Here’s the thing about Dartmouth: it isn’t just the little triangle of streets caught up between Alderney Drive and Ochterloney Street. Sure, everybody hearts that part of Dartmouth, but where are the love letters to Woodlawn, Port Wallace and Portland Estates? “Um, that letter must be lost in the mail,” says everybody. OK, not everybody. […]
Restaurant Reviews
Posted inFood + Drink
Cheesecake whiz
“I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Dorothy says to Blanche and Rose after a cheesecake helps break the ice between them in the first episode of The Golden Girls. On the way to Sweet Hereafter Cheesecakery, did I consider having a Chico’s kind of day and wearing an oversize cowlneck […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Evan’s seafood heaven
It’s a comedy of errors in the Alderney Landing parking lot. Cars hug every corner and the sun shines almost oppressively. A small crowd is huddled around the pay-to-park machine, cupping hands over the screen, trying to cut glare and figure out what buttons to press. After each success, another group spends another two minutes […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Viva la Cantina
It’s a dreary east coast afternoon. A mist hangs suspended in the crisp air and I can feel myself displacing it as I walk past the Public Gardens. I’m in need of a hot lunch and I know just where to find it. Cantina Mexicana’s (1551 South Park Street) bright colours beckon at me from […]
Posted inFood + Drink
A fish story
The tall ships have cast a long shadow on the waterfront. As busy as the boardwalk always tends to be in the summer, last weekend didn’t just seem like the average sea of shorts, sundresses and tanktops—it was a tidal wave of tourism with locals and visitors flooding the area to take in the incredible […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Jincheng turns up the heat
I’m sweating when I slide the door to Jincheng Chinese Cuisine open. It’s just before noon, incredibly hot outside. The sun bores through the bright windows into the dining room where a fan whirrs quietly, almost uselessly, on the ceiling. The restaurant is completely empty. I tentatively walk towards the counter and hear an “Oh!” […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Heartwood healthy
A change in ownership and new renovations reveal a new—but just as vegan-friendly, organic and seasonal—Heartwood. by Melissa Buote Hippies and hipsters. Mention the Heartwood to some, and preconceived notions or perhaps simple alliteration sets their eyes a-roll. Or, if it isn’t images of patchouli and beards dancing in their heads, it’s a hazy memory, […]
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Cheese Curds’ service with a smile
One dark January morning, the manager of a Wendy’s or a Burger King—or maybe even a Subway—woke up with a start, a bad feeling buzzing like an alarm in the pit of her stomach. When she got to work, she said hello to Justin. He made a funny joke, feet shuffling, eyes never quite meeting […]
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Eat and run
During next weekend’s Blue Nose Marathon, runners will gather to do everything from five-kilometre jaunts to full-fledged marathons. During their runs, they will burn off loads of calories. But what awaits their hungry bellies once they have finished? And what do they eat in the days leading up to the race? Anna Threadcraft is a […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Slow and steady
The coiled fronds of fiddleheads are like leafy green fingers, beckoning warm weather ever closer with the curl of each leafy stem. With its wild, green flavour, this young fern is the perfect ambassador for each spring’s new harvest. It’s also a perfect ingredient for Slow Food Nova Scotia’s Spring Supper. Last year, Graeme Ruppel—then […]
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Sam’s Seafood Express puts a ring on it
This summer marks five years since whatever dark magicks at work in Dartmouth led to an architectural behemoth to spring forth unbidden from the mud by Highway 111. A sprawling, clumsy golem with the word “buy” scrawled across its forehead, this colossus shows no mercy to tiny shopping districts of yore, its strongman grip tightening […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Go South
Acadian cuisine meets the Middle East at 308 South, resulting in a homey menu with gargantuan portions. by Melissa Buote Acadian heritage is as embedded in the Southwest shore as the rock that runs the coastline. Roads run through the area like a bloodline to the beating heart of history: Belleville, Tusket, Sluice Point—all the […]
