Adam S.'s Profile

This location is perfect for the downtown work crowd and, smaller selection or not, it's still my favourite destination for lunch. The sandwiches are great (in particular, I love the turkey) and are served on great sourdough or whole wheat breads from Julien's bakery. It's also a great spot to get a bowl of soup with a to-die-for biscuit. Earlier today, I had a bowl of the Thai carrot and ginger. Loved every spoonful. Not to mention every bite of the soup-drenched biscuit.

I'm also a big fan of the citrus iced tea. It has a very subtle "tea" flavour, but gets a lot of bunch from orange and lemon juices. Very bright summery drink that goes perfectly with a sandwich.

The cookies are probably not for everyone. Most of time that I've had them, they've been very crispy (though certainly not overcooked). Still tasty, but I don't think they'd be huge crowd-pleasers.

The space itself is definitely small and I've heard it can get busy around the lunch hour. Since there's limited seating, I usually head down around 11:45, buy my goods, and head back to my office to make all of my co-workers very jealous.

The prices aren't unreasonable - around $7 for a sandwich and under $5 for a bowl of soup and a biscuit. They also have a selection of desserts (lemon bars, brownies, etc.) and frozen food to take home.

Do yourself a favour and spend your next break heading down to Jane's.

(Originally posted erroneously under Jane's Next Door.)

After hearing that the placed sold macarons, I put Sweet Smiles near the top of my to-visit list and promptly made my way across the bridge for my daily helping of sweet.

Perhaps a bit of the beaten path, this place is nevertheless a nice little spot to grab a treat. Mike B. and I ordered a selection of macaroons, as well as a few pastries (the lemon roll for me) for another time.

The good:
- The lemon roll was excellent. Tart and moist and full of yum.
- The cafe itself looks bright and clean and very welcoming.
- The staff person was very nice and helpful.

The bad:

The macarons. I hate to say it, because I love locally owned shops and in particular love those that sell macarons... but I'd have to say they were almost the worst macarons I've ever purchased. (The worst macarons can be found at Pete's, once they've become completely dehydrated and stale and, for some reason, are still sold.)

These macarons had very little taste to them (apart from "sugary") and the shells had gigantic air bubbles throughout, which is huge no-no when it comes to macarons. I liked that the filling was piped on using a shaped tip, though. But ultimately, these were kind of a disaster.

Considering how lovely everything else is, though, I wonder if this may just be a case of the pastry chef not having enough experience with macarons to know the proper texture and flavour. From the outside, they look just about right (though you can tell that the shells are not made properly by looking at the little feet and seeing the air bubbles).

Bottom line: I'll be back, but I won't be buying the macarons again.

My 90s experience was an odd mix of boy bands, Sailor Moon/Tuxedo Mask drama, Buffy, Lilith Fair, and Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. (My 10s experience isn't all that different, except that you can replace boy bands with Lady Gaga and Sailor Moon/Tuxedo Mask with Katniss/Peeta.)

So, naturally, I was immediately interested in any event that promised to return me to those very strange glory days. As per usual, Ben B did not disappoint.

The music is what really made the event such a success, in my opinion. You can't talk about the 90s without talking about the music and the mix that played over the speakers was the perfect blend of corny pop, earnest folk-rock and iconic hits.

I can honestly say that I didn't expect to do particularly well on the trivia. Some of the questions were pretty hard, but my intense knowledge of triple-named 90s actresses proved helpful and I walked away from the event with a bag of ~30 or classic 90s DVDs. (I suppose it would've been more on theme if they'd all been VHS tapes, but this makes me much happier.)

The Foggy Goggle is always a solid event venue and this night was no different. Great mini pizzas, a nice tequila sunrise and friendly servers helped the night go by smoothly.

Also need to give a shout out to the lovely photographer, who helped me pose in a vaguely 90s-ish way! Great photos from a great event.

Unlike Mike B., I tend to not really do any extensive shopping here. Based on what I've seen, I wouldn't be disappointed if I needed to pick up a healthy number of basics.

But the truth is that I tend to only go here when I'm in need of a junk food fix. (Which is probably too often and has also probably caused the staff here to think I need help.) And they fix me. They fix me right up.

