Drinks were called Conductor and the other was called Jump up and kiss me. It’s true. Had both glasses at home. There was also a bar called Brandies next door sound that time.
Loved this place, I worked their around 79-81. Use to love the meatball sandwiches, yumm. Was always a busy place and then there was Scotland Yard bar next door, a good place to have a brew after work.
Several of my friends and I got jobs there right at the beginning. What fun. Many went on to bigger and better in the ottawa restaurant scene. Spumoni ice cream is all I remember from the menu.
Night Out in Lost Ottawa, featuring the menu from the Old Spaghetti Factory on York Street.
The menu doesn’t seem exactly exciting, although many people remember the Spaghetti with the Burnt Butter and Mizithra cheese. The prices are astonishing, even for the era this restaurant lasted, which was 1975 to 1986.
Alas, no drinks menu, so no “Jump Up and Kiss Me!”
(From a book of collected menus I found in the vertical files of the public library.)
The waiting bar for the Factory Scotland Yard, was a great place to hang out in. Especially when you knew the bouncer. lol. Many good memories in both of those places!
In the top left corner it says they accept Mastercard, American Express and CX that would be Chargex….I have not heard that in decades…. LOL Wow, steak and spaghetti for $7.00…. thats unheard of now days. Its move than $7.00 for just the spaghetti alone now never mind the steak. LOL
Used to love going there in the 70’s. A lot younger then, I used to eat the lasanga, warm mini loaf bread with garlic butter and SPUMONI ICECREAM for after. Almost rolled out of there wih my overfilled belly . Could not get that much down now. Such lovely memories
Met my future wife in Ottawa 1980 and loved going to the Old Spaghetti Factory on York St. Still together after 43 years along with our special glasses on Vancouver Island
Let’s say you’re sitting around one day fondling your money when three brothers burst in and ask you to invest in their really terrific restaurant idea.
You: OK guys. First brother: We want to start this restaurant chain in old factories and warehouses. We’d like to open near skid row in Vancouver, in Winnipeg’s warehouse district, in an old building on The Esplanade, a dying area near Toronto’s waterfront, and in a warehouse in Ottawa’s farmers’ market.
You: OK, you’re putting restaurants in slum buildings. What the devil is the decor?
Second brother: Used furniture. Lot’s of it. And old drawings, junk, street signs, barber chairs, street cars, stained glass windows, old machinery, and…
You: Sure guys. Sure. And what are you going to serve?
Third brother: Mostly spaghetti.
You: Anyone can make spaghetti. How can you feature spaghetti? And how are you going to make money on a cheap dish like that?
Third brother: Well we have different sauces. One of them tastes a bit like a fish chowder and another features burnt butter.
I wouldn’t have invested in an operation serving spaghetti in warehouses located in run-down districts and filled with second-hand furniture. And I would have made a mistake. Successful chain By doing basically what I’ve outlined, three millionaire Canadians, the Poulas brothers, have built-up one of Canada’s most successful and profitable restaurant chains, the Old Spaghetti Factories.
Hamalainen’s new sign can be seen a long way off –in fact, he hopes people in Britain will notice it. The 34-year-old Finnish-born artist has built what he believes is the largest hand-carved pub sign in existence, and wants to make sure the world, and the Guinness Book of World Records, know about it. The sign, which went up this week in front of the York Street building housing the Old Spaghetti Factory, Brandy’s, and Scotland Yard, measures 2.82 metres high, 2.9S metres wide and weight approximately 1.200 kilograms.
Made of British Columbian cedar, it is elaborately carved on both sides with the logos of the three establishments. As Spaghetti Factory employee Ryan Memory put it, “From a distance, it looks like a big engraved piece of chocolate.” “1 Hamalainen, a graphic artist who sculpts as a hobby, first got the idea from a newspaper article about pub signs, a popular form of art in England. He had previously sold a smaller sculpture to the Spaghetti Factory and when the restaurant owners asked him to build a sign, “this was my opportunity.”
