One Fish Bistro

Ethnic influenced cuisine with an emphasis on seafood

We encountered One Fish Bistro in Shemogue, N.B. while on a summer holiday at Parlee Beach, on a day when we went for a drive to visit Winegarden Estate Distillery and Winery nearby in Baie Verte.

They are right on route 15, so quite handy to Parlee Beach, Shediac, Moncton and Sackville, but also convenient for folks travelling to or from P.E.I.

One Fish is a lovely little spot, with an eclectic menu and pleasant decor. It feels very casual and fun, bright and clean, with plants and local art. We found the service particularly friendly and excellent. As first impressions go, they were off to a good start.

The menu on the day we visited was wide-ranging in its influences; “around the world” cuisine, one could say. Our orders included Salt & Pepper Seafood Tacos ($18), Firecracker Prawns ($14), Pescado Frito with a Black Pepper Envy Sauce ($18) and Grandma Shivji’s Samosas ($14). Everything we had that day impressed, with some spicy, flavourful options but also a remarkably delicious salad, quite an elevated version from what most restaurants offer. Everything looked fresh and gorgeous, too.

For those trying to avoid bold spices, their menu has featured a Plowman’s Plate and also a Guinness Steak & Mushroom Pie: simple, hearty fare but still flavourful options.

Owner and cook William Ogilvie manages the kitchen along with his team. They’ve been open since 2019. “The actual dishes chosen for the menu are a mix of types of food I choices which some of my more cautious customers could identify with.”

The menu is decidedly influenced by locally sourced seafood, which Ogilvie noted was the root inspiration for the menu. Combined, of course, with the products sourced from local organic vegetable growers. Did I mention they have terrific, fresh salads?

 

 

 

 

We didn’t have dessert, but they offer a very good selection, including their own pies such as strawberry rhubarb, bourbon peach, cherry, raisin, apple, or three berry.

The drink selection is modest but well-chosen and fairly priced. Though we enjoyed a Jost Tidal Bay from Nova Scotia, it would be nice to see some New Brunswick wine on their menu.

The only cautionary note is that they are cash only, however they do have their own ATM onsite.

The art of a good bistro is to present delicious food at reasonable pricing, with great service, ambiance, and a good selection of drink pairings, again at a reasonable price. One Fish is a very good bistro.

 

One Fish Bistro
5676 Route 15, Shemogue, N.B.
Phone: (506) 712-6300
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Hours: Thurs-Sat, 9 am – 10 pm

 

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Terroir Generator Magnetic Hill Winery uses same grapes to produce four very different wines

Wine lovers should be familiar with the French term terroir, which refers to the factors surrounding a vineyard that affect how the wine will taste. It includes soil, weather, aspect, slope, flora and fauna and local culture as well as the grape growing and winemaking philosophy and techniques.

Moncton’s Magnetic Hill Winery released a new line of wines in 2021 under the Terroir Generator label, to illustrate how the wine maker, Zach Everett, and his team, can make different wines from the same grapes.

Magnetic Hill, founded by Zach’s parents Janet and Jeff who are still very active in the business, has been very progressive in the last few years: expanding the property, building a new winemaking building and tasting room with views over the city, and buying new vineyard land. They have had good success with the Marquette grape. Bred in Minnesota, it’s a hardy black variety with Pinot Noir in its parentage, the base of the Terroir Generator wines.

Most of Magnetic Hill’s Marquette comes from the Jakobs family vineyard in Cap Pelé, N.B. The family emigrated from Germany and now farm 35 acres in total, much of which is Marquette, but also Osceola Muscat, the main white grape used at Magnetic Hill.

Magnetic Hill also recently acquired vineyard-suitable land on the Northumberland shore. “We’ll be able to plant at least 50 acres there,” said Everett, “and maybe as many as 80 acres once we clear some forest, right beside the water in Murray Corner!” This is very exciting growth for the industry.

Everett uses Marquette in a range of wines, including their Lodestone red blend and a rosé, but the most interesting are the four Terroir Generator wines which are sold for $25 exclusively at the winery store, not at the government-run ANBL. These are small batch wines, with only around 100-150 cases of each released in 2021. They are labelled to show the style he was aiming for. For the next vintage (2021) he does not know yet how many styles he’ll produce, just that he won’t be making the “Merlot style” version. He used new oak and went for big body and fruit for that one but discovered that the wine evolved to be more like California-style Pinot Noir. “I’m going to aim at only Gamay or Pinot Noir style wines for this vintage,” said Everett.

 

 

 

 

Some notes on the four Terroir Generator wines:

Unoaked
A light red coloured wine that sees no oak, made with free-run juice, meaning the juice that comes out on its own due to the weight of the grapes, before they start pressing. Pressing gets more colour and tannins from the skins. This is a light fresh red with good acidity and would be nice served slightly chilled.

New World Light Bodied Pinot Noir Style 
This sees some neutral and light toast oak, and has more influence from pressed wine but is still fruit driven, showing cherry fruit, but still with good acidity.

Old World Medium Bodied Pinot Noir Style 
This is more like Burgundy, so has even more structure from oak and pressed wine. It has more weight, tannins, and is less overtly fruity. A good food wine.

New World Full Bodied Merlot Style 
This was an attempt at a round, oaky, fruity Merlot style red, so has some  new oak, but Marquette showed its Pinot Noir parentage and it turned out leaner than expected.

 

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Down, down, down

More consumers want lower alcohol drinks (or even zero alcohol)

Trends come and go, in clothing and music, but also in drinks, including beer. Recently there has been a strong trend towards lower alcohol options, and even NA (no alcohol). This is also happening in wine and cocktails. It is partly a case of people looking to live healthier and be more responsible with respect to impaired driving, but there is also a taste component to the trend.

Some prefer the moderate alcohol level of English Mild or Bitter, or North American style “Session” ales with less than 4.5 per cent alcohol, which also tend to be less bitter and warming than IPAs.

Nathalie Nadeau, co-owner with her sister Gilliane of Uncorked Tours and Tasting Room in the Saint John City Market, has noticed the trend. “I would say they’ve gained popularity, for sure. Quality table beers like the Praha from Grimross are sought after as well as Session IPAs like The Half Of It from Long Bay. People are definitely craving the same quality beers with lower alcohol.”

Uncorked also sells the NA Libra beers from Charlottetown, P.E.I.’s Upstreet. “We probably go through a 24-pack every two to three weeks,” says Nadeau. “It’s quality NA beer and I highly recommend it to those looking for something in that category. Now we just need a New Brunswick brewery to catch up and start making some in province!”

 

 

 

 

“Sales for Libra are growing between 40-50 per cent month over month,” says Upstreet’s Mike Hogan, “We launched Libra last November with one brand, the Pale Ale. Then we added a Hazy IPA in July and released a Pilsner in October.” They plan other brands, too, including a Pumpkin Spice.

They project these NA beers to be half of their sales volume by 2022. Sales go up, up, up as the alcohol goes down, down, down.

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CRAIG PINHEY is a Sommelier, beverage judge, consultant and writer from Nova Scotia, who now resides in Rothesay, N.B.
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