What exactly is “Canadian cuisine,” anyways? I arrived at Chives Canadian Bistro in downtown Halifax wondering this very question.
Chives Canadian Bistro, Halifax
When I popped open the seasonal menu, I saw lots of Atlantic seafood, a “meat ‘n’ potatoes” dish and a dessert using Nova Scotia’s Sugar Moon Farms amber maple syrup. Okay, some “Canadian” options there.
The room was warm, friendly and intimate – also very Canadian – the service charming and efficient. But the food, the food, what would the food be like?
It's hard to see, but this is the outdoor screen that shows the kitchen at Chives Canadian Bistro in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Canadian Cuisine
The first thing I tried was the buttermilk biscuits that come with all entrées. Someone’s grandma must be hidden in the kitchen, because these hotcakes are thief-worthy. Actually, one of the women I was eating with (I won’t name her!) actually persuaded the server to give us an extra round, which comes in a casual paper bag. (If you want gluten free, just ask and they’ll tack on an extra $.75. The menu is marked for gluten free, vegetarian and vegan.)
I started with the organic spinach salad ($9), enticed by the candied pecans and honey buttermilk dressing. For my main, I couldn’t resist the seafood specialty that the server tempted us with: a cut of sea trout over a lobster risotto ($19.99). Not too creamy but with the robust lobster flavour marinating in the risotto, the dish was perfectly east coast.
The seafood risotto dish at Chives Canadian Bistro in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia.
As for dessert, you bet we went for it. For me, it was a shared plate of the astronomically delicious warm chocolate peanut buster ($9), complete with a flourless dark chocolate cake, peanut butter ice cream, chocolate ganache sauce and candied Virginia peanuts. There’s not much to say about this creation except, Was it all a dream?
The chocolate peanut buster dessert at Chives Canadian Bistro in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
I left Chives Canadian Bistro with the conclusion that Canadian cuisine is just a collection of locally available food (in this case, Atlantic seafood) gently fused with the variety of cultures that make up this country: Atlantic fishcakes using l’Acadie Blanc spinach sauce and Cape Breton mustard pickles, “hot pot” soup taken from what’s available at the farmers’ market, and vegetable tandoor with curried veggie ragout.
That works for me.
*My trip was sponsored by Destination Halifax and the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Copyright 2010 Lori Henry
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