Justice Not Vengeance

You may have noticed I do not link to very many sites on my sidebar. When I began blogging there was a lot of concern about sites being nuked for “questionable content” or even linking to such sites. Even though I knew none of my material would stray into that problem area, I worried that linking to certain sites might attract problems. Therefore I decided that, if I was going to put a link in my sidebar I had to be 100% comfortable with that site’s content and could feel comfortable recommending it to anyone who happens to read my blog. With that in mind, I am introducing two new links today. First is something new for me. While I am affiliated with two food websites that have blog listings, I have not linked to any food blogs. Recently though, I have found one that is well-written, diverse and even has something of an intellectual side to it. If you like what I write about food, pay a visit to Down Home Foodie, I think you will like her writing too. The other site I have been familiar with for a while, and I think some of my regular readers know it too. This site has an adult content warning in front of it, but I can assure you the site is clean. You may see a nude picture once in a great while but is not at all a porn site and there is nothing I would consider at all offensive. Because this is registered as an “adult” site, and also because at one time I was unsure about some of his previous content, I have been reluctant to link to Randy’s blog in the past but lately I am getting to really like this blog - he is one of my favourites. Like me, he seems to have a background in psychology/behaviour or something in that line, so we have been having some interesting discussions as of late. He is a regular at Scottie’s Toy Box and does visit here on occasion. Visit Randy’s blog at Or Words To That Effect...


Lately, I have noticed in this blog community there is much focus on the justice system and what it is doing or not doing. I have also waded into this discussion, as I find it quite interesting. I believe that part of the difficulty is that “justice” can mean different things to different people, and while it is supposed to officially be free from emotional response, most peoples’ concept of justice is heavily based on emotions.

And there lies the problem. I believe the motivation for many people who “seek justice” are not really after justice but revenge. Now revenge encompasses more than what you probably consider it to be, like vigilantism and multi-generation family grudges that usually involve a great deal of bloodshed. Revenge in a more mundane form is actually a desire to have the perpetrator of a crime suffer as much as the victim, because of the anger and/or hurt that the victim feels. Here is where vengeance get entangled with the concept of justice. Obviously as a society we consider it unacceptable that someone who has committed a crime should be able to avoid facing any consequences for their actions. It would also be heartless to disregard the suffering or damages inflicted on the victim(s) of such actions.

The desire for vengeance is deeply ingrained in us. As a social species, we rely on a set of communal laws to ensure we can continue to thrive as a collective. Therefore, if someone violates these laws, it threatens everyone and undermines confidence in the ability of one’s society to function. That is why fear and anger often rule and there is a desire for harsh punishments that inflict suffering. Over time, most societies try to implement a fair and effective justice system to ensure that the consequences meted out are appropriate. One of the earlier forms of justice is the biblical standard of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life”. The purpose was to set a punishment that was equal to the offense. Today this standard, especially when interpreted literally, is seen as barbaric and, in the New Testament, Christian tradition moves beyond his standard, in keeping with Christ’s teachings of love and forgiveness. It should be noted though that “an eye for an eye” was never considered by Jewish scholars to be a literal requirement. There are a couple reasons for this. First, this rule was actually a limitation as other contemporary nations punished minor offenses with disfigurement or death and the Israelites determined that the punishment can never be more severe than the crime. Second, due to the implications of this limitation, it is not actually commensurate to literally take out someone’s eye or knock out one’s teeth as punishment for doing these things. If you did these things, the accused might suffer additional harm as a result, rendering the punishment excessive. So instead, the practice was to require the offender to pay the monetary value of an eye, a tooth, etc. The exception was “a life for a life” since murder is a crime that can never be undone and it is completely impossible to place a value on a human life, the sages determined that the literal penalty of death is still appropriate. After all, there is no way in this case that the penalty can be exceeded as death is terminal. It should also be noted though, the Jewish high court in the days of the temple were extremely reluctant to impose any death penalties. Because such a penalty is irreversible, they put so many constraints and such a high burden of proof it was almost impossible have a case strong enough to merit the death penalty and a lesser punishment was used instead. Still, starting from the base principle of an eye for an eye still seems like unthinking retribution, albeit somewhat tempered, which is probably why in the New Testament, different standards were espoused.

So if we do not want our justice system to be based on seeking revenge, then what is the purpose? The best I can tell, the ideals of justice would entail that any wrong or illegal behaviour is met with appropriate consequences, the victims are protected, and an opportunity is provided for rehabilitation. The efficacy of the court systems of providing this ideal is not really my focus here as I am more concerned with personal ethics. Although justice is primarily considered a legal construct, we generally believe that “justice must be done” even in matters of ethical or moral violations that do not violate a governmental law. In any event, in discussions of ethics, civil laws are not constructed based on ideals but on consensus, so you take what you can get.

In my teens, one person whose life and writings greatly influenced me was Simon Wiesenthal, a man who was commonly known as a “Nazi Hunter”. He was a survivor of the Holocaust and the concentration camps and after liberation he dedicated his life to seeking out and putting escaped Nazis on trial for their crimes. With the passage of time, more people criticized him for doing this, as they felt that there was no good to be served in prosecuting old men decades after the crimes and surmising that Wiesenthal’s motivation for this continuing quest was revenge for what was done to him, his family, and his fellow Jews. He took great pains to explain how this was not at all the case, especially in his memoir published in the late 1980's, entitled Justice Not Vengeance. After the camps were liberated and Simon had recovered most of his physical strength, he went to work helping the allied tribunals set up to try Nazi war criminals. Over the next few years, he found that many former Nazis, who had committed some horrific offenses were living quite comfortably in many other countries, as close as Switzerland and some even seemed proud of what they had done. Many other survivors he talked to considered the only appropriate punishment to kill them - in other words getting revenge. This seemed wrong to Wiesenthal, like one was sinking to their level and being just as inhuman as their tormentors. By contrast, the Nuremberg trials were fair and sober proceedings, allowing those accused to defend themselves, and making judgements based on the evidence, even acquitting a few. To Simon, this was proper justice: outside judges who were not biased by being directly victimized judged the accused’s guilt and the severity of the crimes and set an appropriate punishment. Meanwhile, the process itself would ensure that the people do not forget about what happened and prevent such a tragedy from happening again. As for those who say it does not serve justice to prosecute men in their 80's and 90's in frail health whose crimes took place decades ago? To me, letting this go sends the message that there are no consequences for the crimes, as long as you hide away or lie about your past for long enough.

Contrast this to the current mess that goes by the name of the U.S. Justice System. I was particularly disturbed by the media circus that surrounded the recent Casey Anthony trial. Now it seems pretty clear that Ms. Anthony is no model citizen and certainly, as confirmed pathological liar, should not be trusted in any way, shape or form. And given the available evidence I would say that it is quite possible she did in fact kill her child. But considering the charges laid, the evidence presented, and the principle of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, not guilty seemed to be the only responsible verdict. Of course this infuriated everyone. I won’t even get into the appalling behaviour of the so-called “experts” on TV, and especially Nancy Grace, except to say that she actually is a lawyer, and as such ought to maintain some professional standards. But what really caught my attention was the insistence that she ought to be punished, despite the lack of proof, because the kid is dead. While they present this as justice, this is what I would consider vengeance. They start with the fact that a little girl is dead, quite likely murdered (but again, not proven). Therefore someone has to “pay” for this crime. But here the judgement of guilt has been made in the court of public opinion rather than law. With law you actually have to prove the case and the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. With public opinion it is the reverse except without the “until proven” part. And how does the public opinion form? Well, from the media reports, just about always sensationalist. This is why I can’t watch HLN for more than a few seconds without feeling like puking.