Hamalainen started working on the sign in February it took 511 hours to build. He took slides of the logos, then projected the images onto the wood before beginning to carve. “I didn’t want to make any spelling mistakes,” he said Wednesday. Although the Guinness Book doesn’t yet have a category for pub signs, Hamalainen said he hopes his entry will be accepted, adding that the book does list the world’s largest neon sign. And while he’s not completely sure his sign is the world’s largest, he’s optimistic.
Ottawa Found – check your own facts. Skyline was built by Campeau Corporation and designed by Campeau’s chief architect, Peter Dobbing. Ian, you’re right about the bowl on height limits, but Campeau still had to get permission to exceed the height permitted for that location. It was quite a fuss at the time and once this exemption was granted, the others followed.
My old boss, Harry Koffman, also said it was Campeau who was responsible for the height restriction easing. Harry owned the Belle Claire on Queen St. and he and his brother Sammy held out until 1974 before selling to Cadillac Fairvee. By then, it was worth a small fortune.
my uncle Gilbert Vezina was the boss electrician on that job He told me that a one horse power motor was all that was needed to turn the restaurant around
The Rotating Restaurant was at the “Holiday Inn”….now the Mariott Hotel, I worked at this hotel, which was built by Campeau as part of the Place de Ville complex, this hotel was originally built as an apartment complex, before opening as the Holiday Inn, with the rotating restaurant (room still rotates today) as La Ronde,….Dan D
It was called Le Ronde if my memory serves me correctly and was at the now Marriott. My boss took our department there for Christmas in early70’s. They had the best “ Steak Dianne”!
It was built by Campeau and very controversial because it broke the city height bylaws that protected the view of the Parliament Buildings. All those anonymous glass and steel blocks have followed. It really was the beginning of “Lost Ottawa”, along with the demolition of the Flats of course.
Had my wedding reception there! 1972. They put together a package deal—- I got married at 7:00 pm. The deal was for 40 people— hors d’ourves, wine for the toasts, the wedding cake, bridal suite for the night and breakfast in the morning for 6 people. My Dad paid for the open bar. All that for the princely sum of—- wait for it———$131.75. I still have the bill. Soft spot for the old Skyline!
A lot of newbies, including myself, would make the error of putting their briefcase or purse on the window ledge. When the meal was finished. the latter would have “magically” disappeared. You would then have to walk around the entire loop of the restaurant, to find your missing item. This was particularly interesting, if the person involved had consumed a few beverages during the meal.
My husband Denis and I stayed at the hotel the first night we were married and the following night we had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant. The rotation was so slow that you did not feel it moving the only reason you knew it was rotating is because the scenery was changing.
I own a vibraphone (mallet percussion instrument) that came from LaRonde originally, and apparently lived there for years. I guess any serious dinner restaurant had to have their own vibraphone to go with the lounge music of that era….?
Blind Pig brings back memories… I used to live downtown in the late 70’s and drank there all the time. The bands that played there were great. I ate at La Ronde once with the family and that was enough for me. The movement, although slow, made me so sick.
It was certainly a novelty, and a great place to dine and enjoy the bright lights and landmarks of down town Ottawa at night, as the La Ronde restaurant rotated at a slow pace. Had a few company celebration dinners there.The most difficult part of an evening was trying to find your table location after a washroom visit. The ride up and down in the high speed elevator also added a thrill !
Gazing out over the Parliament Buildings and the Ottawa River in June of 1971. Wouldn’t this be quite the Ottawa coffee break — or possibly he’s having a smoke?.
I don’t have access to the Ottawa Journal, but I think this chap is working on the Holiday Inn (the one with the spinning restaurant on top) — which is now the Marriott (with the rarely spinning and not usually-open restaurant on top).
I wonder if the would spin it up if we held a Lost Ottawa dinner in there!
