Category: Uncategorized

General Jun 4, 2009 The Waffle No Comments I am not a big fan of coffee.  In fact, I never drink it.  I’ll have an Iced Capuccino or something similar from time to time, but that is it. I cannot understand people’s obsession with the drink, and how so many businesses have flourished over the years by selling that steaming concoction, which is one of the less politically correct produce in the world. Politicians and reporters are hooked on the stuff.  So, quite often, appointments, interviews and meetings of all sorts are held in coffee shops, and it is as true in Ottawa as it is in Washington, where we were set to meet with the White House Communications Director at the Caribou Coffee at the corner of Pennsylvania and 17th avenue, right across from the White House. As apparently usually is the case, the place was buzzing with tourists,…

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General Jun 4, 2009 The Waffle No Comments After a long day of hard work, it was time to relax a little and catch up with an old friend. A Canadian reporter now covering American politics, informing us of the latest developments, she has recently discovered a nice Latin-American style restaurant and bar in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC: the Rumba Café. I arrived first, which gave me a bit of time to sit at the bar and order a drink.  I asked the barman, a Parisian lost in DC, what was the specialty of the house.  He offered me a Pisco sour, a Peruvian drink made of pisco, a peruvian grape liquor, mixted with lime juice, egg whites and sugar.  At 9$, it was not cheap, but it was worth the try.  Nicely sour, the egg whites made it quite foamy and give this drink an interesting texture. I wouldn’t have…

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Uncategorized May 27, 2009 The Waffle No Comments I was quite excited to receive the newsletter from Made In France – a cool little boutique on the outskirt of the ByWard Market, which specializes in imported products from the culinary capital of the world.  It opened in 2005, and I do drop by from time to time. Amongst the new products available on the shelf soon, Brittany butter cookies, Sweet Pepper mustard, Truffle mustard, Apricot & Lavender jam, Rose petal confit, Salted butter caramels from Brittany, Cooking lavender, Truffles and Truffle Oil. Items are a bit pricy, but its not like you can find them at Food Basics. Be sure to check it out for A summer à la française! —————– Tuesday, May 26, 2009 French Summer-Un été à la française NEW Tablecloths & Placemats-NOUVEAU Nappes et Napperons Summer Shipment: Arriving early June!-Nouvel arrivage d’été début juin Summer Specials-Ventes d’été .

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General May 24, 2009 The Waffle 3 Comments On our way to Shauna’s graduation party – she is moving to Halifax to save lives – we had to stop for beer.  Since we stayed at the Hotel des Gouverneurs on Ste-Catherine, we dropped by the IGA at Place Dupuis to get some. Beers are important when you go to a party.  Shauna is portuguese, and therefore we knew we didn’t need to bring food (on the menu:  4 types of salad, cured meats, pork chops, chicken breasts, bunch of snacks – and 7 fully loaded desserts, and yes, I did try them all.)  But beers were needed.  I was quite pleased at the selection available at the IGA Place Dupuis – almost as pleased as Melissa was with the post-modern plastic shopping cart.   I hesitated a bit – and ended up selecting a 6-pack of Red from Les Trois Mousquetaires,…

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Politics May 22, 2009 The Waffle No Comments In the Ottawa Citizen Saturday Observer, the versatile and multitasking Glen McGregor  maps out the locations described by Terry Kilrea during his testimony at Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien‘s trial. (Kudos to Dennis Leung for the actual graphic.)  First, let me say that out of Terry Kilrea’s guide of 12 locations, I have actually been to 11 of them.  I am a regular at Maclaren’s and the Metropolitain, I go from time to time to The Lieutenant’s Pump, Dunn’s and the Elgin Street Diner, and I have been a couple of times to Biagio’s Italian Kitchen and Milestones.  But I have never been to the Ottawa Courthouse – since I have never been charged with:  “having or pretending to have influence with the Government of Canada, or with a Minister of the Government, directly or indirectly, offer, or agree, to accept for himself a reward, benefit…

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