In downtown Dartmouth, Maria’s Pasta Bar & Pantry is focused on handmade everything, from dough to filling to sauce. “We make everything we serve,” says Michael Dolente, chef and owner of the restaurant. Dolente, whose family moved to Canada from Italy in 1960, says his business is influenced and dedicated to his late Nonna Maria. […]
Food
Posted inFood + Drink
There’s a new cheesecake in town
Fresh, light and creamy. These are the words Ecem Akdeniz uses to describe San Sebastian cheesecake—the specialty at her new home-based business, Chéché Bakery. “This cheesecake is coming from Spain, this is particularly from the Basque area,” she says. “I’ve been there and I remember how nice it is and the taste is very different.” […]
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The Town’s End Tavern comes to an end before it begins
The Town’s End Tavern hoped to make waves as the newest pub on Portland Street this summer, but plans have now been put on ice. The tavern was a passion project started by Doug Townsend and Renée Lavalée—owners of the Canteen and Little C, both also on Portland directly across from the proposed new location. […]
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What you need to know about wining and dining with a mask
Last Friday, premier Stephen McNeil and doctor Strang announced that starting July 31, non-medical masks would be mandatory for most people in most indoor public places. “We cannot become complacent. COVID is a reality, we are going to have to learn to live with it,” said Premier McNeil during the announcement. This includes retail stores, […]
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Apparently masks have been mandatory for servers all along
From the day it was announced restaurants could re-open, the regulations around re-opening were put not in the hands of the government, but of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia (RANS). The industry organization posted its original re-opening guidelines on May 27, giving restaurants time to plan and organize for the re-opening on June 5. […]
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Dear Friend wants to get as cozy as COVID will allow
Portland Street is now home to another stylish new place to drink. Dear Friend Bar opened on July 9, with a small but curated menu of cocktails (both boozy and alcohol-free), wine and beer. Co-owners Matt Boyle and Jeff Van Horne also run Clever Barkeep, but the events and catering business had seen a downturn […]
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European Pantry gets rejuvenated with a new generation of ownership
The corner of Chebucto and Elm streets in West end Halifax is the long-time home of a local store that has changed hands a few times over the years. “In here, you can kind of tell there’s been a business here for 35 years, and I’m just the latest generation to take it on. It […]
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New cone on the block
Saints Supreme Soft Serve is a new pop-up from the folks at Apartment 3 Coffee in Lower Sackville (833 Sackville Drive). Co-owners Alex and Heather Stephen had been churning over the ice cream idea for a while, but the pandemic convinced them it was finally time to make it a reality. “Because of all this […]
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Feed your soul at R&B Kitchen
R&B Kitchen Order via Instagram @rnbkitchen902, 760 a Main Street, Dartmouth The simple idea of “let’s sell plates” is what’s behind R&B Kitchen, a soul food restaurant in Dartmouth with just one main dish per day. “The main thing we focus on is one, that we love R&B music and two, that we love food […]
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Restaurants can return to full capacity, if they have the space
Premier Stephen McNeil made a major announcement this afternoon to help restaurants during the pandemic. At least it sounded like a big deal. As of today, June 26, restaurants and bars in Nova Scotia are allowed to operate at their full capacity, not the 50 percent limit the province imposed when the first stage of […]
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Halifax gets its first vegan chain restaurant
Copper Branch, a “quick-serve vegan” restaurant, opened a Halifax location last Sunday, June 14. The downtown spot is the 68th location for the Quebec-based chain, mainly across Canada and the US with a handful in France and Belgium. There’s one in Dieppe, NB, but this is the first in the province. “I’m plant-based, my husband […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Bedford Highway getting a beer garden this month
Tucked away under the rail bridge, the former Chinatown restaurant location on the Bedford Highway is a prime space that has somehow sat empty for more than three years. But later this month, a new beer garden called Birch & Anchor will open its doors to the public for the first time, taking over the […]