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February 13, 2006
Hello from Ottawa - Darcy McGee's on Sparks
Street: An Irish Pub with a Bit of History
When travelling 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.
Darcy McGee: part of Ottawa's history
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.
A plaster cast of Darcy McGee's hand
Jennifer went on to explain that Darcy McGees is a favourite 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).
Pouring a perfect Guiness always includes a shamrock
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.
Live concert action at the American Express Sno-Bowl
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 colours. 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.....
Irish Travel Tips
If you're looking for a historic Irish pub then make sure to look into
Ireland vacations!
There's a lot to learn about
Ireland before you go, but once you get your bearings there are some wonderful
Ireland tours that include stops at famous pubs.
Related Articles:
Hello from Ottawa
- My 2-day packed itinerary for Winterlude
Hello from Ottawa - First
impressions and an overview
Hello from Ottawa - The Lord Elgin
Hotel: a historic landmark in the heart of Ottawa
Hello from Ottawa - Fat Tuesday's
and the Mardi Gras Experience in the ByWard Market
Hello from Ottawa - An early
morning walk to Parliament Hill
Hello from Ottawa - Skating
on the Rideau Canal, the World's Largest Skating Rink
Hello from Ottawa - Charity and
hilarity: the 26th Annual Bedzz Races on Dow's Lake
Hello from Ottawa - Confederation
Park and other Winterlude locations
Hello from Ottawa - Darcy McGee's:
a historic Irish pub on Sparks Street
Hello from Ottawa - The Canadian
War Museum and "Weapons of Mass Dissemination - The Propaganda
of War"
Hello from Ottawa - The
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography featuring Sunil Gupta
and the challenges of immigration
An interview with Tourism Ottawa
provides a great overview of this city
An interview about
the ByWard Market, a prime entertainment and shopping area
An interview
with the National Gallery of Canada
An interview
with the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Helpful websites:
Ottawa
Tourism: Ottawa's official tourism information
The ByWard
Market Business Improvement Area
The
National Capital Commission
The National
Museum of Civilization
The National Gallery
of Canada
The Canadian War
Museum
Useful books about Ottawa:
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