Tradition and contemporary meld deliciously in this historic downtown
It’s a cool Monday evening in May and we’re feeling lucky. The air seems fresh off the icebergs we spotted earlier in the day off Cape Spear, but my spouse and I have just grabbed the last two seats at the cozy Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House. It’s her birthday, and this, her first trip to Newfoundland, is her gift. As soon as we arrived, we both remarked at how prosperous and busy this historic port at Canada’s most easterly extremity seemed.
This downtown St. John’s brewpub is hopping every night of the week, in part because of the booming economy, but also because of the excellent beers matched by hearty pub fare and a cozy ambiance within the mid-19th century stone walls. I sip a pint of the well balanced and creamy Yellowbelly Pale Ale, my spouse the lighter Wexford Wheat, until our Fish Cake Trio arrives—crab cake with chipotle hollandaise, fresh cod and potato cake with mustard relish and Asian salmon cake with Miso mayo—a hot and hearty combination to counter the weather outside.
Yellowbelly is a perfect example of the way a foodie adventure in St. John’s is like walking in two worlds at once—one steeped in tradition and another of contemporary influences.
Mix of old and new
Generations-old stores like Caines Grocery and Deli offer fare out of old Newfoundland kitchens. Established 100 years ago, Halliday’s Meat Market a few blocks over still wraps house-made sausage in brown paper tied with string. Striking up a conversation over home knit mittens at the counter is a matter of course.
Down on Water Street, walking into Britannia Teas and Gifts is like stepping into the heyday of the British Empire. Dozens of loose teas from around the world line the shelves for sniffing and buying. Kelly Jones, owner and self-declared Tea Lady, runs the shop as well as her own blog where she provides information like step-by-step instructions on how to make dandelion tea. My birthday girl fancies the exotic aroma of the Lychee Jasmine Green, so we have Kelly bag 50 grams for her.
All over downtown, haute cuisine meshes with local and international flavours. From sushi to curry, from snowcrab to caribou, the four points of the compass meet in St. John’s.
The following evening, we head up the hill from the harbour to Bacalao (the Spanish word for salt cod, the commodity that for half a millennium was the mainstay of the Newfoundland economy) where chef Mike Barsky offers a Bacalao of the Day that the menu declares “could be inspired by local traditional cuisine or the far-away places that share our love for salt fish.”
Because the restaurant is in an old St. John’s home still divided into cozy rooms, Dining at Bacalao is like dropping into a friend’s for dinner. To pique the appetite for the birthday dinner, the downright effervescent waiter recommends my spouse try a shot of Newfoundland’s specialty rum—Screech of course. Traditionally used in a whimsical initiation known as “getting screeched in,” here the Jamaican cane rum is served on the rocks with a twist of lime.
We share some crispy snow crab spring rolls to start, then tuck into our mains. Mine is tender and lean Labrador caribou medallions in tart, complex Newfoundland partridgeberry sauce with a side of savoury gnocchi and vegetables. Hers is a steak of North Atlantic halibut in an aromatic orange sauce.
For dessert, we head back down the hill to the Newfoundland Chocolate Company on Duckworth Street. Surrounded by chocolate delights, we spend time browsing the chocolate bars, each flavour in a wrapper depicting one of the iconic, colourful St. John’s houses. At last, we settle on truffles. It’s a difficult choice, but from among those flavoured with Newfoundland spirits or with signature berries like partridgeberry, bakeapple, blueberry and cranberry, we make a selection and walk back to our B&B, delicately flavoured chocolates melting on our tongues.
Before catching a cab to the airport the next afternoon, we stop at Yellowbellies for a last pint. The brewing equipment prominently displayed in street level windows never fails to draw me into a brewpub. This one is literally and figuratively the cornerstone of the Water Street Historic District. It leaves us with a lasting impression of a busy port, a bracing climate and a warm, worldly people intent on enjoying life’s pleasures, in particular those of the palate.
