Miel et Beurre (Café, 2757 Gladstone), visited April 2. The Sweet and Savoury Croissant was a nice sandwich, but it wasn’t particularly sweet, and the side salad & potato wedges were quite meagre. The Brie and Bruschetta was good, but needed more cheese. It’s a quaint little spot and the food was tasty, but the portions were on the small side and the prices were a bit high. Verdict: 2.5/5 (50%) chance of returning.
Sweet Secret (Café, 5633 Fenwick), visited October 29. This
is a lovely find in the bottom of Fenwick Tower “The Vuze.” We
stopped by for their Halifax Asian Food Festival special – the Four Seasons
Swiss Roll. This whimsical offering was delightfully presented, with a
different flavour for each season (matcha, strawberry, orange and chocolate).
The innards were a bit frozen, but the whole offering was very appealing, and
the service was excellent. Verdict: 4/5 (80%) chance of returning.
The Dancing Goat (Café, 6289 Cabot Trail, Margaree Valley), visited October 2. Highly recommended by a colleague, we stopped by for a Kicked Up Bacon Avocado sandwich and a mint chocolate cupcake. We made the mistake of eating on the patio, where there were scores of spider webs overhead. Regardless, the food was lovely! Verdict: 3.5/5 (70%) chance of returning.
Bread Lounge (Café, 5880 Demone), visited September 14. We stopped in for some bread but couldn’t resist sampling the baked goods. The Belgian Multigrain was so good, we could have eaten the entire loaf in one sitting. Strangely, the Boston Cream Pie was inexplicably covered in a Nutella-like icing, which didn’t mesh well with the Boston cream and the ratio of icing to cake was disappointing. The Blueberry Vanilla cake also could have used a bit more icing. Then again, the place is called the Bread Lounge, not the Cake Lounge, so what did we expect? Verdict: 3/5 (60%) chance of returning.
Almonak (Brunch, 5659 Almon) had a savoury cornmeal & scallion waffle with BBQ pulled chicken and white BBQ sauce. It looked and sounded pretty good, but it inexplicably tasted like canned tuna on a sponge. Based on this experience alone: Verdict: 2/5 (40%) chance of returning, but given that Open City is a different-than-usual occasion, we’ll definitely give it another shot.
Alteregos Cafe (Cafe, 2193 Gottingen) had a Reuben Sandwich & Lavender Lemonade special. The two didn’t work particularly well together, but were both tasty on their own. This is a cool little spot. Verdict: 4/5 (80%) chance of returning.
The Foggy Goggle (Casual Dining, 2057 Gottingen) had grilled Japanese-style hot dogs with miso mayo, nori, teriyaki, spicy gochujang sauce and toasted sesame seeds and green onion on a soft toasted bun. It was kinda weird, but really good! Verdict: 4/5 (80%) chance of returning.
The Nook (Cafe, 2118 Gottingen) had chocolate chip cookies for $2. The only way it could have been better is if it had slid right out of the oven. Verdict: 4/5 (80%) chance of returning.
DeeDee's (Deserterie, 5668 Cornwallis) had a sundae special, and was a great way to end our culinary canvas of the North End – although we did stop by the newly-opened Boyd’s Pharmasave (2525 Agricola, Variety) on our way home to snap up some Faygo sodas. We had planned to head back out for round 2 for supper, but the skies opened up, dousing our plans. Verdict: 4/5 (80%) chance of returning.
Thanks to all of the businesses who
participated, and to the organizers of Open City. We’re already looking forward
to next year!
