe’s blinking light wasn’t working (a clear specification). In order to convince Mini Waffle to agree to the non-blinking Mickey Mouse snickers, Ms. Waffle tried to bargain lunch at a restaurant of his choice. He picked St-Hubert. Unfortunetaly, the closest one is a 37 hour drive away. Back to another pair of blinking Spiderman, previously rejected by Ms. Waffle because they were too heavy. But admitting defeat on shoes meant she got to pick lunch, and selected Rubio’s Coastal Grill. Rubio’s Coastal Grill, formerly known as Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill, is a fast food chain surfing on the growing “Fresh…

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Chipotle has arrived in Ottawa

The rumours started last spring with what appeared to be a job posting. Chipotle was looking for a restaurant general manager… in Ottawa. Even though Chipotle wouldn’t confirm, it seemed obvious. Even more obvious when Cadillac Fairview posted a new floor plan for the Rideau Centre – something folks on reddit shared widely in August: Chipotle had a spot secured in the old Elephant & Castle (followed by the failed The Exchange) location at the Rideau Centre, at the corner of Sussex and Colonel By. Chipotle confirmed on Twitter what every Ottawa Foodie was hoping for and expecting: @CBCOttawa @parkerwags Yep, if all goes according to plan, we’ll open there on January 30th. Don’t beans a stranger. -Dre — Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) January 10 2017 It didn’t quite go according to plan, as the first Ottawa Chipotle finally opened on February 2nd at 10:45 am. It is now open every day…

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