Another related concept that is quite interesting is perhaps more sensitive. We have just past the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks this past weekend. How do you see justice done here? For one thing, all the actual hijackers died while carrying out their evil. And can any of the other actions taken since be considered to be even some measure of justice? What if, for instance, the U.S. had been able to capture Bin Laden alive and try him, as was done with many top Nazis such as Hermann Goring, Rudolf Hess, and eventually, Adolf Eichmann? And currently, former Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic is on trial for crimes against humanity for his role in the massacres in Bosnia. First of all, a fair trial for such a hated individual on U.S. soil and abiding by the rules of US law would be highly unlikely. But even if that were to happen by some miracle or if he could have been prosecuted at the International Criminal Court like Milosevic, would it even then be possible for justice to proceed? When other suspected Al-Qaeda members have gone on trial, they have turned it into a spectacle to continue their hatred and vitriol. Given the messages Bin Laden released in the past, such a scenario would be likely. So you would have the American people on one side howling for blood, and Bin Laden on the other issuing a rallying cry to all the other terrorists. The pursuit for justice dissolves into a tangled mess with no good outcomes. And the way it actually did end, there is certainly no justice but only a small element of revenge. But perhaps in such cases you can’t really do any better.

I think what we ought to strive for is not perfection, but to do the best we can, while remaining aware of our own natures, whether in policy or our personal lives. When it comes to the justice system, it is much more difficult as we have to weigh the priorities of all a country’s citizens, some of whom have no interest in the ideals of justice. Also, since our written laws must stand up in all circumstances and be fair to everyone, there is a certain lack of flexibility built into the system. But when we have been personally victimized, it might be helpful to remember that there is a natural tendency to seek revenge, but this urge is not good for society as a whole. Take a step back and think about what rules/laws were violated and what a fair and appropriate penalty would be. Note that I am not discussing forgiveness here. Forgiveness is something that comes later and is different in nature. It is also frequently misunderstood and I will discuss my thoughts on it in an upcoming post. That post will come together with a review of a book written by Simon Wiesenthal that poses some fascinating and difficult questions.

And one last thing before I close. A Happy 16th Birthday wish goes out to a special online friend. Thanks Amar, for being such a great inspiration and example to all.

Choosing Your Ingredients - Part 2

This is the second part of my post about choosing your ingredients. This post covers stock, alcohol and spices.

The ingredient you use for meat flavour can be difficult to choose. Your options include stock, or demi-glace, homemade or commercial. If you use commercial product, be careful of the sodium level of the product and read the label - you want to avoid preservatives and any ingredient that you do not recognize. Please do not use bouillon cubes - you are basically putting an artificially flavoured salt lick into your food. Making your own stock is a skill in its own right, and I was thinking about making it a separate post but I think I will just include it here. Making stock is not that difficult and the basic process is as follows.

Making Stock

Take some bones, preferably some that also have some cartilage attached. For some stocks, especially beef or veal stock, you may want to roast the bones in the oven first, along with some onions, carrots, celery and a dollop of tomato paste, but for other stocks, put the bones directly into the tallest and biggest pot you have. Cover the bones with cold water and bring everything up to a simmer. Make sure it does not reach a full boil and keep the stock at a bare simmer for anywhere from 2-8 hours depending on what kind of stock and what bones you are using (fish or vegetable stocks take much less time - about 45 minutes). Chicken stock takes from 2-4 hours, dark (roasted) veal stock takes 4-6 hours, white beef stock takes longer. As it simmers, especially in the first hour or two, some scum will form on the top of the stock. This needs to be skimmed off, either with a skimmer or with a ladle (being careful not to take off too much water).

skim this foam off the surface

About halfway through the process add onion, celery and carrots cut into large chunks, along with some thyme sprigs, a few bay leaves and some whole peppercorns.


Do not add salt. Because the liquid is being reduced over time, any salt you add during this process will become more concentrated. Since stock is not a finished dish, seasoning is not as important. When the stock is done, let it cool a bit, then carefully strain the stock into a container using a very fine mesh strainer (if you really want to be anal about this you could even line the strainer with cheesecloth or a large coffee filter, like some restaurants do). Multiple wide containers are a good idea if you have a lot, as this will cool the stock down faster making it less vulnerable to spoilage. If you are going to use all of this within a couple days, you can keep the stock in the fridge. Otherwise, portion into amounts you would use at any one time and freeze. From a roasted beef or veal stock, you might want to make your own demi-glace. To do this, put the finished and strained stock into a fresh pot and bring it to a boil and reduce the liquid until you have half the total volume left. Adding some red wine at the start of this process can produce a nice result.

Alcohol is a very important cooking ingredient. Because alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water, it evaporates and reduces quickly, providing a lot of flavour. The problem is, depending on what you buy, it can get expensive. For wine, you have probably heard that you should never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. This is generally true but a little misleading. If a wine doesn’t have much flavour, or is too sweet or tastes unpleasant it will probably not be a good choice, because you are putting something that doesn’t taste good into your food. On the other hand, many characteristics of good wines are volatile. This means they are aromas that dissipate into the air. When you cook, these complex aromas and nuances will disappear. So a fine, complex wine will essentially be wasted. So buy wine that is acceptable to drink but there is no need to spend large amounts for a cooking wine. Beer can be very useful for cooking as well but can be a little trickier to work with. Most beers are bitter so this has to be accounted for. I also would not suggest using most mass market beers as to me they are nothing but water with some alcohol in it. Choose fuller flavoured and darker beers as they will be more likely to leave behind a noticeable flavour after cooking.

Almost any hard liquor can be useful for cooking. However, if the flavour of the booze is either non-existent or very distinctive, the applications will be limited. For this reason scotch and gin have limited uses. Some of the alcohols I find most useful are brandy, sherry and rum. I also use Calvados, an apple brandy. I may use other things for specific applications. For rum, use dark rum only. White rum is only acceptable for mixed drinks and even then I’d rather use Jamaican medium or dark rum. For brandy, the key is to find a balance between good flavour and reasonable price. For this reason, it is often good to look for a non-French brandy as you will pay more for equivalent quality for a French brandy. I prefer Spanish Brandy from Jerez, the region that also produces Sherry. However, when I was in Quebec it was almost impossible to find any brandy that is not from France, so I had to look for a V.S.O.P. Brandy that is not too expensive but has good flavour. Recently at a friend’s house, I tasted a Greek liqueur known as Raki. It was very impressive with a complex, brandy-like flavour with hints of fruit and vanilla. I am very interested to see if I can get a quality version here and how well it will work in cooking. For sherry, I would apply similar “rules” to those above for using wine. Just keep in mind that for savoury cooking, you should be looking for a dry sherry. While vodka has no flavour I do find it useful in making tomato sauce, because the tomato has certain flavour compounds that dissolve in alcohol and not in water, giving a tomato-based sauce more flavour.

