cities

Tucked behind one of the city’s finest bakeries, Benny’s Bistro is a colourful little nook for a lush breakfast. Solidly good coffee and freshly squeezed juice go without saying, but good wafts from the bakery sometimes require the immediate ordering of a buttery brioche. Otherwise, there’s bacon and eggs with a fingerling potato hash, a well-made mushroom omelette or a racier goat cheese frittata with chipotle crème fraîche. Pick up a box of macarons for later.

Oysters and champagne have always mixed with politics, and this French- style brasserie fills up during “Hill Hour” (weeknights, 4 till 7) with politicos who mix raw seafood with raw opinion, fuelled with a generous variety of beers on tap, and a long list of wines and Champagnes by the glass.

This is the little brother of arguably the best restaurant in town (Beckta Dining & Wine). Owner Stephen Beckta is very much the drawing card. Imaginative small plates are Play’s game and chef Michael Moffatt is the able coach. Extensive charcuterie menu and some of the finest samples of Upper and Lower Canadian cheeses. A wide reaching and food-friendly wine list comes with confident matchmakers. Don’t miss salmon gravlax with beet, green apple and a ginger gastrique.

Contemporary, stylish, in heritage digs, among Social’s many assets are its curvy booths ideal for private dining. Else you might perch near the large scalloped windows that overlook the handsome Connaught Building on Sussex Drive. Dishes from the Social kitchen are well made, founded on the mission of sourcing the best when the best is at its best. Mushrooms on toast are elevated from nursery comfort food to sophisticated fare when the raw materials are prime. Albacore tuna has pungent Niçoise mates and dark-seared, ruby-red venison comes with an assertive rhubarb compote.

Among its physical assets are a solid bone structure of 19th century stone walls and the youthful cosmetics of a classy renovation. Liquid assets include one of the finest wine lists in the city, over two dozen wines by the glass, a fine selection of single malts and vintage port. Wonderful cheeses to match.

The tall wall of windows at the refurbished Westin Hotel bar affords splendid views of Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal thanks to a third floor outlook. Landmarks delivers a strong choice of craft beers on tap, a solid wine list and some elegant cocktails based on premium spirits and creative flair.

Stephen Beckta’s restaurant is approaching the decade mark with no indication of resting on its laurels. It continues to offer sound reasons to pay it a visit year after year: ambitious, season-driven cuisine that manages to be both modern and yet totally classic; a steady stream of limited wines at fair prices; and some of the most congenial service in the city.

Inarguably the top French restaurant in the region, Le Baccara is the fine dining room of the Casino du Lac Leamy in Gatineau. Led for over a decade now by chef Serge Rourre, the cooking is of the highest standard. Flavours are deep, sauces gossamer, and the pedigree of the raw materials is obvious in every dish. The wine list is encyclopedic and the staff is the most consistently civilized and knowledgeable in the region.

Be not discouraged by its bald outer shell; Atelier is wunderchef Marc Lepine’s 22-seat, avant-garde laboratory-restaurant and a much finer-looking place once you’ve ventured in. A tasting menu of small plates (each well paired with a libation) removes the wearying business of determining what to eat. And what clever pleasures! Settle into the white leather armchairs and let the parade begin.

It marches to its own music (vinyl) defies strict categorization (a quirky seafood pub comes closest) and has next to no street presence, and yet you’d be hard pressed to find a more filled or fun neigbourhood joint with as accomplished a cuisine. Sit at the bar, order pristine oysters, a glass of Champagne, and then sample chef Charlotte Langley’s fish chowder or her wild salmon laced with bourbon butter. Reservations are essential.

Tall drapes create intimate spaces in this big, stylish dining room. Request a table by the fire, or to be tucked into the back of the upper level, at a linened table wrapped in heavy curtain. To the pleasure of refined service and Chef Matthew Carmichael’s sensous market cuisine, you may add that of Veuve Clicquot by the glass.

Not a shred of Howard Johnson lingers in this dapper boutique hotel, designed 10 years ago by Toronto’s Yabu Pushelberg. While guest rooms boast mohair throws, Egyptian linens, Frette robes and iPod docking stations, the upper lobby offers the comforts of hearth, lounge and library, and the sultry dining room delivers well regarded cuisine.

About to celebrate its centenary, the French Renaissance-style Château’s location – between the Parliament Buildings and the Byward Market, where the Ottawa River meets the Rideau Canal – really can’t be topped. Ask for an upper room overlooking The Hill. Wilfrid’s dining room is solidly good, and its hidden patio, La Terrasse, might be the best kept secret in Ottawa. Views of the sunset over the Rideau River are spectacular.

Veteran restaurateur George Monsour has returned from Paris to open Back Lane Café in the increasingly flavourful neighbourhood of Hintonburg. In the kitchen are two wood-burning ovens responsible for the robust flavour of much of the food. Gems include hearth-roasted shrimp with radicchio, a “Flintstone-sized” lamb shank tajine and a burbling fisherman’s stew of pristine seafood.

The black granite bar beneath the glittering cascade of bubble lights at this spanking new, $5-million steakhouse makes a swanky sort of perch. Start with a Brrrberry martini – Wild Turkey bourbon, vermouth, crème de Myrtilles, a squeeze of lemon and a dash of bitters – before moving on to the slabs of meat that are the bastion of this handshaking place.

Established in 1826, the ByWard Market is four-square blocks of butchers, boutiques, and bars, cafes, cheese shops, florists and one of Canada’s oldest public markets. Fish markets dating from 1860 are a stone’s throw from the contemporary design, fashion and housewares shops on Sussex Street. Another option: jump in a cab and head a few minutes west, to Westboro Village, Ottawa’s trendiest strip. Indoors, find it all at the Rideau Centre, including Ottawa’s Harry Rosen store.

Nothing beats a lope along the miles of the Rideau Canal’s running/biking paths.

People often choose their dry cleaners on the basis of convenience, but there is a hierarchy of quality in terms of the way garments are treated. A well-made garment that is cared for in a careful and professional way will last longer and feel  and look better. We believe it is worth going a few extra blocks to find a dry cleaner that is better equipped to deal with top-quality garments.
We also recommend that you dry-clean your garments infrequently (usually once a season); spot-clean and press if dry-cleaning isn’t required. To better care for your clothes, hang them properly between wearings, using broad-winged hangers. Don’t wear a garment two days in a row: giving it a day off allows natural fibres to hang out properly, restoring shape. Ask for no starch when you launder your shirts, to prolong their life. A properly made dress shirt allows for slight shrinkage over a number of launderings. Usually an extra half inch is added to the neck and sleeve length of a shirt to allow for this shrinkage.
 
If you are a Canadian dry cleaner operating in this market and feel that you should be included in this list, please contact us and give us an opportunity to test you out.

Brown’s Cleaners 
Various Locations
www.brownscleaners.ca

Hillary’s  
Various Locations
www.hillarys.ca