All-Star Weekend vs. The Weekend Warrior: Innaugural shinny tourney evokes an Ottawa neighbourhood’s past

The Carlington Cup will take place on Saturday, January 28

Josh McJannett is a local public affairs professional and a volunteer with the Carlington Community Association.

On Saturday January 28th Ottawa will be overrun with the greatest hockey talent on earth as the NHL’s biggest names fly in from across the continent for the All-Star game. Absolutely none of that talent will be on display at the Carlington Cup – the first ever neighbourhood shinny tournament in west central Ottawa’s Carlington community. What will be on offer, however, is a showcase of the game’s humbler roots, harkening back to a simpler chapter in Ottawa’s history.

Organized by the local community association, the tournament started with a desire to find a way to get neighbours meeting neighbours and most importantly, to get folks out of their houses through the long Ottawa winter. The result is an afternoon of old-fashioned Canadian hockey, the way it used to be played when locals–in Carlington’s case, mostly returning WWII veterans who moved into Ottawa’s original suburb after 1945–would meet up at the neighbourhood rink, catch up over a cup of something warm and make the most of the city’s harshest season.

Local teams made of up of friends, neighbours and in some cases total strangers will suit up to compete for the honour of being the first team to raise a cup that is distinctly Carlington’s. Crafted by Sarah Waghorn, a local set and prop maker, the trophy evokes the neighbourhood’s history with a nod to the distinctive post-war homes that still dominate its streets.

The unique Carlington Cup trophy has been designed by Sarah Waghorn

There’s still space for local players to sign up a team or as and individual. Solo players will be placed as part of a friendly neighbourhood squad. Families and spectators are invited to come out to take part in kids’ games, a skills tournament and pick up broomball games. Participants willing to brave the January weather will be kept warm with locally crafted chili and hot chocolate.

So while Scotiabank Place might have the big names playing under the big lights, it’ll be in Carlington where you’ll find a healthy dose of Canadian hockey spirit this All-Star weekend.

Amazing!!  Thanks so much for sharing, Josh, and for rallying people to get outside and get involved in their community.

Finding new meaning in Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day in Ottawa at the National War Memorial

Josh McJannett is a full-time local public affairs professional and part-time local tourist. 

Growing up, Remembrance Day meant school assemblies, reciting John McCrae and doing the best you could to imagine the unimaginable—for many of us, it meant picturing our grandparents and their generation living in another time, making unthinkable sacrifices, witnessing unknowable horrors, struggling against a threat so enormous as to be almost unrelatable.

Photo credit: David Kawai

As a young person in the 90s, war seemed like a distant prospect; it’s cost and impact detached from the only reality I had ever known. The very act of remembrance itself seemed like a concept frozen in time; war was something you had to reach back into yellowing newspaper pages and black and white photos to access.

It is safe to say this has changed for me and my generation.

War and its costs feel closer than they used to.

You might once have been justified wondering whether anyone would still bother wearing a poppy or pausing for a moment of silence a decade or two from now when the last of Canada’s 20th century war veterans were gone. These days, remembrance is more prescient.This transformation follows a redefinition of what it means to be a veteran. No longer is the concept limited solely to the greying Legionnaire, honourably parading the colours around a cenotaph once a year.

After a decade of war and more than 30,000 of our generation who have served and fought in Afghanistan, the term might just as accurately conjure the image of a young woman in uniform, a co-worker running training exercises on weekends or a crowd gathered on an overpass clasping Canadian flags as a motorcade makes its way down the Highway of Heroes.

More than 30,000 Canadians have deployed to Afghanistan.

For me, Remembrance Day has found new meaning in the experience of close friends who experienced war first hand.  It’s come by watching people I care about struggle at home while their partners put themselves in danger on the other side of the planet. It’s been made real by friends for whom war is no longer the stuff of video games, movies or lofty speeches delivered by politicians, but by vivid, sometimes painful memories of violence, boredom, loneliness and heroism experienced first hand.

We’re fortunate in Ottawa to live in a city where it’s easy to make remembrance more than something we feel, but something we do. Today I’ll be standing with friends at the National War Memorial remembering sacrifice, both historical and ongoing; all of it much more knowable and relatable than it used to be.

