The Thousand Islands and Special Sauce

October 1, 2007 4:09 AM

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands are a chain of islands that straddle the U.S.-Canada border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. The islands stretch for about 50 mi (80 km) downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario. The U.S. islands are in the state of New York. The islands, which number 1,865 in all, range in size from over 100 km² to smaller islands occupied by a single residence, to even smaller uninhabited outcroppings of rocks that are home to migratory waterfowl.

Thousand Island dressing, pink in color, is a variety of salad dressing, a variant of Russian dressing, commonly made of mayonnaise, ketchup, and a mixture of finely chopped vegetables, most often pickles, onions, bell peppers, and/or green olives; chopped hard-boiled egg is also common.

posted by psmealey (35 comments total)

You got me with your [more inside] psmealey. Here I was about to make some silly comment about thousand island dressing, and you beat me to the punch.

Now I guess I'll have to click on some of these links and actually learn something about the Thousand Islands.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:17 AM on October 1, 2007

Whoa. Some, er, nice pads on some of those islands...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:19 AM on October 1, 2007

I love the story of Boldt Castle. It's a huge estate on one of the Islands that a George Boldt was building for his wife Louise. Before construction was finished, she died, and he commanded all work to stop and never returned.
posted by saffry at 4:28 AM on October 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

"Whoa. Some, er, nice pads on some of those islands..."

Fantastic. I don't see any electrical or telephone wires. How do they get clean water? Are all the houses on septic tanks? What's it like when you run out of milk? How did they get those amazing aerial shots?
posted by AppleSeed at 4:48 AM on October 1, 2007

How do they get clean water? Are all the houses on septic tanks? What's it like when you run out of milk?

Underground slave armies generate power by constantly pedaling exercise bikes. Underground slave armies do something with waste product, no one knows exactly what. Underground slave armies occasionally leave their caverns, swim to the nearest grocery store, and return with milk.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:04 AM on October 1, 2007

Working for a while in Toronto, I was asked once or twice what people in the US call Canada Geese.
posted by Sk4n at 5:23 AM on October 1, 2007

Never spent much time in the Thousand Islands, but I did live on an island in the Great Lakes once.

I don't see any electrical or telephone wires.

The power lines are underwater.

How do they get clean water?

They are surrounded by clean water. Maybe not quite clean enough to drink untreated there, but I imagine it's pretty close. So they'd probably have a home water treatment system.

Are all the houses on septic tanks?

Most of them, I expect. A good composting toilet might be better, but those are still pretty rare I think.

What's it like when you run out of milk?

Depends what time of year it is. In the summer, you go by boat, in the winter by snowmobile. In-between, when the ice is melting, it's more complicated. But not all of the population would stay there year-round, probably just a small minority. It looks like it's mostly summer vacation homes for rich people, perhaps even more so than most of the places around here where lots of people live on little islands.
posted by sfenders at 5:36 AM on October 1, 2007

I have many memories of stopping at the thousand islands DQ for a brazier burger on my families regular Toronto to Montreal trips to visit family.

Somehow the hours on the 401 turned those otherwise ordinary burgers into the greatest meal ever. Good times.
posted by srboisvert at 5:48 AM on October 1, 2007

No one usually knows what I mean when I ask for thousand island dressing in NYC; I have to ask for Russian.
posted by brujita at 5:53 AM on October 1, 2007

No one usually knows what I mean when I ask for thousand island dressing in NYC; I have to ask for Russian.

That's because Russia is closer to NYC, culturally speaking, than the Thousand Islands region.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:09 AM on October 1, 2007 [2 favorites]

Thousand Island used to be my favorite dressing until I had to make it five gallons at a time.

Working for a while in Toronto, I was asked once or twice what people in the US call Canada Geese.

They don't just call them "geese" in Canada?
posted by kirkaracha at 6:14 AM on October 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't even have to click it to tell you that psmealey's More Inside link to "onions" in the salad dressing description is what makes a great FPP.

Who among us is even adding that salad dressing part -- and then who's looking for the perfect youtube link to dress up the "onions"? No one, that's who. All hail psmealey.
posted by luser at 6:17 AM on October 1, 2007

Rumour has it one of the islands (and the obligatory mansion) belongs to the guy who invented the pine car-freshener. Also, one of the best caesar salads to be prepared by your table side can be had at the General Wolfe Hotel restaurant on Wolfe Island, the largest of the Thousand Islands, which is accessible by ferry for free from Kingston or by toll-ferry from NY.
posted by furtive at 6:45 AM on October 1, 2007

I wonder why most residents of this housing development chose the 'medieval' theme.
posted by leebree at 6:57 AM on October 1, 2007

