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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Hfxfoodreviews Top 50

Since our first bite on April 15, 2010, we're pleased to have reviewed 50 Halifax dining establishments. We're also thrilled to have more than 1,300 followers on Twitter!

Our scoreboard is below - all scores are out of 100. Our average score is 77, which is also our median score.

Thanks for following! We'll be back with our next reviews soon!

(* denotes restaurants that have since closed...)

Chabaa Thai Restaurant    100
Mongolie Grill    96
Thai Ivory Cuisine    96
Il Mercato Trattoria*    93
Curry Village Indian Restaurant    91
Darrell's Restaurant    90
Mexico Lindo    90
Bearly's House of Blues and Ribs    88
Woody's Bar-B-Q    87
Boneheads BBQ    85
It's All Greek To Me*    85
Rock Bottom Brewery    85
Rogue's Roost Restaurant and Brew Pub    85
China Town Restaurant and Lounge    84
Swiss Chalet Rotisserie and Grill    84
Cheese Curds    83
The Keg Steakhouse and Bar    83
Morris East Restaurant    82
Flipburger    81
The Foggy Goggle Restaurant and Bar    78
Applebee's*    78
botaniCa restaurant*    78
Pizza Delight    78
Smitty's Family Restaurant    78
Mexicali Rosa's    77
Mr. Chang’s Chinese Food Emporium*    77
Silver Dragon Restaurant    77
Brewdebaker's Tap and Grill    76
Indochine Banh Mi    76
Jerusalem Cafe*    76
Cafe Istanbul    75
The Italian Market    75
Lady Hammond Bar and Grill    75
Victor’s*    75
Vinnie's Pasta Bar    74
Waterfront Warehouse    74
Cantina Mexicana    73
Kempsters Cookhouse and Eatery    72
Cousin's Restaurant    71
Taj Mahal*    70
Jungle Jim's    69
Boston Pizza    68
Steak And Stein Family Restaurant    66
Lions Head Tavern and Grill    65
Jean's Chinese Restaurant    63
Argyle Bar and Grill    62
Gatsby's Bar and Eatery*    59
Hamachi Mura    55
Athens Restaurant    54
Jack Astor's Bar and Grill    32

Review #50 - Darrell's Restaurant

Darrell's Restaurant
Variety: Pub
Address: 5576 Fenwick Street
Date Visited: Friday, August 9, 2013
Orders: Hen Den' Burger, Original Pita Club

Taste: 9 + 10 = 19/20
Portion Size: 8 + 10 = 18/20
Presentation: 8 + 10 = 18/20
Value: 7 + 10 = 17/20
Service: 8 + 10 = 18/20
Bonus: -
Minus: -
Final Grade: 90% (Excellent)

(Scoring: 100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good, 60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40% to -1% = Abysmal)

Notes: We kinda butted heads on this one. T loves Darrell's, and her philosophy when it comes to this particular review was that this restaurant is the best in its class in Halifax. As such, she gave it a perfect score - perfect taste (loves the Darrell Fries), portion size, presentation, value and service. J thinks that Darrell's is pretty good and, yeah, it serves some of the tastier food in town. Still, he's never quite blown away by any of the categories - including on this trip. It's not that there was anything wrong, there just wasn't anything that truly set it apart from the other great joints in town. To be clear, the Original Pita Club is a quality sandwich, and the Hen Den' is a heck of a burger (lettuce, cheddar, bacon, chipotle mayo, guacamole, lettuce and a fried egg), but it is the most expensive non-lamb or turkey burger on the menu, and almost $15 (same as the Pita Club), eating at Darrell's is usually kinda pricey compared to other pubs in town. Regardless, one flawless review + a pretty good review = a really good review, vaulting Darrell's into a tie for fifth place in our hfxfoodreviews leaderboard!

Final Verdict: Great pub food vaults Darrell's into a tie for 5th place on our leaderboard!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Review #49 - Mexico Lindo

Mexico Lindo
Variety: Mexican
Address: 3635 Dutch Village Road
Date Visited: Friday, August 2, 2013
Orders: Fiesta Plate (Burrito, Quesadilla, Rice and Beans)

Taste: 9/10
Portion Size: 10/10
Presentation: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Bonus: 1
Minus: -
Final Grade: 45/50 x 2 = 90% (Excellent)

(Scoring: 100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good, 60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40% to -1% = Abysmal)

Notes: T is allergic to onions and there really isn't anything safe on the menu for her, so while she was out of town, I (J) took the opportunity to visit the best authentic Mexican cuisine in town. I was not disappointed! The salsa with the complimentary opening tortillas was burn-your-lips-off hot, which was enough to scare away the weak-willed, but definitely not a problem here! Decided to go with Combo 7 to get a taste of a couple of different menu items. I was able to snag the last Tepa Burrito of the night - a delicious spicy potato and sausage concoction that really hit the spot. That plus the rice (had corn in it - yum!) and beans were more than enough to fill me for tonight, leaving the intriguing Halifax quesadilla (cheese, ham, lettuce, tomato) for tomorrow's lunch. Bonus point for offering delicious Jarritos Mexican pop instead of the standard Pepsi/Coke fountain varieties - the grapefruit was delicious! I only wish that they'd add tamales to the menu...

Final Verdict: Best Mexican cuisine in town, but brace yourself for the spicy salsa!

Review #48 - Smitty's

Smitty's Family Restaurant
Variety: Diner
Address: 1490 Martello Street
Date Visited: Sunday, April 28, 2013
Orders: Wake-up Special, Maple Sausage Special

Taste: 8 + 7 = 15/20
Portion Size: 8 + 8 = 16/20
Presentation: 7 + 7 = 14/20
Value: 8 + 8 = 16/20
Service: 9 + 9 = 18/20
Bonus: 1
Minus: 2
Final Grade: 78% (Good)

(Scoring: 100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good, 60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40% to -1% = Abysmal)

Notes: Wow, sorry, forgot to post this review. Good thing we take notes! Better late than never? Anyway, we happened to be downtown on a Sunday morning and decided to stop by Smitty's. There was a big line but it moved pretty fast. J is usually a sucker for their skillets, but decided to go for the Wake-Up Special, which is your standard two-egg/bacon/pancake/juice kind of a deal. Hard to screw it up - it was fine but nothing overly special. The Maple Sausage special was similar, but had maple sausage instead of bacon and hash browns instead of pancakes. The maple sausages weren't the greatest - meat that's a little too sweet to eat isn't that neat. The service was good and bonus point for not seating us next to the screaming toddler. The two negative points, however, are due to the cleanliness of the bathrooms - there wasn't a toilet in the joint (men's or women's) that didn't have a floater. Ew.

Final Verdict: Solid standard breakfast, but for god's sake check the washrooms!