Desert of the Meal

I headed to my relative early Saturday morning because there was snow in the forecast for the afternoon. Last time I was held up for 40 minutes waiting for croissants at Art Is In but I got tips from another person in line for other bakeries. So I decided to stop off at Rideau Station in search of croissants in The Byward Market. Unfortunately, they were vague about the location so I tried my luck at The French Baker at Murray and Dalhousie. There were few people out and about, but it was still a pleasant stroll through a quarter filled with old buildings and packed with businesses. It only served to remind me there could have been more of these bustling blocks if not for decisions like the Rideau Mall or King Edward Ave. Arriving at my destination, I realized I've been here before for a pricey brunch at Benny's Bistro tucked into the back of the bakery. I also regularly visited the nearby Upward Dog yoga studio when I visited Ottawa. There was some sort of internal fracas in 2016 because I suddenly noticed a replacement of all instructors. That was when I switched to studios on Bank St. and Elgin St.

At $2.85, the croissants were almost half as cheap at French Baker than Art Is In. They weren't as nicely made or as tasty though. Better than supermarket ones, but enough to justify the price differential? My relative had just bought a whole pack so they'll make the final call.

On Sunday, I visited Sa'hara, a Somali restaurant near Montreal and Blair. The Somalian civil war brought the first of many refugees from there to Canada starting in the early 90s. I remembered the Somalians stood out at first because of their Muslim clothes and having ethnic features distinctive from African-Canadians. But I don't recall seeing any Somali restaurants in the intervening years.

I don't know how closely Sa'hara sticks to traditional food though since the server noted that they had an "international" menu that included burgers. I picked some beef sambusa appetizers ($1.99) and a large Chicken Kebab meal ($17.99). The sambusa's close relationship to the samosa was obvious though its speckled surface gave a different texture than the latter. It could have been crispier that could have been due to the take-out bag. The meal was excellent and reminiscent of Middle-Eastern fare: fragrant pilaf and tender chicken pieces (though not a lot of them). The spicy basbaas sauce gave the food a nice kick.

I hope this small restaurant sticks around as this area doesn't really do "exotic food". Mexican joint Kukulkan and Shawarma King didn't last. On the other hand, there is now a taco truck (in the summer) and Chahaya Malaysia has been here for years.

It's Alive?

On Saturday, I walked along Montreal Rd through the neighbourhood of Vanier. I attempted to do so on Friday but the din and volume of cars during rush hour was too much. The section from St. Laurent to the Rideau river had been closed off for 2 years with construction and revitalization. The latter seemed to have been mostly a widening of the sidewalk, some trees, and new bike lanes. In my opinion, the lanes were poorly thought out as they were part of the sidewalk and therefore separated from cars by a raised curb. I'm skeptical if that would make them safer. They narrowed and were partially blocked by sidewalk blistered strips for the visually impaired at intersections. So unlike drivers, cyclists have to slow down at every road crossing.

For decades, there has never many businesses on Montreal Rd. The heydays of the Eastview Theatre, the Chateaubriand restaurant, and other shops were long-gone. They are only preserved in murals painted on a few remaining buildings. But the years-long construction might have bumped off a few more. Only the block of stores between the Vanier Parkway and the river offered any neighbourhood vibrancy. Condos were being built across the street, especially in the strip mall that used to house a Chinese buffet, supermarket, a pool hall, a dojo, and other modest businesses. Hard to say if these new residences will revitalize the street (with locals who frequent the shops) or kill it off entirely (with more condos replacing those stores). Regardless, the car-heavy Parkway will continue to separate the two halves of Vanier and squelch any meaningful development. Its genesis as a railway did start the urban destruction of the old Eastview town. But if it had endured as a (derelict) rail corridor, perhaps a New York-style High Line could be imagined. In reality, the only future for the Parkway is to remain an arterial road.

The bridge over the river should be a pleasant stroll. And although it had a pretty view, the narrow sidewalk and speeding cars made the walk felt precarious. When I reached the other side and Montreal Rd became Rideau St, my trek to the downtown wasn't much better. The squat, old buildings weren't too pretty but at least they housed various businesses. More than half have been replaced by condos (and the demolition continues apace). These have the shininess of new construction (if not much architectural flair) but almost no street-level activities. Empty for-lease signage outnumbered the occasional dentist office or Subway franchise. Rideau St. was also brutally divided by an arterial road: the notorious King Edward Ave. Staring at multiple lanes packed with vehicles, I have no idea why any condo dwellers would choose to live nearby (even if the Byward Market was in the area). The Rideau Mall was itself a sad reminder at what could have been. Some have dubbed the Nation's Capital as Auto-wa. But pondering all the mish-mash development throughout Ottawa, I was thinking more of Frankenstein's monster.