Holiday Inn, then a Radisson, now a Marriott. Stayed there for the first time in the late 70s. Benito Migliorati, now GM of the Chateau Vaudreuil outside of Montreal, was F&B Manager. Was a franchise operated by Commonwealth Holiday Inns of Canada Ltd of London,ON…”the most accommodating people in the world”. Had a Sunday Brunch in La Ronde (the name of the revolving restaurant at the time), during a fam trip weekend hosted during Winterlude 1988 by Kensel Tracy, then with Ottawa CVB. Stayed there again in Oct/2011 when Markus Fisher was DOSM.
Hi everyone: this is actually my grandfather: Gilbert Pilon. He’s 86 now and he loves this photo. He’ll be thrilled to know so many people are getting a kick out of this photo today.
Dude is probably thinking, the Portage Bridge to the discos is gonna be completed in 6 years and then it will be 43 years and counting before the next one to La Ferme Rouge Dance Hall.
As a reporter with The Ottawa Citizen, I was assigned to write a story about the revolving restaurant — a marvel coming to Ottawa. Went up to the roof with photographer and site manager on the construction elevator and had the magnificent view of the city , the river and the Gatineau Hills. I think this experience gave me the fear of heights which I still have all these years later. In its day, it was a wonderful place to go for a meal on a special occasion.
Fine dining justifies trip to the top of the Marriott It was a masterpiece night for dining 29 floors high: the evening sky was clear, the sun blazed over the Gatineau Hills, a squadron of kayaks pirouetted down the Ottawa River. It would have been the perfect evening to haul tourists to the top of the Marriott Hotel to see the panoramic splendour that is Ottawa on a late August night. As it was, I dined in the excellent company of two local friends along with my husband and brother, for whom such beauty should have been familiar. Still, 29 floors up and going ’round and ’round, it can all look new. The view alone was a tonic for us jaded Ottawa old-timers. We do live in a good-looking city. And we ate in a restaurant that’s been part of the city for more than 29 years … though, in different incarnations.
The Ottawa Marriott is what became of the Radisson Hotel, and Merlot is what happened to La Ronde. The only part of the former La Ronde restaurant that remains at Merlot is the revolving part. The restaurant spins .;. slowly. (Still, I take no chances and face forward. My dinner always stays ahead of me in rotating eateries.) In a 1995 review, I wrote, “La Ronde is a restaurant that has a big view, a big menu and big prices. What you are paying for is being up high and going around in circles. That may be worth the price, but the food is not. Nor is the service.” In 1995, I would not have brought a tourist to show off the city from the 29th floor of the Radisson Hotel. (At least, not to eat.) But, based on my dinner experience at Merlot, I would grab a dozen.
The meal was not flawless. Mistakes were made. But not many. And they were mostly forgivable, given the obvious efforts made and pains taken to get things right. There was much that was right with the bread basket offerings (although they could lose the flavoured butter balls, they scream “hotel”) and with the appetizers we sampled. My weakness in restaurants, generally, is for the starters. I could happily eat an entire meal from The only part of the former La Ronde restaurant that remains at Merlot is the revolving part. that portion of the menu alone. And here, it was indeed the starters that caught our attention. A potato leek and Stilton soup, enriched with Port, was memorable for its intense flavour, perfect seasoning, rich chicken broth and its dappled oil surface. A second soup boasted perfect seafood in a delightful tomato broth, spiked with chili-heat, perfumed with fennel and cilantro and floating “purses” of grated vegetables and herbs encased in crisp wonton wrappers.
Medallions of sashimi-grade tuna were quiveringly-good: the outside crusted with cracked pepper and flash- seared but, inside, a glorious purple-flesh, utterly rare, prettily settled on a won-tcfli “crisp” treated with black sesame seed and coarse salt. Surrounding the rare tuna and its crisp bed were braised baby bok choy and black-eyed peas in a pool of subtle curry-spiced sauce. Blueberries and jus de cassis provided the sweet touch in the dark rosemary-scented sauce for the sweetbreads, the nuggets tender and perfectly paired with wild mushrooms and strips of crisp pancetta. If I had a quibble with this one it would be the salt, which was too much for my taste. We had three completely delightful main dishes and two that were less so. My salmon (“fresh from the icy waters of Alaska”) was sadly, nastily overcooked. Had I not been on the job I would have sent it back.
