▪️ Zachary Resnick in Apartment 613 speaks to Stofa chef-owner Jason Sawision about his ‘approachable fine dining’ ethos.

▪️ Also in Apartment 613, Kiersten Vuorimaki and Hannah Manning eat at Spark Beer + Pizza (‘they’re running a lunch special with 20% off food and drink every Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 am - 5:00 pm’), Noodle House 79 (‘the banh mi. Oh, goodness. The bread is perfection’), and Grounded Kitchen (‘[t]he fried halloumi was crispy, hot and salty—the perfect base for the cold ripe strawberries and the fresh basil’) in their Best Bites column.

▪️ At Eat the Strip, Ameya Charnalia made a first visit to one of Ottawa’s few fully vegan restos, Chickpeas. Charnalia says the hummus was ‘some of the tastiest we’ve had’.

▪️ Chick-fil-A opens its second Ottawa resto tomorrow, in Rideau Centre. The first one, which opened at the Tanger Outlets last summer, has proven quite popular.

▪️ The ByWard Market giveth and the ByWard Market taketh away. Canadian cheesesteak sandwich and poutinerie Philthy Philly’s will open in the former Saslove’s Meat Market space later this year. But after 35 years, the Blue Cactus has closed. Former owner Bob Firestone said ‘I think I'll just hand it over to the young people that are running the ByWard Market now’.

▪️ Over on Preston Street, Kathā will close at the end of the month just over a year after it opened. Toronto-based restaurateur Hemant Bhagwani will introduce a new concept in the same space later this year.

▪️ Peter Hum starts 2025 as he means to go on by sampling the croffles at Sharpfle Waffle which makes him think that ‘they’ve been perfected in Ottawa’.

▪️ Deacon Brodies’ first whisky tasting of 2025 is Casks of Character. Sunday January 12 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

▪️ 1. Who loves listicles? 2. THE OTTAWAN loves listicles.

☕ So, thank you to Jordan Pizzuti in the Ottawa Business Journal for ‘The six coziest coffee shops in central Ottawa to ‘work from home’’: Art House Café, Drip House, Wise Town Café, Arlington 5, Little Victories, and Ten Toes Somerset.

🍕 Thank you also to Laura Byrne Paquet, whose essential Ottawa Road Trips newsletter hipped us to Outaouais Tourism’s guide to great pizza places. Highlighted are: Roberto Pizza Romana, Biscotti & cie, Pizza Express, Le Bistro Montebello, Courges et cie, Piz’za-za, Levain bakery, Café du bistrot, Naples Pizza, and Boulangerie Aux deux frères.

▪️ Imagine you’re at a cozy night spot listening to the smooth jazz stylings of vocalist Jahmeena, with a cocktail or fine glass of red in your hand. It’s no dream; this is what you’ll be doing at Bar Robo tonight.

▪️ The Ministry of Coffee will be vacating its 1013 Wellington St premises, with Sunday January 12 being the final day of operation. According to an Instagram post, the move is down to “a legal dispute with our Hintonburg landlord.” The release also said that the “Downtown Laurier” location at 141 Laurier Ave W will soon be open on weekends, with hours that will be announced soon.

▪️ Road Trip: Banish the January blahs with the Prime Rib dinner at Perth Ontario’s Gather restaurant on Thursday January 23 and Friday January 24. The venue is closed for its annual holiday but will be checking email for reservations.

🍺 Beer News

🍻  Road Trip: We had the chance to visit Covered Bridge’s new location in the tiny village of Kinburn during the holidays. We enjoyed delicious beer and great company (plus sammies from the Upper Deck Express truck out back).The brewery is currently in “soft open” mode and plans a grand opening shindig sometime soon. But you should go now, like the cool kids do. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

🍻 Firebox Pizza pops up at Dominion City tomorrow night (Thursday January 9).

If you’re doing Dry January, you can still support your local brewery by trying one of the plethora of alcohol-free beers:

🍻 Whitewater Brewing has a Pale Ale and a Blonde Ale with zero alcohol. Enjoy them both in the Launch Week 12-Pack for $29.99.

🍻 Dominion City Brewing’s Working Lunch is a snappy lager with an ABV of just .5%.

🍻 Whiprsnapr’s Hop Water is a refreshing drink of just water, hops, and bubbles.

🍻 The Perth Brewing Non-Ale Mixed 6-Pack includes two each of the brewery’s Play Lager, Ip-YAY, and Unleashed Amber. On sale now for $16.87.

🍻 Bicycle Craft Brewing keeps it “Fresh” with a beer they describe as “dry, light, and super-refreshing.”

The amount of money that a 91 year-old Ottawa resident had to pay out of pocket for the new RSV vaccine for himself and his wife. Ottawa Public Health provides the vaccine for free at retirement homes but seniors who go to a pharmacy must pay the full amount.

With Ali Collins, Collins is the co-founder of ecological landscaping business REWILD which was pitched on CBC’s Dragon’s Den last week. Unfortunately for the Dragons, none took up REWILD’s offer of 10 per cent of the business for $250,000.

– Kitchissippi ward councillor Jeff Leiper, who says that a safer supply drug programme run by Northwood Recovery in Hintonburg has caused an open air drug market to appear. Unlike a supervised consumption site, which is heavily regulated and supervised, a safer supply drug programme is licensed like a doctor’s clinic.

