Six places President Biden should visit while in Ottawa this week
Six places President Biden should visit while in Ottawa this week
(Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
Dear President Joe Biden,
Welcome to Ottawa on your first official visit as president of the United States. This is your first visit to the capital since a trip as vice-president back in 2016.
I know your trip is packed with several official events, including a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau at Rideau Cottage, a bilateral meeting and an address to Parliament on Friday and a gala dinner. However, a trip to Ottawa can't be all business, so I want to suggest a few options for you and your entourage to visit during your trip to Canada's capital.
Have a great stay,
Josh
BeaverTails
When you visit Ottawa, you must have a BeaverTail.
It's billed as the uniquely Canadian tradition, a hand-made BeaverTail pastry served up with a variety of toppings.
The first BeaverTail location is in the ByWard Market. Former U.S. President Barack Obama enjoyed a BeaverTail when he visited the ByWard Market in 2009.
I recommend you try the Classic or the Killaloe Sunrise for your first BeaverTail.
BeaverTails opened its ByWard Market stand 40 years ago. It now has 160 locations worldwide. (Peter Szperling/CTV Ottawa)
Merry Dairy
I've heard you love ice cream, and Ottawa is home to many great ice cream locations.
I recommend you and the Secret Service take a drive approximately four kilometres from Parliament Hill to The Merry Dairy on Fairmont Avenue for ice cream.
While you're a fan of chocolate chip, the Merry Derry has several flavours including some with chocolate chip, including Chocolate Chip Frozen Custard, Mint Chip, Banana Chip and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
The Merry Dairy on Fairmont Avenue in Ottawa. (Jeremie Charron/CTV News Ottawa)
Elgin Street Diner
The Elgin Street Diner has become an Ottawa institution since it first opened its doors.
Since you'll be in town for approximately 27 hours, you can go for breakfast, lunch, dinner or late-night dining.
The diner is known for its poutine, which is one of the official foods of Canada. There are several poutines to try, including the Smoked Meat Poutine, Chili Poutine and the EDS Poutine.
Vanier Sugar Shack
Mr. President, you arrive in Ottawa during sugar bush season.
There are many sugar shacks across Ottawa, but I recommend you drop by the Vanier Sugar Shack, located just 5 kilometres from downtown Ottawa.
The sugar bush is located on a 17.5 acre land, in the middle of the nation's capital. The sugar shack was damaged by a fire in 2020, but reconstruction is complete and it's back in business this spring.
If you want to stick around, the Vanier Sugar Festival kicks off on Monday.
ByWard Market Wine Rack
A trip to Ottawa isn't complete without a stop at the Wine Rack, the store the New York Times dubbed one of five trendy places in the ByWard Market.
In a 2015 article titled "A Sleepy Ottawa Neighbourhood Wakes Up", the New York Times said the Wine Rack is one of the places that have "reimagined and reinvigorated" the area.
"At the boutique-size Wine Rack, which opened in June 2013, customers looking for varietals to pair with ByWard Market provisions find a number of food-friendly cabernet franc, gewürztraminer, pinot noir and riesling vintages all locally grown, as well as an array of Canada’s signature ice wines and ciders," the New York Times wrote.
There are 19 Wine Rack locations in Ottawa, but the ByWard Market location has been dubbed the must see attraction in the ByWard Market.
The Wine Rack store in Ottawa's Byward Market on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015.
Rideau Street McDonald's
Before you leave Ottawa, or if you're craving a late night snack after meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau Thursday night, swing by the Rideau Street McDonald's.
The notorious restaurant less than a kilometre from Parliament Hill is closing next month, and it would be great for you to visit the restaurant before it closes.
Yes, every city in North America has a McDonald's, but this restaurant holds a special place in the hearts of many here in Ottawa.
For many years, it was open 24 hours a day, and became a popular spot for late night crowds after last call at bars and restaurants. The McDonald's gained particular notoriety following the release of a video filmed in December 2013 showing a man pulling a baby raccoon out of his sweater while others were involved in a fight.
Last Sunday, more than 200 people attended a march to pay their respects to the notorious institution steps from Parliament Hill.
McDonald's has decided not to renew its lease for the Rideau Street location in Ottawa, and will close in April. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
What happens to the brain when you take gravity away? According to a new study looking at astronauts both before and after space travel, that experience causes physical changes that researchers believe requires at least three years between longer missions to recover from.
As wildfires rage across Canada in what’s being called an unprecedented season, one expert says there’s more that individuals and communities can do to adapt and prevent forest fires from causing widespread devastation.
Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.
Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it will announce Thursday when more residents can return to their homes in communities impacted by the Tantallon wildfires.
Video has surfaced showing a Mississauga, Ont. transit bus plowing into stopped traffic in a crash that left one person dead and at least eight injured on Thursday morning.
Quebec's precarious wildfire situation is expected to remain stable over the next 48 hours but residents displaced by the raging forest fires likely won't be able to return home until early next week, Premier Francois Legault said Thursday.
An Ontario man charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of the late Montreal Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, was arrested the day after the killing in Ontario on unrelated drug charges, public records show.
A $100 million class action lawsuit launched on behalf of alleged victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Manitoulin Island has been abandoned after the victims reached individual settlements with the church.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
In the summer of 2022, London, Ont. barber and business owner Eddie Lopez suffered a brain aneurysm, heart attack, stroke, and seizure. He remains in hospital to this day.
Two years after two statues were knocked down and damaged at the Manitoba Legislature, one is now back up and Indigenous leaders are upset by the decision.
University of Guelph (U of G) researchers have been looking at ways to breed dairy cows that burp out less methane, a harmful greenhouse gas emission contributing to climate change.
An 18-year-old woman riding a bike was taken to an out-of-region hospital with what police call “possible serious injuries” after a crash involving a sedan in Kitchener.
A man who killed his ex-wife’s cousin will spend life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years, a judge decided on Thursday at Saskatoon’s Court of King’s Bench.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
Tumbler Ridge, a community with a population of 2,400 in northeastern B.C., has been ordered to evacuate Thursday due to the danger posed by an encroaching wildfire.
More than 70 guests have RSVP'd for a Squamish couple's beach wedding in Tofino, but the wildfire-related closure of Highway 4 has upended their plans.
Regina's mayor says the city's fire department had growing concerns about the health, safety and well-being of those living in a homeless camp that was dismantled on Wednesday morning.
(Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
BeaverTails opened its ByWard Market stand 40 years ago. It now has 160 locations worldwide. (Peter Szperling/CTV Ottawa)
The Merry Dairy on Fairmont Avenue in Ottawa. (Jeremie Charron/CTV News Ottawa) 
The Wine Rack store in Ottawa's Byward Market on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015.
McDonald's has decided not to renew its lease for the Rideau Street location in Ottawa, and will close in April. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa) 
