If you're new to the city or have just emerged from being frozen in ice ala Encino Man, let me…read morepile on the bandwagon and tell you this: Cafe Good Luck is really, really good.
It seemed a fitting location to caffeinate and get a bite before closing on our first house, which officially mades us Dartmouthians!
Having just moved back to Nova Scotia within the past couple years, I'd only been to their smaller, pre-renos location once. Since then, they've blessedly expanded into a neighbouring unit, giving a lot more seating and openness, as they were becoming victims of their own success in the small, original space.
I'm a lover of all things breakfast, so I snagged one of their breakfast sandwiches, while my wife stuck to the baked goods and went with one of their lovely blueberry scones. Two medium roast drip coffees, black, completed our refueling.
Right out of the gate, the scone was AMAZING! The exterior was lightly crisp, but the interior was moist and soft (sorry, Larry David) - cooked to absolute perfection. There must have been a light coating of sugar to get it so crispy, so I don't know how regular scone batter does that on its own! Topped with a blueberry icing, blue sprinkles and edible flowers, it was a beauty!
With my appetite whetted, I demolished my delicious breakfast sandwich when it arrived. The egg was of the scrambled sort, and light and fluffy, complemented by the thick and crisp bacon. A tomato-based sauce, be it jam or a house-made ketchup added a mix of sweetness and acidity, and it was helluva breakfast sandwich.
After a year and a half in our home and many returns visits for coffee, delicious baked goods, and one coffee tasting event, we came by much more recently for a weekend lunch. CGL is typically very busy on the weekend, but rainy weather made tables slightly more available.
I didn't come here with proper food in mind, but seeing the lemongrass chicken banh mi on the menu quickly changed my mind and appetite.
This sandwich had a lot (/everything) going for it - tender, flavourful chunks of moist chicken, big and bright flavours from the crisp daikon and carrot slaw, and cucumber and cilantro for yet more crunch and flavour. Not to be forgotten was the perfect French bread, with its shatteringly crisp exterior and a pleasantly dense and pliable crumb.
Cafe Good Luck is easily the best cafe in downtown Dartmouth, with an assortment of wildly good coffees that they roast, top notch baked goods, and a small but mighty mix of hot foods when you need something more substantial than a pastry (but still get that pastry!).
