02 AUG 2018: The Thousand Islands, comprising of 1,864 islands dotted on both sides of the Canada-US border along the St. Lawrence River, is undoubtedly the world’s only archipelago to have a salad dressing named after it. How that came about is one of the legends of millionaires, smugglers, heartbreak and romance that are the lore of this chain of islands between northern New York state and Ontario.
The dressing, a mixture of mainly mayonnaise, ketchup and chopped pickles is not as haute as its origins. The tale you hear from boat tour guides and at Boldt Castle (which sells bottles of Thousand Island dressing with the legend on the label) is that it was created on board the magnificent steam yacht the “Louise” belonging to millionaire proprietor George Boldt of Waldorf Astoria fame. While George and his wife Louise were sailing amongst the beautiful islands, Boldt requested a dish to honour the area. The pickles represented the thousand plus islands.
Another version goes that the steward forgot to bring a dressing for the salad and had to improvise. A completely alternate history of the dressing is that it was the creation of Sophia Lelonde who used to make the dressing for her husband, who would then serve it to fishermen along the river. George Lelonde also served it to May Irwin, a famous actress of the day who used to vacation in the Thousand Islands region and took fishing trips with him. Irwin convinced Sophia to give her the recipe for her secret sauce and then shared it with George and Louise Boldt.
Or both could have concocted it around the same time at the end of the 19th century when salads were the trendy food of the day – thanks to the dawn of the refrigerated train car era – and ketchup and mayonnaise were popular condiments. In any event, Boldt liked the dressing so much he decided to have it served in his hotels, and the steward, Oscar Tschirky, became famous as “Oscar of the Waldorf.” More than 100 years later, the dressing is known the world over and is widely used in fast-food restaurants and diners in the United States as a “secret sauce”.
Boldt left his legacy in the form of Boldt Castle, the palatial Rhenish structure perched atop Heart Island. The grandiose, 120 room, six storey castle was to be a display of love for his wife Louise. Four years after construction began, in 1904, tragedy struck. Louise died suddenly and a heartbroken Boldt commanded all workers to stop construction. He couldn’t imagine his dream castle without his beloved and never returned to the island.
In 1977, The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority assumed ownership (for one dollar) and subsequently invested millions in restoring and rehabilitating the magnificent structures on Heart Island and nearby Boldt Yacht House on Wellesley Island. Today the Gananoque Boat Line offers cruises (including sunset dinner cruises) from Gananoque by the mansions of Millionaire’s Row to the estate. Passengers are told to bring their passports as the island is on US side of the river. (Two thirds of the Islands are in Canadian territory but the total acreage of the Canadian and American Islands is roughly equal.) www.ganboatline.com
My husband and I stayed at the Glen House Resort while in the area and heard tales of nearby Smuggler’s Cove, a secluded bay popular for hiding boats and booze during Prohibition. The resort offers Stay and Play packages that includes golf at their Smuggler’s Glen golf course across the road. The championship 18-hole course is a beauty. Designed by Boyd Barr to work with the natural terrain along the river, it’s the top rated course in Eastern Ontario. www.smugglersglen.com
Dinner at the resort’s Shipman’s Dining Room overlooking the river surprized me with how good it was. As is often the case in a rural setting (especially one with US guests), portions were huge but in this instance without sacrificing quality and taste. My fish and chips dish featured fresh local pickerel – the Thousand Islands is home to 17 species of game fish – served with fresh peas smashed together to make an upscale version of the British ‘mushy peas’ and awesome hand chopped fries. My husband’s liver and onions dish was perfectly tenderly cooked. www.glenhouseresort.com
When we arrived in the town of Gananoque, a Farmers Market was taking place at the Town Hall Park on King Street. We stopped by to pick up local cheeses, freshly made kombucha sold by the growler, rustic onion flatbread by Real Food and other delicious produce from the area. We were the out of towners but everyone else was first name familiar with each other and chatting up a storm. The charm of small town living was in full glory.
In the evening we took in The Buddy Holly Story at the Thousand Islands Playhouse, a historic dockside property that has to be one of the most beautiful theatre settings in Canada. Nestled on the banks of the St Lawrence River, the playhouse has two theatres offering engaging live entertainment six months of the year. The upcoming play July 27 to August 18 is the world premier of the farce The Canadian by Jason Hall. www.1000islandsplayhouse.com
We capped off our stay with a short soar in the sky with 1000 Islands Helicopter Tours and a leisurely three-lock tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Rideau Canal on a pontoon boat with Rideau Tours. As well as basic fly over the islands tours, the helicopter company will take people fishing, skiing in winter and to visit wineries in Prince Edward County, which gets me wanting more. www.fly1000islands.ca
Rideau Tours, which departs from Chaffey’s Lock, introduces people to the Rideau Canal, a chain of beautiful lakes, rivers and canals winding 202 km from Kingston, at the head of Lake Ontario, to Ottawa. It is Canada’s 14th and Ontario’s only World Heritage Site. The canal is North America’s best-preserved “slackwater” canal and the only one from the great 19th century canal building era that still operates along is original route with most of its original structures intact. We ended our tour with a delicious gourmet picnic at Jones Falls, featuring locally sourced ingredients from Wendy’s Market. Yum. www.rideautours.ca