7th Day of Halifax Yuletide: Morris East Restaurant

(Meanwhile... at 12 days of Halifax Yuletide...)

(Andrew and our friend K, all dapper at the 1920's NYE party. American friends: note the absence of shoes. Yep in Canada we remove our shoes inside, even at parties)

(photo by Colin Duann Photography: Fabulous Photographer AND so happens he was also the best NYE Party Host Ever)

(The ladies- no shoes even in the hallway!)

For the past several years Andrew and I have spent NYE supper at our absolutely favourite neighbourhood restaurant: Morris East.

On the 7th day of Halifax Yuletide my True Love Gave to Me: Morris East NYE Feast!

(6 Freedom for Exploring, 5 Boardroom Cafe, 4 Got Sucked Away, 3 Carrot Ginger Soup, 2 An Amazing Bookstore, and Some Delicious Coffee for Me!)

I don't remember the exact moment that Andrew and I discovered Morris East, but it only took a few delicious pizzas and scrumptious brunches for Morris East to become our favourite neighbourhood restaurant.

Reasons why Morris East is our FAVOURITE restaurant in Halifax:

(please note that all these points are of equal importance and not a first-last type list!)

• The atmosphere: Morris East (particularly the downtown location) has a distinctly cozy and urban feel. The first time we ate there I felt like I was back in Montreal. (Yes, I know I have Montreal withdrawal and should just get over it since it's been 7 years... but it is one of my favourite cities, don't judge me).
• The staff: Everyone who works at Morris East is awesome. No really, the service is the BEST and is always consistently fantastic (and we have been there a lot). 
• The Food: I know it's weird that this is 3rd in my list, but it could easily be tied with first. The pizzas are absolutely delicious and the brunch menu is different without being "too different". I love that ME uses local ingredients and has a seasonal menu. Also, because of ME I now eat dips. Yes, I have issues with condiments (dips are included in this category), however ME is the ONLY place where I will eat the dips. I don't need to know what is in them, all I need to know is that they are delicious.
• The Drinks: The cocktails at this place are phenomenal. Katrina, the head cocktail-genius, has created the BEST Christmas Mojito and always has yummy delicious concoctions worthy of my tastebuds. 
• The Social Media: This should come as no surprise, but the social media skillz of a business score points with me. Jenny, the owner, rocks at Twitter. For example, I tweeted at 3pm on NYE asking what time the sitting was for the downtown location and within 10min she had responded. Jenny invests a lot of time and effort and takes social media seriously- and it shows.

This summer we had the pleasure of participating in a Morris East filming of "You Gotta Eat Here" which was a surreal and fun experience. I doubt I made the final episode cut since my filming moment wasn't awesome, but it was ridiculously fun to have been invited (since we're regulars!). 

Andrew and I also recently made the trip out to Larry Uteck to check out the second location of Morris East. With a slightly different menu, a huge space (and gorgeous kitchen), it still has the same friendly feel with a larger space. What's neat is that the new place has a dedicated wine bar section, which I can see being the perfect space to enjoy the delicious cocktail creations. 

(a blurry photo of me enjoying a delicious pepperoni pizza at ME a few years back!)

That said, I do believe that after we move Andrew and I will continue to hold the downtown location Morris East as our favourite neighbourhood restaurant, even though we'll be "honorary South Enders".