Mostly, I love that they have Pop Shoppe drinks and Magzy's Kettle Corn. That alone makes my Hydrostone rent worth it. Sometimes I think the price is too high, but that's likely more a product of me feeling the need to buy a jug of skim milk almost every time I go, to make sure the cashier knows that, in addition to the chips and chocolate, I'm also *a bit* of a health nut.

As others have mentioned, everyone is super friendly and the place is crammed tight. A great store and yet another example of what makes this neighbourhood so great.

I just reviewed Bed Bath & Beyond, so I should probably also review the store I go to when better sense prevails.

To be honest, if JYSK didn't have a name that no human can pronounce without sounding either ridiculous or perverted, I think it would pretty much be your standard discount home store. It would also probably have crappy radio ads and a name like "Jack's Stuff Store."

As it is, though, you can still feel pretty dignified walking into this place because of its foreign "mystery." The staff are pleasant enough, though it can sometimes be a pain to track one down and then have them check if the furniture you want is in stock. (If it's not stock, why tempt me with floor models??)

To be honest, I mostly ignore the non-furniture stuff. But the few times that I've looked it seemed as though they had a lot of random stuff that could likely be great if used properly. So if you're looking for a few knick-knacks to add some life to your apartment or house, definitely check this place out.

The furniture is likely the biggest draw, though. It's cheap and most of it looks pretty good. It's definitely not the best quality. Only one or two of their couches are comfortable enough that I'd want to sit on them on any regular basis. My JYSK dining room chairs have a pesky need to be tightened up every once in a while. But you're getting what you paid for and it just happens to look nice while you're at it.

Oh and come with a large vehicle. I don't think they do home delivery, so you'll likely be picking up your purchase behind the store and the warehouse door.

So, sensible shoppers: furnish your lives!

If ever I fall into some terrible debt situation, it will not be because of the high price of education. No, it will be because I'm hopelessly addicted to home necessity stores like Bed Bath & Beyond.

Like, seriously. I genuinely find it bewildering that the staff here don't instantly recognize me and let out a hushed, "Father's home..." as I walk in the door. I find myself in this store very often.

Now, part of this is because I inherited a love for all things kitchen. Perhaps the greatest similarity between me and my mother is the fact that we both have an appliance or tool for pretty much any food thing you can think of.

Need to crack and separate an egg at the same time, while keeping your hands clean? I've got you covered. Want to process a small amount of frozen banana slices to make ice cream? Use my mini food processor. (Use my regular food processor for larger batches.) Baking some cookies? Don't worry, I have enough Silpats for you to bake continuously for about five months.

It should be obvious that a store like this is a clear danger to my bank account. Unfortunately, I have a car and no self-control.

I should get to the actual review part of this:

Come here if you're looking to get something for your home and don't mind paying a bit extra for it to not be Zellers quality. A dish rack at BBB, for example, can run between $18 and $80. (Which one do you think I own?)

Come here if you're looking for some of the most random crap for your house that you had no idea was an absolute necessity. Like the cutting board that folds up a bit to make transferring chopped up veggies easier!

Come here if you have some free time and love to fantasize about owning everything and how much better your life would be if you took the plunge and bought that $100 shower caddy. (THINK OF THE EXTRA SOAP SPACE!)

Also, come here if you already went to Home Outfitters and they didn't have what you want. They're right across the street and you never know, right?

Otherwise, just go to Wal-Mart or JYSK and be happy that you're saving a little bit of money.

(Pro tip: Sign up for the newsletter and occasionally receive a coupon for 20% off one item.)

I will be the first to admit that I'm not terribly adventurous when it comes to Thai food. That's generally because I'm not a huge fan of anything that's particularly spicy. So I can't really speak too much to the menu's great variety, having only really eaten a few basic chicken dishes and spring rolls.

That said, this place (along with Kababji) is what keeps Burnside from being a complete Industrial Park Hell. It's a clean, well-designed restaurant that has really damn good food.

I almost always order my food ahead for takeout. And they're ridiculously fast. I've never had to wait for my food to finish up - and my office was just down the road! (They've also got great lunch combos, as others have mentioned. These are perfect, as their full entrees are often a bit too much for lunchtime, I find.)

