From Farm to Halifax

There was quite a bit for me to see in two days in Halifax, but most of my attention was focused on food and drinks in between sights. Unfortunately, Halifax is not known for cheap eats — most restaurants I came across were over my budget.

On my first morning, my Airbnb hosts showed me the way to the farmer’s market — showing me the way to some wonderful coffee and a beautiful rooftop view. I didn’t realize that the market had a green rooftop with solar panels and wind turbines.

I was impressed by the size of the farmer’s market, but I wasn’t surprised — I read up on it the day before arriving. I was told that it was less crowded than usual because of Canada Day. I was, however, expecting a little more variety of produce — there wasn’t much in the way of fruit. There were plenty of prepared-food vendors to keep me happy for breakfast though. Best of all, the vendors offered tastes of their culinary delights. My first taste was from a Turkish vendor who sold some spicy vegetarian snacks (I was too tired and hungry to remember to snap a photo or even write down what I ate).

After parting ways with my hosts, I sampled some food and drinks in the market. It was an unusual feeling being offered liquor and wine at 9:30 in the morning, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to try the only single malt Scotch distilled outside of Scotland. I had heard of this scotch because my parents stayed at the distillery in Cape Breton when they visited. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring a bottle back with me as I wasn’t checking luggage (it also was a bit out of my budget for the trip). But, it was a wonderfully smooth Scotch with a great balance of smokiness.

I also found some wonderful spirits from Ironworks Distillery, which unfortunately were not sold at the airport’s duty free shop (it was closed anyway). They make some great fruit-flavored liqueurs, including cranberry and arctic kiwi. These spirits aren’t as thick as cordials, but can still be mixed with desserts — they’d taste great over ice cream or even in a fruit smoothie.

There were plenty of other foods and drinks to sample around the market, including plenty of cheese to keep me happy. It also helped that there were multiple coffee vendors to keep me going.

If it hadn’t been morning, or if I had more time to spend in Halifax, I probably would have spent more time in the farmer’s market sampling food and drinks. I definitely would’ve liked to taste the rest of the Ironworks’ spirits. There were also a few ice wines I would’ve like to sample.