Favorites from Saint John New Brunswick Canada

The final port of call on our cruise before heading back to Brooklyn was in Saint John New Brunswick.  As a side note, I find the cities of St John, Saint John, St John's and Saint John's very confusing especially the two in Canada  There is a St. John's in Newfoundland Canada.    There is an island in the US Virgin Islands called St John, nearby St Thomas.  And there is of course the Saint John in New Brunswick.    When we booked this cruise we mistakenly thought we were headed to Newfoundland.  Oops!!   No worries since Saint John New Brunswick is a really lovely town near the Bay of Fundy.

Our first stop was at a great little museum honoring the Saint John Police force which is the oldest organized police department in all of Canada.    They have some small cases of memorabilia and also a place where you can snap a picture of yourself in jail.

On our way to our first stop, we noticed some great street art in Saint Brunswick.

Picaroons is a local brewey.  Here we tried the DSN (a Dunkelweise) and the Yipee IPA.  I preferred the IPA over the Dunkelweise which didn't have enough malt flavor for my taste.  The IPA had good amount of hops but still drinkable.

Nest stop was at Big Tide Brewing Company where it was tome for a first lunch as well a a few beers.  Here we tried the Low Tide Gose, Blood Orange White IPA, The Dickens New England IPA and Celtic Mist Irish Red.  The Gose was my favorite.  If you haven't had this style, it is a beer brewed with salt and it will usually be sour,  Most are lower in alcohol (between 3.5 and 4.0) so they are great summer beers.

Big Tide Brewing Beer List

Since Saint John promotes themselves as the place for lobster, we decided to split a lobster roll and got a side of something I lad never heard of:  Dill Pickle Soup.

Lobster Roll and Creamy Dill Pickle Soup

Creamy Dill Pickle Soup

The lobster roll was simply prepared.  Started with a toasted hot dog roll which had a leaf of Boston lettuce.  The lobster itself had just enough mayo to hold it together without being overpowering.  There were small bits of celery for crunch and a bit of tarragon.  I would have preferred some larger chunks of tail or claw meat since the lobster seemed to be a bit too processed.   But that is small issue since the flavor was great.

The Dill Pickle Soup was so interesting.  They nailed the flavor profile and the consistency one would expect in a soup with this title.  It was briny and creamy but still had large slices of pickle for texture.  Having a cup of this shared befween two people was plenty since fter awhile the sourness of the pickles tended  to overwhelm your pallette.  I am glad we ended our meal with this so that we didn't ruin the experience of the great lobster roll.

We kept on heading back toward the water and came upon Britt's Pub.   The sign outside promised 24 beers on tap and many were only $5!!  I had also found this on Yelp and they had a signature appetizer I just needed to try:  Butter Chicken Poutine.

We ended up trying most of the beers on the list you see.  My favorite was the Moosehead Cranberry Radler.    If you aren't familiar with this style, a Radler is the same as a Shandy.  It is a concoction of beer along with a fruit juice or soda making the resulting beer usually much lower in alcohol so they are great for hot days in the summer - but really anytime you want a beer that isn't hoppy but will please your palette.

Butter Chicken Poutine at Britt's Pub

Steak Poutine at Britt's Pub

The poutines here were terrific.  The appetizer portion of the Butter Chicken poutine was just enough.  The flavorful gravy had all the savory cumin and garam masala flavors you expect in a great butter chicken.  Then add in some salty cheese curds and crispy, hand cut fries!!   It was a winning dish and didn't disappoint.  The Steak Poutine was also so flavorful.  I thought the steak they would include on this would some kind of "throwaway" steak of low quality.  Instead it was a very flavorful cut of steak which I think was NY Strip.    And the gravy was beefy-rich with onions and mushrooms along with the aforementioned cheese curds.  A fabulous poutine!!

