For this week's "relatively" Wordless Wednesday', we visit general Manager Jeff O'Reilly's D'Arcy McGee's (44 Sparks Street) at the corner of Elgin and Sparks. There, you will find what the political staff at Parliament Hill have long realized, a great place to unwind with a pint of Irish ale after a long day of work.

It features a pair of normally bustling patios, which were overflowing with people during Canada Day.

Front Patio

Side Patio
Pull up a chair on Friday's and order two pints of Guinness, Smithwick's, Kilkenny, or Harp for $9.99 (+tax). Stay for #OysterFriday

Particulars:
D'Arcy McGee's
44 Sparks Street
(613)230-4433

How do you turn poutine into $1266 to fight cancer?

You find a great cause. In this case, Isabelle Rivard's (@spoonsie) Give to Live challenge (isaonabike.com) to cycle from Vancouver, BC to Austin, TX (a 4300 km trek) and raise $10,000 for cancer causes.

Izzy Rivard
Proceeds from this event went to The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Craig's Cause for Pancreatic Cancer, and The Canadian Cancer Society.

You find seven generous restaurants who make specialized takes on the dish that normally tops crispy fries with squeaky cheddar cheese curds and a veloute-style gravy.

You contact culinary tour guide Paola St. George (@cestboncooking) who is also the marketing manager behind C'est Bon Cooking.

Chef Andrée Riffou and Paola St. George of C'est Bon Cooking

You sign up 35 poutine enthusiasts to join you in a tour of Ottawa's ByWard Market, including Mark Warburton (founder of Ottawa Foodies), Kaitlin (Ottawa food blogger behind Heartful Mouthful), and Jodi (Ottawa food blogger behind Simply Fresh).

Mark Warburton and Paola St. George

You split the group in two and take everyone on a 2 km walking tour of downtown Ottawa.

The result,

@foodiePrints (Jul 17, 09:40 PM)
@EqualOppKitchen ...7 very generous restaurants. 37 happy p0utine enthusiasts. 2 km of walking tour. $1266 raised to fight cancer!

Poutine crawls are not unheard of. Earlier this year, Toronto food bloggers organized one. Theirs was not a fundraiser, just poutine enthusiasts, trying the various takes on poutine their city has to offer. The dish that has been long derided, often referred as "fat lumber jack food", has slowly colonized the city.

With the help of friends, the bloggers behind the Endless Simmer blog organized a "Tour de Poutine" in New York City. In total, they visited 7 eateries and sampled 7 takes on poutine. As Rebecca Marx of the Village Voice blog wrote about the poutine crawl, it revealed Brooklyn to be an unlikely poutine paradise. The most interesting to me was the one that came from a lunch counter in the Essex Street Market, Shopsin's. Dubbed the "Last Supper Poutine", it was topped not with cheese curds, but three poached eggs.

Well, Ottawa neighbours Quebec, the province that gave poutine birth. This is a city that knows good poutine. Here's what our ByWard Market produces.

The Courtyard Restaurant (21 George Street)

Chef Michael Hay's take on Poutine

Hand Cut Shoe String Fries, topped with Duck Confit, St-Albert Curds, and smashed Foie Gras Torchon
Jenn and I unfortunately did not get the opportunity to try Chef Hay's poutine. Sous Chef Arleigh Martin assembled the poutine to order. According to one of Chef Hay's earlier tweets, the sauce involved "French fry consomme." The torchon looked like it was frozen with liquid nitrogen and "smashed."

Zak's (16 ByWard Market Square)

Breakfast Poutine
Home fries, cheese curds, hollandaise, and paprika.

More after the jump...

Fellow Ottawa Food Blogger and part time Line Cook at Chef Michael Blackie's (@michaelblackie) Le Cafe Eric (@ottawabites) correctly identified the picture of the "mystery" poutine from the second "Ottawa, do you know your poutine" opportunity as having come from D'Arcy McGee's (44 Sparks) on Elgin Street.

D'Arcy McGee's
Eric writes the Ottawa Bites blog and recently worked the barbecue pit at Billy Bones during this year's Chicken-Rib Cook-Off. He will be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets for the Give to Live Poutine Crawl.

