The Inn at Whale Cove and Restaurant still has some of the faraway quality one used to associate with Grand Manan. The Inn is half a mile up the Whistle Road, a cluster of old buildings overlooking the sea. People have been coming here to stay and dine for almost a century, and Willa Cather once owned one of the cottages. Laura Buckley and her mother Kathleen have renovated the kitchen and bedrooms and filled the sitting-room with antique Shaker furniture. Laura worked for years at the Compass Rose B&B Inn down the road in North Head, and she brought their recipe for oatmeal bread with her when she left.
When she's not making oatmeal bread she's making fish: gravlax, fillet of salmon in phyllo, seafood risotto with arboria rice and, in the early summer, bouillabaisse. Haddock, cod and pollock are on the menu when they can be had, pan-fried or poached with ruchetta and a tomato salsa. The greens, fruits and vegetables are all bought from local suppliers and most meals come with beautiful lettuce and fine French beans. The caramel pie is made with a rich, dark caramel, the mud pie has a rich brownie base, mocha-fudge ice cream and caramel. The Gourmet Food Shop next door is the only place on the Island where vegetarians can get things like homous, tabouleh and pita bread. It's open from 11 am to 5 pm every day but Sunday.
