beer and basil

Five for fall

admin — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:59:16 +0000

I’m still here! My blog was hacked and until now I just haven’t had the time to get it back up and running. A while back I had the opportunity to choose my favourite 5 local wines for The Coast’s wine feature, and thought I’d share it here.

via Read my ‘Five for fall’ piece HERE.

Cheers,
Kristin

Petite Rivière Vineyard – A South Shore Oasis

admin — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 22:51:14 +0000

What an impeccable day to head to Petite Rivière Vineyards in LaHave, Nova Scotia. Located about five minutes from exit 15 off the 103, Petite Rivière is a hidden jewel on the beautiful South Shore.
From the moment we pulled in, it was as though we had been transported to the French countryside. Rolling hills, vines of grapes as far as the eye could see, and just to our right sat the main building overlooking the vineyard, that was built in the traditional French style and which houses the store, cellar, and tasting room.

The winery has been run for the past three years by Sean Sears, who hosted our tour, and his wife Barbara Thompson who is also the winemaker for the vineyard. We were a few minutes early for our noon tour, so we took the opportunity to sit out on the lovely terrace of the main building to soak up some sun and enjoy the view of the vines. We would later find out that the vineyard has recently adopted a philosophy of producing everything they need to sustain their farm onsite; they use companion planting as a tool to grow their vines and produce their own compost! It’s easy to see that this business is invested in their community when seated on the patio are bright and comfortable Adirondack chairs straight from Zwicker Woodworking Ltd., born and bred in LaHave.

Our tour started outside between rows of grapes where we learned about the area, optimal conditions for growing, the different types of grapes typical to our region and grown at Petite Rivière, and the process of grape growing itself. Sean was more than happy to answer any and all questions that anyone had.

We were outside for around forty minutes before moving into the cellar in the main building to learn about the process after harvest, and toured the stainless steel vats and wines ready to be sold. Shortly after one o’clock, we headed upstairs for our tasting, where our place settings were arranged. Sean informed us that wine tours never stick to the hour listed, and ours went until just after two which is a real value for the twenty-five dollar cost. For those of us less familiar with the overall experience of wine drinking and enjoyment, Sean gave an introductory level lesson to wine tasting and food and wine pairing. I could go into details about the tour and the tasting but you really just need to get down to LaHave and experience the hospitality, flavourful wines and beautiful scenery for yourself.

Tours are Monday through Sunday at noon, with a 3pm tour on Saturdays. Make sure you call ahead to make a reservation as space is limited. For more information, visit Petite Rivière Vineyards

Cheers,
Kristin

Gateaux Rose – Superior Cakes and Treats Homemade in Dartmouth

admin — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:33:48 +0000

It’s been a really long time since I’ve updated, and my excuse is that we bought a house, got married and I just haven’t had the time or motivation…until now! My triumphant return and it’s to talk about something I had the pleasure of eating over a month ago that has stuck with me and that I’ve been craving ever since.

That’s right people, I’m talking about cupcakes! Not just any cupcakes either, we’re talking about cupcakes made by Crystal Ross of Gateaux Rose. Astoundingly, Crystal is a one-woman show. She is the sole baker extraordinaire behind the decadent treats featured at our wedding. We wanted to go with cupcakes because it was impossible to decide on only one cake flavour. We weren’t keen on the whole ‘cutting the cake’ ceremonial aspect, so this way everyone had a pre-cut piece and could pick whichever flavour (or flavours) that struck their fancy. Also, most of the weddings that the Mr. and I had been to together in the past had sub-par tasting wedding cake, and I wanted ours to look and taste delightful. We added on doughnuts to our order (both maple glazed and old-fashioned sugar) for a more playful aspect. Nothing beats a homemade doughnut, seriously.

