Get $25 from Loblaw

So Loblaw admitted to participatig in a commercial collusion scheme to set prices for bakery products, along with George Weston Ltd. Or as they put it, “Loblaw discovered that Canadians were overcharged for the cost of some packaged bread products in our stores and other grocery stores across Canada.” The management of both companies claim to have warned the Competition Bureau as soon as they learned of this scheme in March 2015. Loblaw was co-ordinating the retail and wholesale prices of certain packaged bakery products over the period from late 2001 to March 2015. But they didn’t know they were doing it. So the companies will apparently not be charged or punished. Well then. Yet, to redeem itself, Loblaw will offer eligible customers who register online a $ 25 gift card as compensation. Registration for the Loblaw Card Program will open on January 8, 2018. In the meantime, you can…

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Melting at Capone’s

For whatever reason, I’ve been wanting to try Tony Capone’s Italian Grill for a while now. I’ve driven past it a million times over the years, always intrigued, but not to the point of being tempted. Until a few weeks ago, I stopped for lunch – only to find out that it was closed. Thankfully, it was open today. Capone’s is located in a mini-mall on Carling, off Edgeworth, along with a dry cleaners, a Hasty Market and a dental office. So from the outside, it certainly doesn’t have much curb appeal. You walk into the place, and you don’t feel like you’re in Ottawa. The reception area is small and decorated with newspaper articles, old pictures, cigarette ads and other paraphernalia from the Capone era. Inside, it was dark and the tables were dimly lit, though there was a nice glow from all the Christmas lights. A nice, quiet…

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On the Shore of the Rideau Canal

I was invited to a dinner meeting at the Shore Club, located in the Westin Ottawa, right in the heart of downtown Ottawa. The restaurant decor is meant to remind us of an art deco ocean liners with contemporary lines.  5 million dollars were invested by the owners into this space.  It is large and spacious, with a high ceiling and a glassed front on the Rideau Canal. They are going for a very chic and elegant look.. The owners were ambitious about the spot.  “We’re trying to create a night-out atmosphere where people come, have fun and feel invigorated —  laughing and talking … It will be more like a New York restaurant, with a bit of a buzz to it,” principal David Aisenstat told the Ottawa Citizen before the opening. But be warned, this steakhouse is not what you might think: “Our market is upscale, the 30-something-plus age group. This will not be…

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An Italian lunch in St-Lambert

An Italian lunch in St-Lambert

I have been dispatched on the South Shore of Montreal to give a hand to NDP candidate Richard Marois in St-Lambert and also NDP candidate Anne Lagacé Dowson in Westmount-Ville Marie. There is nothing like fighting the Forces of Evil in a by-election. So I’m told anyway. And of course, you are then forced to eat out, or order in. At any rate, not much time (or available equipment) for cooking. Might as well make the most of it. So I forced a few key members of the campaign team to get out of the office for my first day in the area, so I could get a feel for the riding and check out the competition a little. The four of us ended up in a lovely Italian establishment in the heart of Old St-Lambert, Trattoria La Terrazza & Casa da Carlo. It was a very nice day, se…

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