A Week In the Maritimes
Part Two: The Good Stuff
Now, I don’t want to give the impression that we just ate junk food the entire time we were away—although I do think it would be forgiven since we were on vacation. But, as Girlfriend and I are wont to do, we went to some nice places on our trip around the Maritimes. We spread them out across the whole of Nova Scotia and even threw in a place on Prince Edward Island to make sure we took advantage of what we were there for: seafood.
With mussels selling at the stores for as low as $2.99 a pound (WHAT?!), we knew we had to eat as much as we could from the ocean. Before the trip, I made a list of the things I wanted; fish & chips and P.E.I. mussels were at the top.
The first place we stopped in Halifax, was called the Golden Monkey. It was chosen for a variety of reasons; a great cocktail list, an above-average beer list, and a focus on all the things we love in our food: local, seasonal, pastured, etc. and with options for vegans, vegetarians, and whatever people who can’t eat gluten are called. I opted for the fish and chips right off the bat; I figured it would be a good time to get them out of the way because here they were breaded and baked rather than battered and deep fried. They also came with the house specialty “roasties”—fries cooked in a variety of fresh herbs and spices—and a wonderful house-made tartar sauce that was heavy on the lemon and dill, which really took it to the next level. Girlfriend had a salad with scallops in it, which was so good she actually finished the entire thing.
While we were on Prince Edward Island, I insisted that we had to visit the Gahan House, P.E.I.’s only brewery. How many other people can say they’ve had the only beer brewed on P.E.I.? Not only that, but it was a brewpub and offered plenty of excellent food. We only stopped in for a quick nosh, taking place of a late lunch. Each of us had appetizers; Girlfriend and I opted for the P.E.I. mussels cooked in a broth made from the brewery’s red ale, her sister got the brown bag fish & chips (delicious), and her parents ordered smothered house-made potato chips (picture potato skins: bacon, sour cream, cheese, etc. except with chips) and spare ribs with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. There was plenty of sharing and it actually turned out to be one of the better meals we had. The mussels were especially delicious (of course).
Finally, Girlfriend and I went out with some friends on our last night in Nova Scotia to a new restaurant in Sydney called Flavors, which turned out to be the official caterer of Snoop Dogg[1]. I know! Despite that, the food turned out to be excellent. I started with a seafood chowder, which had chunks of salmon, white fish, shrimp and potatoes and a side of a deliciously buttery and dense tea biscuit. Girlfriend had the mussels in a garlic broth, which were delicious but no match for the Gahan House[2]. For our mains, Girlfriend got citrus scallops with a few sides; the scallops were delicious. I had a scallop, shrimp and chicken curry over brown rice. I cannot use words to describe how excellent this curry was. I was more than a little surprise to discover the best curry I’d ever had at a small restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia. But kudos to them for upping the area’s collective ante into the great food pot.
So, we’ve covered junk food and haute cuisine, but we haven’t quite touched on the leftovers: local favorites, coffee shops, and the always-loved home cooking. Check back on Friday for a taste of all that.
[1] He was playing a local festival on Sunday night, which had the entirety of Cape Breton Island in an uproar, as no one ever comes there.
2 The broth turned out to be way too salty.