The next category I will discuss is spices. I firmly believe that, here, quality is a very important consideration. Spices can lose their freshness fairly quickly so the form in which you buy them is important too. The most important thing is to not buy a lot at a time, particularly if you buy pre-ground spices. If you plan to cook frequently and with many different spices, I would highly recommend buying whole spices and grinding them yourself. While ground spices may be more convenient, they have a maximum shelf life of six months, during which time they continuously lose flavour. If you have never ground your own spices, try it once and you will be amazed at the difference. There are two options for grinding spices. For most people, a simple coffee grinder is the best choice. They are inexpensive and grind spices quickly and effectively. For those that are really serious about spices, you might consider getting a mortar and pestle. For these there are smooth ones, usually porcelain or granite, that are good for very hard and dry spices. For spice ingredients with some moisture, you may want a coarse stone model, often made with lava rock. All the bumps and ridges help make a paste. These items do tend to be big and bulky and they also require more time and effort to prepare your spices. I do take my spices very seriously and I have not bothered to get one (though a stone mortar and pestle is on my eventual wish list).

Because I cook with a lot of spices, I have a very wide variety so I have access to anything I might need and I can make my own spice mixes. That leads me to spice mixes. Many cuisines have rather complex blends of spices that are integral to many dishes. If you are unfamiliar with the flavours it may be easier to simply buy the appropriate mix. But here you must be very careful of the quality of the mix you buy and to make sure that there are no “fillers” or other ingredients that do not belong. Many use an abundance of salt as an alternative to flavour. One example I have already mentioned in recipes before is chili powder. To most people, “chili powder” exists only as a jarred spice that one uses to make chilli. Years ago, we used to use commercial chili powder in our family, as we had found a brand that was full flavoured and of good quality. But in time they stopped making this (isn’t that always the way things work - as soon as you find a product you like, they stop making it!) and nothing else on the market met even our lowest standards. The solution was to make our own. What is chili powder? Well, it is a blend of ground dried chiles with a few other spices. Mixes can vary, but the most prominent spices are cumin seed and coriander seed. I believe that some may use some form of powdered tomato paste or some similar powdered tomato product. Some might contain salt and/or sugar. My own chili powder combines pasilla and guajillo chiles in a 2:1 ratio (sometimes I add ancho as well), to which I add cumin and coriander. I have written before that, if you have a chili powder that tastes good to you, it will work fine in your recipe. However I don’t believe there are many good chili powders out there so I generally recommend to use the chiles and spices instead.

So how do you know what quality is? The ideal situation is if you can buy spices somewhere that specializes in spices. Often you will be able to sample the product and maybe even learn something about it. They will also source the best quality product and sell some of the more obscure spices unavailable at other stores. The disadvantage is that these stores can be pricy and, unless you live in a large city, you are unlikely to find one in your area. Fortunately, some of these stores sell online so you can have things shipped to you. Health food stores that sell bulk spices can also be good, since you can actually smell these and check for quality. For most people, this is the source I would advise. Many sell spices that are organic and/or Fair Trade certified, ensuring good growing practices and good treatment of the harvesters. Because they are sold in bulk, you can buy only the amount you need - another advantage for freshness and budget. I generally advise against buying in supermarkets - they are overpriced, especially when you are paying extra for a fancy jar, and the quality is generally not good. Some ethnic food stores, especially Asian and Indian, sell many spices often at low prices but, with some exceptions, the quality is often suspect to me.

One thing I haven’t mentioned is which spices you should get. Well, I can’t really answer that. It all depends on what your tastes are and what kind of flavours you will want on a regular basis. Some of the more versatile spices include pepper (either black or a peppercorn blend), paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon. Despite its name, allspice is not a blend of spices - it is a distinct individual spice. In Jamaica it is also called pimiento and is probably the most used spice there. Also note that there are two kinds of cinnamon - true cinnamon and cassia. Most supermarket cinnamon is actually cassia and anything that does not say true cinnamon or ceylon cinnamon is also probably cassia. Cassia is a bit sweeter and spicier, while true cinnamon is earthier and more complex. If you mainly use cinnamon for baking or other sweet applications, cassia will work just fine. Cinnamon is also useful for savoury applications, particularly in Indian food or in spaghetti sauce. If you will be using cinnamon in a lot of savoury foods it may be worth searching out true cinnamon. Of course if you read through my recipes you will find I use many spices other than those listed, some even more than others I have mentioned. The point is what I said at the start of this paragraph - what spices you use depend on what you want to cook and which flavours you prefer.

If I think of other ingredient issues I feel I should pass on, I might well add a new post on this topic.

Choosing Your Ingredients - Part 1

In many of my earlier posted recipes, I gave instructions or guidelines about how to choose ingredients for the recipes. However since I use many items frequently in other recipes, it can be difficult to find the information for making subsequent recipes that feature those same ingredients. Therefore in these next two posts I will outline what I look for in a variety of ingredients. As a general rule I try to choose the highest quality options that fit into my budget, as I outlined in earlier posts. The major food categories I will discuss are chicken, pork, beef, fish, stock, spices and alcohol or liqueurs, divided into two posts. This post contains some material lifted from earlier posts added with new material.

When possible, avoid ordinary supermarket chicken. First, because they are water-chilled, you are paying for water and more importantly there is a much greater risk of salmonella contamination than when chicken is air-chilled. Second, the cheapest chickens are so priced because they are raised in truly horrible conditions. They live jammed together, are fed food of questionable origin and are more prone to diseases. There is a very good TV special hosted by Jamie Oliver where he exposes the practices of chicken farmers. Finally, higher quality chickens tend to have better flavour. Obviously, free-range organic is the best choice but can be pricey. A decent compromise would be to buy chickens that are fed 100% vegetable grain. Another budget option can be Kosher chicken. The chickens have to meet higher standards of health and, because the process of Koshering involves soaking the chicken in a salt solution, the meat is more flavourful. Just be sure to use a little less salt if you use this chicken. Depending on where you live, a similar acceptable option may be Halal chicken, which I believe follows many similar processes. The difference is not all halal meat has official certification whereas all kosher food is certified by a recognized agency. If the halal chicken is from a certified halal provider then that is also an option.

Many people do not realize this, but many of the same problems I just identified with chicken farming apply to pig farming as well. Many of the factory farms keep the pigs in pens at all times, much like milk-fed veal, which I generally avoid in favour of grain-fed veal. The conditions are atrocious and this is why pig farms smell the way they do. Pigs raised in healthy and humane conditions do not stink. A recent development in pork production is the raising of “heritage breeds”, such as Berkshire (also called Kurobuta), Tamworth and others. These tend to have a more pronounced taste and, since they are farmed on a small scale and command a premium price, they are usually raised in more humane conditions. I don’t eat a lot of pork (partly due to my Jewish upbringing) so, when I do, it has to be good. My favourite pork products are cured items, such as bacon, salami, prosciutto, kielbassa and the like. Unfortunately, most of these products require the use of nitrites and/or nitrates to preserve them. Overconsumption of these chemicals has been linked to certain health problems so, it can sometimes be worth searching for products that only use sodium nitrate (curing salt) for preservation. Some traditional prosciutto and a few very dry cured sausages can be safely cured without any nitrates, but they are few and far between. And when you can find them, they are very expensive, because nitrate free products have to have a very high overall pH, which is usually accomplished through additional drying, which means more raw product is needed to produce the same amount of cured meat. Otherwise, just don’t eat too much of it. Cured pork tends to be high in salt anyway.

