Scenery, Seafood: Canada’s Prince Edward Island Is A Perfect Getaway

18.08.2023 - 17:49 / forbes.com / Nova Scotia

Michael Smith, chef, and co-owner of Prince Edward Island’s The Inn at Bay Fortune, raises a glass of sparkling wine as he welcomes the guests gathered on the front lawn. Behind him, the glassy bay is sparkling pre-sunset and there’s a faint aroma of wood smoke from the array of oysters, salmon and Arctic char tails roasted in the back garden for Oyster Hour just before. A six course menu including seafood chowder, wood fired halibut, smoked beef brisket, hanger steak and vegetables from the garden in artistic preparations is set to be served next in the dining room nearby. This is the hotel’s nightly, in demand FireWorks Feast, an epicurean fantasy and emblem of one of the main attractions of this Atlantic Canada island.

A casual look at menus around the Northeast will often list the provenance of the oysters, mussels and lobsters as PEI, so prodigious a supplier is this island of prime seafood from its clear, chilly waters. Visitors fly in, take the ferry from Nova Scotia or the 9-mile bridge from New Brunswick to sample the local oysters, which vary in brininess and sweetness depending upon which part of the island they’re farmed and which month they emerge. Shellfish is such a major part of the ethos of this island that it’s celebrated every September by the PEI International Shellfish Festival created by native Irishman and longtime local resident/restaurateur Liam Dolan. Beginning as a one-day event in 1996, it’s grown to a four-day extravaganza featuring tastings, demonstrations, chef competitions (including a kids’ competition) and entertainment that now attracts 12,000 seafood fans. This year’s festival is scheduled for September 14th-17th in the island’s capital Charlottetown.

A few weeks later, an even longer festival, Fall Flavors, includes daily events spread out around the island. But visitors can experience the bounty of this island at any time of year. For the most immediate experiences, they can sail aboard a 45 foot fishing boat with Top Notch Lobster Tours to watch the very sweet local lobsters being hauled out of the water and then cooked and served aboard the boat. For a real understanding of the varieties of oysters dotted around the island, they can arrange a visit with James Power of Raspberry Point Oysters who will both explain the production process and then shuck a variety of different oysters for a substantial tasting.

Excellent restaurants are also spread out all over the island. A recent addition to Victoria Row, a pedestrian cobblestone street of Victorian architecture in Charlottetown filled with restaurants and shops, Sea Rocket Oyster House opened a year ago serving a menu of classic and creative dishes. Among the standouts: tuna crudo with Jalapeño, lime and ginger