107417 Mon Aug 18 14:39:23 -0700 2003 2 24 Canada 0 581205 I am going on vacation for a week to Prince Edward Island. My girlfriend has planned this trip (she doesn’t care that much about eating, scenery and quietude are her thing), so I could use some help with some backup planning from the hounds. Any suggestions welcome! Mon Aug 18 14:39:23 -0700 2003 0 Rob Kennedy 1 581211 There are a few posts down the list which also deal with this issue. My wife and I were in PEI [principally Charlottetown except for a couple of days at the Inn at Bay Fortune near Souris] two summers ago so my information may be somewhat dated. I am not sure what type of food you enjoy. We found the dining on the Island to be somewhat limited with a lot of emphasis on deep-fried this and that or church and/or community hall lobster dinners. Fairly touristy, catering to families I expect that camp and rent cottages for their summer holidays. There were however some notable exceptions. The one which we enjoyed the most apart from the fare at the Inn at Bay Fortune [Michael Smith had been gone for several years...I later saw from a show on FoodTV Canada that he was visiting in the area filming an episode with the Boy Scouts...but the food remained very good]was up which adjoins the multi-media centre depicting Confederation on the Waterfront...not the theatre where "Anne of Green Gables" and the like are presented. I am sorry I cannot recollect its name but it is up the stairs from the lobby of the centre. The food was unlike anything else we had found. Innovative, fresh and interesting with a better wine list than most. The room was nice and bright, air conditioned [it was hot and humid outside]and with big windows which provided a view of the river. I hope it is still open as I heard that the "locals" were not very impressed. Tough for a place like that to survive for the rest of the year if it does not appeal to the local regulars. The Merchantman Pub served both the pub fare one might expect as well as more extensive menu. For example, I had rack of lamb which was very well done. Close by there is the Sirrenella which does not look like much set back in a lot but I sat outside in their limited patio and had some delicious squid and mediteranean fare. Another spot we tried was the On Broadway or Off Broadway, something with a "show biz" type name. Good food and the best wine list we encountered in Charlottetown which was dominated by Jackson Triggs Chardonnay. Kim's Bistro is an attractive restaurant with a couple of nice rooms. I think it was opened to serve as an outlet for or expanded from, the owner's thriving smoked fish business. I had read about it in Bon Appetit or Food & Wine Magazine. We did not have a particularly good meal however. On day trips we had very good food at the Inn at St. Peters as well as Dalvay By The Sea just inside the PEI National Park. If you get up toward the North-East corner of the Island, Windows On The Water served good home made soups and salads in Montague. If you are looking for things to do, Rossignol Winery near the ferry terminal is worth a visit. Their wines will not put the "big boys" out of business but are quite pleasant especially the fruit ones as opposed to those vinted from grapes. There is another restaurant which I have since heard about that I think opens from a street corner and does not look like much or more like a neighbourhood store. It apparently serves very good seafood. There is also the Culinary Institute but we could not get in and a number of others in the downtown core of Charlottetown. Some have large patios if the weather co-operates. There is also a B.&B. in the Tyne Valley operated by a retired chef or someone at least with a background, or at least affinity for good food and wine, that I have heard others speak of. The Doctor's Inn or something to that effect. I know it is referred to within the tourist guide that the PEI government puts out. Hope this assists. Please let us know what you found as we might return another time when we venture to the Martimes. Tue Aug 19 13:36:21 -0700 2003 581205 0 Bob Mac 2 581216 Wow! Thanks so much for your thoughtful suggestions! I will definately check them out. It is people like you that make this board! Tue Aug 19 23:07:48 -0700 2003 581211 0 Rob Kennedy