We had zero expectations coming to Smokes, but were pleasantly surprised. The fries were on the…read morefood side of frozen mediocre fries, plenty of cheese, and a flavorful gravy. Service was detached but professional. Would go again.

Had their poutine a while ago very good- as long as you order in person…read moreI liked it I've had problems with their online but it was easily fixed!

After recently trying to go to Fran's shortly after the truck had taken up residence on its usual…read morespot on King St., and failing because it wasn't open yet, I was pleased to see that they were now posting their schedule on the Street Food App. After a not unreasonable bus ride and walk from the Dartmouth terminal, I was at this mobile, greasy spoon of an institution.  The menu is pretty compact, and is unsurprisingly focused on seafood, with the namesake fish and chips, as well as scallops and Digby clams. Fleshing out the options a bit, there's also burgers, hotdogs and deep fried sides like onion rings and poutine.  Having arrived a just after the lunch crowd would have dissipated, I was able to immediately walk up and place my order, which had to be a single piece of fish and chips. I chatted with the friendly woman working there (Fran herself?) and my food was ready within a few minutes. A table next to the truck was set up with cutlery, seasonings and condiments, including spray bottles of white and malt vinegars. With a few picnic tables set up next to the truck, I sat down in the lightly cool, spring air and dug in. The fish was a hefty size, more than enough to make me glad that I didn't get a second piece. I enjoyed the thick, crispy batter and the fresh fish that flaked easily as I cut it with my plastic fork. A cup of what appeared to be homemade tartar sauce, with a generous amount of chopped pickles or capers, added a creamy tang that went well with both the fish and the fries. The fries were hand-cut, and a very deep, golden brown, but weren't as crispy as I would have liked. They would likely benefit from a blanching in water to remove excess starch before frying, and a double fry.  I appreciated the paper plates, but unfortunately there was only a garbage can and no composting or recyclables bin. Fran's could use a little polishing on the truck and the fries, but one of the original food trucks in the city is definitely doing its fish right.

Homemade french fries. Well, technically, I guess they're truck-made french fries. But they are…read morefantastic! After seeing this little fish'n'chip truck in downtown Dartmouth for months, I decided to finally give them a go. Last year they disappeared when the weather turned cold so I thought it best to get my order of fries when I could. Since I'm a vegetarian, the menu options were limited so I went with the slightly-healthier-sounding french fries over onion rings. In Googling this place (to see if they had a Web site) I discovered the fries are hand-made in the truck each day. And you can tell. They're nice, thick-cut fries. I may have to head back soon to try the onion rings. For all you omnivores, they have fish (fresh from Eastern Passage, I'm told), seafood and burgers too. It was a good experience: just walk up, order, wait a minute, pay, and voila! food. Staff were friendly and happy to have my business.

Leave the big Sou'western restaurant at the top of the hill for uniformed tourists to waste their…read moremoney on. This little place here is the best secret. The fish is fresh, fried perfectly. The fries are the kind of fries angels would make if they ate fries. The service is charming. And lightning fast too. Seriously though, this is the fish and chips you hope to find when traveling Nova Scotia. Cheap too.

This is a local fish & chip stand that uses local haddock and makes their own fries. Price is too…read morecheap for what you get. A must visit when out Peggy's Cove area.

Pretty cool dog stand at the market! The guy who runs it is very friendly, and the sausages are…read moregreat (especially when you load them up with tons of stuff). Only downside is that you might have to wait a while for your order if there are a few people, but this has to do with the owner's obsession to get the dogs perfect (so he only cooks a small number of sausages for a certain amount of time). Topping choices are good, and sauces are many. All around a good place to grab a quick snack while out on the waterfront for the day!

This man knows his hot dogs, and condiments. This was my favorite experience at the farmers market…read moretoday! I was initially drawn in by this place because who I believe is the owner, and condiment connoisseur was showing some of his customers blends of sauces he thought would go best with their sausages/hot dogs. I went with the veggie dog. He informed me he tries to cook them in little batches because he thinks they taste best fresh. Fair enough! I waited about 5 minutes, he apologized several times for the wait but I didn't mind. When I got my dog he asked if I preferred barbeque sauce or mustard. I said mustard. After I said this it lead to a fantastic customization of toppings to add to my hot dog. The first was a Bulgarian cabbage slaw. Next he suggested I try a horse radish sauce and a sweet mustard he brings in from Boneheads BBQ. After that he recommended a type of shallot I think he said was from France, he also mentioned they were very hard to find. After I piled my veggie dog with these toppings he asked if I prefer tomatoes or pickles. I said tomatoes, so he suggested fresh diced tomatoes in a balsamic vinegar sauce he gets from the Mennonites. Of course, I accepted all of his recommendations. He told me to take a bite and tell him what I thought. It was fantastic. The Bulgarian cabbage slaw is an alternative to saurkraut I think, but its a bit more bitter. I liked it. The horse radish and sweet mustard added a pungent and sweet component to the cabbage slaw, the shallots were very subtle, but the tomatoes were really my favorite part, they added freshness to my veggie dog. Who knew deciding what would taste good on a hot dog could be such an art?!

