The Tide is high

MONCTON GASTROPUB POWERS CULINARY REVOLUTION

The name of Moncton gastropub Tide & Boar is a play on words: It advertises the rustically hip downtown establishment’s specialties in seafood and wild boar dishes, and it also refers to the magnificent force of the Bay of Fundy. “The tide will rush in and create a tidal wave that will come up the river,” reversing its course, explains Chad Steeves, a firsttime restaurateur who owns the Tide & Boar with his father, Ty.

Like a changing tide, the culinary revolution under way on the east coast is rolling ahead with tremendous power. Between its fertile farmland and access to the ocean, Atlantic Canada has massive (but largely untapped) potential as a dining destination. To help win over the hearts and stomachs of the local population, Tide & Boar’s approach is to offer the familiar alongside the novel on its menu. “People who want to be adventurous can, while people who want to have something they’re used to, but made with care, can have that as well,” Steeves says. “We don’t want to scare our customer base away.”

A popular example of Tide & Boar’s balanced approach: the boar poutine, a familiar dish but with a meaty twist. Chef Michel Savoie’s boars come from New Brabant farm in Knightville, N.B., which raises its animals in a free-range environment. An excellent lineup of live bands — including Hollerado, Wintersleep and even Maritime rockers Sloan — also draws a boatload of locals and visitors to the door, but it’s the food that makes them repeat customers. “Everybody goes nuts for the boar poutine,” Steeves says.