Did loquax ever get to biking around Lake Ontario? (BTW, that ask.MeFi post is worth it just for brheavy's retelling of a bike trip around Lake Michigan).
posted by furtive at 6:59 AM on October 1, 2007

I liked the history of the salad dressing. Even though it is one of the most revolting substances known to man.
posted by rhymer at 7:07 AM on October 1, 2007 [2 favorites]

It's shingle-style (and it's lovely).
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:19 AM on October 1, 2007

There's a viewing tower called the Thousand Islands Skydeck where the interstate crosses from NY into Ontario. For $9 you can take an elevator up to a platform 20 or so stories high (it used to be $2US/$3CDN). The view is incredible. The park probably had it's heyday in the 1970s, but it's charmingly decrepit. We always stop there for maple sugar candy and knick-knacks with beavers on them.
posted by bobbarnesmn at 8:10 AM on October 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

Fun post psmealey. Your onions link made my morning! Oooh, sizzling. (I so used to have a dress and dance just like that in 1967).

My godfather and his wife have an elegant lake house up in Fair Haven, on Lake Ontario. It's paradise, so beautiful! His daughter and I took a day trip up to the Thousand Islands. We went to sad-romantic and somewhat haunted feeling Boldt Castle (the former owner once owned the Waldorf Astoria). Thousand Islands is an amazing place, basically vast mansions on each of the little emerald forested gems. Must be a great getaway kind of place for the megabucked.

That neck of the woods, on the US Canadian border is wonderful for meandering.
posted by nickyskye at 8:20 AM on October 1, 2007

Working for a while in Toronto, I was asked once or twice what people in the US call Canada Geese.

So what did you answer - freedom geese?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:49 AM on October 1, 2007

Skull and Bones, Yale's most famed secret society owns one of the islands, Deer Island, where former Bonesmen meet for retreats.
posted by Azaadistani at 9:13 AM on October 1, 2007

They are surrounded by clean water. Maybe not quite clean enough to drink untreated there, but I imagine it's pretty close. So they'd probably have a home water treatment system.


As a resident of Kingston I would have to disagree strongly with this statement. The water here is not clean as it contains all the effluent from the other lakes, what with the St. Lawrence being the primary outlet and all. I'm sure the residents have their own water treatment, much like how country folk have their own wells.

Has anyone eaten at the General Wolfe lately? I've been craving a good caesar and would hate to be disappointed.

Oh, and we also call them Canada Geese, at least everyone I know does.
posted by LunaticFringe at 9:24 AM on October 1, 2007

Thousand Islands is where Abie Hoffman was living as a fugitive, when the law caught up with him.
posted by Goofyy at 9:28 AM on October 1, 2007

if i purchased a ranch in the thousand islands and worshipped a green goddess, i'd be a veritable caesar!
posted by bruce at 9:51 AM on October 1, 2007

psmealey, thanks for this link - the pix behind the very first link in the post are OMG gorgeous & make me feel bad for my crappy little non-island based home.
posted by jonson at 10:06 AM on October 1, 2007

During my drive back to the US from Ottawa, the Skydeck was the best possible use of my last $10 Canadian.
posted by ipe at 10:16 AM on October 1, 2007

Aww I love the Thousand Islands. Well, most of them anyway, a few are pretty boring.
posted by SassHat at 10:25 AM on October 1, 2007

They're best by boat - it's on my todo list, since we bought a boat this year. There's a few docks available for public overnighting, and lots of reasonable anchorages.

Quasi-related, many restaurants remain ignorant that a proper Reuben sandwich contains Thousand-Island dressing.
posted by Artful Codger at 11:05 AM on October 1, 2007

These islands must be proof of the effectiveness of "trickle down" economics.

When do I get mine?
posted by rougy at 11:59 AM on October 1, 2007

In order to be officially an island, it must support two trees.
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:07 PM on October 1, 2007

First thing I thought of was a book I read when I was a kid in the 70s: Hope Campbell's Meanwhile Back at the Castle. Accidental micro-state exists on island between US and Canada... I keep thinking there was a TV or movie adaptation, but I can't put my finger on it.
posted by Robert Angelo at 12:31 PM on October 1, 2007

Just returned last week from a Motorcycle trip to Wellesley Island. It's totally a ghost town up there now. Nice that way.
There's a 'Round Goby' problem in the river. It's a weird little invasive fish, rampant.
posted by greenskpr at 1:05 PM on October 1, 2007

Shhh! Please don't tell everyone about this area!
posted by theredpen at 2:03 PM on October 1, 2007

Thought they were called Canadian geese, not Canada geese.
Just curious - maybe it's regional?
posted by dosterm at 3:27 PM on October 1, 2007

Not Canadian geese. It's Canada geese.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:43 AM on October 2, 2007