What to eat in New Brunswick’s largest city
New Brunswick is the least-known of Canada’s Atlantic provinces. Tourists often bypass it to attractions in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Hardy food enthusiasts will make a stop here though, because this is the heartland for Acadian cuisine.
Rise and fall of Acadian cuisine
Acadia was the earliest French colony in Canada. It thrived until the final British conquest in the 18th century, when the majority left or were deported. Limited by poor farming conditions and lack of riches, Acadian cuisine is simple, does not feature fresh herbs and vegetables, and is suited for harsh winters. It’s similar to the cuisine of Quebec in that regard. And like it’s neighbour, it’s fallen out of favour in modern times because it’s seen as bland peasant food.
Some representative dishes:
- Poutine râpées: Potato dumplings with a meaty centre.
- Fricot: Meat stew, usually chicken.
- Râpure: Like a shepherds pie but with chicken or seafood.
- Fried clams: Battered clams.
- Coquille Saint-Jacques: Scallop on the shell, baked with a creamy sauce of cheese and breadcrumbs.
- Pets de sœur: Cinnamon roll but with pie instead of bread dough.
Even though Moncton is New Brunswick’s largest city, Acadian food is surprisingly difficult to find. There are less than 5 places. Consider supplementing your gastronomic excursion with other non-Acadian, New Brunswicker specialties.
Poutine râpées
Poutine râpée is nothing like a poutine. It’s a boiled blob of potato starch with a filling of minced meat. The closest relative is Lithuanian cepelinai or German Knödel. It looks unappetizing, tastes ok, and takes a lot of time to make. No wonder it’s on the verge of extinction. Very few places make it these days.
Chez Mémére
This little takeout spot is the only Acadian restaurant in Moncton.
The menu is limited and it’s takeout only. Still, it’s the most convenient place to sample Acadian delights.
The top seller has to be the poutine râpée. It came floating in a grey, viscous, indistinct broth. The poutine râpée was fine. If you had a potato starch dumpling before, it’s the same thing. Bland and gummy. At least the ground meat filling had enough salt to cut through the starch. 6.5/10.
Unfotunately, the hours are limited. When I went, they had sold out of everything else but they should normally have fricot, râpure, and pets de sœur.
Fricot
Fricot is another quintessential Acadian dish. Essentially, it’s a simple stew with a mirepoix base (onions, carrots, celery) and the characteristic herb of the Atlantic provinces: summer savoury. The protein of choice is chicken.
Mets Acadien @ Saturday Dieppe Market
The Saturday market in Dieppe is smaller than the one in Moncton proper, but it has one thing that the latter doesn’t: an Acadian food stall. Its menu is as small as Chez Mémére’s: poutine râpée, crêpe râpée, fricot, fish cakes, and râpure. Unfortunately, Mets Acadien wasn’t opened when I visited.
Dieppe is practically a suburb of Moncton even though it’s a different city. It’s easily accessible by the same public transport system. The market itself is mildly interesting though not a must-see.
If Mets Acadien is closed, you can try your luck at Garden House Restaurant. It has turkey fricot on selected days.
Pets de sœur
Pets de sœur literally means farts from a nun. It’s the poor cousin of the cinnamon roll. Instead of cinnamon, you get brown sugar. Instead of a fluffy and yeasted dough, you get a flakey and rigid dough. That’s because this pastry was originally made from leftover pie dough, so it’s just a pie crust swirled up and glued together by sugar. As to which is superior, it depends on whether you prefer bread or pie.
Moncton doesn’t have bakers specializing in pets de sœur. However, they can be found easily enough at major supermarkets like Sobeys. They’re even found in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Chez Mémére also has them.
Fried clams
A welcome respite from fish and chips, fried clams are emblematic of the region. It’s exactly what you’d expect: battered and deep-fried morsels of whole clam meat. Like fish and chips, the batter recipe varies.