The pork tenderloin was surrounded with terrific, tasty things: nuggets of roasted potato, onion, peppers and a compote of softened apples and sweet, dried cranberries all treated with a whisky-doused sauce. But the pork itself was grey and had a stewed taste and texture that were disappointing. Much better was my husband’s rack of lamb, perfectly roasted to medium-rare, coated with coarse mustard and served with a classic mint-infused lamb jus reduction. A colourful salsa, of corn and tomatoes and “calypso” beans cuddled up with buddy Jane’s terrific, slow-roasted, juicy chicken. Also on that plate were roasted portobello mushrooms and surprisingly light gnocchi, perfumed with lemon and sage. It all worked. And finally, the loin of deer, intensely gamey, dark and rich, with a full-bodied wine sauce that balanced.
Ottawa Marriott Hotel 100 Kent St., 783-4212 Food: Good to excellent. Accessible: Elevator to the penthouse level. Access from there is up a flight of stairs. Wheelchair access possible through service elevator. Price: Appetizers, $12 to $14; main dishes, $20 to $34. Hours: Dinner service only, Tuesday through Sunday. came with hardy roasted root vegetables and a touch of fragility too, in the form of ag-nolotti (like a big ravioli) lightly stuffed with mushrooms and herbs. Yum. For dessert, we enjoyed a maple mousse cake of glorious maple flavour and a delightful concoction of oh-so-dark chocolate, which had been moulded into an espresso cup, complete with handle, and filled with impossibly rich chocolate ganache. Both desserts were gloriously presented with all the spun sugar flourishes and ripe fruit garnishes you would expect from a pastry chef artist. At $7 and $9 respectively, they were a steal. A round of cappucinos, that arrived piping hot, despite the 29-floor elevator ride they endured (because of a defunct machine en haut) completed our evening. We splurged on a bottle (two, actually) of Berringer Merlot (from a lengthy list that held some treasures) and, with those and with all of the above, our bill for dinner for five came, with taxes and tip, to $460. Like we did, you will pay. But this time round, for more than the view and the ride.
DINNER. BY Elizabeth Elmsley View great, You’ve got to admit that after you’ve zipped up 25or so storeys in an elevator then huffed up the last flight of stairs, the view from the Radisson Hotel’s La Ronde is awesome. Spectacular. Enough to take your breath away. And if your breath isn’t taken away by the view, it will surely be sucked out of you when you try to find the washrooms. It’s rather like a game of round and round the mulberry bush as you try to relocate the entrance of this slowly revolving restaurant Once there, you must descend the stairs, turn left and walk a goodly distance. Then, of course, there’s the return journey. In short, dinner at La Ronde is not for the short of breath, the elderly, the incontinent and those with no sense of direction. It can be, however, an enjoyable experience if you adore watching the beauty of Ottawa and the Gatineau Hills roll by and if you enjoy eyeball-ing birds and hot air balloons. It’s been years since I last reviewed La Ronde. I remember saying then that the food had improved immeasurably that it was finally worth the view. Yes there were problems a dish whose flavors warred with each other, an inattentive waiter and a mariachi band whose music drove one to distraction. But generally, I enjoyed the evening. I enjoyed my evening this time as well. But the pleasure had more to do with the view, the attentive service and my companion than, unfortunately, the food.
We got off to a brilliant start. My companion ordered a feuillete filled with oyster, morel and shiitake mushrooms in a chantilly herb sauce ($7.75). It was utterly delicious the pastry flaky and tender, the mushrooms and herb sauce beautifully matched. The same could be said for the es-cargots which had been gently sauteed more like poached in garlic-herb sauce accented with slivers of tart sun-dried tomatoes ($8.25). Excellent Delightful. I wish they’d been our main courses. For here we ventured into the dinner disappointing –yes abyss. It was almost as if there’d been a change in chefs in the kitchen that forms the core of this circular restaurant.
