West Coast Celtic Originally From Ottawa

Amazing band. It was a fantastic show at the Irish Village and the band had as much fun as the crowd, this being a homecoming show, sort of. I had so much fun I'm almost tempted to travel just to see them again. You know it when a band has it together when they've got that something extra compared to the run of the mill - both chemistry and synergy as a group.

While I'm at this, I might as well do a shameless plug for a friend of mine. They (the Reverb Syndicate) are doing a CD release show on September 23rd at Zaphod's. It's a totally different type of music from west coast celtic, but they too have lots of fun playing what they enjoy, so it'll be cool (a.k.a. groovy or wicked for you time-travelling types). www.thereverbsyndicate.ca

Strongly recommended: Won Ton House (Ottawa)

Finally got to try this restaurant on Wellington west of Parkdale. Recent gentrification of the area has continued unabatedly but this place, like the Bagel Shop across the street, has been around for years through the ups and downs.

All I can say is that I'm definitely going to be back there again. The food is good, and the dining room cosier and friendlier than the large Chinese restaurants in town, yet better maintained than many of the smaller ones. It's much more than just Won Ton, so don't let that rather simplistic name fool you. It's a full-fledged restaurant.