The Little Easy

Staying There

See “Eating There” for Dalvay by the Sea and The Inn at St. Peters. For a copy of the free Visitors Guide, published by the province and listing more than 1,000 separate accommodations, including some 600 cottages, apartments, and homes for rent, call 888-734-7529 or visit peiplay.com.

Eating There

At the historic Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead (off Route 1; 902-651-2789), in Orwell, hearty meals are served on the shady porch. Here, a traditional—and excellent—island feast of fish cakes, baked beans, bannock, and chow will cost you only $5. Home cooking is also a trademark at the Seaweed Pie Café & Irish Moss Interpretive Centre (Route 14; 902-882-4313), in Miminegash, where the Women in Support of Fishing own and run the restaurant, and chef Gladys (“Nick”) Doucette extracts carrageen from the Irish moss her husband collects daily. She uses the gel in chowders and in a sweet, chiffonlike “Seaweed Pie,” but it’s her buttermilk biscuits that stand out. The Prince Edward Island Preserve Co. (2841 New Glasgow Road; 800-565-5267; preservecompany.com) is one of the most popular destinations on the island. In addition to offering scores of made-on-the-premises preserves and jellies, it has a sunny café overlooking the winding River Clyde. The homemade ice cream (try the strawberry rhubarb) is arguably the best in the province, and the café serves 25 blends of tea. Dalvay by the Sea (902-672-2048; dalvay­by­­the sea.com), a Victorian mansion that is now an inn and restaurant, boasts a spectacular location—within the Prince Edward Island National Park—and a menu emphasizing local products. Steamed Malpeque oysters shine in a simple dressing of green onion, ginger, and sesame oil, while shrimp and scallops are paired with herbed polenta and seasonal vegetables. (Rates, which include breakfast and dinner, run from $162 for a double room to $311 for a sleeping cottage without kitchen facilities.) Island-born chef Greg Aitken, at The Inn at St. Peters (1668 Greenwich Road, St. Peters Bay; 800-818-0925; innatstpeters.pe.ca; from $159), honors his roots and at the same time shows his range with dishes like local shark cured with nori and lemon, and pistachio-crusted arctic char. The inn, near the magnificent parabolic dunes at Greenwich, offers views of St. Peters Bay.

Shopping There

Charlottetown, the provincial capital, is home to several points of culinary interest. At the Queen Street Meat Market (368 University Avenue; 902-894-7336), Myron Turner runs an old-fashioned butcher shop that features a large tank of beef corning in brine and another holding live lobsters. Turner also sells fish cakes, potted meat, headcheese, and berries and seafood. The Gahan House Pub & Brewery (126 Sydney Street; 902-626-2337), located in one of the city’s charming 19th-century brick homes, produces six different ales. Not too far away, in the town of Winsloe North, is Cheese Lady’s Gouda Cheese (1423 Winsloe Road; 902-368-1506), where Dutch émigré Martina ter Beek makes a mellow Gouda from the milk of her Holsteins. The jewel of Charlottetown, however, is the Farmers’ Market (100 Belvedere Avenue; 902-626-3373), a year-round indoor affair offering some of the finest produce on the island, including organic goods from Raymond Loo, of Springwillow Farms (near Springfield; 902-964-2502). Saturday mornings (and Wednesdays in July and August), some 50 vendors gather to showcase local produce, honey, maple syrup, herbs, meat, and more. At Steve’s Seafood (417 Red Head Harbor; 902-961-3200), in Morell, lobster fisherman Steve Gallant offers smoked mackerel, farm-raised arctic char, lobster, scallops, halibut, hake, cod, and Solomon Gundy, a dish of pickled herring. For mussels and clams, try the place we call “the yellow house in Souris” (48 Main Street; 902-687-2717); a sandwich board outside will tell you whether anyone’s around to transact business. Also not to be missed: Fred Cheverie (East Point; 902-687-3436); Pinkie’s Bakery (106 Main Road, Souris; 902-687-2768); L&S Meat Market (RR #6, Cardigan; 902-838-4892); Nabuurs Gardens Limited (RR #2, Lower Montague; 902-838-4510); Vuozzo’s Lobster Pound (208 McDonald Road, Montague; 902-838-4934); Island Baking & Milling (RR #3, north of Culloden; 902-659-2443); Medallion Smoked Salmon (RR #10, New Glasgow Road, Ebenezer; 902-964-3001); Colville Bay Oyster Co. (83 Lower Rollo Bay Road, Souris West; 902-687-3640); and Kevin Ryan (RR #3, South Pinette; 902-659-2933).

Getting There

By car: Take the 10-mile-long Confederation Bridge (888-437-6565; confederation bridge.com) from Cape Jourimain, N.B., to Borden, P.E.I. (Tolls start at $27 and are collected when you leave the island.) The Northumberland Ferries (888-249-7245; nfl-bay.com) run between Caribou, N.S., and Wood Islands, P.E.I. (Fares for vehicles start at $35 and are collected when you leave the island.) Air Canada (888-247-2262; aircanada.com) has flights to Montreal from most major U.S. cities, with connecting flights to Charlottetown, P.E.I. —M.C.