Don’t get me wrong, we had a little sumthin’ sumthin’ for ourselves in the way of wedding cake. For our cake we went with a vanilla buttermilk cake with raspberry sweetened mascarpone and lemon old-fashioned buttercream. We forgot to eat it at the reception (crazy busy socializing) so we devoured it the morning after the wedding at our kitchen table. We then promptly had to freeze the rest so we can enjoy it down the road because the entire cake was in danger of being eaten in one sitting. Seriously, I could not stop! It eats me up inside knowing it’s down there in the freezer just waiting to be had (but not yet!) and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about paying Crystal to make me more for some imaginary holiday or special occasion just so I could taste that moist, cake-y gold again…

For the cupcakes we had one that was similar to our wedding cake, vanilla buttermilk cake with strawberry mascarpone and strawberry icing. For the Mr., we had the sweet and moist banana cake with white chocolate ganache and vanilla bean frosting. For the chocolate lovers we went with ultimate dark chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and vanilla bean frosting. Finally, we picked a sour cream coffee cake with salted caramel brown sugar and maple frosting to play off the maple glazed doughnuts and the maple salmon that was one of the meal selections.

Crystal’s delicacies are hand-crafted with love in Dartmouth out of her own kitchen. Every single morsel is a piece of art and every bite is more delicious than the first. Quality is obviously of the utmost concern for Crystal, and the service we received from her was impeccable. She was at the boat club setting up our sweet spread when we arrived and I could not have been more thrilled with everything. She lent us her cake and cupcake stands, set up the table beautifully, and was sweet and accommodating the whole way. All of the beautiful photos of her delicious treats are courtesy of Applehead Studio Photography.Visit Crystal and peruse her handiwork at Gateaux Rose

Cheers,

Kristin

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

admin — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:14:00 +0000

I need to be open and honest about something; I’m not a great hostess. In truth it’s because I’ve never really hosted anything so I’m rusty, out of practice…those words imply I’d done it before and there had been a lapse since the last time. Let’s start over. I’m inadequate in the hosting department because I’ve never had the opportunity to host anything. This is the price I have paid for living in an apartment for the past ten years. Now that we’ve been blessed with huge new digs for a year, when the opportunity came up to host a baby shower for one of my favourite and funniest co-workers, I jumped at it.

It’s been awhile since my last post. My only excuse is that school is busy for teachers in September and October (not that it isn’t always) and I’ve been run-down. I’m sorry; It won’t happen again (until next September).

Since my entertaining chops were not where I wanted them to be, I decided to make up for my shortfalls by providing some kick-butt cupcakes for the crew to divulge in, hopefully erasing from their memories any semblance of “she’s clearly never done this before” and replacing those thoughts with “who cares if she’s never done this before, those cupcakes were flipping amazing!” I’m being over-dramatic as per usual but in all seriousness, I had high hopes for these Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream from the February 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living. You can view the recipe in its entirety, HERE .

The worst part of baking cupcakes is without a doubt, waiting for them to cool so you can ice them. The icing was thick and luxurious while smooth with the exception of the small pieces of pureed strawberries. In an effort to make them really pretty I tried piping the icing onto the tops but failed miserably. The pieces of strawberry made it impossible to pass through the icing tip without air pockets and gaps in the icing. I guess Martha knew best when she (or her food stylists) dirty-iced theirs for the recipe photo shoot.

I used a large ice cream scoop to fill the muffin liners, and the recipe said it would yield 34 cupcakes but in reality made more like 42. We ate cupcakes for days; it was ludicrous.

I’m from the east coast of Canada, where we know a little something about strawberry shortcake and hold it near and dear. The minute I started chopping strawberries for the batter, and pureeing strawberries for the icing, I started thinking about strawberry shortcake. As the Kitchen-Aid mixer did it’s thing, and the oven pre-heated, and I tried my best not to forget about the egg whites and sugar on the double-boiler, I had a thought; what if there was a cupcake that tasted exactly like strawberry shortcake, and wouldn’t that be the best thing since sliced bread?!