Our last stop was at the Saint John Ale House. They had outside seating which was perfect for this day.  I had thought of getting some oysters here, but instead they had periwinkles on the menu which we had never tried.  If you have never tried these, you have probably seen them.  If you were a kid who went to the beach alot in coastal Northeast, these are often found on the sand, washed up from the surf.     They are sea snails, not unlike escargot in texture, although require a bit more technique and patience to coax them from the shell.  At this restaurant they provided you wooden skewers in which to spear the tiny morsel inside the shell.  Those worked well the first couple of times, but once the wooden point had worn down, they were essentially useless.  Would have been better to have the type of metal pick often served with lobster or crab to pick through the shells.   I think we had about a 30% success ratio in retrieving the meaty morsels.  When you did, they were very flavorful, having a mild brine to them with the texture of the neck of a steamer clam.  They had been steamed with some aromatics which must have included some garlic,For some, the texture itself may be why you don't try them but you should be adventurous at least once and give them a try.

Fried Clams at Saint John Ale House

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Periwinkles

Close Up Look at Periwinkles

They also had fried clams on the menu. I grew up in Massachusetts and fried clams were a staple of many summers that we spent in Maine.  When cooked properly, these delicate mollusks have a thin crispy batter surrounding a savory nugget that should almost melt in your mouth.  The bellies of the clam is where all the goodness is.  I know some places only offer clams without the bellies.  In my opinion, you might as well be eating deep fried pencil erasers since those are just as tasty as clams without the bellies.  This place respected the clams and cooked them so well, it really reminded me of days of past eating them at the Clam Shack in Kennebunkport Maine or at Old Orchard Beach.  Well done Saint John Ale House!!

They also had a beer style I had never heard of called Peppermint IPA.  It was from Moosehead Small Batch.  I only have seen the original Moosehead Lager before and it must be the only beer they export to the United States.  I learned they have a lot of other styles including this one.

Moosehead Small Batch Peppermint IPA

I am not sure if this style will take off in the United States.  It was hoppy, minty with a bit of menthol flavor.   As the beer warmed up, it took on more of the menthol flavor which wasn't enjoyable.  It reminded me of Vick Vaporub or a Kool Menthol cigarette.  I am glad to have been able to try this style but can't see myself ordering it again.

As the sun had started to set, it had gotten quite colder and that seemed like a signal to start heading back to the ship which was only about a ten minute walk.  We would have a sea day tomorrow as we headed back to Brooklyn to disembark.

Favorites from Halifax Nova Scotia

We were on the Regal Princess for a five night sailing where Halifax was the first port of call. It was the first time for me to Halifax on a cruise ship.  No planned excursions.  This was going to be an "ad hoc" adventure.  One of my favorite ways to explore a new city.  I rely on Yelp alot for recommendations for bars and restaurants, but also like to rely on locals to help guide you through.  I always figure someone who lives here will want you to have a good time.  That came in handy for one of our stops.

We were off the ship about Noon and only about five minutes away was the first stop at Garrison's Brewery. I have never heard of this brewery to was curious to try some of there beers.  The offered a flight which is a small samplings of some of their beers.  Some breweries and tasting rooms will offer flights of four beers of your choosing.  Some will even offer single beers in a smaller than normal size (6 ounces vs 12 or 16).  Garrison offered flights or four, ten or twelve.  We decided on the flight of 10 since some of the beers they had were not interesting - such as a lager and cider.

As you can see, the flight of ten came on two barrel staves and there was a left side and a right side.  Let's say it was very much like a Dicken's novel:  A Tale of Two Cities.   The first five beers were sadly forgettable  The Blond, Tall Ships, Raspberry, Wheat and Nut Brown all lacked any real bite.  They all tasted very flat.  It reminded me of your friends keg party at college.  The next day, that friend would invite you over to "finish the keg".  The first five beers tasted like what comes out of a day old keg.

The next five were more promising.  The Peach Ale had a fresh taste and was very drinkable.   Pucker Up was a good representation of a sour.  The Double IPA (Juicy IPA) was respectable and drinkable without being overly hoppy.    Lemon Drop was my favorite as it had a great tartness, as you would expect from the name.  And the last one called Lucky Punk was a style I had never heard of called a Sour IPA.  It was a nicely balanced beer featured both nice hops and a tartness.

Beer Flight at Garrison's in Halifax

It was past lunchtime and we needed some food!!  Good thing we found the Sea Smoke restaurant.  What drew our interest was the outside seating where each table was a fire pit.   Had never seen that before and since it was a cool day, being able to sit outside in the sun but still be warm sounded like a perfect combination.