With the farmer's market right next door to my office, I love to pop over for lunch once the…read moremorning crunch at work is done. There's lots of different types of cuisine available, one of which is Amin's Indian Food. Located at the southerly end of the market, Amin's is a mom and pop food stall serving up a handful of different Indian dishes. I went for what was advertised as their Christmas special - chicken curry, chick pea curry, rice, naan or a samosa, and a drink for $10, taxes in. I'm assuming that the price is what makes it a Christmas special, as those things don't seem like a traditional Christmas dinner, that's for sure. Even in India that's just a regular dinner. The price was right though, and I got it to go and took it back to the office. Plopping back down at my desk, I dug right in. The samosa is definitely side dish-sized, as it was much smaller than your typical standalone samosas which you will find around the city. And while it was sitting in a warming tray, the filling itself had a well seasoned potato and pea filling with a good texture. The chick pea curry came as advertised - a bunch of chick peas in a curry sauce. The chick peas were tender and not chalky at all, but the curry was a bit on the bland side and could have used more heat and flavour in general. I'm guessing they're trying to take it easy on the palates of Halifax, but let me assure you, we can handle the heat! Well, at least a little bit more. The curry chicken was a whole chicken thigh in the same curry as the chick peas. It was quite tender and moist, and cut easily even with plastic utensils. Again, it would have benefited from bolder flavours, but it wasn't bad. Amin's may not be the king of the hill when it comes to cheap Indian food in the city, but it's still a good option if you're hungry and only have a John A. MacDonald on ya. Or two Lauriers. Or a near absurd amount of loonies.

I'm from Toronto, and this is THE most amazing Indian food I've ever had. Their chicken kabobs were…read moretender and infused with flavour, and was just as impressed with their butter chicken. Not only was their food amazing, but the price was so reasonable! And to top it off, the owners are super sweet! Will definitely be stopping by the next time I'm in Halifax (and hoping that they somehow bring this over to Toronto).

Ribfest is the annual celebration of ...RIBS! Held over a Friday-Sunday in June on the Halifax…read moreWaterfront I love finger food and BBQ. The messier the better. Slightly embarrassed to say I missed the inaugural festival in 2015. Not this year. I marked the 2016 festival in my calendar early. I checked it out on the slow day, Friday, but you can tell from the flotilla tables that they are expecting huge crowds for the next two days. I went last year's favorite, The Silver Bullet. The festival had only been open a few hours by the time I got there and the line ups were already to grow. Judging by the size of the line up Silver Bullet was going to be popular too this year. There were two die hard rib fans behind me in the line. I chatted with them while I was getting tantalized by the eye candy of all that delicious looking meat on the grill. They had gone to the festival in 2015 and had come prepared this year. Both brought coolers (see photos) to take ribs home with them! One of the fans was getting ribs from each of the booths! I got the half rack and a side of cornbread. I couldn't wait to dig into the ribs. They were easily the most meaty, moist and flavourful ribs I ever had. The sauce was the right balance of sweet and tangy. Buttery and slightly crumbly even the conrbread was worth coming downtown for. Halifax needs more food festivals like this!

As much as I enjoy going to this event each year, I find it frustrating that ALL the ribbers are…read more"Award Winning" and the "best". It is very hard to tell what makes each one different from the other. I wish there was a sort of taste review comparison somewhere. e.g. Taste: Smokey, Sweetness, Spices / type, gooey, dryness Fall off the bone Meat vs bone percentage? Short / long ribs Fat percentage? In the end they ALL are very good, so you can't go wrong!

I got the honey lavender iced latte, which was perhaps my favourite flavour. The espresso was ok -…read morea bit too darkly roasted to my liking, and a bit overpriced. I assumed that the targeted audience is the tourists, hence the price. The service was friendly and the vibe was good since the location was right on the waterfront.

Very warm and friendly owner/operater and delicious baked goods, it is hard to find better than…read morethis for these prices! I split an apple cinnamon scone, a chocolate chip cookie and a chocolate mint cookie with my mom (over the course of an afternoon) and they were all great. Clearly made from quality ingredients. The chocolate tastes like chocolate and not sugar and he is not shy with it either! The chocolate chip cookie was PACKED with chocolate. They are a good size, large without being absurd and well priced at $1.25 each or 6 for $6. The scone was 3 bucks but it was huge and jam packed with apple chunks. The only thing I would change is to have a plastic dome over the display of goods as they were just a smidge dry around the edges by the end of the day. Biscuit Cutter is located right beside Port City Coffee in Alderney Landing so there is a great alternative to Tim Hortons on the ferry terminal level now! Hit them up, you won't regret it.