ottawa foodies

The wife and I are new to Ottawa as of this year (although she did her undergrad here), and were wondering who puts on a good New Year's Eve soiree?

All suggestions are welcome, I just hope we're not too late to book something!

I tried to see if they still hold an "Ottawa First Night Celebration", like they did in the past. No luck.

If they do, it may be worth checking out.

Not sure what type of soirée you were looking for, but I saw that there is a dinner/dance at the NAC (National Arts Centre):
www.nac.ca

They have two prices to choose from for a dinner/dance. One is three course and one is gourmet.
I really wanted to go because I love stuff like that but this year we are on a budget :(
Hubby said that he thought it might be all blue hairs. Has anyone been that can confirm the average age?

Looks like 'The Blue Rinse Crowd' got all the tickets to The NAC event, because it's all sold out.

I'm pretty sure that the Hammerheads are playing at the Rainbow on New Year's Eve. A dinner rez at Domus, Black Cat or Sweetgrass will ensure that you get your chow on, and party down without compromise. No bluehairs, but I can tell you from their last show at the Rainbow that it's mostly the 30+ crowd.

Also recommended: the HiLo Trons + Jetplanes of Abraham at the Blacksheep on New Years Eve...I'm not sure where to get dinner in Wakefield but there must be someplace.

Or the Fiftymen show at Barrymore's if you're planning dinner in the Bank/Somerset/Elgin st area.

ETA that these probably do not fit the definition of "soiree" but for me I wouldn't enjoy the music at any of the NYE parties that serve good food, so I wouldn't try to find both at the same place.

If you are going to go out on New Year's Eve my suggestion would be to not do food or to not spend too much on food. The problem with a night like New Year's eve is that it can get too mass production like, so I would never break the bank on an all out meal. We tend to stay home now and have nice dinner for two.

cheers

Better yet - throw a party like we often do! That way you can have the best of all worlds - all the fun, on the cheap, and not have to worry about driving home!

A party eh? You do live right near my wife and I (judging from your posts about Hintonburg/WW)... :P

medicinejar: I tend to agree, as you can get far better food for far less money 364 days a year. Lots of fixed price menus on NYE I find ...

Any other suggestions?

I won't crash your party, don't worry. ;)

Hey, we're from the Maritimes. If you hear the noise when you are near the Parkdale Market then just knock on the door :-)

The friends and I were just talking about this last night and TRYING to decide what to do. We think we're going to do the dinner out thing somewhere and then hopefully catch some good music somewhere not too fancy shmancy. Good suggestions Mousseline!

A good idea that we did last year was dinner on Preston and then we had tickets to Absolute Comedy afterwards...it was a blast!! There was a choice to have dinner there as well and then stay for the show after.

Not food related, but the NCC is hosting fireworks downtown at 6:57pm on New Year's Eve: nationalcapitalcommission.com

That could be a nice way to start the evening. They're playing a soundtrack to the show live on some local radio stations. Neat idea.

foodlover: My wife was already looking in to this, I will let her know that the comedy club received some rave reviews.

Foodie: This looks like a fantastic idea.

Ottawa Newbie question: If the weather stays cold, is there any chance of the canal being opened for skating by then?

I'm googling to find the criteria for opening but all I can find is that the ice needs to be 25cm at least. I know I've often heard something like "we need X days of Y temp or lower". I think there is a chance of it if the weather stays cold. Google shows a January 7th opening in recent years.

Hey Zymurgist, the number I've always heard was 1 week, of -10 or lower temperatures (as a daily high that is).

There is not much of a chance that the canal will be open by New Years - it usually opens a week or so after. It's just not cold enough in December for the canal to freeze. If you like the cold the best time to go skating is in January when it is -27 out hehehe... Yes I am crazy but I LOVE cold weather! The NCC has the skateway conditions posted on their website: www.canadascapital.gc.ca There are a couple of phone numbers posted which you can call but in a few weeks when skating season gets a little closer the actual skating conditions will be posted on the website as well as a green or red flag depending on whether or not the canal is open.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

Looks like we're going to view the fireworks downtown, then slide on over to Preston Street for dinner, and finish off the evening at Absolute Comedy for their NYE show.

Any notable restaurants on Preston that could be suggested for our meal?

N8: we did the same thing last year and went to La Roma, check out my pics and comments there. The pics aren't that great since I just got my camera that Christmas, but at least you get the idea! Lots of good Italian choices on Preston, you can't go wrong.

Have fun!