mardi, avril 24, 2007
when you walk away I count the steps that you take
Yesterday I ate a kosher lunch. "My" lawyers (i.e. the two that I work directly for) took me out for a welcome lunch and one of them is Jewish (we will call him "Reuben"), so we hit the Rideau Bakery for some kosher homemade goodness. According to Reuben there aren't a ton of gastronomic selections in Ottawa for the kosher Jew, but this place has a decent soup & sandwich sit-at-the-counter business going.
Most days, however, I'm an Ottawa explorer, strolling the downtown streets and taking in the city life. Spring has settled upon us just in time, so the weather is nice for walking. Since this city is a reasonably popular tourist destination, downtown feels somewhat geared to the visitor. There are lots of "chip stands" - converted motor-home-type vehicles with a walk-up order window and a full kitchen inside for preparing hot dogs and poutines for the hungry traveller - and an abundance of sidewalk restaurants and coffee shops, too. Since I'm still squeezing the last penny out of my bank account until I'm a paid employee again (payday is soon!), I'm avoiding anything resembling a store that might cause me to covet things. It's been depressing enough not to be able to spend any significant money on myself, no need to cause torture by shopping, eh.
One indulgence I might permit myself now and then is a poutine. It's a funny thing, this poutine business, in central Canada. They're just so serious about cheese here! For example, today I was perusing the wares offered by "Rosie's Deli" in the lobby of my building, and noticed that little bags of cheese curds were among the items available. They were beside the pre-packaged fruit and veggie snack plates, as though you pick them up for a snack..? And in other news, I was reading an interesting story in the Ottawa Citizen today about introducing the delicacy to New Yorkers:
Most days, however, I'm an Ottawa explorer, strolling the downtown streets and taking in the city life. Spring has settled upon us just in time, so the weather is nice for walking. Since this city is a reasonably popular tourist destination, downtown feels somewhat geared to the visitor. There are lots of "chip stands" - converted motor-home-type vehicles with a walk-up order window and a full kitchen inside for preparing hot dogs and poutines for the hungry traveller - and an abundance of sidewalk restaurants and coffee shops, too. Since I'm still squeezing the last penny out of my bank account until I'm a paid employee again (payday is soon!), I'm avoiding anything resembling a store that might cause me to covet things. It's been depressing enough not to be able to spend any significant money on myself, no need to cause torture by shopping, eh.
One indulgence I might permit myself now and then is a poutine. It's a funny thing, this poutine business, in central Canada. They're just so serious about cheese here! For example, today I was perusing the wares offered by "Rosie's Deli" in the lobby of my building, and noticed that little bags of cheese curds were among the items available. They were beside the pre-packaged fruit and veggie snack plates, as though you pick them up for a snack..? And in other news, I was reading an interesting story in the Ottawa Citizen today about introducing the delicacy to New Yorkers:
But people have also been flocking to the gastropub at Seventh Avenue and Little West 12th Street to sample something comfortably familiar to Canadians, yet utterly foreign to the palates of fashionable New Yorkers: poutine.Today I let Rosie make me a turkey sandwich for lunch. What did you eat? | ¶ 7:04 p.m.
