Churchill Arms

I recently had the opportunity to make a very, very quick day trip to PEI for work. I'm talking, maybe four hours spent on the island. Knowing that we'd only have a short stay there, but wanting to get the chance to chow down on some good food, we decided to go to a restaurant that we'd seen on a `You Gotta Eat Here" episode. The Churchill Arms is in a nice little building downtown Charlottetown- pay attention when looking for it; it doesn't stand out, and we definitely walked past it the first time. On entering, one can see the effect that being on tv had- there are signs outside advertising the establishment's tv appearance, and little notes on the menu to show you what food was featured on the show. I have to admit that I wondered a little how the pub's regulars felt about this sort of advertising-it struck me as a little cheap, to be honest; if the place really is that good, the signs shouldn't be necessary. I was, though, tempted by the advertising, and opted for menu items that were indicated as being featured on the episode. The waitress we had was very friendly. She made a point of letting us know that the kitchen was a little backed up, and that our orders would take a little while. We started with an appetizer- chips and curry. Fries and curry (no, not curry mayo- you actually pick a proper curry as your dip) isn't a combination that had ever, ever occurred to me before, but it was a very satisfying appetizer, combining a crunchy, salty fry with a spicy, savory curry. In spite of the warning that our food would take a while, it certainly seemed to come within a reasonable time frame- maybe it's just because I was kept entertained by the appetizer, but I certainly feel like I've waited longer for food without warning. This isn't a complaint- it's most certainly a compliment, that the staff would care about customer service enough to advise of a rather-average waiting time shows a commitment to the customer that many places squarely lack. To the food, then. I ordered the steak and stout pie: a thick potato crust atop a stew made with Guinness as a base. The top of the pie was thick- so much so that I actually just peeled it back to allow the heat to escape- but quite tasty. The stew portion was very, very good: the steak was nice and tender, and you could taste the Guinness in it. My coworker ordered butter chicken: he found it a little different than what he was used to; to my taste, it was closer to the more traditional restaurants I've visited. It was, however, very good, strong flavour, and not overwhelmingly spicy. I need to take a minute to talk about the decor and atmosphere. The pub has that dark, pub like feel, with dark wood walls, and a nice bar. Pictures and newspaper clippings featuring Sir Winston Churchill himself are posted around the dining room, and the bar seems to attract an eclectic mix of patrons. Honestly, this probably ranks in my top ten in the Maritimes on atmosphere. Overall, I enjoyed the Churchill Arms. The food certainly was good, and I'm inclined to return. However, I'm not quite at the point of echoing that you "Gotta" eat here; rather, I'll say that you aren't likely to be let down if you do.

Cows Ice Cream

Cows is an institution. You'll find it around PEI, as well as at the waterfront in Halifax. Each store has a copy of a list boasting that its ice cream is the world's best- and this is hard to argue with. Cows offers a variety of delicious flavours, which can all be served in delicious, freshly made waffle cones, or as an equally satisfying milkshake. The prices are extremely reasonable: just under 4 dollars (plus tax) for a single scoop, and around five for a shake, putting the prices in the same league as many cheaper ice cream shops, while the quality can go head to head with the best of the best international chains. Many of the flavours are also specially unique to Cows, including several which make use of PEI-grown apples or berries. The charm of Cows extends beyond the food itself- the entire place is full of cow-pun-themed merchandise, from the names of some flavours (including my favourite, Messy Bessie), to a line of t-shirts, mugs, and other souvenirs sporting pop-culture cow-puns. In PEI, at least (I haven't been in Halifax in a few years), you'll also find chocolate-covered potato chips (very good!) and merchandise from Anne of Green Gables chocolates (fans of the books will probably want to give the Raspberry Cordials a try). There's also a location in PEI where you can go on a tour of the factory- I personally haven't tried this, but it looks like a fun family outing. This is easily a favourite of mine- I'm certain I've never had better ice cream in my life. Uodate: I've recently been back to a different location of Cows, and wanted to add a little note regarding the Factory Shops location. I visited this location in the middle of a week day- not a particularly busy time. And yet, to me it seemed that the staff weren't experienced enough to handle the two or three groups in line: they outright skipped the people behind me, and didn't really react when I let them know that. They also seemed generally disorganized, running here and there without letting us know why we were being served (although they did occasionally apologize on return). This bugged me- Cows is an institution, and this location, right on the side of the Trans Canada, catches a lot of tourists' eyes. Yet, I don't feel it offers the best service- rather, the staff were inattentive and seemed overwhelmed by three or four groups. I also disliked very much that the merchandise which takes up the bulk of the store can't be paid for at the same time as ice cream: this seems like bad business sense to me, since as a customer I chose not to have to wait in a second line and use debit again for a small purchase. These comments, however, don't apply to the other locations, where I've found the staff very helpful indeed!

Seoul Food

A few years ago, I found myself spending a couple of weeks in PEI. After a little while, we were looking for something different from the burger-pizza routine, and spotted this little place alongside of the main road in Charlottetown. Seoul Food was my first introduction to Korean food in Canada (I had had Korean BBQ previously in Asia), and so neither I nor my friend really knew what to order. We both grabbed bulgogi with rice. I can distinctly remember feeling that the food was fantastic, but way too small of a portion for the price. Fast forward to this year. I've had a good amount of Korean food, and was anxious to see how I felt about the place now. A few years later, Seoul food is still a very clean, well decorated establishment with friendly and helpful staff. The menu prices no longer seemed high to me- for Korean food, they're relatively cheap. This time, I ordered my favourite dish- bibimbap- and my friend ordered gimbap. The first thing I noticed was that the food was spicier than I'm used to. I've had a lot of Kimchi with little to no spice in it, and this place certainly does not fall into that category. There was also a very generous amount of hot sauce in the bulgogi- I removed as much as I could before mixing the food, and still found it too spicy. Now, I'm going to admit that I'm a bit of a wimp for spice, and so I'm sure that the amount given was probably actually pretty typical for Korean food. However, I would have appreciated had the sauce been on the side, or put on in a way easier to remove. The food itself was actually excellent, very flavourful, both dishes. The seaweed on the gimbap and the beef in the bibimbap were particularly high quality. Overall, the food is good, and the prices reasonable for Korean food. It would be nice if they asked how spicy you wanted, or made it easier to remove the spicy sauce, but don't let that stop you- the food is definitely worth a try. Also, I have to give them big props for the pun- that's what drew me in in the first place!