Ottawa (1/15-17) and/or Montreal (1/17-20) Meetups?

January 5, 2006 5:03 PM

Oh Canada! Ottawa (1/15-17) and/or Montreal (1/17-20) Meetups?
posted by amberglow to MetaFilter Gatherings at 5:03 PM (38 comments total)

I'm up for an Ottawa do, though Sunday through Tuesday may be awkward for some. I presume you're in town for some purpose or other; what's your pleasure, and what's convenient for you?
posted by mcwetboy at 5:43 PM on January 5, 2006

Sounds like a plan to me.
posted by mendel at 5:52 PM on January 5, 2006

it's spur of the moment, and i've never been to Ottawa, so what the hell. : >

either Sun or Monday night i guess, and i'm up for anything at all...drinks, eats, etc...nothing touristy tho (although it would be cool if we could cause a political scandal or two).
posted by amberglow at 6:09 PM on January 5, 2006

I'm staying on Cooper, bet. Elgin and the Canal but can get anywhere. You guys pick a place and a time, and i'll be there.
posted by amberglow at 6:58 PM on January 5, 2006

I know that area reasonably well. Elgin Street has many possibilities, from clubbing to coffee to neighbourhood restaurants. As for the last of these, I'm partial to the Mayflower, but there are certainly other options depending on mood, preference and liver capacity (mine, alas, is small; I'm getting old).
posted by mcwetboy at 8:07 PM on January 5, 2006

Yeah, Elgin St. is probably the best. The Griffin isn't bad as a sitdown bar. Not as noisy as the dancebars down the street. The Leuitenant's Pump is another option.
posted by bonehead at 9:17 PM on January 5, 2006

I won't be there, since I just left :(

Be sure to go to the big casino, it's got amazing restaurant action (or so my pops says).

Skate on the canal and eat Beavertails with butter and cinnamon and sugar.

Go to Swiss Chalet and eat a quarter chicken meal with the dipping sauce.

Elgin Street is going to be fun. For serious.

Practice giving and sharing friendliness.
posted by SassHat at 9:40 PM on January 5, 2006

we don't have to go to Elgin if other neighborhoods/places are better. i'm really up for anything--you guys decide. : >
posted by amberglow at 10:04 PM on January 5, 2006

ack.. you are a few months too early for us amberglow. me and mrs.frasermoo are moving to Toronto in May.
posted by Frasermoo at 6:10 AM on January 6, 2006

Elgin's as good as any; there's enough nearby to satisfy most preferences. Our last meetup was at a pub on Preston, which is a mile or so west; nice but busy. (We'll have better luck on a Sunday or Monday night, I think.)

Suggestions for places? I think that it would be best if we could hear ourselves think, so something pubbish or restaurantish rather than dancebarish, as Bruce suggests.
posted by mcwetboy at 7:26 AM on January 6, 2006

i'll be back up, Frasermoo--don't worry
posted by amberglow at 7:26 AM on January 6, 2006

I just remembered that the coffee shop at McLaren and Elgin has free wifi -- and wasn't Elgin supposed to be a test area for that sort of thing? I can't remember any more. Anyway, wifi would be good, don't you think?
posted by mcwetboy at 7:28 AM on January 6, 2006

I'm not in your city, so I can't come, but I would like to add: Go Sens.

Cheers.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 7:45 AM on January 6, 2006

Or we could start at a restaurant and move on after?
posted by amberglow at 8:42 AM on January 6, 2006

it would be cool if we could cause a political scandal or two

Well, Ottawa already has plenty of those...
posted by clevershark at 10:14 AM on January 6, 2006

Or we could start at a restaurant and move on after?

Pancho Villa's is nice texmex, the Ritz on Elgin is really good. Griffin's and the Mayflower both sell decent food. Then there's that fantastic Lebanese on Sommerset, Chinatown's just down the street... (don't get me started on restaurants).
posted by bonehead at 10:32 AM on January 6, 2006

is there any specifically ottawan food? (like montreal's poutine?)
posted by amberglow at 3:37 PM on January 6, 2006

Poutine's as much Ottawa as it is Montreal (because it's more rural Quebec chip truck as either of those). The Elgin St. Diner at the bottom of Elgin has some of the best poutine in town, if you want to partake, and then there are lots of pubs and such around there for afterwards, including the Manx next door (small but excellent), a generic Irish pub across the road (big, but plain), plus the places other folks have mentioned up the street a bit.
posted by mendel at 4:45 PM on January 6, 2006

it would be cool if we could cause a political scandal or two

Amberglow, you really ought to seduce Stephen Harper. It would be unpleasant for you, but would do him a world of good.
posted by orange swan at 5:01 PM on January 6, 2006

