Eating in PEI (..as a vegetarian) [Travel]
2012 Jul 6
It's been a few years (nearly 10!) since I was in PEI (and Cape Breton Island for my honeymoon). We stayed in Souris for a few nights and drove out to the Inn at Bay Fortune (www.innatbayfortune.com) as someone from Ottawa (with deep pockets) had recommended it to us. (They also recommended another 4/5 star type place called Keltic Logde (Ingonish Beach, Cape Breton Island). The Inn at Bay Fortune was either made famous by Chef Michael Smith or vice versa. We didn't actually eat there but enjoyed poking around etc. If this is of interest, I imagine you may need to make a reservation. On another note, I visited PEI as a vegetarian teenager with my non-vegetarian family. We went to a lot of church lobster meals and I remember eating a lot of buns and coleslaw. If I was lucky, the buns would be freshly made, other times it was slim pickings. You're smart to inquire in advance. Enjoy your trip! Let us know some highlights when you return.
2012 Jul 6
Daniel Brenan Brickhouse (in CTown) has a number of veggie options, quite tasty as i recall.
www.danielbrenanbrickhouse.com
Also in Ctown, there's an Italian place - had a decent veg pasta there:
www.sirenella.ca/
Never made it to the Pearl Cafe (meant to) but if u find yourselves in N. Rustico, there's a couple veg options on their menu:
www.thepearlcafe.ca
this place looks ok:
www.cafemaplethorpe.com
I seem to recall an organic/natural-food restaurant on the outskirts of Montague ... but can't remember name.
Seaweed pie is vegetarian - if you happen upon the Irish Moss Interpretive Centre in Miminegash. The pie was a bit of a letdown (i went in w/ visions of gloppy green stuff) ... but whatever, its a vacation.
most of the pubs / coffee shops we visited carried one or more of the standard veg options - wraps and/or soy-burgers. Also, potato salad was ubiquitous ... and soooo good. :)
Enjoy!
www.danielbrenanbrickhouse.com
Also in Ctown, there's an Italian place - had a decent veg pasta there:
www.sirenella.ca/
Never made it to the Pearl Cafe (meant to) but if u find yourselves in N. Rustico, there's a couple veg options on their menu:
www.thepearlcafe.ca
this place looks ok:
www.cafemaplethorpe.com
I seem to recall an organic/natural-food restaurant on the outskirts of Montague ... but can't remember name.
Seaweed pie is vegetarian - if you happen upon the Irish Moss Interpretive Centre in Miminegash. The pie was a bit of a letdown (i went in w/ visions of gloppy green stuff) ... but whatever, its a vacation.
most of the pubs / coffee shops we visited carried one or more of the standard veg options - wraps and/or soy-burgers. Also, potato salad was ubiquitous ... and soooo good. :)
Enjoy!
2012 Jul 20
Soo.. we're back, and are both really happy about how things went foodwise. Vegetarian leanings didn't turn out to be any kind of problem, as long as we had a few of our own vegs in the fridge (not much on offer around where we stayed), and packed a couple snacks when we went out on longer drives. As for where we ate..
We went to the Daniel Brenan Brickhouse. I had a really high quality and well-seasoned burger, with an excellent side salad, presented very nicely. My partner ordered a ricotta basil flatbread that was served looking like a shawarma-house-style generic pizza, but fortunately tasted way better than it looked.
Stopped in at the Gahan Pub, their beer was excellent, we had their pale ale on tap but I also grabbed their Honey Wheat in these cool 500ml fat-bottomed bottles that are the vessels of choice for Maritime microbreweries, it seems. Also had some awfully greasy but good homemade potato chips topped with cheese and all sorts of things.
Speaking of beer, in Fredericton, we stumbled across a local microbrewery (or at least their storefront), Picaroon's. Took some bottles with us.. I had their wheat, which was alright, and partner had 'Melon Head', which was a watermelon-infused brew. You wouldn't think it would work.. but it did, nicely.
We also found a very cool and cute coffee shop in Charlottetown, called Young Folk and The Kettle Black, which would be an excellent band name. They make a real mean veggie sandwich, and their coffee is good. Would be a regular hangout place if we were in the area regularly. They sell some handmade trinkets/blankets/etc in their upstairs. Service was really friendly. A great place all around.
