ottawa foodies

We are going to be spending two weeks in Newfoundland in August. We will be traveling by car around the province, starting in St. John's and leaving to come home from Deer Lake. Does anyone have any recommendations for any eateries of both the plain and fancy variety? We are also interested in interesting vendors along the way, such as one place I have come across where they make their own fruit syrups with fruits not readily available here. Bakeapples come to mind. Thanks!

The restaurants in St John's are plentiful & amazing...

Chinched Bistro (great young couple, homemade everything & her bread will knock your socks off)
Aqua (was only there for lunch but had the Moose burger, huge served on a cross between a scone & a bun, delicious)
Duke of Duckworth (one of many 'alley' Pubs, just up from George St, best Fish & Chips, chips, dressing & gravy)
Nautical Nellie's (Pub right on Water St, they do a spicy chowder that's incredible)
Bacalao (Newfoundland cuisine with a modern twist, beautiful converted house)
Raymonds (no need to say anything, the best restaurant in St John's & the price matches it)
Big R or Ches'es for Fish & chips, both mini-chains I prefer Big R but it's all a matter of taste
Yellow Belly Brew Pub (same owner of O'Reilly's on George) Huge brew Pub, home of the Surf n' burger hamburger with lobster cooked inside & topped with a seafood cheese sauce, decent pub food but great selection of house brews)

You'll want to see the famous George Street, it's about a block long but it can take a week to get out of it, it's a mecca for Pubs & Brewpubs

Atlantica is just outside of St John's, never been but Steve Vardy (Whalesbone, Beckta) was the Head chef there last time I was home

Go for a tour @ the Quidi Vidi Brewery, great fun & great beer, tried to set up a way to get Iceberg Beer sent here to Ottawa but they won't deal with the LCBO

Bidgoods Grocery will have all the partridge berries, bakeapples & other Newfoundland treats like seal flippers (Ugh), fresh seafood, salt beef, salt pork etc

Hope that helps, have a great time falling in love with a place that will forever feel like home...

Hi felinefan. We did a similar trip in '11. Drove 3400 km in 17 days. Spent a week in Conception Harbour visiting with dd and her hubby and hubby's family with frequent trips into St John's, then headed west and north to Twillingate, Rocky Harbour - good dinner at Java Jack's! - and St. Anthony, then back to Cow's Head (awesome theatre!) from which we drove to Deer Lake airport. It was the year of the icebergs everywhere! My wife tried the fish chowder every chance she got while travelling, finding the best in Twillingate in a little restaurant on the main drag.

St. John's: The Muses if it's raining, for good food and lots of Newfoundland history. Good even if it's not raining. If anyone wants to do a brewery tour, Qidi Vidi Brewery, beautiful location on Qidi Vidi Lake, just below Signal Hill, and not far from The Inn of Olde, a totally retro kitschy bar with food, must be seen to be believed. Signal Hill, not to be missed. If it is nice out park somewhere on Battery Road and walk along it to the end then through and over people's front yards to the maintained trail up to Signal Hill and enjoy the changing view of the harbour as you walk up. It's a very popular exercise walk/run for locals at noon/after work. Fort Amhurst and Cape Spear are two other places worth a visit by car. St. John's is quite small (if you don't count the growing suburbs) and you can walk a lot of the downtown in a day. Admire the lupins and take their pic and pics of the colourful houses clinging to the sides of the harbour and steep and rolling city streets.
Yellow Belly is a brewpub on the edge of George St., the street known for its nightlife, and is good for a beer and some decent pub food for lunch or supper.
You will enjoy your visit!

Terry, thanks so much for your list. I checked Atlantica and it seems they have closed, but I have printed your list out and will take it with me. I have been to Newfoundland three times and loved it each time, although that was a number of years ago. I also spent a weekend in an outport, Winterbrook by name, on Sweet Bay. Absolutely loved it. In St. John's we are staying at a B & B on Military road near King's Road and I am told we can walk practically everywhere. My husband has never been and I keep telling him how much he is going to enjoy it.

Andy, thanks to you too. I have printed your note out as well. It would seem we will be following your route along the coast line eventually reaching the Viking settlement and Gros Morne. We may take the ferry to Labrador if we have time.

