dimanche, septembre 24, 2006
when I get there I will see myself
It's hard to know where to go for stuff (i.e. food) in this city a lot of the time. We took a chance on that diner last weekend and it was yummy, but our second gamble didn't work out so well. Last week we were craving some late-night poutine and ended up getting a delivery that was pretty disappointing (although my fries weren't cold, they had a frozen taste to them). So for Devin's birthday celebration, I was crossing my fingers that my internet research would pay off.
I've learned that Elgin Street here in Ottawa is a good place to go for a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, pool halls and bars, and the neighbourhood seems to have a good vibe. I had it in my head that an Italian restaurant would be a good idea, so I jotted down a bunch of addresses and tried to find as many mentions or reviews on the web as I could. This place called
"Fresco Bistro Italiano" sounded promising.
Oh, except one thing - when we got to the address at 354 Elgin Street, the restaurant had a different name. We almost missed it because it was now calling itself "Frescociello". It was a busy but cozy little restaurant - the food was fabulous (we had calamari to start and pasta dishes as entrees) and the service was quite good. I'm a big fan of places that are attentive with the water glass re-filling - they scored big points for keeping us well-hydrated.
After dinner we strolled up Elgin Street in search of a pub. We ended up settling on D'arcy McGee's, a place we'd been to once before and quite enjoyed (fabulous "warm goat cheese salad" and fish & chips). It's on the corner of Elgin and Sparks Street - within sight of the parliament buildings. Since it was a nice evening, we opted to sit on the patio for a bit to enjoy our pints of Rickard's. I was happy we did when a bagpipe band set up just outside the door and played some fun tunes. It was the City of Winnipeg police band, and they were quite good. In this pic, Devin is turned around watching them play and that purple spot you can see behind him is the final scene from a light show they put on at the parliament buildings in the evenings during tourist season.
When it got a bit chillier, we went inside and watched the live music for a while. I even managed to win a CD by "Cherry Suede" by correctly guessing the name of the original performer of one of the songs they covered. We met some interesting people and generally stayed out too late and consumed a few too many beers, but it was a fun evening to celebrate Devin's 24th.
If you want to hear the bagpipers, I took this little video clip. I recommend scrolling forward to about the one-minute mark where the drums kick in. Since it was kinda dark out, the visual isn't fabulous.
| ¶ 9:28 a.m.
It's hard to know where to go for stuff (i.e. food) in this city a lot of the time. We took a chance on that diner last weekend and it was yummy, but our second gamble didn't work out so well. Last week we were craving some late-night poutine and ended up getting a delivery that was pretty disappointing (although my fries weren't cold, they had a frozen taste to them). So for Devin's birthday celebration, I was crossing my fingers that my internet research would pay off.I've learned that Elgin Street here in Ottawa is a good place to go for a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, pool halls and bars, and the neighbourhood seems to have a good vibe. I had it in my head that an Italian restaurant would be a good idea, so I jotted down a bunch of addresses and tried to find as many mentions or reviews on the web as I could. This place called
"Fresco Bistro Italiano" sounded promising.
Oh, except one thing - when we got to the address at 354 Elgin Street, the restaurant had a different name. We almost missed it because it was now calling itself "Frescociello". It was a busy but cozy little restaurant - the food was fabulous (we had calamari to start and pasta dishes as entrees) and the service was quite good. I'm a big fan of places that are attentive with the water glass re-filling - they scored big points for keeping us well-hydrated.
After dinner we strolled up Elgin Street in search of a pub. We ended up settling on D'arcy McGee's, a place we'd been to once before and quite enjoyed (fabulous "warm goat cheese salad" and fish & chips). It's on the corner of Elgin and Sparks Street - within sight of the parliament buildings. Since it was a nice evening, we opted to sit on the patio for a bit to enjoy our pints of Rickard's. I was happy we did when a bagpipe band set up just outside the door and played some fun tunes. It was the City of Winnipeg police band, and they were quite good. In this pic, Devin is turned around watching them play and that purple spot you can see behind him is the final scene from a light show they put on at the parliament buildings in the evenings during tourist season.When it got a bit chillier, we went inside and watched the live music for a while. I even managed to win a CD by "Cherry Suede" by correctly guessing the name of the original performer of one of the songs they covered. We met some interesting people and generally stayed out too late and consumed a few too many beers, but it was a fun evening to celebrate Devin's 24th.
If you want to hear the bagpipers, I took this little video clip. I recommend scrolling forward to about the one-minute mark where the drums kick in. Since it was kinda dark out, the visual isn't fabulous.
| ¶ 9:28 a.m.
