The old stomping grounds

September 23, 2019September 22, 2019 / Greg / 1 Comment

When I traveled to Halifax in June, it was for an almost absurdly short amount of time. Fly in on a Friday, meetings on Saturday, fly back home before the sun was up on Sunday morning. With so little time, I knew this was going to be a “greatest hits” type of trip. With precious little personal time on this visit, I charted a precise course through a city I know very well… but one that is changing rapidly, and becoming a touch more unfamiliar on each and every return visit.

My flight touched down at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon, and at 5:30 I was sitting at the bar of my hotel’s restaurant, which fortunately for me, is known for its oyster happy hour. A dozen delicious oysters to reacquaint me with the taste of the ocean… this is the way you kick off a visit to Halifax.

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Foreign and familiar

July 28, 2018July 27, 2018 / Greg / Leave a comment

It snuck up on me.

On a trip to Halifax in April, there was no visit to see my mom and dad as they had just packed up and moved to New Brunswick days before my arrival. The trip also marked a full two years since I moved away from my old hometown. Lots changes in that amount of time and I couldn’t shake it that Halifax had started to feel a bit foreign.

Not that foreign is a bad thing. In one respect, it gave me an opportunity to sample from Atlantic Canadian breweries that weren’t even in existence when I last called the city home. Sober Island, Roof Hound Brewing, Saltbox Brewing, Trailway Brewing… these were all recommendations from Jason at Bishop’s Cellar (who made me feel at home and like I had never moved away… oh, how I miss my old wine and beer store on the waterfront), and were all worth my time. The Hu Jon Hops by Trailway (green can) and the session IPA by Roof Hound (far right) were my personal favourites.

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The beer from back east

September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

I’ve written here a few times how much I miss the craft beer scene back in Nova Scotia. I don’t drink a huge quantity of beer, but when I do have a pint or two, I like to try “new to me” beers and while I was living in Nova Scotia I never ran out of something new to sample. Fast forward about a year and a half, and when I got back to Halifax, I had a lot of catching up to do.

Not only was I excited in trying some new beers, but I was also thrilled to get a beautiful spring day to visit a place that had materialized since my move. The Stillwell Beergarden on Spring Garden Road is something that I wish someone here in Saskatoon would replicate just off Broadway. A very simple menu of grilled food, ten taps of Atlantic Canadian beer, and what I can imagine would be a lovely evening spot with the overhead patio lanterns – this is my kind of place. I sampled two beers on my lunchtime visit – the “Malternate Reality” from North Brewing (probably my favourite Halifax brewery) and “Dunder” an Australian pale ale from Trailway Brewing in Fredericton.

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Favourites and firsts

September 18, 2017September 16, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

A lot can change in fifteen months. And a lot can stay the same.

Back in Halifax for a couple of days after my sister’s wedding in the Annapolis Valley this past summer, my wife and I hit a few favourite haunts in our former neighbourhood. We also took some time to experience a few new things in a city that means a lot to both of us. Not surprisingly, one of the first places we revisited was the central library downtown. We had lived two blocks from here and we both used it as a second living room. The view of the city and the harbour from the library is something we both miss.