Every year in the month of February, the city hosts an event called Dine Around Halifax where participating restaurants have special menus that cost either $10, $20, $30, $40 or $50. The event is a also a fundraiser for Feed Nova Scotia and in 2023, over 100 restaurants across the city took part. There weren't many places that had menus I liked this year which kind of sucked, but I still enjoyed the ones I went to.
On February 12, my mom and I went out for the afternoon because one thing I wanted to do was explore the north end of Halifax. It was a beautiful day out and we started out at Rousseau Chocolatier in the south end. Rousseau's is a chocolate shop and I had never been to it before this day. Their Dine Around menu was called 'Pause Parisienne for two!' which included two drinks, two chocolate tasters and two madeleines or cookies for $20. We got there right after they opened which was a smart idea. I got hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie while my mom had a coffee and ginger cookie. I forget what kinds the tasters were but they were really good. I mentioned we were there when it opened and I'm glad we were because the cookies had just come out of the oven and they were delicious; soft on the inside and a crunchy outside. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the hot chocolate, only because it was made with dark chocolate and I find it really strong.
Then we drove up to Gottingen Street and parked near the library to walk along the street to see what was new. We walked from Staples to the bridge and back to our car. Then we drove further north to the Hydrostone to walk up the hill to Fort Needham Memorial Park. I hadn't been to this park since I think 2009 or something and it has changed from what I remember it being back then. The North End was ruined back on December 6, 1917 by an explosion and the city decided to put a big bell structure to memorialize it and honour the people who passed away and were injured in the blast. There is now a pretty cool playground there now along with benches/metal pieces that have information about the explosion. If you want to learn more about the Halifax Explosion I recommend visiting Fort Needham along with the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic plus there are stories on the Halifax Public Library website.
To end our afternoon out, we went back to the south end and tried a new restaurant; Halifax Pier Pub. We didn't even know this restaurant existed until I saw it on the Dine Around menu. It is a sister company to Cafe Chianti which is right next door and both restaurants are at the end of Pier 20 where the farmer's market used to be. Their menu was a burger and a pint for $20. I don't drink wine or beer so my mom drank both. I had the Pier Burger which was a 7oz Atlantic beef patty with garlic aioli, aged white cheddar, onion and pepperoncini slaw & arugula. I normally steer clear of slaws but this burger was really good, definitely worth the twenty dollars. My mom also enjoyed hers, I think she got the Haddock Burger, so much that we went back a week later with my younger cousins.
The following Friday, I met up with a friend for dinner after work and we went to The Auction House. We had a three course meal for $30 and you had two options each for the appetizer and main course. Both my friend and I chose the fried brussel sprouts, pear & bacon grilled cheese and beer battered Oreos.
Winter fun
- Try a new restaurant ✓
- Walk around the north end ✓
- Sip hot chocolate from a local cafe ✓
- Eat at 3 Dine Around restaurants ✓
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