Ottawa Canada: Food & Culture
As Canada’s capitol city, it’s no wonder Ottawa has some of the most buzzed about foodie and cultural attractions. It’s home to Canada’s oldest operating Farmers Market and is one of the places Le Cordon Bleu chose to train culinary students, many of which go on to culinary fame and open restaurants in the city. Ottawa is also home to seven national museums that focus on everything from war, technology and aviation, to art, nature and science.
One of the best ways to jump right into both the culture and food is on a tour with C’est Bon Epicurean Adventures. Owner, Andree Rifou, takes guests on a walking tour through Byward Market, which has been operating since the 1840’s, making this Canada’s oldest farmers market.
On a tour, we meet several shop owners who greet us with samples and tell us the history of their business. At La Bottega Nicastro, owner Rocco Nicastro, takes us to the cheese counter inside this Italian market, to try a 48- month old parmesan. It’s so rich in flavor, I ask for one more bite because I know it’s rare I will ever try this much of an aged cheese again. Afterwards, we grab a European style espresso and Rocco walks us around the store, showing us sauces, pastas and olive oils imported from his home country, Italy.
At other places, we sample pastries at a French bakery and even food infused with beer at Brother’s Beer Bistro. The beer-cured salmon is incredible, but still nothing beats a straight up local brew.
“The craft beer scene in Ottawa right now is explosive with four to five breweries opening a year, says Brad Campeau, Owner of Brew Donkey Tours. Campeau has capitalized on beer market by opening Brew Donkey, a company that takes guests to different breweries in town on an old yellow school bus because many are too far apart to walk too. The spots on the tours rotate (see the schedule online) and usually include stops at four places like Dominion City Brewing Company, a brewery that uses heirloom organic specialty grains grown and milled in Ottawa. The tours run 6 to 8 hours, so it is an all day commitment, but for a beer lover the time will fly.
For one of the finest dining experiences, check out Le Cordon Bleu, which is both a culinary arts school and restaurant set up inside the Munross mansion just outside the downtown core. Signature Restaurant at Le Cordon Blue, focuses on seasonal ingredients with a lot of creativity. A top menu pick is the slow cooked halibut in olive oil, with peanut butter, brown butter emulsion.
Aside from food and drinks, Ottawa is home to some of the country’s most visited museums like the National Gallery of Canada, in the heart of the city, which features the world’s largest collection of Canadian Art. I admire the work of Mary Pratt, a realist painter who has a knack for creating captivating natural light in simple scenes like the sun shining through jelly bottles on a counter.
Inside you will also find international works of art as well as bright indoor spaces like an interior garden and courtyard. The architecture makes use of natural light with towering windows, making it a bright atmosphere.
The Canadian War Museum, a place filled with military history, is another one of the most visited museums in the city. I could easily spend an entire day here, seeing things like Nose Art from the World War II Halifax bombers, World War II Tanks and even 1940 Daimler-Benz Limo that belong to Hitler. I take in the silence at the Tomb on the Unknown Solider, where at 11 a.m. each November 11, the sun shines through the window of the Museum’s Memorial Hall and illuminates the headstone of Canada’s Unknown Soldier.
The building takes on a lot of symbolic architecture, too, which was designed after a wartime bunker. The theme of the building is “regeneration” and includes the use of river water in the cooling systems native self-seeding grasses on the roof.
Overall, Ottawa makes a fun weekend getaway, a city that despite its staid government ties, is also brimming with outdoor activities, delicious restaurants and cultural experiences galore, many of which are interactive.
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