Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The sea doesn't limit itself to meat either - the Maritime provinces harvest seaweeds
that are eaten or used for their medicinal properties. Stop by Roland's Sea Vegetables
(
Click here
)
on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, for a bag of dulse to eat as is or to
sprinkle on fish; Seaweed Cafe (
Click here
), on the west coast of PEI, for a slice of sea-
weed pie that's thickened with local carrageen; or to Point Prim, PEI, for Seaweed
Secrets (
Click here
)
, where you collect, learn about and eat the region's vegetables from
the sea.
LOBSTER SUPPERS
You don't need to change out of your jeans or get the kids a babysitter to gorge
yourself on the Maritime province's most delicious shellfish. The classic Nova Sco-
tia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (PEI) dining experience is a no-frills
lobster supper, held in dining halls, churches and community centers. The lobster
is generally unadorned of sauces and fanfare; the suppers are a place to enjoy
these critters in the buff (or perhaps with a little melted butter), for their own di-
vine flavors and texture. Kids are not only welcome, they are well-catered for, with
half-sized suppers and other menu options such as beef or scallops. Just to make
sure no one goes hungry, there is a slew of accompaniments from chowder and
mussels to potato salad and oven-fresh rolls. Held daily for dinner from roughly
mid-June to mid-October, the most suppers per capita are found on PEI. The cost
of dinner depends on the market price of lobster but generally hovers around $31
for an all-inclusive meal with a 1lb crustacean.
Earthly Delights
Eastern Canada gets much less fame for its land-based food than for its seafood, but that
doesn't mean it can't cook up some tasty non-fish-based dishes. French Acadians in par-
ticular have invented several specialties throughout the centuries. In Acadian towns you
might see menu items such as rappiepie (also known as
la rapure
), a potato and salted-
pork dish.
Tourtière
is a meat pie.
Poutine râpée
is a mixture of grated raw and mashed
potatoes wrapped around fresh pork.
Fricot
is a hearty soup or stew.
Newfoundland and Labrador may be boggy, rocky and cruddy for growing most
things, but berries flourish here. Thus blueberries, partridgeberries (similar to cranber-
ries) and bakeapples get shoveled into muffins, pies and jams. The best time of year for
the harvest is mid-August. PEI rivals Idaho for being the potato capital of North America
and it's said the island's tubers have a unique flavor due to the rich, red soil. The Potato
Museum (
Click here
)
in O'Leary shows off all the things you can do with these hearty
treats and you can usually taste samples of tasty potato-based fudge. The Annapolis Val-
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