Saint John City Market

Saint John's City Market is one of the Port City's more well-known attractions, and has been on my to-do list for almost four years. I was really excited, then, to get the opportunity to peruse it one afternoon. The Market is located in Uptown Saint John, near to most of the city's other attractions, and attached by pedways to Brunswick Square and Market Square malls. The Market itself consists of a series of stalls selling mostly food, groceries, and snacks. You'll find some good souvenirs-maple products, blueberry products, and wine, for example. There's also an assortment of snack food and restaurants where you can grab lunch. One thing you'll find a lot of in the Market is samosas-which have taken off all over New Brunswick. Overall, the Market is a perfect place to visit as part of a day in Saint John-whether for lunch, souvenirs, or just a walk through.

Saint John- Uptown and South End

The South End,is Saint John's city centre. Locals (and informed visitors such as yourself!) don't refer to the area as downtown, but rather Uptown. The area is perched on a hill overlooking the mouth of the river, and can be found by following the Saint John Centre signs from the Thruway. If you're on a cruise, this is where your ship will dock. Below, find a list of what you should check out while Uptown, and a few hints and tips as well. Saint John City Market: The City Market is hands down Saint John's best known landmark.One of the downsides with travelling for work is that attractions such as the market are never open when I'm free, and thus, alas, I can't give any advice personally about the market. What I do know is that it's located on Germain Street, between King and Union, and is rumored to have fresh food and produce. New Brunswick Museum: The NB Museum is located in a small shopping complex along the Market Square Boardwalk. Although this is another attraction I've yet to visit, I encourage all visitors to take the time to explore it. If I've learned anything from my travels, it's that getting to know the story of a place and its peoples is a prerequisite to getting the most out of your experience. If you want to understand the context behind what you're seeing and doing, the New Brunswick Museum is a great place to start. Market Square Boardwalk: The Boardwalk hugs the harbour near Market Square Mall (not to be confused with the City Market, which is a few blocks away). Work has recently been done to make the area more enjoyable for visitors, and you can also often find ample parking here. Architecture: I love the architecture of Saint John's South End. A stroll down Union Street and Prince William Street, or a drive through the various residential streets in the area provides the perfect opportunity to appreciate it. Restaurants: You'll find reviews of Sense of Tokyo Sushi, and Taste of Egypt restaurants here on my blog. Relish also has a location near the City Market. I can also highly recommend Big Tide Brewing Company- a local microbrewery with some of the best beer battered fish and chips I've ever had. Visitors in the area during the day would be remiss not to grab some lunch at the City Market. Best Views: The best view of uptown area and the port is undoubtedly from the Harbour Bridge. If you're looking for a spot from which you can take photos a little easier than a highway, check out the Lower West Side below the bridge, or the Reversing Falls.

Saint John- An introduction

The city of Saint John is perched on hilltops along a harbour overlooking the Bay of Fundy. The largest municipality in New Brunswick (Metro Moncton does have a higher population), Saint John is unmistakably an industrial town, and you're likely to notice the predominance of mills and refineries before you even enter the city proper. Saint John is a good base for exploring the Fundy region, and convenient stop-over when driving to or from Maine, but don't discount the city's own charms and attractions when planning your trip. Saint John's links to industry have created, as is often the case, a strong sense of community in the small city, particularly when it comes to neighbourhood affiliations, and have left a fair bit of nice architecture in the downtown core. Getting your bearings: Saint John is built at the mouth of the Saint John River, where it empties into the Bay of Fundy. The city spans either side of the river, which is crossed by two bridges- the Reversing Falls Bridge, and the Saint John Harbour Bridge. The city's South, North, and East sides lie on one side of the river, while the West side lies on the other. New Brunswick Highway 1 (known as the Thruway in Saint John, and the McKay in the Kennebecasis Valley) cuts through the city on a bit of a diagonal, crossing the river at the Harbour Bridge, which links the city centre (known as Uptown or the South Side) and the West Side/Lancaster area. Visitors arriving from Moncton (and other places in that direction) will enter the city by way of the Kennebecasis Valley, or KV, region, and the towns of Quispamsis and Rothesay, on Hwy 1. They will pass the the East Side, North Side and South Sides before crossing the bridge. Visitors arriving from Maine and Fredericton enter the city at the West Side, before crossing the Harbour Bridge towards the city centre. This route follows Hwy 1;travelers coming from Fredericton on Route 7 will join Hwy 1 in the city's west end. If you're looking for attractions whilst in the Port City, check out the various posts detailing Saint John Neighbourhoods. As a quick reference the city's main attractions can be found in the following pages: Saint John Market-Uptown New Brunswick Museum-Uptown Reversing falls-West Side Irving Nature Park-West Side Rockwood Park-North Side Don't forget to check out the surrounding area as well-posts on the KV and Fund Coastal Drive are on their way soon. Saint Martin's is another very popular coastal spot near the city (unfortunately I've yet to stop there, so there won't be a post about it yet). Looking for restaurants? My favourite picks are mentioned in the posts detailing the different neighbourhoods and attractions.

