Hello Ottawa

WEDNESDAY DINING AND DRINKING UPDATE

• 🍕 Starting Sunday May 17, 1818 Farm and Cidery will serve a brunch that takes inspiration from the land around the venue. Consider, if you will: the Breakfast Pizza with Shaved Prosciutto and Cider Mustard or the Cinnamon Roll French Toast with Maple Whipped Cream Cream Cheese and Berry Relish. Or visit on a Wednesday evening for the free cider tour (you must book in advance). (West Ottawa)

  🌷 Road Trip: Saunders Farm’s Tulipfest (not to be confused with the Canadian Tulip Festival at Commissioner's Park) dives deep into all things Dutch on its food menu:  stroopwafels, biterballen, and dutch hotdogs are hightlights. It's really about the Instagram-able flowers in the fields, though. (Munster)  

• 🍺 Next up on Ottawa’s foodie calendar is the Kiwanis Feeds Kids fundraiser, featuring the city's chefs, brewers, and distillers of distinction. The event supports school-aged kids facing food insecurity; 37% of those accessing food programs are children and youth. Wednesday May 20 at Horticulture Building (Lansdowne). 

• 🇪🇸 Little Barcelona restaurant in Prescott has received a ‘Restaurants from Spain’ certification from the Spanish government, ‘awarded for demonstrating exceptional authenticity in Spanish cuisine, products and overall culinary experience’.

• 🍲 Peter Hum in the Ottawa Citizen has found the only restaurant in Ottawa that focuses on the food of Georgia and Armenia. Hum’s article is notable both because he was intrigued by the assortment of claypot stews at  Yan’s Restaurant and by the only use of the word ‘flaccid’ we have seen in a food review.

• 🇹🇭 Two years ago, Ralf Joneikies of Capital Eats was miffed at his treatment at Khao Thai, writing that ‘the servers were visibly irritated that I’d walked in’ just before lunchtime closing. But he has given it another chance and, it’s all right.

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

• 41%

• The percentage of Federal Agriculture Canada jobs – that’s  2,266 out of 5,690 employees – who work in Ottawa and Gatineau.

• – Robert Arnason in the Western Producer

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

• Roland Lalonde 

• The 104 year-old Second World War veteran was visited by Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, where Lalonde presented her with his painting of a tulip. Lalonde is the final surviving member of the Royal 22nd Regiment, which participated in the liberation of the Netherlands.

• – Nathan Fung at CBC

QUOTE

“

• There’s only one city in Canada that can truly provide everything the bank needs, and that city is Toronto

– Premier Doug Ford, continuing to lobby for NATO’s new defence bank to be located in Toronto, rather than Ottawa.

– Kate McGillivray at CBC

PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN

WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

THE DAILY POLL

Who is your favourite professional Ottawa sports team?

🔘 Ottawa Charge

🔘 Ottawa Senators

🔘 Ottawa Redblacks

🔘 Ottawa Blackjacks

🔘 Ottawa Rapid

🔘 Atlético Ottawa

🔘 Ottawa Titans

• 
  Previously in OTTAWAN polls:

• 
  We asked ‘Is it a cold or is it allergies (Darren’s suffering with something right now...)’

  • 8% It’s a miserable, springtime cold

  • 17% It’s a pollen allergy

  • 17% It's some other kind of allergy

  • 25% What am I, a doctor/pharmacist/other healthcare provider?!

  • 33% Insert pithy comment here
    
    Commentary

Feel better soon Darren.”

▪️ “I know since I suffer from the same issues each and every spring. Achoo!”

▪️ “My spouse is a flight attendant and had an annoying little head cold for a good week. Lots of congestion and bullshittery.”

▪️ “It’s neither of those; it’s buttery withdrawal syndrome. I’ve got that, too.”

▪️ “I’m still thinking about restaurant lines. Am shocked how many readers won’t bother for more than 15 minutes. Folks! Pretend it’s a city! With some really excellent dining options that are in demand! Especially during this time of year, allergies or no!!”

▪️ “Tulip allergy or it's just a Man Flu.”

▪️ “Hay fever is truly miserable. Between the mold from unraked leaves, the ragweed, and the pollen explosion, it’s a lot of sudden allergen exposure for many people.”

▪️ “All of the above.”

▪️ “If everybody gets hit at the same time, it's likely something like pollen. I have noticed increased congestion in family members that are not in daily contact. But one has sniffles , that is indeterminate.”

▪️ “Take a bottle of scotch, 2 tylenol and see how you feel in the morning.”

▪️ “Because it is a miserable cold spring!”

▪️ “Alage cured my allergies. Evidence based!”

HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

BNR T-Shirt Bell Northern Research was founded in 1971. In 1996, it was purchased by Nortel and eventually shared that companies fate. The BNR campus in Ottawa was fondly deemed the ‘Big Nerd Ranch’, and is now the headquarters of the Department of National Defence. Help support the ottawan by buying one of our historic logo t-shirts. Shop for t-shirts

THE ROLLING THREE DAY CALENDAR

Is there an event we should know about?
Please use our easy event submission form

✳️ Means change from previous edition

WEDNESDAY

• ✳️ Moulin Rouge! The Musical continues at National Arts Centre. (Downtown) 

• 🆓 Doors Open for Music at Southminster (DOMS) presents ‘Childhood Memories:with pianist Jui-Sheng Li’. Pieces by Bortkiewicz, Debussy, Schumann, and Wild will evoke fairy-tale worlds by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christen Anderson. (Old Ottawa South)  

