Grandma's Kitchen

Tuktoyaktuk, NNWT

Visited August 8 2019

When a friend tells you there is a food truck in Tuktoyaktuk, you're skeptical. Aren't modern food trucks associated with hipsters and creativity, both of which seem unlikely in such a remote location? The food available to tourists in the far north is not often inventive or original. It is also not served in anything like your Grandma's kitchen, which is the name of said food truck. But there is a food truck and it is marvellous. Come to think of it, a food truck is exactly right for this part of the world. A mobile kitchen that is relatively cheap and easy to set up and take down as the season and the traffic dictate. And at this truck, right there on the shores of the Beaufort Sea, with sweeping views of the driftwood covered beach and the sparkling waters, delicious northern food is served. 

After the spectacular 150 kilometre drive from Inuvik, over the permafrost, through the tundra and the cloudberries, past the lakes filled with wild swans and past the pingos, those weird hills of ice unique to the far north, you arrive at Tuk. It's at once foreign and familiar, another country but also your country, a place you have only seen in CBC documentaries. A hamlet just recently opened to summer traffic where people are more likely to own skidoos and quads than cars and kids walk or ride their bikes everywhere. A town that stretches along the coast for miles, the name Tuktoyaktuk is Inuvialuit for "looks like a caribou". According to the local people, years ago a woman looked on as some caribou waded into the waters. As she watched,  they turned to stone. Today at low tide, you can see caribou shaped reefs just off shore. Tuk was the first community In Canada to revert back to its original name and it is a very traditional community.

You complete your journey at the waterfront. After driving past the scattered houses that make up the town, you arrive at a long spit of land known as "the Point" which curves into the sea, protecting the mainland. A small park, some picnic tables, an unappealing biffy and a marker indicating the Trans Canada Trail mark the end point of the road. This rapidly eroding stretch is home to the local cemetery where a burial is taking place and several small houses that are disappearing into the ocean at an alarming rate. As global warming threatens the north at a frightening pace it is probably just a matter of time before this whole area vanishes beneath the waves.

Dry fish for sale at the Point

There are several other adventurers at the Point on this bright and chilly day, some staying overnight in their campers but most just making a trek to the sea and taking a few photos. There are a few nets in the water and the sign on the shack noted dry fish was for sale but you can't find anyone to sell you any. 

You wade over the coloured stones into the icy waters, forgoing the original plan of showing how tough you are by going for a swim. It was eight degrees C and the water is colder. The dogs take a good dip and there are no complaints from them. 

Pippa and Finny in the Beaufort Sea

Then it is on to explore the town. The local tourist booth is a wealth of information. There are many visitors stopping by to discover the highlights and take the information sheet that provides a map and a list of amenities. You're encouraged to visit the sod house  or igluryuaq, which is a traditional gathering place dug into the earth and sheltered under huge beams of driftwood, covered in strips of sod cut from the tundra. A pretty young Inuvialuit girl explains a bit about the building, lights a gorgeous traditional lamp and then loses interest. The cellphone and its charms are calling.

You wander around, taking a look at the Lady of Lourdes , the historic supply ship that brought supplies for decades, and also removed children from their community. You visit the two local stores which include the Northern Store and Stanton as well as the arts and crafts centre which sells some carvings and other items. 

Dry fish

Finally, on to Grandma's Kitchen on Front Beach. It's on the tourism map and there is a little road sign that directs you to a small stretch of houses. A little sign tells you the kitchen is around the back of one of the houses. You go around and find a couple of motorcyclists enjoying a meal and sharing their road stories. You knock on the window and Grandma (you assume) takes your order - a starter of dry fish and the main meal of fish and chips. 

Grandma has a number of offerings and you're sorry you didn't order her cinnamon buns to see how they stack up against other northern versions! You could order muktuk (the frozen skin and fat of a whale ) but someone in your party felt he couldn't eat beluga whale after seeing their faces.

Fish and chips

The dry fish ($10) is pretty much what the name implies. A labour intensive preparation involves deboning local whitefish, cutting it into strips and hanging it to dry in the sun or smoking it. Grandma's version is not smoky or salty-it has a dry somewhat stringy texture and an intensely fishy taste. It is possibly an acquired taste. The fish and chips ($15) is delicious. The fries were very hot and lightly breaded. They were exceptionally crispy on the outside and steamy-tender inside. You speculate that that they were fried in lard. The fish was advertised as trout although it did not have the tenderness you would expect-it was dense and meaty. A sizeable portion. The fish itself is fresh and flavourful and lightly covered in a crunchy coating. More panfried than deep fried which was an unexpected treat because a lot of the fish and chips you get are covered in a thick batter that absorbs way too much grease. Grandma's version was in no way greasy and contained far more fish than batter. It balanced perfectly with the provided tartar sauce. A real food experience. 

You sit at a picnic table and look down the long long beach dotted with small boats and strewn with driftwood.  The sky is clear, the water is bright and the air is clean and fresh. A fantastic meal in a unique and truly Canadian setting. Highly recommended.

Me at the Beaufort Sea