Where great food meets art, jewellery, scenery and beautiful flowers

Brackley Beach, Prince Edward Island


This was one of the first days where my boyfriend and I explored the Island on our own.  His parents had shown me around because they had taken some time off as well. First on our itinerary that day was The Dunes. The Dunes is a popular attraction located in Brackley, PEI. The Dunes is an art gallery filled with art from Island artists. It also has eclectic jewlery, furniture, a beautiful garden out back, and not to mention a superb cafe serving up delicious fare. Not too far down the road is Brackley Beach, a popular tourist beach. 


We had planned on having lunch here and skipped out on breakfast, so by the time we arrived, we were starving. The lunch line was about a 30-minute wait, but it wasn't so bad because there was alot of interesting stuff to see!We were given a buzzer until our table was ready, but the buzzer didn't go off. We checked the status of our table and sure enough, we were next in line! Perfect timing.


We got seated upstairs beside the window that looked out to the garden. I was excited! Great view and the food on the menu sounded yummy. When I'm out this far in Atlantic Canada, how could I not have seafood chowder? I mean, that's one of my favourite soups.

Atlantic seafood chowder-tomato based.

So for starters, seafood chowder it was. My boyfriend ordered roasted red pepper and coconut, the soup of the day. Maaaaaaan was my chowder one of the best I've tried! It was tomato based, which I prefer because it's less filling and less fattening than the roux-based chowder soup (flour and butter and cream). Mussels, small chunks of halibut and salmon, topped with a red-pepper rouille, this soup was a meal on it's own. I stole a bite of my boyfriend's soup- it wasn't as tasty as mine, duh!


My boyfriend ordered the pasta of the day: pancetta and spinach pasta, while I had ordered the turkey burger with fresh greens, and lemon preserve artichoke salad for the main course. I wasn't even sure if I could fit that in as I was full from the chowder.  But knowing me, I'll chow it down! The burger wasn't too bad; the meat was a little dry probably because it was lean and it was seasoned with curry (which I didn't realize when I ordered). It was tasty, but I much liked the chowder before. The small portion of the lemon preserve artichoke salad was something else. The subtle taste of the lemon preserve, combined with the tartness of the lemon paired with almonds, was a new taste for me. And I absolutely adored it. I kept in mind that I'll have to make it when I get home.  My boyfriend's pasta dish was also very tasty; quite creamy but the smoky flavour of the pancetta went well with the spinach. I snagged bites here and there. ;-)


No room for dessert here. But there was definitely room for a nice little walk around the garden. Next time I come to Prince Edward Island, I am going to make another stop here for sure.
Verdict: so-darn-scrumptious!
http://www.dunesgallery.com/