By Jenny Wagler
Poor nighttime New York, stuck in its rut of gallery openings and posh soirées, of jazz clubs and exclusive restaurants, of Broadway and the Met.Night after night, New Yorkers grit their teeth for their encounters – yet again! – with the powerful, the well-heeled and the artistically provocative. How over-glitzed. How overblown. How passé.
Not so, Centretown.
Ottawa has crafted a daring new aesthetic – a bold contrast to old-world glamour or avant-garde chic. Here, nighttime venues are spare, solitary and unpretentious. The theme – so radical, so unexpected – is the mundane, the ordinary, the usual.
Take convenience stores, for instance. After the bars close at 2 a.m., these brightly-lit storefronts take centrestage in Centretown. And what could be more mundane yet integral to North American existence than a round-the-clock dispensary of chips, chocolate bars and TV dinners?
But equally, what city, save Ottawa, would have the sheer chutzpah to build its nightlife around these 24-hour pop and Twinkie stores?
Diners are another vital element on the Centretown scene.
Elgin St. has two 24-hour diner options, the Elgin Street Diner and Dunn’s Famous Deli. And again, what in North America could be more ordinary than a burger-and-fries joint straight out of the squeaky-clean Betty Crocker era? Or perhaps, what could be more artistic and poignant than a homey ‘50s concept in the deepest night?
McDonald’s is another obvious yet brilliant symbol of “the usual” in this little corner of McWorld. And considering Centretown’s many ethnicities and cultures, this symbol is useful because it represents “the usual” to the many non-Canadian-born Centretown residents who also grew up eating Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets.
And following a good honest hamburger, Centretown can also provide some standard North American pastimes at Bank St.’s Cue N’ Cushion – where nocturnal pool and foosball aficionados are welcome until 4 a.m.
Two wild cards on the late night scene – likely, an oversight – are a couple of ethnic restaurants open into the wee hours of the morning. The Green Tea Sushi and Noodle Bar on Elgin St. and Pho Bo Ga 2 on Somerset don’t quite fit the theme.
The first serves an array of Asian food, including sushi and the second serves Vietnamese food – both until 5 a.m.
But certainly, these exceptions do not undercut Centretown’s achievement. Few cities can carry an aesthetic scheme through with such success. Few cities can distil nightlife down to a single, pure thought. Few cities can tinge the Big Apple green with envy.
And yet one so clearly has.
So wring your hands and hang your head, Manhattan; you’re no Centretown.