Over and Out?

Over the past few weeks, I've been looking up governmental support for retirees: Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS). They use rather fussy formulas but, in a nutshell, to maximize your earnings you need about 31 years of employment contributions for CPP and 40 years of residency for OAS . You can get a further boost if you wait until 70 years of age to collect. CPP is actuarially neutral (you get out what you put in, more or less) so you aren't really getting extra income from that source.

Of course, most people do not get the maximum amount for CPP. So that leaves retirement savings especially pension plans. Most people don't have the latter either. But for many living in Ottawa, since there are a large number of federal public service jobs here, they do have a pension. I couldn't find online sources about these plans. But for the (probably) comparable military pension, over a 35-year span (e.g., a 90-year-old veteran who retired at 55), it pays out at least 6 times the contribution amount made over a 25-year career. That's a nice nest egg on top of any private equity.

In my opinion, this is the only positive thing about living in Ottawa. Perhaps this is why my friends who never left all work for the federal government or the Canadian Forces. Yet in my family, almost no one from the older generation worked as a public servant. Looking back, this was the sort of life advice they should have received when we immigrated here. The younger generation is more clear-headed and does have government jobs (except the ones getting Silicon Valley money). In hindsight, having that pension does appeal to me but the idea of living here all this time does not.

Thoughts about retirement plans usually rattle inside my head when I'm out. This was no different when I ran some errands on Monday. At lunch, I stepped inside All-Out Burger, a new joint at Montreal Rd and St Laurent Blvd. The tables were full so I waited for one to clear up after I ordered an Original Combo ($14.25). The burger was rich and beefy but there was entirely too much fries. They were golden and crispy but I didn't make a dent in them. I would have preferred a smaller portion for a cheaper price. Overall, All-Out was much better than its neighbour Greek on Wheels. It might last awhile like Tropical Grill (now relocated to Orleans as Fishy's Original Jerk) and Dynasty Cafe (a decades-old greasy spoon that closed last year). But these businesses weren't in direct competition with the McDonald's location across the street.

Jive Walkin

During my quick trip to Toronto, I promised myself I needed to be more active. Everyday since then, I practiced yoga first thing in the morning. Then later on during a day, I went outside for a walk. I even started to do some winter jogging if the temperature was above -5C. The various routes weren't particularly interesting because we're in Ottawa.

There was another blast of snow on Thursday night and into Friday. On my walk that was also a grocery run, I thought about how pedestrian unfriendly this city was. I've had a few near-accidents while crossing streets despite having the right of way. But Friday it was the snow that impeded my progress. Oh, a plow did clear out the sidewalk. But one or more street plows also came through, pushing thick dirty snow onto long stretches of the same sidewalk. All the car traffic also created large piles at every intersection making crossing them treacherous. All in all, it was a miserable trek even for an able-bodied person. On my way back, I saw an older gentleman in a wheelchair struggling to get to his bus-stop.

On Saturday, I headed to my relative to see if they have improved. That trip was also an exercise in delay and frustration. First, I spent 40 minutes waiting to buy some butter croissants ($4.50) from Art Is In. The reason: only 2 people were behind the counter handling 25-30 customers. Their baked goods might be ok (for Ottawa) but it wasn't good enough to tolerate poor service. During the wait, I chatted with someone and got some tips for other businesses. So hopefully I'll never have to visit here again.

Ottawa has been extending its O-Train LRT from Tunney's Pasture to Baseline. Digging up various existing sections of the old bus-only corridors created some minor re-routing. But this week-end, they were tearing down one of the old station. As my bus twisted and turned through a major detour, going down one street before doubling back on another one, I got a good look at the city. None of it was pretty: Carling, Woodroffe, Richmond, and every road in between, it was strip malls, heavy car traffic, and no street-level human presence.

Lunch at my relative was stir-fry, soup, and leftover Christmas chocolate. From some gossip, I discovered that my younger cousins and siblings earned much more than me. I was glad they were making bank, but since we work in the same field, I realized I was woefully underpaid. I've always known from salary negotiations (or the lack thereof) that I wasn't getting market value for my work. I'm winding down my career so it's a moot point now but to compare actual dollars and cents was shocking. Speaking of careers, I recently received a message from an old yoga acquaintance (we used to enjoy a post-practice croissant hang). They had left their office job to become a Yoga Therapist full-time. Their new vocation was less lucrative, but much more emotionally rewarding.