Marc’s Fried Clams
Update: Marc’s Fried Clams closed in 2024. Try This long-running restaurant changed hands during the COVID pandemic and expanded its menu with Canadian-Chinese food. The new owners have tried to stay close to the original recipe.
The clams had a light dusting of corn starch and the batter wasn’t too thick. It was crispy and reminiscent of popcorn chicken. There were lots of clams and the meat was still tender. 8/10.
The restaurant still preserves its 1990s diners look.
Fish cakes
Although not unique to Acadians, fish cakes are part of their culinary tradition. It’s a standard preparation of mashed salted cod, potatoes, eggs, and herbs. The mixture is then shaped into pucks and pan-fried.
Recipe Collage @ Saturday Moncton Market
Inside the main building of Moncton Market, this stall sells rustic food cooked on a cast iron top. That includes crab cakes, baked beans, cornbread, banana bread, and cookies.
The fish cake tasted plain. I wished there was more fish in it instead of potato. A crispier crust could have added textural contrast but that would have turned it into a croquette. Some sort of dipping sauce could have lifted it up. 6.5/10.
Recipe Collage is just one of dozens of food stalls at the Saturday Moncton Market. There’s exotic food for local residents, like Venezuelan arepas and Dutch pastries. For food tourists from elsewhere, there’s almost nothing that’s unique to New Brunswick. It’s a missed opportunity.
Dulse
If you have to get one food souvenir from New Brunswick, go for dulse. It’s a seaweed that’s heartier, more intense, and more colourful than Japanese nori. It comes air-dried and can be eaten raw in salads, fried into chips, or used as a flavour base for soups. Enterprising harvesters advertise dulse as a super food because of its vitamin and mineral content.
Dulse can be found along northern Atlantic coasts. In particular, dulse from Grand Manan in New Brunswick is hyped as the best in the world.
Lewis Mountain Fresh Farm @ Saturday Moncton Market
You don’t have to go all the way to Grand Manan to try its dulse. This vegetable stand in Moncton Market gets it direct from the source. It’s located in the middle of the passageway between the two buildings of the market.
The dulse had a pretty purple hue. Bright in flavour. Like a vegan jerky, it made for a great snack. 8/10.
Since I haven’t tried dulse from different parts of the world, I can’t comment on whether this was the best.
If you have trouble finding dulse, check out major supermarkets in the Maritimes. Aqua Veggies is one brand of packaged dulse. However, it isn’t as vivacious as those direct from local harvesters. It’s broken down into smaller pieces and tastes more tame.
Modern Canadian
Aside from Acadian foods, modern Canadian cuisine is of interest to food tourists. In New Brunswick, it incorporates Maritime ingredients into French or English culinary traditions.
Les Brumes du Coude
Les Brumes du Coude is, by far, the most chic dining option in Moncton. It’s French-Canadian, so you might find beef tartare, duck, scallops, and cheese made from local ingredients.
The Canadian flair comes from the international twists. Like the spicy scallop ceviche, which had a hint of herbaceous heat. There was a good amount of scallops in there too. 8/10.
Sweetbreads aren’t a common menu item, so I jumped at the chance to try them. They were seared well and slightly creamy inside. The spinach salad helped balance the rich offal but was a bit overdressed. 8/10.
The restaurant feels like a modern bistro. The menu is small, so come in a group to try everything.
Tide and Boar
On the other end of the spectrum. Tide and Boar is a boisterous gastropub. With fusion dishes like birria bao and traditional British pub grub like scotch eggs, it wouldn’t look out of place in London.
What a British pub doesn’t have is boar poutine. Poutine isn’t as celebrated in New Brunswick as in Quebec. So, to find this dish here is a convenient opportunity to sample two Canadian foods in one go.
There was an artery-clogging amount of cheese and pulled boar meat. Unfortunately, the boar was dry. More slow-cooking and fat could have intensified the flavour. The house ketchup provided some respite but could be more tangy. Overall, it was a heavy dish good for a vigorous outdoor day. 7/10.
