These days, Ottawa is all laid-back, unpretentious cool. Last year it beat out more
predictable destinations like New York, Los Angeles and Toronto to be the only
North American stop on the tour of
Pop Life, the Tate Modern’s three-decade-spanning
celebration of pop art; and since June, the National Gallery has played host to
another exclusive exhibit that wraps up this month,
Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome,
a major retrospective of the master painter’s work.
Even better, epicurious locals celebrating
the city’s agricultural roots have Bytown rubbing shoulders with San Francisco and
Vancouver on our list of top foodie cities. For proof, take a quick stroll
through the oldest neighbourhood in the city and what’s become foodie
central, the ByWard Market. This revitalized ’hood is covered with quirky,
independent gourmet-food stores, fruit and vegetable stands, bakery-cafés
and sassy wine bars. Not to mention the rise of a newly sophisticated
restaurant scene, a recent development that has happened in no
small part thanks to the ambitious grads of Canada’s only
Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute. And consider this: Ottawa is a “farm city,”
boasting a remarkable 1,267 farms, all housed within city limits. This
unique urban-rural mix makes it an ideal destination to experience
farm-to-fork eating, country day trips, independent retail shopping and
historical architecture.
Maybe you can’t ignore Parliament Hill, but it’s
clearly no longer the only reason to visit.
Dining out
1.
ByWard Market may be
the place to shop for fresh and
artisanal food, but it’s also a
stellar restaurant district. The
main thoroughfare, Murray
Street (nicknamed Gastro
Alley), is a hub of restos offering
fusion and regional fare.
2.
Murray Street Kitchen is
your go-to place for snout-to-tail
dining. Chef Steve Mitton’s pork
charcuterie has enticed author
Douglas Coupland and Alex
Trebek — along with half the
city’s residents. Reservations
recommended.
110 Murray St.
3. You won’t find
old-school paella at Spanish-fusion
restaurant
Navarra.
Instead, chef René Rodriguez
serves up his signature beef
tartar, roasted-beet and grapefruit
salad, and pig cheek cooked
Basque-style.
93 Murray St.
4. For
lighter fare, try chef Michael
Moffatt’s
Play Food & Wine.
The seasonal tapas-style menu
garners rave reviews. It has
included standouts like pumpkin
gnocchi, grilled hanger
steak and hearty green-lentil
soup made with crème fraîche
and lemon confit. 1 York St.,
playfood.ca. Or grab a fresh
gourmet sandwich at the city’s
best Italian deli,
La Bottega,
64 George St.
Five o'clocktails
5. Located in the upscale Westboro neighbourhood,
Wellington Gastropub has the best
features of a “local” — cozy ambience and plenty
of regulars — only with craft beers, quality wines
and an upscale menu.
1325 Wellington St. W.,
613-729-1315.
6. Mostly populated by the Hill’s power players
(perhaps why it’s open from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. on
weekdays), French-style bistro
Metropolitain Brasserie is the best place to catch a glimpse
of political movers and shakers capping off a
long day with oysters and bevvies—and to indulge
yourself, of course. Its crispy pommes
frites are served with garlic aioli and are
utterly addictive.
700 Sussex Dr., 613-562-1160.
7. Or try some of
the signature drinks at
Absinthe. The café
stocks a variety of absinthes (including the only
genuine one made in Canada, Taboo from Vernon,
B.C.) and serves up 13 different cocktails
made with the notorious spirit. A little Death
in the Afternoon, anyone?
1208 Wellington St.
W., 613-761-1138.
Checking in
8. Right next door to Parliament Hill, the
Fairmont Château Laurier makes
an ideal home base. A perfect reproduction of a French Renaissance château, the
hotel is all high ceilings and marble floors with a gorgeous limestone facade. Craving
the royal treatment? Be sure to stay in a turret room.
1 Rideau St., 1-866-540-4410.
Fairmont Gold rooms from $329.
9. The
Lord Elgin Hotel’s 355 rooms feature the
elegant warmth of informal Biedermeier-style furnishings and cute travel-sized
versions of London’s Gilchrist & Soames toiletries. Its central location is perfect for
the fleet-footed guest who wants to play urban flâneur.
100 Elgin St., 1-800-267-4298.
Rooms from $135.
10. Staying at
ARC The.Hotel, a luxe boutique hotel in the city’s
downtown core, is all about the amenities: Its gorgeously appointed 112 rooms are
outfitted with Frette robes, Egyptian linens and mohair throws.
140 Slater St., 613-
238-2888. Rooms from $139.
Hit the shops
11.
The House of Cheese is the perfect place
to pick up an edible souvenir. It stocks upwards
of 50 domestic cheeses, including local favourites
like La Sauvagine and Le Douanier from
Quebec, all of which are guaranteed to impress
your nearest and dearest—if you can bring
yourself to give your finds away.
34 ByWard
Market Square.
12. For one-stop
wardrobe stocking, we like
Victoire Boutique in the ByWard Market. The clothes
are mostly Canadian (with a few very special
American designers thrown in for good measure)
and there’s a cohesive mix of quirky togs
and totally wearable classic pieces.
246 Dalhousie
St.
13.
C.A. Paradis is
the best shop to score high-end kitchen goods.
Sitting just on the fringes of the trendy Glebe
neighbourhood, it’s where
Julie & Julia devotees
source their industrial gas ovens and Le Cuistot
cookware.
1314 Bank St.
Get out of town: Farm fresh
Pull on your wellies and prepare to get up close
and personal with your food. Just an hour east
of the city,
Mariposa Farm offers a cozy
weekend lunch in a rustic, neo-hippie setting.
Sunday dawdlers can soak up the bucolic
landscape (think lush, green trees, tall grasses,
faded outbuildings and even the occasional
haystack) and later go on a tour of the barn with
farmer Ian Walker.
6468 County Rd. 17, Plantagenet.
Lyle Slater’s
Upper Canada Cranberries is another
super-accessible farm. Slater offers free tours
and taste tests of his tart, no-sugar-added
cranberry juice—just be sure to call ahead.
2283
Stagecoach Rd.
Set by the
banks of the Rideau River,
Clarmell Farms
is the best place in the city to score creamy,
highly acclaimed chèvre. Farmer Paul Mussell
moonlights as a comedian while son Ryan tends
to the herd in this family-run operation.
3401
River Rd., Manotick.
A visit to the
Garland Sugar Shack is the cure
for the kids’ “I’m bored” blahs. This maple-syrup
farm sells maple butter, tarts, popcorn,
jelly and even cotton candy.
5930 Garlandside
Rd., Vars.
It may not
be Napa, but Ottawa’s vineyards, like
Domaine Perrault, are gaining ground with the Sideways
demographic. The family-run vineyard makes
10 varietals by Ottawa enologist Bernard
Martineau, so leave room in the trunk for a case
(or two). Open May 20 to December 24;
1000
Perrault Rd., Navan.