Cape Breton Island: lobster, bluefin, scallops

[nsequitur]

Although the board is very MTL-centric, I'm hoping some members may have some tips for me as I head to Nova Scotia July 17-24.

Specifically, I'm looking for everything dragged out of the water: halibut, bluefin tuna, crab, scallops and of course lobster: where best to eat it, and find it.

[nsequitur]

The only good discussion thread I found after searching was at:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=64495&hl=

[freddychef]

Of course it all depends on what part of Nova Scotia you are heading to? If Halifax well there are a couple threads outlining the restaurants there....off the beaten track....if you want to do the Cabot Trail (really a must) try something rustic like Aspey bay oysters up around Dingwall, Cape Breton, also in Pleasant bay you'll find snow crab, Cheticamp fresh local mussels....Margaree try the Normaway inn for local CB fish--but all ahead and ask since they often have a set menu......local lobster is everywhere....same witha lot of fish......freddychef

[Peter the eater]

Give us an idea where you are headed. Are you looking for the best of restaurant fare, or steaming mussels yourself on the beach, or both?

Get the province's "Doers and Dreamers Guide" at the welcome building as you enter Nova Scotia (by car) or from the info booth at the Halifax airport. There are tons of seafood festivals everywhere all summer.

[nsequitur]

Of course it all depends on what part of Nova Scotia you are heading to? If Halifax well there are a couple threads outlining the restaurants there....off the beaten track....if you want to do the Cabot Trail (really a must) try something rustic like Aspey bay oysters up around Dingwall, Cape Breton, also in Pleasant bay you'll find snow crab, Cheticamp fresh local mussels....Margaree try the Normaway inn for local CB fish--but all ahead and ask since they often have a set menu......local lobster is everywhere....same witha  lot of fish......freddychef

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freddychef: as noted in the title, I'm looking specifically at Cape Breton Island (Cabot Trail: yes!)

Specifically: Mabou, then up to Cheticamp, around the trail to Neils Harbour, and down to Sydney.

Coveted bluefin tuna is caught in these parts, but maybe it is too valuable to remain locally (sent instead to NYC, Japan, etc)?!

[nsequitur]

Give us an idea where you are headed. Are you looking for the best of restaurant fare, or steaming mussels yourself on the beach, or both?

Get the province's "Doers and Dreamers Guide" at the welcome building as you enter Nova Scotia (by car) or from the info booth at the Halifax airport. There are tons of seafood festivals everywhere all summer.

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Peter: I'm headed to Mabou (SW CBI), then up to Cheticamp, around the trail to Neils Harbour, and down to Sydney.

I have that guide, but no festivals fall on my dates.

I'm looking for no-frills seafood. Ambiance need not apply; rather, I want butter and lobster dripping down my face. Put away the candelabra and pass the clawcrackers. That's what I'm looking for.

[Peter the eater]

Peter: I'm headed to Mabou (SW CBI), then up to Cheticamp, around the trail to Neils Harbour, and down to Sydney.

I'm looking for no-frills seafood.  Ambiance need not apply; rather, I want butter and lobster dripping down my face.  Put away the candelabra and pass the clawcrackers.  That's what I'm looking for.

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You have the right attitude!

Mabou - there's an excellent bakery on the main drag where we always stop, but no seafood.

Baddeck - many options, "Baddeck Lobster Suppers" on Ross St. is good.

There's a good spot right by the Margaree Harbour bridge, can't think of the name.

Cheticamp has several seafood and Acadian restaurants, I like "The Seafood Stop" and "Le Gabriel".

Pretty sure there's just the one place in Neil's Harbour (near the lighthouse) I stop there when bicycling around the Cabot Trail. You are allowed to eat anything when traveling by pedal power.

There are several options in Ingonish, which you'll go through. I think the best place is the crab/lobster roll shack near the foot of the ski hill looking over the river and marshes. You get your food from the girl in the window and then you sit at a picnic table and admire the view.

Sydney's a problem for me - you'd expect the biggest city on the island could offer something great. Anything decent never seems to stay open for very long. When we are there (every other month or so) we buy the ingredients and take it back to the farm just out of town.

Hope that helps - every year a few new places show up and a few disappear so I say keep your eyes open as you go.

And don't forget to post a report here when you get back!