• Ottawa Little Theatre’s production of Mark Crawford’s The Birds and The Bees is an adult comedy set in the world of beekeeping. The show runs Wednesdays through Saturdays until May 23 (Sandy Hill)  

• The creative folks at Our Third Place are meeting at Hog’s Back Falls for board games, arts and crafts, and an optional 30-45 minute group hike.(Hog's Back - Prince of Wales) 

• Visit Beyond the Pale Brewing and guess the theme at Outside the Box Trivia.  You might win a prize. (Centretown West)  

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Holy Days, Palestine 36, Lady Vengeance – 35mm Screening 

• Mayfair Theatre: The Christophers, Mile End Kicks, The Blade 

Gigs

• Open Mic. Atomic Rooster

• Drag Me Through the Decades with host Eden Moore. LIVE on Elgin

• Goth and Deathrock Party. Dominion Tavern

THURSDAY

• Toto Too’s production of the musical drama Fun Home opens at the Gladstone Theatre. Adapted from Alison Bechdel’s eponymous graphic novel, the play won five Tony awards including Best Musical. It's playing Thursday through Sunday until May 23. (Little Italy)  

• At the Canadian Tulip Festival, each day is a little different as more blooms open and reach peak. Wander for free or buy a $5 ticket to The Tulip Trail, which outlines the history of the flower. (Little Italy)

• Urban Art Collective’s Hintonburg Night Market is a weekly shop and hang with vendors selling all manner of cool items. Drop by to kickstart your weekend. 

• Head to Octopus Books for a double launch: a new collection of short stories by  Ottawa author Ian Roy and the first graphic novel by visiting writer Jon Claytor. (The Glebe) 

• Saunders Farm’s new Tulipfest offers photo-worthy backdrops of more than 500,000 flowers. 

• Learn the incredible history of Beechwood Cemetery, also known as Canada's National Cemetery, at the launch of the new book The Journey of Beechwood Cemetery : Canada's Legacy Written in Stone. (Vanier) 

• Ottawa Little Theatre’s production of Mark Crawford’s The Birds and The Bees continues. (Sandy Hill)   

• Moulin Rouge! The Musical continues at National Arts Centre. (Downtown)  

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Palestine 36, Slumber Party: Dirty Dancing, Drawn In: Ghost in the Shell  

• Mayfair Theatre: The Christophers, Mile End Kicks  

Gigs

• Robert Claro. The Robo Lounge

• Ariel Posen. Club SAWSport, Aspect Lisse, The Hunt Club. LIVE on Elgin

• The Hirs Collective, Subtrash, Cultural Treason. Avant-Garde Bar

• Trivia. Overflow Brewing

FRIDAY

• 🆓 Kemptville Buskerfest warms up with a pre-festival party tonight. Free entry but pack some tips for the performers and money for dinner. 

• Those dressed in vintage 1920s-40s style will pay a mere 10 bucks at the door to Ottawa Vintage Swing’s Vintage Party. (Sandy Hill) 

• After you’ve explored the tulips at Commissioner’s Park, wander through SPAO's ever-evolving, self-guided Photo Walk in nearby Little Italy. 

• Established in 1977, CanGames Tabletop Game Convention takes over Rideau Curling Club today through Sunday. While you can no longer purchase an advance pass, you'll be able to buy one at the door. (Downtown) 

• Join the party for Atlantis Jazz Ensemble's new LP Mystic Suite. Irene's Pub 9:00 pm (The Glebe) 

• If the click of mechanical keyboards intrigues you, be at Next Door Marketing and Event Space on Saturday (May 16) for the Ottawa Mechanical Keyboard Meetup 2026.

• 🆓 The Robo Lounge welcomes Ottawa piano legend Noel Dimar. (The Glebe)  

• Support the local vendors at the Gloucester Night Market at Earl Armstrong Arena. 

• Moulin Rouge! The Musical continues at National Arts Centre. (Downtown)

• Toto Too’s production of Fun Home continues at the Gladstone Theatre. 

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: The Wizard of the Kremlin, I Swear, Blue Heron, Restoration: Nowhere 

• Mayfair Theatre: The Christophers, Calle Málaga, The Room

Gigs

•  80s Dance Party. House of TARG

• Flamenco on Tour. Bar Robo

• Steve Hofstetter. Bronson Centre

• The Weeknd Night. The 27 Club

• Thunderslave, Ammo. Avant-Garde Bar

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

• Participants of the Steinway Advance Performance Class will play the music of Chopin, Liszt, Johan Sebastian Bach, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Beethoven, Charles-Valetin Alkan, and Robert Schumann in a free concert courtesy of Ottawa Chamberfest. Tuesday May 19 at Ottawa City Hall (Downtown) 

DEALS OF THE DAY

While checking out the new collection of shoulder-baring knit sweaters at Eliza Faulkner, we couldn't resist a peek at the sale pages. We found dresses, tops, bottoms, outerwear, and accessories at reduced prices, all waiting to be absorbed into your Canadian-made loving closet.

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BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

Bruce Deachman in the Ottawa Citizen has an extremely provocative column this week: ‘The part of Jim Watson I miss’.

‘ I’m not advocating for his return’, Deachman says, but ‘sometimes I think I’d kill for a little more of that kind of micromanaging’.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

THE END

THE OTTAWAN is written and edited every working weekday by Martha and Darren. Is there something that Ottawa should know about? Email to us at hello@theottawan.com. We read every single comment.