The Port Pub & Bistro- a Gastro Pub

I recently had the pleasure of dining with a group of colleagues at The Port, a gastropub in Port Williams, Nova Scotia. Since opening in 2007, the Port has served over 10,000 customers. With chef Michael Howell in the kitchen, it’s no wonder. Howell has cooked in restaurants all over the globe before starting his own restaurant, Tempest in Wolfville. This chef makes a conscious effort to not only to purchase local produce himself, but to encourage this practice across the province.

The Port is undeniably one of Nova Scotia’s culinary gems. However, I can’t justifiably begin describing the food without bestowing some attention on their most deserving beer. The location is also home to Sea Level Craft Beers, an independent microbrewery with Brewmaster Randy Lawrence at the helm. The sampler plater allowed my dining companions and I to check out the Planter’s Pale Ale, a sweet blonde beer and the company’s flagship brew; the Rojo Red Ale, medium bodied, brewed with five different malts; and my personal favorite, the Port in the Storm Porter, a thick, creamy ale with a hint of roasted coffee. The Port also boasts their own freshly squeezed lemonade, not too tart, not too sweet, and a thirst-quencher of which I noticed many refills.

As we were a larger group, we shared a few appetizers to get started: Nachos with thick, lemony guacamole and creamy black beans; crispy Potato Skins topped with apple wood smoked cheddar, crunchy bacon and cool sour cream; and Planter’s Pale Ale Braised Mushrooms, earthy and sweet with a touch of spice from roasted red pepper and fresh herbs.

For my main, I chose the Lamb Burger: grilled local lamb with Jack cheese and tahini, a sauce made from ground sesame seeds. The burger was accompanied by Tabbouleh, a Middle Eastern salad consisting of Bulgher wheat, parsley, onion, lemon, mint and tomatoes. The lamb patty, nestled within a soft whole grain bun, was juicy with a hint of mint and lemony thyme. The Tabbouleh could certainly stand on it’s own, yet I spooned it onto the burger as it made another perfect condiment.

The restaurant itself is as fresh as the food with warm creamy walls, dark wood, and plenty of blue, sea-inspired accents. The Port exemplifies the art of casual fine-dining, and truly is a port in the storm.

980 Terry’s Creek Road
Port Williams, NS
(902) 542.5555

unday-Thursday, 11am-11pm
Friday & Saturday, 11am-12am

Say Cheese!

My friends and I were heading off to the Summersonic concert on Citadel Hill this past weekend. I think that we're such good friends because we share a passion for good food- REALLY good food. So, what does one eat in preparation for an evening rockconcert?
Well, in this circle, it's all about the cheese. We made a trip to the Farmer's market for some rich, maple smoked salmon from St. Mary's River Smokehouse, cream cheese and a chewy baguette from Julien's Bakery. We topped that off with fresh buffalo mozza with raspberries, sweet Italian Fruilano with apple, gouda- stuffed hot chilies and blue cheese-stuffed potatoes, as well as a black truffle-laced white cheddar.
The next day, it was gourmet burgers with brie, caramelized onion gouda and a pound of shitake mushrooms roasted with fresh thyme. We also chowed down on some Indian Point mussels with fresh basil and cream.Next time I want pre-concert eats, I know who I'll choose for my partners in crime.

NS's First Sparkling Wine: Benjamin Bridge

A couple of winers
Owners of Gaspereau-area vineyard take on challenge of making great wine in N.S.
By BRUCE ERSKINE Business Reporter
Fri. Jul 11 - 6:59 AM

Winery owners Dara Gordon and Gerry McConnell at the launch of their Gaspereau sparkling wine, Nova, at Mosaic restaurant on Thursday in Halifax. (TED PRITCHARD / Staff)

Wine making and gold mining have more in common from a Nova Scotia perspective than you might think, says Gerry McConnell, co-owner of Benjamin Bridge vineyards in the Gaspereau Valley.

"People say you can’t build a mining company from Halifax, and you can’t make world-class wines in Nova Scotia," Mr. McConnell, president and CEO of Halifax-based Etruscan Resources Inc., said in an interview Wednesday. "I enjoy those challenges."

As if to prove the point, Etruscan announced Wednesday that it has reached commercial production at its Youga gold mine in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

And on Thursday, Benjamin Bridge, which has been in development since 2000, released its first limited-edition wine, Nova 7, at Mosaic restaurant in Halifax.

Mr. McConnell, a lawyer who left his Halifax legal practice to go into the mining business 20 years ago, and his wife, Dara Gordon, have lived in the Gaspereau Valley for a dozen years.