Leiper believes that people who are seeking toxic drugs like fentanyl can get a prescription for the less harmful drug hydromorphone, which is then sold for cash in order to buy the strong stuff they sought in the first place. This theory is prevalent in other cities, particularly Vancouver. But it is not clear that this theory is actually accurate.

▪️The City says that the National Capital Commission is trying to skip out on $30 to $45 million in payments over the next 10 years. Like most Federal government property owners, the National Capital Commission is exempt from property tax but voluntarily turns over an equivalent ‘payment in lieu’. The City says the Commission is unfairly deeming many properties as parkland or pathways to calculate the lowest rate. LeBreton Flats, for instance, should have paid $1.8 million from 2018 to 2022 rather than nothing says the City.

▪️An Ottawa Police Service constable who crashed an unmarked police vehicle on St Patrick’s Day last year while he was drunk has received a demotion for 22 months. Constable Cory Chuchryk will be demoted from constable first class to constable second class after pleading guilty to two counts of discreditable conduct, one count of insubordination, and one count of damage under the Police Services Act. Chuchryk previously pleaded guilty to impaired driving, receiving a $5,000 fine, a 12 month driving suspension, and an order to pay $5,000 to the Police Service for destroying the $10,000 vehicle.

▪️CTV reporter times herself driving from Limebank Station to Rideau Station and again taking the new Line 2. She found that driving took 27 minutes and 40 seconds versus 59 minutes riding the O Train. Darren finds this relevant because he wrote the exact same story for his high school newspaper when the SkyTrain opened in Vancouver in 1986.

▪️Drawings of the proposed new north-side stands and event centre at TD Place have been released. The City is paying $419 million for the benefit of a private company to replace the Arena at TD Place with a new event venue, cutting thousands of seats to build a new north stand.

On Wednesday, January 15, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, there will be an in-person and a virtual Public Information Session to learn more about the plan.

▪️ The Nepean Sailing Club presents an enlightening talk with John and Eleanor Tutton as they share their journey (so far) of a dream retirement afloat in the Caribbean. They will share their practical tips on living at sea and exploring the Caribbean while maximizing comfort and financial sustainability. 7:00 pm at Nepean Sailing Club.

🆓 Ottawa Bad Movie Nights are back with a curated film series at Ottawa Public Library’s Main Branch. Tonight, catch the exquisitely campy Barbarella (1968) with Jane Fonda and a host of straight-faced costars.

▪️ Have a happy hump day with the Karaoke Party at the Prescott.

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: The Sacrifice, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, Babygirl

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Anora, Maria, 2001: A Space Odyssey 

Gigs

▪️ Bluegrass Wednesdays with the Dusty Drifters. Red Bird ($20)

▪️ Jazz Nite with Jahmeema. Bar Robo

▪️ Eden Moore’s Drag Me to 2025

▪️ The Prime Rib Big Band. Irene’s Pub

▪️ An in-person session ‘to learn about and provide feedback on the Tewin project and the study process will be held tonight.. Display panels will introduce a preliminary land use plan and options for supporting infrastructure’. 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm Carlsbad Springs Community Centre (6020 Piperville Road). (Details)

▪️ Enjoy games and ice time during the Family Games and Skate Night on the synthetic rink at 55 ByWard Market Square.

▪️ Figureworks’ 12th Prize Show will open with a Vernissage at Wallack Galleries (308 Bank St). Attendees who arrive early enough will have the opportunity to cast a vote in the People’s Choice Award. The exhibition will be up until January 18.

▪️ Microgreens Ottawa is holding another 1.5 hour beginner course to teach you the basics is growing your own crop of microgreens at home. $70 + tax (includes supplies).

🆓 You don’t need a reservation to participate in Bingo Night at Broadhead Brewery. You should, however, bring your competitive spirit.

▪️ You do need a reservation for Stray Dog Brewing’s Trivia Night.

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Vermiglio, Babygirl, A Real Pain  

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Maria, Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979) 

Gigs

▪️ Dart Trees. LIVE on Elgin

▪️ Karaoke Thursdays. Atomic Rooster

▪️ Maria Hawkins. Irene’s Pub

▪️ Big Trout. Rainbow Bistro

▪️ NAC Orchestra performs music from Final Fantasy tonight and tomorrow.

▪️ Take your cardio workout back to the spandex era with 80s Aerobics Night at Tandem Unified Wellness in Brockville. Email for details.

▪️ Go snowshoeing under the stars with Friends of Gatineau Park.

▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Drunken Cinema: Weird Science, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, L’Amour ouf

▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Queer, A Real Pain, The Room

Gigs

▪️ The Rembros. Carleton Tavern

▪️ 80s Dance Party. House of TARG

▪️ The Strum Chums. Brew Revolution

▪️ Johnny Franco. Aulde Dubliner

▪️ The Vice Parade. Irene’s Pub

▪️ Noise Hotel. Rainbow Bistro

▪️ Four-Eyed Muscle Man, Small Leap, Bathwash. Avant-Garde Bar

🆓 If you’re an entrepreneur you need to know how to protect your assets. Join the Ottawa Business Journal’s webinar to learn about IP, patents, trademarks, and copyright. 12:00 pm on Wednesday January 22.

▪️ Nepean Sailing Club’s Winter Speaker Series continues on January 22 with Preparation for the Clipper Round the World Race, as explained by racer Tony Malaty.

Environment Canada is prognosticating sub -10° temperatures for the rest of the week. The Ottawa Paramedic Service has some life-saving tips for avoiding hypothermia and frostbite.