Dinner Out: The Flying Apron Inn and Cookery
By Scott Campbell
I think Nicole Robinson, host of Nova Scotia’s Best on Eastlink Television and faculty member of the NSCC School of Tourism and Hospitality, said it best when she said, “You don’t have to travel to Tuscany for an amazing culinary experience, it’s all available at The Flying Apron.”
The Flying Apron Inn and Cookery can be found in Nova Scotia’s beautiful Summerville. Don’t let the out-of-the-way location fool you into thinking you aren’t going to enjoy world class cuisine – because you are.
The menu changes every week and offers an ever-changing selection of locally-sourced and honestly prepared foods (especially the desserts, but I’ll get to those later). The Flying Apron is well known for their sustainable food practices and the efforts shine through in their delicious fresh and wholesome menu. Let me tell you a little bit about what I had the opportunity to enjoy.
I started out dinner with the Baby Bakers – baby organic potatoes baked with brie cheese, bacon over herb cream, and drizzled with truffle oil. As good as that sounds: it was better. The smooth cheese and flavourful bacon and truffle oil all over and around piping hot baked potatoes was spectacular. I wanted to order another one but restrained myself knowing I had to save room for everything yet to come.
Another amazing appetizer was the asparagus with grilled halloumi cheese and a fried duck egg. This was a brilliant medley of flavours and textures that just simply worked well together. The asparagus and duck egg was great together but the addition of the halloumi just put the whole dish over the top.
The next dish up was the creamy squid ink spaghetti, Nova Scotia inshore small-boat-caught scallops, halibut cheeks, sustainable blue salmon, and Selva shrimp with Parmesan cheese. This seafood delight was incredible. It hit all the markers when it comes to taste, texture, and attractiveness in a dish. The squid ink pasta with its dramatic black colour as a base for the other fresh and sustainably-sourced ingredients was spectacular. And the taste – wow! The rich fish flavours mingling together with Parmesan cheese was brilliant.
And there was no way I was going to dine at a restaurant that was located in Nova Scotia and renowned for its fresh seafood and not try the chowder. The seafood chowder is created with sustainable blue salmon, hook and line caught haddock, and Selva shrimp with a house buttermilk biscuit. Most Nova Scotians have a good idea of what they consider the “best” chowder and I’ve tried many of them. If you’ve read my articles before you’ll know that my basis of comparison is always my mother’s seafood chowder. Again, I find myself apologizing to my poor mother. This seafood chowder was outstanding. The fresh ingredients smothered in the rich, creamy chowder just combined to create one of the best seafood chowders I’ve ever tasted. In my defense, The Flying Apron is on the Taste of Nova Scotia Chowder Trail so it should come as no surprise that their chowder is as amazing as it is.
Then came dessert. I’m told that one of the tried and true favourites on the menu is the lemon poppy seed cream cheese pie. Admittedly, I was pretty full by the time we reached the dessert section of the meal but there was no way I was leaving there without trying this famous dessert. I’m glad I forced myself. The bright yellow, tart, and creamy dessert was spectacular to look at and even moreso to eat. Each forkful of this sweet and tangy treasure was simply an invitation for another forkful. You really have to try it.
The Flying Apron Inn and Cookery is open year-round but the dining experience is different from week to week so I would strongly urge you to go often and go hungry. Cheers.
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