There is something about gobbling up pub food and swilling down cold beer that speaks to the little Hobbit in each of us. This is why we’ve chosen this day-late  foodie Friday to feature just one of those places. Our Labour Day escape to Nova Scotia was indeed memorable. We chose the road less taken, the lazy coastal route that winds along like a frayed old roped washed up long ago on the beach, stretching lazily from Halifax down through the morning fog among rocks washed to a fine polish by the constant beating of the waves, through the cool fishing villages with early-risers preparing their boats and rubbing the sleep from their eyes, past the calm warm waters of seacoast inlet communities, all ending in the decidedly Celtic knot of Lunenburg. It’s an old rum-running town, and still has all the colourful swagger, scuttlebutt and brine-pickled ambiance of a hearty pirate “ARRRRRRRR”.

Photos of Lunenburg later…

We do want to share something small about the neatest pub we’ve ever been to – the Knot. From the outside, it’s an ivy-covered shanty of weathered shingles with a porthole for a door window. And that’s it. Inside, however, it sports all the ambiance of a Hobitton tavern – moody lantern-light, with the tinkles of toasts and the chuckles of the no-longer-sober patrons. It was a good walk from our hotel and what the town would have you believe is the centre of activity. For my part, I was relieved to see no large hairy Hobbit feet on the copper-topped tables. The service was impeccable, which is something to say for a place so hidden, yet so lively. The food was hearty and tasty, the kind of fare that needs be accompanied with tankards of Alexander Keith’s private reserve and finished with a pipe of Old Toby. We forewent the tobacco, but we did soak in all the other-worldly ambiance we could before leaving.

And the bathrooms were 5-star, a pet peeve of ours. OK, here are the photos!

The Knot Pub, a little piece of Hobbiton on the East Coast.

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