My companion ordered the roast pork tenderloin wrapped in phyllo pastry served with a moutarde de meaux sauce ($21.25) and I ordered the lake trout steamed in a parchment pocket garnished with a julienne of vegetables in a delicate champagne sauce ($21.50). In passing, I should let you know that neither of us was being extravagant in our choices. The pork and the trout are at the very bottom of -La Ronde’s main course prices; for $30 per person, there’s Chateaubriand or grilled filet of venison, for $24 there’s medallions of veal loin or gulf shrimp flambeed with pernod, for $27 there’s braised partridge. We might have done better with ! other selections for the pork a quite intimidating serving, by the way had been cooked to the point where germs stood no chance of survival. It was also dry, tough and chewy. And there wasn’t enough sauce to allow the hunks of meat to slide down. As for my main course well, it certainly was unlike any trout I’ve ever tasted. In fact it very much tasted like the last item on the menu: “Whole Dover sole prepared to your taste.” Now I have eaten quite a bit of Dover sole in my not-so-brief lifetime and a well prepared Dover sole is heaven. But a previously frozen sole that may or may not be Dover is not my idea of a gourmet dining experience. And this wasn’t. For dessert we had a slightly over set creme caramel ($4.25) and an okay raspberry mousse cake ($3.75). The coffee, however, was very good. And, as I mentioned, the view was fantastic.
By Marilyn Mlnnes Don’t place your purse on the window ledge. It will stay there. So will the window ledge. But you, your companions and the dining table will move onwards. It takes about 80 minutes for your return to the same spot. Any restaurant that revolves at 27 storeys (or 2,000 eggs strung shell to shell as determined by a recent promotion) to expose the heart and skyline of a city to the diner, is a tourist come-on. But now La Ronde offers more than that.
In fact the Holiday Inn’s penthouse restaurant has improved its image lately. Mind you, it did have a long way to go. One of the biggest criticisms yesteryear was that service was arrogant, .Waiters were known to tap their pencils impatiently waiting to take an order. There’s still a hint of that, but altogether La Ronde has become much less stuffy. Our waiter was even noted to have offered and performed the cutting up of a youngster’s meat an operation that was deftly handled. However, he wasn’t much impressed with our order of a Canadian wine, Moulin Blanc, at $1.90 a bottle. It along with other Canadian wines, are the only ones left to be had for under $5. And that’s at the old prices.
I had a glimpse of the new listings, ready for when the older-priced stock runs out. The tab for Pouilly-Vinzelles, now $11.05, will soar to $22. And that’s enough to take away anyone’s appetite. What else does La Ronde offer you? Six nights a week, there’s music to dance by (dinner guests only), with time to enjoy the dance floor between courses The music is good, requests can be made, the room is romantic.
Half-price for half portions, dimmed and, as the sunlight fades, single carnations on each table gracefully silhouetted against the panoramic view of Ottawa by night. As for the food, it remains mediocre. The occasional dish is better than that. Nothing is outstanding. The only unacceptable item was the Caesar’s salad ($5 for two) that had been carefully prepared at the table with all the right ingredients to give it healthy zip, including copious bits of bacon, crisp croutons and a shower of parmesan. But tossed into the dressing were romaine leaves that had faded and were limp and tasteless.
We started with an appetizer of smoked salmon ($4.50), short on flavor but ample in quantity. Plated arrange arranged with capers, rings of onion, creamy horseradish, tomato wedges and a small creamed cheese sandwich. Our main course choices were scampi amoureuse ($15.25), the delicately-flavored crusacean sauteed (at the table) with shallots and tomato and then flamed with pernod and cream. It is a tasty dish, complemented by a bed of bland rice, and colorfully presented with plain frozen green beans and what appeared to be canned baby carrots.