These cupcakes were a treat. Although time consuming to make which I did the day before the shower, they were absolutely delicious and tasted EXACTLY like the best strawberry shortcake; on a homemade biscuit, with a combination of pureed and chopped strawberries, and a scoop of whipped cream. I’d recommend this recipe to anyone looking to replicate the flavours and aromas of strawberry shortcake but looking for a more…shall we say, portable, alternative. Good on you, Martha! I’d make this one again.

Cheers,
Kristin

It’s All Greek to Me

admin — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:08:30 +0000

In our household, it’s a pretty common occurrence for me to pick the mister up from work and for us to grab a bite somewhere before heading home. It’s not that we don’t love to cook, we just love other people’s cooking more. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing; it meant that I recently got to hit up It’s All Greek to Me on Quinpool Road for an early supper. We waltzed in at around 4:30 and were surprised that the place was empty. We stood there for a minute wondering if they were in fact open or if they’d just left the door unlocked, when a really lovely server greeted us. We took a table by the window and got right down to business ordering a starter of skordalia. Skordalia is such a comfort food; the potatoes, the abundance of garlic and the richness of the olive oil make it a winner when served with pita bread, but we opted to have it served with Kolokithia, thick slices of zucchini breaded and deep fried to perfection. The brightness and warm, soft texture of the zucchini were made that much more delicious by the crunchy batter. I could eat this spread all day. I don’t care if it means I’ll have garlic emanating from my pores for the next twenty-four hours, because it’s worth it.

I’d really had my heart set on Moussaka, but was told the kitchen was out which surprised me since the supper rush had not yet begun. I opted instead for Pastichio, a close substituition for Moussaka with its similar meat sauce, and béchamel but with the addition of long macaroni noodles. For $14 it was served with roasted potatoes and a Greek salad. The béchamel held its form wonderfully and although delicious there wasn’t a chance of me being able to finish because of how rich it was. The meat was a consistent texture, moist and flavourful with a delicious blend of spices which had me savouring every bite. The noodles were slightly dry but it didn’t take away from the flavour of the dish.
I hereby profess my love of Greek roasted potatoes. With their lemony aroma and flavour they entice with a zesty lightness that has me coming back for more. As far as Greek salads go, they were generous with both the feta and the Kalamata olives (yay!) and it thankfully wasn’t drowning in dressing like so many Greek salads that have come across my plate.
I think my favourite part of the meal though was when I realized in a moment of panic that I didn’t have my wallet (nor did my dinner partner as I’d said this would be my treat) and I had to frantically drive home in rush hour traffic to retrieve it while he picked at the last bites on our plates for a solid twenty minutes. Hey, there’s a first time for everything. Let’s hope that never happens again though…

Cheers,
Kristin

Dee Dee’s on Cornwallis Street Delights

admin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:47:37 +0000

I’m convinced that it would be impossible to write a negative, nay even a mediocre review of Dee Dee’s on Cornwallis Street. Fact of the matter is, both Dee Dee’s in Peggy’s Cove and the newer location in the North End make fresh, delightfully tasty ice cream using as many local ingredients as they can. I won’t lie, I have an ice cream craving almost nightly, and when I heard that Dee Dee’s had opened not far from my house it didn’t take much convincing to get me to head down for a scoop or two.
It was around 7:30 in the evening when we strolled in, and I was immediately struck by the bright, well-lit and friendly atmosphere of the small space. It was packed both inside and out with people eating and chatting. As we walked in the door, the smell of fresh-made waffle cones was both immediate and intoxicating. My mouth started watering almost instantaneously.
I stepped up to place my order, a scoop of my absolute favourite ice cream in existence, mint chocolate chip. I couldn’t stop there though; how boring, how predictable, how unadventurous of me. I opted for a scoop of Mexican chocolate ice cream to finish off my cone, resigned to the fact that I would probably love it, if only because my love for both chocolate and all things Mexicana runs deep.

