From savory to syrupy, Canadas regional dishes are quirky, fun and seriously delicious

Peace out, poutine.There’s more to the menu is moose country than the gravy-slathered staple that’s made its way around the world.Come to Canada hungry and you’ll be able to sample a slew of quirky delicacies unfamiliar to all but the most devoted foodies.“Fish and chips are on every single menu here, and they always offer vinegar,” said cookbook author Colu Henry, who lives part-time in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a nod to the strong British influence that remains here.

Don’t be confused to see “hodgepodge” on a menu, either, she said: It’s a creamy, slow-simmered chunky vegetable soup spiked with nubs of new-to-Prince Edward Island potatoes Henry calls “insanely delicious.” Any grocery store will stock bottled donair sauce, too, a mayonnaise-like condiment made from evaporated milk, vinegar, sugar and garlic powder.It was dreamed up in the 1970s by a Greek immigrant trying to convince locals to sample the gyros he made at his restaurant as a sweeter riff on tzatziki.

Go to King of Donair, on Quinpool Road in Halifax, to taste the OG recipe.And if you want to sample the best oysters from around the area? Hit up celebuchef Michael Smith’s spot in PEI, the Inn at Bay Fortune, for its summer interactive feast where they’re the star attraction.The cold climate and acidic soil of Canada’s northeast primes it for blueberry farming of all ilk, but Quebec is known for Saguenay bluets (say it “BLOO-et”), named for the settlement north of Quebec City.

Toronto-based Raymond Cua of Travelling Foodie says these are smaller and sweeter than Maine’s staple with a punchier flavor that works best in a pie.You can graze on them on the fly if you follow the 159-mile Véloroute des Bleuets (Blueberry Route) which loops around Lac Saint-Jean — the best window for roadside bounty is August.Cua is also fond of Quebec tourtière, a shallow, double-crust meat pie that’s a festive fixture which leans on warm, sweet spices like cinnamon ...