Thank you for your contribution Josh. We’ll be right there with you and the thousands of others at the National War Memorial to honour our veterans and their families.For information about other parades and ceremonies around Ottawa, please visit OttawaStart.

Delicious flavours and cultural nostalgia: A visit to Skela Bosnian Deli

Mirveta Jakupovic, Skela Bosnian Deli

Josh McJannett is a part-time local tourist with a full-time appetite for delicious food, authentic cuisine and a good story.

Carlington’s Skela Bosnian Deli is an unassuming, even forgettable looking shop, on a fledgling strip of Merivale Road.

Sandwiched beside a Shell station and the after hours shisha bar housed above it, Skela’s somewhat anemic storefront probably isn’t what springs to mind when searching for a local tourist destination.

Skela Bosnian Deli is located at 956 Merivale Road, Ottawa

For those who have long known what the rest of us have been missing, the building’s bland exterior belies a trove of delicious flavours, cultural nostalgia and an inspiring optimism for a troubled region’s best traditions and history.

Seven years ago, former Bosnian refugees Mirveta and her husband Fudo Jakupovic decided to make good on a dream to create a place where they could keep cultural tradition, cuisine and memories of a happier homeland alive. From traditionally Eastern European meats and cheeses to imported spices, soft drinks and chocolates on offer, Skela was designed to respond to the tastes of an ex-pat community craving a taste of home.

Click here to hear Mirveta describe Skela Bosnian Deli

For Ottawans looking for something off the beaten trail, Skela is the perfect spot to take in a taste of the Balkans. The Jakupovics’ storefront refrigerators are brimming with homemade regional favourites like cevapi (spiced ground beef cylinders served with a spicy sauce and raw onion), kajmak (sweet creamed cheese) and stuffed Bosnian pita (think salty and delicious cheese-stuffed puff pastry); all prepared fresh on site.

Adding to Skela’s charm is Fudo’s vast collection of traditional Bosnian artwork, tools and crafts which adorn just about every free surface in the space.

Skela Bosnian Deli

In addition to a popular storefront, Skela boasts a cozy eating area that feels more like a family kitchen than a restaurant. Patrons help themselves to a Fanta on their way to the kitchen doorway where they greet Mirveta with warm familiarity and put in their requests for made-to-order favourites, before sitting down to traditionally prepared coffee; rich and black like earth.

The Jakupovics arrived in Canada with their two young children in 1993, fleeing growing hatred and violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conflict spreading across the former Yugoslav Republics had become altogether too personal.  Following Fudo’s hellish internment in a concentration camp, the family decided they needed to get as far away as possible.

Click here to hear Mirveta talk about why she and her husband chose Canada

Impressively, the Jakupovics count a diverse crowd among their regulars, including ex-pat Croats and Serbs—a thought that must have seemed unthinkable as they prepared to flee their warring homeland 18 years ago. The political hatred and division of those days feels far away from Skela’s red leather booths where a group chews over last night’s soccer score and boisterously recalls a friend’s antics at a local bar.

Taking it all in while digging in to a warm plate of delicious cevapi, Skela feels every bit the warm, Bosnian kitchen hang out the Jakupovics dreamed of creating.

A big thank you to the Jakupovics for taking the time to share their story, and Josh – thank you for writing such a heartfelt piece about this very special place. We hope to see more of you soon!

Ottawa’s top 10 most scrumtrulescent brunch destinations

Photo courtesy of Margaux Carson: http://www.kitchengraffiti.com

Josh McJannett is a local public affairs professional who took Ottawa to brunch after an 80s night eight years ago; they’ve been in a committed relationship ever since.

I love brunch. I don’t care if that makes me indecisive (Lunch? Breakfast? That’s a false choice peddled by the forces of evil as far as I’m concerned,) or if Stuff White People Like is to be believed, just plain predictable.

For me, there’s nothing like sitting unshaven (a weekend luxury) around a table of good friends over a refilled cup of coffee and a plate of egg soaked, bacon infused, pan-fried potatoes to make you appreciate how good life truly is.