It was love at first…lick. I’ve never had mint chocolate chip ice cream that wasn’t green, and the fact that this one was au naturel was enough to sell me on it right there. It had a ton of tiny chocolate chips which provided an excellent little crunch in every bite. The mint flavour was perfectly balanced, neither overwhelming nor too subtle and the ice cream itself was so creamy, so smooth and delightful…this is painful to write without a cone in hand. Whatever will I do now that I live in the ‘burbs, equal distance from both the Peggy’s Cove and Cornwallis Street locations?

As I neared the end of my scoop of mint chocolate chip, I got my first taste of what was to come with the Mexican chocolate and I was already wishing I had three (or more!) additional scoops of it to satisfy my sweet tooth. The richness of the chocolate alone sent me reeling with euphoria and then came the almost smoky, spicy aftertaste. I was in heaven. I’ve been searching all this time for that perfect combination of chocolate and heat and my typical go-to of Lindt dark chocolate with chiles just hadn’t been cutting it. I’m (almost) embarrassed to admit that after that first blissful visit to Dee Dee’s, I returned twice later that week, a true testament to the power of mouth-watering, made-from-scratch goods. If you haven’t already, head on down before the sun stops shining, and experience the truly delightful treat that is Dee Dee’s.

Cheers,
Kristin

Baja-Style Fish Tacos

admin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 22:30:38 +0000

I love both tacos and fish and until fairly recently, could not wrap my head around the idea of the two together. I’d been dying to try them for awhile but didn’t want my first endeavour to be a homemade version in the event that I screwed it up and ended up disappointed. Although I’d never seen one on the menu at any local restaurant, I had a feeling there was more to a fish taco than meets the eye and wanted my “first time” so to speak to be magical, flavourful, exciting. Maybe that’s a lot to ask of a fish taco but I take my Tex Mex seriously, and so does most of the Eastern United States apparently. On my recent travels through Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and last but not least New York, I first encountered the elusive fish taco at a place called Cervesas in Newport, Maine, which was the subject of a previous review. Delighted, I went on to order fish tacos again later that week at a place in Massachusetts where I was equally enthralled by this flavourful and spicy dish. Over a month later here I sat, craving the smoky heat of the chipotle and the sour of lime and wondering what to do. I’m trying to eat healthier, so I searched the internet for a figure friendly fish taco recipe and found one on the Weight Watchers website.
Weight Watchers Baja Style Fish Tacos
Ingredients
2 spray(s) cooking spray
1/2 cup(s) yellow masa corn flour
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 pound(s) snapper fillet(s), red-variety, cut into 2-inch pieces
8 medium corn tortilla(s), buy a few extra in case some break
1 head(s) romaine lettuce, outer leaves removed and remaining leaves sliced into 1/4-inch strips 5 medium radishes, red-variety, thinly sliced
2 medium scallion(s), thinly sliced
10 medium cherry tomato(es), quartered
1/4 cup(s) shredded red cabbage
3/4 cup(s) low-fat plain yogurt
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp canned chipotle peppers, in adobo sauce, finely chopped
2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh sprigs, for garnish

You can see the full recipe with instructions HERE at weightwatchers.ca

I moseyed down to Pete’s in search of red snapper after being unsuccessful at both Superstore and Sobey’s in the North End, and was aghast that it was priced at $15.99 a pound. Naturally, I needed a pound. I thought about substituting with halibut but the going price for it was $19.99 so I bit the bullet and bought old reliable haddock at $4.99 a pound. I patted myself on the back as I left for not being tempted to overspend. Yes, I`m sure it would have tasted delicious with snapper or halibut but let me tell you, these fish tacos were to die for!

The fish was tender and the breading was spicy and crunchy and smoky all at once. The crunch of the slaw combined with that hearty corn tortilla flavour hot out of the oven made me wish I was sitting on a patio with a Corona enjoying this delectable meal. The real kicker however wasn’t the fish, tortilla or slaw, but the chipotle-lime yogurt dressing drizzled on top. Cold and creamy but with a real kick of heat from the chipotles in adobo, you can’t beat the variety of flavours and heat that this recipe provides.