The beef you select has a lot to do with its intended use. Some cuts are better for slow cooking and others for quick searing. In my last post I told you in general terms that meat cut from more heavily used muscles are more flavourful but need longer, slower cooking times. For a stew, my favourite cuts are short ribs, bottom blade (from the shoulder) and cheek. If you want to make a pot roast or a similar slow cooked whole piece, brisket is the best for that. For steak, I prefer rib steak or rib eye (that is rib with the bone removed), but striploin and T-bone are good options. If you want something less expensive, top sirloin is a really good choice. Usually even cheaper is bottom sirloin (also called tri-tip) and flank steak, but these require some care. Flank steak should be marinated beforehand and either cut should be sliced across the grain of the meat to make sure the meat is tender when eaten. The grain is where all the visible muscle fibers on a piece of meat run in a uniform direction. You will see a bunch of ridges or grooves, most of them clearly going in the same direction. Cut thin slices across these grooves and the meat will pull apart tender. Many less expensive cuts of meat you will see in the store have the word “round” in their names (top round, bottom round, eye of round). Don’t bother with these. They are not tender and don’t have enough fat for good flavour. Finally, ground beef or hamburger meat. Your standard ground beef is made up of all the miscellaneous parts of the cow that can’t be sold as an individual cut of meat. Also if a butcher has more supply of one cut than they can sell, it will be ground into hamburger. The cheaper, mass produced hamburger uses all kinds of bits and pieces you probably don’t want to think about. Because they run so many different parts through the grinder and isn’t always very fresh, there is more risk of E. Coli contamination. If you buy preground and prepackaged hamburger meat it is not safe to cook it less than well done, an unfortunate situation for the quality of the finished product. So can a hamburger be safely cooked to medium or medium-rare? Yes, if you use the right meat under the right circumstances. Ideally, buy a whole cut of meat, such as chuck or blade and grind it yourself and use it right away. Obviously you need a meat grinder to do this. You may be able to do this in a food processor as well but the consistency will not be as good. If you have a quality butcher shop near you, you should be able to buy a cut of meat and have them grind it for you. The key element is that risk of contamination increases the longer the ground meat is exposed to the elements and if the grinder is not properly clean. This is why there is no risk to eating a rare steak, and little risk even for steak tartare, raw chopped meat, since it is hand chopped right before serving.

With all of these meats there is the issue of whether or not to buy organic. In general it is true that meat produced using organic methods are treated more humanely and taste better. However, quality meat does not necessarily have to be certified organic. The thing is, the requirements to be considered organic are quite stringent. Not only are the animals only allowed to be fed good food with no chemicals, antibiotics or hormones, but the source of all feed must be certified organic, which requires pure, organic, uncontaminated soil that remains so for several years. That means new, start-up farms can never be certified organic. And sometimes there are practices that do not meet the criteria of “organic” that are not necessarily an indication of unsustainable practices or inhumane treatment. The best thing to do I suppose is find out as much as you can about the source of your meat.

I don’t eat a lot of fish and seafood, so I don’t have much to say here. The main thing is that if you think you don’t like fish because of the “fishy” taste, you were probably eating old fish! Fresh fish should smell of nothing but the ocean. The problem is that fish is very perishable and not as popular in North America than other meats so fish often sits around longer than it should. Also, if you live in the middle of a large landmass, (like in the prairies or the midwest) fish has to be transported a long distance before even getting to the store. Just try to buy as local as possible and at a shop that sells a lot of fish. The other consideration is sustainability. Many of the most popular eating fish have been overharvested to the point where the numbers are decreasing at an alarming rate. Seafood Watch in the United States and Ocean Wise in Canada are programs that monitor global fish stocks and rates whether certain fish are still being caught in a sustainable manner or if they should be avoided. Many of the big deep sea fish are not caught in a sustainable manner and are to be avoided. The manner in which the fish are caught also factor into the ratings.

Ottawa Food Review - Part 2

I know it’s a little delayed, but here is the remainder of my reviews of the food from my trip to Ottawa last month. But first, as a follow-up to my last post, Randy, a fellow blogger has posted his own thoughts on the issue and it is well worth the read. Check it out at http://wordsthateffect.blogspot.com/2011/07/finally-finished-my-thoughts-on-sex.html

Ottawa Rib and Chicken Cook-off

The week I was in Ottawa was the week of Ottawa’s Rib and Chicken Cook-off which takes place on the Sparks Street Mall, an event I mentioned in an earlier post. Day two in Ottawa was a busy one , working to set up our event leaving only a short period of time for dinner. As our hotel was right on the western starting point of the Mall, we decided we would have dinner at the ribfest rather than finding a restaurant and waiting for who knows how long.


Ribfest is made up of several independent vendors and competitors mostly from the United States with a few Canadian entrants. This event is part of a competitive circuit of similar events throughout Ontario during the summer. The competitors here proudly displayed their wins at all these various competitions, including one that takes place right here in Guelph, which will take place this year from August 26-28 - and I will be there. Judges give awards for ribs, chicken, sauce and pulled pork, and some stalls provide additional offerings as well. Particularly during the weekend, the lines at the best stalls were very long but when we went there on Friday afternoon, it was raining steadily, keeping many of the crowd away. The stall we chose was actually the first one we came across, though we did check out the others on that first block. One reason for choosing this one was that the smoke smelled much better and sweeter than at some of the other competitors, where one had almost an acrid smell. Also this stall sold, in addition to chicken and pork, beef ribs, which is my mom’s favourite and also a selling point since one of us did not eat pork. Finally, this competitor was a Canadian outfit, based in Chatham, Ontario. So Blazin BBQ was our choice. Between the four of us who went, we ordered most of their offerings, and I made sure to try as much as possible, ordering their “mighty meat” combo, which contained pork ribs, beef ribs, and chicken. The orders also came with coleslaw and baked beans, the expected sides for true barbeque.

This was the best meal of the trip. The beef ribs were especially impressive, full of flavour and meltingly tender. The sauce, which I believe was the same on all the meats, was absolutely perfect. It was smoky sweet tomato based sauce in the Kansas City style. I am very picky about sauce, since I find most to be unpleasantly sweet and sticky. While sweet, this one was not too sweet and was a perfect match for the meat, which in every case had just enough smoke. Also the meat was not oversauced, a common failing of lesser barbeque. Some of this team’s highest accolades were for sauce, so I’m sure I am not alone in this opinion. The chicken was perfectly cooked. This was especially impressive since I know how hard it is to have chicken fully cooked yet still tender and juicy. The pork ribs were very tasty, though I would have preferred them to be just slightly more tender. Still, they were not at all chewy or tough, they came off the bone easily and completely. It may even be that in competitions, ribbers are cooking them less because judges now prefer ribs that do not fall off the bone - those that do are considered overcooked. The sides were certainly decent, though not as good as the meat. They were definitely good, but just like others I have had many times before - nothing special. But anyway, the sides seemed to be an afterthought to them, and that was the way we approached them too. The portions were large and the prices, though not especially cheap, were certainly reasonable given the portion size and quality. My companions had simply different combinations of the same things: either beef or pork ribs with chicken.

