One of the early Fathers
of Confederation,Darcy McGee, had a vision for Canada; one for national
unity and one for a national railroad that would run from the east
coast all the way through the western mountains to the Pacific shore.
He did not live to see his visions fulfilled. April, 1868, Darcy McGee
was shot down in front of his Sparks street rooming house. He was 43.
Canada lost one of the great political figures of the time. His life is
now celebrated at Darcy McGee's Irish pub, 44 Sparks st., Ottawa, with
a view of the parliament buildings and a wall dedicated to Darcy McGee.
Hello From Ottawa - Darcy Mcgee's On Sparks
Street
by Susanne Pacher
When traveling to a new place, you might as well
combine history with a unique dining experience and good food. So
literally steps away from our temporary home at the Lord Elgin Hotel,
we found Darcy McGee's, which refers to itself as "Ottawa's Authentic
Irish Pub". Darcy McGee's is located at the intersection of Sparks and
Elgin Streets, just a stone's throw away from Parliament Hill and all
of Ottawa's major sights.
Actually, Thomas Darcy McGee was a prominent
Ottawa politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. What made
him famous were his stirring speeches, which helped unite this
fractured new country called Canada. On April 7th, 1868, he was
assassinated in front of his Sparks Street boarding house, just minutes
away from where the pub is now located.
When we entered the pub it was absolutely packed,
every seat was filled, and the areas in front of the bar were filled
with a stand-up crowd. I found out later that a concert was scheduled
for 8 pm with Lyle Lovett in the National Arts Centre, which is
literally across the street from the pub.
We got a comfortable seat in one of the corners of
this cozy pub and relaxed after a busy day of skating on the Rideau
Canal. The concert goers started to filter out by 7:45 pm and it got a
little easier to breathe in this very popular spot.
Naturally, skating makes you very hungry, so I had
a peak at the rather reasonably priced menu and one particular dish
caught my eye: A "Melted Stilton Cheese Dip", which consists of
Stilton, aged cheddar and cream cheeses blended with fresh spinach. It
is served in a pumpernickel roll with toasted bagel chips and Granny
Smith Apple wedges. The taste was actually reminiscent of a creamy blue
cheese dip and I really enjoyed it.
I followed up the appetizer with a Mediterranean
Tomato Salad of sliced hothouse tomatoes with goat cheese, red onion,
cracked black peppercorns and extra virgin olive oil, with a side of
garlic bread. Although Darcy McGee's carries hearty traditional pub
fare, I decided to go a little lighter on the calories for the main
dish.
After dinner I thought I should discover the
history and unique features of this place a little more and I looked up
one of the people who run the pub. Jennifer Rafuse is one of the
managers and she was kind enough to show me around and give me a
low-down on this unique place.
She pointed out that the furnishings of the pub
were designed and built in Ireland and were shipped over to Canada. The
pub indeed has a lot of unique decor consisting of hand-crafted reddish
wood with uniquely decorated glass inserts. The ambience is cozy with
dimmed down lights and several private sitting areas leading off the
main bar area.
There is a an area immediately off to the left of
the entrance which has a huge picture window facing out onto Elgin
Street. The view from this window on the north-east side is fantastic:
you can see the Parliament Buildings, the wonderfully lit up Chateau
Laurier, the National Conference Centre and the National Arts Centre.
It truly doesn't get much more central than that.
Jennifer took me over to a historic wall display
that explained the history of Darcy McGee and showed images of his
funeral which was attended by 60,000 people. At the time of his death
in 1868 it was a Victorian practice to create death masks, an actual
cast of the dead person's head. However, because Darcy was horribly
disfigured during the shooting, a cast of his hand was made instead.
The cast of his hand is actually displayed in a glass showcase just
below the historical plaque and I have to admit, seeing this fellow's
hand cast was just a bit creepy.
Jennifer went on to explain that Darcy McGees is a
favorite hangout of the politicians who come down to refresh themselves
after a long day on Parliament Hill. She said that the pub used to be a
popular meeting spot for the Liberals, and that they are getting more
Conservatives now since Stephen Harper's election as prime minister.
She also talked to me about the Barmaster's
competition, where bartenders compete in a variety of categories. They
are supposed to create Irish "craic", which means a great fun
atmosphere. The ability to pour a perfect Guiness, which must always
have a shamrock on top, is part of this Barmasters competition.
Naturally I had to see the technique for pouring a
perfect Guiness and putting a shamrock on top. Jennifer was happy to
demonstrate: first you pour the beer for about 45 seconds, then you let
it sit for a while, then you top it up and move the glass around to
actually create a perfect swirl in the form of a shamrock. Altogether
this process is supposed to take 119. 5 seconds. (The timing of course
is not measured by a stop watch, but by the perfect judgment of an
experienced barmaster).
The ambience is enhanced by live music, and
Jennifer said that the pub features musicians 3 days a week:
Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The music on tap is a mix of Irish
music and rock.
Jennifer also mentioned that come April, May,
Darcy McGees actually opens a patio on Sparks Street where its guests
can enjoy food and drink in the open air. Sparks Street is famous as
one of Ottawa's most important heritage streets. Nicholas Sparks was
one of the city fathers of Ottawa and founded the street in the early
1800s.
Once Ottawa was selected by Queen Victoria as
Canada's Capital, this street became a bustling commercial hub for the
entire Ottawa region. Today Sparks Street is a pedestrian zone, so no
cars are allowed, which allows visitors to freely enjoy the boutiques,
specialty shops, arts and crafts retailers and restaurants that make
their business on Sparks Street. This area also hosts a variety of
special events such as the Ottawa International Busker Festival, Tulips
on Sparks (held in May), and the International Chicken and Rib Cook-Off
which pitches chefs from Canada, Australia and United States against
one another.
So Darcy McGees is nestled right in the heart of
historic Ottawa and we got to sample a bit of that true Irish
hospitality. In anticipation of another busy day on Sunday, we finished
our early dinner and strolled back towards our hotel and noticed that
the action in Confederation Park was still going on. We now saw the
completed ice sculptures, all illuminated in different colors. From
there we went down to the Rideau Canal, where an open-air concert at
the American Express Sno-Bowl in front of the National Conference
Centre was in full swing. Hundreds of people were swaying to the music
and the historic former railroad station was lit up in shades of pink,
orange and purple.
This city sure knows how to throw a great
party.....
About the Author
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of http://www.travelandtransitions.com,
a web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural
connections. Check out our brand new FREE ebooks
about travel.
Darcy McGee's pub is an
interesting place to enjoy a meal and learn a bit of Canadian history. |