[freddychef]

Island sunset beach resort at Margaree Harbour, lobster pound at the wharfa s well, well really Belle Cote I guess, fish shack in Cheticamp, a fresh mussel pound at a house just before the turn to Dingwall...right on the highway....fresh farmed trout at Margaree Forks--just ask at the Irving tell Mr. Lush fred says hi--freddychef

[nsequitur]

Island sunset beach resort at Margaree Harbour, lobster pound at the wharfa s well,  well really Belle Cote I guess, fish shack in Cheticamp, a fresh mussel pound at a house just before the turn to Dingwall...right on the highway....fresh farmed trout at Margaree Forks--just ask at the Irving tell Mr. Lush fred says hi--freddychef

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I googled "lobster pound" and I think that is exactly what I was looking for. Island Sunset has 2 locations, and it's the kind of no-frills picnic table thing I think I need. I've noted the others as well. I'll let you know how it goes!

[nsequitur]

Island sunset beach resort at Margaree Harbour, lobster pound at the wharfa s well,  well really Belle Cote I guess, fish shack in Cheticamp, a fresh mussel pound at a house just before the turn to Dingwall...right on the highway....fresh farmed trout at Margaree Forks--just ask at the Irving tell Mr. Lush fred says hi--freddychef

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I googled "lobster pound" and I think that is exactly what I was looking for. Island Sunset has 2 locations, and it's the kind of no-frills picnic table thing I think I need. I've noted the others as well. I'll let you know how it goes!

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I've returned from my trip, and the best meal I had was at the Lobster Pound at Island Sunset. It was as easy as 1. pick lobster, 2. wait 20 minutes for them to cook it, and 3. sit at picnic table with supplied nutcrackers and eat. Excellent crab legs as well.

I didn't find the place at the bottom of the ski hill near Ingonish, and I was really looking.

Runner up best meal was at the Chowder House in Neil's harbour, where I had the best seafood chowder ever, and excellent haddock & chips. I went in not that hungry, and still thought it was amazing.

After that, most of the trip was gastronomic denoument: Sydney was a wasteland, but the guy next to Mac's selling cooked lobster was a godsend (just wish there was someplace to eat it).

In Halifax I was disappointed by the much-recommended Piccolo Mondo (italian), where my sole was not completely deboned. Better bet was the widely available donairs - why aren't these sold throughout the US and Canada? It's like a gyro (mystery meat cooked on a rotating spit), served with a few sauteed veggies and a sweet white sauce - incredibly tasty.

I found a place selling bubble tea a few doors down from the Alexander Keith's brewery (1/2 price after 5pm!), called Mulan. And the Garrison Brewery was excellent (no tours, but good tasting and $2 bottles of raspberry and blueberry wheat ales - didn't like the sound of it but loved the taste).

I learned you will never find bluefin served nearby the waters from where they are fished - just too expensive not to fly them immediately to Japan and elsewhere.

[MiFi]

Just returned from Cape Breton, and heading back up at least two more times in the next three months:

I second in a big way the Chowder House in Neils Harbour. Simply outstanding chowder.

If oysters are your thing, you've got to try the local Aspy bay oysters, where they are plucked fresh at a local camping ground and served up; its called the Hideaway Campground and its near Neils Harbour. A truly great local product.

http://www.campingcapebreton.com/file/oyster.html

And yes, Sydney should hang their collective head in shame for not being able to put forward a decent - mid-level - dining experience. However, in Boularderie, off the TC highway, there is the Cedar House restaurant and bakery which has excellent fish and chips as well as fish cakes.

[nsequitur]

And yes, Sydney should hang their collective head in shame for not being able to put forward a decent - mid-level  - dining experience.  However, in Boularderie, off the TC highway, there is the Cedar House restaurant and bakery which has excellent fish and chips as well as fish cakes.

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The Cedar House was also recommended by someone I met in Sydney, NS (as a place you could take kids, was good, and affordable), so I can second that recommendation by proxy.

The same person said the place I was staying at (Gowrie House) was a 'top table' in Sydney. Unfortunately, at $55 pp (price fixe), plus HST plus tip, and no high chairs (not that I'd want to bring kids anyway), I never got to find out for myself. I decided to wait until returning to miami for fine dining (since miami has $35 dinners at all the best places in August/September).