The Weird Foods of Newfoundland (2022)
Newfoundland is a unique place in Canada and they of course have their culinary oddities. Made sure to try as many as I could in my time there. You know, in case some of it was good. It was overall much harder then anticipated as the local culture is rapidly changing ( that means immigrants ) and the traditional Newfoundland fare is being replaced with Chinese Buffets, pizzas and Tim Hortons. Many of the places you’ll find online where people tried a certain dish have now closed. Keep that in mind if you ever read this wanting to visit.
My scientific rating system:
MOOSE
Moose were introduced to Newfoundland in the 19th century and have infested it to the point where the Island boasts the highest Moose concentration in North America. While you can hunt and eat Moose in many other places, it seems easier to find here, though you really have to look for it.
Moose Diner
Where I got it: Frontier Cottages, in WiltonDale, at the intersection of the Viking Trail road and the 431
You can apparently also get it in the tourist town of Rocky Harbor, the popular stop in Gros Morne National park.
The meal: Coleslaw, boiled carrots, fries and slow cooked cubes of Moose.
Moose is leaner than beef and has a faint hint of “something”. Little pepper maybe? It’d be hard to tell apart from most red meats in a blind taste test. This will not blow your mind as a culinary discovery. Moose just doesn’t have the delicious grease content that makes cows so prized.
My rating:
Moose Burger. That was delicious, the faint taste of the Moose works great as a burger especially combined with the crispiness of the fried edges on a burger bun. Counteract the lack of fat with some nice sauce and cheese and you got yourself a winner. This is probably the best use for lean game animals in general. I’ve tried more steak-like offerings for moose/deer/caribou and it just can’t beat cow.
Where I got it: The Celtic Hearth, 5 George Street, St. John's, CA A1B 2C3
My rating:
Cod Tongues
My Rating:
“The cut used for this delicacy is the tough, gelatinous piece of muscle found in the throat of the cod.” When you see the word “delicacy” it usually means “food to prank foreigners filming a tv show about our cuisine”. However these are quite tasty, with the texture of a big scallop and the taste of cod.
Where I got it: The Celtic Hearth, 5 George Street, St. John's, CA A1B 2C3
Toutons
Bread that you bake by frying in a pan instead of the oven. Then for some reason that totally has nothing to do with being poor, put molasses on them… Basically on the way to inventing donuts, Newfies just stopped before the beaver tails stage.
On Reddit ( lol ) I was told that not everything has to be super sweet. Of course they drown these things in molasses, invalidating that entire premise.
Anyway Toutons are essentially a big piece of toast so they’ll be as good as what you put on them. Jam > Molasses.
Where I got it:
Classic Cafe East, 73 Duckworth St, St. John's, NL A1C 5H7
Rosie's Restaurant & Bakery, 135 Roe Ave, Gander, NL A1V 0H6
My Rating:
Fish and Brewies
Pretty much just salted cod, bread and scrunchions, which doesn’t taste like much because if you just fry fat it melts… This dish tastes like holiday turkey stuffing. The hard bread they use softens and soaks up the flavors. It’s a pretty damn hearty meal, especially for breakfast. I’m down with this replacing omelettes, just spruce it up with some spices, maybe a bit of gravy?
This dish has potential. Not bad, not bad.
Where I got it:
Classic Cafe East, 73 Duckworth St, St. John's, NL A1C 5H7
My Rating:
Jigg’s Diner
This one consists of roast turkey ( with gravy and cranberry sauce ), boiled cabbage, boiled carrots, mashed potatoes and the two Newfoundland specialties of salted beef and pease pudding.
Pease pudding is pretty much just mashed chickpeas. It has the consistency of a hardboiled egg yolk. It’s uncanny how it exactly mimics it. But it tastes like lentils.
Salt beef is pretty good. Imagine a big piece of beef roast that’s softened due to the salt instead of the cooking. It’s halfway between slow cooked meat and some kind of canned food. Best part of this dish by far.
Where I got it:
Grayson's Takeout, 104 Park Ave, Mount Pearl, NL A1N 1J7
My Rating:
Flipper Pie
Beef pot pie, but replace the beef with seal flipper meat. Sound gross? Why? You and I both know you never ate a seal before. What does seal taste like? Well the flippers at least taste like canned sardines with the texture of smoked anchovies. It tastes REALLY STRONG too, flavoring every atom of that pie with fresh low tide aromas. I didn’t even finish the whole thing. Not great, not great.
Where I got it:
Bidgood Fresh Mart, 355 Main Rd, Goulds, NL A1S 1J9
My Rating:
Fisn n’ Chips
Cod is what Newfoundland is all about and it makes some pretty damn good Fisn n’ Chips, maybe the best I’ve had. Not the most adventurous food excursion but you won’t go wrong with this one.
Bonus: Poutine with salted beef, which they call “Jigg’s Poutine” here. Salted beef is an alright topping, as decent as any. The gravy and fries were great here as well. Good restaurant
Where I got it:
Newfoundland Comfort Food, 355 Main Rd, Goulds, NL A1S 1J9
My Rating (the fish n’ chips):
I thought this was a Newfoundland-only chain but they have locations in several parts of Western Canada. Certainly a big thing all over the island. Their claim to fame is the fried chicken sandwich with their potato wedges. The potatoes are… meh but damn they do make a tasty chicken sandwich over there! Sadly also a testament to the dying Newfoundland culture as traditional foods are being replaced by the more delicious melting pot foods like pizza and hamburgers. Survival of the fattest.
My Rating (the burger):
Bakeapples
These are little bland fruits that grow on the Island. You can bake with them. They’re very acidic but not so bad.
Local Beers
These are the local Bud Lite replacements, essentially. Nothing fancy, nothing special. You go work at the fish factory then come back and get drunk on this while waiting for the snow to melt.
Moose Farts
Basic raw cookie dough dipped in dark or milk chocolate. There’s also peanut butter ones. Extremely overly sweet. Words I thought I’d never write.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.