A tasting tour of “the Little Cabot Trail”
Dragon’s Breath—sharp and pungent, but silky with a milky smooth finish. If that sounds more like tasting notes than the smoky sigh of a mythological creature, that’s because it is—cheese that is; a small bell of soft blue distinctively sealed in black wax. It’s a best seller, made by Willem and Maja van den Hoek of That Dutchman’s Cheese Farm in Upper Economy on Nova Scotia’s Parrsboro Shore.
The “Little Cabot Trail” may be Nova Scotia’s best kept secret. This leisurely 117-kilometre drive, from Masstown at Exit 12 off the Trans-Canada Highway to Advocate Harbour, goes by a few nicknames that hint at its scenic and cultural riches.
That Dutchman’s Cheese Farm (open daily from May to October) is an early stop on a tasting tour of the Parrsboro Shore that celebrates a surprising array of edible experiences with a focus on the local—but it’s not the first.
The honour of being the oldest foodie attraction and the first on the road to Advocate belongs to the Masstown Market at Exit 12. Now run by second generation members of the Jennings family, the market has expanded many times from its farm-to-gate beginnings in 1969 to become a fixture, even a local landmark. There’s now a restaurant, bakery, deli, gift shop, liquor store and seasonal garden centre; a fish market and fish and chips shop are housed in a full scale lighthouse; and there's even a corn maze in the fall. From blueberries to wines to 48 flavours of ice cream, the Masstown Market is the source of so much local goodness in Nova Scotia.
Continuing along this section of Trunk 2, the next stop is That Dutchman’s Cheese Farm for a simple lunch—Broodje Kaas or small bread and cheese. Though there’s not much variety on the menu (there’s a choice of ham or sausage) the cheeses are top notch. Willem and Maja have been making them for more than 30 years. In 2009 their gouda (plain or flavoured, ranging from soft and creamy to hard and sharp) took home the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix award. Kids and adults alike will enjoy Willem’s walking trails, spotting the emu, bumping into a crew of snuffling potbellied pigs or listening for the screech of the peacocks.
As the road rolls along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, the scenery carved by the world’s highest tides is, of course, dramatic—vast mudflats, tumbling cliffs, intricately carved rock.
The roadside communities of Economy and Five Islands offer great views of the ocean bottom at low tide from walking trails and parks. The views of Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg and Pinnacle Islands recall native Mi’kmaq folklore. Legend has it that their giant god Glooscap became so frustrated with beaver for damming his medicine garden that he threw clumps of mud and rocks at the giant rodent, forming the five famous islands.
A little sightseeing works up an appetite for a rest stop at the funky Mo’s Café in Five Islands where good chowders, salads and pizzas are on offer when it's open, from April to October. With some luck, there’ll be live music, but the books and art are always available to the traveller seeking down time. Or, just five kilometres farther, The Five Islands Fish Market offers Bay of Fundy fish, fresh local clams and live or cooked lobster from May to September. A local treat is the purple snacking seaweed called dulse, handpicked, dried and packaged by owners Vangie and Toby Beal.
Next stop is the historic town of Parrsboro, a real gem in more ways than one. Rockhounds flock to Parrsboro every year in mid-August for the annual Nova Scotia Gem and Mineral Show and Sale, one of the oldest in Canada, in its 49th year. It’s great fun browsing tables of amethyst geodes, stone jewellery and keepsake fossils.
Equally entertaining is a visit to the beautifully built Fundy Geological Museum to learn the ancient natural history of this area, including the prehistoric life Prosauropod dinosaurs. The Parrsboro Rock and Mineral Shop and Museum owned and operated for decades by the world renowned local fossil hunter Eldon George (featured several times in National Geographic) is stuffed with fossils and gems. Though George is now retired, his little shop of geology is still worth a visit.
For lunch or dinner, the new Black Rock Bistro does wonders with local foods by marrying them with exotic ingredients. Haddock blackened but not spicy, black quinoa and sea scallops with volcanic ash sea salt are all themed in keeping with the Bistro’s name and earthy décor. That Dutchman’s cheeses accent many of the salads and sides. A night out at the Ship’s Company Theatre is a rewarding way to top off a stay in Parrsboro.
Switch to route 209 out of Parrsboro. This is the part of the drive that lends the Parrsboro Shore the nickname Little Cabot Trail with its undulating road hugging the coast through forests and pastureland. In Advocate Harbour, chef Andrew Aitken and his partner Sarah Griebel of the blue-roofed Wild Caraway Restaurant and Café consistently earn rave reviews for the wide range of dishes they prepare with fresh ingredients handpicked from the garden and fished and foraged from the sea across the street.
The Bait & the Catch, for example, is ingeniously built of all local ingredients—ceviche of flounder and little neck clams with cattails, wild mint and sheep sorrel. These are the foods of the natives who lived on these shores and of those who settled here centuries ago, though of course with contemporary treatment—local, simple, unique and mighty delicious.
True to his locavore credo, chef Aitken features That Dutchman's cheeses in his salads (gouda accents the Caraway Caesar). To add pizazz to the summer salad of mixed garden greens, house-dried cherry tomatoes, pickled carrots, candied sunflower seeds and Annapolis Valley apples, he tosses in some Dragon’s Breath.
After dinner, a walk along the beach to watch the sun set past the cliffs of Cape Chignecto and the surging tides of the Bay of Fundy may indeed bring to mind the fiery breath of a mythical beast, thus topping a perfect day tasting your way along the Parrsboro Shore.
