[American vs Canadian ingredients]

I also noticed when baking for xmas that the White Chocolate Chipits contain cocoa butter and the Nestle white choc. chips in MI dont( same company too).

That one is genuinely weird. For example, Wikipedia says white chocolate is "a confection of sugar, cocoa butter, and milk solids"; in general, I have understood it to generally be cocoa butter + sugar + product. OTOH, I am Canadian

I usually buy my unsalted butter in the States too.  Its cheaper and I like the sticks.

Won't solve the price problem, but Loblaws does sell it in sticks.

I cringe whenever I see the No Name Coolwhip( in Ontario).  The label says " an Edible oil product".  It doesnt say that in MI. 

It may not say it, but it still is ...

In my experience, baked goods from American recipes can, sometimes, be tricky; certainly because of the ingredients, but also because clearly the taste varies. American desserts are sweet.

[Pot rack over sink/cutting board.]

We have a small kitchen with 8' ceilings. A reno is on tap for next year to expand cupboard space, but I don't see the pot storage problem getting a lot better soon. I keep looking at that ceiling space over my sink and cutting board area (side by side, sort of an island) with envy. I'm 6'. If I put it over, am I going to be banging my head off of skillets? I really hate banging my head...

[Atelier in Ottawa]

I think people often underestimate the dining public in Ottawa, who, from my experience, are very well educated and enthusiastic about new and exciting culinary happenings. 

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Alas, those "people" often seem to be the restaurant owners and/or chefs. I really look forward to a visit when it is open. We were looking for something new and interesting for next week and my initial reading of this thread really had my hopes up!

Ah well, back to the search.

[Help in Kanata]

In Centrum, OX Head has good Pho; not the best in the city, but more then good enough to enjoy. Kanata Sushi is decent, though a bit "north american" in terms of selection. The non-sushi is hit and miss; most of the dishes are in too much sauce and kind of "canadian chinese" in nature. There is also the obligatory sharma shop there (it was Moms Shwarma, but I think they changed the name).

South of the 417, we enjoyed Isaacs, though I think they need to learn a little restraint with flavour, but it was still very good. Bell's Corner has at least one excellent Thai Resturant and isn't *that* far away.

Just of Carling where it meets march road, there is The Clay Oven, which has competent (and sometimes better then competent) NA-style Indian (lots of coconut based sauces, lots of meat) and are very nice people. There is also a new Thai place there that is decent; mostly they need to brighten up their menu (too many heavy sauces), but still decent and proprietor owned.

At March Road and Terry Fox, Papa Sam's makes, IMO, the best pizza in town.