Like the scampi, the veal scaloppine ($11.50) was tender; tasty and well prepared. Again the vegetables were the weak sisters: overcooked zucchini and not-quite-crisp fried potato balls. Other main course items include fish and shellfish, steaks and roast, chicken tarragon, rack of lamb ($28.50 for two), Chateaubriand ($28.50 for two), veal kidney and pork tenderloin. Points must be given for plates that remained hot throughout; a menu showing off a few Canadian specialties, namely salmon and fiddleheads; and explicit descriptions of both the dinner items and the wine list.
Desserts, revolved around strawberries. One was a feather light but ordinary cheesecake ($2) with a strawberry preserve sauce, the other, fresh berries Komanoff ($2.75) sat atop ice cream scooped into a water pocket. The bill for two, presented with After Eights chocolate mints, was about $52 (not including tip). That’s not extraordinarily high for the setting and the french-style service. Now that the attitude permits one to enjoy the altitude, how about some inspiration with the food.
PERTH CANNING COMPANY. This label is from a product that was canned by the jPerth Canning Company Limited, which operayted in Perth from 1895 to 1902. The cannery closed because of lack of enough vegetables for canning.The premises were located on was was known as Park Avenue, know now as Rogers Road. The building was bought by a creamer company in 1902 and in 1929 became Land of Lanark Creamery until closing in 1960. Location of the Huntington Green Condominiums today.
I lived on that street from 1954 until 1967 it was known as Market Street. The old Creamery building was all closed up and it was a great place to explore and play when we were kids. A lot of the old offices and production lines were just as they were, like they just locked the doors and walked out. I loved that place and spent hours exploring with other neighborhood kids. We never damaged anything, we just used our imaginations and amused ourselves for hours, great memories!
THEN&NOW–Perth Remembered Aerial View of the Code Factory on Rogers Road at Harvey Street. Perth Creamery is seen across the street. In the top right of the photo you can see the original Haggart & Herron Grist Mill at Haggart Dam. This building was destroyed by fire in 1948 and the ruins leveled in 1956. In 1893, R. Gemmill & Sons, woolen mills moved from Port Elmsley to a new building erected at the corner of Harvey Street and Park Avenue (Rogers Road). They manufactured fine quality Canadian Tweeds. In 1898 The Perth Woolen Mill Co. Ross and T. A. Code took over Gemmill’s mill. In 1899 the woollen mill changed to a felt mill. In 1985 the mill ceased operation with felt still being made at the Herriot Street plant. In 1987 the mill was sold to be converted into apartments but because of too much oil on the floors it was not feasible and the buildings were all demolished and in 1990 Ashley Chase apartment complex was built. Note: In 1963 at the request of International Silver the street name was changed from Park Ave. to Rogers Road for the Rogers Silver trade name. The building in the picture to the left across the street from the mill was originally the Perth Canning Company 1896 – 1902. The factory liquidated in 1900 as they were not able to get enough vegetables for canning. 1902 The Creamery Co. purchased the Canning Co. In 1914 it becomes the Perth Creamery until 1960. For the next 12 years the building was home to Millard Electric.
Roman Meal had some pretty fun packaging, with an illustration of an ancient Roman soldier in the brand’s logo. But the brand no longer exists in North America, because the rights were sold to Flower Foods in 2015. You can still find Roman Meal in places like Japan and Thailand, though
Pettijohn
This product was originally produced by The American Cereal Co. of Chicago, Illinois. The initial packaging was tin with an illustration of a bar on a cliff and the text “manufactured from the best pacific white wheat”. The cereal was later sold in a canister similar to oats canisters seen today.
One of the first slogans for the cereal was “all the wheat but the overcoat”.
Puffed Rice and Puffed Wheat
Corn Flakes
Breakfast Bacon for Dinner
Windsor Bacon and Sausages
Cooked Ham
Canned Fish
Shopping lists have been dated back to 3000-3500 BC, when the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia, in the modern-day Middle East, invented the first form of writing, a system of symbols called Cuneiform.
The marker system shopping lists were first developed around the early 20th century.
