Bars, Bars, Ottawa Bars

Here are a few places off that beaten path that are worth dropping into. A charming secret in Little Italy is Pubwells (96 Preston St., 236-1175), a quiet working-class bar that features a fine selection of beer and spirits as well as some of the best pizza around, and a good weekend breakfast special. It’s my local, so I might be biased, but I doubt it. Another little spot is the Mad Cow Pub (1070 Bank St., 730-1020) in Old Ottawa South that has musicians performing various country and folk tunes on guitar (and their open-mike Wednesdays offer the usual combination of dreadful and extremely compelling). Still looking for the drink that once drove European artists mad? Well, your search stops here at the Absinthe Cafe Resto Bar (1208 Wellington St., 761-1138). The drink of choice for Oscar Wilde, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Allen Poe, and Charles Baudelaire, absinthe was banned in France in 1915, but was never outlawed in Canada.

In the heart of the market, the Empire Grill (47 Clarence St., 241-1343) is a good place to spend an afternoon on the patio with martinis, or enjoy some of the finest dining in the city. Don’t let the name fool you; buttless chaps and thigh-high boots are not required when drinking at Kinki (41 York St., 789-7559). If you can put up with the slightly self-conscious hipness, come check out the impressive Asian-fusion cuisine, including two-for-one sushi during happy hours (3-5 p.m., weekdays), and DJs as well as various live musicians from Wednesday to Saturday nights. If mixing dining and politics is more your bag, check out Parliament Pub (101 Sparks St., 563-0636), directly across from the Hill.

If you want to enjoy a martini while listening to a live DJ, the best and coolest place for both is at the Mercury Lounge, (56 Byward Market, upstairs, 789-5324). Or check out the Foundation (18B York St., 562-9331), in one of the few remaining (as they claim) “historically rich, heritage buildings.”
Otherwise, there’s Helsinki Lounge (15 George St., 241-2868), or the Aloha Room beneath Barrymore’s (323 Bank St., 233-0307), where you can get pints and hear the DJ spin tunes from your older brother’s record collection. You might even see some musicians hanging out from shows upstairs, or maybe Gord Downie from the Tragically Hip, just passing through town. Still, I prefer the lounge’s original name: Pete’s Nervous Onion.

If you’re in Corso Italia (Little Italy), check out the centre of all activity: Pub Italia (434&1/2 Preston St., 232-2326, ). “The world’s only Italian pub” (so they tell us), it features 165 distinctive beers from around the world (each with its own glass) with 34 taps, as well as food and ground coffee. Sit in the main section, which is their showcase Belgian pub, The Abbey, or on the outdoor patio.

For yummy blinis, good vodka, weird pickle plates, and intriguing ambience, go to Avant-Garde Bar & Gift Shop (135&1/2 Besserer St., 321-8908). Chosen in 2006 as the unofficial International Animation Film Festival drinking hole and meeting place, here you can get a variety of drinks and a bowl of munchables as you take in their heady decor, a mix of Russian constructivism and artwork inspired by Kandinski. They even play European music videos on the overhead television.

Located downstairs at 370 Elgin Street (231-2070), The Manx Pub is one of those friendly neighbourhood pubs you’d love to have close to where you live. Cornering the market on cool, the Manx Pub often sees the likes of musicians Kathleen Edwards, Jim Bryson, or Danny Michel on any given night, or writers Ken Babstock, John Metcalf, or Michael Winter. Even the staff is made up of writers and artists, including visual artist Andrew Farrell and poet David O’Meara, who hosts a reading series here on irregular Saturday afternoons. With a fine menu for lunch, weekend brunch, dinner, and appetizers, the Manx also offers a range of beers and scotch, as well as regular art shows and musical entertainment on Monday nights. But get there early, as this small venue fills up pretty quickly.

Ottawa Festivals

Perhaps Ottawa should be dubbed the “City of Festivals,” given the numerous events held here per season. To name just a few of them, there is Winterlude, the Ottawa Fringe Festival, West Fest, and the Ottawa Greek Fest.

There are well over 45 festivals, special events, and fairs that take place in Ottawa annually, with a variety that is sure to provide something for everyone.

Winterlude

Staged over three consecutive weekends in February, the annual Winterlude festival consists of more than 120 indoor and outdoor activities, which, after 20 years, attract over 1.2 million visitors to the Ottawa region annually. Events include: live music shows, professional figure skating performances, snow sculpting and ice carving competitions, the world’s largest skate-a-thon, and a bed race that draws crowds from miles around. In Gatineau, Jacques Cartier Park is transformed into a winter wonderland, the world’s largest children’s snow playground. Another feature is the downhill and cross-country skiing, including the Winterman and Winterwoman Sports Weekend, the 21-kilometre (13-mi) run that follows “Canadas discovery route” (Confederation Boulevard). World renowned, the event also is part of the prestigious world loppett (cross-country ski race) circuit. And, of course, always a highlight of Winterlude is skating on the Rideau Canal, featuring a “rink’ that stretches 7.8 kilometres (4.8 mi) from the Chateau Laurier to Dow’s Lake.

Ottawa Fringe Festival

This annual festival in June showcases local, national, and international performers and playwrights, some with shows touring other Fringe Festivals across Canada.

Ottawa Greek Fest

Every August, spend a few weeks of living “the Greek way.”

Ottawa International Animation Fest

The largest event of its kind in North America, this competitive festival showcases the best of cutting-edge, trend-setting animation as well as industry standards.

Ottawa International Busker Festival

Showcasing “five days of unorthodox entertainment,” the Busker Festival has some of the best musicians, jugglers, fire-eaters, storytellers, comedians, magicians, and mimes from Canada and around the world.

Ottawa Lumiere Festival

Ottawa’s nighttime festival, celebrating “the magic and mystical beauty of light” in New Edinburgh, with dance, music, poetry, and thousands of lantern.

West Fest

Westfest is Ottawa’s newest large-scale festival, a diverse celebration that includes, multidisciplinary arts, including music, performance art, literature, spoken word, media art, visual art, dance, theatre, and live animation. Starting Friday, June 12 through Sunday, June 14 an estimated 100,000 people will stroll through the community of Westboro Village in Ottawa. Join us on Richmond Road, between Golden Avenue and Island Park Drive. West Fest takes place on Richmond Road in Westboro, and shockingly enough, it is FREE.

For more information, see westfest.ca.