Nova Scotia Canada

We only had three days to visit Nova Scotia. Three days is not enough time (Nova Scotia is big), so we narrowed our focus to a couple of areas and decided not to visit Halifax or the Cape Breton area. We headed to the Peggy's Cove area for a couple of nights. We took delight in all of the tiny inlets and fishing villages along the way (all with a different name). Extremely picturesque. For lunch we landed at The Finer Diner and enjoyed a lobster roll and fish and chips.

We stayed at Oceanstone Resort which offers a series of studio-style cottages. We had a lovely view of the ocean. Apparently, during the weekends, weddings are popular; since we stayed during the week, the place was very quiet.

For dinner we went to the restaurant associated with the resort: Rhubarb. An upscale dining facility that offers a brief view of the ocean. They offered a variety of seafood dishes and a decent wine list. We ordered the seafood pasta and lobster ravioli - both good with an Italian red (incongruent for most, but not for us). We would have probably raved about this place if the service had been better and the bar had been better stocked. The bar could not make a Manhattan because of the lack of vermouth and did not offer an alternative. Our waiter was either new or non-caring.

But, we really came more for the scenery than the food. The Peggy's Cove area is an alien wonder. Large granite stones are scattered throughout the landscape. It seemed like giants had been playing marbles and at some point got up and left their toys behind. Add to this the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, boulders and ocean waves crashing into them, tiny fishing villages, and a memorial to the Swissair Flight 111 which crashed in 1998 off the coast of Nova Scotia. Hard to describe in words and difficult to really capture the experience from a camera, but here are a few photographs. We were able to capture the area in various weather and times of day (very cool opportunity).

While staying in Peggy's Cove we took a two hour journey along a winding, scenic road to Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a British Colonial-era town known for shipbuilding and fishing. Bright and colorful with a thriving water-front, lots of shops and restaurants, and an incredible distillery (Ironworks). Definitely worth visiting. While in Lunenburg we saw the Amistad docked. The last we saw this near-replica schooner was in Mystic Seaport several years ago. Lunenburg is also restoring the Bluenose II (which launched on September 29, 2012).

For dinner we went to Shaw's Landing. Located right on the water, we had salmon and a very hearty seafood and fish chowder.

After Peggy's Cove we headed over to Wolfville. Before we arrived we happened upon a sunflower maze along a country road. We just had to stop.

 Just before we arrived at Wolfville we stopped at the Grand Pre Winery to taste some of the local nectar. The native white grape is the L'acadie. The wines were well-made and they also feature something for the travelling tourist - Sparkling Maple Wine.

The winery also had a restaurant Le Caveau. We dined al fresco. This was the best meal we had in Nova Scotia. We enjoyed smoked arctic char, marinated flank steak, and tofu and shrimp pad thai. And imbibed a Katnook Cab from Australia. Very, very delicious. Highly recommend eating here.

In Wolfville we stayed at Blomidon Inn. An impressive building that at one point was used as a dorm for Acadia University. The inn includes a continental breakfast and afternoon tea. The rooms were luxurious and comfy. If you stay in the room with the connected fire alarm, Don't Be Tempted! Someone did while we were staying at the Inn and we had to evacuate at 2 AM. The Inn apologized profusely and gave us a discount on the room rate.

The town of Wolfville was a typical college town with a main street dotted with a variety of shops.

For dinner we ate at the Inn. A very traditional dining room and mainstream offerings including salmon and filet and lobster. Dinner was decent, but not mind-blowing. We rewarded ourselves however with a lovely Cotes du Rhone.

Once again we marveled at the scenery in this Canadian province and we only scratched the surface.

New Brunswick Canada

Back in September we took an extended vacation to the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and ended up in Bar Harbor, Maine.

This post will focus on New Brunswick, Canada. A couple of revelations up front. New Brunswick is big and it is a long drive from Bangor where we flew in to Riverside Albert where we were staying for a couple of days. Also, the time is in the Atlantic Time Zone. It's an hour later than you think.

We stayed at The Maplegrove Inn. A cute, bright yellow building which includes an adequate cooked breakfast. 

This place was selected because it was close to Hopewell Rocks Park, situated on the Bay of Fundy. The park includes some incredible landscape. I highly recommend visiting. How the tides carve out the rocks is fascinating. The seaweed covering the boulders reminds me of giant mop-dogs sleeping in the sun.

This area of Canada is dotted with small towns and communities. Along the way, one discovers covered bridges. New Brunswick contains over 60 covered bridges.

Restaurants can be hard to come by, even with local recommendations. In the Bay of Fundy area we had lunch at the park - a lobster roll.

