Valentine’s Day Plans

❤️ Hintonburg Public House is keeping it low key on Friday February 14 with the regular menu brunch offering, along with a few surprises. Reservations are recommended. 

❤️ Here’s a list of the eating and drinking details of the Love and Delight Getaway Package at Moulin Wakefield Mill: Chocolate-covered strawberries, sparking wine in your room, a three-course Discover Meal at La Muse Restaurant and a gourmet breakfast for two. You’ll be staying one night in a Heritage standard room. The package costs $445 for two people and is available on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout February. 

And in other news

▪️Alas, Pearson Street Smash Burgers ’N Melts has had to delay its opening. 

▪️It’s Ice Cream for Breakfast Day this Saturday. The Merry Dairy is covering all bases with delivery to your door, in-store dining (at 102 Fairmont St), and takeaway. 

▪️Join North America’s Best Annual Celebration of National Gastronomy as 10 of Canada’s best chefs – including Ottawa’s own Lizardo Becerra of Raphaël Peruvian Cuisine – showcase their culinary prowess at the Canadian Culinary Championship. On Friday night, the chefs will battle it out in the Mystery Wine Competition. However, on Saturday the tension will really mount as the competitors will cook up a storm in the Black Box Competition at Collège La Cité and the Grand Finale Competition at Rogers Centre Ottawa. A portion of proceeds supports music education, sports opportunities and healthy food for Canadian youth through MusiCounts, Spirit North, Ottawa Network for Education (ONFE) and BGC Ottawa (formerly Boys and Girls Club).

▪️Meal Prep Ottawa is donating a portion of each sale of its DIXON Breakfast Burrito to CHEO. The $11.49 burrito, created by fitness expert Samuel Dixon, contains ‘tender pulled chicken, thick sliced bacon, roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed peppers and onions, fluffy scrambled eggs, cheddar, and yogurt chipotle crema’.

▪️Tourism Ottawa has put together a list of the Capital’s healthy eating options. Vegan and vegetarian: The Green Door,  St. Elsewhere,  Pure Kitchen, Astoria Bistro Botanique in Gatineau, Peace-Garden Vegetarian, and Govinda’s. Gluten Free: Wolf Down, La Dolce Vita, Fairouz Café, Thali, Little Jo Berry’s, and Strawberry Blonde. Mocktails: Union 613, Riviera, El Camino,  Starling, Manor Lounge, The Belmont, and Thr33’s Co. Snack Bar. Healthy bites: Mad Radish, Paradise Poké, Freshii, Green Rebel, PI·RHO Grill, Chickpeas, and Juice Dudez.

▪️Of course as always, Peter Hum in the Ottawa Citizen is going in a different direction. He’s enjoying the cookies, cakes, and tarts created by Kokoro Bakeshop to celebrate the Year of the Snake.

▪️In Eat the Strip, Ameya Charnalia loved the comfort food of Greek Souvlaki House on Rivergate Way.

The number of years that parents and schools have been squabbling over a shared dirt playground in the Glebe. Mutchmor Public School (Ottawa Carleton District School Board) and Corpus Christi School (Ottawa Catholic School Board) share a large playground that is considered unusable in bad weather. Mutchmor has proposed using artificial turf but some groups are appalled at the very idea.

The snowmobile pro-racing circuit star from Drummondville has joined the Honest Herbs team at the Bonnechere Cup Races this weekend in Eganville. Honest Herbs – it’s a cannabis store based in Golden Lake – is the biggest sponsor of the 49th Bonnechere Cup and is entering 11 racers.

– Sean Moore, the city’s director of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment project, seems to expect attendance to drop despite Ottawa Charge never selling fewer than 6,000 tickets and having hit a record sale of 8,300. Lansdowne 2.0 plans for a 5,500 seat arena.

In a letter to the editor of the Citizen, Judy Warren writes ‘Moore would never make this comment about an arena for the Ottawa Senators’.

No more meetings this week

▪️As rumoured, Premier Doug Ford asked Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont to draw up the writs of election yesterday, to which she agreed. There are 124 ridings in Ontario, 11 of which are in the Capital region. Election day will be February 27.

The election was scheduled for June 2026 but Ford says he requested an early election to have a mandate to fight the tariff threat from the United States.

If you are currently on the voters list, you just need to show up at your polling place with one piece of ID. If you are not, you’ll need two – one of which must have your address. Elections Ontario has the details.

CTV Ottawa has a list of candidates so far.

▪️This is a new one for us: instead of a house, a vehicle has crashed into a gas line near the Blair O Train station. No one was hurt but trains were not running between Blair and St-Laurent stations for several hours. Service has been restored.

▪️Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is giving up his seat on the Ottawa Police Service Board. Sutcliffe says that there is still a ‘long way’ to go for the Service to restore trust but he believes the police have acknowledged that. Riverside South ward councillor Steve Desroches has been appointed by City Council to take Sutcliffe’s seat.

▪️The Province has approved a second homelessness and addiction hub for Ottawa, this one to be based at the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre. The idea of the hubs is not for the safer supply of drugs (which is not allowed) but services like ‘shelter beds, addiction care, primary care, supportive housing, [and] employment support’.

🆓 Enjoy a bowl of tasty Lentil and Vegetable soup prepared by Chef Rick’s Food Services Training Programme students. 55 ByWard Market Sq. 

