Best Atmosphere

Brooklyn Warehouse

by Carsten Knox

Referring to an article in The New Yorker, co-owner George Christakos explains the philosophy at Brooklyn Warehouse: “‘Casual, yet serious food.’ That’s an important idea, those two things. I mean, you could go in for lunch one day in a dress shirt and the next day you could be painting your house and come in wearing paint-spattered overalls. It’s not going to be pretentious.” Christakos finds the vibe difficult to articulate, but he knows what Haligonians like. “Halifax has a love affair with the coffee house. We put a high quality level of food in a cafe environment…a place that you can sit back with your friends and have a laugh.” And of the Bloody Caesar, that most Canadian of cocktails? “We asked ‘How can we put our twist on it?’” It isn’t a secret…to the Clamato they add Japanese distilled shochu, vodka, wasabi instead of tabasco, fresh ground pepper, wine, cilantro leaves and pickled snow peas. “We’re able to be nimble and maneuver around different trends.”

First Runner-up: Economy Shoe Shop
Second Runner-up: Fireside