Fortunately for Ottawans, this city is teeming with unstoppably delicious places to tame your pork and maple flavour fever.

For my $10 with tip (or so), this list represents the best of what I think Ottawa has to offer.

For more great LTOttawa coverage on brunch spots, click here.

Lieutenant’s Pump

For years this place has been my mainstay. Ottawa has no shortage of pub breakfasts on offer. Friendly service and reliably good fare put the Pump head and shoulders above the rest. After a big night out there’s nothing like the refuge of one of the Pump’s darkened back room leather booths. A great destination for bigger groups. Order the breakfast special with a side scone, you won’t be sorry.

Carmen’s Veranda

Funky retro seating and a streetside window in the heart of Old Ottawa South make this place something different. A great starting point for exploring an often overlooked neighbourhood with lots to offer.

Jak’s Kitchen

It’s the little things about this tiny neighbourhood restobar that earn it a spot on the list. Breakfast macs (named after the cooks who created them (Serge is my favourite), the jar of homemade jam on every table and the spicy Diablo sauces on offer are all things I’ve come to love. Be prepared to wait if you join the rush at 10am on Sunday.

Stone Face Dolly’s

Come hungry. The people behind this Preston Street mainstay don’t mess around with small servings—everything about this brunch is supersized—from the thick cut, homemade molasses loaf toast to the colourful personality of the guy who negotiates your seating during the inevitable rush at 10:30am. Highly recommend the lemon curd blueberry pancakes.

Heart & Soul Café

If you’re looking for something different, this place is worth the drive. Located just west of Kanata in the village of Dunrobin, H&S serves healthy servings of what can best be described as comfort food. Hearty potatoes, delicious pancakes and piping hot coffee go down just that much better on the veranda overlooking the countryside. A great spot.

Bank Street Diner

A reliable and simple spot in the heart of Centretown. This place doesn’t look like much from the street, but fast service, comfortable booth seating in a bright diner-styled room get it off to a good start. The fact that they soft poach my eggs to perfection and eschew frozen potatoes for the fresh,  pan fried, basil topped variety and the fact that I got out of there for $7 carried it over the finish line. I’ll go back for their ‘Breakfast & Beer’ special served after 11am!

Jean Albert’s

Saturday morning at this place is what happens when southern U.S.-style soul food makes a passionate love baby with brunch. Try the breakfast pizza and you can’t go wrong. Constructed with a hash brown crust, held together with egg and cheese and topped with pretty much anything you can imagine (the southern fried chicken is a particularly delicious option)—it’s an understatement to say you won’t be hungry until dinner.

Scone Witch

Beyond the scones, which are fantastic (for reals, get the vanilla cream), the devon cream imported from the UK and the top notch jam selection, this place also puts on a killer egg breakfast. You have to be willing to brave a wait for a seat in this small, humid restaurant (they make everything on site and the ovens keep the place nice and warm), but it’s worth it. The scrambled eggs are always cooked to perfection (not overdone like most places) and served with greens, fruit and your choice of scone. An Ottawa institution.

Morala Specialty Coffee

Earlier this year our neighbours at Apt 613 polled to find the best pancakes in Ottawa. I’ll leave the flapjack verdict to the masses, but I humbly put to you that Morala takes the title for the capital’s best waffle. This small café has a range of homemade baked goods and excellent coffee. More significantly for brunch lovers, this place is the opportunity to be treated to a feat often attempted and rarely achieved; the perfect waffle. Like any good thing, it’s available in limited supply; served Saturdays and Sundays before 11:30am. Made to order and topped with a generous serving of banana and strawberries with a side of real maple syrup and topped with whipped cream, these waffles are a decadent, delicious treat. The perfect place to grab some newspaper and a window seat with a friend and just catch up.

Urban Pear

Nestled in the heart of the Glebe and decidedly upscale (and reliably more than the $10 max you’d expect at most of the places on this list), this place is like an amusement park for your taste buds. If I concentrate I can still taste the stacked apple, cheddar and bacon French toast I ordered two years ago.

Is there a great Ottawa brunch destination that Josh left off his master list? Send us a note and tell us about it!