Posted by Seth on July 8, 2011 under Dining, Review, Trip Reports | 
Of everything we learned about seafood on our trip through the Canadian Maritimes this was the most startling. Sure, we also learned that it was, in fact, possible to eat lobster every day and not tire of it. But learning that the oysters I’ve come to know and love as Malpeques are actually not was quire a shock. Sure, they’re still delicious and I’ll still eat them, but now I know their true heritage.
It started when we drove up to Malpeque Bay to visit an oyster shack there for lunch. Turns out we were too early for the season to really be started and the shop hadn’t opened up yet. OK, no problem. It was late and we were hungry but we recovered and found a suitable replacement nearby at the Shipwright’s Cafe.
Set in a house on the northern side of the island, Shipwright’s is one of the nicer restaurants in the region and the food we had bore out those reviews pretty handily. Sure, it is hard to screw up a lobster sandwich too much but they didn’t come anywhere close. It was delicious. And like everywhere else in the region they believe in a proper, thick slice of bread when the time comes. Good stuff all around.
Dinner that night was at the Claddagh Oyster House on Sydney Street in downtown Charlottetown. The restaurant is nearly 25 years old now and started out as a diamond in the rough in many ways. Focused more on quality food and flavors than cheap and fast, the restaurant opened on a block that was most definitely known as an area folks would want to be after dark. Over the years, however, they’ve held the line on the food and other restaurants have popped up in the area, turning it into a great little night time hangout in downtown.
Oh, did I mention that the food is still phenomenal?
For starters, Claddagh goes out of their way to explain the local oysters in great detail. Rather than just getting Malpeques, a name that is actually applied these days to oysters mostly from other parts of the island and which are mostly exported, they offer up choices from a variety of farmers that vary on a bay-by-bay basis. With names like Colville Bat, Shiny Sea, Lucky Lime and Uncle Willy’s these are not oysters that are generally found in great quantities outside the region. It is a shame, too, as the smaller farmers have some incredibly flavorful product (I’m particularly fond of the last two there).
After the oysters we headed into what has become a rather common approach to dinner for us: lots of appetizers. More variety and the food is often more fun and imaginative. We weren’t let down. We ordered three and each was delicious. First up were the mussels. Simple preparation, incredibly fresh and a great sauce for the bits of bread we had left. Absolutely no complaints there.
Next up was the pork belly with a Guinness glaze. Looking at the photo again it appears there was also a salad of sorts served on the side but that was definitely extraneous. The meat was tender and the sauce just the right balance of sweet to offset the saltiness of the pork.
Finally, my favorite of the meal (and probably of the entire trip), the lobster gnocchi. Homemade gnocchi that were perfectly done, about half a lobster worth of meat and a light cream sauce that was simply incredible. It was hard to pick a favorite, to be sure, as everything was delicious. But if I was stuck and could only have one thing this would absolutely be it.
Overall the food choices we availed ourselves of while on the island were top notch. Combined with the amazing scenery and Prince Edward Island is definitely a great place to visit.
Read more of our Maritimes adventures here!
Posted by Seth on July 8, 2011 under Trip Reports |
Given my penchant for picking different routes to get between cities it should not come as much of a surprise that I took full advantage of the opportunities presented to us during our Canadian Maritimes adventures. Driving the Confederation Bridge on the way in to Prince Edward Island was a blast. Taking the ferry to get off the island gave us both a different ride and also left us closer to our ultimate destination in Cape Breton. It was a no brainer. So cruise the Northumberland Straits we did, on the mv Confederation, one of the Northumberland Ferries ships sailing between Wood Islands, PEI and Caribou, Nova Scotia.
rVozAFmqFJY">
rVozAFmqFJY/0.jpg" alt="YouTube Preview Image" />
We arrived at the terminal to a bit of a surprise: our reservation was apparently canceled. Only a minor bit of panic set in as I was fiddling with my email to find the confirmation details when the agent found a second reservation that was intact. Phew. It was now time to drive down into the belly of the beast.
Like most of the mornings we spent in the region, this one was fogged in pretty badly. Every 3-4 minutes the ships horn let off a long, loud blast warning any other boats in the area. It also startled everyone who was on the deck hoping the fog would clear for some decent views during the crossing.
The crossing was only about a hour long and the fog did clear about 45 minutes into the trip, leaving us with some phenomenal views for the arrival into Nova Scotia.
And then it was back down into the hold. Back into our car and back on the road again. We had another few hundred kilometers to cover, an awesome friend to meet and we needed to get to Mabou in time for dinner and some music. Just the first part of a very full day but a great ride, even with the fog. The views coming into Nova Scotia certainly set us up for what was to be five amazing days of scenery.
Read more of our Maritimes adventures here!
Posted by Seth on July 7, 2011 under Trip Reports |
The Confederation Bridge, joining Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick in Canada, is a modern marvel that I’ve been pretty much infatuated with since I first saw the construction documentaries on the Discovery Channel several years back. Built across a eight mile long gap in the Northumberland Strait between the two provinces, the bridge is set against incredibly difficult natural forces. Ice floes are common, as are tremendous winds and fogs that still close the bridge from time to time. But it is the support columns, reinforced against iceberg impact that I still find most amazing to this day.
And so, as we started to plan our Maritimes itinerary crossing the bridge quickly rose to the top of my "to-do" list. Sure, I initially balked at the ~$50 toll rate for the crossing but in the grand scheme of the trip that’s a drop in the bucket, especially given my obsession. A bit of encouragement from some great friends pushed me over the edge and we were off.
Our route would take us eastbound across the bridge, starting on the New Brunswick side and crossing into PEI from there. But before we even got to the bridge I wanted some photos. Welcome to the Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Area. There are two exits off the highway just before the crossing. The first, Exit 47 at Route 955, offers access via an unpaved road through the middle of the wetlands that make up the park. Pull off on the side of the road and you’re rewarded with views like this one:
The next exit ( #51) is the visitors center for the wildlife area. The center is a non-profit organization that offers up a few trails in the area and provides parking if you want to snap a couple photos from directly under the bridge, sortof like these:
Once we got that out of our system it was finally time to cross the bridge. So I set up the video camera and off we went. I managed to set the camera directly behind a bug splat on the windshield so I’m pretty annoyed but the ride is still pretty cool. Oh, and at 8 miles long the bridge crossing takes a while but I chose to speed up the video to avoid putting folks to sleep while watching.
Sure, it was just driving across a bridge at ~80km/h but it was also a great opportunity to experience a true marvel of modern engineering. Most definitely worth making the trip.
Read more of our Maritimes adventures here!
