Foodies Fogo

Gastronomes rejoice!  The ultimate long weekend getaway is alive and well, and clinging to a rock in Newfoundland.

My wife and I were fortunate to spend a recent long weekend out at Fogo Island Inn, on remote Fogo Island, out in the Atlantic just off Newfoundland, and (as their website puts it) ‘just over halfway between the equator and the North Pole’. While our waistlines took some punishment, we left there feeling like we had been gone for weeks.

The Inn has many things to recommend it, but for us, the food was the highlight. They offer a ‘dine around’ option, included in your package, whereby you can eat at many different restaurants on the island during your stay. We carefully ignored this, and chose to eat all of our meals at the Inn, which blew us away every time.

Chef Murray McDonald, born and bred in Newfoundland, embraces the many different local foods available on the island. Some ingredients may be a bit bizarre (candied caribou moss, anyone?), but they all work surprisingly well, even on the cupcakes.

On our return trip (which we started planning barely an hour after check-in), we vowed to come back during berry season, when the more than two dozen varieties are ripe for the picking, particularly the bakeapples.

Don’t get me wrong, the food isn’t the only draw at Fogo.  Amazing hikes, friendly locals, and striking scenery are all part of the experience.  We just prefer that scenery while sitting in the dining room and gorging on our cod au gratin.

Mike Poppe has been known to travel to the ends of the Earth for a good sandwich. Fogo, however, was surprisingly easy to get to. Mike puts the pig in Trufflepig, and round here that’s the highest possible compliment.