If you’ve never tried fish tacos and want a quick, easy recipe that’s fail-safe, this one gets an A+ in my books.

Cheers,
Kristin

Cha Baa Thai – A Personal Confession

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:58:35 +0000

Is it bad that I’m sitting here salivating as I write this review? I need to get this off my chest – I am addicted to Cha Baa Thai. I eat at this fine establishment between three to four times per month and would probably have supper there every night if I wouldn’t go broke doing so. It’s embarrassing to admit but until now I haven’t reviewed this favourite of mine for one reason: The food comes to the table and I inhale it. I don’t have time to get out my phone or camera to snap a photo because it’s so darn good (and good looking) that it’s gone before I have a chance. Whether it’s eat-in, delivery or pick-up, I can honestly say that I have been 100% satisfied every time I have eaten there.
My usual order is the Green Curry with vegetables but lately I’ve been going for the Red Curry with vegetables for $12.50. The vegetables are never overdone, always have a little bite to them and each and every vegetable is distinguishable in taste through the spicy curry. This is one spicy curry that stays true to the integrity of the vegetables and for that, I give it props. To me there is nothing better than dumping the whole bowl of hot and delicious curry over a plate of jasmine rice and letting it soak up all that flavour.
Dave ordered the Masaman Curry with Chicken for the same price and really loved it, although commented that he should have got his usual Masaman Curry with Vegetables because it has so much variety of flavour, whereas the chicken is just…well, chicken. We always split the medium jasmine rice for $4.50 and I encourage you to try their deep-fried spring rolls which are 4 for $6.95. We may or may not have eaten those so quickly that I was unable to garner a photo…oops! I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
I was thrilled to see that Cha Baa carries my favourite local summer brew, the Garrison Raspberry Wheat Ale, so I got to work enjoying that beautiful specimen the moment it arrived at the table.
I should mention that although my treks to Cha Baa originally began with their Queen Street location, I have since switched to their newer Burnside restaurant. I enjoy the atmosphere and service there a great deal, and it is never as busy as the downtown location.
If you’re in the area, Cha Baa has great lunch specials with the above curries, rice and a spring roll for only $10. You can’t beat that price for delightful Thai cuisine.
Cheers,
Kristin

Your Father’s Moustache

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:09:08 +0000

I ventured down to the Moustache this evening to play catch-up with some fine ladies from work. We somehow managed to get a table on the patio and settled in to eat, drink and be merry. I think our server had it out for us from the get-go because he never so much as cracked a smile while taking our drink orders, but I saw him laughing and carrying on with the table next to us. I asked what they had for local brews and was disappointed that my only option was Propeller Bitter. Nothing against Propeller, but I tend to enjoy their sodas more than their beer. I settled instead for an Olands and ordered the infamous ‘Pub Club’ along with at least half of the diners at our table. Now, I understand that the Pub Club is a Coast, Best Of winner in the club sandwich category, and I can’t begin to explain how much I enjoy a good club sandwich.
I will admit that as far as club sandwiches go, this one was ‘good’. I am however, confused as to how it garnered an award for simply being good. The French bread that it came on was slightly burnt and devoid of any real flavour from the grill. The chicken was moist and tender and the lettuce added just enough of a buttery crunch to make up for the lack thereof in the bread. The tomato was melt in your mouth and added just the right amount of acidity to the sandwich. Then there was the bacon, and oh how I adore bacon! It wasn’t quite crispy of flavourful enough to really play a starring role on my plate however. The damn ‘special sauce’ frustrated me all night as I tried to pinpoint flavours and although tasty, was extremely subtle.
All in all, I think this sandwich could be more of a winner on some grilled sourdough bread, with crispier bacon, and a sauce with a little more potent flavour. What really needed an improvement was the service, as we waited and waited for drink refills and sat frustrated after getting our bills for him to come back so we could pay. One smile would have been nice. You know when you look at someone and you can sense that they hate their job? That was the impression this guy was giving off.
My yearly trip to the patio of the Moustache complete, I headed home full and relatively satisfied. The Pub Club as is was almost worth its $12.95 price tag.
Cheers,
Kristin

