East Coast Taste Of Life

On Canada's east coast, where I'm from, summers are hot, glorious and short. And we enjoy them thoroughly! We treasure them because we know in a few short months, the blizzardy, blustery winter will return with its frigid winds and piles of snow.

It's the summers that make me pine for my home most. The smell of salt in the air. The cool ocean breeze, gracing all who come with a much-needed reprieve from the inland sweltering heat. The sound of the waves crashing against the rugged, rocky shore. That feeling of your feet aching from the frigid sea water as you begin to wade into it. There's nothing like it!

And the seafood! Oh, the seafood! The Atlantic Ocean brings forth such delightful, delectable offerings and I love and miss them all. But my favourite is lobster.

Don't be fooled. Americans will tell you Maine lobster is where it's at. Nope. Flag-waving national pride aside, you gotta come a few kilometres north, to the coast of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia or my home province, New Brunswick to get the best lobster. The water's cold and the lobster is divine!

And every summer, the lobster roll is on the menu. Alongside the potato salad, macaroni salad, broccoli salad, dulse, steamed mussels and clams, sits the roll of the gods. It's the king of East Coast Summertime and it's earned its place.

Why? Well, there are many reasons. Obviously, they're delicious, but I'll get to that later. But they're so much more than that.

First, they're affordable. You can get one for less than $10 almost anywhere in the Maritime Provinces during the summer. From chain restaurants to mom and pop shops to roadside stands, the lobster roll is ubiquitous.

As a seafood purist, I suggest staying away from the major chains. Go off the beaten path. Find yourself a cute little diner in Rustico, PEI or Shediac, NB and order one. It's those places you'll taste authentic East Coast life. They live it. They feel it. They respect it.

So what's a lobster roll? It's the delicious meat of a lobster, usually mixed with mayonaise, some seafood seasoning, salt, pepper and chopped celery. Then jam that all into a hot dog bun. Real Maritimers will butter and toast the bun. Except for me. I prefer my bun unbuttered and untoasted.

And enjoy. Your tastebuds will thank you. The lobster roll is cold, refreshing and it's a taste of the mighty Atlantic Ocean. It's filling and the kind of decadent treat you'll drive hours to get your hands on.

Seriously, we Maritimers don't play around. I've seen myself drive 2 hours from Fredericton to Shediac to get a decent lobster roll.

Then, I started making my own.

I haven't tasted that sweet taste of home in over 5 years. I moved to Ontario. There are no lobster on our shores. There are no oceans. And as beautiful as the Lake Superior coastline may be, it can never compare to the sweet smell of the ocean air, the periwinkles and clams on the shore and the feeling of home.

Sure, I can get cans of frozen lobster. It's just not the same. It doesn't have the sea smell. It doesn't have the sea feel. You can tell it's been caught, processed and shipped. We're not about that.

Atlantic Canadians live close to the land and the water. We always have. We probably always will. The land and the sea have not only defined us in many ways, but they've nourished us. They've fed us through hard times. They've provided sustenance when none was to be found elsewhere.

My daddy ate lobster sandwiches at school when that was "poor man's food." He and his siblings probably ate the original lobster rolls back during the depression. My mother too because that was how it was. You ate what was available, and you were glad for it.

We've always lived from the land and the sea. And my heart is still in my coastal home.

I hope to return soon - to taste the salty air, to dip my toes in the frigid water and to have what I miss most, the taste of quintessential East Coast life, a real, fresh, honest to goodness Maritime caught, lobster roll.

It's a slice of summertime ocean heaven that you'll never forget and that you'll keep coming back for. Humble, delicious and sweet, it's East Coast Canada on a plate.