(Part one of a two-part series on Canada’s Capital District)

"From right across the rink, a girl in a short black skating-skirt topped by a shocking-pink fur-lined parka, sped like an arrow across the ice and came to a crash-stop in front of Bond. Bond felt the ice particles hit his legs. He looked up. It was a face he recognized — those brilliant blue eyes, the look of authority now subdued beneath golden sunburn and a brilliant smile of excitement. Who in hell?"

Ian Fleming — "On Her Majesty’s Secret Service"

Forgive the poetic license for a moment; while it is true that James Bond was skating (sort of) in the Swiss Alps, not on the frozen-to-the-core Rideau Canal in central Ottawa, this vivid scene out of Ian Fleming’s most inspired James Bond 007 Novel could easily happen on any frosty afternoon in Canada’s gorgeous capital city.

Every winter (from December 15-March 31), a 4.8 mile stretch of the Rideau Canal is transformed into the world’s longest ice path. Lace up your skates and check out one of the most sophisticated, European-infused and vastly underrated cities in North America. While skating in the centre-ville of Ottawa, you can gaze up to appreciate the English architectural influences of Parliament Hill (where P.M. Paul Martin is currently fighting — a la James Bond – for his political life) and the modern and graceful design of the National Arts Centre (Centre National Des Arts).

The National Arts Center (NAC) is akin to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., a national cultural Mecca for theater, music and dance, only, in my view, the NAC is even more impressive both architecturally and in its range of entertainment options.

In Search of a True Canadian Cuisine

Le Cafe

The late John Candy — a Canadian who loved a good meal, once joked about the difficulty of finding a good "Canadian meal" in his native Toronto. And yet the joke now rings hollow, as several restaurants in the Ottawa-Gatineau region are among the best examples of the synthesis of finesse cooking with French cooking techniques while working with the best Canadian produce.

Le Café, set right into the hubbub of the NAC and located alongside of the Rideau Canal, is perhaps the best restaurant in the world that’s actually part of a major national arts complex. Kurt Waldele, the National Arts Centre’s executive chef, is an expert at Canadian cooking, as he’s been at Le Café — or some version of same — for 30 years. "The evolution of cooking in Ottawa has been reflected in the changes at Le Café in the last three decades," says Waldele, who learned his trade in Germany and France. "When I first started at Le Café it was typical French food and quite traditional in its style, with rich sauces and lots of butter and cream. I realized that it made more sense to make the food lighter and yet maintain the erudition of the cooking that I learned at the best restaurants in Germany and France."

And so Waldele and his staff now take Canadian ingredients and raise the bar ever higher:

Starters (all prices in Canadian currency)

Waldele creates a chowder with a fresh fish stock and a touch of cream that’s brimming with Atlantic salmon, Arctic surf clams and potatoes ($8.50); a very fresh galantine of cured duck breast and Quebec foie gras, mission fig and port quenelle, with carmelized nectarines ($12.50); and New Brunswick "Oven Head Salmon Smokers" (smoked salmon on Rosti potatoes), pickled red onion and cucumber salad with lemon-caper créme fraiche—sort of a lox, bagel and cream cheese deal without the bagels and with superb smoked salmon instead of salty Atlantic lox ($12.95).

Main Courses

I favor the herb and Dijon crusted Alberta lamb rack with a rosemary and garlic jus ($32.95), a testament to the quality of Canadian lamb as opposed to the inferior New Zealand product; Le Café’s grilled sea-farmed Atlantic salmon with an excellent dill-spiked remoulade ($26.95); and a pan-seared veal medallion with wild Alberta Borletto mushroom ragout and a merlot and shallot butter ($30.25).

"Many people don’t realize that Alberta is the single largest source of mustard seed in the entire world," said Waldele. "The Atlantic waters are stocked with the makings for the best seafood chowders and bisques, and drawing on these local ingredients has provided Le Café and with its niche as a uniquely Canadian restaurant." School and an inside view and analysis of the three top restaurants in the region.

Skating on Rideau Canal (Photo by Pierre St-Jacques)

Where to Stay in Ottawa: The Fairmont Chateau Laurier is in the thick of it all on Ottawa, right next to Parliament Hill, close to the National Gallery of Canada and just a short drive to the Corel Center, where you can watch the Ottawa Senators skate to a long-awaited date with the Stanley Cup. The Chateau Laurier has an excellent indoor swimming pool and features a gourmet restaurant in Wilfrid’s (review to come soon in nt.com) and the best tea in Ottawa at Zoe’s Lounge.

Also coming soon: more culinary explorations with a food & wine seminar from Danielle Dupont, award-winning sommelier at Le Baccara in the Casino Lac-Leamy in Gatineau (across the river from Ottawa in Quebec); a tour of Ottawa’s Le Cordon Bleu Cooking