Restaurant Review - Really Lebanese Food

I am a little conflicted about including this review because I do have, on some level, a personal connection to this restaurant. A relative of mine is closely involved with the establishment, which means that it is hard, if not impossible, to be fully objective in reviewing this place. But I honestly do like the food and I feel that, as long as the reader is aware that I have a personal connection with the restaurant, the review can still be of use.

In part because of this family connection, our family event all went for lunch at this restaurant, a group of about 40+ people. Really Lebanese is a small strip mall shawarma restaurant in the east of Ottawa, on Montreal Road. They call themselves “home of the garlic king” a reference to their chef, Adel, the self-styled garlic king. The promotional methods they use are certainly over the top and some have criticized them for this, but it certainly attracts attention, which I would think is the purpose of self-promotion. And it seems to fit with Adel’s engaging and “out there” personality. He rides around in a customized van that has to be seen to be believed.

Really, the picture doesn't quite do it justice. Oh, and that dome with the crown around it? That's the sunroof, so Adel can be on display, kind of like a popemobile.


I have been to Really Lebanese many times before, so my review will also be influenced by previous visits. The specialty is shawarma, a lebanese dish of spit-roasted seasoned chicken served in a pita with various condiments. It is somewhat similar in concept to the Greek gyro, but the seasonings, condiments and side dishes are different. While there are other offerings, including vegetarian ones, I must admit that the only thing I have ever ordered there is the chicken shawarma. You choose the size you want and can choose whatever you want from their array of condiments. My favourite is definitely the garlic sauce. It has a great creamy texture and, while it does taste intensely of garlic, it also has a certain mellowness. It is also available for sale in containers on site (at one time it used to also be sold at some Ottawa grocery stores but alas, no more). Another must have, other than your standard lettuce, tomato, cucumber, etc., is the pink pickled radish - excellent! The sides are a selections of typical lebanese offerings: hummus, tabbouleh, fatoush, and a chickpea salad. This group meal we had was originally intended to be a picnic in a park, catered by the restaurant, but because of weather we had to switch it to the restaurant. Because it was a large group, and we were running late, the meals had been prepared beforehand and set out waiting for us, which does affect the quality. Also, in my meal, the two salads I happened to get included neither of my favourites - the tabbouleh (theirs is the best I ever had) and hummus. Luckily my cousin, sitting next to me, did get those two sides and shared with me (thanks Max!). For dessert, there is a really good baklava and soft serve ice cream. Really Lebanese has been in business for many years, originally in a VERY small space in Orleans which used to be an eastern suburb of Ottawa and is now part of the amalgamated City of Ottawa. They moved to a larger location a few blocks away, and more recently to a still larger space on Montreal Road in the neighbourhood of Gloucester, still in the east end but closer to the centre of Ottawa than they were before. This is an exceptional place for lunch and a friendly environment.



Food Review - Delta Hotel and Suites Ottawa

Saturday night was a buffet prepared for our family group prepared by the hotel. I generally do not have great expectations for hotel buffets or large catered banquets. The food is usually bland and/or boring and often poorly cooked. What they gave us at the hotel, though, was rather good, considering the difficulties inherent in a buffet. There was a goat cheese and spinach salad that was quite decent and an orzo salad that was actually quite good. I almost decided to avoid this, because a pasta salad is usually something put on a buffet because it is “supposed” to be there. It is usually quite awful and is too often a repository for whatever is about to spoil and must be used. In this case the flavours were lively and the orzo was correctly cooked. The main courses suffered from the more common problems that plague buffets, but they were still rather decent. There was a salmon in a creamy sauce that was overcooked to my taste, though for some they considered it correctly cooked (it was not dried out). Also I found the sauce just a bit too salty. There was roast beef with a mushroom sauce. I was very apprehensive about the meat, as I prefer my meat medium rare I saw little prospect of that being achievable with meat sliced in advance and sitting in a steam table. Yet, when I selected the least cooked pieces they were at least medium, if not actually medium rare - a pleasant surprise. The sauce was excellent. The vegetables looked at first glance liked frozen mixed vegetables, but when tasting them they were too correctly cooked for that to be the case. Also there was also some small amounts of less traditional vegetables that do not appear in frozen packets, and these batches varied a little each time the chafing dish was refilled. The mashed potatoes, on the other hand, were bland and uninspired.

There was a marked variation in the quality of the dessert table, a must for private hotel functions. There was a great deal of variety, with several fruit-based tarts, cakes and squares, as well as fresh fruit. The desserts that had a pastry crust - the pies and tarts - were not very good as the crust was too tough. On the other hand, the cakes and squares were excellent. The sticky chocolate cake was probably the best, though a nicely spiced carrot cake ran a close second. The brownie-like dessert squares were also very good.

The overall success of this food, given the obstacles, I believe reflects very well on the overall quality of the hotel’s kitchen. We also had a brunch buffet at the hotel the next morning (this being the standard breakfast buffet for all guests) and that was very good as well. They make sure to keep the buffet stations constantly refilled and the food stays fresh. The smoked salmon was excellent (can’t tell if it was made in house or not - it could have been but there is excellent commercial product available too), the scrambled eggs were not overcooked and the bacon struck the right balance between chewy and crispy. It’s not like there was anything extra special - just the hotel breakfast standards. It was just well executed and care was taken. This is something often lacking in hotel buffets, so this was a welcome treat.


Restaurant Review - East India Company

We spent Sunday walking around Parliament Hill and the Byward Market, then all got together for dinner, in a group of about 11 or so people (don’t remember exactly). East India Company is an Indian restaurant (surprise!) on Somerset Ave. near Elgin street, in the south east end of downtown. This restaurant also features buffet service. I had been to this restaurant before many years ago when I was living briefly in Ottawa and even took part in a cooking class that they were offering. I remember that the food was fairly good then. The buffet featured a wide selections of the classics of Indian cuisine. One thing you will notice as soon as you enter, is the artwork and large decorative pieces that give the restaurant a very distinctive ambiance. Along one wall (where our table was), there is an intricate mural, which was built in India and shipped here at great expense.

The lamb curry was particularly good, as was the tandoori murgh (spicy chicken). The samosas and pakoras were a weak point, though I suppose I should have realized that small fried items are not at their best after sitting in a steam table. There was a good vegetarian dish, whose name I cannot seem to remember, that had vegetables in a creamy sauce, probably made with yoghurt. The butter chicken was also good and so was the chicken masala and lamb kofta (meatballs). Naan, Indian bread, costs extra but is very good, they also make excellent pappadums, a very thin flatbread that is more like a cracker and is wonderfully spiced. There is an extensive selection of pickles and chutneys as well. I’m not a big fan of these, but some of the chutneys, particuarly the mango, the coconut, and the tomato chutney were very good.

As for dessert, I really don’t like Indian desserts very much, the flavours and textures they tend to use are not really appealing to me. But judging from the opinions of others, some of the desserts were well received, including a mango mousse, a rice pudding, and the iconic Indian dessert, the gulab jamun, a specialty here.

The price is reasonable, twenty dollars per person.

