Blog Archives
Anchor Cafe, Port au Choix serves savouring seafood dishes!
I’ve been to Anchor Cafe a couple of times this season and have continued to enjoy favourites like their seafood chowder, mussels a la Byron and deep fried halibut and chips. They are continuously ranked as a place to eat in Canada by TripAdvisor, Fodor’s and many other travel companies.
A cup of their seafood is garnished with shrimp, caught locally in adjacent waters. In fact, the OCI shrimp processing plant is literally across the street. A great appetizer before a main meal. The mussels a la Byron is an all time favourite of mine at this restaurant as it adds a nice spicy flavour. The remaining sauce is great for dipping with toasted or French-style bread.
On my last visit, I dropped by for a quick lunch and was greatly impressed by the deep-fried halibut, as it was cooked to perfection. The newspaper adds a nice touch, but we warned if you eat all the french fries you likely will not have food for some home-style desserts.
The restaurant has a great nautical-theme with lots of fishery and ocean things, including artwork of local folk artists, Ben Ploughman.
The reviews validate the quality of food, atmosphere and service. Next time you are in Port au Choix you may want to visit the Anchor Cafe. There are many other attractions, including the Philip’s Garden Walking Trail, Point Riche Lighthouse, The French Rooms & Oven, Port au Choix Natural Historic Site, fishing, nature and so much more.
The sights and surroundings certainly are as savouring as the seafood! Enjoy your time in Port au Choix.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher Mitchelmore, MHA (The Straits-White Bay North)
St. Lunaire-Griquet Mussel Festival continues all weekend!
The 2015 Mussel Festival officially kicked off last night at 8 PM in St. Lunaire-Griquet. This is always an amazing weekend in the Town that is showcasing its beautifully grown mussels in their pristine waters at the SABRI mussel farm. I find Mussel Fest is a real celebration of community brought to you by hard working and dedicated volunteers that work with groups and business to further support their town. It truly is community-building at its best, not to mention a fantastic time with good activities, good food and good company.
The festival site is beautiful set-up with appropriate fencing, kiosks for vendors and a great bandstand. The opening saw temperatures dip from the early 20’s to almost single Celsius digits. It may have kept some home, but it was a fantastic evening to welcome everyone to the community, enjoy a fine piece of cake, nice music and have a feed of mussels and enter into great conversations. Later that night a lantern release would happen around 9:30 PM.
Below is their amazing schedule, drop by and participate in any of the events:
Friday, August 7
3:00 Dart Tournament—Fire Hall–$5.00; 2 person team (2 women or 1 man and 1 woman) 12 team maximum
5:00 Craft fair–$5.00/table (or donate a craft for a prize)
Kids’ games–tickets 4/$1; Candy Jar $.50/guess
Music – Barry Elsworth & James
7:00 Boil up $5.00 each, kids under 10 free–all you can eat mussels, hot dogs, lassey bread, fruit drink, tea/coffee
Music – Local talent and Barry Elsworth and James
9:00 Bar opens
Saturday, August 8
10:00 Seniors’ Tea—Sortie Weddings and Tea Room (RESERVATIONS ONLY)
12:00 Lunch – $7.00; kids $3.00–fisherman’s brewis; hot dogs; tea/coffee; cake; pop/water $1.00
2:00 Boat races – White Cape Harbour – $5.00; women and men single; women and men doubles; mixed pairs;
2:00 Seniors’ Tea—Sortie Weddings and Tea Room (RESERVATIONS ONLY)
3:00 Teddy Bear Picnic; kids’ games; craft faire
4:30 Firettes’ Beans and Bologna supper
7:00 Adult 120’s card game–$5.00
10:00 Dance—JASON ROGERS–$10:00/person (receive 1 free bar ticket); Hamburgers being sold (proceeds to Fire Dept. & Silver Linings)
Sunday, August 9
12:00 Lunch—Mussels and hot dogs – $3.00
2:00 Gospel concert. Donation box – monetary donation or grocery item–proceeds to Food Bank
Closing ceremonies
Ticket draws
MUSSELS available throughout each day–$3.00/plate
Ticket sales every day—50/50; quilt/painting/ice cream; 1/2 Grand.
FESTIVAL proceeds to Fire Department and Senior Memory Benches
PARKING at Fire Hall or Town Hall. NO PARKING AT MOTEL
You can spread the world and help this locally grown festival by sharing on Facebook and telling your friends. I look forward to events tomorrow! My hat goes off to the committee members and those helping in any way, you truly make very big things happen in our small communities.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher Mitchelmore, MHA (THe Straits-White Bay North)
Some size….SABRI Mussels are just divine!
St. Anthony Basin Resources Inc. (SABRI), is a social enterprise formed in 1997 to benefit the residents from Big Brook to Goose Cove East. Their impact has been tremendous, with $15.9M+ invested in infrastructure, hundreds of jobs created and significant community and economic spin-off for the region.
One of their initiatives is a mussel farm that began in 2002 and expanded to three commercial sites in 2004. They employ three seasonal workers and a student at their farm and primary processing plant at St. Lunaire-Griquet & Gunner’s Cove.
Fresh mussels are available for purchase from June to September at Hedderson’s Store, St. Lunaire-Griquet; Burden’s General Store, St. Lunaire-Griquet; Grenfell Memorial Co-op, St. Anthony; Foodland, St. Anthony. These mussels also find their way on menus at many local restaurants. There is further opportunity to tell the story of our locally grown, locally sourced seafood on the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula.
