Visit Caraquet and have the time of your life!
Last summer on our vacation we decided to escape the heat and visited our neighbor to the north, New Brunswick, Canada. And what a great decision that turned out to be!
After driving from the Moncton Airport we made our way to the coast and Caraquet. I have to admit I didn’t know a lot about the Province of New Brunswick before our trip but couldn’t have picked a better location for the relaxed atmosphere, natural beauty of the area and the ah-mazing selection of fresh seafood that was served in their restaurants.
Everywhere we turned we found plump juicy oysters, sweet succulent lobster and mussels by bushel full.
In fact, I had the best lobster roll I’ve ever tasted from La Homard Mobile ( a lobster food truck). You just can’t get fresher or sweeter than the Canadian lobster found in the waters off Caraquet.
But food isn’t the only reason to come to Caraquet. The friendliness of the locals and the natural beauty would make this the perfect spot for a vacation without the culinary delights.
We were lucky enough to meet up with a local Oyster Farmer, Gaétan Dugas. The Dugas family has been harvesting oysters on the Bay of Chaleur in the northeastern reaches of New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula for generations, and their oysters are shipped all over the world.
While speaking with M. Dugas, it was evident that he had a deep respect for nature. The Dugas’ farming methods allow the oysters to feed with the best natural nutrients from the sea by giving the right amount of time and care which is important to the quality and health of the shell. And that’s why their oysters are so flavorful and in such high demand.
But it isn’t just about the food. If you enjoy being one with nature, there’s no better place than Caraquet.
The calm clear waters of the bay of Caraquet can provide you with hours of kayaking. Lisa and I kayaked to a sandbar where we dug for clams that we cooked up on the beach afterward.
One of the highlights of our trip was spending the morning cooking with Madame Savoie at the Acadian Village.
Mme. Savoie is a master in 19th-century cooking and taught this old chef a thing or two about cooking over an open fire and baking with hot coals.
It really was a lot of fun and the best of the day was getting eat what we made. The soup was so flavorful and the molasses pie was delicious and warm right out of the dutch oven.
Sébastien Roy, owner of the award-winning Fils du Roy Distillery in Petit-Paquetville, is the only northern producer of spirits. As is the case with any serious Whiskey producer, you have to make gin and vodka to keep the cash flow positive while your whiskey ages.
Sebastian also produces some of the areas best beers and each beer has its own story that’s deeply connected to New Brunswick’s people and history. Here are pictured two star-crossed lovers Evangeline and Gabriel. Click on the link to Learn more about Fil du Roy, the spirits, and beers they produce from my friend Sherry at Otts World. She wrote a great post about the distillery and Sebastian Roy.
And if you’re missing Paris and all those delicious French Pastries you can find them at Grains de Folie which loosely translates into Beans of Madness (Crazy Grains). And Madness, I don’t think so? Anyone that serves me a bowl of coffee is okay by me! The pastries were amazing and I could’ve stayed there all day eating myself into oblivion……sigh.
So when you’re planning your next vacation, think about New Brunswick, Canada and make sure to stop in Caraquet and experience the Acadian way of life .
Suzette
just ran across this article while looking through for a recipe. Glad I did. Just what I was looking for and didn’t know it! thanks!