Ah Trini Travelogue Trinidad & Tobago's most travelled blogger through 99 countries. Create and Re-Engineer your life for travel.
PEI is known for many things …
- Anne of Green Gables
- Rolling hills and pastures right out of an Irish countryside
- Cows Creamery
- Malpeque Oysters and ….
- Potatoes
Here’s a great note from the PEI Potato Board …
Just as connoisseurs of fine wine say they can taste the soil in which the grapes are grown, the Prince Edward Island potato has a flavour that is unique because of the Island’s rich red soil. If you could visualize the perfect place for growing potatoes, it would be Prince Edward Island. The Island’s rich sandy soil, clean air and water, and its long cold winters that naturally cleanse the soil, provide the perfect environment for growing high quality potatoes. In addition, experience and adaptation of the latest growing, storing and shipping techniques have given Prince Edward Island growers the ability to deliver excellent quality potatoes.
Everyone loves Prince Edward Island potatoes and they are in demand around the world. Prince Edward Island is small, but its quality potatoes can hold their own in competition with the world’s best.
P.E.I. farmers have been producing potatoes for the world since 1790. Today, potatoes are P.E.I.’s primary cash crop. Potatoes account for more than one-third of the total farm cash receipts in the province, which is more than the combined value of all other Island crops. Prince Edward Island enjoys the reputation as Canada’s leading potato province, responsible for almost one-third of Canadian production.
In addition to the important Canadian market, seed and table potatoes are shipped to over 20 countries annually. Some customer countries are Venezuela, Italy, Ukraine, Portugal, and Thailand. While markets vary from year to year, over the past few years about 50% of our table potatoes have been sold in Canada, 20% have been marketed in the United States, and approximately 30% are sold to other countries.
When you’re in Charlottetown, there are a number of chip trucks around. Most of these are semi-permanent structures and over the course of the last month, I’ve tried 6-8 of them. I’ve not been disappointed with any of the chip trucks and I’ll definitely say that Charlottetown has some of the best fries/chips I’ve eaten in the world!! However with all the chip trucks I’ve tried so far, Ken’s Island Fries are definitely at the top of my list.
They’re located in the parking lot of Walmart across from the Charlottetown Shopping Center. It’s not the classiest of places, but when you’re looking for good food, you don’t care where it is. A great rule of thumb … when you see old ladies sitting on benches in the sun, eating fries and poutine, you know you’ve come to a good place.
Pictures can’t really describe the well done, slightly crispy fries … and definitely can’t truly describe the portion size. For 3.50$, you’re getting a heaping hot piles of oil fried spuds. The poutine is also ridiculous … as evidenced below.
This was my large portion with gravy … it’s bigger than my head
So if you’re looking to start an epic PEI fries tour, Ken’s Island Fries will be a great start, but actually you should end with them or Wicked Fries, since I thought that these two are joint for the best we’ve had so far.
Ken’s Island Fries
1 Buchanan Drive, Charlottetown, PE C1E 2E4
Twitter @KensIslandfries
