“I remember being in really good shape when I worked downstairs,” John Allen says. He’s leaning back in his chair at a desk in the tiny corner office tucked at the end of a short twist of a hallway that runs behind the storefront and tasting room of Propeller Brewing. The air in the office—on […]
Melissa Buote
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Picnic packs personality
Picnic at Dart 127 Portland Street Tue-Sat 4-10pm Sat-Sun 10:30am-2pm There is a line in the movie The Haunting—the perfect 1963 version, not the terrible one from the ’90s where Owen Wilson is spoilered in a spoiler with a spoiler—that always makes me think of downtown Dartmouth. When Eleanor Lance, the walking goosebump protagonist, arrives […]
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Rudi’s is so hot right now
Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market 1209 Marginal Road, Saturdays “I want to blow your mind,” says Rudi Brooks. “I want you to look at the bottles and see five red sauces that all look the same, but then taste them and see that they have completely different tastes, different heat levels.” Brooks is the man behind […]
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Constant cravings
Year-end articles are supposed to be all about lists of best restaurants, dishes, drinks and experiences. I could easily spend a few thousand words sermonizing on the greatness of Highwayman, the fried chicken at Backoos, Goseface Killah and summer afternoons under stringlights at the Stillwell Beergarden, but why bother? That run-on sentence has the same […]
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Steak expectations at The Barrington
There are something like 30 million Google results for how to cook a perfect steak. Oil it, butter it, rub it, rest it, give it a hug and whisper affirmations at it. If anything in this world would ever prevent humanity from forming a hive mind, it will probably be true agreement over correctly eyeballing […]
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Made With Love is in the air
Made With Love Regional Finals Monday, November 28, 6pm Westin Nova Scotian, Commonwealth ballroom 1181 Hollis Street $65/$75, enjoymadewithlove.com This year marks five years since Made With Love became a key component to establishing Halifax’s behind-the-bar stars. Every year, a crop of the city’s most talented bartenders test their mettle, serving up creative cocktails at […]
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In fine spirits
One hundred years ago, Halifax dried up. On June 30, 1916, Prohibition swung into effect on a pendulum of temperance that didn’t drag its way back for 13 years. And actually, that pendulum has never swung all the way back: There are still 105 areas subject to dry laws in Nova Scotia. Until the government […]
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Roy Clorey, straight-up legend
Roy’s Lounge, The Westin Nova Scotian 1181 Hollis Street “Squeezing oranges. That’s how I got here,” says Roy Clorey. “It was in 1963. That’s where I started. At that time to become a bartender you worked for three solid weeks in the background. You had to know 150 cocktails before you went to serve the […]
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Emily Orr’s fresh take
Emily Orr moved to Halifax five years ago with no real plan. “I just packed a bag for a week, hopped on a train and wasn’t sure if I was going to move here or not. I was just checking things out,” she says. “I stayed at the hostel for a little bit, fell in […]
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Steven Cross: called to the bar
“I started downtown,” says Steven Cross, bartender at 2 Doors Down. “I’m one of the old guys. I started in 1993 at the Misty Moon; I was a doorman first. I could list off all the bars: I was at Rogues’, the Palace, The Old Triangle. It’s a lot.” Anybody who regularly went to a […]
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Pick your poison: a cocktail cheat sheet
SCOTCH Stop by The Press Gang (5218 Prince Street) for an extensive selection of Scotch. Ask an unsuspecting bartender to make you a Rusty Nail with the Macallan 1971 and film their reaction. GIN If you’re looking for a great gin tonic, go no further than Field Guide (2076 Gottingen Street), which uses small batch […]
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Spiritual awakening: 12 Nova Scotian distilleries to try
1. Authentic Seacoast Est. 2012, 80 Main Street, Guysborough authenticseacoastdistillery.com Inspired by Guysborough and Nova Scotia’s long history in the rum trade, Authentic Seacoast is known for its wax-sealed amber Fortress Rum and a trio of Sea Fever labels—amber, spiced and coffee maple—along with its vanilla-tinged Glynnevan Whisky. 2. Barreling Tide Distillery Est. 2014, 1164 […]