[CH] Ottawa Hot Spots?
Jim Weller (jweller@ssimicro.com)
Thu, 11 Apr 2002 20:40:38 -0600
From: "Mike Benson"
Subject: [CH] Ottawa Hot Spots?
Sender: owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com
Reply-To: "Mike Benson" <>
> I'll be in Ottawa, Canada, next week and I'm wondering if there's any
good
> hot spots. I'll be staying near York St. and Dalhousie. I don't
think I'll
> have a car
I live in Yellowknife but Ottawa was my home town and I still get back
there about once a year.
One place you *must* visit is Chilly Chiles operated by Rob Myers and
Alison Steele-Myers at 493 Sussex Drive. It's a hot sauce store, perhaps
the best in Canada, with over 800 products. And it's an easy walk from
your hotel.
The restaurant scene changes so quickly I hesitate to make a
recommendation but you can check them out at:
http://www.globeandmail.com/fooddining/
You can search by neighbourhood, price range, and ethnicity. The ratings
are averages created by the eating public using the site, not reviewers.
(The Toronto Globe and Mail is one of our better papers.)
I don't know of any places geared strictly to Chile Heads but there is a
good Indian and a nice Vietnamese place close to your hotel. Cage
Shafali on Dalhousie and the Saigon Restaurant on Clarence.
There is little in the way of Tex-mex or Mexican to recommend; Rosa's
Cantina is the best of a bad lot.
I know the west end better than I do the downtown Byword market area. My
favourite spots are a short cab ride away in centre town. Somerset
Street between Bank and Preston is full of funky little ethnic places
and Preston is the heart of Ottawa's old Little Italy. You can stroll
either of these streets and find dozens of great places and get a good
meal at any one of them at random.
> Also, has anyone had any trouble getting in and out of Canada lately,
via
>airport? I've never had a passport, lost my Social Security card, not
sure
> if I can find my birth certificate, etc. All I have is a drivers
license.
It used to be easy to cross with just a driver's licence but post 9/11
you should have proof of U.S. citizenship such as a (replacement) birth
certificate plus photo I.D. Last time I drove from Ottawa to Plattsburg,
N.Y. I needed both my photo driver's licence plus my birth certificate
going in both directions; that's the first time I needed good I.D. since
I was a poorly dressed, shaggy haired hippy in the 60's.
"When entering from the United States, U.S. citizens must show either a
U.S. passport or proof of U.S. citizenship and photo ID. U.S. citizens
entering Canada from a third country must have a valid passport. A visa
is not required for U.S. citizens for a stay up to 180 days. Anyone with
a criminal record (including a DWI charge) should contact the Canadian
Embassy or nearest Canadian consulate before travel."
Jim in Yellowknife