Brooklyn Warehouse, Halifax

Brookyln Warehouse was tops in the Halifax Coast Magazine Best Restaurant's poll for 2012. While the restaurant is creative and has a lovely building and patio to call home, is not yet able to compete with other Canadian city's in terms of quality. Perhaps it's just the dishes our party ordered, but maybe if  there is more than one miss it's time for some quality control.

The cold seafood platter: crabs legs (with the wonderful crab available out here, these legs were too thin and not worth the effort), oysters, house made smoked salmon, scallop ceviche (top marks), an asian take on tuna tar tar, and a clam. The sauce was very light and complemented the selection excellently.

The three beet salad, with braised golden, roasted red and raw candy cane beets. Finished off with candied nuts,goat cheese and a balsamic reduction, as well as some beet greens. This was executed very well. 

The famous Brooklyn Warehouse caesar salad made with Dragon's Breath Blue cheese. While the salad was very tasty, it was not the easiest to share, or the easiest to eat as it was served as half of a head of lettuce. The presentation also did not allow for an even spreading of the finger-licking good dressing. However, it was a nice spin on an old classic. 

The Fulton Fish Dish: Grilled Sea Bass on a heaping pile of brown butter risotto with an apple and pistachio salad. The proportions were off on this one, with the risotto coming across as oppressive perhaps because of the sheer amount provided and not the flavours themselves. The salad, combined with the soft fish and risotto did not add enough to mix up the texture profiles.

 The definite winner of the evening: Chicken and waffles served with blueberry kale and a suprisingly not too sweet maple bbq sauce. I would NEVER order something like this,  perhaps because I am breakfast adverse, but I was shocked at how successful the dish was and how well balanced the flavours were. A true A+.

A play on seafood chowder, a Black Chowder made with squid ink broth, scallops, those same too small and spindly crab legs, and halibut. The halibut lost its silkiness and was a tad over done. While a truly creative take on a Nova Scotian classic, it was a near miss - tasting too salty, lacking entirely the creamy and buttery excellence of a white chowder. Perhaps this dish is best seen as a work in progress .

All in all, the restaurant for it's pricing was not a complete failure, but very far off from it's touted "best" status. A pleasant addition was the availability of the bring your own wine offer - but not enough of a draw to get me going back. 

Bicycle Thief

I have been to this restaurant several times, perched right on the water with a patio perfectly designed for people watching. When it gets chilly, have no fear, borrow one of their cozy red pashminas. Inside, a bustling restaurant filled with attitude and class.

I have previously ordered:
-al Barolo roasted beef short ribs served with polenta - perfect save for the polenta that's consistency was just not right
-shellfish zuppa with 1/2 lobster, clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp in a marinara sauce - again perfect except messy as the lobster came in shell.
-filet mignon, bordelaise sauce, cognac laced butter roasted 1/2 lobster - perfectly done rare steak. excellent if not safe.

This most recent venture:
Isola di Capri Summer Salad: caprese salad, everything fresh, and done in a less refined way as the tomato was not sliced but quartered.

Sweet pepper studded pan seared crab and fish cake with house made tartar sauce.

 Crusted pan seared scallops with smoked chili espagnole sauce. A "must order".

 Perhaps because I have never had rabbit, or perhaps how it was prepared, I was disappointed with the valpolicella braised rabbit. While the sauce was very good, the rabbit tasted dried out, and the meat itself bland. Furthermore I did not expect the enormous amount of bones that required my full attention while eating as they were small and easy to choke on. Otherwise the crisp polenta was executed fabulously, not too oily, and full of flavour.

 Exellent double smoked bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, with savoy cabbage stuffing, served with pan roasted beets and a marsala wine reduction. This was fabulous- the use of cabbage perfect.

 Red ravioli filled with ricotta, Mascarpone, spinach, fresh herbs, and a light cream sauce. Special accomodations: a lobster claw. They were out of their fabulous handmade ravioloni stuffed with fresh lobster, Mascarpone, chives, shelled lobster garnish, tomato, parmigiano fonduta and dusted with crispy crumbs.

Dessert: chocolate, homemade almond pistachip Torrone, cappuccino creamy semifreddo and a smooth caramel sauce. Desserts are not necessarily their specialty, but tasty nonetheless

Cape Breton - an ocean's worth of seafood

We decided to drive the Cape Breton Trail, stopping in Mira River, Ingonish, and Cheticamp. As we were camping our culinary expectations were simplified: all we wanted was a good net's worth of shellfish, some butter and a fire. What we got was the best quality seafood, at the most reasonable price, and the need for a new exercise regiment.

Gourmet Cooking: potatoes, carrots, caramelized onions and hotdogs. A camp favourite, "Fresh Dinner".

 The second day we ate in town at Ingonish's Main Street Restaurant. We had a salad with scallops, and a crab cake with a cocktail sauce. The salad was drenched in dressing and not very good, but the crab cakes quality was impeccable - chock full of crab, no filler.

 The cold seafood platter was a steal at $12, including 6 mussels, 6 prawns, a half lobster, smoked salmon. Perhaps an East Coast thing, I again did not need the cream sauce drizzle and would have preferred it to be just the fish.