A lawyer and former head of the Nova Scotia Gaming Corp., Ms. Gordon is a member of the federal-provincial panel that has reportedly recommended that the province receive $850 million in federal compensation for giving up its claim to a Crown share of offshore energy projects.

Mr. McConnell said the couple were taken with the beauty of the Gaspereau area and saw its potential for growing grapes, as had industry veterans like Hans Christian Jost, who established a winery there.

"I enjoy drinking wine and often thought how wonderful it would be to own a vineyard," said Mr. McConnell, who realized that dream after the couple bought an old farm near Wolfville in 1999.

Wine consultant Peter Gamble, former executive director of Ontario’s Vintners Quality Assurance program, determined that the site’s soil and climate were best suited to the production of sparkling wines, fermented in the bottle in the French style.

"That’s the course we’ve been on," Mr. McConnell said, adding that their efforts have been aided by Mr. Jost, who helped them plant their first vines, and by sparkling wine expert Raphael Brisbois, a native of France’s Champagne region.

Noted U.S. winery architect Larry Ferrar designed a gravity flow system for Benjamin Bridge and MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd. of Halifax have been commissioned to design a LEED certified winery complex that is scheduled to break ground in 2009. (LEED, a green designation, stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

"Our philosophy is to make the smallest imprint on the environment," said Mr. McConnell, who estimated that "north of $1.5 million" has been invested in the vineyard, which takes its name from a family that settled the area in the 1700s.

While the sparkling wines, which take six to eight years to mature, won’t be available to the public for another two or three years, they have been acclaimed by notable wine critics like Tony Aspler, who sampled them and other Benjamin Bridge wines during a recent visit to Nova Scotia, where he gave the keynote address at the 3rd Atlantic Canada Wine Symposium in Wolfville.

"He said they were spectacular," said Mr. McConnell, whose vineyard also produces Sauvignon Blanc (a favourite of his wife), Marechal Foch, ice wine and Nova 7, styled after the Moscato d’Asti wines of northern Italy, which Mr. Aspler complimented for its balanced peach and orange flavours.

"It has a hint of sweetness, effervescence and brilliant acidity," said Mr. McConnell, noting that Nova 7 pairs well with Nova Scotia’s Willy Krauch smoked salmon.

Nova 7, which is priced at $22.95 a bottle, is available at the Port of Wines and Bishop’s Cellar stores in Halifax and at Cristall and Luckett Wine Merchants in Bedford.

( berskine@herald.ca)

NS's Newest Winery- Organic at that!

L'Acadie Vineyards Grand Opening
July 20, 2008, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Celebrate Nova Scotia's first certified organic vineyard and winery with the first release of traditional method sparkling wine. The Downtown Swing Band, Fox Hill Cheese and Tempest Resturant will be joining in the grand opening festivities.

Where: L'Acadie Vineyards, 310 Slayter Road, Gaspereau

Phone: 902-542-8463

'Flex' your stomach muscles for a real good meal

In celebration of Canada Day, I went to PEI's Festival of Lights with a native Islander. Now, my traveling companions were going for the concert, which of course interested me to some degree, but my real purpose was to make a trip to Flex mussels in Charlottetown.

The initial appeal of Flex is the menu. Owner and Executive Chef Garner Quain offers inventive, seafood heavy selections, as well as providing diners with an oyster bar and separate mussel menu.

My friend and I each ordered a different variety, and we split the two. Though her pot of San Daniele mussels were fantastic, with a sweet white wine, salty pancetta and caramelized onions, my pot of Bombay were spectacular; ginger, lime, Indian curry, fresh mango puree and cream made for an explosion of spicy sweetness. The mussels were served the way I like, not in a boring broth, but in a thick rich sauce that enhanced the shellfish's mild flavor. I washed it all down with a bottle of Stella- YUM.

One of my absolute favorite meals is mussels, fries and beer. Flex dedicates an entire section of their menu to boast about their fries, and rightfully so. Claiming that their fries will be the "best you've ever tasted", they came pretty damn close. In the classic cooking method, the potatoes are fried twice; the first to cook the potatoes, the second to crisp them. Then, they're sprinkled with crunchy sea salt.

Check out Flex's website. It provides all of the the restaurant's menus, but there are also fun mussel facts-There's even a mussel cam! This is a great place to spend an evening, or a leisurely afternoon, especially on the patio. The restaurant is also a member of the Slow Food movement, and supports local fishers in their quest to flex your taste buds.

Flex Mussels
#2 Lower Water Street
Charlottetown, PEI
902.569.0202
www.flexmussels.com