James was on a mission to try every plate of fish and chips he could find. After 12 different versions, he had had enough. Yes, he was “fish and chipped” out.
His observations? Ranking the types of fish best to worse: Best = Halibut, OK = Cod, OK = Haddock, Yuck = Sole.
Most of the fish and chips in the Maritimes is Cod. So he had a lot of that. He only found Halibut once, but pan fried, not fish and chips (to his dismay…in Alaska last summer, fish and chips was synonymous with Halibut and chips). The single instance of Sole was an outlier. He gave up on his pursuit in mid-August.
Also, the french fries were typically limp and soggy. James doesn’t use ketchup on french fries, but for these, he had to to make them palatable. Try to hold one horizontal and it just droops. Plus, they must cook them in a different type of oil, the flavor was very odd, and not in a good way.
And let’s talk coleslaw. Coleslaw is a very typical side with fish and chip and usually you get a good amount. In the Maritimes, you get a smidgen of coleslaw in a little tiny cup…a cup typically used for salad dressings. Why bother?
I had to try a lobster roll. I like lobster, honestly. But I’ve decided I don’t like lobster rolls. I think it’s the bread and lack of butter. Apparently, I like lobster with copious amounts of butter. So lobster rolls…meh.
Below is Cod au Gratin. It is a famous, traditional, Newfoundland dish. If you have seen the Broadway play (or the filmed version on Apple TV) of “Come From Away“, they mention a dish that is “fish with cheese.” This is it. I was anxious to try it and finally got an opportunity. It rated another “Meh.” I am not a fish person apparently.
Finally, in Quebec we decided to try Poutine. This dish is french fries topped with cheese curds then smothered with beef gravy. It must be an acquired taste, people in Quebec love it. Cover bad french fries with enough stuff and it makes them edible. We had Poutine as a side and finished it, but would not order it again. Give us our Buffalo-style chicken wings instead…with blue cheese of course.
Not food related (unless you are putting food scraps in them) are the garbage cans. Most of us have wheeled totes that we put our garbage in and drag drown to the road weekly. In Newfoundland, the garbage cans are these octagonal structures that are permanently at the end of people’s driveways. There are some variations of the shape and they come in all the colors of the rainbow. But why do they exist? It turns out it’s the wind. These garbage cans won’t blow away in the Maritime strong winds. Makes sense!
In the northern reaches of Newfoundland, you can see items stacked along the side of the road. You don’t see any storage facilities like you do further south. Consider this free storage!
We have a bare wall in the RV that is exposed when the main slide-out is extended. Last summer we taped to this wall a map of Alaska. When you are somewhere totally unfamiliar, paper maps help! This summer, the Canadian Maritimes were no exception. Anytime we entered a new province, the first stop was the visitor’s center. “Can I have a map?” An official map along with my researched routes and post it notes helped us keep things straight.
As of this morning, we are in West Memphis, Arkansas at the Tom Sawyer RV Park. It is one of our favorite stops when traversing the country, being right on the Mississippi River. James is getting his fill of watching tug boats and barges before we make the final push to home.
One more blog post to go before we wrap up this trip. The next post will have all the stats from our trip.
Enjoyed this post — food stuff very interesting. Floppy french fries — yep, pass. Thanks for the insight on the lobster roll. I really like lobster and have thought about this but —will now pass. Lobster with lots of melted butter — way to go.
Glad you are getting close to home — been a long trip. Hope the rest of it goes smoothly.
And — thanks for all your posts!!!!!
I opened up the blog – and just chuckled! Thanks for that!