The Elusive Oyster

August 7, 2008
Prince Edward Island

I am an oyster person. One of my favorite non-meals is to sit at the raw bar at the Fish Cellar, an appropriate pun since it is also a downstairs place, with an ice-cold martini and a wonderful variety of oysters to sample. So you can understand why we made Prince Edward Island, famed for its oysters and mussels, a go-to place.

With directions from Guy Leger, owner of the Gagnon Campground and one of about six hundred Legers in this part of Acadia, we set off on our adventure. A few wrong turns and a bunch of dirt roads later, we were at the bridge to PEI, a masterpiece of construction some 7 miles in length, and with sides just high enough that if you are in a low-riding ordinary car, you see nothing but cement walls for all 7 miles.

In back of us, the blue sky was full of puffy clouds. Just overhead, the sky was full of rain clouds. It appears that we are towing this rain cloud around with us, just so that we stay appropriately wet for our entire Canadian sojourn. Once over the bridge, we stopped at Gateway Information for a map and some tips on what to see.

What is it with Anne of Green Gables? I never read the book, but after stopping in at Information, I now know that she had red braids and a green dress, and that her author came from PEI. We eschewed a visit to that town and instead chose Charlottetown, as much because it was the darkest type on the map as because the info guy said it was a good destination and plenty of nice shopping.

We figured shoppers also eat, so with stomachs grumbling and mouths salivating for a sample of PEI delicacies, we set off.

When a Canadian tells you to visit a certain town because there was "nice shopping," don't plan on quaint little shops with sweet little restaurants serving wonderful seafood. What they mean is, there's an Old Navy, a Subways, an Enterprise Rent-a-Car, a Home Depot, Payless Shoes and several strip malls with things like auto supply stores. We drove over an hour, proceeded down Main Street, then turned around and headed back. I didn’t think Subways had oysters.

The good news is, we stopped at Victoria on the Bay, mostly because it sounded old-fashioned, and it turned out to be a charming little marina with a pub and a souvenir store.

I never did get those oysters. They weren't offered, so I ordered a lobster salad roll, which was delicious, but a half-hour later, also made me very grateful for the rest-stop before the bridge.

Nevertheless PEI, despite the pounding rain and the one strip-malled town is gorgeous. A lot like Ireland, with a veritable patchwork of green squares. And they too grow a lot of potatoes. And wheat. The golden fields looked like cashmere comforters thrown over the earth. And when we came back, the sun was out and we were treated to a spectacular sunset. A lovely day, overall.
Betty