A meaty debate over Halifax’s official food
Donair is to city what smoked meat is to Montreal, regional councillor argues
HALIFAX— For most anyone who lives in Halifax, the messy late-night ritual at the corner of Blowers and Grafton streets is a well known guilty pleasure.
As patrons spill out of the port city’s many bars and taverns, they head for Pizza Corner where the main attraction isn’t pizza — it’s donairs.
This sweet and savoury meat-lovers’ treat — closely related to the Greek gyro — is at the centre of a decades-old, cultlike following that has prompted one municipal politician to suggest the humble donair should be designated the official food of Halifax.
Linda Mosher’s motion, tabled at regional council earlier this week, has led to a rousing online debate that has gone viral.
While detractors point out that Nova Scotia is also known for its seafood and lobster in particular, Mosher says these dishes are not unique to the province’s largest city.
“Everyone here has their own donair story, their own affinity for it,” said Mosher. “It’s a unique food and you can’t find it anywhere else, despite people trying to duplicate it.”
As proof, Mosher cites a mention in National Geographic and the website TheCulturetrip.com, which concluded the donair is to Halifax what the smoked-meat sandwich is to Montreal, or the Beaver Tail to Ottawa.
British Columbia’s Nanaimo bars also made the list, as did Quebec’s poutine and Saskatchewan’s Saskatoon-berry pie.
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, the host of CNN’s Parts Unknown, has said Halifax donairs have achieved international status.
“I look for unique foods, unique to the region,” he said in an interview with the Halifax Chronicle Herald. “It is your most famous, it’s the signature dish . . . like the New York dirty water hotdog.”
As for the origins of the donair, there are competing claims, says Jason MacKenzie, day manager at King of Donair on Halifax’s Quinpool Rd. — an institution since the 1970s.
“It’s simplistic items put together to make it amazing,” says MacKenzie, whose location — one of four in the Halifax area — has been swarming with hungry customers since Mosher’s motion was tabled.
Halifax resident Leo Gamoulakos says his father Peter, a Greek immigrant, developed the gastronomic delight in the mid-1970s at Velos Pizza on the Bedford Highway.
Gamoulakos says his father, who died in 1991, had little success when he introduced pork-and-lamb gyros to his customers, so he experimented with an all-beef product that included a sweeter sauce, and it caught on.
“There are a lot of pretenders out there,” he said, adding that it was his father who opened the Quinpool Rd. location. “It’s been a constant battle for me.”
Mosher’s motion has been sent to regional staff, who have been asked to prepare a report, as required by council rules. A decision is expected as early as next month.
Councillor Tim Outhit supported the idea, at one point quipping to council colleagues: “If we don’t do this, won’t we all falafel?”
The proposal has inspired a wave of social media comments, including objections from those who believe the city should focus on more important issues.
During Tuesday’s council meeting, Councillor Waye Mason tweeted: “While I voted against the donair motion (due to staff work = cost to taxpayers) I did have a donair for dinner, due to mmmm hungry.”
In response, one observer tweeted: “Waye Mason, you’re my gyro.”
Favourite eats
As John Tory proved in a bet with his counterpart in Kansas City, Toronto may be best known these days for delicious craft beers. Peameal bacon sandwiches are also a classic among St. Lawrence Market aficionados.
The “Persian” is a sugary pastry distinct to Thunder Bay.
The first stand for beaver tails — those yummy slabs of fried dough covered with sugar, chocolate or myriad other toppings — opened in Ottawa in the 1970s.
Montrealers are divided when it comes to where you can find the best smoked meat, poutine (with authentic “squish-squish” cheese) and bagels, the city’s best-known fare. Elsewhere in Quebec, no holiday meal is complete without a tourtière (meat pie) drowned in gravy and sugar pie for dessert.
St. John’s is the place to get cod cheeks and tongue — fried cod often served alongside pieces of fried pork fat (known as scuncheons) — and anything made of moose meat.
In New Brunswick, an Acadian favourite is the “poutine râpée,” a potato dumpling filled with pork.
You might want wash to wash your meal down with some Screech, Newfoundland’s very own dark rum.
On the west coast, any way you eat it, salmon is your best bet. Vancouver is known for a variety of fresh seafood — including sushi.
For dessert, you can have Billy Miner Ice Cream Pie, named after the homegrown stage coach robber known for his politeness.
Alberta beef is award-winning. The Calgary Stampede has become known for a wide variety of out-ofthe-box culinary concoctions, from a doughnut grilled cheese to a $100 “dragon dog” filled with cognac-infused sausage, Kobe beef and lobster tail.
P.E.I. potatoes and mussels are well-known across Canada. The island, like most places across Atlantic Canada, is also home to a wide variety of seafood.
Perogies are on the menu across Saskatchewan, which has a strong Ukrainian culinary influence.