The Best I Ever Had: Liver & Onions, Lavena's Catch Cafe, Freeport, Nova Scotia, July 2012

While Whale Watching Off of Digby Neck

The following was originally published on “Old Ones Dream” in two pieces — May 4, 2013 and May 9, 2013 — and as combined below — as a piece in “Magnolia Elegy: Place In the Edisto Fork” April 14, 2022.

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We left Parker’s Cove, just north of Annapolis Royale, Nova Scotia, first thing of a morning, drove down 101 to exit 26, and dropped off onto 217, which took us down Digby Neck a little over 50 miles to Freeport where the second ferry goes over to Westport on Brier Island.

One of the reasons that we chose Freeport Whale and Seabird Tours at Freeport NS for our whale-watching excursion was that we had seen written that one of the good restaurants in Nova Scotia is located at the dock and that the ticket office for the whale-watching tour is located in the restaurant, Lavena’s Catch Cafe.

When we arrived, we confirmed our reservations for whale watching and got a table for lunch on the deck, where we watched the workboats go by in the inlet separating Long Island from Brier Island, and the comings and goings of the Brier Island Ferry. I didn’t pay strict attention to everything on the menu because I spied Liver and Onions, and there I stalled. I had been on a menu of “catch” for about 2 weeks and it seemed like the time and the place for Liver and Onions.

While we waited to be served, Tanne was “working the room” and at the next table she found Heather, who graduated from high school with her, 50 years before, and then moved away and made her life in Wisconsin. We had a delightful 50-year reunion visit with Heather and her husband, and that continued in the afternoon onboard the Georgie Porgie for the whale-watching tour.

          Heather and Tanne on the Georgie Porgie

I wish that I had taken a picture of my meal, but I did not expect to find “the best I ever had” Liver and Onions at a maritime cafe in Nova Scotia, and so I was guilty of underestimating the meal. I did not realize what I had until I tore into it. The very generous portion of liver was tender and tasty, mounded with onions and bacon, and served with coleslaw and sweet potato fries.

Beef liver and onions is comfort food to me and always brings back memories of the dinner table at the farm and meals prepared by Shot, meals which caused fertilizer and seed salesmen to schedule their sales call for around 11:45 AM. Also, the liver and onions, sometimes served as a menu special by Falls Landing in Brevard, North Carolina, is a pretty good standard for comparison as well, but the best I ever had was had that day at Lavena’s Catch Cafe in Freeport, on Digby Neck in Nova Scotia.

The Georgie Porgie arrived at the dock and disembarked the folk from the morning tour. The tour boat is a working lobster boat during lobster season and becomes a whale-watching tour boat when lobster season closes (locally May 31). Captain Tim Crocker runs the boat, exchanging information and sightings with other boats, while the passengers are entertained and informed by a knowledgeable local guide.

We boarded Georgie Porgie and headed north into the Bay of Fundy where, within about 20 minutes, we were among humpback whales—and we remained among whales for about two hours.

These girls are over 40 feet and 40 tons. We saw one with a calf which was only about 12 feet long but very playful. They are very sociable creatures.

Later in the afternoon, we suddenly headed up northeast at full throttle for about 5 minutes and came about. Our guide announced that we had “won the whale-watching lottery” and pointed out to us a North Atlantic Right Whale she termed “one of only 400 remaining on Earth.” Maybe they have a deal with the North Atlantic Right Whale to promote Nova Scotia tourism and they do that every day—but it could have been a “Southern Left Whale” and none of us would have known the difference at 50 meters.

We had a great time. We saw and cavorted with more whales than we could have expected, the equipment performed well, and the personnel were very gracious and informative. The trip exceeded our expectations and we give it a 5-star review.