Ottawa Local Custom Tips by johngayton Top 5 Page for this destination

Where Does All The Snow Go?

During the course of an average Ottawa winter the city can expect a total of about 235 centimetres of snow to fall during the period November to March. Some winters this average is far exceeded with the record being 444.1 cm in 1970-71 and during my last visit in 2008 the record was almost surpassed with a total snowfall of 436.7 cm.

That's a lot of snow!

The responsibility for keeping the winter city running is down to the local council who use a variety of both hi-tech and low-tech methods and seem to be pretty well geared up for the task. It is obviously quite a major task and the snow removal has to be prioritized with the main roads getting the main attention whilst some residential areas may never be fully cleared once winter sets in.

Removing the snow to the disposal facilities is usually a last resort and initially the snow which is removed from roads and sidewalks is simply banked up alongside. Only once the snow banks become a safety hazard or otherwise too bulky will the snow actually be physically removed.

Whilst the city does keep the roadways and sidewalks as clear as possible it doesn't have any resonsibility for private property and so a main winter task for house owners and businesses is to keep their own driveways etc clear. However they can't just clear the snow onto public property and so most just pile it up wherever they can on their own property and wait for the spring thaw. This makes for quite a few interesting private mountains!

Phone: 613 580 2400

Website: http://ottawa.ca/residents/onthemove/

Recycling Those Empty Beer Bottles!

The chain of Beer Stores throughout Ontario was formed in 1927 follwing the repeal of Canada's attempt at prohibition and is a private company co-owned by the big three Ontario brewers: Labatt, Molson and Sleaman. The company, whose corporate name is actually Brewers Retail Inc., was given a monopoly licence to sell and distribute beer by the provincial government's Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). The LCBO strictly regulates the Beer Stores as regards selling prices, opening hours and requires that the company fulfills its remit as a socially and environmentally responsible retailer.

As part of its environmental responsibility the Beer Stores aim to recycle all of the packaging materials that the beers are sold with, not just the bottles themselves but their caps, cardboard packaging, cans, PET bottles and even the plastic bags. Of course the actual recycling of the beer itself comes under the Dept of Sanitation!

It is not just the beer packaging but also all liquor packaging from the LCBO's own stores. All bottles and cans in Ontario are sold with a refundable deposit and the stores happily refund these deposits no matter where purchased.

This is also a nice little earner for some of the street guys who often arrive with shopping trollies full of empties, the deposits from which can be spent wherever (not just in the beer Store!).

Phone: 1-888-948-2337

Website: http://www.thebeerstore.ca

In Search Of Wings!

Every bar worth its salt here in Ottawa, or indeed even in the whole of what I've seen of Canada (and, to think of it, most of North America), has its own variation of chicken wings. Some are meaty single-boners, others are fully fledged three-boners (but obviously without the feathers!). There are places who don't really care and just buy in frozen ready to ping or deep-fry variations and there are those who take pride is their secret marinade and cooking technique.

There is no definitive Canadian wing recipe but there are certainly some superb wings to be had here in Ottawa and I reckon someone should write a guidebook on the various offerings. This is a job I could definitely do and if anyone from the Ottawa tourist board happens to read this and would like to commission such a publication well here I am ready and willing!

Here's a little collage of a few (in no particular order of merit) going clockwise from top left: 101 bar's pretty succulent "Hot Wings" and half-price on the evening we ate them. The Elephant and Castle's "Hot" which were!. The shy ones from the Highlander and finally the James Street's "Sweet and Spicy" which were so good we had seconds.

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Website: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/327344