Updated: Common's Creperie

Recently, I've finally had the opportunity to visit Common's Creperie, and decided that I would do a proper review, having visited only recently. Because this review is only based on one visit-as opposed to the several I had made a few years ago-I've decided to keep the original review below. I was very excited to finally get the opportunity to head out to Common's, having tried multiple times last year to do so, and even brought a family member along with me. The location and décor of the restaurant make for a nice spot to sit and have a relaxing lunch or dessert. The menu consists of crêpes, sandwhiches, and a variety of desserts. Savoury crêpes are paired up with soup (carrot ginger, curry squash, or soup of the day) or salad, and run between 11 and 13 dollars each (when ordered in the pre-made combinations). I chose the squash soup with a crêpe with smoked salmon, lettuce, sun-dried tomatoes and hollandaise sauce. The soup was very good-flavourful, with the curry nicely complimenting the squash rather than overpowering it. The crêpe, however, was somewhat disappointing-it didn't seem freshly made, there was far too much lettuce spilling everywhere, and the hollandaise sauce had no flavour to it. Overall, it was quite the let-down, and I decided not to get a take-out dessert as I had planned. I was torn while leaving. On the one hand, I had had some great crêpes there in the past, and knew that perhaps I didn't order the right one. At the same time, I felt that the crêpe I did have did not live up to the expectations I had developed. While I would no longer consider this my favourite restaurant in the Saint John area, I would still recommend it, and hope (and expect) that my next visit there will put it back to the top of my list.

My Original Review: I've been hesitating about reviewing this restaurant for a few weeks now, for one simple reason: I really desperately want an excuse to go back there. Common's is a real gem. While working in the Rothesay area last year, we drove up and down Hampton Road, looking for something a little less mass-produced for lunch, and spotted this cute little building on the edge of a park. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Although decor isn't usually something that matters so much to me, this place merits a note- the restaurant is nicely decorated, with water being served in arts little glass pitchers, and a nice view of the commons. There's a good menu selection, and their soup and crêpe combos are what we decided on. Unfortunately, as I haven't been back this year (yet), I don't quite remember the names of what we chose, but everything we tried here was excellent. What's really nice is the combination of crêpe and soup (I chose carrot and ginger, and another option was available as well). Working on the road, it's not often that I get to have a lunch that actually leaves me feeling really healthy. We came back a few more times in a short period- it was that good- to try the desert crêpes. Again, although I can't recall the name of what I tried, it combined toffee and chocolate and was absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, their hours are a little limited Monday and Tuesday, which I learned the hard way- by making time both days to go. I haven't gotten to head to Common's this year, and I don't know if I will, but I sure hope I do, because it's one of my favourite places to eat in all of New Brunswick.

Sense of Tokyo

Having read so many good things about Sense of Tokyo, I was anxious to give it a try. It's easy to be skeptical about this restaurant; I certainly was. When sushi is bad, it's bad, and I like to avoid going to any place that's not recommended by someone I know. It also seems really out of place where it's located, and had me wondering if maybe I was in the wrong spot.

As it happens, my skepticism was not at all warranted. On the inside, the restaurant was stylish, and the service was quick, friendly, and attentive. I ordered one of the obento boxes (around 17 plus tax), which came with miso soup, green tea, a variety of sushi and dumplings, a hand roll (or a small noodles), and ice cream. It's a lot of food, and if I were to have it again I'd probably order the noodles instead of the handroll, just for variety's sake. I'm not an expert on sushi or Japanese food at all- but I have had my fare share, and I can say that this is a restaurant I would take people to to impress them. Everything tasted fresh (you can see it being made behind the bar), and was very pleasing to the eye. The sushi was really flavourful, and the dumplings were good. I was also a big fan of the soup, and the green tea ice cream The staff were also super attentive, bringing the next course just when I finished the last.

I'll probably bring a few people next time and order a variety of different rolls; that being said, the obento was more than enough food, and offered a really good variety of sushi.

Taste of Egypt

I was walking uptown Saint John, around 8 PM, looking for something to eat, when I walked past taste of Egypt. I'd read about it online- it came highly recommended- and figured that it had been a while since I'd had Middle Eastern food anyway, so I decided to head on in and order some takeout.
The restaurant is very nicely decorated, and would make a great setting for a date, family dinner etc. But what really impressed me, before I even had my food, were the staff: they were so friendly and personable, that it was the kind of restaurant I wanted to come back to just to support a local business, and chat with the personable staff.

I'm really not an expert on Middle Eastern Food, so it's hard for me to comment on the authenticity or quality relative to other restaurants. I had the Key of Life Plate. The price, 19ish dollars plus tax, seemed steep, but there was so much food that I had it for dinner the next day as well, which did impress me. Certainly, it would be enough for two to share. The plate consisted of rotisserie chicken on humus, with a small salad. The food, at last takeout, was served with pita rather than utensils. For those unfamiliar with this style of dining, you basically scoop up the the food in the pieces of pita.
I thoroughly did enjoy the meal, although I think maybe rice would have been a good side to come with it.
 Overall, I expect to be back; I'm anxious to try other dishes. My only caveat is that, even if you do get a lot of food, you probably won't get away without spending 15 dollars or more, so make sure sure that you're hungry!

Sampan

Having lived in Hong Kong for a year, I became quite a fan of authentic Chinese food, and think of it as an entirely different type of food than our Canadian Chinese. Sampan falls in the middle of these two- it's the best Canadian Chinese I've had in New Brunswick, but it's also a little more authentic than anything else I've had here.

I tried the barbecue pork friend rice, with a Hong Kong Style Milk Tea- my two favourite dishes in Hong Kong. They were both really good- like I said, the best I've had in New Brunswick. It definitely still falls more on the Canadian Chinese side of things, but the food is fantastic, and the service is also some of the friendliest I've ever had.

For sure one of my favourites in Saint John