The Armview – Summer Burger Special on Open Mic Night…

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:00:40 +0000

I want to start by stating publicly that I have NEVER had a meal that wasn’t absolutely wonderful at the Armview. Good. Now that I’ve got that off my chest I can talk about my first ever instance of bad service at one of my absolute favourite local joints. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been there for such a late supper – it was around 8:30 in the evening – or maybe the fact that open mic was taking place on the bar-side of the restaurant had something to do with it. Either way, Dave and I left shaking our heads and wondering what had happened to the Armview we loved so dearly.
We sat down and our server promptly arrived and asked if we wanted drinks. I ordered a Garrison Nut Brown and water. After five minutes or so, she came back with the water and asked if we were ready to order. The special was intriguing, an Avocado Banana Beef Burger so I ordered that with a side salad of mixed greens. Dave ordered his usual, the Avocado Delight wrap with fries. I didn’t say anything about the beer which was still missing in action, and figured it would come with my meal. Our supper arrived about ten minutes later and as the server went to set Dave’s food down in front of him, the vast majority of his fries slid off the plate and onto the table. She was apologetic and seemed a bit frazzled, but assured us that she’d get more fries and they’d be right up. She made no effort however, to clean up her mess and rather left Dave to pick up the fries. I could see his internal struggle to not eat them off the table, poor guy.
At this point I asked for the beer again and it came soon after. The Avocado Banana Beef burger was tasty, but not mind-blowing. The avocado did nothing for the flavour, and was indiscernible through the rich and sticky peanut butter. I’m a huge fan of peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and also of peanut butter on a burger, but had never thought to combine the three. They didn’t skimp on the banana either, which was great for both flavour and texture. If there was such a thing as a burger that tasted like summer, this one did. The banana really gave it that lightness and sweetness that go so well in the warm months. The burger itself was a little on the dry side and was served very well-done. Dave commented that the Avocado Delight seemed to now come with couscous on it and although he does enjoy couscous, didn’t care for it so much on his already perfect wrap. His fries came eventually, but only after he’d finished his wrap and the few fries that had avoided running onto the table.
As for the Garrison Nut Brown, it had a much more prominent nuttiness than I’d expected. It was strong enough in flavour that I had to sip it gingerly, and in all honesty I made Dave finish it. It wasn’t my favourite of the Garrison brews but that’s purely a case of personal preference. I do appreciate it for its depth of flavour and richness.
As we walked away, Dave made a valid point; one bad experience is often enough. If that had been our first time there, I’m not sure if I’d love the Armview as much as I do. I’ll be back for sure as it’s one of my favourite local spots, but I’ll make sure to continue my trend of daytime visits and avoidance of open mic night.

Cheers,
Kristin

Blueberry Grunt…with a twist! (OR) How I Learned I Can’t Make Dumplings and Stopped Worrying

admin — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:44:29 +0000

We’re in the process of moving, and being that I like to have all my ducks in a row early on, most things are packed and moved to the house even though we don’t officially move in until the end of the month. This hadn’t yet proven to be a problem until this evening when I decided I needed to bake something and realized I’d sent all my cake and muffin pans packing! What to do? I saw it as the perfect opportunity to break out one of my mother’s classic Nova Scotian recipes, none other than Blueberry Grunt. Martha Stewart makes hers in a skillet, so I decided to forgo my mother’s classic stock pot method and try it out. Here is the recipe I started with and the additions that I made –

Blueberry Grunt
Sauce
4 c fresh blueberries (I used a mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)
½ c sugar
2/3 c water (I substituted 1/3 c of water with 1/3 c of Campari)

Dumplings, or as Dave likes to call them, “the grunt”
2 c flour (I used whole wheat)
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2/3 c milk
(To the dumplings I added ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp nutmeg)
Vanilla ice cream/whipped cream to garnish

Wash berries, combine with sugar and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until soft and thick, about 5 minutes.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in butter, stir in enough milk to make soft dough. Drop the batter by tablespoons on top of simmering sauce, cover saucepan and cook over medium heat, 15-18 minutes.