One of my favorite types of food is Indian. I like most of the dishes, but one of my favorites is Butter Chicken.  If you haven't had it before, there are many recipes you can find online and it is pretty easy to make at home.   While you would think chicken and butter are really the stars of the dish, they have very little to do with it.  It is really about the tomato based "gravy" that is seasoned with cumin and garam masala (among other spices).  It has so much great flavor that you really need mo meat or vegetables - you would want to just have this on it's own although it is usually served with rice or Naan so you have something to sop up that wonderful sauce.    So to my surprise, this restaurant had a Butter Chicken soup - and of course I just had to try it.

Butter Chicken Soup at Sea Smoke restaurant in Halifax NS

Wow!!  Did this soup deliver on flavor and consistency!!  Everything I love about this dish was incorporated into the soup.  While they did include a few pieces of chicken breast, those were just throwaway additions for me - completely unnecessary.  What was welcome was the crispy garlic bread that still had enough breadiness to be able to sop up the wonderful gravy!!   

I also ordered a Rainbow Sushi roll.  If you haven't had one before, it starts with a california roll and then they build on top of that.  It usually almost always hastuna, salmon and shrimp and then there can be a white fish as well.    The fish is on the outside of the roll.  In their preparation, deliciously briny caviar was added outside which provided a terrific "pop" to each piece.  

Rainbow Roll at Sea Smoke in Halifax

Our last food stop was at the Little Fish Oyster Bar.  We showed up here and it seemed closed.  I am glad we didn't let that deter us!!  I am a huge fan of raw oysters and will have them almost anywhere as long as I have a reasonable expectation that they are fresh.  Since we are in Halifax, I felt reasonable sure these were going to be very fresh.    I was not wrong.

Oysters from Little Fisherman's Oyster Bar in Halifax

We had two different types.  One was Beau Soleil and the other was Ruisseau.  The Ruisseau were definitely more briny and perhaps a bit muddier.  The Beau Soleil had a cleaner flavor.  They were served with freshly grated horseradish and a mignonette of garlic and ginger.  If you have never had a mignonette, it is something traditionally served with oysters.  Sometimes it can be served like a granita (fine ice crystals) more typically it is a very thin sauce made with an acid (usually a fine vinegar) which had been married with aromatics.   In small amounts, it can really compliment the delicate flavor of an oyster.  I alway try an oyster "naked" - that is to say just as it comes in the shell.    That way you will know if you want to add anything.  Many times, an oyster is great on it's own.  Even in those cases, a mignonette can bring out different nuances and flavors of the oyster that you many not have been able to taste without it.  I rarely recommend using the horseradish or cocktail sauce (!!!!!), unles you are eating terrible oysters and need to forget what they taste like and only remember the taste of the cocktail sauce.

The final stop before heading back to the ship was at a local brewery.   While we were at the Little Fisherman's Oyster Bar, the bartender had lots of recommendations.  Many of them would require an additional stay, but we did have time to check out the Propeller Brewing Company and it was well worth the steep climb up to the streets above sea level.  They had many beers to choose from here but we only had a short amount of time before it was "all aboard time".  I tried the Stone Fruit Summer Ale and my wife ordered the Dark Berry Sour.

The Stone Fruit Ale had such a great aroma of nectarines and peaches.  It was as if you had just picked them from a farm.  I don't know if those fruits are local to Halifax, but whoever managed to get those flavors into that beer and also not have it be overly sweet deserves a medal.

The Dark Berry Sour was another winner!!    A great example of how a sour beer doesn't have to taste like a a Warhead.  They can be balanced between sour and hoppy - as this was.

I would definitely come back here to Halifax to stay a few days.  Many of the bars have happy hours which I wasn't able to check out since we had to be back on the ship.    A great little city, many bars and restaurants near the harbor and easily walkable.  Some of the places we went to were a few blocks away from the water. - such as Propeller Brewing.  Those were very steep uphill climbs - reminded me a bit of San Francisco.  So if you do come and want to be adventurous, be prepareed to being comfortable walking shoes.