In the January 14 issue of Grainews, which you haven’t seen yet, I write about my wish to have a dry-aged steak. Well, I had one today. One of the Canadians in our group, Ranissah Samah, had been to The Capital Grille on Pennsylvania Ave., and thought we should all go. (Ranissah is senior policy advisor on the U.S. for the Ontario Ministry of International Affairs. She is based in Toronto.) Actually, she suggested we go yesterday and I shot her down. I can get steak anywhere, and this place would be expensive. So that night we went for Italian instead, and I had a sardine appetizer and a roast duck breast entree with the best polenta I’ve ever had. Tonight we went with Ranissah’s choice, and I’m glad I went. The Capital Grille is within sight of the Capitol Building, a block from the Canadian Embassy, and it attracts Washington’s political elite. Congress is not in session these days, so the restaurant was not packed with attractive young clientele like usual, our server Eric tells us. (Eric is a big jolly dude with slicked back longish blond hair. He’s a fan of Our Lady Peace, a Canadian rock band.) The restaurant was fairly expensive. I chose a 14-oz dry-aged sirloin — which was the “small” steak — so I could finally say, with certainty, that I have eaten a dry-aged steak. It was thick and delicious. The steak alone was $37. Then you pay for vegetables, potato and soup separately. We also shared a few bottles of wine. It was worth it, for the company and the experience of being there. I am really enjoying my small group of fellow Canadian travelers, and I will remember this meal in Washington forever.
Before the good steak, we had our daily line-up of meetings. Today we met with the Department of Homeland Security in the morning and the Department of State in the afternoon. The main theme was the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will tighten up ID requirements at the borders. The U.S. is way ahead of us on this one, which is good — I suppose — for those Canadian businesses that depend on U.S. tourists. As of June 1, 2009, you need solid proof of citizenship to get into the U.S. by land or sea. You already need a passport to get in by air. To help the situation, the U.S. will introduce a “Passport Card” that fits in a wallet, qualifies as proof of citizenship, and costs less than a passport. In the U.S., a passport — which lasts for 10 years, not the five years that ours is good for — costs $97. A passport card is $45 for first time applicants and $20 for those who already have a passport. That card has a radio frequency ID code that the border staff can read within 15 to 20 feet of the border station. The cardholder’s RFID number pops up on the screen inside the border office, and the number lifts his or her photo and passport info out of a database. Not only does the card provide proof of citizenship that the border needs, but it should also speed border crossing. It sounds like a good idea for Canada to adopt. For someone who has no plans to fly to the U.S. or anywhere else, the Canada-issued passport card would give them a lower cost alternative. As an aside, I asked whether it mattered to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security whether Canada issued five-year or 10-year passports, and the people we met said it didn’t. Is the passport office is ripping us off by issuing passports for only five years?
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