Hey, yeah, the Elgin Diner. I remember that place. I believe the usual routine was to go there and have the poutine or whatever at the end of the night, just before crawling home. It's not inconceivable that it might be an acceptable place for meeting up.
posted by sfenders at 6:16 PM on January 6, 2006

maybe we should save that place for after?
posted by amberglow at 6:55 PM on January 6, 2006

Yeah, on further thought, based on my very limited experience with such things, I would estimate that the Mayflower might be a better meetup location. Assuming it's still the quiet little pub I imagine it as. Mainly just because they have better beer.
posted by sfenders at 9:32 PM on January 6, 2006

that sounds like a plan...now pick a day.

Also: Who's up for skating on the canal? I must do this!

Note: We are pleased to announce that the 36th season of skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway will begin tomorrow. As of 9 a.m., Saturday, January 7, 2006, residents and visitors are invited to skate in the heart of Canada’s Capital on the “World’s Largest Naturally Frozen Ice Rink”, as officially recognized by Guinness World Records™. Until then, the NCC urges the public to refrain from venturing onto the Skateway in order to prevent damage to the ice surface, and to allow maintenance crews to complete their work in preparation for the opening.
posted by amberglow at 11:01 PM on January 6, 2006

I am convinced my xmas weight gain was entirely due to the elgin street diner's fantastic poutine. It's one of the things I miss the most from Ottawa.
posted by srboisvert at 9:08 AM on January 7, 2006

Ok, there's a tentative plan for Sunday:
Skating for an hour at 7pm on Sunday starting at the War
Memorial, then a meetup at somewhere on Elgin at 8ish?
posted by amberglow at 5:18 PM on January 7, 2006

I'd be up for the meetup but I'll forgo any skating. I'm aiming for 0 broken bones this year and skating would only push my luck.
posted by pookzilla at 8:03 AM on January 10, 2006

Cool, pook--i'll probably fall a few times myself : >

Can everyone do Sunday? Are we on? Which place after?
posted by amberglow at 10:14 AM on January 10, 2006

Now it might be too warm for skating?
posted by amberglow at 10:23 AM on January 11, 2006

It's not looking too good, that's for sure. It's 6C (43F) here today with rain.

Depending on the number of people, I'd say the Manx Pub. It's not too busy on Sunday night and they have a great bar. Food's pretty good too.
posted by bonehead at 12:30 PM on January 11, 2006

it's warm here too, but the forecast for ottawa says it'll be only 19 on Sunday, and go below freezing every night this week. How long does it take for a foot of ice to melt?
posted by amberglow at 1:19 PM on January 11, 2006

They've already marked the canal as closed for skating. Sunday is forecast to be reasonably cold, but between now and then are two more days of melting. Not much of a winter this year so far.

The Manx sounds like an excellent place, to judge by my quick web search. I don't think it was there when I lived in the area. Any place with both a good selection of scotch and vegan food on the menu has to be worth a visit.
posted by sfenders at 4:19 PM on January 11, 2006

aw...i really wanted to skate on that canal--except for Holland (where it's also not usually cold enough lately) there's nowhere else i'd ever heard of having anything like it.

So Sunday night at the Manx--starting at 7pm or 8? Can people make it then?
posted by amberglow at 7:31 AM on January 12, 2006

7-8 is good for me.
posted by pookzilla at 7:59 AM on January 12, 2006

It's not impossible that the canal will be open Sunday, the weekend looks to be turning colder. They really need a couple night of a good hard freeze to get the surface back in shape though.

7ish is fine for me too.
posted by bonehead at 9:08 AM on January 12, 2006

I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever reach consensus. Manx Pub (Google Local) at 7 PM or thereabouts: sounds like a plan.
posted by mcwetboy at 10:59 AM on January 12, 2006

For those that don't know the place, look for a folding plackard on the sidewalk. The Manx is below streetlevel and doesn't have a huge street sign. It's closest to Gladstone and Elgin. Parking can be tricky, but shouldn't be too bad on a Sunday.
posted by bonehead at 11:14 AM on January 12, 2006

I'm flying up Sunday lunchtime--should i post a reminder in the am, or will someone else?
posted by amberglow at 5:39 PM on January 13, 2006

Hey, today is Sunday. It is customary to post a reminder? I'll do it.
posted by sfenders at 11:58 AM on January 15, 2006