A Moral Panic

Today’s topic may be a little more controversial than what I typically write, but I believe this topic is important. In the past couple weeks, a fellow blogger I respect a great deal, has been posting many stories and opinions regarding the way in which convicted sex offenders are treated in the United States. The reason for the interest is that there are recent laws coming into effect across the United States intended to create a uniform system and procedure for maintaining sex offender registries in all states. The original law is a federal law and states need to make new laws to be compliant with the federal regulations. The difficulty is that being on the registry makes it extremely difficult to get a job and the law also creates additional restrictions beyond those that already existed on where those on the registry may live (ie not near schools, playgrounds, etc.) The reason of course is to keep the public safe from potential predators, and to ensure that offenders continue to be monitored. To read a good selection of articles surrounding this issue visit Scottie’s Toy Box and scroll through. I have a link to his site on my sidebar or click here.

The point Scottie has been making is that this is extreme overkill and unnecessarily stigmatizes convicted sex offenders, making rehabilitation less likely. Also, many on the registry are either victims themselves or are not actually pedophiles or other sexual predators. He also claims that the public and the authorities seem to be putting more emphasis and severity of punishment on sexual abuse, than on other forms of abuse that can be just as damaging, if not more so. The post where he sets out his position on the issue can be found here (http://scottiestoybox.com/2011/07/03/injustice-for-all/) Scottie recently asked me for my opinion on this issue and I decided than, rather than spend lots of time composing a response to him that he would be able to post on his site, I thought that I should at least get a post of my own out of it. Scottie, you may reblog this post in the Toy Box if you wish, with a credit to me and a link back. While I must acknowledge I am not very familiar with the exact nature of the US laws on this issue, I would say that I mostly agree with the statement that the sex offender laws are not well thought out and, in some cases, seem to be overly punitive. Still there are some differences of opinion I will address later.

The biggest objection I have with what is happening is that all criminal offenses that are sexual in nature seem to require being placed on the registry. While the new rules do create tiers of offender depending on the severity of the crime, the only difference seems to be the length of time they must remain on the registry. Most people think sex offenders are pedophiles and rapists. The reality is that a surprisingly large percentage is people on the registry are youth, who may have been having sex while underage and the partner’s parents pressed charges. Or, since there is no allowance for young couples who are close in age, it is considered statutory rape if anyone over 18 has sex with someone under 18. This is a predicament that can potentially face anyone who is sexually active and does not share the same birthday as their partner (that would be most people). While I imagine that making laws uniform is intended to change this, people have ended up on a sex offender registry for public urination. Scottie has recently posted a story about 2 14-year old boys that pulled down their pants and sat on another boy’s face. While this is obviously bullying and unacceptable behaviour, possibly befitting criminal charges, an appeals court ruled that this was a sexual offense and as such, the boys would have to be placed on the sex offender registry for life. The point is that the judges seemed to indicate that this was overly harsh but the law gave them no alternative. On what planet does this make sense?

Another big problem I have is that placement on the registry seems to be allowed to factor into employment decisions. Honestly, unless the job is as a school teacher or child care worker, I don’t see how this is relevant in any way. And I can also understand that a job that requires an employee to be bondable would entail that the employee could not have a criminal record (usually), so there would be a problem in those instances as well. But there are so many industries that don’t require contact with children or other vulnerable people or require security clearances that this shouldn’t be an insurmountable barrier to employment. Yet employers won’t hire sex offenders and so many in the public seem to agree with this. But if society rejects you on a permanent basis, what incentive is there to obey the law and get on with your life?

This issue brings to mind a paper I wrote in a first-year university sociology class about moral panics. This is the short paragraph, exactly as I wrote it in that paper, that defines what a moral panic is - I think you will see how well it applies to the situation with sex offenders.

British sociologist Stanley Cohen, an acknowledged authority on moral panic, is credited with coining the phrase, although it actually made its first appearance in a colleague’s paper (Burns & Crawford, 1999; Thompson, 1999). Despite this technicality, it was Cohen who fully defined the term. In the classic definition, someone identifies an issue as a problem; it is reported in the media so as to influence the general public; the public develops an outrage against the issue; the authorities respond in some way; and the issue will finally either fade in importance or corrective action will be taken (Thompson, 1999). More recently, sociologists have attempted to specify the conditions that give rise to a moral panic (DeYoung, 1998). There has to be a pre-existing worry about the issue (DeYoung, 1998), and it must have the ability to create hostility among the public (Burns & Crawford, 1999). The media must be able to identify what Cohen calls a “folk devil”, a scapegoat upon which the public can easily place blame. These folk devils are very often marginalised members of the community (DeYoung, 1998).

One of the examples I had mentioned, though it was not central to the paper, was the allegation of satanic ritual sexual abuse in day care centres in the United States. In the 1980's there were claims that at least one (and later others) day care centre was sexually abusing children in their care using satanic symbolism. The only evidence was the claims of the children, many of whom were under 4 years old at the time and, even when questioned years later, were still young children. It later came out that these stories were all pure invention, but a large number of day care centres had come under suspicion and were shut down in the interim and forever casting suspicion upon their operators.

But looking at that definition above, I’m sure you can see how well our current hysteria regarding sex offenders fits the pattern. The pre-existing issue is obviously those cases of child abduction and molestation that make the news, everyone is outraged and demands horrendous penalties for the perpetrators and there has been a large quantity of legislative response, mostly ill-considered. This building of a moral panic is why you see so much of a push to have a public registry of sex offenders. While anyone who looks carefully will know that most registered sex offenders are not accused of a crime stemming from pedophilia, this is the offense most people imagine when discussing sex offenders. The actual occurrence of child abduction is very rare (although child sexual abuse is not - it is more often perpetrated by family and/or friends) but a whole variety of sexual indiscretions can result in mandatory registration, from brutal, violent rapes, to in some places, indecent exposure. Also, the part about the folk devils being marginalised members of the community is especially obvious here: the focus is exclusively on pedophiles, since adults having sexual desire for children is considered so revolting and incomprehensible to most people. These people also tend to have histories that involve abuse and neglect, meaning they are even further marginalised. Putting them on a “list” underscores this separateness from society and makes it easier to create laws that would be considered excessive and cruel for any member of the “normal” society. For this reason, I am strongly opposed to the way in which congress develops these laws. The laws are supposedly about all sexual offenses, yet they name these laws invariably after victims of child abduction (Adam Walsh, Megan Kanka, etc.) The way I see it, if there are so few victims of a particular crime you know all the names of the victims, is so much social and legal change really needed? In Ontario in the early 1990's there was a serial killer on the loose, raping women and abducting, abusing and killing girls. Eventually the perpetrator was found to be Paul Bernardo and his wife/girlfriend Karla Homolka. While some may argue that Homolka was not sufficiently punished (she testified against him, striking a deal for 12 years in prison and has already served the full sentence), Bernardo was rightly identified as a dangerous menace, was convicted of many charges. He received life in prison and was declared a dangerous offender, rendering him ineligible for parole. Because we have dangerous offender status and a somewhat lesser status of high risk offender, this means that if an individual is too dangerous and at too much risk to re-offend, we have methods to keep such people off the streets but only on a case by case basis, and it is not an easy designation to get. We also do have a sex offender registry, but it is not generally available to the public but only to the police. Maybe this is a better way to go, as there is still monitoring and tracking of potentially dangerous people, but does not have the high potential for vigilante justice as in the US where the registry is available to any member of the general public, some of whom have questionable motives.

