Shucking Prince Edward Island
One of Canada's Atlantic provinces, this island offers priceless landscape, hospitable people, and most of all, a culinary dreamland.
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| Food Fall Flavours Prince Edward Island runs from September 3-30, 2010. :: fallflavours.ca PEI International Shellfish Festival runs from September 17-19. :: peishellfish.com Stay The Great George in Charlottetown :: thegreatgeorge.com |
I should have known I was in good hands when, upon arrival at The Great George, Charlottetown’s historic boutique hotel on Prince Edward Island, one of Canada’s Atlantic provinces just north of Nova Scotia, I was being offered hot, out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies and a steep pilsner of local origin. “Welcome to PEI,” said The Great George’s concierge.
And to think I thought PEI was a beer! What was to be a weeklong food bender covering Prince Edward Island’s Fall Food Festival became a head over heels pursuit of all things gastronomic.
Starring in my own Forrest Gump makeover where make-believe Orwellian farmland blends with the pastel hues of ocean and sky, I was immediately impressed by the spectral color palette of seasonal change. Drifting clouds floated effortlessly in the air, so fresh and pure as to appear edible as I got lost driving down another backcountry road in search of another great surprise.
In Search of the World’s Greatest Oysters in Canada
That surprise, and an experience which will forever be remembered as my culinary coming of age, was manifested in one simple mission statement: To discover the origin of the world’s greatest oyster.
When traveling, I have a tendency to gravitate to the most decadent vice I can find, and on PEI that vice became the Malpeque Oyster, the gold standard by which all oysters are to be judged. Oysters to die for, or live for, depending on your disposition; nothing can compare to the chilled excellence of PEI’s world-famous crop.
Little did I know about the art and subtle nuances and delicacy of the oyster: its sensitivity born in the backwaters of crystalline estuaries dependent on a combination of saltwater wash and freshwater cleansing; that each sub-species characteristics, and here on PEI there are more than six, can be attributed to the mineral content of the waters in which they are bred. Taste, consistency and build all are distinguishable attributes... much like fine wine refined in an aquatic environment, the end result being an affair of the heart with the femme fatale of life aquatic in mollusk form.
History Meets Modern-Day
Historic Charlottetown is the epicenter of Prince Edward Island and was home base for my weeklong stay, and I made sure I took advantage of The Great George’s proximity to some of the island’s best restaurants and nightlife.
“So what really goes on in PEI?” I asked the lithe beauty bringing the taster of 12 separate ales front and center. Enjoying the comfort of Ganal Brewery, an old-world brewpub that would’ve been worth the trip in its own right, I was curious about the locals’ point of view: “Our pastimes?” she said, a sly grin running from ear to ear beneath her golden hair. “We love music, we love to eat and we love to drink – we love PEI!”
A half-hour later I had a hit list of things to do and places to go, starting with the Oyster Bar at Sims. A rich, dark and polished ambiance of sophistication presided as I entered the standing-room-only restaurant and before long I’d been accepted as one of the crowd. Mike from Chicago couldn’t get enough: “Best ever!” was his claim. The crazy Italian guy from New York took it a bit further, claiming the eastern seaboard had nothing on PEI – he came exclusively for the oysters, a business side trip from Montreal. Their Oyster Bar had it all: Lucky Limes for those inclined to the sweet brine; Raspberry Points, a local favorite with a more traditional salty brine taste derived from its deepwater cultivation; Pickle Points, Shinny Seas, and of course, last but not least, Colville Bays – the Cadillac of Malpeque – sweet and succulently precise and to many, a divine prodigy of mollusk perfection. Something was seriously on point here, the same scenario unfolding time and again at various shucking hotspots about town, substantiating the fact that I had arrived in what many purists believe to be hallowed grounds in relation to the art and culture of sophisticated oyster etiquette.
The after-party resumed at Baba's Lounge, an infamous watering hole of stripped down, real-deal authenticism. It was Friday night, the local contingency was on point, and my Sweet O’, the Ganal waitress’s referral drink of choice, combining every liquor under the sun and guaranteed to get you fully loaded in five minutes time, was working overtime. One of Canada’s premier music lounges, Baba’s Lounge is famous throughout Canada, and the live act didn’t disappoint – neither did my hangover the following day.
Underground Food Culture
Catching up to my Fall Flavours itinerary the following day, I joined a small group heading to the countryside for an afternoon spent touring the countryside with chef Calvin Burt. In terms of culinary fabulousness, undoubtedly Burt’s placid location, a traditional farmhouse built in the 1880s doubling both as café and home, breathed with a sense of intimacy you just don’t find in the lower 48. A tour of nearby mussel farms and a fish market garnered the ingredients for the day (all produce being grown on-property) and thereafter, it was back to the homestead, where Burt proceeded to cook the best French paella I’ve ever had.
“PEI’s underground food culture may very well become the epicenter of the world if it hasn’t already.” Pretty strong words from a locally born and bred hero Gordon Bailey: chef of the moment, cuisine auteur and owner of Charlottetown’s newest hotspot, Loft 30.
Loft has a nondescript street facade opening to a restaurant of pure cosmo-class; simple lines complement the fashion-forward shtick of Bailey’s immaculate food display. It was a complete 360-degree turn from my mid-day lunch with chef Burt. "What’s the difference?” I had to ask. “Why was the food in PEI so miles above anything I’ve ever had my entire life?”
“All fresh, all of the time,” claimed Bailey. “It’s secret number one. We go straight from the sea and the land, buy food direct from vendors and put it straight on the table in front of you – and everyone cares so much – you can see and feel the love people have for what they are doing in this local market.”
To illustrate that point, Bailey invited me into his kitchen: “See – no freezer. Never had one, never will.”
That Martha Stewart wanted to film her show on Prince Edward Island is affirmation that the culinary scene on PEI is making waves beyond its own shoreline. I guess it should come as no surprise then that The Culinary Institute of Canada calls PEI home.
From celebrated chef Michael Smith, Canada’s best-known export of Food Network fame, to underground chefs and mom-and-pop owners of bed and breakfasts strewn across the countryside, the giving of care, attention and stewardship not only to resources, but to each other, and the passion for food has come to define this temperate island paradise in the north Atlantic.
I hadn’t come to Prince Edward Island with the intent of finding the world’s greatest oysters and I wasn’t planning on gaining 10 pounds either, but I did. A culinary adventure second to none, Prince Edward Island proved to be a world-class destination for its priceless landscape, incredibly hospitable people, and above all else, its clever seduction of your culinary sensibility.
It’s a gold medal winner in a world-class competition to be sure and I didn’t even get to tell you about the lobster.