▪️ Expect generous prizes galore at the second anniversary of Nerdy Bingo at Laugh Lounge. 

▪️ Night Oat, which replaced Montgomery Scotch Lounge a few months back, presents its inaugural Open Stage night. A house guitar is provided. 

▪️Drop by the Brass Monkey to support Aspie Drummer in his quest to beat the Guiness World Record. 

▪️ Bring your own supplies to the Life Drawing event at Art House Café. 

▪️ Join the burger party as Pearson Street Smash BurgerS N’ Melts opens its first non-food truck location at 1480 Cyrville Road, K1B 3L9. 

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: The Brutalist, The Room Next Door 

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: The Substance, The Last Showgirl, Lifeforce 

Gigs

▪️ Jazz Nite with Gerri Trimble. Queen St. Fare

▪️ Small Fish Comedy and Variety Show. Irene’s Pub

▪️ Widescreen. Club SAW

▪️ Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival rolls out with gigs by Caity Gyorgy and George.

▪️ At the NAC, the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra presents Exotic Explorations. 

▪️ Enjoy all the fun of Family Feud without the fancy set and live studio audience. Broadway Bar & Grill Central’s Feud Time Trivia will have teams competing to find the top three survey answers to questions. 

▪️ It’s probably best not to bring the kids to Epidermis Circus: The Weirdest Puppet Show You’ve Ever Seen, what with its adult content, puppet suicide, and swearing. 

▪️ It’s Rockabilly Theme Night at Aspie Drummer’s Guiness World Record Attempt for Autism at the Brass Monkey. $10 cover; $2 will go to the Ability Dogs Fund. 

▪️ Road Trip: The Cold Bear Brewing Bingo night in Arnprior will support the Arnprior Optimist Club. Your $30 entry includes your first drink. 

▪️ Thrill your friends with your 90s knowledge at The Bridge Public House at RSC. Trivia Night: 90s Pop Culture gets underway at 7:00 pm. 

▪️ Learn to Salsa with Jose Sandoval Dance at the Hardini Community Centre. 

▪️ Dominion City Brewing welcomes Fire Box Pasta to the taproomfrom 5:00 pm. Then, don your round glasses for Harry Potter-themed trivia at 7:00pm. 

▪️ Escape Manor has been creating exciting escape room experiences in Ottawa for 10 years. This Thursday’s Manorversary Celebration is a gala party with food, drinks, games, and fun. 

▪️ Strip Joker puts the audience in the driver’s seat. If you laugh when the comic tells a joke, they continue. If you don’t, they remove one article of clothing. And so on. 

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: The Brutalist, The Room Next Door. 

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: The Last Showgirl, Breaking Social, Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens 

Gigs

▪️ Friendly Frogs Freak Show. House of TARG

▪️ Chris Breitner. Irene’s Pub

▪️ Shane Pendergast. Red Bird

▪️ Emma Fradd. LIVE on Elgin

▪️ If Winterlude is usually a bit too frantic for you, try the Relaxed Night Out: there’s a silent disco, large scale games, maker/craft spaces, and more quiet and reflective activities for a lower-key celebration of Ottawa’s winter festival. 

▪️ In Vanier, Anina’s Café is offering an evening of Tarot & Cocktails. 

▪️ Charcuterie, a craft cocktail, and murder are on the menu at the Unitarian House of Ottawa Killer Cocktails Murder Mystery fundraiser. 

▪️ Sample alcohol-free drinks from Collective Arts Brewery and Bicycle Craft Brewery at Maker House’s January THIRSTY First-Non-Alcoholic Tasting Event.

▪️ Beau’s All Natural Brewing combines an East Coast Shed Party with an Open Mic. Bring your own instruments. 

▪️ Tonight’s lineup at the Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival: Hilario Duran Trio, Nitroturtle, Don Byron Solo, Jocelyn Gould, and Tara Kannangara. 

▪️ You don’t need any experience to try out the Learn to Swing Danceat 174 Wilbrod St. 

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: The Brutalist, Hard Truths 

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: The Room Next Door, Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story, The Substance 

Gigs

▪️ The Low Profiles. Night Oat

▪️ The Bluestone Collective, Derecho Party. Avant-Garde Bar

▪️ Indiepop post-punk alt 00s New Wave. 27 Club

▪️ Big Shiny Tunes Live. House of TARG

▪️ Bronson Novella. LIVE on Elgin

▪️ Groove Society. Poa Tiki Bar

▪️ The Groovebug. Irene’s Pub

▪️ The next Disco Bus shopping trip from Sheshopslocal.ca on Sunday March 2 will visit all three locations of Habitat for Humanity ReStore, but this is more than merely a sustainable shopping excursion for furniture, accessories, and home decor. You’ll also attend a workshop at each location, led by The Ottawa Tool Library, Leeann Lacroix (Celebrity Designer “Design on a dime!”), contractor Ryan, and Horsehead Thrift. The Early Bird Price is $59 per person. 

▪️ The Young Authors Writing Workshop gives young writers 10-14 years of age the space and tools to express themselves creatively and build confidence in their voice. Hosted by Westboro Books. February 19-March 29. 

Rogers Community Channel 22 personality Tom Green tells our American neighbours that ‘we’ll never be the 51st state’ in a new song on YouTube that he has just released, ‘I’m a Canadian’. Mostly filmed on location on the Rideau Canal, Green has a supporting back up singer in Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.