PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Lobster supper

The very first time I went to Prince Edward Island, I did the natural tourist thing and went straight to Cavendish to visit the site that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic novel, Anne of Green Gables.

But I really should have done the OTHER thing P.E.I. is famous for – the lobster supper.

The very first lobster supper was held in 1958 as a fundraiser for the New Glasglow and District Junior Farmers Organization. They served dinner for $1.50 in a building that had just been hauled from a nearby community.

Now 49 years later, New Glasglow Lobster Suppers can feed an average of 500 people in one sitting. Four original Junior Farmer members still own the restaurant which feels like a giant community hall with friendly checkered tablecloths.

To start, you pick your size of lobster from 1 lb. ($29.95) to 4 lbs. ($65.95). While that price may sound steep, consider this: everything in the supper, except the lobster, is all-you-can-eat.

Virginia, who’s just moved to P.E.I., and I already had a strategy to avoid filling up on bread so we could maximize our seafood intake. But as soon as the basket of buns arrived, our game plan went out the window. These were fluffy, warm, truly homemade pieces of love.

Then came the mussels. Nothing elaborate, just a big bucket of meaty yummy steamed mussels. Did I mention all-you-can eat?

Bowls of creamy seafood chowder arrived next, with chunks of shrimp, haddock and scallops. Chris went for seconds on this one.

Before I could finish my soup, I had to make room for the plates of potato salad, garden salad and coleslaw. Nothing remarkable but refreshing nonetheless.

The table was quite full as the main course arrived. Three of us got 1.5 lb. lobsters, while Virginia got a “baby” one-pounder. There’s really nothing fancy to lobsters other than how fresh they are, and these ones were top-notch.

Here at the supper, you can get your lobster hot or cold and it comes with lemon wedges and little cups of melted butter. Oh, and plastic bibs of course.

I love that the children’s menu offers a half-pound lobster for $13.95. I would’ve ordered that if I was little.

Topping it all off is a choice of homemade pies. From which I can remember, there was pecan, raisin, cherry, apple, and their “famous” lemon meringue. That’s all-you-can-eat too. I only half a piece of raisin pie, too stuffed with everything else.

New Glasgow Lobster Supper, Route 258 off Highway 13, New Glasglow, P.E.I. (902) 964-2870. Open 4-8:30 p.m. June to mid-October. More info here.