The Fool On The Hill

On April's Fool, I visited Quelque Chose patisserie in Vanier. I had passed by it on my walk along Montreal Rd. Their specialty seemed to be macaron though they carried other desserts. This location also had lunch items but not this early in the morning. However, their croissants ($3) were still warm from the oven. These were excellent: buttery, layered, and flaky. This will be my go-to croissant spot from now on: better than French Baker and comparable to but cheaper than Art Is In. Even better yet, this part of Vanier is not gentrified so no line-up. I'm curious how they are surviving here compared to their shops in trendy Westboro and The Byward Market.

A week later, I went to a Sunday Easter dinner. Most of the extended family was there except for a few no-shows due to minor ailments. The food was once again a mix of Asian cooking and Canadian staples. I usually hung out with the older generation or simply wandered around listening in on conversations. This time, I talked to my younger cousins and their partners. Given our large age gap, I still mentally perceive them as kids. It was a bit disconcerting to realize they were well into adulthood and established in mid-careers as managers and bosses. Having grown up in the suburbs, they also think differently than myself. Paradise was a new house away from the downtown core, even if they love visiting European cities. For their aging parents, nothing was better than a condo near a mall and close to a highway.

Last Saturday, I went with my mother to a venerable restaurant in Chinatown called Yangtze. An old friend from Winnipeg, whom she hasn't seen since 2015, had invited us for dinner. The visitor was in Ottawa because her younger daughter's family had just moved here for work. There was 2 other couples, also friends with the Manitoban, to round out a gathering of 10 people. These folks had settled in the suburbs of Kanata 25 years ago so they informed the young couple that renting an apartment downtown was alright for a small family with 1 child, but they'll want to look in Kanata or Barhaven once they've settled in. I haven't been here since a friend's wedding reception more than 15 years ago. The food was comfortingly familiar Chinese-Canadian fare: edible and unadventurous. The clientele was majority white folks with a smattering of multi-generational Asian families.