Canadian Destinations

Eating well in the Atlantic provinces

By Colin F. Smith

Canada's Atlantic provinces have much to offer visitors, including spectacular scenery, friendly people and a wealth of history. When travelling in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island you will also find plenty of opportunities to eat well -- especially if you are a seafood fancier.

The cold waters of the Atlantic are ideal for lobster and Maritimers make the most of the bountiful catch. You'll be served this tasty denizen of the deep up in a variety of guises from sophisticated preparations in the most elegant restaurants to the relatively humble lobster roll lobster salad on a bun available as takeout.

Of course many prefer lobsters simply boiled and served with melted butter. That's the way you'll get them at one of Prince P.E.I's famous lobster dinners, which usually take place in a church hall.

A lobster supper will include at least one whole lobster per person, buns, salads, and maybe steamed mussels. Malpeque oysters from the island are justly renowned and,
of course, its potatoes are legendary.

While lobster make pride of place, a variety of other excellent-quality local seafood is also available. Halibut, haddock, Atlantic salmon, scallops (those from Digby are renowned) and mussels are often encountered, and sometimes sea bass, swordfish and herring (this last as Solomon Gundy, gently pickled and served with onions and sour cream very tasty). Fish chowder is found on virtually every menu and is generally delicious. For a change from seafood, try some of the regional specialties such as Lunenburg sausage, a reflection of the Nova Scotia port's German heritage.

The Acadians, descendants of the early French settlers, have a distinctive cuisine of their own which can be sampled in their communities in New Brunswick, along Nova Scotia's French Shore, on Cape Breton Island and PEI and in parts of Newfoundland.

Pate de Rapure, or Rappie Pie, a kind of casserole of potatoes and (usually) chicken is one of the best-known Acadian dishes, which also include fish cakes and blood pudding. They feature delicious fricot, chicken soup with potatoes, vegetables and small dumplings.
In terms of cuisine, Newfoundland is a world unto itself.

Traditional dishes are based on local seafood, naturally, but also on typical sailors' fare of past years. Seal flipper pie, for example, isn't something you are going to find anywhere else.

Other traditional dishes include cod tongues, fish and brewis (made with biscuit-like hard bread), jiggs dinner (boiled salt beef with vegetables and desserts and conserves made with partridgeberries.