Saltscapes

We were driving through Truro, on the way to Halifax, when we decided that we should probably grab lunch somewhere. "Hey, you never tried Saltscapes yet." It was true, I'd heard lots about this place, but I'd yet to try it. Saltscapes seems to fancy itself as a Maritime-themed restaurant. You get this as soon as you walk in the door: you're greeted by a large gift shop, selling all manner of Maritime-themed product. It's not at all kitschy as quite a lot of these products are, indeed, ones I've seen friends and family take suitcases full of on their way back to wherever they may live- but the store portion does remind me of the American restaurant chain "Cracker Barrel", which does a similar thing with the South as its theme. The restaurant was pretty quite when we got there, and we were seated quickly, with very friendly service. The menu continued on this theme-there was a wide range of classic Maritime dishes to chose from. I found the prices expensive, however, and between that and the presentation of the menu (including the fact that it was more or less entirely Maritime-themed) you could tell that there was a touristy vibe to the place. I chose the fish cakes, my coworker chose a chef's salad. It seemed most appropriate that we both drink tea. While you wait for your meal, you're served tea biscuits, and there's a little bottle of Crosby's Molasses (a New Brunswick company) sitting there waiting for you to dip the tea biscuits in. Tea biscuits are a big thing around the Maritimes, and certainly something you'll find in a tea room or at someone's house, but I'm not about to say that they're typical to serve while you wait at a restaurant (or necessarily a-typical)- it reminded me a little of putting an East Coast twist on serving bread or corn chips while you wait. They were, however, very very good tea biscuits, so you'll hardly be hearing me complain. The food itself was quite good. I ordered the half portion of fish cakes- which turned out to be one fish cake, and so it seemed like the sides I had chosen were more of the meal than the fishcake. The fishcake and chow were quite good, and I really enjoyed the pasta and cheese (this is actually on the menu as mac and cheese, but it's made with penne). I tried some of the chef's salad, and have to say that it was easily some of the best bacon I've had in my life. All told, Saltscapes has good food and service, and it certainly offers tourists the opportunity to get a look at a wide range of local products and delicacies. My only gripe is that the prices seemed a bit high. Update: I've left the original review intact, as it still very much stands as an accurate representation of my first trip to Saltscapes, and probable experience for many, but recently I took some friends there and had a bad experience worth blogging about. This time, it was for supper and not lunch. The restaurant was busier, and the staff clearly more flustered. First off, the cup given to me for my tea came dirty- full of ketchup caked on, which the waitress didn't notice until I pointed it out. She was friendly and apologetic about it, and grabbed another, which still had a speck or two of food matter on it, but I didn't complain. Then, where previously I had been told (and thus written) that tea biscuits automatically came with the meal, I was told this wasn't the case this time, so check before you order if that matters to you (as it did me). Finally, and perhaps the biggest problem, one of my friends was served the wrong side dish- a bowl of thickly sliced carrots and onions in place of a salad. While this was easily fixed, what struck me as quite unprofessional was that the waitress, at the end of the meal (albeit after my friend had stacked the bowl on his plate), actually came by and picked up the onions to remark on how odd they were. None of these were big issues, but they all made me question whether perhaps the restaurant doesn't handle a dinner rush as well as it does a slow lunch time.