 A pasta ($18), with the a hefty portion of seafood making the fish the star and the noodles a second fiddle. The sauce was light, and full of fresh herbs. Mussels, scallops, shrimp and the other half of the lobster we had eaten in the cold platter. The pasta also had huge chunks of crab and lobster meat which was a pleasant surprise. A+.

 The next morning we drove up to Asby Bay's Hideaway Camp Ground and Oyster Farm. We ordered a half a crab ($10) with the thickest, juiciest meat that made it worth the struggle (we broke a pair of lobster sheers). The crab was so fantastic we ordered several more. The crab was caught by the owner of the campground, and was so fresh - absolutely divine.

 We also ordered about 24 oysters, farmed on the campground. Perfect texture and smooth taste. A wonderful start to the day.

We also ordered 3 lobsters for the next evening at the camp, which we had the fisherman steam and pre-cut for us. We sat around the fire and dipped our lobster chunks (which we broke away using an empty wine bottle - always classy) but the photos were too messy to share :)

Seafood in it's most unpretentious environment, caught by the most down to earth people, and prepared letting the meat speak for itself - all a gal can ask for. 

Pizza Pizza !! (No not the orange and white chain)

Morris East

I went through a bit of a pizza phase early this summer. Morris East is a perfect little restaurant that has everything down, every detail accounted for and knows it's limits. Their fruit pizzas, including a seasonal peach pizza and in the fall a pear one. They are phenomenal, and a brunch favourite of mine.
But this time we wanted to see how they did dinner.

Pizza Capricciosa: tomato, mozzarella, mushroom, Westphalian ham, olive, artichoke, mild chili confit and caesar aioli. In honesty, and perhaps because I am a purist, but the pizza could've done without the caesar aioli. Still a good bite.

 If you can't do a classic like a pizza Margherita, than you should close up shop, and go home. Morris East has perfected it - and it truly is all about ratios of sauce to cheese and crust. I am a basil enthusiast, so for me pile it on (I always ask for extra).

 A Halifax Nova Scotia creation, using local ingredients, the Meatball Pizza was a complete success: house smoked Ironwork Vodka tomato sauce, spring onion, Growler gouda and fried shallots. This pizza, while heavy, would be a preferred take to any meat pizza, any day. The use of gouda was genius.

Take Two: Piatto 

We decided to try the newly opened Piatto Entecotta for a large party. They refused to take reservations, even for groups of 8+, which is cause for disaster for both the patrons and the unknowing kitchen and wait staff. Hailing from Newfoundland, my expectations were not too high for this restaurant, because since when does Newfoundland know Italy? I was wrong - the use of the specialty pizza oven allowed for the excellent char a Napoli style pizza so requires. I was so busy chowing down I nearly forgot to share photographic evidence! 

The Stephanie: Soft goat cheese, caramelized pears, crispy proscuitto, grana padano and balsamic reduction. The only flaw - goat cheese on a pizza never melts evenly, and the way it was spread was a bit uneven throughout the pie. 

The Siciliani: mozzarella, spicy Italian sausage, basil, proscuitto, roasted red peppers and I added in some artichoke hearts and basil for good measure. 

 PPana e Pancetta: cream base, oregano, garlic, mozzarella, pancetta and grana padano. A heathy dosage of hot sauce to kick it in to gear.

IF the two pizzerias were to battle it out, I would go Morris East - the atmosphere, the creativity and the pies themselves have a maturity that the new Entecotta lacks. While competing for a similar market, I think that Piatto has a little more research to do about the needs of it's patrons, and perhaps be a bit more adventurous in it's offerings. 

Home Cooking: Braised Chicken Thighs

For dinner I made braised chicken thighs with mushrooms, pancetta and shallots. The sauce that the chicken is braised in was then finished off with balsamic, and reduced. I served it with a piece of pancetta, and garlic, lemon steamed kale. Although simple, it was delicious! 

Home Cooking: MoMo's

I was invited over to a friend's house who had spent some time in Nepal, to learn how to make Momo's. Momo's are a Himalayan style dumpling, filled with meat (sometimes just vegetables) and steamed. They are a bite of heaven, and make me feel all cosy. The meat was mixed with ginger, garlic, onion and a fair amount of salt (although the end product doesnt taste salty). 

Step one involves mixing the meat and rolling the dumplings. It is a finger, thumb motion and by the time you are finished, it should look seamless. 

Step Two: Steam the dumplings.  

When the are finished, they look like below. When you eat them, provided everything has gone right, there will be a little burst of soupy flavour in your mouth. 

 We served them with some curried cabbage. Interestingly enough, very little curry powder is used, and again a substantial amount of salt is added. It tastes very balanced, with the salt bringing out different flavour notes.

We also had homemade hot sauce, made with chilis, tomatoes, and salt. It was just boiled down on the stove. And despite how it appears, man, it was spicy! 

 And voila, the complete, plated meal. I don't know how to say good eating in Nepalese, but man, it was good eating!

Home Cooking: Lasagna!

Tonight we made lasagna with zucchini, eggplant and ground turkey. I was surprised at how moist and how much depth of flavour came through with the turkey, using it instead of ground beef. But not only was it a healthier option, I truly think it is a yummier one too!