Gold Winner Zane Kelsall, Two If By Sea Cafe Silver Winner Henry Whitfield, Starbucks Bronze Winner Kate Atkinson, The Coastal Cafe Zane Kelsall can’t imagine a working life without coffee. “I’ve been a barista for 10 years in one capacity or another,” says the 27-year-old co-owner of Two If By Sea Cafe. “Whenever I try […]
Two If By Sea Cafe
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Cafe
Gold Winner Two If By Sea Cafe Silver Winner Java Blend Coffee Roasters Bronze Winner Uncommon Grounds Cast your mind back to Dartmouth before November 2009, before the arrival of Two If By Sea. The impact of this quality cafe with its small-but-excellent menu of coffee and spectacular baked goods run by Zane Kelsall (also […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Coffee (Espresso-based)
Gold Winner Java Blend Coffee Roasters Silver Winner Two If By Sea Cafe Bronze Winner Just Us! Coffeehouse People from all walks of life come to this busy spot for their caffeine fix—from 20-something hipsters to retirees with potentially-sore hips and everything in between. It’s because Haligonians know good coffee when they smell it. The […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Coffee (Regular)
Gold Winner Java Blend Coffee Roasters Silver Winner Just Us! Coffeehouse Bronze Winner Two If By Sea Cafe At Java Blend, employees keep busy roasting and packing the freshest coffee beans you’ll find in Halifax. There is equal importance placed on ethical business as there is on coffee quality and taste. The coffee shop uses […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Cookie / Cupcake / Doughnut
Gold Winner Susie’s Shortbreads and Cupcakes Silver Winner Two If By Sea Cafe Bronze Winner Fred. Beauty Food Art For the second year running, Susie’s Shortbreads has stolen the show (and your hearts) for all things sweet. The classic vanilla on vanilla cupcake is the favourite, but with tons of variety to choose from, all […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Hot Chocolate
Gold Winner Just Us! Coffeehouse Silver Winner Second Cup Bronze Winner Two If By Sea Cafe Looking for an alternative to coffee or tea? Just Us! offers three varieties of hot chocolate to satisfy the chocoholic masses: milk chocolate, dark chocolate and spicy Mexican. These delectable drinks are flavoured by fair-trade, organically-grown chocolate and made […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The return of Slow Food Nova Scotia’s Spring Supper
Local food producers, brewers, wine makers and foodies—all seated around one table at last. Slow Food Nova Scotia’s Spring Supper is back to serve up some local flavours for its third year in a row. This year’s dinner will be whipped up by 11 local chefs, including Craig Flinn of Chives Canadian Bistro, Dennis Johnston […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Two If By Sea opens second location
Two If By Sea Cafe (66 Ochterloney Street, 469-0721) is opening a second location on the Halifax waterfront, in the Historic Properties (1869 Upper Water Street). The cafe opens January 3. “I feel like we saw a million spaces and had this on our minds for the past year,” explains co-owner Zane Kelsall in a […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Welcome to the supper club
What do you think about holding a dinner here one night? Renée Lavallée pitched that to the owners of Dartmouth’s Two If By Sea Cafe a year ago. Neither Tara MacDonald nor Zane Kelsall had professional restaurant experience, but they loved the idea. The rest, as they say, is history. Not only do these three […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Barista
If a cafe could have a lead singer, its frontman would be Zane Kelsall. A lot of the appeal of Dartmouth hot-spot TIBS comes down to the service, the staff put through a rigorous series of tests before they’re allowed to serve people, all orchestrated by co-owner Kelsall. And his rumoured ambition for the year […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Cafe
The cool hub of the new Dartmouth scene, Two if by Sea continues to wow customers. Is your favourite, massive and buttery croissant the one with savoury prosciutto or the sweet chocolate? Do you go for the enormous cookies or the espresso? Or maybe you just like to hang out there in the windows and […]
Posted inFood + Drink
How to order for value
Everybody wants a “good buy,” whether it’s based on issues that are important to you, pinching a penny or two or just avoiding buyer’s remorse. “Value should be based on a number of factors, not just how cheaply someone can fill up,” says Taste of Nova Scotia’s Doug Townsend. “In the end, dining out is […]