People ask me about wine all the time, but two questions come up more than any others: What’s the best value? and what’s the best wine for summer? The truth is there isn’t one. Wine doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The same bottle of Bordeaux that thrills me at a winter tasting with fellow wine […]
Drink
Posted inFood + Drink
Chill the rules, and the red wine
Have we finally turned the corner and entered summer? Let’s hope June’s gloom is behind us and barbecue season upon us. For me, half of the pleasure of a great barbecue is the drinks. While I have focused my first articles for The Coast on food and restaurants, my true expertise is the liquid on […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Celebrating the best of the best in local cocktails
Every year the Imbibe Cocktail Event—hosted by the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia (RANS)—hosts a cocktail competition. Bartenders showcase their skills to a panel of judges to be awarded the Judges’ Choice Award. On the night of Imbibe, guests also get the chance to vote for their favourite cocktail and bartenders. Guests at Imbibe immersed […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Driven to drink by Trump? Start here.
It’s mind-numbing trying to keep up with Don Trump’s tariff moves. The US president is a trade terrorist, and negotiating with terrorists is something rational people avoid if possible. To their great credit, Canadian premiers have stepped off the Trump roller coaster and gone ahead with various measures to show America we most definitely have […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Two If By Sea Cafe joins Best of Halifax Hall of Fame
Seventeen years ago, amateur baker-turned-entrepreneur Tara MacDonald picked up a new hobby when she moved from Ottawa to Dartmouth: Baking croissants. It wasn’t always a fun hobby. “Temperamental little buggers” is how she referred to her rich and flaky viennoiseries, which she would labour over in her home kitchen, tinkering with butter, salt and flour. […]
Posted inFood + Drink
7 new Halifax restaurants, cafes and breweries to get you excited for 2025—plus, more on the move
There’s never a dull moment in Halifax’s food scene. The year 2024 brought more than its share of dining headlines to our coastal city, from a trawler’s haul of new waterfront restaurants to the closures of Salty’s, El Chino and Birch & Anchor, to a Haligonian (once again) reaching the final of Top Chef Canada. […]
Posted inFood + Drink
First look at Tribute, Halifax’s new waterfront fine-dining gem
Colin Bebbington is a bubbling pot of stories. Ask him to expound on the subtleties of Bolognese pasta or the kitchens he’s worked in from London to Chicago to Napa, and he’ll happily hold court for long enough to fully, undeniably convince you: The man is obsessed with food. Loves everything about it, from brioche […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Here are your Best of Halifax 2024 winners for Food + Drink
It’s an historic year in The Coast’s annual Best of Halifax Awards: Six Food + Drink winners are joining the rarefied air of the BOH Hall of Fame after some truly impressive runs of dominance. Longtime food truck favourite Bud the Spud (Best Fries), Pizza Corner staple Willy’s Fresh Cut Fries & Burgers (Best Poutine, […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Quinpool Road brewpub seeks new owners
If you’ve ever wanted to own a bar, now’s your chance: The Brewery by Quinns is on the market. The Quinpool Road brewpub—right across from Preston Street—is listed for $400,000, boasting a “turn key operation” with a “huge kitchen,” a 750-hectolitre brewery and an “amazing outdoor patio.” The Brewery opened in 2022, a year after […]
Posted inFood + Drink
UPDATED: Lake City Cider eyes new brewery in spring 2025
Things are afoot at Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider. The cidery and perennial Best of Halifax favourite is in the midst of renovations to its Portland Street taproom, where it formerly shared a space with Brightwood Brewery. The latter closed its taproom in late March, citing “personal circumstances” and a need to restructure the business after […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Five Nova Scotian wines you need to try this summer
The Lieutenant-Governor’s office honoured five wines with Awards of Excellence earlier this month. Given out by Taste of Nova Scotia and Wine Growers Nova Scotia, in partnership with the Lieutenant-Governor’s office, wineries across the province were able to submit up to three commercially available wines. Awards were given out at the Government House on […]
Posted inFood + Drink
From Broadway to Benedict
Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and we know you want to spoil the women and mother figures in your life who mean the most to you. Here are some offerings curated just for Mother’s Day that are as unique and special as she is. Salt + Ash Beach House Choose one of their Momma’s Smorgasbord […]
