Forget your phone. In a North End Halifax Victorian home, built for a ship merchant in 1896 sturdily enough to survive the Halifax explosion, the pleasures are timeless enough to entertain. (Join a cribbage game!) After an eight-year bootstrap renovation, it stands as a monument to true East Coast hospitality. On weekends, live fiddlers are often joined by a banjo player or a bagpiper. In winter, the ambience of the memorabilia-filled rooms is enhanced by a crackling fire. Grab a pint of local hand-pumped cask ale and order vintage comfort plates like a Boiled Dinner of corned beef and hearty root veg, or Dutch Mess, a creamy braised-haddock-and-potato plate.