The last two weeks of July and first two of August are prime vacation times. During these four weeks, the school year has already ended. Summer school is winding down. Summer camp has had its run. Home renovations and landscaping projects are nearly complete.

Where I work, it is actually referred to as the "summer lull", a slowdown that results from significant numbers of personnel, taking vacation. Many project teams are reduced to skeleton staff. Remaining staff are often rotated into critical roles to ensure service levels to high priority projects are maintained.

These days, I hear many of my friends and colleagues, opting for partial vacations (staycations) or extended weekend summers. The former is a compromise. Employees take vacation, but must remain within a city's radius of work. They are required to check their electronic correspondence regularly and return to work should a crisis arise. The latter involves employees, distributing their vacation time to create shortened work weeks. Neither permits much travel.

But, remaining city or mostly city bound does not mean locals cannot be tourists. Make plans just as you would if you were traveling abroad. If you are an Ottawan, I recommend participating in a culinary tour. One of the reasons journalist Michael Kaminer of the Washington Post deemed Ottawa "Canada's cool capital" is its evolving food scene. What better way is there to learn about it than by taking a tour, lead by passionate food enthusiasts?

Paola St-George (@cestboncooking) and Andree Riffou (a Cordon Bleu trained chef) offer one such culinary tour of the ByWard Market through C'est Bon Cooking. It is a 2.5 hour walking tour, costing $45. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a little notebook to take notes. If you happen to be a food blogger, bring a camera with a freshly charged battery (a spare helps) and lots of memory.

Here are snippets from one Jenn and I participated in:

Not included in this slide show are photos from our visiting the Courtyard Restaurant (21 George Street), Murray Street Kitchen Charcuterie and Wine (110 Murray Street), and La Bottega Nicastro (64 George Street), all of which were incorporated in other blog posts.

Now, if you plan to wander the ByWard Market unguided, as Jenn and I often do, here are some additions I would like to recommend:
The Farm House (55 ByWard Market Square)

Signage
For a quick lunch in between shopping at the boutiques, fashion houses, and farmer's market, the Farm House in the ByWard Market Square serves pork and chicken schnitzel. Schnitzel is a flattened piece of meat that is typically breaded, deep fried, and baked crisp.

A-Style Sign

Chicken Schnitzel Platter

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Pork Schnitzel Sandwich

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While the platter came with unremarkable salad (poor attempt at tabbouleh) and instant rice, the schnitzel was made to order, fresh and crunchy. The sandwich was a little heavy on the bread, but it was quite well seasoned and tasty.

Continental Delicatessen (57 York Street)

Signage
Freshly made bagels are somewhat hard to come by in Ottawa's downtown core. Other wood-fired Montreal-style bagels can be had in the city, but the Ottawa Bagel Shop (1321 Wellington Street W.) is just outside the downtown area in the Wellington West neighbourhood and the nearest Kettleman's Bagel Shop (912 Bank Street) is across the street from Lansdowne Park. Neither is in walking distance of the ByWard Market.

Menu

E-verything Bagels

Classic Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, and Capers on an E-verything Bagel
One of the stories behind Continental involves its owner once working at a Kettleman's location and deciding to strike out on his own. While the story would be difficult to verify, Continental's bagels resemble Kettleman's. They are not honey-brined like Ottawa Bagel Shop's Bagels. Still, the freshly made bagels make a great breakfast or quick lunch.

This bagelry/delicatessen also serves up empenadas.

Empenada

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While the filling of ground meat, onions, and hard boiled egg resembles the empenada filling at a local Chilean restaurant Vina Del Mar (107 Wellington Street W.), its crust left much to be desired. Thin, almost rubbery (as if the egg wash had somehow hardened the biscuit-style crust), I recommend sticking with bagel sandwiches.

That said, if you are Ottawa-bound for your vacation, there are a number of vibrant neighbourhoods to visit. Spend some time downtown. Otherwise, spend some time in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood (aka: Beechwood). Walk up Wellington Street West to Richmond Road (through Hintonburg, Wellington West, and Westboro). Have fun! Most importantly, relax!

Particulars:
C'est Bon Cooking
560 Churchill Avenue N.
(613)291-9155

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