I've only eaten inside the restaurant once. It was for dinner and the place was practically dead - so if you're looking for a quiet place where you can be the centre of your server's universe, be sure to head over to Burnside on a weekday evening, it seems. If you're looking for somewhere to eat in for lunch, I'd suggest going early or late. A friend and I tried to go, but the line for seats was literally out the door at noon.

So, should you find yourself trapped in Burnside, do yourself a favour and let Cha Baa be your best food friend ever.

I don't know that I can add anything terribly valuable that hasn't already been covered by other Yelpers.

This is a perfectly "meh" restaurant that is fortunate enough to have a great atmosphere. The food and service are generally average at best, but the inside of the place is what sells it to new Haligonians and keeps the people packing in.

It's a dimly lit, winding, outdoor-in-the-indoors type place that is truly unique in Halifax. It's just a shame that the food isn't on the same level. However, it's popular enough that they likely won't see the need to ever change.

(Yes, the nachos are decent. But they're not as orgasmic as the hype would lead you to believe.)

Finally made my way to Cheese Curds last night, after practically drowning my laptop in saliva every time I read the menu.

As expected, the line was pretty long. Since it was pretty cold outside, I'm just going to remain happy that we didn't have to stand outside. We were able to place our order pretty quickly, but the real wait begins once you get in line to receive your food.

Right up front, I want to talk about what I don't like: the seating. As others have mentioned, it is limited. But I'm fine with that. A lot of great chefs can't afford to rent out a huge place with lots of seating. What bothers me is the number of people occupying the seats WHO ARE NOT EATING.

You see, what I think happens is that groups of people come together. While one person waits at the back of the line, the other three decide to grab a table and sit it out. It may be 20 minutes before they receive their food, but they don't seem to mind occupying valuable seating space and potentially preventing people who actually have food from sitting down for five or ten minutes to eat it. Really irritating.

This may be my inner dictator showing, but I personally think the limited seating should be restricted to those who are eating in and have received their food. Since, you know, that's what it's for. Otherwise, you end up crammed in at the window bar, accidentally spilling Sprite all over some 15-year-old girl who is apparently going through some real Twilight-y type angst.

With that out of the way, let me say that I loved the food. The burger was huge and I loved the sheer number of toppings you could choose from. Others have mentioned that the servers seemed to skimp on the toppings. I didn't find this to be true. I only asked for lettuce and tomato on mine and I had a fairly difficult time shoving the burger into my mouth, so I can't imagine what it would be like if they'd piled on the toppings.

Quite frankly, everything in life is better when topped with cheese curds. So I liked that it's the default cheese for the burger. I had the poutine as my side. It was great, though not out-of-this-world. Fries have been ruined for me by Relish, which consistently have my favourite fries ever.

You have to admit that Cheese Curds is a bit of a phenomenon in the HRM right now. Yeah, it can be a long wait (took us 30 minutes to order, get our food and sit down), but it's something to be experienced if only to say that you've done it.

I'm looking forward to venturing back to Cheese Curds (sometime after the new business hype dies down, I think) to try out some of the other menu items. (Mmm... onion rings.)

As an update to Mike B.'s review, it seems as though the Italian Market has discontinued its line of macarons.

Which is too bad, as they were easily the best thing about the place.

I'm reviewing this from a restaurant perspective, not from a grocery store perspective, by the way. The grocery store half looks lovely and I'm sure would be a valuable resource, were I making Italian food on a regular basis.

The restaurant side, though, is pretty average. Everything is pre-made and microwaved to order. I've never had anything that was outright bad, but I've never had anything that blew me away. I always think the grilled cheese is going to be some revelatory experience, but the bread never quite works for me.

The desserts are pretty good, even though they've banished my favourite treat. I tend to like the smaller desserts, like the lemon pot du creme.

And quite frankly, I just don't like the format. I feel awkward most of the time that I'm in there. It's sort of like a cafeteria-style restaurant, except that they bring the food to you after you've ordered at the counter. And then you pay at a different counter, likely after wondering if you're supposed to bring your dirty dishes somewhere. And ordering dessert is awkward, as I've found you pretty much need to go stand beside the dessert display and demand it.

Anyway, yeah. I'll probably return at some point, but it's not a high priority.