Lobster with a View

Have you ever wanted to just get out of town? Load the kids/dogs/husband in the car, sneak away and drive? If any of you are shaking your heads ‘no’, I’ll give you a few minutes to actually think about it…

There, I knew you would say yes.

So my husband and I did just that – we loaded up the car and hit the highway.  There are certainly some very unique things about driving in Nova Scotia. One of these unique little tidbits is that you won’t get very far before you hit shoreline.  What is an even more delicious tidbit, is that every now and then you’ll find a beach where you can enjoy some quintessentially Nova Scotian fare.  So, if in the near future, you decide to take one of these drives, and that drive happens to be to Nova Scotia’s south shore, be certain to check out the Quarterdeck on Summerville Beach.

When you roll up to a restaurant there are certain things you look for as indications you’re in a good spot – a crowded parking lot, a nice patio, inviting décor.  The first thing we saw when we drove up to the Quarterdeck was two beautiful sides of salmon strapped to cedar planks over an open fire pit. Now if that doesn’t make you want to scoot inside and grab a seat, I have no idea what would. Seriously.  We made our way through the dining room, adorably decorated with Nova Scotia folk art and all things nautical, and found a seat that had an amazing view of the beach.

Even on a less than sunny day, the view was outstanding; you are literally on the beach.  Our server, Bonnie, came over to give us some menus and have a quick chat about the food.  Now I’m sure you’re familiar with my policy of full disclosure: I knew exactly what I was going to order, in fact I had made my decision before we left Halifax.  But I thought I should let my husband spend some quality time with the menu.  While he did a little light reading, I asked Bonnie a little bit about the place. The Quarterdeck has been on the same spot since the 1930s. They are well known for their wonderful view of the beach, and their planked salmon – the same little lovelies we saw on the cedar planks when we arrived.

By this point my husband had made his choice, and we had some drinks on the way.  He settled on the Halibut ‘n’ Chips, with a wonderfully cold glass of Garrison Tall Ship Amber, and I (finally!) got to order my lobster.  While we waited for our food, we really got a chance to appreciate the view.  The Quarterdeck sits on the end of Summerville Beach, and you can see well to the other end.  On the section of the beach closest to us were several villas, which backed directly on to the beach. As a quick note, I would highly recommend taking your someone special here for a night or a weekend – waking up to the sound of the water would be incredible!

And then our food arrived. Let me start by saying that I grew up in Nova Scotia and can’t even count the number of lobsters I’ve eaten.  But every single time I see that bright, shock of red there’s that little thrill of knowing just how good it’s going to be – and I was certainly not disappointed at The Quarterdeck.  My pound-and-a-half lobster was cooked to perfection, and perfectly pre-cracked as well to minimize work and maximize eating, and came with the traditional drawn butter.  There was also a wonderfully crisp Caesar salad beside it, complete with Parmesan crisps.

The lobster was sweet, tender and just plain wonderful, and I was fully absorbed in eating.  So absorbed in fact that I forgot for a moment I wasn’t by myself, that my husband was also eating something, and Bonnie was asking me if I wanted another glass of wine (I was enjoying the Jost Trilogy by the way).  Once I snapped to it, my husband let me know that his Halibut ‘n’ Chips was great, and that even being a battered fish it kept a great flaky texture.

I was sad to finish that lobster – I’ll admit it.  I think Bonnie our server saw just how sad I was and decided to make me feel better by suggesting I give the blueberry crumble a try. I lit right up.  It was certainly more than worth it, and was only made the better by the view, the great service and the company.

So the Quarter Deck is certainly an interesting spot, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention just how wonderful the staff was.  There’s a lot to be said about people who love what they do, and who can really sell their local area and all the wonderful things about it. Carter’s Beach came with an especially high recommendation.  And there’s something great about piling into a car and getting to see a beautiful piece of Nova Scotia’s coastline, having some wonderful local food and meeting some interesting people along the way.

And who doesn’t want to enjoy lobster with a view?