When your home province is the size of some countries, it is nearly impossible to have visited all of its hidden gems. That does not excuse that it has taken me 36 years to get to beautiful Prince Edward County (PEC)–the first stop on our Canadian East Eats and Ontario’s crown jewel of culinary tourism.
Jutting out into Lake Ontario, PEC has really set the standard by marketing itself as a culinary destination, and has many communitites across the province trying to play catch-up. Tourists flock to this community for its rich agricultural history and to “Taste the Trail” it has to offer.
While their wineries are aplenty (boasting 50 vineyards and nearly 30 wineries), this is a family road trip, and our agenda had us exploring all the other great stops PEC has to offer.
The kids spent the first afternoon exploring Sandbanks Provincial Park – climbing up sand dunes and leaping down the other side, collecting shells, and building sandcastles with elaborate motes on some of Ontario’s most beautiful beaches.
For dinner we stopped in at the quaint Claramount Inn and Spa. With a wrap-around veranda open to summer diners, the picturesque inn was the perfect place to enjoy the gorgeous weather while overlooking Picton Bay. The menu is really something to behold. Beautiful dishes concocted with the best of PEC’s bounty. As an upscale eatery, it is certainly not for every picky eater in your bunch, but certainly worth stopping in at least for a drink on the porch.
After dinner we stopped in for a treat at Slickers Ice Cream. Slickers prides itself on its pure, handmade ice cream and rightly so. Boasting ice cream flavours such as Campfire Cream (made with burnt marshmallow), Jack Daniels & Chocolate, and Apple Pie (each tub containing a full pie!), the kids were on cloud nine.
With all the sugar running through their veins I kept the kids up to see a movie at the Mustang Drive-In–a throwback to my own childhood when my parents would surprise us with a late night trip to catch a film.
We stayed for both nights at the Four Winds Cottage Resort, a lakeside group of modest cottages, perfect if you have young kids.
Day two in PEC started bright and early with breakfast at Chesterfields Homegrown Cafe where the focus is on kicking back and enjoying locally sourced food and groovy tunes. This was really such a perfect place to head with the kids. We got to watch the chef who was as busy spinning vinyl tunes as he was whipping together our delicious breakfast.
From there it was time for the kids to earn their keep. We were off to visit Vicki at Vicki’s Veggies. A roadside stand full of seasonal vegetables is reason enough to stop by and visit. My kids were blown away by the flavours and varieties of tomatoes picked fresh from the farm that day. Vicki is already in a number of the PEC and Toronto markets and restaurants, and as a 10th generation PEC farmer it does not take long to see why her passion and knowledge have made her a culinary celebrity around these parts.
We spent a whirlwind afternoon stopping in for ice cream at the Black River Cheese company, where artisan cheese is still hand made. We checked out Buddha Dog, a shining example of the local food movement – where they’ve brought together local farmers, dairies, bakers, and butchers to create a truly local hot dog joint. Stopping off for a quick gander at the geological wonder Lake on the Mountain we then stopped in at one of the more popular purveyors of food on PEC, the Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company. For a refreshing afternoon break we visited the County Cider Company. The kids enjoyed their sparkling apple juice while I enjoyed the adult version of the same.
PEC was really a whirlwind stop. We could have spent a week there, never mind another day.
With all of the great dairy stops in PEC, here’s a great recipe for Pepper Cheese Beer Bread you may enjoy. And we’re off to Montreal…
With all of the great dairy stops in PEC, here’s a great recipe for Pepper Cheese Beer Bread you may enjoy. And we’re off to Montreal…
The Canada East Eats Blog Series is sponsored, in part, by GM Canada. All content is true, based on Gav’s personal experience.
I love PEC also. I haven’t been in years! I love Sandbanks PP – sooo fun! Your photos are stunning.
Can i please eat every single piece of food in your pictures!
Love PEC! I used to visit family friends there every summer on their farm. Beautiful and your photographs are amazing. Looking forward to the rest of your journey!
since ali had to stay home, you could’ve invited me! only 2 days in and that would be my perfect vacation right there. i can’t wait to hear about the rest! we used to have a buddha dog in our ‘hood, but alas, it’s gone. they were awesome eats!