Friday Open Thread (with restaurants)

Dear friends,

Stu and my favourite Ottawa eatery is called CITIZEN and during these upheaved times it’s been doing a set weekly meal. It’s been a thing of beauty and joy forever to have one meal a week that’s a) a surprise and b) we’re not responsible for preparing, but in addition to that, ordering from them has come to feel like something of a sacrament, a profoundly important ritual connecting us to our vanished, immured community, and to these people whose work is feeding strangers and providing them with a place to eat, drink, speak. I’ve loved many restaurants and delighted in many meals, but I’ve never felt as fiercely protective of and devoted to a place and its staff as I feel towards Citizen.

Tell me, if you will: what is your most beloved restaurant? What’s it like, and why do you love it?

Here’s a hastily (hungrily!) snapped shot of dinner.