Then there are the issues over which I disagree with my friend. First there is the nature of the crime and the prospects for rehabilitation. While it may be true that sex offenders, as a group, are the second least likely class of offenders to reoffend, I think this has a lot to do with grouping all kinds of tenuously related offences together, from child abuse, to young love, to rape, to a domestic dispute. Age of consent issues will of course not result in a re-offence, since once the “criminal” ages a bit, the crime can no longer be committed. For some who use force in sexual situations, therapy and rehabilitation is possible and effective. The same can be true when the crime happened as a result of substance abuse. So why is there an impression that sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated? Because some - those that get most of the press but make up a very small percentage of the offender population - commit crimes that are usually the result of a very serious compulsion for which an effective rehabilitation has not been found. Pedophiles are extremely likely to re-offend, as are some serial rapists. But even though they are a small percentage of all sex offenders, these are the most serious crimes in the category, and the fact that treatment and rehab is highly unlikely in these cases is a concern we need to take seriously. This is why the strict conditions, reporting requirements, and tight restrictions are in place. These people are known to be dangers and in all likelihood will remain so unless carefully monitored. Now, why every other sex offender is subject to all the same restrictions is beyond me, but that does not mean that we throw out the baby with the bathwater (is it inappropriate to use that phrase here? Oh, well). While this means convicted pedophiles are going to have a hard time finding a place to live and a good job, safety is a very real concern, and no they should not be working with kids if they have molested children before. And if they live near playgrounds and such, they will be too hard to keep track of and they will be too close to temptation. But for other sex offences that have no relation to children, especially for those who can be rehabilitated, I do agree that all those restrictions are draconian, not to mention pointless.

Finally, there is the issue of damage caused by sexual abuse as compared to other forms of abuse. I think the key thing to remember here is that everyone is their own individual and reacts to the events of their lives in different ways. Also, having not been abused myself, I don’t really have a frame of reference. Although from what little Scottie has shared with the reading public on his blog, I get the impression that the sexual abuse he suffered was not as extensive or painful. Also, something that I believe makes a bit of difference, he seems to suggest that those who abused him physically were more direct family members than those who committed the sexual abuse. I apologize if I got this wrong, and if it is, just take this as a theoretical example of someone else for whom this was the case. If someone very close, such as a parent, abuses you in ANY way, I would think that this abuse would have longer-lasting psychological effects, as there is also a deep betrayal of trust that goes along with the physical pain, guilt and/or shame suffered. For others, the sexual abuse could be worse. And while physical abuse may be more likely to cause long term health effects, the same thing can happen if a sexually transmitted disease is contracted as a result of a molestation. Several months ago I was following the blog of a young man who had been sexually abused by the father of one of his friends. Because of this, he contracted Hepatitis and HIV and died last winter. Sexual abuse can have horrific consequences as well, it is just a matter of what happened in each individual case.

To summarize, I think that the biggest problem with the manner in which sex crimes are dealt with in the United States is the failure to separate the more serious crimes from the less serious ones.

Restaurant Review - Vittoria Trattoria

Before starting this review, there is some blog news to share. The Writer’s Kitchen is now a featured blog on Restauranteers.com. Restauranteers is a restaurant and food blog that also collects a wide variety of food blogs with an amazingly wide variety of different topics. I was initially unsure about joining with the site as I also write about other topics, but decided to go ahead because they are looking for a diverse collection of blogs. This will introduce more readers to this blog. For those of you who are not foodies, don’t worry - this partnership does not mean I will only focus on food. The mix will stay similar to how it has always been. Check out the blogs they have to offer at http://blog.restauranteers.com/top-bloggers. There is also a new badge on my sidebar that will take you to their home page. Another change is that I have added a button for readers to subscribe to my RSS feed. My blog always had that functionality, but now it is easier to grab my feed.

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My mom and I arrived in Ottawa a day earlier than originally planned so we could help her sisters, who were organizing our family event, with some setup tasks. The payoff for this was we were able to get together with a few early arrivals for a dinner in the Byward Market. The restaurant chosen was Vittoria Trattoria, a fairly well-regarded restaurant in the heart of the market. Since there were 10 of us for dinner I wasn’t really keeping track of what everyone on the table was having. The menu focuses on the neighbourhood Italian standards, with the expected antipasti, many pizza and pasta selections, and secondos such as veal, chicken, and lamb. To start, I ordered the mussels with grappa, raisins and pine nuts. The mussels were fine. I kind of liked the touch of pine nuts with mussels and the broth was excellent, and I believe the grappa was useful in allowing the mussel broth to be the primary flavour (as opposed to, say, wine). However, when I make mussels myself I always try to find the freshest possible and cook them immediately, so the mussels are usually exquisitely fresh. These, while they were absolutely not spoiled or obviously old, were not as supremely fresh as mussels can be. This is probably an unrealistic expectation in most restaurants though, so I will say I liked the starter.

I had veal marsala, an Italian classic, for my main course. The sauce was fairly good, but the meat could have been prepared better. Veal scallopini requires careful treatment to be sure it is at its best. This veal had a slightly pasty texture on the outside, likely a result of too much flour used to coat the veal before pan-frying. Also the veal was just a little tough. There could be a couple of reasons why this happened. First, the veal was probably overcooked. Second, veal scallopini is usually cut from the leg, a tough cut of veal. In order to make this a tender cut, you must cut very thin slices and then carefully pound the meat to make a very thin, wide piece. This may not have been pounded enough. The sides were decent but not excellent. Several in our party had pasta and, from what they said, the pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauces ranged from acceptable to very good. For dessert I had zuccotto, a layered cake and mousse based dessert. That was excellent and definitely the best part of the meal. Other desserts include a good tartufo and a less than stellar molten chocolate cake.

Some were impressed with the food but the majority opinion (including my own) was that the food was not excellent but certainly good. It can certainly be considered an average neighbourhood Italian restaurant. The problem is that, because Vittoria’s neighbourhood is the Byward Market, the prices are too high for the quality of the food. The main courses are in the upper 20 dollar range with the high end meats (veal chop, rack of lamb) well over 30. I did not order anything overly expensive and my meal still cost at least 50-60 dollars with ONE glass of wine, before the tip. I have read reviews other places that complain about poor service here, but when we were there, the service was good. Again I would not consider it superb but they were friendly and reasonably accommodating. The wine list is pretty good, with some affordable selections, several by the glass.

A Visit To Ottawa

A little while ago I spent some time in Ottawa for a family event. Ottawa is Canada’s capital and has great things to see. There are some obvious sights to see and some others that are not as evident. As I have family in Ottawa, I have been there many times. The most exiting time was probably this past weekend, the Canada Day weekend. There are big celebrations on Parliament Hill and a festival in nearby Major’s Hill Park and of course fireworks shot from the Alexandria bridge that runs behind the Parliament Buildings. And this year the Royal couple - William and Kate - were in Ottawa for the event and the Queen was visiting the year before. I recall last year I posted about how sad and pathetic Montreal’s Canada Day celebrations seemed to be, and that had a lot to do with my memories of what this day is like in Ottawa. A modest parade seems inappropriate when you compare it to the massive celebration that takes place in Ottawa.

