Dispatches from the Maritimes

While I’d like to get to the deep dives that make this place what it is, I am currently traveling too much to do that kind of work. I’m writing from my tent, here on Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada’s smallest province. I wanted to use an especially gloomy day — and one that I need for laundry and two video chat meetings — to at least give some impressions of the scene here on the eastern side of Canada.

A motorcycle parked on a covered bridge with its headlight illuminating the support beams

So far I’ve only been able to visit New Brunswick (NB) and PEI, and I’ve failed in my duty to hunt down hyper-local foods. For NB that means poutine rapêe, since it’s really only found in the eastern part of the province. It’s basically a ball of mashed potatoes with salt pork inside, but there is a different texture to the potatoes because ho how they’re cooked. Also, locals seem divided on how to eat them, with most using some salt and plenty of black pepper, but some choosing to open it up and pour some molasses or honey into the center before digging in.

I’ll have to find some on the way back, when I leave PEI for Nova Scotia (NS).

Here on the island the lobster dinner is a semi-rite of passage, but I’m not a big lobster fan so I’ll bypass that. Seaweed pie is something done on the west side of the island, though it’s more historical (the only place you can get it I’m told is a museum’s cafe). That’ll be worth a go, and since the book Anne of Green Gables was based on life in 1800’s PEI, the raspberry cordial is also a popular treat up in the Cavendish area.

the front of a general store, the original building from the late 1800's

But, so far…

So far I’ve grabbed some well known staples to the area, they just aren’t endemic. For example, I have not found bad fish n’ chips yet, in fact they’ve all been excellent. The pollack used is incredibly flavorful without being fishy and despite a thick breading for the crust, they all flake apart and practically melt in your mouth. One spot even added some croutons and gravy to the plate, which I thought was an interesting local touch.

fish n chips on a plate at a local brewery in canada

Also, ice cream just seems better in Canada overall, with a thicker texture like custard. It’s also been turning into a thing, where I’m hunting down an old covered bridge and there happens to be an ice cream spot nearby. That’s turning into my own personal tradition. And then we come to fish tacos.

an ice cream cone held up before the camera, with an old covered bridge in the background

I’m always on the hunt for good tacos, a long standing tradition of mine and a mission from god. I’m no snob either, and don’t need them to be the authentic Baja style, so I’m open-minded enough to try out the offerings 3,500 miles from the border. After all, eastern Canada knows its seafood. And in fact I find the fish itself to be better than anything I’ve had in Baja. Rockfish and cod are good for frying, but there’s a thicker and less flaky breading used in Baja to fry them.

The crumbling pollack they use out here is also good for frying, but their flaky breading is closer to authentic fish n chips and just tastes more balanced to me. However the Canadians tend to go to the sweet end of savory. The crema sauce from Baja was originally an attempt to make a substitute for tartar sauce so gringos would eat them, but most Canadian places use a creamy sauce that has a sweeter taste, with a touch of chipotle.

a plate of fish tacos at an outside dining table with a glass of beer and place setting

However some add small bits of jalapeno to their pico de gallo and that can mix wonderfully with the sweeter crema they use. Mexico of course wins on the tortilla, but the ones in New Brunswick aren’t bad mind you, just not to the level of perfection you find in Baja. Also, you usually have the option of corn or flour tortillas down south, but it’s always flour up here. I happen to prefer flour tortillas for my fish tacos though, so it’s not an issue for me.

Staying the course

With the battery below 50% I need to sign off. Suffice to say I’m finding plenty of good food, but I haven’t cracked the shell yet of the connection between food and place yet. As I get further off the tourist routes I’ll see things more clearly, and I’m trying to find more microbreweries as well, where local flavors abound, and usually so do local people.

Lobster grilled cheese… a very local take at the Blue Lobster restaurant, right next to where many lobster boats leave for each day’s fishing.

I’ll be here on PEI for about a week, and then I’ll be wandering toward NS, where I have to try their donairs (Greek yes, but modified for Canadian tastes and rather famous in the Halifax area). There’s also a biker rally in early September in the Digby area called the Wharf Rat Rally. I’ll stay a few days and see what the local scene is.

I expect a lot of biker food: fried everything, sausages, burgers and BBQ, but perhaps also some local foods. When on the Maritime coasts, you can’t go wrong with seafood,but I also want to get into what makes the local cuisine unique, and not just what tastes good. I mean, gas station fried chicken tastes good, but there’s that something extra that makes it unique. Under the flavor there is a hidden signal, and I’m listening for it.

And as always when I’m traveling, I recommend you follow my Instagram and Facebook pages, because I can make brief observations and share unique knowledge that way, as I pick it up. It’s a much more seat-of-the-pants way of sharing what I find.