Matt Mays’ Halifax

If you live in Dartmouth, whether you like it or not, at some point or another you’ll end up in Burnside—or, as I prefer to call it, “Sideburn.” Smokey’s Restaurant is a sweet lunch haven in the middle of a gnarly industrial desert. A cozy oasis, if you will, floating on a sea of comforting gravy.

Halifax has grown in so many ways since the slanty ol’ drinkin’ port it once was. As much as I miss those days, I love to watch things grow—everything from flowers to cities. Back in the slanty days, Mehvish and I became fast friends. Since then, she’s risen to the very top of the local hospitality scene. She went from pouring ten Jägerbombs on fire at once to being the manager and sommelier at The Five Fishermen. Anyone will tell you that Mehvy is simply the best.

Before Halifax got spiffed out, Bar Kismet opened and, in my opinion, was one of the first—if not the first—to deliver a current, world-class dining experience in town. Annie Brace-Lavoie and Jenner Cormier joined forces and created this masterpiece. I grew up in the local surf scene with Jenner, who I became close with over the years, and I truly feel proud to know him and Annie.

I recommend ordering the tuna tartare. The first bite will make you feel like you’re in heaven getting a back rub from someone with big hands while Rose Cousins sings your favourite song on a fuzzy ukulele.

Any Tim Hortons in Eastern Passage, Cole Harbour or Woodside. Not too many people know Slam Horton’s like touring Canadian musicians. There’s just something different about those locations. They seem more vibey or magical or something. They hands-down have the vibiest staff in the country. Nathan MacKinnon told me once that he prefers those ones too. I don’t know what you’re doing over there, buds, but keep doing it…

The guys down there look scary as fuck. Some of them may have been at one point, but not anymore. I always leave there with a warm heart and stitches in my sides from laughing so hard. Notorious jokester Big Shane MacDougall owns the place and sells Harleys to everyone around the province, including our dearest bud Adam Baldwin. Shane always cherry-picks the best used cars because he knows the good ones.

For years now, Shane has (surprisingly) let me borrow the shop’s sick vintage Ramcharger to drive around Hubbards when I’m trying to look cool.

There’s one place that never changes: Lawrencetown Beach. If there are waves, winter or summer, I always get out for a surf. It always brings back memories of being 15 and camping up on the point with my buds and a girl I had a crush on, only to unzip my tent and see perfect little glassy waves bending around the cliff—empty for the taking. Just me and my gang.

Check out Lawrencetown Surf Co. and Kannon Beach surf shops. One is modern and slick; the other has the down-home grit and classic surf-shop vibes. I love both shops and the people who started them dearly.

I’ve attended a remarkable number of recovery meetings in my almost four years of sobriety (one day at a time), and my fair share have been in this province. The meetings in Nova Scotia are awesome for the same reason Nova Scotians are awesome. We all covet a witty sense of humour, we’re family-forward and we carry an immediate willingness to let people in need into our hearts.

If you walk into a recovery room for the first time in Nova Scotia, chances are you’ll have a 70-year-old party lord walk over to you and make you feel safer than you have in your whole entire life. If you’re struggling with addiction, please reach out for help: 1-888-429-8167, the Provincial Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line. It’s available 24/7. If I can do it, you can do it.

Now for something GNAAAARLY… the Donzarotti at Recardo’s in Mahone Bay has been a thing of mystery and legend for as long as I can remember. Whispered murmurs of, “Dude… I heard Donny Slaunwhite had a ’zarotti from Recardo’s last week,” followed by, “Nooooo fuckin waaaaay?” were commonplace.

How can something be the gnarliest food item I’ve ever consumed in all my years of travel and also (I think) be given a Michelin star for its culinary perfection, ingenious flavour profile and balance? Anyhoo… I could ponder that query for days, but I will not. I will just keep drivin’ ’em into my donair compartment as long as I’m here.

I used to get my hair cut there in the ’80s, when Portland Street was a much different place. I couldn’t be happier that Joel, Brendan and the gang were there to start the revolution of what became such a magical new side of Dartmouth that makes me happy every time I drive down Portland Street—a place where you can record an album, get a killer coffee, meet a new friend and buy records like Dave Marsh’s True Love Rules on vinyl (in my opinion, the best Canadian album ever made).