PEI: the food

I’m nearly done recapping our wonderful PEI vacation, I promise. But I couldn’t not tell you about the delectable meals we had during our time on the Island. I’m fairly certain I have never eaten so much seafood in my life. (We ate all sorts of other delicious things, too.)

On our first morning, our hosts left a plate of treats from the Olde Village Bakery outside our door:

Lemon bread and chocolate-chip muffins. Yes, please.

After touring Green Gables and hiking through the Haunted Wood that first day, we were starving, so we headed to the PEI Preserve Company for chicken wraps, served with tortilla chips and house-made peach and cherry salsas. We are salsa connoisseurs, so we were eager to try these variations. They were delicious.

We topped off our lunch with the house specialty – raspberry cream cheese pie. No words necessary.

On Saturday, we explored Charlottetown, the Island’s capital – browsing a few bookshops and wandering around the harbour area. We stopped at Leonhard’s for cups of sweet potato soup and delicious ham sandwiches on foccaccia bread, and finished with some sort of German pastry – unpronounceable but yummy.

Later that afternoon, we visited Young Folk & the Kettle Black for some much-needed chai – which coordinated nicely with my outfit.

That night, we walked (shivering) down to the village harbour for a lobster supper at Fisherman’s Wharf. You choose your entree – lobster or otherwise – pay a fixed price, then enjoy seafood chowder, mussels, fresh bread and the other delights of a (no kidding) 60-foot salad bar.

I’ve never tackled so much lobster at once – and I might never again. It was tasty, but overwhelming. (The chowder, however, was excellent, as were the mussels, and the strawberry shortcake at the end.)

Sunday saw us heading across the river for an early lunch at the Olde Glasgow Mill. (We’d been told they had brunch, but it turns out they don’t since the management has changed.) Never mind – I loved my lobster quiche (more lobster!), and J savored his vegetable curry.

Before the Wailin’ Jennys concert that night, we ate dinner at the Home Place in Kensington, just down the road from Indian River (where the concert was held). Simple, tasty food, but the best part (again) was the strawberry shortcake.

Since we didn’t have brunch on Sunday, we tried again on Monday, returning to the PEI Preserve Company for some delectable blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs. They do brunch just as well as they do lunch (and pie).

I was determined to sample PEI’s famous Malpeque oysters, so after an unsuccessful trip to Malpeque itself (everything was still closed for the season), we ended up at Carr’s in Stanley Bridge, and I savored these beauties for lunch.

My seafood-loving dad would be so proud.

Twice during our trip, we stopped at Cows Creamery in Cavendish – it’s stuck in the middle of a terribly kitschy “boardwalk,” but the ice cream is scrumptious. The apple crisp ice cream (with a caramel swirl) remains my favorite.

Our last meal in PEI was also the best: dinner at the Blue Mussel Cafe.

A sunset view over the harbour, a kind and genial owner, and the best (lightly spiced) haddock I’ve ever had.

The blueberry pie was so delicious that J actually sang to it.

Needless to say, we came back completely sated (and even stopped in Portsmouth for some tacos at Vida on the way home).

If you visit PEI, one thing’s for sure: you won’t starve. (Though you might gain a few pounds.)

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