This week’s news that Disney will launch a seven-day family-friendly Alaska cruise from Vancouver in 2011 reminded me that I’ve been wanting to mention something about another lesser-known BC cruise port: Prince Rupert in Northern BC.

When I was in Rupert a year or so ago on my way to Haida Gwaii for the opening of the new Haida Heritage Centre, I was lucky to get a last-minute reservation at the tiny, perfect Cow Bay Cafe just down the road from the cruise ship dock. A friendly local had urged me to call ahead, cautioning that while “the portions are a bit petite, the flavours are amazing. It’s hard to get in.”

There are New York restaurants that would kill to have this little eatery’s 4.5-star rating at TripAdvisor–and its kick-ass waterfront location with fishboat-and-fauna views. On the late July evening I was there, people kept leaping from their tables to watch eagle fishing for salmon in the harbour.

The place is run by Adrienne Johnston, a former nurse who at age 11 announced to her mom that she would one day own a restaurant. As a teenager in India, she met Pierre Elliott Trudeau who told her, “You can do anything in Canada.” She eventually realized her dream in a down-on-its-luck resource-based town with a refreshing dearth of food snobs.

Best not to be fussy about what’s on the menu–it changes daily. But trust me, it’s all good and it’s all fresh.

Says Johnston: “People ask me, ‘So how far up the Skeena River was this salmon caught?’ Well, I can tell them it came from the first tidal basin–because I buy from the test fishery.

“And I can tell them the wheat berries on their plate came from Peace Country, too. I start  local and work out from there. But I tell you honestly, I could never do the 100-Mile-Diet thing. I love my tea.”

My friend Murray Atherton just got back from Rupert and e-mailed me–twice!–to say thanks for recommending Cow Bay Cafe. So it’s still there, still great–and definitely worth a visit before the Mouseketeers beat you to it…

Been there? Please share your review here!