The mussels are excellent quality and it’s evident from a purchase yesterday that they maintain an exceptional meat yield. I encourage you to buy your mussels locally at any of the above locations, 10 lbs are just $15.00. I enjoyed a bag last night and they were some size!
The night prior, the Noddy Bay-Straitsview-Hay Cove-L’anse aux Meadows-Quirpon (NSHLQ) Come Home Year Opening Ceremonies hosted a mussel boil, which served up SABRI mussels.
This economic initiative has also led to Town of St. Lunaire-Griquet to establish an Annual Mussel Festival, which is coming up on August 6-9th. Join us for an amazing opening ceremonies at 8 PM, serving up SABRI’s own mussels.
The economic impact of what a mussel farm does to create and support regional employment, business and special events is quite significant. I only hope more of these types of initiatives can lead to more success for local residents, local business, local municipalities and those who visit our region. Let’s keep buying local, it has so many positive impacts in our communities.
If you have any questions or comments concerning our Mussel Farms please contact SABRI’s Alicia Shears at ashears@nf.aibn.com or call the SABRI office at 454-3484.
Enjoy a fine feed of locally grown and locally sourced mussels when you visit the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher Mitchelmore, MHA (The Straits-White Bay North)
Serving up freshly steamed mussels
As a child, mom and dad would let me take my little bucket and go down to the beach and pick a few mussels close to shore. I remember one time going with my father near the head of Green Island Cove where ice was still in the harbour. I was on the ice pan with the bucket and my father would pass along the mussels he collected in the deep water wearing his long rubber boots and used a rake.
There is nothing like collecting your own or buying locally grown in rural Newfoundland & Labrador. Be sure to add mussels to your list when you visit the Great Northern Peninsula.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher Mitchelmore, MHA The Straits-White Bay North @MitchelmoreMHA
Deep Fried Ice-cream – A must have treat at the Daily Catch, St. Lunaire-Griquet, NL
On several occasions I have seen Deep Friend Ice-cream on menus at various restaurants and have wanted to try the dessert. However, the portion sizes are often quite large, leaving little room for the sweet delights.
The The Daily Catch Restaurant in St. Lunaire-Griquet, en route to L’Anse Aux Meadows (World UNESCO Heritage Site) specializes in seafood. The food is delightful. In fact, they were even mentioned in the Globe and Mail.
And on the Great Northern Peninsula where the Vikings settled long before Columbus sailed from Spain, a sophisticated little establishment called The Daily Catch in St. Lunaire-Griquet (www.thedailycatch.ca; 709-623-2295) is an oasis of finely prepared seafood. The basil-buttered salmon is on par with the very best in Water Street dining. (Source Article – Click)
This is a true gem of the North, with superior food, excellent menu options, great wine list and the atmosphere to match. I have enjoyed the pleasure of the cook’s culinary skills a few times at this venue. They produce inviting salads, savouring seafood mains and create a happy mood as the traditional Newfoundland & Labrador music plays in the background.
Today was my time to shine – I was prepared and would certainly get my must have treat of Deep Fried Ice-cream today.
I ordered up their Drink of the Day, which was a surprise concoction known only by the server. I was presented with a bakeapple flavoured martini, which had the traditional berries at the bottom and was topped off with real iceberg ice. The iceberg ice really adds to experience, with purity and crackles as the shards gently melt. In 2010, a Youth Ventures participant pursued bagging the shards of icebergs as ice to sell during summertime at a local service station. Why are we not selling the ice on a larger scale? Opportunity knocks.
As I awaited my appetizer – the steamed mussels, I took notice of the two icebergs positioned perfectly in view of the two windows in front of where I was sitting.
I struck up a conversation with the table adjacent. We talked about icebergs, local area, opportunities, culinary experiences and more. It was so fluent that I did not take a picture of the delicious mussels. However, I would not forget to snap my first trial with delectable Deep Fried Ice-cream.
The dessert menu claimed this is a “Must Have Treat”. It had the option of being served with Partridgeberry or Bakeapple. I am a fan of the bakeapple, as I find the partridgeberry a little tart. Served with whipped cream, a generous portion of local berries and wrapped in a secret coating – certainly makes this a field trip for the taste buds.
A nicely brewed cup of coffee with deep friend ice-cream was a culinary experience. I only wondered if this could have been enhanced, if I added some of my Screech Chocolate Sauce, purchased earlier at the Dark Tickle Company just a short jaunt down the road.
I left the Daily Catch completely satisfied, which is no surprise. So local or traveller alike, if you have never tried this treat, you can at this venue for a price of $4.75.
Get lost in a world of experiences on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland & Labrador.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher C. Mitchelmore
Twitter/LiveRuralNL
Related articles
- 25,000 Year Old Iceberg Water Makes the Perfect Brew (liveruralnl.com)
- Massive Icebergs on the Loose in Goose Cove, NL – Draw Crowds (liveruralnl.com)
- Icebergs Again in Goose Cove, NL (liveruralnl.com)
- Take a Walk on the Wild Side – Wild Mussels from the Strait of Belle Isle (liveruralnl.com)
- Norstead – Viking Village & Port of Trade (liveruralnl.com)
- I AM A Viking at L’Anse Aux Meadows World UNESCO Heritage Site (liveruralnl.com)