What Worked…

The addition of Campari to the sauce was LOVELY. It added this nice sharp note that resonated with each berry bite. Yum!

What Didn’t…
Where I went wrong – I should have added 1 cup of milk to the dumpling recipe, but instead aired on the side of caution and went with 2/3 cup. The dumplings were dense and didn’t puff up the way I like. I also used skim milk because it’s all I had in the fridge, but would have preferred buttermilk.
Next time I think I’ll heed the sage advice ‘don’t mess with a good thing’ and make the blueberry grunt the way my mother did. I might still throw a splash of Campari into the mix and see if anyone notices.
All in all, my mixed berry grunt didn’t quite satisfy the sweet craving I was having, but lucky for me, Dee Dee’s is just down the street!

Cheers,
Kristin

The Middle Spoon

admin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:58:00 +0000

When I heard that Halifax had finally been blessed with a dessert bar, my first thought was thank God, it’s about time! After a nice supper downtown, Dave and I decided to walk down to Barrington to see how The Middle Spoon was doing in its first week open and as part of the reawakening of Barrington Street. We walked in and were shown to a window seat – I love how the windows protrude from where the entrance is so you really feel like you’re eating on the sidewalk. The booths were high and comfortable and the whole place was strewn with stylish pillows, dark colours and low lighting, complete with snowball chandeliers. The full package gave me a Sex and the City vibe and I felt like I should run home and change into stilettos and a cute dress but I own neither of those things.

After being seated, we browsed the dessert menu which was full of standards but nothing really surprising or out of the ordinary. Dave ordered the Brownie Cookie Sundae at $9.99 and I went with the Blonde Bombshell for $8.99. One thing I did really like was that most of their sundaes could be upgraded to the ‘share-able’ size for a dollar or so to make for a treat for two for around $10.The mixed drinks ran around the $9 mark, so we opted for coffee at $2.50 a pop and settled in to wait for our delicious treats.

…what a wait it was. After shifting around uncomfortably and trying to get a member of the wait staff’s attention for fifteen minutes (I only wish that was an exaggeration), one server finally noticed us. She approached the other staff members who were congregated behind the bar, presumably to ask who our server was and why we were just sitting there. Apparently no one knew because she ended up coming over and taking our order herself, bless her. Dave was ready to get up and leave but I was not leaving without dessert, darn it!

Our coffees came first with milk but there was sugar nowhere in sight and we weren’t about to try to track down a server again so we made do. Our desserts arrived not too long thereafter and we dug in, our spoons a flurry of activity, hardly stopping to breathe between bites. My blondie was crispy on the outside and just cooked inside, melt in your mouth yum! It was served with a tiny scoop of vanilla bean ice cream which although it could have been bigger, was a nice complement to the brown sugar goodness of the blondie. The blondie itself was covered with walnuts which added great texture. The maple butter sauce that was drizzled on top was nice but in no way reminiscent of maple. It was so sugary that it in essence, made up for the lack of sugar in my coffee. Dave’s brownie cookie sundae was just that, a brownie, a cookie, and ice cream. It looked good but we both remarked afterward that we could have made one at home that was just as good.

All in all, we were disappointed with our first experience with The Middle Spoon. Although the atmosphere was great and the desserts good, it was lacking in service and originality on the menu. Granted they just opened, I’ll give them another go down the road, and hopefully I’ll find the service better and the desserts slightly more tantalizing.

Cheers,
Kristin