That said, D'Arcy McGee's, under General Manager Jeff O'Reilly (@pintinhand), had me reconsider my stance about pubs generally producing "ding-ding" food. While I think the batter on its fish and chips is a tad thick, it wasn't greasy and it was made-to-order.

Fish and Chips

There are good eats on this Irish pub's menu. For instance, there are the double-baked "stuffed" Yukon gold potato skins ($6.99) that would likely go well with a dark ale.

Stuffed Potato Skins
They are topped with cheddar cheese, chopped bacon, and diced tomatoes. Accompanying, sour cream.

Then, there are the mini Yorkshire puddings ($8.99), a savoury indulgence. They are stuffed with Guinness-braised boneless short ribs and topped with sharp cheddar cheese.

Yorkshire Puddings
Served with a vinegary coleslaw, there is balance in the flavours.

I also have to commend O'Reilly for trying to introduce oysters on the half shell to young professionals on Fridays (#OysterFriday).

Do I think this Irish pub's food on par with bistro or gastro-pub fare? Not quite, but I don't crave bistro or gastro-pub food when it's a gorgeous sunny late afternoon, I'm out with friends, and I just want a nibble to accompany a pint or two after work.

Speaking of which, D'Arcy McGee's happens to feature a patio with a view of the ByWard Market, the National War Memorial, the Chateau Laurier, and what used to be (and may be again) Ottawa's downtown train station. Pictures will follow in an upcoming "relatively" Wordless Wednesday Patio Post.

Particulars:
D'Arcy McGee's
44 Sparks Street
(613)230-4433

More after the jump...

While Paola St. Georges (@cestboncooking) already tweeted the identity of this poutine purveyor, the raffle for a pair of tickets (value $50) to the Poutine Crawl (Saturday, July 17, 2010) must go on.

To re-iterate, here is how the raffle works:

• Everyday, we will post a picture of poutine from an Ottawa restaurant, not necessarily one that will be included in the poutine crawl.
• We will leave hints. We may even be careless enough to leave links to websites or Facebook pages.
• The first person to comment on the post, correctly identifying the eatery where the poutine comes from, will be entered into a draw for the pair of tickets.
• Each day, a different first correct commenter will be chosen.
• If someone submits multiple guesses, the first one submitted will be considered.
• The winner of the tickets will be chosen using random.org Friday afternoon.

There are now four chances to be included in the draw. Here is the 2nd opportunity:

Mystery Poutine

This poutine ($7.99) comes from an Irish Pub that has been open 13 years in downtown Ottawa, ostensibly under the same general manager, Jeff. It features a Guinesss imbued sauce, squeaky fresh cheese curds, and crispy fried thick cut potato fries.

The Irish Pub is named after a father of confederation, whose statue can be found on Parliament Hill. He has the dubious distinction of being the only Canadian victim of political assassination at the federal level.

Inside the pub, you will find booths segregated in separate rooms.

Booths
There are two floors and the pub is licensed for 250 people.

The pub's main bar is a gorgeous piece of darkly stained wood working with friendly bartenders behind it and a multitude of glassware.

Bar

Glassware
Unlike, competing Irish Pub Patty Boland's in the ByWard Market, this pub has local beers on tap, both Beau's and Kichissippi. In fact, after a long shift, you may find Jeff pull up at the bar or at a table to enjoy a pint of Kichissippi blonde himself.

Also on tap, is Kilkenny, Creemore Spring, Alexander Keith's, Guiness, Smithwick's, and Spaten. Spaten happens to be exclusive to the Prime Pubs chain to which the establishment belongs.

The "Tastefully Irish" menu, includes a 2-piece battered haddock fish and chips ($13.99) that has won the hearts of Ottawa locals.

Fish and chips with Veg Slaw, and Dungloe Sauce

The pub holds weekly events that include

• Wednesday Night East Coast Kicthen Party - $4.99 Keith's
• Thursday Unplugged & On Tap - No Cover Live Music with Premium Domestic Draught beer in Pint and Double Pint (40 oz) Sizes
• Friday Two Pint - Two pints of Guinness, Smithwick's, Kilkenny, or Harp for $9.99 + Tax

More after the jump...