I know you are all itching to hear about the varied cuisine of the Canadian Maritime Provinces, which actually can be quite good. Sadly, on this cruise we are now on, we only have the opportunity for two lunches on land in Canada.
Yesterday, we chose TACO PICA (96 Germain St) in St. John, New Brunswick, an unassuming simple Guatemalan-Mexican place which our friend Lee was dying to eat at with our Guatemalan boys, calling it the northnmost Guatemalan restaurant on earth (probably).
The boys did fine sharing a CHICKEN QUESADILLA sans salsa as we started on an appetizer of GUACAMOLE NACHOS which were very good chips with awful melted cheese on them, a superb spicy salsa on the side and a bowl of yummy guac.
The drinks were large, refreshing and way too full of ice, but nice (Sangria & Mojitos).
The entrees were all quite large and tasty ranging from TACO AL PASTOR- pork, onion, coriander, lettuce and that hot salsa again which Will traded for the milder style.
BEEF PEPIAN was more "Guatemalan" in that it was a traditional stew of shredded beef with rice and tortilla.
I hit the jackpot with the tastiest and HOTTEST dish of all SHELLFISH in GREEN SAUCE which was a very spicy tomatillo base sauce over rice, tortilla and superb local scallops, fleshy fish, small shrimp and sadly a 1/2 dozen plus way-overcooked mussels that seemed to be empty (so much for being near Prince Edward Island and its famous mussels). We skipped dessert in favor of the local ice cream later in the day which was delish and headed out to sea.
Today we hit the jackpot with local seafood here in Halifax, Nova Scotia at SALTY's (www.saltys.ca) downtown on the waterfront. A super-friendly spot (as so much of Canada tends to be) we sat right on the water and ordered up a bottle of GRAND PRE (Nova Scotia) Vineyards 2007 L'ACADIE BLANC. We did not know the grapes, but it sure was a tasty Sauvignon Blanc-like makeup; bright, crisp, acidic and citrusy. The Alex Keith's Light Ales also got high marks, made locally right here in Halifax at a beautiful old brewery.
The kids ate Grilled Cheese and Chicken Fingers accompanied by some of the tastiest fries ever with a kid's dish. The four adults wolfed down the most superb LOBSTER ROLLS with lemon mayo and salads with Raspberry Vinaigrette. Excellent lobster, juicy and meaty right from the ocean nearby was a real treat.
After lunch we headed to COW's next door which has just been rated one of the top ten ice cream spots in THE WORLD! Rich, creamy ice cream in waffle cones just baked on the spot were great with flavors of COFFEE TOFFEE CRUNCH, MOO CRUNCH, WOWIE COWIE and one we chose to skip, MOO YORK CHEESECAKE :-)
Tomorrow, LOBSTERS in Bar Harbor, Maine!
