We are relaxing on Aunt Sandy and Uncle Okee’s back porch in Boothbay Harbor, Maine drinking a beer and enjoying some fresh goat cheese we picked up on the Isle d’Orleans outside of Quebec City yesterday. I thought it would be a good time to check in on our list of foods that we must eat while traveling.

We did a nice job in Vermont and enjoyed everything that we ate. We really didn’t know where Ben and Jerry’s was and happened upon it on our way into Stowe deciding spontaneously to check it out and pulling a quick U-turn to head up to the factory. We took a quick tour to learn how they made the ice cream and enjoyed a free sample before hitting the road to head to our room at the Trappe Family Resort.

We learned that the Trappe family had bought a plot of land that included a river near the original resort and had built a brewery using fresh water from the stream to brew the beer. We headed out to the beer hall for dinner the first night and enjoyed authentic Austrian cuisine and delicious local beer.

Maple syrup is everywhere and in everything you can think of so getting our fill was no problem. Lily topped us all with a fluffy stack of chocolate chip pancakes with Vermont maple syrup for breakfast on our first morning.

On a maple syrup note, it was our first time seeing the numerous tubes throughout the forest on our hikes and bike rides used to tap and run to Maple’s from the trees to the sugarhouses.

The only local delicacy we missed out on was “sugar on snow” which we understand to be shaved ice with maple syrup served with a doughnut and a pickle. As odd as that sounds I was disappointed to not have the opportunity to try it.

From Vermont we headed north to Montreal and Quebec city in search of poutine. This dish is comprised of fries topped with cheese curd and gravy in there are as many variations as you can imagine.

This poutine is, of course, delicious but it is so rich and hearty that trying it twice in a four-day period will suffice until our next visit. We tried it first at the Montreal impact MLS soccer game where we did poutine with smoked meat on top which was basically shredded corn beef and it was delicious.

We gave it another go at a restaurant in Quebec city where they put barbecue pork on top and even with the five of us having a few bites we left some cheese curds on the plate, unable to take another bite.

We never did try the famed Montreal bagel so I will have to take their word for it that there’s something unusually special about it.

We did, however, have one of the more incredible meals that we have enjoyed as a family and a beautiful small restaurant called Bacala in the old city of Montreal. The ambience, service and food were exquisite. Jonah and I kicked off the meal with some more local raw oyster’s fresh out of the St. Lawrence River.

We ate every morsel of our lamb raviolis, lobster carbonara’s and shrimp risotto’s stopping short of licking our plates clean.

To top off our trip to these incredible food cities, we decided to drive the loop of the Ile d’Orleans, a small island in the Saint Lawrence river right outside of Quebec City.

Our tour took us through farms of strawberries at the peak of their season, grapes on the vine, apple orchards, chocolatiers, fresh bakeries and fromageries. Gina and I stopped for a couple of wine tastings and tried ice wine for the first time. This drive was such a scenic treat and food lover’s delight.