Side Hustle Snack Bar
Side Hustle Snack Bar
Sunday Brunching in Downtown Dartmouth
BY LAURA OAKLEY
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE
“We knew we had created something special, and the only way forward was to expand Side Hustle into its own full-service restaurant,” says Kathy Jollimore of her stylish 105-seat resto on Portland Street, born of a tap room snack bar. She and her husband, Brent Darbyson, opened the first iteration of Side Hustle Snack Bar at North Brewing Co. in Cole Harbour in 2019. Serving beer-friendly snacks and creative pub-like comfort food at the first location helped them make a name for Side Hustle and develop some menu items that quickly earned a loyal following. But with Jollimore’s culinary background and Darbyson’s experience with bar management, they knew they wanted to, and could, do more. Then 21 Portland Street popped up on the radar.
Brent Darbyson and Kathy Jollimore
“Finding a space in Downtown Dartmouth was the icing on the cake. We were elated to be joining such a thriving community,” says Jollimore. At their current location, there’s no arguing they keep good company with neighbours like New Scotland Brewery, The Canteen, Taz Records, Brightwood Beer and Lake City Cider—plus plenty of charming retail shops.
Jollimore grew up in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and met Darbyson (who hails from Montreal) while tree planting in Northern Ontario. “After realizing tree planting wasn’t for me, I started cooking in the camps. I did that for seven seasons which pretty much ignited a passion for the industry,” says Jollimore. The couple had planned over a decade ago to open a café, so after moving to Nova Scotia, Darbyson trained as a barista and worked at Dartmouth favourite Two if By Sea while Jollimore worked in commercial kitchens. After putting their entrepreneurial plans on the shelf, Darbyson became the bar manager at Agricola Street Brasserie, and Jollimore transitioned to a career in food writing and styling. “We did that for several years—in addition to starting a family and buying a house in Cow Bay—until I started missing the interaction that comes with cooking for other people,” says Jollimore.
“Growing up in small-town Nova Scotia, I didn’t have access to the variety of foods that our expanding city now affords, so I’m always in search of bold new flavours,” says Jollimore. “I’m continually inspired by so many global cuisines—from the incredible balance of sweet, spicy, sour, salty, and bitter indicative of Vietnamese cuisine to Mediterranean dishes rich in spices and fresh herbs. The menu at Side Hustle is a reflection of that.”
Indeed, the menu at Side Hustle has evolved from beer-focused fare to more sophisticated and diverse versions of comfort food using primarily local suppliers. They serve one all-day menu for lunch and dinner six days a week, plus a Sunday brunch menu. The bar program highlights Nova Scotia craft beers, wines, and original cocktails designed by the bar team. The food offering is tight—a handful of appetizers and mains, plus a few sandwiches and burgers (including their famous Smashie). But it covers the bases well.
The interior of Side Hustle on Portland Street is sleek and classy, marrying dark and light geometric wood elements against bright white ceilings, polished cement floors, plus plenty of lush house plants in every nook and cranny. “We wanted to create a restaurant that was modern yet classic, with a focus on natural elements like wood,” says Jollimore. Upon entry, the deep, rectangular-shaped space is lined with a commanding bar along the right side, followed by a few cozy booths. On the adjacent wall runs a wooden banquette with low seating. There are a few low tables in the middle, and the kitchen is in the back. It doesn’t feel like a 105-seater restaurant; it feels more intimate. They worked with Work Shop Design Co. and Streamline Construction to open the space, along with “our own sweat equity,” says Jollimore. They opened at this location in April 2022 after the help of a Kickstarter campaign to bolster the construction budget and bring their vision to life, fueled by their community's financial and moral support.
After settling into Side Hustle’s forever home, they launched a delicious brunch menu in February 2023. “Brunch was always something we were interested in. Who doesn’t love brunch?” Says Jollimore. “We wanted to create a small but thoughtful brunch menu with something for everyone that was as full of flavour as our regular menu.” And they’ve done a great job. The menu includes the much-loved Smashie burger and Mac Fries from their regular menu, then expands to offer a handful of well-designed brunch items. On the day I visited, there were two versions of huevos rancheros (one with pork carnitas, one without); a breakfast wrap with scrambled eggs, tater tots and gochujang mayo; a sweet and salty French toast; plus chilli oil fried eggs. There are plenty of sides to add, like grilled sourdough and jam, maple-fennel sausage, or more tater tots, plus one dessert—a triple chocolate chip cookie with sea salt. Hungry yet?
I got to taste the sweet and salty French toast Jollimore describes as Side Hustle’s “Ode to the Sucré Salé [dish] from EDNA’s brunch days. It’s a Hong Kong-style cinnamon honey butter sandwich that is French-toasted and served with sweetened condensed milk, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Oulton’s double-smoked bacon.” This dish is as incredible as it sounds—Hong-Kong style means multiple layers of squishy white bread and whipped cinnamon-honey butter. (I bet you didn’t know French toast could be a verb.) The condensed milk is as thick as syrup on top; the dish is balanced flavour-wise with the saltiness from the double-smoked bacon and texture-wise by the crunchy bits of cereal. Super fun and delicious.
Jollimore also makes chilli oil fried eggs for me, which is so my style of brunch. The classic Turkish breakfast dish cilbir (typically poached eggs sitting in a beautiful bowl of garlicky yogurt sauce) inspired the dish. However, Jollimore switches it up to include two sunnyside-up fried eggs with a fiery housemade miso chilli oil with garlic yogurt and dill. And it comes with grilled sourdough from Birdie’s Bakery. Not only is it visually stunning with the bright yellow eggs, thick, creamy yogurt and vibrant, red-orange chilli oil, but in both flavour and texture, it is everything I want for brunch—savoury, spicy, rich and runny egg yolks, lots of garlic and fresh dill—plus you get to dip crunchy bread into it. I love it. I also get the “half tots half salad” on the side, which is a lovely combination. On top of the brunch dishes, I sip a very satisfying caesar and my brunch companion, a bright Aperol spritz. We sit in the window facing Portland Street while a few other customers meander in on a grey, cloudy Sunday.
“We felt welcomed as soon as we opened those doors both by the downtown Dartmouth business community and our amazing guests.” Says Jollimore. “Some days it feels like we’ve always called 21 Portland home. While the industry is always a bit unpredictable, we are grateful to have experienced continual growth. The first year here has been amazing.”
Visit Side Hustle at 21 Portland Street in Dartmouth for brunch every Sunday or Tuesday through Saturday for lunch or dinner.