Chicken Bones candy
The most bizarre food to come out of New Brunswick is Chicken Bones. It’s a neon pink, shiny, hard candy rod. Absolutely nothing to do with chicken bones. The shell is cinnamon flavoured and the centre is bittersweet chocolate. It’s a beloved holiday favourite in the Maritimes.
There are two sources of Chicken Bones: from the inventor, Ganong, or generic but cheaper knockoffs in the supermaket aisles. Fun fact: only a handful of candy makers are trained to make Chicken Bones. Ganong is also the oldest candy/chocolate maker in Canada.
Ganong’s Chicken Bones were slightly spicy and the taste changed distinctly when you got to the chocolate centre. Honestly, the appearance was more fascinating than the taste, though both are quirky. 7/10.
Where to get Acadian and New Brunswicker foods in Toronto
There are no Acadian restaurants in Toronto. There’s not even a lot of them in the ancestral homes of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
However, you can find New Brunswicker products in Toronto. Dulse is sold at some health food stores like Good Rebel. You can find pets de sœur in the bakery aisle of Farm Boy supermarkets, of all places. Ganong chocolates are sometimes offered at major supermarkets, especially during Christmas and Valentine seasons.
Verdict
Acadian food businesses are endangered in Moncton. There are limited opportunities to try them in the Moncton and Dieppe markets on Saturdays. So, time your visit well. Or venture out of the city to the smaller communes.
That said, the more memorable New Brunswicker foods are likely to be dulse and Chicken Bones.
Practical information
Chez Mémére
- Rating
- 6.5/10
- Prices (including tax)
- Poutine rapée: $5.25
Râpé: $7.25
Fricot: $6.25
Pet de sœur: $3.50 - Address
- 241 Lewisville Road
- Hours
- Thursday to Saturday 1100h – 2100h
- Date of visit
- November 2022
Mets Acadien @ Saturday Dieppe Market
- Rating
- 7/10
- Prices
- Fricot: $6.00
Poutine rapée: $6.00
Crêpe rapée: $3.50
Râpure: $6.00
Fish cake: $5.00 - Address
- Dieppe Market, 232 Gauvin Road
- Hours
- Saturday 0800h – 1300h
- Date of visit
- November 2022
Marc’s Fried Clams (closed in 2024)
- Rating
- 8/10
- Prices
- Fried clams (regular): $20.41 (including tax)
- Address
- 300 Elmwood Drive
- Hours
- Tuesday to Sunday 1100h – 1900h
- Date of visit
- November 2022
Recipe Collage @ Saturday Moncton Market
- Rating
- 6.5/10
- Prices
- Fish cake: $4.00 (including tax)
- Address
- Moncton Market building on 120 Westmorland Street
- Hours
- Saturday 0800h – 1400h
- Date of visit
- November 2022
Lewis Mountain Fresh Farm @ Saturday Moncton Market
- Rating
- 8/10
- Prices
- Dulse: $10.00 (tax-free)
- Address
- Middle of corridor connecting the two buildings of Moncton Market, 120 Westmorland Street
- Hours
- Saturday 0800h – 1400h
- Date of visit
- November 2022
Les Brumes du Coude
- Rating
- 8/10
- Prices
- Spicy scallop ceviche: $26.45 (including tax)
Sweetbreads on spinach salad: $26.45 (including tax) - Address
- 140 Botsford Street
- Hours
- Wednesday to Friday 1130h – 1315h, 1700h – 2100h
Saturday 1700h – 2100h - Date of visit
- November 2022
Tide and Boar Gastropub
- Rating
- 7/10
- Prices
- Wild boar poutine: $21.85 (including tax)
- Address
- 700 Main Street
- Hours
- Monday to Thursday 1130h – 2100h
Friday 1130h – 2200h
Saturday 1100h – 2200h
Sunday 1100h – 2100h - Date of visit
- November 2022