Oh, and, err, Little Caesar's.. after the long drive in, we were inappropriately excited to come across one. Love their Hot'n'Ready's, huge (not-so-)guilty pleasure of ours, even if they're $0.65 more in PEI than in Western Ontario. They even that out by giving you a comparably massive container of dipping sauce with your order Crazy Bread.
Spent our 'fancy' dinner night at an Art Gallery/Fashion/Craft/Furniture Shop/Restaurant called The Dunes, in Brackley, right next to where we stayed. So highly recommended. I believe there is some South African ownership and it comes across through their kitchen. I had a steak topped with goat cheese and mushrooms, with potatoes and veggies on the side. The locally-raised meat was cooked and seasoned excellently, really was perfection (I'm terrible at describing steak..). Partner had a Vegetable Potjie, that was a mix of veggies and beans spiced South African style, and was a hit for both of us as well. They also had some super impressive breads to start off. The apps we had were a white bean/tomato/basil soup and a nice salad (I forget exactly what was on it..), they were about par for the course. But everything was served with the head of a purple and yellow (edible) pansie, which was a real nice touch, as was all their silverware and dishes.
And, of course, Cow's ice cream.. it had been years since I've had it, and was prepared to dismiss it as hyped up, but it's the real deal. Learned that ice cream is pumped with air, to keep it from freezing, and that often it's injected to the point that it's 80% air. Cow's boasts their ice cream is only 20% air, which is the absolute minimum it can handle without becoming a frozen block, and is also the reason that theirs makes you feel fuller after eating it (which I can totally confirm). It's still no La Cigale, though...
We went to the Daniel Brenan Brickhouse. I had a really high quality and well-seasoned burger, with an excellent side salad, presented very nicely. My partner ordered a ricotta basil flatbread that was served looking like a shawarma-house-style generic pizza, but fortunately tasted way better than it looked.
Stopped in at the Gahan Pub, their beer was excellent, we had their pale ale on tap but I also grabbed their Honey Wheat in these cool 500ml fat-bottomed bottles that are the vessels of choice for Maritime microbreweries, it seems. Also had some awfully greasy but good homemade potato chips topped with cheese and all sorts of things.
Speaking of beer, in Fredericton, we stumbled across a local microbrewery (or at least their storefront), Picaroon's. Took some bottles with us.. I had their wheat, which was alright, and partner had 'Melon Head', which was a watermelon-infused brew. You wouldn't think it would work.. but it did, nicely.
We also found a very cool and cute coffee shop in Charlottetown, called Young Folk and The Kettle Black, which would be an excellent band name. They make a real mean veggie sandwich, and their coffee is good. Would be a regular hangout place if we were in the area regularly. They sell some handmade trinkets/blankets/etc in their upstairs. Service was really friendly. A great place all around.
Oh, and, err, Little Caesar's.. after the long drive in, we were inappropriately excited to come across one. Love their Hot'n'Ready's, huge (not-so-)guilty pleasure of ours, even if they're $0.65 more in PEI than in Western Ontario. They even that out by giving you a comparably massive container of dipping sauce with your order Crazy Bread.
Spent our 'fancy' dinner night at an Art Gallery/Fashion/Craft/Furniture Shop/Restaurant called The Dunes, in Brackley, right next to where we stayed. So highly recommended. I believe there is some South African ownership and it comes across through their kitchen. I had a steak topped with goat cheese and mushrooms, with potatoes and veggies on the side. The locally-raised meat was cooked and seasoned excellently, really was perfection (I'm terrible at describing steak..). Partner had a Vegetable Potjie, that was a mix of veggies and beans spiced South African style, and was a hit for both of us as well. They also had some super impressive breads to start off. The apps we had were a white bean/tomato/basil soup and a nice salad (I forget exactly what was on it..), they were about par for the course. But everything was served with the head of a purple and yellow (edible) pansie, which was a real nice touch, as was all their silverware and dishes.
And, of course, Cow's ice cream.. it had been years since I've had it, and was prepared to dismiss it as hyped up, but it's the real deal. Learned that ice cream is pumped with air, to keep it from freezing, and that often it's injected to the point that it's 80% air. Cow's boasts their ice cream is only 20% air, which is the absolute minimum it can handle without becoming a frozen block, and is also the reason that theirs makes you feel fuller after eating it (which I can totally confirm). It's still no La Cigale, though...
butwhoami
With that in mind, does anyone have suggestions to share for eating on the island? I found a couple recs from a Maritime-focused thread last year (Lot 30, Gahan Pub) to start.