Before dinner we visited Waterside Farms Cottage Winery and tasted their famous blueberry wine - both sweet and dry versions. Surprisingly tasty. Unfortunately, they do no ship to the States.

For dinner we landed at the Tides in Alma, New Brunswick. It reminded me of the traditional seafood restaurants that I visited with my parents as a child, only this one featured lobster instead of shrimp and crab. 

We shared a Lobster Dip with crispy pita. Hubby decided on the scallops, a feature of the Tides. Decent, but not extraordinary. I went with an unconventional choice for me - Lobster-stuffed Chicken. Once again, decent.  Both were accompanied by a baked potato and veggies.

What was interesting about this place was the view. We could see the tide coming in and it came in fast. I was able to get a before and after photo.

On our drive back through New Brunswick we stopped at Fred's Restaurant in Cap Pele. Once again, a traditional place, but since Cap Pele is in the heart of Acadia country, all of the staff spoke French. Hubby enjoyed fried shrimp and I had an open-faced turkey sandwich. The turkey was real roasted turkey; none of the processed, sliced stuff here.

Before we left Canada, we spent the night in Saint John. This is the largest city in New Brunswick and cruise ships stop in for the day. A quaint place with some interesting church spires and architecture.

  A lot of the shops are only open when the cruise tourists roam, thus, we covered the heart of the town fairly quickly. We did visit Barbour's General Store and came upon a Canadian candy called Chicken Bones.

Saint John also features a market including a booth with fresh Dulse, a type of seaweed.

I think we did hit upon the best restaurant in town, Opera Bistro. When we crossed the threshold the place looked more like a take-out place with a counter displaying desserts and implements for coffee and espresso. However, when we perused the menu, we knew we had landed at a little gem.

The wine list was a bit challenging, but it seemed that the Province of New Brunswick had issues with supplying their Canadian residents with affordable and tasty wine. We ended up with a Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon from Niagara's Jackson Triggs. Not bad.

To start, we had a warm lobster potato salad. Absolutely awesome! Hubby enjoyed baked salmon with a blueberry salsa. Right up his taste bud alley. I had the duck confit sandwich. Yummy! If you find yourself in Saint John, go here to eat.

New Brunswick is definitely the place to explore the Bay of Fundy and the varied and awe-inspiring geological formations. Great culinary places are few and far between, but little gems can be discovered.

My All-Time Favorite App from Lemaire

Tuna Martini a photo by pjpink on Flickr.

Tuna Martini - sushi-grade ahi tuna served raw with English cucumbers, avocado coulis, flying fish roe, and sesame seaweed salad. I request no cucumbers because cukes and me just don't get a long. The last time I enjoyed this app I was sitting on the new patio at Lemaire. Delicious!

Dinner Doesn't Dampen Delightful Duo

Back in early October, hubby and I attended a concert at the Modlin Center with Philip Glass and Tim Fain. Glass is my favorite composer and to have a chance to hear him play was amazing. Tim Fain plays the violin and was unknown to us. He is a fantastic musician. We thoroughly enjoyed both artists.

Before the concert we went to Azzuro for dinner. The last time we ate at Azzuro was before we moved to Richmond. While we liked it well enough then, we were not very impressed this time. Service was okay, but nothing to rave about. Everyone was preoccupied with a big party to the detriment of the few early diners. To eat we tried the calamari. Again, okay, but does not compare to Wild Ginger, Lemaire, or Bistro 27.

We also tried Mozzarella en Carrozza - Bufala mozzarella between egg battered bread sauteed in olive oil and topped with an anchovy porcini mushroom sauce. It sounded interesting, but was disappointing. I somehow thought the bread would be fried a bit more. It also seemed like there was ham or prosciutto added to the mix? If not, what was it? I just did not like it. If this is the way the dish is supposed to be, chalk it up to my lack of knowledge.

We also shared a Toasted Pepperoni Pizza. Azzuro has a brick oven for pizza. The pizza had goat cheese as well as mozzarella which added an interesting twist. But once again, the pizza was okay. Aziza's on Main and the newly opened Flames 231 are much better.

Since we were in the vicinity, it made sense for us to try Azzuro. We'll probably choose other options for future Modlin events.

Bacon-wrapped Shrimp at Lunch

Bacon-wrapped Shrimp a photo by pjpink on Flickr.

We went to Lunch in Scott's Addition for dinner one evening. The special appetizer was bacon-wrapped shrimp served over griddle cakes. So good! and a very quaint and cozy place to hang out.