I demurred, but my colleagues kept egging me on.
“Just add a drop of Tabasco,’’ one cried. “It might be better if you don’t chew,’’ offered another.
What the heck. I hoisted the shell to my lips, opened wide and let the contents slither down. There was a fleeing sensation of something fishy and salty. Then it hit bottom — and, thankfully, didn’t come back up.
If you’re going to lose your virginity — at least as far a shellfish are concerned — P.E.I. is a perfect place.
The island supplies 70% of the mussels consumed in North America and harvests. They’re farmed — grown on long lines suspended in water around the island — so can be harvested year round. They are said to be meatier and sweeter-tasting than wild ones and free of grit.
Islanders also catch seven million pounds of oysters annually. And, as tourists who have attended church suppers will testify, the lobster’s not bad, either.
Mid-September, when I visited, was a perfect time for any initiation — the International Shellfish Festival was in full swing in a huge tent down by the water.
While folks sat and dug into the mussels, they could listen to the Charlottetown Police Choir — the only one in Canada, they say — or cheer on their favourite in the celebrity oyster-shucking contest — the winner opened six in less than 45 seconds.
Besides mussels, you could buy three kinds of chowder for $5 to $7 a bowl, plates of lobster croquettes for $9 or a scallop ceviche salad for $7.
Or your could cadge free stuff. I stopped and asked one man about a light-coloured shellfish he was opening.
“These are clams,’’ he replied, “Wanna try one?” So I did. My benefactor, as I should have guessed by his generosity, if not from his accent, was a transplanted Newfoundlander.
A word of warning: If you hit the festival the last night, get in line early for food. At 8 p.m. I just missed the last item at the nearest stand, a chicken wrap, and had to spend my remaining vouchers on more beer.
The festival was great fun, but to really experience fish and seafood you have to try local restaurants.
Two in Charlottetown I liked:
n Claddagh Oyster House. If plain mussels don’t appeal to you, try it other ways. Their fennel cream-flavoured ones were a hit with my colleagues, and their mussel chowder was loaded with butter and cream. The menu claims this is the only restaurant that serves locally caught halibut that is fresh rather than frozen.
n Flex Mussels. They do mussels 22 different ways, but I’d had my fill of them and went for Digby scallops, which arrived fat and juicy, accompanied by P.E.I.’s other famous export, potatoes, in the form of tiny “fingerlings.’’
A tourism contact recommended these: The Merchant Man Pub (“very consistent); The Pilot House (“lots of loyal clientele’’); and The Gahan, a brew pub (“try Gahan Red’’).
An unexpected bonus was an e-mail from the guy who sat beside me on the flights to Charlottetown. A Canadian who’d developed a love of seafood while working on the U.S. East Coast, he decided his first visit to P.E.I. should coincide with the shellfish festival.
Some of his findings:
n The Water-Prince Corner Shop (“best shellfish in Charlottetown’’).
n New Glasgow Lobster Suppers (“one of the best ever lobsters . . . very tender and sweet), but the mussels and chowder were sub par.’’)
For more tourism information on P.E.I., phone 1-800-463-4PEI or visit gentleisle.com.
Canada’s summer theatre festivals