Thanks to Jean Sabourin’s mums scrapbook I found an ad for one of my favourite restaurants no longer there.. Any memories add in the comments.. so I can document it. Thank you…
My friends from Kinston 40 years ago visited the bank café and thought it was named after the river bank.
I explained it was the Bank of Nova Scotia. I am still banking with the same brand. And it was there that Bob Neilson bought the winning Olympic lottery ticket in 1972 that paid back a million dollars for a ten dollar ticket. I bought a ticket for the same cause at the same place
It was the Old Bank Bakery cafe before that. My Mom and sister both worked there as second jobs. First for Linda Dow and then for Mike and Marlene. Oh and before it was the cafe my Mom and sister and myself when I had to lol cleaned the Bank .
Suzanne Champagne and trilliums in wood at Shaky Maple, near Lanark village Citizen photos by Lynn Ball
The last leg of our jaunt included a luncheon stop at the Shaky Maple Restaurant at the Lanark village limits (look for the sign on the left side of the road). The food is good (especially the Queen Elizabeth coffee cake), the prices are reasonable and the Shaky Maple is open all weekend.
Shaky Maple, a huge new restaurant operation recently opened by two Carleton Place couples: Terry and Lynn Julian and Wayne and Dianne Shaver. It used to be a wilderness survival training school and now is a dining room and banquet hall, fully licensed. They offer Sunday brunch buffets at $5.25. There’s a Mother’s Day special at $6.25 and although the place can hold more than 300 persons, a reservation would be a good idea (259-2985). They talk about plans to open a campsite and rent canoes that will allow for.
There are long rides along the winding Clyde River in that area. The history and beauty of Lanark is something Americans seem to have discovered. When our bus arrived at the Glenayr Kitten Mills in the centre of town, an American tour bus was already there. Mill personnel said hardly a day goes by that one or more busloads of Americans don’t arrive for that tour. The setting is old. The cornerstone of the mill building says 1860. Inside the equipment is modern and baffling.
The tug-of-war over the ministry of natural resources building turned into a verbal boxing match at an all-candidates meeting here Thursday, but the 125 voters who turned out to the Shaky Maple restaurant seemed more content to watch than participate. Round one began when Liberal Ray Matthey said the proposed move of the ministry’s offices from Lanark Village to Carleton Place will result in a loss of part-time work for about 60 local farmers and about $25,000 in revenue to local merchants.
Throughout the meeting, both he and NDP candidate Cliff Bennett accused Tory MLA Doug Wiseman of bowing to the Davis government and turning a deaf ear to his constituents. “Why does he ignore the people’s wishes and cram statistics down our throats all the time?” Bennett asked. Wiseman, exasperated by the lack of time to explain the situation properly, said he had to fight to keep the building in Lanark and has been “working like the devil” to convince the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority to take over the vacant quarters.
The MCVA’s 11 full-time employees and 40 summer students “will probably bring more money to the merchants of Lanark” than the ministry’s 23 full-time workers, he said. Wiseman said his opponents “forget there’s a caucus and a leader. You can’t have 40 members going in different directions.” Nuclear energy, government assistance to the Children’s Aid Society and Interval House, doctors opting out of OH IP and provincial sales tax were also raised briefly.
On the question of job prospects in Lanark, Wiseman defended his government’s economic performance, pointing to 89 loans worth more than $15 million to industries and tourism, and 3,600 new jobs over a five-year period. He told how Lanark has benefited under his 10-year reign, citing $2.1 -million worth of improvements to Calabogie Road and grants to farmers and industries as examples. Bennett reiterated his party’s made-in-Onta-rio economic strategy, while Matthey said he would bring representatives of several municipalities together to build a community industrial park to provide better roads, communication and facilities. Matthey said tourism in the riding is being developed at the expense of agriculture, and promised to stop foreigners from buying farms and leaving them fallow.
Yes you certainly had a good business there. Food was great and no matter when you went you would always meet someone you knew. That was a wonderful venue.