Thanks, you have both been helpful. Any other ideas for "must sees" and "must eats" are appreciated.

raymond's for sure!!!
mallard cottage just outside the city

Bowring park is a nice walk, there is a pond with a statue of Peter Pan & the Lost boys at the edge donated to the 'country' of Newfoundland from King George for it's incredible help to the British during WW2, there is also a statue of a Caribou that faces Europe & it's twin is on Beaumont Hill in Belgium facing North America for gratitude of the Newfoundland regiment that was all but slaughtered in the first WW...

I envy you, I'm trying to find time to go myself, hopefully soon, have a great trip & blow her a kiss for me...

Terry

I would recommend the Squid Jigger lounge in Trepassey. Nothing fancy but great fish and chips with dressing and gravy. It's a similar experience to eating a good poutine- so high calorie but so damn delicious and satisfying. My experience may have been skewed as it was my first meal after backpacking on the east coast trail and was a nice change from hot dogs and mustard pickles (which were new to new to me and I would recommend). My friend who lived in St. John's also raved about the Mallard Kitchen in Quidi Vidi but it wasn't within our budget. On a non food related note, I would highly recommend the east coast trail if you're into hiking. The spout, ferryland, the stacks and witless bay (puffins) are all spectacular. Best part is it's free!

Be sure to engage everyone you meet in a conversation about Joey Smallwood's deal with Hydro Quebec. It will ensure you become close friends with everyone you meet.

www.tripstodiscover.com

Terry

Raymond's is consistently featured in Canadian top restaurant lists.

I'd recommend a breakfast or lunch at The Hungry Heart Cafe on Military Road. It's a charming spot with a menu that features everything made in-house. I haven't been in three years, but remember that the scones were worth a visit in themselves. They're well-recognized deservedly for the food, but the added bonus is that it's a social enterprise designed to help vulnerable people get careers in the food industry so they can become independent. All the money they make is put back into their employment programs run by social service agency Stella's Circle. hungryheartcafe.ca/

On the off chance that you wind up in St-Albans I'd recommend the only restaurant in town. It's a bit hard to find...even though everyone tells you that the best restaurant in town is called "Potsy's" it's actually called "Golden Fried Chicken" on the sign. They do a really good fried chicken, but the real deal is the Newfoundland Mess. Get one of those and 4 chicken wings and you'll be set.

And those wanting a Newfoundland Mess and are unable to make it to The Rock can get their fix in Kingston, ON.

www.cheekychips.ca

Is there anyone in Ottawa serving this concoction ?

We do Newfoundland Fries or Chips, Dressing & gravy....

Cat's Fish & Chips also does chips, dressing and gravy.

Stuart S thanks for your suggestion, but I don't think we will be getting to St. Alban's. I am keeping your suggestion though in case we change our minds. The points we are likely to be hitting are St. John's, where we will be starting out, Bonavista, Glovertown, Musgrave Harbour, Twillingate, Springdale, Deer Lake, St. Anthony. We will end up at Deer lake and maybe going to Corner Brook. Once I get the itinerary firmed up and B & Bs reserved, I'll post an update in case anyone else has a suggestion or two. Looks like we have lots to choose from in St. John's, I'm still interested in hearing about any places in the smaller communities. It would be nice to hear about more places like the one Stuart S recommended. Does anyone know if there will be any local lobster dinners? Or are they considered out-of-season then? By the way, I am grateful for all of your suggestions thus far.

The last time we went we were there for a wedding, so we flew into Deer Lake, spent a week in St-Albans, then drove back to Deer Lake a few days before we left. We spent a night in Rocky Harbour (relatively quick drive into Gros Morne National Park from Deer Lake) and it was easily the highlight of the trip. There are lots of Bnb's and plenty of restaurants in Rocky Harbour, but most of them are geared towards tourists.

I've never been, but I hear that Musgrave Harbour is beautiful, white sand beaches and lots of great food and tours.

This is a great tool they have to for figuring out driving distances and times in Newfoundland.

Helps to have a google map open with the Island up on it at the same time :)

stats.gov.nl.ca/datatools/roaddb/distance/

And if you want to know where the good spots to eat are, just stop in any town and stop the first person you see and tell them you need something to eat and you don't want what they usually recommend to the tourists. Newfoundlanders are so nice they will try to steer you towards what they think you'd want instead of delicious things like cod tongues.

Thanks, Stuart S, I will most certainly check that link out. It sounds like something I can really use!