“I’m a self-taught cook,” says Virgil Muir, who handles chef duties at The Food Wolf with Eric Gunnells. “I’m musician and am trained as a massage therapist; I use my senses to do everything I do. The food that I cook is made with particular attention to how it tastes, smells, looks and feels.” Muir grew […]
Melissa Buote
Posted inFood + Drink
Andrew Farrell
Andrew Farrell wears a uniform. It starts with a folded bandana wrapped around his forehead, replacing the stodgy pleats of a traditional chef’s toque. He wears a black chef’s coat over a pair of faded black jeans. A Moleskine notebook is tucked into a back pocket. And he almost always has a mug of coffee […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Dan Vorstermans
“It seems like sort of serendipity when I look back at it,” Dan Vorstermans says about his first kitchen job. “I cooked by myself, so I was prepping and executing every dish that went out.” This is a man that likes a small kitchen. After a stint at Chives where he managed some time on […]
Posted inFood + Drink
The Dock side
Fisherman’s Cove is little fishing wharf dotted with a row of shacks that sell knick-knacks, artwork, souvenirs and ice cream. It’s a colourfully bland experience in the middle of a naturally beautiful waterfront vista, a tourist trap that’s meant to evoke the stereotypical Nova Scotian experience. There’s a boardwalk and a small beachy area where […]
Posted inFood + Drink
On the House
The Marriott’s new restaurant-bar hybrid The Harbourstone Sea Grill & Pour House nails the sharing plates, and the AC. by Melissa Buote It’s hot out. The air is thick with sweat and air conditioning is the first thing on my mind. I stroll into the cool lobby of the Marriott where The Harbourstone Sea Grill […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Ratinaud’s dream Cuisine
“You must be here for dinner,” Tom Crilley says, leaning against the wall outside of Ratinaud French Cuisine. Two bottles of sparkling wine clink together in my bag as I walk down Gottingen toward him. He introduces himself and leads me inside, where my friends Ron and Kristina are perched on two of the 10 […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Liquid gold
It’s just after 8pm on Saturday night and Noble, the fallout shelter of a bar that is tucked into a concrete room underneath The Middle Spoon, is gearing up for a night of service. Champagne coupes, margarita saucers and highball glasses gleam in the dim light behind the bar. Jenner Cormier pulls an old-fashioned glass […]
Posted inLifestyle
The hot dog trail
Hamburger shmamburger. Now that we have 10,000 so-called gourmet burgers to choose from in Halifax, here’s a suggestion: eat a hot dog. There is perhaps no more perfect summertime snack. It’s a definitive fast food, it’s portable, and—just as you want the part of your summertime diet you aren’t plucking with joy from your garden […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Hungry for the Food Wolf
I see the little clapboard sign for the Food Wolf on the sidewalk before I see the truck itself, tucked away slightly off of Gottingen Street, across from the Marquee Club on the corner of Falkland, in the gravel lot they call Squiggle Park. Allison and I meet there shortly after the truck arrives for […]
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Batter up for Acadian Fish & Chips
The first thing we spot at Acadian Fish & Chips, after the Acadian flag, of course, is a string of lobster traps that shore up the border of the parking lot. They lead to a lighthouse beside the restaurant that stands ready, one would guess in this landlocked space, to alert cars of any puddles […]
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Best of Food 2013: Editor’s Picks
BEST SPICY Chili Beef, Jincheng Chinese Cuisine “Twice-cooked pork, chili chicken, chili beef and gonbao chicken.” Chef Daigen Zou rhymes off the most popular hot and spicy dishes on the Jincheng menu. The special chili sauce—a chef’s secret—is what he attributes to the flavourful secret of the chili beef’s success. A simple mix of thinly […]
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Ottoman alive
Sometimes it seems like Halifax is nothing but a series of cached images from the 15 years I’ve lived downtown, and no matter what I see, I can’t refresh and reload. There is clearly a disconnect between my eyeballs and my brain. Orange condos seemingly spring out of nothing but the sudden absence of the […]