If you recall my posts about my trip to Washington D.C. last year, I made a point of not mentioning any of the most popular tourist attractions, mostly steering clear of the National Mall. Ottawa is a different matter, as I am Canadian and this is the capital of MY country. That is why my first recommended sight to see in Ottawa is Parliament Hill. This is the home of Canada’s government and is an iconic image for the country. Tours of the Parliament Buildings can be taken free of charge and you may even see Canada’s government in action (or whatever it is they are doing). In the centre of Parliament Hill is the Centennial flame. This fountain was constructed as a project to mark the 100th anniversary of Canada in 1967 and consists of a fountain with a gas flame constantly burning since it was first lit in 1966 coming up from the centre.

The Centennial Flame - the construction going on in the background is the setup for Canada Day

Parliament Buildings seen from the back. Pic was taken on grounds of the Museum of Civilization (see below)

There are various other things to see that relate to Canada’s government, some more interesting than others. Some places worth a visit may include the Supreme Court of Canada or Rideau Hall, the residence of the Governor General. Canada is part of the British Commonwealth and, as such, Queen Elizabeth II of England is still our head of state, though all state functions are handled by the Governor General, who is appointed by the Prime Minister. Regular tours of Rideau Hall are available and the grounds are also worth visiting. There are many trees on the walk up to the house, planted by various dignitaries from around the world, including John and Jackie Kennedy, Nelson Mandela and many Royals. The most recent tree planting was last weekend by William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Rideau Hall

There are several museums in Ottawa as well, and probably two of the more worthwhile are the National War Museum and the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The War Museum is Ottawa’s newest museum, built about 5 years ago on contaminated land that had to be cleaned up at great effort and expense. In keeping with the decontamination project, the building was designed with sustainablility and energy efficiency in mind. It even has a “green roof” so that the building is returning clean air to the environment. In addition, the shape of the museum is reminiscent of an army bunker and on a wing of the roof, there are a series of windows that spell out the message “Lest We Forget” in Morse Code.
















The museum of Civilization is very hard to completely describe. It tells the social history of the people of Canada. There are often exhibits relating to native peoples and to specific ethnic groups. There is also a Children’s Museum that teaches kids about Canada and the world with lots of activities and fun stuff. Even kids that don’t like museums will like this, because it is almost as much play centre as museum. There is also an IMAX theatre. This museum is located across the river in Gatineau, Quebec. The grounds have an amazing view of the Parliament buildings, which sit directly across the river.

Back on the Ontario side is the National Gallery of Canada. This is Canada’s premier art gallery and houses many masterworks and travelling exhibits. On this most recent trip I found something fascinating just outside the entrance to the gallery. It is a piece of public art entitled “Maman” (French for “mother”). It is a 30 foot tall spider made of cast bronze, complete with an egg sac containing 26 pieces of white marble to represent her eggs. The artist did in fact use her own mother as inspiration for the piece, which raises some rather disturbing questions. Supposedly the piece is intended to evoke the fierce protectiveness of a mother but also a sense of entrapment. I guess she had some “mommy issues” to work out.

Take note of the scale of this sculpture in both pictures. I tried to make sure there were people or cars in the frame to give some indication of the size. In the second picture, I just thought it was an interesting composition. The church is the largest and most ornate in Ottawa

Another strange piece of sculpture nearby is located beside the United States Embassy, an imposing and rather unattractive behemoth of a building on Sussex drive. The sculpture, pictured below, is called “Conjunction” and supposedly represents the close ties between Canada and the United States and “a joining of individual parts into a coherent and unexpected whole”. Maybe I’m just uneducated about the finer points of interpretive art but to me this just looks like a bunch of metal welded together with no coherent purpose and just looks ugly and pointless. That is certainly not the image one would likely want to evoke when celebrating the bonds between our two countries. Well, take a look and see what you think. Maybe it really is a work of genius and I’m just some philistine.

Brilliant or ridiculous? Comment and tell me what you think.

In this same area is one of my favourite places in Ottawa. For regular readers, it should come as no surprise that this place is yet another public market. In some ways, the Byward Market is much like other markets that I love and visit regularly, wherever I happen to be. But in Ottawa, the market encompasses more than just the market building and surrounding vendor stalls. Like at Jean-Talon in Montreal, there are permanent stores selling meats, cheeses and other food-related items. But the Byward Market distinguishes itself by also housing the largest concentration of bars and restaurants in the city. Some of the city’s most vibrant and interesting restaurants are located here, as are more pedestrian offerings. I will be writing an upcoming review post of my dining experiences during this trip, including one restaurant in the Market. There are also upscale boutiques for those who love shopping for fashions (at least I assume these stores are good - not really my area of expertise). As for the market itself, the volume of offerings cannot compare to Jean-Talon, but I would compare it favourably with Eastern Market, which I visited in Washington D.C. last year and it is also better than most of the markets in my local area. So I suppose this would likely make it one of the better markets I know of.

The main market building

Streets in the Byward Market are lined with restaurants and, like this one, pubs

There are many festivals in Ottawa. Aside from Canada Day there are many must-see events. The city goes all-out for the Tulip Festival in April. Like most other cities, there are jazz and blues festivals during the summer. While these pale in comparison to Montreal’s, especially when it comes to size and enthusiasm, they still attract good performers and make for an enjoyable activity should you happen to be in the city at the time. A block from the Parliament Buildings, the Sparks Street Pedestrian Mall has some noteworthy festivals, including a Busker Festival (buskers = street performers) and a rib and chicken cook-off (more on that in the restaurant review post). Though Canada is not often seen as an attractive tourist destination in the winter, February’s Winterlude is an event not-to-be-missed. Once the weather gets cold enough, the Rideau Canal is transformed into the world’s longest skating rink. Some people who work downtown will use the canal to commute to work on skates while the skateway is open.

In summer, the Canal is impressive too. You can take a boat tour along the canal or go from the start of the canal and take a tour along the Ottawa river. You can visit the locks at the entrance to the canal and, if a boat happens to be coming through, you can watch the canal in action as the locks are raised and lowered to move the ships through. In the same area is the Bytown museum, which tells the story of Ottawa’s early history. There is also the Chateau Laurier, one of Ottawa’s oldest luxury hotels. The hotel was financed by Canada’s railway, headed at the time by an American businessman. When the hotel was scheduled to be opened in 1912, this man was returning to North America to open the hotel but happened to be crossing on the Titanic and he did not survive. It is said that the 5th floor of the hotel is haunted to this day.

One attraction in Ottawa somewhat off the beaten track is the RCMP Musical Ride at the RCMP Stables in the neighbourhood of Rockliffe. This is a contingent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canada's federal police force) that displays the RCMP's tradition of precision horsemanship. They execute very difficult coordinated manoeuvres set to music. The musical ride spends a lot of time touring the country performing at fairs and equestrian events, so they only perform a few times a year in Ottawa at the stables but whenever they do perform, such as last week when I was there, it always draws a large appreciative crowd.

It's hard to really show the skill in the musical ride with still photos. But these should still give you some idea of what they do.

In an upcoming post (or posts) I will publish some reviews of restaurants I ate at during this stay in the nation's capital. I realize I have not been posting much since I left Montreal, but living at home has altered my schedule more than I thought it would. I am now trying to make time dedicated to writing so I hope you should see more posts. There have also been some recent developments on the food side of my blog and, once they are official, I will be able to tell you about them.