Nice Shirley, I hear the food was really good and very friendly atmosphere!
Eleanor Wright
In the early 20’s my husband was ill. Friends used to take me for a Sunday drive for a change of scenery. We would stop at Perry’s for a snack. Without fail, Perry would cook up a big order of fried mushrooms and send them home to my husband. This was his favourite treat when he was able to drop in when he was well. My husband died in 2011 and this is still a fond memory of Perry’s kindness
Cathy Geuer visited India, an Indian doctor advised them to do something they enjoy, and to be their own boss. They took his advice to heart, and thus was born the Dalai Lama Bakery. “ We thought about it, and believed the idea would go over well in Almonte,’* says Ron, who rises every morning at 5.30 to begin baking bread. “ We figured baking would attract people to the store, and then they might try other things we have.” The Dalai Lama Bakery, at 108 Queen Street, began operations in mid-September, 1977. The building was a former boarding house, much in need of repair. ” It was a shambles,” says Ron. The couple fixed up the interior, panelled the walls and opened shop. The store is named after Dalai Lama, the pope of Lamaist monks in Tibet, who Ron once met while on a trip to India. Bread-baking goes on until late morning, as 4oes bagel and cookie-baking. An average day’s baking produces 40-45 loaves of bread {60-65 in winter), six dozen bagels and 12 dozen cookies
“ Every day is busy,” says Cathy, and the baked goods are always sold out. A steady stream o f regular customers drop In for their daily loaf of bread, or weekly supply of the Dalai Lama’s “ munchie mix” . Customers bring their own containers and are encouraged to look around the shop. • ‘ Except for one bread and bagel oven and four cookie ovens, no machinery at all is used at the Store. “ It is so much more work to do it all by hand, but it makes a big difference.” according to Ron. As well, everything baked or stocked by the Dalai Lama store contains no synthetic or refined ingredients. No white flour or refined sugar is used, – wholewheat flours and honey are used instead. The store still has the odd customer looking for w hite bread however. “ We think all the additives, etc. are just garbage,” says Ron. Organically-grown foods and ingredients make such perfect sense ”he adds.
Ron and Cathy carry this philosophy over into their personal eating habits. They are both vegetarians, eating no meat and very few dairy products. Ron, “29, has ”been vegetarian for about’ eight years and Cathy, 30, for about two. They also abstain from alcohol. The family, including two year-old Susanna, and Jude, aged four months, lives above the shop. Ron says he likes running a family business. “This way we know what is in the store, and what to recommend” . He adds, “ It takes time to build a business” . And it takes a great deal of hard work. Ron and Cathy do all the baking themselves. This summer, however, they had extra help from a summer student. But with every shelf and corner occupied with bags, bins, jars, etc. the store is becoming crowded. “ We grew out of this space long ago.” says Ron, who hopes some day the shop can move into : larger quarters. Last winter, in conjunction with Algonquin College, Ron and Cathy taught a vegetarian cooking class for eight weeks.
They hope to do it again this year, although it won’t be subsidized by Algonquin this time.
“ People come in often and ask us about their health,” says Cathy “ and want us to suggest
foods to help them ’’. Customers certainly have a great variety to choose from in
any case.
Besides the trays of bread, bagels and peanut butter, oatmeal or carrot/raisin cookies and
a scan of the shelves reveals dried beans, peas and lentils. “moussy” non-alcoholic beer, eggs, wholewheat pasta, mustard, oils, jam s, sauces, baking supplies, nuts, seeds, coffee substitute, herb teas, dried fruits (including four kinds of raisins), rice flours, honey, granoia, spices, olives, and even cook books and magazines.
The store also supplies granola to other stores in Ottawa and the Valley, and will bake cakes to order. And what do you do after eating all this delicious food? Well brush your teeth of course, with special all-natural (no sugar) toothpaste – available at the Dalai Lama.
. Could not get that much down now. Such lovely memories 
(Not sure which was the cause.)
lindaseccaspina 