Lot 30, PEI

Lot 30, Charlottetown
We had decided that we would not make our Charlottetown reservation because we didn’t want to drive a half hour each way. So, what we thought is we’d feed the kids at the fry shack and then we’d go to Ruthies and sit on the water. The kids got hamburgers and fries, which I must say, looked very yummy. The fries were great if way too greasy for my stomach. They ate outside at the waters edge on picnic tables. Vive walked over to Ruthies (which is just across the street) to see if their sign about not taking credit cards had come down (we didn’t have much Canadian cash left and there was no cash machine in town that took our ATM card).
The people at Ruthie’s had decided not to serve any food that night, but we could have beer if we wanted. So, that ended that idea and we decided we’d also get food from the fry shack, but when we went back it was closed. Okay, we’d see what the menu was at the Victoria Inn. It was the same as the night before. Vive decided that we should just go to Charlottetown. Lot 30 was supposed to be an excellent restaurant and got great reviews and he was leaving soon so it was worth it.
So, we headed out to the big city. Lot 30 is named after the dividing of the lots when PEI was first divided up back in the 18th century. It’s an attractive, modern space with clean lines, wood and brown and white as the only colors. The room was warm and welcoming, the waiter great but there were two twin one year olds that almost ruined the experience until they finally fell asleep, at least 1.5 hours after we got there.
I don’t want to go into a tirade about people bringing children to restaurants like this one, but I will say that it was very irritating. The kids screamed, shrieked and otherwise were disruptive throughout the meal. How the parents were able to eat was amazing, but maybe they were used to it. I don’t like to eat a good meal with my 13 year old and I certainly don’t want to eat with two screaming one year olds, but nothing you can do about it. We tried not to let it bother us, but after every brief moment of quiet there would be this loud shriek; it was like some kind of torture, just when you thought that it would be peaceful and you relaxed, then there would another huge shriek.
The food was excellent, probably the best on the trip, which is saying something given that the atmosphere was so unpleasant. We started with a ginger martini and a glass of white wine. The white wine was from Ontario and was unusual, tart and dry but sweet on the first taste. The martini was fine but not very original. Dinner started with four warm whole grain rolls set on a long wood plate. They were wonderful with tasty butter. I don’t usually like the rolls, but these were worth eating.
Our appetizers were a pistachio crusted scallops with curry and greens and a special PEI cheese called Oka (we thought it was a misspelling of Okra). The Oka was also crusted with pistachio (maybe a local product ?). The scallops were exceptional, perfectly cooked and fully flavored. They sat on some greens but I’m not sure what. Every bite was excellent and it was hard to share. The salad and cheese were fine, but nothing unusual or unique.
Our mains were the waiters recommendation: local pork shoulder and pork loin with mashed potatoes for one plate and duck with a cherry glaze and vegetables for the other. Both were excellent. The pork loin was wonderfully cooked, tender and juicy. The pork shoulder was braised with some spices and vinegar maybe and tasted fantastic. Even the vegetables were good, a mixture of carrot and green bean with a light sauce on them. The duck was cooked medium rare (the chef’s recommendation) and was not gamey at all, but moist and tasty. I savored every bite. We probably should have ordered dessert there but we were so full.